Revealing the true nature of oneself in a process of purification

We always strive for being perfect and thus for the ideal, but we can never be perfect, because the idea resides in another realm and is unreachable. We have a connection to that realm through the soul, as human-beings have reason and reason is part of God. On the other hand, we also have a

Basic Introduction into Lojong – Part 2: Bodhicitta

Based on Chapter Chapter 12 “Lojong” of my book Buddhism for Overthinkers. Trier & Vachendorf: Buddha TS Publishing, 2018. [formerly known as : Rationalism versus Spiritualism and Atheism versus Polytheism in Buddhism. Berlin: epubli, 2015.] The need of this training is very clear. Our mind works very ‘ego-centered’ and of course there is a contradiction between

Basic Introduction into Lojong – Part 1: Background knowledge

Based on Chapter Chapter 12 “Lojong” of my book Buddhism for Overthinkers. Trier & Vachendorf: Buddha TS Publishing, 2018. [formerly known as : Rationalism versus Spiritualism and Atheism versus Polytheism in Buddhism. Berlin: epubli, 2015.] Lojong (བློ་སྦྱོང་ , blo sbyong) is a practice from Vajrayana, and thus from Tibetan Buddhism. It is often translated as ‘mind training’. The practice itself was

Ngöndro and Tonglen

Based on Chapter 3 “Meditation” of my book Buddhism for Overthinkers. Trier & Vachendorf: Buddha TS Publishing, 2018. [formerly known as : Rationalism versus Spiritualism and Atheism versus Polytheism in Buddhism. Berlin: epubli, 2015.] In Hinduism, a quite important meditation is Chakra Meditation. For many people, chakra meditation might look quite esoteric, but the idea of chakra

Meditation in Mahayana-Buddhism

Based on Chapter 3 “Meditation” of my book Buddhism for Overthinkers. Trier & Vachendorf: Buddha TS Publishing, 2018. [formerly known as : Rationalism versus Spiritualism and Atheism versus Polytheism in Buddhism. Berlin: epubli, 2015.] When people in the West think of East Asian Buddhism, the first thing which probably pops into the mind is the school

Anapanasati and Metta

Based on Chapter 3 “Meditation” of my book Buddhism for Overthinkers. Trier & Vachendorf: Buddha TS Publishing, 2018. [formerly known as : Rationalism versus Spiritualism and Atheism versus Polytheism in Buddhism. Berlin: epubli, 2015.] Meditation is extremely important in Buddhism as it is necessary to gain enlightenment. As Bhante Dhammananda explained: “Meditation will help him [i.e.

Dhyana: The contemplation of right concentration

Based on Chapter 3 “Meditation” of my book Buddhism for Overthinkers. Trier & Vachendorf: Buddha TS Publishing, 2018. [formerly known as : Rationalism versus Spiritualism and Atheism versus Polytheism in Buddhism. Berlin: epubli, 2015.] “To develop life to the highest level means reaching a stage of life that is free from all problem and all dukkha.”

[En Español] Breve introducción a mi judeo budismo (VI): La Purificación

Por Timo Schmitz Como se mencionó en los capítulos anteriores, Isaak Luria supuso que Dios envió vasos a la Tierra, pero como los vasos eran demasiado frágiles, se rompieron y la luz divina que estaba almacenada en los vasos llovió como chispas. Por lo tanto, los seres humanos fueron creados para rectificar el mundo, para

A modified version of Metta – from the perspective of a practitioner

By Timo Schmitz Today, I want to give a brief overview on my meditation technique, a modified form of Metta, that I use to practise sometimes, but it takes some time (plan 15-30 minutes). This article is not meant to be a meditation guide, I just want to inspire you to practise loving-kindness and show