Posts Tagged ‘Tibet’
Tags: Tibet
Expressions of Emptiness
When we think about emptiness, there is usually an intimation of absence. That is, a lack of presence is implied. However, in zhentong contemplative thinking, the recognition of the ultimate…
Read More“Wheel of Time” III
Now that we have a rough sketch of Dolpopa’s concept of time according to Kālachakra cosmology, we can begin to think about what Dolpopa and later Jonangpas refer to as…
Read More“Wheel of Time” II
Continuing to think about time, I’d like to consider the architecture of cosmic time according to the Kālachakra Tantra, and how this temporal schema was further codified by Dolpopa Sherab…
Read More“Wheel of Time” I
Lately, I’ve been thinking about time. Time in the cliché sense of that which “does not stop for anyone.” Historical time. Real time. Blinks and breathes and heart-beats. The wax…
Read MoreDzogchen & Zhentong
Reading through the miscellaneous guidance texts (khrid yig) of Khenpo Lodrö Drakpa, I came across a brief instruction that he gave on clarifying the distinctions between the 4 predominant Mahāyāna…
Read MoreWhose Svabhāva is It?
One of the major tripping points in Mahāyāna Buddhist philosophy is identifying what is intrinsically existent ― what is referred to in Sanskrit as “svabhāva” (rang bzhin), and what is…
Read MoreThe “Other” Emptiness
The technical Tibetan term “zhentong” (gzhan stong, often mis-phoneticized “shentong”) suggests a particular view of reality, one that can be misconstrued due to the word itself. To give a simple…
Read MoreStory of Shambhala
Though the story of the mythic land Shambhala as related from the Kālachakra Tantra is well known, I thought to recount a portion of the legend here. What follows is…
Read MoreKalachakra Practice I
In preparation for the upcoming Kālachakra retreat, I thought to revisit some of the central themes on Jonang Kālachakra practice that have inspired many of my conversations with friends and…
Read MoreThe First Jonangpa
Throughout my readings on the Jonangpa in English, I’ve noticed the (all too) common attribution of either Yumo Mikyo Dorje or Dolpopa Sherab Gyaltsen as the “founder” of the Jonang…
Read More