Tibetan Buddhism: The Elegant Mind

Within Dependent Origination, ’Perfect’ Never Occurs

Absolutely everything (i.e., anything) we can point to as 'this' or 'that' is occurring in a dynamically ever-changing manner . . . organic . . . on the fly . . . at times seemingly chaotic . . . the sum of its parts . . . perpetually compiling and re-compiling . . . including the profoundly complex occurrences we refer to as You and Me and Us.

All phenomena emanate from a myriad of causes . . . sounds, tastes, aromas, sights, thoughts, feelings . . . aggregated causes give rise to effects, which then evolve into the causes for new effects . . . on and on . . . ad infinitum.

The methodological science of this process of "dependent origination" resides deep in the heart of all Buddhist perspectives. 

(Length: 12 minutes)

Written and presented by Mark Winwood of the Chenrezig Project, with music composed and performed by the renowned SF Bay-area musician Bobby Vega -- special guests: the Turtle Island String Quartet.

The Buddhist Embrace

Reflection upon a foundational Diamond Sutra verse yields a clear and relevant message to those on the Mahayana path: Every sentient being is equally worthy of our attention, caring, cherishing, virtuous intentions and actions.

This understanding -- from which the great mind of equanimity, compassion's fertile ground, arises and abides -- is profoundly empowering. 

Feel free to allow your most inclusive visions to emerge and clarify, discover and embrace perspectives beyond your (no longer) comfortable mind boundaries, let your imagination soar . . .

Sentient beings come in all bodies, shapes, colors and sizes . . . and we are everywhere.

(Length: 10 minutes)

Written by Mark Winwood of the Chenrezig Project, presented by Kathy Ambrose; with music composed and performed by the renowned SF Bay-area musician Bobby Vega in collaboration with Chris Rossbach.

Teachers Are Everywhere

Teachers -- those we learn from; they are everywhere . . . and always have been.

Consider the people of your life -- in your past and those who are here now.

Try to clear your mind of feelings of attachment and/or aversion and ask yourself, with an openly honest heart: “What has this person taught me? How have they influenced me, enabling me to be the person I am today?"

Be patient with this, allow contemplation . . . perhaps you will experience the clarity through which you see and appreciate them (and yourself) in increasingly -- and profoundly -- empowering new ways.

(Length: 13 minutes)

Presented by Mark Winwood of the Chenrezig Project, with music composed and performed by the renowned SF Bay-area musician Bobby Vega.

The i-Karma Kounter

Finally . . . tangible proof.

Announcing: a product that confirms Karma does exist, via a boundless system of seeds (or traces of directional disposition) that both 'plant' and 'blossom' in every moment of consciousness, within all minds.

Introducing Apple's new mobile app >> the i-Karma Kounter.

It's groundbreaking -- driven by complex, proprietary algorithms; a real-time overseer of individual behaviorism, right on your smartphone . . . a perfectly awakened collaboration of technology, personal psychology and Buddhist mind-science . . . practical for anyone interested in reliable 'tap-the-app' Self Knowing at any/all times.

** Yes, this is a parody, but it does include a summary of the workings of Karma . . . 

(Length: 14 minutes)

Presented by Mark Winwood of the Chenrezig Project, with music composed and performed by the renowned SF Bay-area musician Bobby Vega in collaboration with Chris Rossbach.

Our Most Precious Links

In our rush to purchase and consume, everything becomes commodity, and we often forget about -- if we ever considered them at all -- the sources from which our desired goods and products come.  And we easily ignore all that has been done to bring them to us . . . even when extreme hardships have been endured.

Please don't allow that to happen with the profoundly empowering teachings of Tibetan Buddhism, for which deepest appreciation and gratitude for so many is warranted.

(Length: 11 minutes)

Presented by Mark Winwood of the Chenrezig Project, with music composed and performed by the renowned SF Bay-area musician Bobby Vega.

The UPS Sutra

An ordinary package delivery . . . refreshing iced tea accompanied by an awakening conversation between a United Parcel Service driver and the 21st Century Bodhisattva.

The topics: timeless interconnection and deeply felt gratitude.

(Length: 8 minutes)

Presented by Mark Winwood of the Chenrezig Project, recorded in collaboration with Claire Van Bergen.  With music composed and performed by the renowned SF Bay-area musician Bobby Vega.

Warriors? Indeed!

It seems there are some who see Buddhist practice as a path of tame irrelevance: a way that promotes peace (aka passivity), gentleness (aka weakness) and non-violence (aka non-action) . . . docile, inconsequential, tuned-out.

Of course, anyone who has gazed -- and plunged -- into the deep, fiercely loving eyes of a trusted lama, or who lives and practices in accordance with the empowering intensity of Dharma teachings, knows a reality that is quite different.

(Length: 11 minutes)

Presented by Mark Winwood of the Chenrezig Project, accompanied by music composed and performed by the renowned SF Bay-area musician Bobby Vega.

Wearing the Natural Face

I have heard stories of a man, regarded by some to be odd in his ways, who lives camped on a small ridge overlooking a creek near the bottom of a particularly deep watershed ravine deep in the mountains . . .  a wilderness man who is said to be a deeply awakened Buddhist practitioner, perhaps even a burgeoning Buddha.

And so, early one morning, I set out . . . 

(Length: 13 minutes)

Presented by Mark Winwood of the Chenrezig Project, accompanied by music composed and performed by the renowned SF Bay-area musician Bobby Vega.

On Imagination (and Buddhism)

Beginning with a discussion about the Pineal gland -- and prompted by aspersions of "narrow-mindedness" -- here are some thoughts on the nature of imagination and its role on the path of Buddhist study, practice and engagement.

According to Merriam-Webster, the definition of imagination includes "the ability to think of new and/or familiar things in new ways."

And so, consider imagination not to be something unreal or perhaps even magical, but rather quite practical in terms of how to cultivate and empower our potential(s) . . . both intellectual/rational and creative.

(Length: 12 minutes)

Presented by Mark Winwood of the Chenrezig Project, accompanied by music composed and performed by the renowned SF Bay-area musician Bobby Vega.

Buddhists Cry Too

Some people look upon crying as an indication of self-pity or weakness, a loss of self-control or indication of some sort of emotional disorder or infirmity . . . or perhaps merely a means of manipulation. 

But for those on the Buddhist path, tears often emerge for reasons quite different; signaling a profound opening to a richer embrace of our range of experience.

Sometimes we cry on the outside, our eyes filling with tears . . . but the crying of which we're speaking here occurs inside, in that aspect of mind we refer to as heart. And the Buddhist heart cries not tears of weakness but of understanding and strength . . . tears of compassion.

As such, crying can be a wonderful moment, the physical effect of a quantum spiritual step, akin to breaking out of the shell of self-cherishing and preparing to fly.

(Length: 12 minutes)

Presented by Mark Winwood of the Chenrezig Project, accompanied by music composed and performed by the renowned SF Bay-area musician Bobby Vega.