We’re excited to share what’s new to the Wisdom Experience this May and hope these resources continue to provide you with moments of inspiration, adventure, and awakening all month long.
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As you read the rest of the newsletter, remember to keep an eye out for the membership level icon in the corner of each image. These mark what level of membership the content is available to.
During the month of May, Buddhahood in This Life and the film 900 Years are available to Free members.
Buddhahood in This Life presents the Great Commentary of Vimalamitra—one of the earliest and most influential texts in the Dzogchen tradition of Tibetan Buddhism. It explores the theory and practice of the Great Perfection tradition in detail, shows how Dzogchen meditation relates to the entirety of the Buddhist path, and outlines how we can understand buddhahood—and even achieve it in our lifetime. Translator Malcolm Smith includes a clear overview and analysis for all. Buddhahood in This Life covers fine details of Dzogchen meditation, including profound “secret instructions” rarely discussed in most meditation manuals. This text is essential for any serious student of the Great Perfection.
900 Years, a short film from director María Fernanda Rivero Gutiérrez explores the history of the Karmapa lineage leading up to the 900 years celebration in 2010 with His Holiness the 17th Karmapa. Included is a sneak peek of the feature film Never Give Up: The Heart of Compassion.
Don’t forget, you can invite your friends to sign up for a Free membership to join you.
In-Depth and All-Access members are welcome to enjoy Beyond Distraction, the newest addition to the Wisdom Experience course catalog. Learn how to overcome distraction in meditation practice and develop clarity in your relationships, work, and other activities in this course with highly-respected teacher, author, and jhana expert Shaila Catherine. The mind can be a potent tool to spark extraordinary achievements, inspire good works, and advance toward spiritual realization. However, it can also produce the opposite. For many people, thoughts run rampant and seem to oppress or control their lives. The Buddha tells us that before enlightenment, he sometimes found his mind preoccupied by thoughts connected with desire, ill will, and harm. Through meditation, he figured out how to respond to thoughts skillfully and developed a step-by-step approach to calm the restless mind.
Following the Buddha’s pragmatic approach, insight meditation teacher Shaila Catherine offers an accessible approach to training the mind, guided by the Buddha’s pragmatic instructions on removing distracting thoughts.
You’ll learn to overcome habitual modes of thinking, develop deeper concentration, and discover insights into emptiness that are vital for a liberating spiritual path. You’ll recognize that a thought is just a thought, and with this realization, you will find yourself on the path to a life of remarkable freedom. Start learning now!
Be sure to register for our upcoming Wisdom Dharma Chats episode this May!
Join us and special guests, Klaus-Dieter Mathes and Péter-Dániel Szántó, on Wednesday, May 15 at 7:00 PM EST for a new episode of Wisdom Dharma Chats. During this Wisdom Dharma Chat host, Daniel Aitken, and our guests will be discussing the latest volume in the Studies in Indian and Tibetan Buddhism series, Saraha’s Spontaneous Songs, and much more.
To watch this Wisdom Dharma Chat live over Zoom, register here.
If you weren’t able to join us live, you can now watch the recording of our Wisdom Dharma Chats episode with special guest, Kyabje Kalu Rinpoche. Rinpoche is the lineage holder of Shangpa Kagyu. He was born in 1990 and recognized by H. H. the Dalai Lama and H. H. the 12th Chamgon Kenting Tai Situpa. Kalu Rinpoche completed the traditional three-year retreat between January 2004 and September 2008. During this Wisdom Dharma Chat host Daniel Aitken and Rinpoche discuss his Wisdom Academy course Illusory Body and Mind, along with his new and upcoming Wisdom Academy course on Niguma’s dream yoga, and much more.
Discover all of the books in our Reading Room under the “Explore” menu on our website. Books in our Reading Room are available exclusively to Plus, All-Access, and In-Depth members.
Featured in the Reading Room
Essential Mind Training
by Thupten Jinpa
“Anyone intrigued by the potential to bend our minds in the direction of greater clarity and kindness will find great satisfaction in Essential Mind Training.”—Daniel Goleman, author of Emotional Intelligence
The Art Of Disappearing
by Ajahn Brahm
“This is Ajahn Brahm’s prescription for true peace and profound happiness. What a gift of the Dhamma!”—Toni Bernhard, author of How to Be Sick and How To Wake Up
Also in Your Reading Room
Exclusively for In-Depth, Plus, and All-Access members
- The Swift Path translated by Szegee Toh
- Heart Of The Great Perfection by B. Alan Wallace
- Buddhism by His Holiness The Dalai Lama and Thubten Chodron
- Crushing The Categories translation and commentary by Jan Westerhoff
- Journey To Mindfulness by Bhante Gunaratana with Jeanne Malmgren
- and many more!
New Releases & Back in Stock
The following books were released in April, are available to purchase early on our website, or are now back in stock:
- Saraha’s Spontaneous Songs by Klaus-Dieter Mathes and Péter-Dániel Szántó
- Ocean of Attainments translated by Yael Bentor and Penpa Dorjee
- Bearing The Unbearable (A Guided Journal for Grieving) by Joanne Cacciatore
- The Jhanas by Shaila Catherine
- The Blazing Inner Fire Of Bliss And Emptiness translated by David Gonsalez
- Sounds Of Innate Freedom, Vol. 2 translated by Karl Brunnhölzl
- A Monk’s Guide To Finding Joy by His Eminence Khangser Rinpoche
You won’t want to miss this episode of the Wisdom Podcast, recorded live as a Wisdom Dharma Chat features special guest, Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche. Born in the Himalayan border regions between Tibet and Nepal, Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche is a rising star among the new generation of Tibetan Buddhist teachers. His candid, often humorous accounts of his personal difficulties have endeared him to audiences around the world. During this Wisdom Dharma Chat host, Daniel Aitken, and Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche discuss Dorje Drolö, a Buddhist practice meant specifically for use during difficult times in human history. Rinpoche’s upcoming teachings in Nepal this June, the imaginative power of the mind, wrathful deities, and much more!
This episode of the Wisdom Podcast features Cortland Dahl. Cortland is a scientist, translator, and meditation teacher who offers workshops and leads retreats around the world. He has practiced meditation for nearly three decades, spent time on retreat in monasteries and at retreat centers throughout Japan, Burma, and India, and spent eight years living in Tibetan refugee settlements in Kathmandu, Nepal. He works as an Instructor for the Tergar community and is the Executive Director of Tergar International. In addition, Cortland serves as a Research Scientist and the Chief Contemplative Officer at UW-Madison’s Center for Healthy Minds and the center’s affiliated non-profit, Healthy Minds Innovations. Cortland is actively involved in scientific research and has published articles on the impact of meditation practices on the body, mind, and brain.
In this episode host, Daniel Aitken, and Cortland discuss:
- the Healthy Minds App and Cortland’s role in its development;
- the intersection of science and spirituality;
- living the Dharma in daily life;
- using technology for mindfulness; and
- much more!
Each year we work with Gompa – Tibetan Monastery Services to bring our Plus, All-Access, and In-Depth members three courses and/or teachings by eminent Rinpoches, scholars, and practitioners given in their monasteries and nunneries in India and Nepal. Our current Gompa Wisdom Teaching provides the rare opportunity to receive a four-day course of teachings from Choepa Karma Wangchuk Lhamo on ‘The Four Thoughts that Turn the Mind to the Dharma’. The four thoughts or four considerations are regarded as key subjects of contemplation in a practitioner’s quest to overcome attachment to the attractions of worldly life. When successfully undertaken the four thoughts lay a firm foundation for spiritual growth. These four are:
1) cultivation of an appreciation for the potentials and the opportunities of human existence;
2) reflection on death and the impermanence of all things;
3) reflection on karma and the law of cause and effect; and
4) reflection on the unsatisfactory nature of life in the cycle of existence and the nature and causes of suffering.
The teaching is given in Tibetan with translation in English.