Kadampa Buddhism: Recent Episodes
Kadampa Buddhism
An excerpt from Week 2 of the Summer Festival 2026, Gen-la Jampa gives a teaching on stopping distractions.
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In this podcast, taken from the Summer Festival 2026, Gen Rabten gives a teaching on how to take the Festival teachings into our heart.
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Gen-la Jampa teaches how to transform unavoidable suffering into spiritual growth. He shares the story of the Indian master Atisha who regarded his rude cook as his most precious companion because he helped him develop patience, explains how acceptance purifies negative karma, and offers practical advice about starting with small annoyances to gradually build unshakable inner peace.
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Kadam Bridget explores how meditation and mindfulness can help us change the direction of our life by changing what karma is ripening for us. She explains why our negative thoughts are not our true nature and offers practical advice for noticing unhelpful mental habits before they carry us into more suffering. Further reading in the following book: How to Solve Our Human Problems…
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Kadam Morten explains how observing the mind itself helps us overcome our greatest obstacle: distraction. He reveals how an untrained mind habitually focuses on things that causes us to suffer and shows how developing concentration allows us to carry inner peace and happiness with us everywhere we go.
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Gen Devi explains that our real problem is never other people or outer conditions, but the distorted states of mind called delusions. She reveals the vast, pure potential hidden beneath them — like a clear sky behind clouds — and shows how these mental habits take hold, and why we can always change them. Further reading in the following book: How to Understand the Mind…
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Gen Gomlam explains that our worst mental habit — desirous attachment — is very sneaky. Unlike the pain of anger or jealousy, attachent actually feels good at first. It exaggerates people’s good qualities and hides the bad, creating an illusion of perfection that inevitably leads to pain. Further reading in the following book: How to Understand the Mind…
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Gen Demo explains how to build a self-confidence that doesn’t depend on what we achieve or what others think of us. She shows how our potential, our everyday good actions, and our power to overcome negativities creates an unbreakable confidence and frees us from discouragement. Further reading in the following books: Meaningful to Behold Guide to the Bodhisattva’s Way of Life…
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Gen Chodor gives advice on overcoming a common objection to meditating: “I don’t have the time to meditate”. He explains how any activity — eating, driving, even watching Netflix — can become a meditation practice. Learn how to do regular daily activities with special states of mind that transform life into the path to happiness. Further reading in the following book: How to Understand the Mind…
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Gen Tara explains how our life completely transforms when we begin to see ourselves not as permanent residents of this life but as travelers passing through. She teaches how this view loosens our grip on gain and loss, redefines daily life as an opportunity to invest in ourselves spiritually, and enables us to live lightly and joyfully. Further reading in the following books: Joyful Path of…
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This simple but inspiring podcast helps us to understand and believe that the source of happiness is always within us. This potential for happiness is vast and will eventually become our natural state of being but we need to believe that finding lasting peace is possible and learn how to access this peace. This talk is from a talk given in KMC New York City by Kadam Morton Clausen and is based on…
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In this podcast, Gen Demo shares invaluable insights on cultivating realistic expectations and honing effective preparations for meditation. This episode is perfect for beginners just starting their meditation journey, as well as a refreshing reminder for seasoned practitioners. Tune in to discover practical tips that will enhance your meditation and mindfulness. Reference the book Joyful Path of…
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In this captivating talk, Gen Zamling invites us to embark on a thought-provoking journey of self-discovery. He challenges us to reflect on the minds we identify with and inspires us to make purposeful and wise choices. By letting go of the self that leads to suffering, we can cultivate a new sense of self rooted in happiness and benefit for ourselves and those around us.
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Join Gen-la Dekyong as she invites us to ponder profound questions that shape our lives. What is the true meaning of our existence? What brings us genuine happiness? How can we best serve others? And as we approach the end of our lives, what insights will guide us? Can you find the answers within yourself? Tune in to discover valuable insights and reflections that could transform your perspective.
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Distractions often go unnoticed, yet they pose a significant barrier to our peace of mind, happiness, and spiritual growth. Hence, it is essential for us to learn how to minimize these distractions. In a talk given at the NKT International Summer Festival, Gen-la Jampa discusses the impact of distractions on our lives and offers guidance on cultivating a strong resolve to overcome them.
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In this podcast we explore the topic of love and how training in pure love, that is free from attachment, helps our mind to be more balanced and free from over emotional reactions, which are often painful and exhausting. Pure love is calm and peaceful and with it everything works – we feel happy, we make others happy and our relationships improve. This is an extract from a teaching with Gen Lekma…
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Determinations take us in a particular direction in life so they can empower us to change.
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In this podcast we explore good habits of mind that help us train in being more joyful, more of the time and more reliably. We can train to improve our perception of our own life and those around us by simply giving attention to different aspects of things. This simple technique will uplift our day immediately. This is an extract from a teaching with Gen Lekma at KMC Southampton.
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Gen-la Khyenrab explains the importance of prayers in preparing our mind to properly listen to, understand and apply Buddha’s teachings in daily life.
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In this podcast learn how desirous attachment in our close relationships is almost always confused for love. Even though they have opposite effects, love giving rise to happiness in the relationship, attachment causing problems and unhappiness in the relationship, it is not easy for us to distinguish between them without receiving teachings. This is a very helpful explanation that gives real…
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We have survived the difficulties in our life so far therefore we can feel encouraged that we can cope. Because thoughts and feelings are transient, they will change naturally, however the longer we hold onto negative thoughts, the heavier they become so we need to learn to drop these negative thoughts immediately and not dwell on them. This podcast offers helpful advice to help us not be…
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If we ask what is happiness we find people have many different ideas and it is difficult to say clearly what the experience of happiness really is. Buddha said that our normal experience of happiness is simply a reduction of our previous suffering and that is not good enough. He encouraged us to look further and find the source of genuine happiness in the mind, especially through the mind of love.
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If we ask what is happiness we find people have many different ideas and it is difficult to say clearly what the experience of happiness really is. Buddha said that our normal experience of happiness is simply a reduction of our previous suffering and that is not good enough. He encouraged us to look further and find the source of genuine happiness in the mind, especially through the mind of love.
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The intention we have in our heart is what we follow, so setting our positive determinations in meditation allows us to keep our mind in a positive state throughout the day. In this podcast Kadam Bridget explains the importance of learning to meditate on a determination and how to train in doing this. More information on how to meditate can be found in The New Meditation Handbook…
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In this podcast we contemplate that since we do not exist objectively we have the extraordinary opportunity for change and growth. This is the best news – change your mind, change your world. If we then go on to contemplate the constantly changing experiences of all living beings we develop profound compassion for them. This is an extract from a talk given by Kadam Morten at KMC New York City.
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We learn to control our own mind every day. Our mind can give us a happy life or a wretched life. Add any of the eleven virtuous mental factors to our mind and our whole mind becomes virtuous. We can learn to change our own mind from unhappy to happy through the power of Dharma.
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If we watch our thoughts we may find that we often wish that things were other than they are and this brings continuous dissatisfaction and unhappiness. The practice of patient acceptance solves all the problems associated with this discontented mind. Gen Devi shows how to develop acceptance through finding another way to respond to painful feelings so that they do not trigger a habitual but…
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Gen Demo suggests we can use our ability to watch and size-up other people to improve our own happiness. We can learn to be an observer and scientist investigating our states of mind and seeing what experiences they lead to. She encourages us to really investigate how our way of thinking about things influences our experiences and then asking what if I thought differently?
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This podcast looks at how to change what we focus on in life so that we change our experience. The mind has the power to make us happy or unhappy and we can bring happiness into our mind by simply acknowledging the good things in our life, the kindness others are showing us, along with the good qualities of others.
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We can deepen our understanding and faith in Buddhism by experiencing firsthand how the teachings of the Buddha, shield us from suffering and life’s challenges. Through this insight, we cultivate a stronger belief in the Buddha, recognizing how his blessings empower us to release our negative thoughts and embrace the positive states of mind that offer true protection. This podcast is an extract…
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Buddha’s profound statement, “You are not who you think you are,” invites us to re-examine our deeply ingrained beliefs about our identity. Many of us carry a fixed sense of self, convinced that this is our unchanging essence. However, in a compelling teaching delivered during the New Year, Kadam Morten encourages us to delve deeper into this notion of self. He guides us to question the very…
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What makes the three higher trainings ‘higher’? – The motivation of renunciation. The teachings on the three higher trainings show us how to liberate ourself from all the sufferings of samsara The first higher training is moral discipline. And Gen-la Khyenrab explains this practice in some detail in this podcast.
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In this talk by Gen-la Dekyong we learn why everybody needs to be good natured with a good heart. Whatever is happening in our life, and whoever is appearing in our life, “I need to be good natured with a good heart.” Why? Because in this way, we can solve our own problems, as well as those of others. This podcast is an extract of a public talk given at Manjushri KMC based on the book How to…
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Our empathy for others is the key to learning to cherish them. Remembering how others wish to be free from suffering and problems in the same way that we do we will naturally think their happiness and freedom is important just as we presently believe our happiness and freedom to be important. This is an extract from a teaching given by Gen-la Jampa at IKRC Grand Canyon. It is based on the…
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Learning to accept painful feelings is a great way to free your mind from tension and anxiety. Here Gen Rigpa talks about the various encounters we have during the day that would normally trigger negative reactions and how we can avoid this by patient acceptance which gives us the space to put things in perspective and find a positive response. This podcast is an extract from a talk given by Gen…
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Learning to stop identifying with a self that has a problem is a powerful tool for bringing about transformation and freeing ourself from whatever problem is affecting us. In this podcast Kadam Lucy explains how to do this using the example of anxiety. This is from an extract of a teaching given in KMC NYC.
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Delusions distort our perception of reality and disrupt our mental peace. They are responsible for projecting negative feelings towards the world and others. However, by recognising this, we open the door to transforming our worldview. Gen-la Khyenrab elaborates on how this realization grants us the remarkable ability to alter our life’s course. This podcast is an extract of a teaching given at…
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In this podcast Gen-la Jampa teaches how developing the belief ’this person is important their happiness matters’ will change our life for the better. If we believe this it will naturally influence our feelings and behaviour towards others so we will always act with kindness and have good relationships that bring joy. As Buddha says the mind that cherishes others is the best method to make ourself…
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Mental factor effort makes the mind delight in virtue. We have to learn how to make effort appear in our mind. The function of effort is to facilitate virtue so then we will always be enjoying our own mind and be creating happiness for the future. This teaching is based on How to Understand the Mind.
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Gen Demo reminds us that assigning blame to ourselves or others is a fruitless endeavor that only serves to erode our self-confidence and breed animosity towards those around us. Rather than fixating on our imperfections, Gen Demo encourages us to recognize that imperfections do not define us and are not inherently part of us. We can cultivate a more realistic, and positive mindset by shifting our…
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In this podcast, Gen Devi delves into the root causes of suffering, self-grasping and other delusions. By learning to recognize, reduce and finally abandon the sources of suffering we will come to experience real freedom in our lives.
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Gen-la Dekyong beautifully articulates the profound connection between our actions and their consequences on our inner and outer world. Every action we perform leaves a potentiality in our mind that later ripens as either a positive or a negative experience.This powerful insight reminds us that the key to transforming our experience lies with us. By turning our mind to others and thinking about…
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The practice of dedication is very virtuous and we accumulate vast merit, or good fortune. We dedicate our virtue to the highest purpose - for the benefit of all living beings.
For a powerful purification practice we need four mental attitudes. We need faith in Buddha. It is impossible for a Buddha to be false or deceptive.
The severity also depends on the object of the action. The other parts of our actions also affects our karma. An example of putting all the factors of a negative action together.
There is nothing more destructive than anger it is a poison in our heart. It is anger that is our enemy not other people.
We are encouraged to build a new habit, and discover that our mind can stay happy when unwanted things happen. There is no problem, no unpleasant feeling, only real happiness in our mind when we fully accept. We can try and taste it in our own experience.
The more we understand negative karma, the more determined we will be to do something about it. There are six aspects of negative actions that affect our karma; our actions of body, speech, and mind.
Giving love simply means learning to cherishing others; believing that their happiness and freedom are important. If everyone learnt to cherish others, most of the problems in human society would be solved within a few years.
By changing the way we see things we have great freedom to change what we see and experience.
Through following our Guru we can understand, it is that each and every living being will find the supreme happiness of enlightenment.
From the Question and Answer session, Gen-la Khyenrab answers concerns about how we can maintain our Tantric practice when we have busy lives?
Buddha taught that we need to impute I onto a pure body and mind if we wish to be free from suffering.
The beings of this world have a special connection with the Highest Yoga Tantra practices of Heruka and Vajrayogini.
Through investigating for ourselves we discover the truth of emptiness, we become inner scientists.
Gen-la explains how to develop affectionate love which will protect us from suffering and is the basis for developing the supreme good heart of Bodhichitta.
If we do meditation on death everyday we will naturally put energy into practising Dharma purely and sincerely.
If we train our own uncontrolled mind, all our human problems will cease. Brief recap of last week - what is anger and an example of anger. There is nothing more destructive than anger.
How wonderful it would be if we could train our mind according to these instructions to never get angry. Anger serves no useful purpose whatsoever. Anger pushes us to wish to hurt and to harm others. We are great at watching the minds of others but never think to watch our own. We can ask ourself “What is my mind doing now?
We can solve difficulties with patience and compassion, meaning with a peaceful mind and with a good intention. Transforming adverse conditions is vital in these degenerate times.
Compassion and love are similar. We also need to improve our wisdom. We develop these virtuous minds by following spiritual paths. Spiritual paths are “inner” paths.
Meditation functions to make our mind familiar with virtue. The more familiar we are with virtuous, the weaker our opposite uncontrolled negative states of mind become.
It is not so easy to remember something you hear if you are not familiar with it. The faults of anger generally and what anger is. Learn correct methods that will solve our anger problem.
Imagine how this world would be if everyone learned to stop their own anger. That would be world peace. Anger has no good qualities - none. This is contrary to our normal ideas. We need to know exactly what anger is.
Through receiving and practicing the Bodhisattva and Tantric vows we can accomplish realizations of Highest Yoga Tantra.
"Meditation is an action of mind whose nature is single-pointed concentration, and whose function is to make the mind peaceful and clam"
How do I prevent having an anxious mind in the first place? Things are not easy because we lack familiarity. Gaining familiarity with the spiritual practice of transforming adversity into the path we will become fearless.
There is no suggestion that we should avoid whatever temporary reduction of pain is possible for us.
Geshe-la has helped us understand that causing Kadam Dharma to flourish will give protection and happiness to all living beings.
Using our daily appearances to improve our spiritual experience - and not to increase our distractions.
Gen-la Khyenrab explains subtle impermanence. In understanding the essence of Buddha's teachings on impermanence and emptiness, we can find real freedom from physical suffering and mental pain, and the path to everlasting happiness.
Gen-la Jampa discusses how meditation helps us control our minds, overcome worries, and find genuine happiness. Using everyday examples and teachings from Geshe-la, he explains why a peaceful mind is the key to happiness, regardless of external conditions. Tune in to learn how meditation can help us enjoy life more fully, transforming our inner peace into lasting joy and even bliss.
Gen-la Thubten shares insights from Geshe-la's teachings, explaining how we all have the potential to become a Buddha. He introduces the idea of virtuous discrimination, encouraging us to view all beings as our mothers. This shift in perspective can help us to build compassion and deepen our connections with others.
Gen-la Jampa explains how transforming adversity into the path can help reduce anxiety and lead to inner protection through spiritual experience. By gaining familiarity with this practice, we can eventually become fearless like bodhisattvas, whose main concern is for the welfare of others. One way to do this is by meditating on equalizing self and others, which means making our love for ourselves and our love for others equal in our minds. By cherishing the happiness, freedom, wishes, life, and experiences of others in the same way we cherish our own, we can become compassionate and fearless like bodhisattvas.
Buddha's main teaching at the beginning of the stages of the path is on gross impermanence, particularly the impermanence of our lives and the inevitability of death. The point of this teaching is to bring this knowledge deep into our hearts and live our lives in accordance with it. This understanding of impermanence is wisdom. Often, our days are filled with activities focused solely on this life, and we rarely think about or may not even believe in future lives. However, a person who has this knowledge of impermanence won't waste their life on meaningless things and can turn their energy inwards to find true happiness within their mind. The meditation on death can shatter our grasping at permanence, especially our attachment to the things we like as if they are permanent.
Gen-la Jampa discusses the importance of patience in dealing with life's challenges and uncertainties. He emphasizes the need for patient acceptance in transforming adversity into opportunities for spiritual growth and inner peace. By embracing life's challenges and maintaining a peaceful mind, we can learn valuable lessons and develop virtues such as compassion, ultimately turning adversities into powerful spiritual teachers.
A simple yet powerful breathing meditation from Venerable Geshe-la combined with visualization techniques, designed to help individuals transform their minds from negative to peaceful states. By exhaling negativities, worries, and anxiety in the form of dark smoke and inhaling pure positive energy as radiant white light, practitioners can gradually experience a more peaceful mind and a sensation of pure light within their body and mind, ultimately promoting inner peace and mental clarity.
Gen-la Thubten emphasizes the importance of watching our minds and observing our automatic reactions to pleasant or unpleasant feelings. The first step towards letting go of our feelings is to observe them without taking them seriously and to put some space between the feeling arising and our reaction to it. Using this space we can cultivate the wisdom that realizes the non-true existence of feelings. This wisdom is so powerful that it gives us a smooth mind, making the feelings much more manageable.
Gen-la Kelsang Dekyong talks about the importance of wisdom and spiritual teachings as presented in the book "How to Transform Your Life" by Venerable Geshe Kelsang Gyatso. Gen-la discuss how wisdom is a deep knowledge that understands meaningful objects, and how the pursuit of wisdom is the greatest meaning of our lives. Gen-la also emphasize the importance of practicing spiritual teachings to develop and maintain inner peace, which is the key to achieving pure and everlasting happiness. Gen-la highlights that wisdom is not talked about in society and that we have been looking for happiness in the wrong places.More information on this subject can be found in the books How to Transform Your Life and Modern Buddhism.
We can see in our own experience that we can transform our mental states from busy, distracted states to calm, peaceful states even with breathing meditation.When our mind is peaceful we are free from worries and stress, mental discomforts. Therefore we experience true happiness. In the space of a peaceful mind there is a feeling of contentment and a sense of wellbeing. All problems of unhappiness are solved in the space of our peaceful mind.Everybody needs to have this experience because everyone wishes happiness in their life. Therefore it is very important to learn the method to make ourselves and others happy.
The Buddha Maitreya empowerment is important for your inner peace. Receiving blessings and empowerments again and again with faith is very important for the maintenence of inner peace, and ultimately bliss. The greater our faith, the stronger the blessings. The function of Buddha Maitreya is the realization of loving kindness.More information on this subject can be found in the books How to Transform Your Life and Modern Buddhism.
When ordinary beings experience pleasant feelings, they develop attachment, unpleasant feelings cause anger and neutral feelings cause ignorance. These minds lead to all our suffering and problems. However, beings like Arhats and Bodhisattvas, who have attained liberation from suffering through meditation on emptiness, experience only uncontaminated pleasant feelings. Gen-la emphasizes the importance of becoming aware of our own minds and observing automatic reactions to our feelings in order to overcome delusions and suffering.
Dorje Shugden gives us guidelines for our daily life. We rely on him in the same way we rely on our spiritual guide. He helps us in many ways, including pacifying our obstacles, which are primarily internal.More information on this subject can be found in the books Heart Jewel.
How to avoid following habitual negative ways of thinking through applying effort in training the mind.More information on this subject can be found in the books How to Transform Your Life and Modern Buddhism.
Training in self-generation is the perfect and only method to attain enlightenment quickly. For self-generation to be effective, we need to stop grasping at the mistaken appearance of 'self'. To get this step right, we must train everyday in emptiness.More information on this subject can be found in the books and Modern Buddhism and The Oral Instructions of Mahamudra.
Dorje Shugden, our Dharma protector, will arrange conditions most conducive for our Dharma practice, but these will not necessarily be the conditions we ourselves would have chosen. He will bless our minds to help us transform difficult situations into the spiritual path.More information on this subject can be found in the books Heart Jewel.
Our mind projects enjoyment onto the object. The experience of enjoyment is simply the ripening of our own previous karma.More information on this subject can be found in the books How to Understand the Mind and Modern Buddhism .
A mantra is a strong request which comes from our heart, not our head, and requires alot of concentration. In this mantra, we are requesting permanent liberation from all Samsaric rebirth for ourselves and all living beings. All of the realizations of Kadam Lamrim, Sutra and Tantra are included, so it is very powerful.
All phenomena are included within appearance (clarity) and emptiness (profundity). Appearance and Emptiness are one object, not two. The real nature of phenomena is the emptiness of phenomena. When our dualistic appearance and mistaken appearance cease, we will attain enlightenment quickly.More information on this subject can be found in the books Modern Buddhism and The Mirror of Dharma.
If Buddha Shakyamuni was the first to give his teachings, who then were his disciples? He asked eight Buddhas to appear as his disciples to show living beings how to be qualified disciples. It was Bodhisattva Vajrapani who requested Tantric teachings. Vajrapani has powerful mental power. Wrath in our context means strong compassion.
The true source of happiness can only be found inside the mind.More information on this subject can be found in the books How to Transform Your Life, and Modern Buddhism.
How can we find meaning in our lives?More information on this subject can be found in the books How to Transform Your Life, and Modern Buddhism.
In samsara, happiness is a fruitless search. Happiness can only be found inside - from our own mental peace.
Gen-la discusses the first of the 4 seals, all products are impermanent. We grasp at things being permanent, develop delusions. In order to rid ourselves of these delusions we need to contemplate the first seal.More information on this subject can be found in the books How to Solve Our Human Problems and Modern Buddhism.
Subtle conventional truth is the heart of Buddha’s teachings. The things we normally see, gross conventional truth, are a projection of ignorance. They are like dreams are a projection of the dreaming mind.
Within Buddha's teachings we learn to identify within ourself where all of our fears and problem comes from. If we can learn to let go of our habitual view regarding ourself as most important and instead learn to cherish others we will become a fearless person.
More information on this subject can be found in the books How to Solve Our Human Problems and How to Transform Your Life.
By training in Patience--acceptance we can learn to maintain a peaceful mind even in the midst of life's difficulties.
More information on this subject can be found in the books How to Solve Our Human Problems and How to Transform Your Life.
Training in tranquility abiding. Abiding means remaining. Remaining on the object means not moving from the object. Conceptual distractions arise from the mind.
More information on this subject can be found in the books Clear Light of Bliss and The Oral Instructions of the Mahamudra.
Identify the anger as poison within our mind. Our root problem is believing in people, things the world having an inherent or intrinsic existence within themselves.
We can know an object by means of a generic image but we can't know it directly. 'Ultimate' in ultimate example clear light means fully qualified. The illusory body of the third stage becomes the new basis for thinking 'I '.
Patience is a happy mind. Patience is happy to accept whatever is happening. Patience has abandoned the wish to change the situation.
The very subtle mind is our real mind, and it never ceases. How do we identify ourself correctly? The union of the two truths is the union that needs learning.