From Teachers within the IMI Community – International Mahayana Institute

14

January

Greetings to My Most Dear Brother Monks and Sister Nuns and Our Supporters

By Venerable Robina Courtin I live in New York City these days, on my own. I’ve spent my life living in communes — first in a family of nine, then at a Catholic boarding school, then in hippie communes, radical left communes, feminist communes, and finally Buddhist…

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06

July

A new IMI cabin in Thakpa Kachoe, Vajrayogini Pure Land in France.

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A new IMI cabin in Thakpa Kachoe, Vajrayogini Pure Land in France. By Venerable Gyalten Yangchen It is with great joy that we announce the opening of a cabin built by the International Mahayana Institute at Thakpa Kachoe, Vajrayogini Pure Land in France. This new cabin, named “Olka Cholung”, after the name of the place in Tibet…

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06

July

Teaching Each Other The Dharma

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Teaching Each Other The Dharma A report from the Kyabje Lama Zopa Rinpoche retreat in Bendigo, Australia 2014 By Gelongma Lozang Yönten (Larisa Wahler) Bendigo, Victoria fulfilled its promise of variable weather from biting cold to blazing hot – sometimes all in one day. Mirroring the changeable weather was, unsurprisingly, my mind – this is retreat…

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06

July

Inspiration at the Light of the Path Retreat

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Inspiration at the Light of the Path Retreat By Ven. Tenzin Chogkyi When I walked into the dining room at the Blue Ridge Assembly in North Carolina on the morning that the Light of the Path retreat was scheduled to start, it took me about 20 minutes to walk through the room to the buffet – the…

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06

July

Preparing for Ordination

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Pratimoksha is a bridle With hundreds of sharp spikes, suited to The horse of the mind, so hard to steer And always driven with effort ~The Pratimoksha Sutra Preparing for Ordination Written by Ven. Thubten Dondrub Motivation Adopting the life of a renunciate is a life-long commitment in the Tibetan Buddhist tradition. One takes ordination because one realizes that this human life…

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06

July

The Job of Ordained People

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The Job of Ordained People By Ven. Antonio Satta It is important to know-and for those who do know, to remember-that desire does not start with becoming ordained. We may sometimes find ourselves wondering why we are so full of desire, as if the ordained life increased or brought desire. Abstinence (for ordained people) and giving vent…

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06

July

Be a Professional Dharma Practitioner

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It is difficult to let go of this level of control over our lives, but it is a part of the lesson we must learn. We all want to control our lives, to come and go as we please, to do what we want. But, when we have to rely on the kindness of others,…

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06

July

Remaining Celibate in an Environment of Attachment

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While it’s true that one can practice in a relationship, it’s more difficult to counteract attachment when one lives in an environment permeated by it. If lay life were the most effective way to practice, the Buddha himself would not have been a monastic. Ven. Thubten Chodron Remaining Celibate in an Environment of Attachment By Ven. Thubten…

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06

July

A Monastic’s Mind

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As we remain ordained longer and longer, we come to understand how our behavior affects other people, and we begin to feel some responsibility for the continuity of the teachings. These precious teachings, which have helped us so much, began with the Buddha. Ven. Thubten Chodron A Monastic’s Mind Ven. Thubten Chodron Excerpted from a talk given at…

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06

July

On Celibacy

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They also need faith. This is achieved by the inspiring example of monks and nuns whose pure lifestyle and inner attainment of peace show that renunciation is possible. On Celibacy By Ven. Thubten Gyatso It is 1972, in Jalalabad, and travellers on their journey to the east, stranded in Afghanistan by the Indo-Pakistani war, are partying. A…

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