Open Question

In episode 701, Elizabeth takes us through a classical teaching on the 12 links of dependent origination, which explores the genesis of our confusion, the dazzling spectacle of samsara, and how we can free ourselves from it. "When we feel confused about why we are practicing" she suggests, "just look at the wheel of becoming and it will remind you that there is nothing mystical about liberation. It is very matter-of-fact and within our reach."

Elizabeth explores absolute bodhicitta through the story of the 11th century spiritual quest of Naropa. His training, under Mahasiddha Tilopa, illustrates the necessity of disrupting delusion in the context of spiritual awakening. At the heart of it all lies a deep examination of the meaning and experience of what is real.

In the context of a recent pilgrimage in India, Elizabeth opens up the topic of "engaged" bodhicitta and the six paramitas. She weaves in the story of Sujata, the young woman known for generously offering a bowl of sweet milk-rice to Siddhartha who was debilitated after years of austerities. Revived and refocused, Siddhartha then made his way to the shade of a pipal tree and attained enlightenment, becoming The Buddha. Join the pilgrimage and explore India's conspiracy of great giving.

In episode 601, Across the Valley, Elizabeth uses the analogy of two communities situated on opposite sides of the valley where she lives to consider our tendencies towards fundamentalism and rightness. "What happens" she asks, "when everyone feels absolutely right?" The Bodhisattva Vow is a commitment to create connection with others, without bias, by looking inward at the mechanisms of reification, and then applying the Buddha's Middle Way Beyond The Extremes.

In this episode Elizabeth reflects upon the provocative poem by renowned Buddhist teacher, Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche, entitled, "Looking Into the World." "It's not a cozy poem," she says, "It's an incantation to NOT trust, a reflection on loneliness, and a tribute to the freedom and confidence that comes from standing on our own two feet." You have to put your familiar views aside to explore this one!

Devotion is one of the many expressions of faith. When understood clearly, devotion can hasten the process of awakening for the student on the spiritual path, ripening and maturing them in a simple and direct way. Elizabeth brings us through various definitions of devotion, explores devotion as an experience, and considers the cultural and interpersonal challenges that can arise through misunderstanding the nature of the teacher/student dynamic.

All great spiritual lineages point us back to that which defies concept and language. Authentic practitioners describe awakening as being touched by a sense of awe, overcome by the beauty, fierceness and power of being. To be in AWE is a natural human experience. Ironically, so is the discomfort that leaves us restless with the experience, making it almost impossible to bear. Our inability to bear the ineffable gives rise to dualism and our conflict with faith.

At 7:15 am on August 7th, 1974, 1,300 feet above a gathering crowd, French high wire artist, Philip Petit, renowned for his unauthorized public stunts, stepped onto a 131-foot wire rigged between the twin towers of New York City's World Trade Center. In this episode, Elizabeth recalls Petit 's "impossible" display of human courage and confidenceas an analogy for faith, why we need to cultivate it, what it is, and how it works.

In this episode, Elizabeth takes us on a journey through the term 'faith.' We may assume we know what faith is, but most of us have never truly explored its nuance or spectrum of meanings. We often use the term faith to refer to: dogma, fundamentalism, doctrine, confidence, devotion conviction, just to name a few. In the context of contemporary culture, there are those who suggest that we replace the world faith with spirituality, but Elizabeth requests us not to write-off faith so glibly. Faith carries with it the undeniable tension between our search for security and the limits of our ability to know. Faith keeps us connected to the heart of the human condition.

Elizabeth shares the classic Buddhist narrative of Avaloketeshvara, the bodhisattva of compassion, and asks us to contemplate the story carefully, adding, "because something similar could happen to you." Continuing her exploration of the self, Elizabeth navigates the common responses to our challenging human experience: fixing, despairing or withdrawing…all of which are rooted in misunderstanding. Elizabeth takes inspiration, instead, from Avaloketeshvara's example to bear steadfast witness to experience.

In previous episodes we engaged in the liberating practice of looking and not finding, as we searched for something singular or independent. In this episode, Elizabeth explores the topic of permanence - the 3rd in this triad of classical Middle Way inquiries. Elizabeth drops back into her grandmother's kitchen for a tour of the nature of time, what it might mean to 'live in the moment,' and the difference between impermanence and emptiness.

Continuing with the theme - The Self: Walking the Middle Way Path, we meet the 2nd Century spiritual genius, Nagarjuna, who is considered the father of the Middle Way school. Nagarjuna once paid homage to the Buddha, saying, "I prostrate to he who has abandoned all views." Looking into the topic of views, Elizabeth will take us on a fascinating quest.

The most intimate relationship you will ever have is the relationship you have with your SELF! Ironically, when looking for a singular, permanent or autonomous self, all we find is a myriad of dynamic, contingent relationships. In this episode, Elizabeth introduces us to the Buddha's most essential insight - dependent arising - and guides us through a classic Middle Way investigation, leading us to a deeper understanding of mind and its world.

Many of us can recall our earliest encounters with the quandary of death. As children, we possess a natural longing to make sense of the world; to find explanations for things that disturb or amaze us. Throughout our lives, we are continually confronted by the conundrum of existence and extinction. How do we straddle the tension between our longing to exist and our fear of extinction? Are these dualistic constructs an accurate framework? And what does it mean to either be or not be?

Our life - our world - can be rich…and it can also be a bitch. We walk the terrain of multiple - maybe infinite - grounds. We move in and out of these overlapping spaces.They are not geographical territories, but rather various ways we encounter our human condition as our mind and its world engage in the playful exchange we call, 'experience.'

What do you see when you think about the world? You might picture a rainforest or desert. You might envision a crowded subway terminal. You might imagine a household or a war zone. You might think: "the world is a mess," or feel touched by the beauty and the beings that inhabit it. Where exactly is "the" world? Is it conscious or material? Does it exist within our individual mind streams or outside of us? Is it cruel, mundane or sacred? Is it one or many? Is "the" world even findable?

In Open Question 303, Elizabeth explores the power of words and what it means to go beyond them in the tradition of Prajnaparamita.

The Buddha Nature teachings of Mahayana Buddhism reason that all beings possess natural intelligence. We can observe in ourselves and others that the instinct for wellbeing drives everything we do. We bend toward wellbeing like a plant bends toward the light of a sunny window. How is it then, that we create so much suffering? To bring our actions together with our true intentions requires discernment, or prajna. Prajna is our inherent resource—but unrecognized, it remains dormant. How do we wake it up?

Most spiritual traditions offer teachings on "sacred world"-the promise of a life beyond struggle-the search for a place of ease. This is a noble human quest. And yet, the "sacred" often seems to be a place other than where we find ourselves now. How do we reconcile the tension between the spiritual and temporal aspects of life? This is our conundrum