Rebirth vs Reincarnation – What’s the Difference? From a Buddhist perspective, death is a temporary end to a temporary process. Energy is neither created nor destroyed – it is always in flux, changing forms. When it comes to rebirth vs reincarnation...
Reflections on Mahayana Teachings This is an offering by Andrea Netscher based on Doug Duncan & Catherine Pawasarat’s Mahayana teachings in May 2016. Once upon a time there was a month of Mahayana teachings on Planet Dharma. The cool thing about it was that...
Someone once said “I write because I have to, I have no choice, I can’t not write”. We should all have an area or two where we can say “I do this because I have to, because my life force pushes me in that direction and I just can’t say no to...
This blog post is written by Eric Smith, a Dharma student in Calgary. He shares his synopsis of Doug Duncan Sensei’s Nov 23, 2015 talk in Calgary, Karma Yoga, the Path for the Western Mind. I would like to begin by saying thank you in appreciation for the...
This is an excerpt from the Kyoto Journal article ‘Moving Into the Stream: An Interview with Dharma Teacher Achariya Doug Duncan” by Brendan Joseph Ries. People have busy lives because they’re afraid of being not busy. We want to go to every movie, see...
We’d all like to make high-speed spiritual progress. The Buddha awakened, so surely we can also. Sometimes though it feels like we are swimming (or meditating) in a tub of molasses. I have a spiritual practice, I make efforts to be a good person – what’s holding me...
Feeling stuck in a rut? Get out fast with this four-step practice. We all feel stuck sometimes. Even when we feel we’re aligned with the natural flow of the universe, natural flows include backeddies and still water. These processes serve useful functions, in a water...
All spiritual paths share the same goal: that of liberation or freedom from suffering, some traditions call it “transcendence” or divine love. Whatever you want to call it, our objective is the same: a greater sense and understanding of how we got here, our place in...
Roots of the path. The root of the path is sila, samadhi and panna. 1. The Golden Rule works. 2. Concentration — requires and effort that goes beyond your preference mind (you get bored). Important for right-hemisphere brain if mind is wandering around in the...
The noting of unity. All the objects of your mind are impermanent. Liberation from suffering/Nirvana/Christ consciousness is a right-hemisphere experience but the left hemisphere is the hemisphere that knows about it. — This talk was given in Kyoto, Japan, in...
