A bhikkhu observes the six sense organs and overcomes the five obstacles of the mind which are greed, hatred, ignorance, torpor, and doubt.

“small mind.” It can also be described as sem. In Tibetan there are several words for mind, but two that are particularly helpful to know are sem and rikpa. Sem is what we experience as discursive thoughts, a stream of chatter that’s always reinforcing an image of ourselves. Rikpa literally means “intelligence” or “brightness.” Behind all the plann

Our minds create the experience of both happiness and suffering, and the ability to find peace lies within us. In its true nature, the mind is peaceful and enlightened. Anyone who understands this is already on the path to wisdom.

“And how do bodhisattvas become adept at distinguishing the perceptions of their own minds? They regard the three realms like this: as merely distinctions of the mind, devoid of a self or what belongs to a self, as motionless and free from coming or going, the result of the habit-energy of erroneous fabrications without beginning, and the various f