In this teaching, Lama Lena explores the symbolic significance of the winter solstice and the holiday season from a Dzogchen perspective.
She explains the roles of illumination, generosity, and friendship during the holidays and how practitioners can work with these symbols to generate positive karma and realize their true nature. She also spontaneously gives a teaching on a Tibetan Buddhist approach to reducing the karma of depression.
“When we speak of sambhogakaya, we are speaking of the realm of symbols. When we talk about Buddhism, Buddha, the three jewels, the union or the singularity of the infinite open awareness. The dance of symbols inherent in that as light. Clear, transparent light. And the manifestation of all of that as form. And the beauty of form. And the dance of form creating time and space. Dharmakaya. Sambhogakaya. Nirmanakaya. See these.
By manipulating your symbols, you manipulate reality. By manipulating the symbols in keeping an altar, you manipulate how you feel in that room. By refreshing the altar, it changes you how you feel. How you feel changes how you behave. How you behave changes the karma you create. The karma you create changes the experiences you will have of the sensations of your six sense organs, interpreted as perceptions. And your perceptions, together with the stories you tell yourself about the whys and wherefores of them, and the feelings you feel about those stories are your reality. This is simple Magic 101.”
– Lama Lena
Traditionally, dharma teachings are offered free of charge and students offer a donation (dana) as they are able to. If you benefited from this teaching and have the means, please offer dana through the link here: lamalenateachings.com/give-dana