Discover the Heart of Buddhism

‘Living the Awakened Heart’ is designed to help you discover the truths of Buddhism through your own experience, not through adopting a set of blind beliefs. 

An open mind is what really matters. Indeed most Westerners are attracted to Buddhism by the fact that it does not demand blind faith and belief, but appeals to the evidence of our own direct experience – this is what the Buddha meant when he said his teachings were “Come and see”.

We have to start with our own language and culture and with our own experience of our hearts and minds. This is where Living the Awakened Heart begins and by beginning in this way we find ourselves already participating in the process of Awakening – not through blind belief, but through experience and a sense of inspiration.

The underlying principles of Buddhism

Living the Awakened Heart presents the underlying principles of Buddhism in familiar English words and enables you to connect to the heart of Buddhism without the confusion often caused by Eastern cultural trappings.

The traditional formulae for presenting Buddhism were evolved to help people in Buddhist cultures, where people were brought up to have a strong conviction in Buddhist ideas about the world. But in the West we do not share many of these ideas, and so we need to be introduced to Buddhism more carefully.

We have to begin with what we can know for sure-our direct experience-and from there we can allow a sense of the vaster and profounder vision that Buddhism offers to dawn within us.

The themes of the training represent the underlying principles of Buddhism, which have been built and elaborated upon down the ages according to the tastes and requirements of different cultural settings. They are often implicit in traditional Buddhist teachings, endorsed by the whole culture of a Buddhist country, not needing explicit formulation when Eastern Buddhists are being taught.

Buddhism for the modern world

If you are already familiar with how Buddhism is traditionally taught, you may feel that in this way of teaching we depart rather radically from a traditional approach. To think this would be to take too narrow a view of how the tradition works. The tradition has always adapted its teaching methods to the requirements of the students. This is traditional.

All of these underlying principles have always been present in Buddhism right from the Buddha’s first teachings: it is just that in these materials they have been gathered together explicitly and presented in a way accessible to Westerners not brought up in a Buddhist culture.

Having grasped the underlying principles of Buddhism presented, students should be able to approach and relate to more traditional teachings (such as the Four Noble Truths, not-self and karma) in the spirit in which they are intended, rather than distorted by a veil of cultural misunderstandings.

The traditional methods of presenting Buddhism in the East were developed against a particular cultural background, one that we in the West do not share.

Traditional teachings are easily misunderstood

In Buddhist countries, children pick up from those around them that the Buddha represents all things good, that he represents wisdom, compassion, peace, joy and gentleness, and that what he teaches is true for all time. They believe implicitly that there is such a thing as liberation, Awakening, release from suffering, countless past lives and future lives, yet all are like dreams and illusions. They have complete confidence that liberation is a matter of the heart and that this is intimately connected with the whole enlightenment process.

This is the conceptual framework that they already have when they start training intensively with Buddhist teachers. The problem is not that they need convincing of all these things – they just need to be reminded and encouraged.

Westerners need to be introduced to Buddhist thinking more carefully than by simply applying formulae that are suited to people brought up in Buddhist cultures. We have to arrive by careful stages at a dawning sense of the possibility of the vaster and profounder vision that Buddhism offers. We have to begin with what we know because we cannot begin anywhere else. We certainly cannot begin on the assumption that we believe what Eastern Buddhists believe, or that we ever will.

How long do I need to meditate for each day?

To take full advantage of the training, it is recommended that you try to commit yourself to at least 15 minutes of meditation a day, and to simple awareness exercises at odd moments throughout the day.

The meditation taught on Living the Awakened Heart

Buddhist training consists of study, reflection and meditation. Meditation here means sitting still for set periods of time to familiarise ourselves with the nature and workings of our innermost being. There are techniques for helping ourselves to focus on our direct experience.

We deliberately keep the focus simple, teaching a method called Formless Meditation. Do not be deceived by the simplicity however. The practice gradually reveals itself to be subtle and profound.

We learn to make friends with ourselves and all our experience, good and bad, because the essence of both is the same natural and profound openness, clarity and sensitivity of our being.

For a long time the practice of meditation may feel like a struggle but it is a struggle to let go of complications and arrive at simplicity. The ease of that simplicity is elusive and takes a long time to develop and stabilise. That is why such a wealth of further techniques have developed within the Buddhist tradition.

However complex other practices may be, in essence they are always meant to develop and stabilise the simple awareness of Formless meditation. The path begins and ends by dissolving into the space of Formless meditation.

Meditation in daily life

Daily life awareness and mindfulness practice emerges out of the Formless Meditation practice, carrying that simplicity of approach into all our activities and our whole attitude to life. The difference is that in the formal sitting periods we can give ourselves the space and time we need to deepen our practice, away from the distractions of our everyday life.

The sense of openness and space, clarity and awareness, sensitivity and responsiveness that you connect with in the meditation starts to flow out into your life and your environment for the benefit of all.

 

Is it formless meditation like mindfulness?

If you've been taught mindfulness in a secular context, perhaps in one of the common eight week courses, you'll find that connects naturally with formless meditation. The biggest difference is that formless meditation goes further in challenging the basic preconceptions about ourselves and the world that we bring with us when we start looking at our experience.

I wasn't sure about changing to a different tradition of Tibetan Buddhism. Was this OK? Was I changing just for sake of it? But as I read and practised I became more sure I was doing the right thing. Now I feel more confident and strengthened spiritually than I ever was before.

I have become more relaxed and confident in my practice. By that I mean I don't pressure myself and worry so much about doing the right thing. 

The training books are so practical and thought provoking. I'm working slowly through them, and I like the way it’s presented as spiral learning, coming back again and again to the same essential point but from new perspectives.

The group and mentor discussions I've had have helped enormously. The books help me to see the direction I'm aiming for to discover the awakened heart. Initially I thought I could rush through, but with guidance from my mentors and group discussion I found a whole new way of learning.

Lama Shenpen inspires me, she is so honest. Her explanations are so down to earth. She has a clarity and openness that helps so much. Her inner confidence is there for all to see.

I did a meditation retreat last year taught by Lama Shenpen, and after the retreat was over I felt as though I'd found another family. To live if only for one week fully concentrated on Dharma was amazing. It will stay with me for ever. The teachings, the silent times and lots of meditation periods all times to look back on and reflect. 

I know I have support and encouragement from my new Sangha family. It’s a real comfort to know so many fellow Sangha members are out there and able to discuss, help and guide.

I would recommend Living the Awakened Heart to anyone who is interested in looking for a new way of looking at life, who has shown an interest in Buddhism or any kind of meditation. People who are open minded and looking for inner peace, or searching for some direction. Age, background or belief I feel are not blockers. There is no pressure, the only requirement is to be open minded and willing to learn.

I had very little hesitation in joining, as I was inspired to explore this approach to meditation, and I had the encouragement of one of my previous teachers. My only concern was about the social aspects of engaging with a spiritual community. I had always practiced by myself before, so I had never had to engage with the dynamics found in any group of people. However, my initial motivation was not necessarily to find a comfortable social group of like minded friends, so this concern was quite minor. The question of what makes a spiritual community or lineage a 'good fit', is an interesting one.

Being part of a Sangha community is still quite new to me, but I have found it supportive and meaningful to be able to meet so many deep practitioners, and be part of a community which organises itself around a vision of non-monastic Buddhism in the West. I am very grateful for the support of my mentors and the guidance of Lama Shenpen, as well as being inspired by my interactions with other students, and the tradition as a whole.

When I signed up, I soon began talking with my mentor, and our conversations helped me enormously. He has been very generous with his time and attention, answering my questions and egging me on in my practice. I have found a great deal of value in being able to talk regularly with someone highly dedicated to their own practice, who has been on a path for much longer than I have. It forges a strong feeling of connection, and reinforces a sense of significance and enjoyment to the practice as a whole.

Joining the Awakened Heart Sangha has had a much bigger impact on my life than I could have anticipated. It has had an significant impact on my relationship to Buddhism, and spiritual practice as a whole. I have been struck by the depth of Living the Awakened Heart, which has a changed my understanding of Buddhism, meaning, and religious practice altogether.

Living the Awakened Heart is not just abstract theory, nor the expression of a foreign culture, but gives deep teachings in a remarkably down to earth language. This is quite the achievement. What I might think is helpful and profound, is probably far more mind blowing than I will ever realise.

Perhaps the most helpful aspect of the training materials is the way in which they prompt us to look into our own experience, so that we can see how the teachings apply to our own lives in an ongoing way. Instead of giving a 'Buddhist overlay' dependent on ideology, Living the Awakened Heart makes Buddhism something alive that we can practice meaningfully. I have at times spent weeks reflecting and practicing on a single paragraph from the material.

The training has changed my meditation quite a lot really. It has helped me move away from a practice based in effort and ambition, to a practice more inline with trusting a natural wakefulness and openness. There’s a sense of resolve, putting heart into a practice which relies on something alive from its own side, instead of my own confused efforts. Since early on in my meditation practice I have been lucky enough to have careful one-to-one instruction from very experienced teachers, my ongoing training in the Awakened Heart Sangha continues to reinforce the importance for meditators to seek out rigorous training and trustworthy advice.

As I get to know Lama Shenpen, I’ve come to relate to her as my main teacher. She has become a source of strength in my practice, and someone who I trust with my deepest questions. I'm grateful for her openness and generosity in replying to emails, talking on the phone, and listening to my stumbling questions in interviews. Lama Shenpen's advice has kept me going through some difficult times in my practice, and continues to inspire me to learn to trust the natural wakefulness and equanimity of the heart and mind. Her lifelong dedication to Buddhism is reflected in the quality and depth of the training, of Living the Awakened Heart.