Teaching Excerpts – Kunzang Palchen Ling

Who Changed You?

Who or what is a root guru? There is a saying about this:“One may have a hundred gurus who have achieved the bodhisattva levels, but among them there will only be one who changes your […]

Buddhahood is Not Distant

The process of moving from a deluded mind to the state of dharmakaya is not a process of replacing the one with the other. It is not exchanging one thing for another. It is simply […]

Cultivate Devotion for Your Guru

Meditate on and cultivate devotion for your Guru is all important because it is the only source of authentic realization. The role of the guru in the path cannot really be exaggerated or overemphasized. […]

What Begins as an Outlook Will Eventually Become Direct Experience

The fundamental meaning of the Tibetan term dak nang, or pure appearances, is something almost like “pure projection.” It does not refer so much to what appears to you as it does to the attitude or […]

The Basis of Dharma

We often describe our path as consisting of four aspects or phases, which we refer to as the Four Dharmas of Gampopa. The first of these is the mind turning to, or going to, the […]

You Come Second When You Offer Something You Desire

Before partaking of something you desire, principally food before you eat it and new clothing [before you wear it], you offer it to the Three Jewels. You are slightly going against your desire, because you […]

Your Motivation Makes Any Practice Equally Beneficial to Others

Any practice you do that is motivated by the sincere desire to help all beings — whether it is Chenrezig meditation, Guru Rinpoche meditation, meditation on a peaceful deity or a wrathful deity — all […]

Whatever You Give is Truly Yours

Because of the practice of imaginary offerings we tend to be a little skimpy on the practice of actual offerings. For example, if you can afford to make more offerings, you should not think that […]

Everything is Amrita

What is the nature of amrita? What is really meant by amrita? This is the key point: it’s not just that some things that exist, such as the five meats and five nectars, and so […]

All Things Rest on the Point of Intention

To be able to understand every single word of every single Dharma teaching we receive would be wonderful, but we should not hold ourselves hostage to that ambition. The most important thing when listening to […]