As Prajna Sparks Podcast celebrates our third anniversary this summer, we honor three years together with you with rebroadcasts of the most popular episodes of the last three years. Today, June 2, 2023, is Saga Dawa Duchen the Tibetan Buddhist holiday commemorating the birth, enlightenment, and parinirvana of the Buddha Shakyamuni. What better day to dive into an exporlation of just what is meant by Nirvana... Revisit the highlights of Prajna Sparks and check in on how beautifully you have...

Wow! Prajna Sparks Podcast celebrates our third anniversary this summer. To honor three years together with you, we will rebroadcast the most popular episodes of the last three years. No better place to start than the episode that started it all... Revisit the highlights of Prajna Sparks and check in on how beautifully you have integrated the Buddhadharma during our time together. And most importantly, thanks so much for your support, and for listening, contemplating, and meditating along...

Lamas Yeshe and Zopa present the practice leading onwards toward prajnaparamita, the transcendent perfection of precise knowing, on and off the cushion. Read Yeshe's article on Right Effort ⁠⁠in the May 2023 issue of Lion's Roar Magazine on their website⁠⁠ and in ⁠⁠our online journal, Prajna Rising⁠⁠. https://bit.ly/LR-RightEffort Tibetan singing bowl interludes by Shivnee Ratna PRAJNA SPARKS follows the lunar calendar. Look for new episodes on new and full moon days, and contemplation...

Lamas Yeshe and Zopa present the practice leading onwards toward dhyana paramita, the transcendent perfection of meditative concentration, on and off the cushion. Read Yeshe's article on Right Effort ⁠in the May 2023 issue of Lion's Roar Magazine on their website⁠ and in ⁠our online journal, Prajna Rising⁠. https://bit.ly/LR-RightEffort Tibetan singing bowl interludes by Shivnee Ratna PRAJNA SPARKS follows the lunar calendar. Look for new episodes on new and full moon days, and...

Lamas Yeshe and Zopa present the practice leading onwards toward virya paramita, the transcendent perfection of diligence, right in the midst of everyday life. Read Yeshe's article on Right Effort in the May 2023 issue of Lion's Roar Magazine on their website and in our online journal, Prajna Rising. https://bit.ly/LR-RightEffort Tibetan singing bowl interludes by Shivnee Ratna PRAJNA SPARKS follows the lunar calendar. Look for new episodes on new and full moon days, and contemplation...

Our meditation interlude accents the paramount importance of bodhicitta, the mind of awakening, that informs Mahayana practice. Midway through our series on the Paramitas, Lama Zopa leads meditative inquiry practice, using experiential analysis to explore for ourselves why bodhicitta is called "the noblest motivation." Tibetan singing bowl interludes by Shivnee Ratna PRAJNA SPARKS follows the lunar calendar. Look for new episodes on new and full moon days, and contemplation interludes on...

Lamas Yeshe and Zopa present the practice leading onwards toward shanti paramita, the transcendent perfection of magnanimity (usually translated as patience), right in the midst of everyday life. Tibetan singing bowl interludes by Shivnee Ratna PRAJNA SPARKS follows the lunar calendar. Look for new episodes on new and full moon days, and contemplation interludes on the quarter moons. RESOURCES Meet Lama Yeshe & Lama Zopa, in Tricycle Magazine https://bit.ly/3xRySck Listen Contemplate...

Lamas Yeshe and Zopa present the practice leading onwards toward shila paramita, the transcendent perfection of ethical sensibility, right in the midst of everyday life. Tibetan singing bowl interludes by Shivnee Ratna PRAJNA SPARKS follows the lunar calendar. Look for new episodes on new and full moon days, and contemplation interludes on the quarter moons. RESOURCES Meet Lama Yeshe & Lama Zopa, in Tricycle Magazine https://bit.ly/3xRySck Listen Contemplate Meditate, by Lama Yeshe,...

Lamas Yeshe and Zopa present the practice leading onwards toward dana paramita, the transcendent perfections of giving, right in the midst of everyday life. Tibetan singing bowl interludes by Shivnee Ratna PRAJNA SPARKS follows the lunar calendar. Look for new episodes on new and full moon days, and contemplation interludes on the quarter moons. RESOURCES Meet Lama Yeshe & Lama Zopa, in Tricycle Magazine https://bit.ly/3xRySck Listen Contemplate Meditate, by Lama Yeshe, in...

Lamas Yeshe and Zopa present an overview of the Buddhist teaching and practice of the paramitas, the transcendent perfections that traverse the ocean of suffering that is samsara to the other shore, buddhahood, full and complete awakening. Tibetan singing bowl interludes by Shivnee Ratna PRAJNA SPARKS follows the lunar calendar. Look for new episodes on new and full moon days, and contemplation interludes on the quarter moons. RESOURCES Meet Lama Yeshe & Lama Zopa, in Tricycle...

Lamas Yeshe and Zopa share their tips for celebrating our 2022 Dharma efforts and reinvigorating our practice for 2023. Lama Zopa leads a guided meditation to get you started on those tips right here andnow. Tibetan singing bowl interludes by Shivnee Ratna PRAJNA SPARKS follows the lunar calendar. Look for new episodes on new and full moon days, and contemplation interludes on the quarter moons. RESOURCES Meet Lama Yeshe & Lama Zopa, in Tricycle Magazine...

Talk #8. Lamas Yeshe and Zopa talk with Jay Rinsen Weik Roshi and Karein Weik Do'on Sensei, teachers and co-founders of Great Heartland Sangha, Buddhist Temple of Toledo and and the Drinking Gourd Institute. Roshi is the Abbot of the Great Heartland Sangha.  He received full Dharma Transmission as a recognized Zen teacher by Rev. James Myoun Ford Roshi in the Rinzai Koan Introspection and Soto Zen traditions. Karen Do’on Weik Osho is a Soto Zen priest who received Denkai transmission from...

Talk #7. Lamas Yeshe and Zopa share answers to questions from listeners, practitioners in a concurrent series of Dharma talks on the five skandhas, and Heart Sutra teachings by their teacher, Drupon Khenpo Lodro Namgyal from Pullahari Monastery in Nepal. #WhyNirvanaMatters is a series of talks with contemporary Buddhist teachers about Nirvana, peace, and its relevance in our lives and practice of Dharma. We encourage listeners with curiosity about this approach to understanding samsara and...

Talk #6. Lamas Yeshe and Zopa talk with Lama Maitri, a teacher and translator of Tibetan Buddhism in the Shangpa Kagyu lineage, having completed her three year cloistered meditation retreat at Dag Shang Kagyu in Huesca, Spain in 2013. She has a Bachelor's Degree in Buddhist Studies and Himalayan Languages from Rangjung Yeshe Institute, Kathmandu University, Nepal. Lama Maitri translates Tibetan Buddhist teachings from Tibetan and English to Spanish for various teachers around the world. Lama...

Talk #5. Lamas Yeshe and Zopa talk with each other about nirvana's importance to them, and about the series thus far. #WhyNirvanaMatters is a series of talks with contemporary Buddhist teachers about Nirvana, peace, and its relevance in our lives and practice of Dharma, continuing through the end of 2022. Tibetan singing bowl interludes by Shivnee Ratna PRAJNA SPARKS follows the lunar calendar. Look for new episodes on new and full moon days. RESOURCES Nirvana Episodes 4 and 93 Meet Lama...

In today's bonus episode, Yeshe welcomes back Tania to discuss Taylor Swift's new song, Karma. RESOURCES Taylor Swift, Karma. Official Lyric Video. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rg18Kf4en2o Tricycle: The Buddhist Review, Audio Dharma: What We're Listening To, Winter 2022 #59DaysofHealing Series Intro 59 Lojong Maxims Official Video FOLLOW US Join our Global Community for regular updates on Prajna Fire events with Yeshe and Zopa Lama Yeshe and Lama Zopa offer individual spiritual...

Talk #4. Lamas Yeshe and Zopa talk with Kim Allen, who began meditating in 2003, seeking both a path out of suffering and the deeper truths of life. She trained for many years in the Theravāda tradition and more recently with teachers of other Buddhist traditions. Her path has included long retreat, study of the suttas, and practice in Asia, and she now lives as a lay contemplative.  Kim serves as a teacher and author dedicated to offering classical Dharma in a modern context. Her website is...

Talk #3. Lamas Yeshe and Zopa talk with Linda Modaro, Spiritual Director and lead teacher at Sati Sangha, an online meditation community offering daily virtual meditation sittings and online retreats. A secular community of lay practitioners, Sati Sangha is not closely affiliated with a monastic or religious tradition. Their practice evolved out of insight (vipassana) meditation, which evolved out of Theravada Buddhism, which evolved out of early Buddhism.  Reflective Meditation: cultivating...

Talk #2. Lama Yeshe talks with Reverend Doyeon Park of Won Buddhist Temple of Manhattan. Learn more about Won Buddhism and Rev. Doyeon Park at https://wonbuddhismnyc.org/rev-doyeon-park/ https://wonbuddhismnyc.org/ https://wondharmacenter.org/ #WhyNirvanaMatters is a series of talks with contemporary Buddhist teachers about Nirvana, peace, and its relevance in our lives and practice of Dharma. Tibetan singing bowl interludes by Shivnee Ratna PRAJNA SPARKS follows the lunar calendar. Look...

Talk #1. Lama Zopa talks with Geshe Thubten Sherab of the Foundation for the Preservation of the Mahayana Tradition, Kopan Monastery, and Thubten Norbu Ling in Santa Fe, New Mexico. https://tnlsf.org/ #WhyNirvanaMatters is a series of talks with contemporary Buddhist teachers about Nirvana, peace, and its relevance in our lives and practice of Dharma. Tibetan singing bowl interludes by Shivnee Ratna PRAJNA SPARKS follows the lunar calendar. Look for new episodes on new and full moon...

Zopa reflects on last week's "Nirvana is Peace" episode in this Contemplation interlude, and announces our next series, #WhyNirvanaMatters.  Beginning September 10, on the full and new moons, we will discuss Nirvana and its place in theory and practice with an engaging set of Buddhist teachers from various traditions of Buddhadharma. Tibetan singing bowl interludes by Shivnee Ratna PRAJNA SPARKS follows the lunar calendar. Look for new episodes on new and full moon days, and contemplation...

Fourth of a four part series on the Four Hallmarks of the Buddha's teachings, this episode explores nirvana as peace in our immediate experience, through the dynamic practice of Meditative Inquiry. CONTENTS 00:13 Teaching by Lama Yeshe 14:09 Seeds for Contemplation 17:27 FLASHBACK FROM EPISODE 4 ON NIRVANA Song: Liberation (to the tune of Hallelujah by Leonard Cohen), lyrics by Tania Israel, vocals by Heather Stevenson 20:54 Guided meditation by Lama Zopa Tibetan singing bowl...

Yeshe and Zopa respond to listeners live, discussing last week's "Empty & Nonself" episode in this Contemplation interlude... Tibetan singing bowl interludes by Shivnee Ratna PRAJNA SPARKS follows the lunar calendar. Look for new episodes on new and full moon days, and contemplation interludes on the quarter moons. RESOURCES Read more about the integrative dharma practice of Listening Contemplating and Meditating in its full practice context in Lama Yeshe's latest article for...

Third of a four part series on the Four Hallmarks of the Buddha's teachings, this episode explores emptiness and nonself in our immediate experience, through the dynamic practice of Meditative Inquiry. A vital element of healing and transforming in Tibetan Buddhist practice, meditative inquiry is also the heart of the Buddha's contemplative technology for cultivating view progressively, all the way to transcending views altogether. CONTENTS 00.54 Dharma Talk 20.21 Seeds of...

Yeshe and Zopa respond to listeners live, discussing last week's "Dukkha" episode in this Contemplation interlude... Tibetan singing bowl interludes by Shivnee Ratna PRAJNA SPARKS follows the lunar calendar. Look for new episodes on new and full moon days, and contemplation interludes on the quarter moons. RESOURCES Read more about the integrative dharma practice of Listening Contemplating and Meditating in its full practice context in Lama Yeshe's latest article for Buddhadharma: The...