Cover: Seven-year-old Shasta befriends a lama-dance manifestation of Guru Rinpoche during a ceremony in California. Photo Peg Michie.

FEATURE
Relationship with the teacher – Why do we need a guru? Because to understand our own minds and how to gain liberation, we need the help of someone who knows how to do it. Articles by leading teachers and commentators.

• A word from Lama Yeshe
• First Assemble the Ingredients by Ven. Robina
• Spiritual Authority, Genuine and Counterfeit by John Welwood
• The Guru As Buddha – or Like Buddha? An interview with His Holiness Sakya Trizin
• Mos and Other Conundrums by Ven. Thubten Gyatso
• Grappling with the Guru Principle by Lama Zopa Rinpoche
• Wake Up Call by Ken McLeod
• Thinking Like a Thief by Thanissaro Bikkhu
• A Teacher’s Responsibility by Yvonne Rand
• Just Get On With It! By Ven. Tenzin Palmo
• Zen Moments of Truth by Sean Murphy
• A Healthy Relationship by Alexander Berzin
• Students Speak by FPMT practitioners
• Trials and Joys of a Disciple: B. Allan Wallace on Geshe Rabten

Retreat

• The harmony of retreat – French monk and former musician, Ven.Thubten Zangpo (Franois Fontaine), faces his demons and shares the benefits of long retreats.

Young Practitioners

• Out of the mouths of young monks – Our Tibetan colleagues meet the Dharma as mere babes in a monastery. Does this give them an edge over young Westerners who are part of an ever-growing spiritual subculture? Meet some young lama reincarnates.

Animal Rescue

• Garuda Rising – The story of Garuda Aviary, a sanctuary in Sedona, Arizona where 40 long-lived, idiosyncratic parrots absorb the loving attention of a team of monks, nuns, and the lay community.

Holy Objects

• Capturing a Living Likeness – The story of how sculptor Lisa Sofman created a statue over the body of Ling Ripoche.

Tibetan Culture

• Art Sets Kids Free – When Sarah Lukas and Kitty Leaken of Santa Fe, New Mexico met exiled Tibetan children in India, they were inspired to find ways of alleviating their suffering. The program they created, Art Refuge, now eight years old, has helped thousands of Tibetan refugee children regain their culture, their religion, and their hope as they begin life anew in India.

Psychology

• Working with the Western Mind – Lama Palden Drolma talks about integrating her psychotherapy work with her experience of teaching and practicing Dharma.

Technology

• High-tech volunteers – Preserving the voices of our teachers through digital technology.

A Personal Story

• The Sounds of Silence by Steven Moss

Books

• The Three Jewels – An excerpt from Dudjom Rinpoche’s book, Counsels From My Heart, published by Shambhala Publications. “[What] differentiates Buddhists from non-Buddhists is taking refuge in the Three Jewels of Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha.”
• Editor’s Choice

Kaleidoscope

• A Korean Holiday by Ven. Thubten Gyatso

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