The following is an excerpt from The Monkey Is the Messenger by Ralph De La Rosa The Breath as a Resource "There is no need to struggle to be free; the absence of struggle is in itself freedom." —Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche The breath is a most precious resource that we routinely ignore. Simply put: no

On the Path of Self-Betterment Generally speaking, all the major religions of the world emphasize the importance of the practice of love, compassion, and tolerance. This is particularly the case in all the traditions of Buddhism, including the Theravada, Mahayana, and Tantrayana (the esoteric tradition of Buddhism). They all state that compassion and love are

Meditation and What Your Busy Mind Is Trying to Tell You Ralph De La Rosa Answers the Top 5 Questions About The Monkey Is the Messenger Could you give us a brief summary of The Monkey is the Messenger? It’s a book that, at the onset, is about the nature of repetitive thoughts and rumination—why we have

The Future Is Open Good Karma, Bad Karma, and Beyond Karma “Karma is like a game of chess. Wherever you are on the board at this moment is the result of your past actions. But whatever you are going to do in the next moment depends on the present situation.”  —Chögyam Trungpa ENTER YOUR EMAIL

The Monkey Is the Messenger: Meditation and What Your Busy Mind Is Trying to Tell You “You don’t have to have it together for this practice at all. You just have to breathe.” —Ralph De La Rosa ENTER YOUR EMAIL TO RECEIVE a 15-minute guided audio meditation with Ralph De la Rosa, author of The

Dharma The Teachings of the Buddha Traditionally, there are two ways of describing the teachings of the Buddha: the dharma that is taught and the dharma that is experienced. The dharma that is taught has been presented continuously in books and lectures in a pure and fresh way since the time of the Buddha. Even

Two Exercises for Your Practice Remembering the Good within You Sit comfortably, in a relaxed way, and close your eyes. As much as possible, let go of analysis and expectation. For ten to fifteen minutes, call to mind something you have done or said that you feel was a kind or good action—a time you

A New Translation of the Buddhist Classic Who will master this world And the realms of Yama and the gods? Who will select a well‑taught Dharma teaching, As a skilled person selects a flower? One in training will master this world And the realms of Yama and the gods. One in training will select A

The following excerpt is from Comfortable with Uncertainty By Pema Chodron Paperback | eBook Seven-Step Practice To move from aggression to unconditional loving-kindness can seem like a daunting task. But we start with what’s familiar. The instruction for cultivating limitless maitri is to first find the tenderness that we already have. We touch in with our

The Anatomy of a Common Tibetan Ritual: The Lhasang The lhasang—literally ‘‘higher purification offering,’’ which may be glossed as ‘‘invocation of the higher beings’’—is one of the most common rituals in traditional Tibet. While some rituals are performed strictly for temporal ends and others for spiritual ends, the lhasang is interesting because it is performed