General Description:  Every living being experiences suffering.  Most people view suffering as something to get rid of and not look back.  However, suffering can teach us compassion for others and can be used to train our mind in a way that good conditions cannot.  In this very special public talk, Khenpo Karten Rinpoche will give an account of his root guru’s 21 years in a Chinese prison, where Kyabje Sangye Tenzin Rinpoche transformed an atmosphere of starvation and fear into pure spiritual food and joy.  Join us after our regular meditation class (which runs 10-11am) for this deeply inspiring teaching.  Free event, all are welcome!

Background:  Every year, Khenpo Karten Rinpoche visits the Bridgewater State Prison to teach students incarcerated there. He composed this teaching originally for them, and delivered it on May 29th.  After reading the teaching, presented below, students in Pacific Grove requested he give the same teaching as a public talk.  This teaching is one of the most powerful and inspiring teachings this editor has ever read.

Recap of event:  On June 24, 2017 Khenpo Karten Rinpoche addressed the community with a public talk entitled, “Medicine for the Mind:  Transforming Suffering into Joy.”  The talk was based on his teaching given to Dharma students in prison in Boston earlier in May.   The attendees read the written teaching aloud in its entirety, and Rinpoche expanded on “tong-len” or the practice of taking and giving.  It was indeed powerful medicine for the mind.   

Photo from Public Talk:

Link to Blog Post:  Medicine For The Mind:  Instructions for My Boston Dharma Brothers On Using Suffering and Obstacles for Mental Development

Download Teaching as PDF:  Medicine For The Mind:  Instructions for My Boston Dharma Brothers On Using Suffering and Obstacles for Mental Development