Anam Thubten

A reflection from Anam Thubten: Modern life often brings with it a continuous demand to work hard. It may seem like there’s no time to just relax in one’s living room, to take the opportunity to be in nature, or to drink tea with your friends while having a cordial chat. Many people feel that their lives are filled with one to do list after another. We have luxuries that people of the past couldn’t even begin to imagine, yet they require a lot of maintenance and often come ...with strings attached. In addition, the endless cycle of news and social media bombarding our everyday lives contributes to all kinds of mental health issues, and can take our attention away from what is truly meaningful. For all of these reasons, many people long for a life of simplicity. We might take a few days trip into the forest, avoid extravagances, or even get rid of possessions. All of these can be helpful practices until the modern world hooks us back into its trap once again. Now and then, we might even fantasize about leading an ideal life - like the Buddha - at a serene monastery somewhere where nuns and monks are living in a simple, healthy way, with just the essentials. There are many yogis who spent most of their lives in the Himalayan mountains, simply practicing meditation with basic food, like barley flour called tsampa. There is a common experience shared by all of them, which is peace of mind. In the old days, not only was life much simpler, but there was a whole community who would support you if you decided to live in the mountains as a hermit. On the other hand, without going anywhere or giving up too much, we can still experience that serenity, joy, and sense of simplicity by unhooking ourselves from the busy mind. I like to think that our busy mind is like a smart phone - it can be turned off anytime. Just like many people feel the need to make sure that their phone is turned off at certain times to feel peace, we could also turn off the inner smart phone here and there everyday through meditation. This message is simple. It doesn’t involve lofty topics like emptiness, no-self, or Bodhicitta, but is a reminder that not resting in our inner serenity can create a variety of problems. There are many ways our surroundings, and even our activities, can be a reminder to meditate or to take a rest from the monkey mind. In traditional culture, people chant before eating as way to bring their attention to something that invokes a sense of connection with the sacred or simply to be conscious and calm. You can turn activities like washing the dishes, walking in the neighborhood, recitation, or sitting silently before a meal into a reminder to be here now.

Sunday, October 18 Anam Thubten will offer a Meditation and Dharma talk "Two Open Secrets to Enlightenment" 10:00 am - 12:00 pm PDT (1 pm - 3 pm EDT). Please feel free to share the link with your friends: Livestream Link: https://iframe.dacast.com/b/8072/c/434882

Save the Date and join Anam Thubten, Joanna Macy, Elizabeth Mattis Namgyel and Jigme Wandrak Rinpoche on Sunday, November 1 for a very special Healing Ceremony for the World. The event is free and so needed right now!

On Sunday, October 11 Anam Thubten will be offering a Meditation and Dharma Talk - "Awakening the Bodhisattva Within" 10:00 am - 12:00 pm PDT (1 pm - 3 pm EDT). Feel free to share this link with your friends. Livestream Link: https://iframe.dacast.com/b/8072/c/434882 Note: This is the only English version of Anam Thubten’s Facebook page that is used. Anam Thubten never sends "friend requests" or messages via Facebook .

Please join Anam Thubten, Joanna Macy, Elizabeth Mattis-Namgyel and Jigme Wandrak Rinpoche in a Special On-line Event on Sunday November 1, 2020 - Healing the World. https://abhaya.live/healing2020

This Sunday, October 4, Anam Thubten will be offering a meditation and dharma talk - "Savoring the Nature of 10:00 am - 12:00 pm PDT (1 pm - 3 pm EDT). Feel free to share the link with your friends. Livestream Link: https://iframe.dacast.com/b/8072/c/434882... Note: This is the only English version of Anam Thubten’s Facebook page that is used. Anam Thubten never sends "friend requests" or messages via Facebook .

This Sunday, September 27 Anam Thubten will be offering a Meditation and Dharma Talk - "Making Friends with All Conditions" 10:00 am - 12:00 pm PDT (1 pm - 3 pm EDT) Teel free to share this link with your friends. Livestream Link: https://iframe.dacast.com/b/8072/c/434882 Note: This is the only English version of Anam Thubten’s Facebook page that is used. Anam Thubten never sends "friend requests" or messages via Facebook .

This Sunday, September 20: Anam Thubten will offer a Meditation and Dharma Talk "Liberation through Divine Exhaustion" 10:00 am - 12:00 pm PDT (1 pm - 3 pm EDT) Livestream Link: https://iframe.dacast.com/b/8072/c/434882 - Feel free to share with your friends. Note: This is the only English version of Anam Thubten’s Facebook page that is used. Anam Thubten never sends "friend requests" or messages via Facebook .

A reflection from Anam Thubten: We might like to inquire about what kind of thoughts run through our mind each day. Are they capturing the whole picture of reality or just the part where we’re the center of everything? Our thoughts elate us when they’re flattering, but they often tend to bring a daily, garden-variety of suffering as well. Most thoughts are intrinsically inaccurate from the point view of the big mind, the mind of Buddha. It’s hard to see their falsehood when t...hey’re constantly bombarding us. We need a radical means that can pull us from their trap in an instant. That radical means is to just drop the mind. We already know how to do it. If you’re not sure, just keep trying. It is so simple that it might happen before you even get through the whole process of trying to figure it out. This beloved human world is in chaos, not just the outer chaos of the pandemic and natural disasters, but internally as well. This is due to many causes. So it’s time for us to drop the thinking mind here and there. Let’s rest in a state of reality where there are no more story lines. What is then revealed to us is something utterly peaceful and hard to describe. It’s the peace of surrendering to our world as it is.

This Sunday, September 13, Anam Thubten will be leading a guided meditation followed by a dharma Talk on "The Art of No-Mind" - 10:00 am - 12:00 pm PDT (1 pm - 3 pm EDT). The teachings are open to all. Feel free to share this link with your friends: Livestream Link: https://iframe.dacast.com/b/8072/c/434882 Note: This is the only English version of Anam Thubten’s Facebook page that is used. Anam Thubten never sends "friend requests" or messages via Facebook .

This Sunday, September 6, Anam Thubten will be offering a meditation and a dharma talk on - "Dancing with the Maras" 10:00 am - 12:00 pm PDT (1 pm - 3 pm EDT). Open to all! Livestream Link: https://iframe.dacast.com/b/8072/c/434882

Reminder for this weekend's two-day Introduction to the Practice of Chod teaching with Chakung Jigme Wangdrak Rinpoche and Anam Thubten. The event is free but registration is required. Register here by Friday.