Dharma Glimpses with Judy Lief

[This episode originally aired on December 6, 2022] Trungpa Rinpoche often spoke about the importance of a sense of humor on the spiritual path, but what did he really mean by it?  •  he was obviousl…

[This episode originally aired on November 22, 2022]  Continuing our discussion of the sense perceptions, and how they are connected with a subtle kind of grasping  •  in Buddhism we talk about the …

[This episode originally aired on November 15, 2022]  In Buddhism there is a lot of interest in the sense perceptions  •  traditionally, it is said that there are six senses: seeing, hearing, smellin…

[This episode originally aired on November 8, 2022]  When we contemplate impermanence, we're basically looking at the facts of life  •  the fact is that we all die; we all have losses, sorrow and he…

[This episode originally aired on November 1, 2022]  Of all the contemplative practices of Buddhism, it is said that the contemplation of impermanence is the most useful  •  dealing with change isn’t…

[This episode originally aired on October 25, 2022]  The six paramitas challenge the mistaken view that we can make ourselves secure by grasping more and more tightly  •  to practice the paramita of…

It can be easy to fall into religiosity as we pursue a spiritual path  •  contemplative traditions designed to cut through pretense and nurture humility can do just the opposite  •  we grow up with a…

Today I'd like to explore this question: Why is meditation so difficult?  •  meditation can be as simple as this Zen instruction: “Sit down, shut up, pay attention. Repeat.”  •  my teacher once said …

Buddhism is often seen as an esoteric philosophical or psychological system; but at a profound and important level, the Buddha's teachings are very much grounded in nature  • many Buddhist insights t…

Today I'd like to introduce a traditional list called “the five strengths” — determination, faith, virtue, remorse, and aspiration  •  determination points to the need to stick with the path we're on…

[This episode originally aired on October 18, 2022]  In continuing our exploration of the prajna paramita, I'd like to focus on the inseparable trio of prajna (knowledge or wisdom), shunyata (emptin…

[This episode originally aired on October 11, 2022]  The sixth and final paramita is the prajna paramita  •  the sanskrit term “prajna” means supreme knowledge: the best of knowing, the best of cogn…

[This episode originally aired on October 4, 2022]  The topic of meditation reminds me of the old saying, “all roads lead to Rome”  •  in the Buddhist tradition, all teachings seem to lead to meditat…

[This episode originally aired on September 27, 2022]  In the Buddhist tradition there’s a lot of talk about practice, which is connected with the paramita of exertion  •  practice is something that …

[This episode originally aired on September 20, 2022]  In the English language, the words “patience” and “patient” derive from the same word, meaning “to suffer” •  the Tibetan term for patience has…

[This episode originally aired on September 13, 2022]  Coming from the vast and expansive ground of the first paramita, the paramita of generosity, we now turn our attention to the second paramita, t…

[This episode originally aired on September 6, 2022]   Continuing our exploration of the paramita of generosity  •  generosity is like the expanding universe: it just keeps expanding and expanding wi…

[This episode originally aired on August 30, 2022]  The English word “generosity” comes from the Latin meaning “noble birth”  •  in talking about the bodhisattva path, this doesn't mean elitism or no…

[This episode originally aired August 23, 2022]  In this episode, and in the next few episodes, we will explore the paramitas—what Trungpa Rinpoche referred to as “techniques of non grasping”  •  the…