Living the Dharma
How to Practice Buddhism and Make It Count
Taught by Anyen Rinpoche and Allison Choying Zangmo
Time is short and getting shorter. You’ve tried meditation—you may even be a committed practitioner. But what does it take to actually realize the wisdom of all you have studied and practiced, to cut through complacency and live a truly meaningful, joyful life?
In this course, Tibetan Buddhist master Anyen Rinpoche and his teaching partner Allison Choying Zangmo share what it takes to achieve realization on the spiritual path. While the teachings presented are rooted in traditional, time-tested insights, they also speak directly to the particular challenges we face in the West. You’ll learn practices for opening your mind and heart, accepting reality as it is, and generating compassion for others who, like you, encounter countless difficulties in their quest to find happiness. This course is a practical and approachable means for bringing our practice alive and for actualizing the wisdom of the Buddha in our hearts.
In this course you will learn to:
- Generate a sense of delight and joy for the preciousness of your life
- Train your mind in impermanence as a lived experience (rather than just an intellectual one)
- Discover your blind spots—situations where you habitually withhold compassion from others—and train instead in offering it
- See the habitual ways you try to avoid the painful aspects of your life and train instead in opening to them
- Use difficult circumstances as fuel to further your spiritual training, learning how to balance acceptance and action
- Overcome common obstacles that arise in relationships, both personal and those in spiritual communities
- Appreciate the challenging aspects of the student-teacher connection to benefit from them rather than hiding from them
What You Will Receive
This course was designed with your needs in mind and contains all of the following:
• Six video talks by Anyen Rinpoche and Allison Choying Zangmo—each about an hour and a half in length—with transcripts and audio versions available
• A 15-minute guided meditation instruction video
• Contemplations and practices to help you integrate the teachings into your daily life
• Guided reading assignments from the book, Living and Dying with Confidence, by Anyen Rinpoche and Allison Choying Zangmo
• Unlimited access on your computer, mobile device, or tablet—learn at your own pace wherever and whenever works best for you
Course Curriculum
What You Will Learn in Each Lesson
Lesson 1
Discovering the Meaning of Life
As human beings, much of our suffering arises because we feel isolated, alone, and disconnected from others. It’s all too easy to forget how much we have in common with other living beings. The Buddhist teachings say that we are all carried along the four great rivers of birth, sickness, aging, and death. No matter who we are, we all face difficulties and hardships, and we all have the ability to grow as spiritual beings. In this lesson, we’ll explore how both our joyful and our painful life experiences can be the basis for deepening our connection with others and discovering the innate treasure of our own heart and mind.
Lesson 2
Adapting to Change
The Buddhist teachings speak at length on the impermanent nature of life, and many of us think that we have understood these teachings. On an intellectual level, we know that everything around us is changing moment by moment, but integrating the understanding of impermanence into the way we live is extremely difficult. It requires not only intellectual mastery, but also a deep emotional acceptance of the changes we face throughout our lives. In this lesson, we’ll explore this challenging topic, which is described by many Buddhist masters as “the key to all spiritual practice.”
Lesson 3
Developing the Warmth of Connection
Bodhichitta, “awakened heart/mind,” is a transformative practice that teaches us how to develop unlimited love and compassion toward ourselves and others. How does this practice unfold? It begins with a simple feeling of warmth in the heart, welcoming home those parts of our body, heart, and mind that feel disconnected. This warmth kindles the flame of compassion and connection, bringing new life and vitality to our daily lives and relationships.
Lesson 4
Settling into the Reality of Life
We often think that if only our lives could be arranged in exactly the right way, we would find happiness. But the reality of life is that unwanted situations, circumstances, and changes will come to us one after another as the days, weeks, and years pass. How do we find happiness in a world that will never give us exactly what we want? In this lesson, we’ll explore the possibility of using the suffering of life as nourishment for spiritual practice, so we can relax into the life we have.
Lesson 5
Laying the Foundation
To face all the moments of our lives as well as the moment of death with confidence, there is nothing more important than daily practice. Daily practice is where we develop the spiritual tools that support us as we work through the challenges of our everyday life. After all, nothing can be built on a weak or cracked foundation. If we want to develop the spiritual strength to support both ourselves and others during the trials and hardships of life, we must be able to rely upon the strength of our own minds and hearts. In this lesson, we’ll explore the method for developing, or further developing, a daily practice and relying upon spiritual guidance.
Lesson 6
Discovering Our Unlimited Wealth
In Western culture, we are taught to do almost everything on our own. But as spiritual practitioners, there is a wealth of support surrounding us at every moment. We discover this wealth by contemplating and practicing the dharma under the guidance of a spiritual master, surrounded by a spiritual community. In this lesson, we’ll explore how we can relax into a spiritual community and work toward the goal of harmony with ourselves and others.
100% SATISFACTION GUARANTEE: If for any reason you are not completely satisfied, please e-mail us within 30 days, and we will promptly refund your purchase price.
What Participants Are Saying
“Boots on the ground dharma! Pithy, practical, accessible. Practicing the dharma in the West is challenging, but Anyen Rinpoche and Allison show us how to incorporate the dharma into our daily lives and practice the dharma authentically.”
“Receiving these teachings helped me to bring Buddhist ideas into my daily life. I learned that meditation is more than sitting on a cushion and is something that can be brought into all situations. They explained things from both the ancient Eastern and modern Western perspectives, which helped bridge the gap between philosophy and practice.”
“A marvelous dharma duo! Anyen Rinpoche combines the depth and purity of his lineage and rigorous, traditional training with a courageous, forward-looking view for planting genuine dharma in the West. Allison Zangmo, a seasoned practitioner and translator, offers both support and dynamic counterpoint as the two of them explore the specific challenges of modern, Western practitioners and what it takes for the dharma to fully permeate our lives. Together, they encourage a direct, warm-hearted examination of how we can effectively care for ourselves, others, and our communities by applying these teachings in each moment.”
Praise for Anyen Rinpoche and Allison Choying Zangmo
“Taking up the Sutra and Tantra as one holistic integrated path as presented in Anyen Rinpoche's book has been the intention of many great masters including Padmasambhava Longchenpa, Jigme Lingpa, and others. Those wishing to attain the pristine result promised by the Teachings should read this book.”—Chokyi Nyima Rinpoche, author of Present Fresh Wakefulness on the book The Union of Dzogchen and Bodhichitta
“Meticulously guides readers on how to awaken and perfect the power of innate energy to heal and enlighten.” —Tulku Thondup, author of Boundless Healing on the book The Tibetan Yoga of Breath
About the Instructors
Anyen Rinpoche is a tulku from Amdo, a Tibetan master of Dzogchen meditation as well as a seasoned scholar. He has taught extensively in Tibet, China, and throughout Southeast Asia, Japan, and North America. He is the author of numerous books including The Union of Dzogchen and Bodhichitta and The Tibetan Yoga of Breath. He lives primarily in Denver, Colorado, where he founded Orgyen Khamdroling Center and a shedra (college) for Westerners.
Allison Choying Zangmo is Anyen Rinpoche's personal translator and a longtime student of both Rinpoche and his root lama, Kyabje Tsara Dharmakirti. She has either translated or collaborated with Rinpoche on all of his books and has a special ability to translate Buddhist teachings for the Western mind.
