Some Buddhism, some Hinduism through yoga, a bit of Chinese metaphysics, maybe some ayahuasca… Some people pick and choose their own spiritual path. But the problem is mixing different teachings instead of following one repeatable path.
In Ep 50 of Vibe with Venerables, Venerable Tsepal (@sravastiabbey) starts the higher training in wisdom (paññā). She talks about three kinds of wisdom: from hearing teachings, from thinking them through, and from meditating on them. She also shares why even senior teachers keep listening to the same teachings, and why our Dharma friends may teach us more than our teachers do.
In this episode, learn about:
- The three types of wisdom, plus one we bring from past lives
- What it means to be “callous to the Dharma”
- Why doubts are useful when thinking about a teaching
- The difference between analytic and placement meditation
- How to choose a good teacher
- Whether jobs like pest control count as right livelihood
Plus! Learn what Venerable Tsepal wrote in her diary as a teenager after her first meditation. 📓
Additional Resources
- Library of Wisdom and Compassion by His Holiness the Dalai Lama and Venerable Thubten Chodron https://thubtenchodron.org/genre/library-wisdom-compassion/
- Open Heart, Calm Mind by Venerable Thubten Chodron https://www.shambhala.com/open-heart-clear-mind.html
- SAFE (Sravasti Abbey Friends Education) Program https://sravastiabbey.org/program-overview/distance-learning/
Donation
This series is freely offered by Buddhism.net. If you’d like to show your appreciation and gratitude to the teaching Venerable, Venerable Chodron, and Sravasti Abbey, you may make a donation to Sravasti Abbey (https://sravastiabbey.org/donation/). We thank you for dāna, the practice of cultivating generosity.
