By Pamela Ayo Yetunde — 2020
In this excerpt from her new book co-edited with Cheryl A. Giles, Black and Buddhist, Pamela Ayo Yetunde offers advice for POC considering entering a dharma community, and shares the importance of utilizing Right Intention when doing so.
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CLEAR ALL
Living a self-determined life doesn’t mean that you have to quit your job or move countries or make any other radical changes, it’s all about the small steps.
Question: Buddhist teachers, including the Dalai Lama, often speak of happiness as a goal (if not the goal) of Buddhist practice. I don’t begrudge anyone happiness, but making it so central to spiritual life feels self-serving. Am I misunderstanding what’s meant by “happiness”?
As part of our #MeditationHacks series, a Mahayana Buddhist who is encouraged to practice for the benefit of all sentient being feels like they are only practicing for their own benefit. Venerable Thubten Chodron answers.
It’s surprisingly easy to achieve lasting happiness — we just have to understand our own basic nature. The hard part, says Mingyur Rinpoche, is getting over our bad habit of seeking happiness in transient experiences.
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There are two kinds of refuge, says Mingyur Rinpoche—outer and inner. The reason we take refuge in the outer forms of enlightenment is so that we may find the buddha within.