Month: November 2022
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Chapter 2: Reflection 9 – To Help All Other Sentient Beings
Within the vast corpus of Tibetan Buddhist literature is a genre of writing that stands out for its inspiration power, poignant fervor, and down-to-earth practicality, all of which have made these teachings dear to the Tibetan people for generations. I am referring to a collection of texts and their associated spiritual practices known simply as…
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Chapter 2: Reflection 8 – A Vision Enlightened by Charity
The man was so kind, so tendered-hearted that many would have regarded him as perilously indulgent … There was no one wild enough, wicked enough, violent enough, ungrateful enough to be beyond the range of Aelred’s forgiveness and forbearance and tender mercy. 1 Thus does TM paint the portrait of the 12th century Cistercian abbot,…
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Chapter 2: Reflection 7 – See, Gaze Upon, Behold
Another pioneering figure in the long lineage of teachers of what has come to be called by modern scholars, “affective piety,” is the 12th century Cistercian abbot, Aelred of Rievaulx. 1 Under Aelred’s abbatial leadership, Rievaulx abbey in North Yorkshire was said to have tripled in size. But more important than numbers were the character…
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Chapter 2: Reflection 6 – Student and Teacher – Very Close, Warm Relation
It is clear from the testimony of his students that Geshe Lhundop Sopa embodied a Tibetan tradition of spiritual and religious teaching which stretched back to Atisa. 1 Indeed, more than one student overtly likened him to the 11th century Indian scholar. 2 However, in his genuine humility, he would become quite uncomfortable at such…
Julian of Norwich and Other Tibetan Lamas 