Blog

A Love Letter to Differences

A Love Letter to Differences

I slip on a gift from my partner Jim... a green reflective vest with the little flashlight in its pocket. We live near a state park and rush hour traffic on the road I walk along to reach it each evening is fierce. He wants the cards stacked in my ...
Joyfully Relaxing In the Unknown: Lessons I've Learned Working at Vajrapani Institute

Joyfully Relaxing In the Unknown: Lessons I’ve Learned Working at Vajrapani Institute

"Life is far too important to be taken seriously." I love this quote by Oscar Wilde. Lately it's been coming to mind as I transition away from the familiar into the unknown. It's at these times the worrying mind can persist, but I see more and more that worry wastes ...
Celebrating Mutual Love and Affection: Denali and Cindie

Celebrating Mutual Love and Affection: Denali and Cindie

We asked mother and daughter, Cindie and Denali, some questions about their life and experience at Vajrapani Institute. This is what they had to say about the qualities that lead them to rejoice and the lessons they have learned here. What do you most celebrate about your mother? Denali: I ...
Celebrating Empathy and Connection: Kamala

Celebrating Empathy and Connection: Kamala

We asked Kamala, 16, some questions about her life and her experience at Vajrapani Institute. Kamala has been attending Family Camp annually since she was 5 years old. This is what she had to say about the qualities that lead her to rejoice and the lessons she has learned here ...
Rejoicing in Humility and Shared Values: Aden

Rejoicing in Humility and Shared Values: Aden

We asked Aden, 14 years old, one of our long time retreaters who has been coming to Family Camp since he was 5, some questions about his life and his experience at Vajrapani Institute. This is what he had to say about the qualities that lead him to rejoice and ...
Celebrating Flexibility and Balance at Once: Judith

Celebrating Flexibility and Balance at Once: Judith

We asked one of our long time retreaters, Judith, some questions about her life and her experience at Vajrapani Institute. This is what she had to say about the qualities that lead her to rejoice and the lessons she has learned here. What is it you most celebrate about yourself? ...
Rejoicing in Reflection and Sharing Your Gifts: Nina

Rejoicing in Reflection and Sharing Your Gifts: Nina

<We asked our former Kitchen Manager, Nina, some questions about her life and her experience at Vajrapani Institute. This is what she had to say about the qualities that lead her to rejoice and the lessons she has learned here. What is it you most celebrate about yourself? Why that? ...
Rejoicing in the Extraordinary, Inexpressible X: Ven. Jangchup

Rejoicing in the Extraordinary, Inexpressible X: Ven. Jangchup

We asked our resident monk, Ven. Jangchup, some questions about his life and his experience at Vajrapani Institute. This is what he had to say about the qualities that lead him to rejoice and the lessons he has learned here. What is it you most celebrate about yourself? It was ...
Finding Opportunity and Community: Venerable Drolma

Finding Opportunity and Community: Venerable Drolma

We asked our former resident Sangha member, Ven. Drolma, some questions about her life and experience at Vajrapani Institute. This is what she had to say about the qualities that lead her to rejoice and the lessons she learned here. What's the most precious thing Vajrapani Institute has given you? ...
Rejoicing in Drive While Finding Ease and Acceptance: Dave

Rejoicing in Drive While Finding Ease and Acceptance: Dave

We asked our Land Manager, Dave, some questions about his life and his experience at Vajrapani Institute. This is what he had to say about the qualities that lead him to rejoice and the lessons he has learned here. What is it you most celebrate about yourself? It's hard to ...
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Upcoming Retreats

Online Book Club – Vol 1: Approaching the Buddhist Path

Venerable Gyalten Chimé

August 30 - October 18, 2023
When On Zoom Every Wednesday for 8 weeks (Aug 30 to Oct 18) 6:30 - 8:00pm Pacific Time   ABOUT This weekly online book gathering will feature facilitated conversation, discussion and meditation sessions with Buddhist monastic Venerable Chimé.  The text we will explore over the course of these 8 weekly Zoom gatherings is Wisdom Publications’ Approaching the Buddhist Path by His Holiness the Dalai Lama and Venerable Thubten Chödrön. This recently published book is the first in an amazing series containing the traditional Buddhist Sanskrit tradition teachings, together with comparisons from the Buddhist Pali tradition, as well as rich parallels with modern…

Four Views of Reality

Scott Snibbe

October 6 - 8, 2023
In-person Only Indo-Tibetan Buddhism posits four progressively subtler understandings of reality, in particular, exploring what “self” and “objects” may or may not be. Monks, nuns, and serious students of Buddhism study these different views, called “tenets” that were developed 1500-2000 years ago. The topics can be tricky to understand and it’s hard to remember the schools’ specific Sanskrit names of Vaibhashika (Great Exposition), Sautantrika (Sutra), Cittamatra (Mind Only), and Madhyamaka (Middle Way). Simplified, these four views posit the “ultimate” nature of reality progressively from a view that believes in indivisible atoms and moments of consciousness to a reality where living…

Vajrapani Institute is affiliated with the Foundation for the Preservation of the Mahayana Tradition www.FPMT.org