16 08, 2023

Non-Thinking through Clear Thinking

2023-08-16T14:02:14-07:00Categories: Blog, Cittamatra, Karl Brunnholzl, Mahamudra, Mind Only, Shedra, Summer Institute, Yogacara|

Non-Thinking through Clear Thinking It sometimes feels like study proliferates our thoughts, when what we really want is for the mind to be still. But our thoughts are a tool. We can use them to undermine our belief in solidity. In fact, Nitartha’s Clear Thinking course offers a method to arrive at non-thought, which is one aspect of the experience of meditation. Dignaga and Dharmakirti analyzed language, words and clauses, and observed that among those the most elemental unit of expression is a word which is imbued with meaning. They noted that thoughts are language and concluded that language is the same as logical operations, and that the 

8 05, 2023

The Elegance of Union

2023-05-17T15:32:25-07:00Categories: Blog, Intermediate Curriculum, Lorik, Mind & Its World, Summer Institute, Tibetan, Valid Cognition|

The Elegance of Union: Joining Study and Mahamudra At 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

17 04, 2023

The five sciences

2023-04-18T16:16:25-07:00Categories: Blog, Intermediate Curriculum, Lorik, Mind & Its World, Summer Institute, Tibetan, Valid Cognition|

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

11 04, 2023

Yogacara: the remedy for the poor diet of “Mind Only”

2023-04-11T16:55:53-07:00Categories: Blog, Cittamatra, Karl Brunnholzl, Mahamudra, Mind Only, Shedra, Summer Institute, Yogacara|

Yogacara: the remedy for the poor diet of "Mind Only" by Mitra Dr. Karl Brunnhölzl. Mitra Brunnhölzl will be teaching on Yogacara at July's Summer Institute. To remedy the poor diet of “Mind-Only” always being refuted by Madhyamaka as the highest Buddhist view and do justice to the great Indian Mahayana Yogacara tradition, recent teachings on Vasubandhu’s Thirty Verses by H.H. the 17th Karmapa, Ogyen Trinley Dorje, extensively discuss the need to review the way Tibetan doxographies present the so-called “Mind-Only School” in light of the classical Yogacara School in India and China. Yogacara is (mis)represented as “Mind-Only” for three main reasons: superficial and out-of-context judgments based on

22 02, 2023

Enhance Your Mahamudra Practice through Space Awareness

2023-03-09T11:07:26-08:00Categories: Blog, Buddhist Studies, Mahamudra, Summer Institute|

Enhance Your Mahamudra Practice through Space Awareness Space Awareness will be offered on site at this year's Summer Institute (for details, check out the Summer Institute Enhancement Activities page). I wonder, how would we be able to experience the "spaciously relaxed" quality of Mahamudra meditation without having a sense of space? How big is your sense of space? As you go about your day, do you feel the space behind your back? Are you aware of the space above and below you as you walk, talk or wash the dishes? Or do you go through most of your day only aware of what is in the visual field

31 05, 2022

Madhyamaka: a crucial stage on our journey to emptiness

2022-06-10T11:20:51-07:00Categories: Blog, Buddhist Studies, Consciousness, Jirka Hladis, Madhyamaka, Summer Institute|Tags: , , , |

Madhyamaka and several more courses will be offered at this year’s Summer Institute in July. The topics are incredible. Don’t miss out! Register for the 2022 Nitartha Summer Institute here: https://bit.ly/si22mind Madhyamaka: a crucial stage on our journey to emptiness On our journey to emptiness, the Nitartha curriculum takes us through several stages. In the Mind and Its World series, we become familiar with how the data coming in through our senses changes from moment to moment. There is nobody who owns it, there is no personal identity. In the Mind Only class we further discover and learn to appreciate how this manifold experience is

18 05, 2022

La mente y su mundo I

2022-05-30T07:06:12-07:00Categories: Blog, Buddhist Studies, Consciousness, Mind & Its World, Sin categorizar, Summer Institute|Tags: , , , |

La mente y su mundo I y II son los dos primeros cursos del plan de estudios de Nitartha, y se ofrecen junto a varios más en el Instituto de Verano de este año, en julio. Los temas son increíbles. ¡No te lo pierdas! Inscríbete aquí en el Instituto de Verano Nitartha 2022 aquí. La mente y su mundo I: Cognición válida Este curso explora la cuestión: ¿Cómo se obtiene un conocimiento preciso y válido sobre el mundo? Este es el tema de Pramana, o epistemología budista. Normalmente asumimos que lo que sabemos sobre el mundo es válido. ¿Pero lo es? Nuestra mente procesa y

3 05, 2022

¿Qué es lo que nos dice el sutra de Samdhinirmocana?

2022-05-29T09:50:28-07:00Categories: Blog, Buddhist Studies, Consciousness, Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche, Summer Institute|Tags: , , , |

Rinpoché enseñará este año el sutra Samdhinirmocana. La siguiente entrada del blog es un breve resumen de los 10 capítulos del sutra. Los temas son increíbles. ¡No te lo pierdas! Inscríbete aquí en el Instituto de Verano Nitartha 2022. ¿Qué es lo que nos dice el Sutra de Samdhinirmocana? El propio nombre del sutra nos dice mucho sobre lo que nos depara el estudio de este sutra. En el Instituto de Verano 2021, Dzgochen Ponlop Rinpoché tuvo la amabilidad de compartir con nosotros la inspiración que transmite el propio título. Este sutra se llama Arya Samdhinirmocana Mahayana Sutra. Arya significa noble, exaltado o superior. ¿Qué

2 12, 2021

Thank you for your generosity!

2021-12-14T11:52:13-08:00Categories: Blog, Buddhist Studies, Consciousness, Foundation Curriculum, Mind & Its World, Scott Wallenbach, Summer Institute|Tags: , , , |

Financial Assistance for Nitartha Institute Students Generosity and demand for Nitartha’s courses at all-time highs. Please Give Now! Thank you to all who have donated to our Giving Tuesday campaign to replenish our financial assistance fund, which provides partial and full tuition discounts to students who otherwise would not be able to attend Nitartha. Altogether, we have received over $22,000! We know many dharma students are struggling to pay the cost of dharma courses and programs. Now, many of those students will be able to study at Nitartha, thanks to all those who donated! Did you know? You will be entered into a drawing to

24 11, 2021

Financial Assistance for Nitartha Institute Students

2021-12-14T11:35:42-08:00Categories: Blog, Buddhist Studies, Consciousness, Foundation Curriculum, Mind & Its World, Scott Wallenbach, Summer Institute|Tags: , , , |

Financial Assistance for Nitartha Institute Students Generosity and demand for Nitartha’s courses at all-time highs. Please Give Now!While the last two years have been difficult for many of us around the world, the demand for Nitartha's courses was higher than ever. And even though the tuition for the 2020 and 2021 Summer Institutes was unusually low, the need for financial assistance also hit a record, and we gave 4 times more assistance these past two years than any previous year. Indeed, with your generous donations, students all over the world were able to attend our courses regardless of their ability to pay. Thank you! And, this

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