There is a word we come across in reading Tibetan Buddhist books, liturgies or philosophy that is both intriguing and enigmatic. Rig-Dzin literally means awareness-holder or knowledge-holder1. There are other words in that language that mean “being in possession of” or achieving a certain state or level. But here it literally means “holder.” So what is being held, who is holding it, and where is it being kept—and why?
Breaking the Prison of Meditation
Something from nothing Like any religion, Vajrayana developed a codified set of rules, systems, behaviors, philosophies, and practices intended to guide the seeker sequentially along the stages of the path, directing them toward enlightenment, realization, moksha, the godhead, illumination, or a thousand other names that hint at our ultimate human potential. Some of these systems […]
Why Spirituality (Sometimes) Fails
The Two Functions You live within an amazing transformative machine. It’s called the body. It has two very different functions. I would guess that ninety-nine percent of people use it for only for the first, which is to eat, sleep, excrete, reproduce, have a variety of pleasant, painful and interesting experiences, and die. The second […]
Clearing Trauma
The greatest obstacle to spiritual development is—not what you might think. Various religious and spiritual pathways talk about our disturbed emotions, our anger, our anxiety, our past actions.
In Search of the Elemental Body
Seeking the Buddhist Body The Tibetan empowerment or wongkur is an essential part of Vajrayana-Buddhist tantra-as well as Shaivite and other Eastern traditions. It is the entry point, the transmission of the seed of enlightenment, and permission to enter the mandala of enlightened mind. One obtains the stream of form, energy and consciousness, transforming mundane […]
The Missing Self in Spirituality and Psychology
The Big Investment A few years ago, a friend of mine was ready, along with his wife, to retire. They had invested their life savings, the work of 20 years, to fund their golden years. Unfortunately, it was with a man named Madoff. In a single moment they lost it all to this con artist […]
