Meditation and Buddhism

Twenty years ago I left corporate life to pursue my passion for philosophy and meditation. I felt that modern-day life had become too one-dimensional, and was too focused on performance and consumption at the expense of deeper sources of fulfillment.

After two years of reading widely in religion and philosophy, I gravitated to the works of the great Indian and Tibetan Buddhist masters, Saraha, Nagarjuna, Shantideva, Atisha, Je Tsongkhapa and others. I came to see them not as masters from the past but as messengers from the future, heralding a vision for humanity based on unleashing the power of the mind.

The particular Buddhist school of these masters is called the Vajrayana, more commonly known as Tibetan Buddhism. Authentic access to Vajrayana practices is difficult. The cultural barriers are high and it has for the most part been confined to the monasteries of Tibet. I was fortunate to find a rare Western Vajrayana master, Segyu Choepel Rinpoche, who was willing to teach me. I have now been Segyu Rinpoche’s student for almost twenty years.

I believe the messages of the Vajrayana are vital for humanity to flourish:

• that mind, not matter, is the driver of experience;
• that the mind has the potential to be clear, luminous, radiant and joyful;
• that we have to unlock this potential through going beyond the inner narratives that keep us trapped; and
• that to do so requires a deliberate effort to mature and refine the mind

I believe these ideas hold the key to a future in which materialism and consumption are balanced with inner strength and cultivation of the mind’s potential. Please feel free to drop me a line if you’d like to learn more, or visit the Website of Juniper Foundation, an organization that supports my teacher Segyu Choepel Rinpoche and the flourishing of the Vajrayana practices in modern life.