The Elegance of Union:Joining Study and MahamudraAt Nitartha's Summer Institute study and Mahamudra meditation are joined. Why?Jirka Hladiš says, “It's very simple -- that’s the elegance of it. The whole point of studying the view is to clarify the object of meditation. When you get the object of meditation right, then you just rest one-pointedly on the object, without the need for more instruction.”Study is quite extensive at Nitartha because it is crucial for determining the object of meditation. We often determine our object of meditation in an incorrect or unclear way. This creates a problem. While we still benefit from shamatha because it settles our minds, we

The Five Sciences: Accomplishing the Aim of the Bodhisattva This year at the 2023 Summer Institute, thefive sciences will be taught on site at the University of Colorado, Boulder In order to benefit all sentient beings, one needs to be able to communicate according to the interests and abilities of a great diversity of minds. The best training for achieving that goal is the training in the five sciences because, together, they encompass all that can be known. Lama Mipham said, “All mundane and supramundane topics of knowledge can be contained . . . within a simple enumeration of just five fields of knowledge.”1 As aspiring bodhisattvas, we