I have been one heck of a busy bee here at IBA.
To begin with, every morning from 8 to 9:30; I have a teaching with Khenpo Jamyang Tenzin on The Way of the Bodhisattva by Shantideva.
Then at 10 I have Tibetan Language with Khenpo Jorden for an hour. Tomorrow is our first exam on [...]

I spent 10 days with over 300 people from over 40 countries studying the text and commentaries on Parting from the Four Attachments at the International Buddhist Academy.  The retreat morning teachings were with Dzongsar Jamyang Khyentse Rinpoche and then the afternoon Calm Abiding Meditation sessions were led by Lama Chodak Rinpoche.
The experience was beyond [...]

For those of you not in the “know”, loptuk is the Tibetan word for student.
Thupten Gongphel and myself; with a feast fit for monks and teachers!  It was a great afternoon send off.  Thupten Gongphel really has become one of my best friends here.  I adore him and always look to him for guidance and [...]

Buddha Jayanti Bouddhanath Kathmandu Nepal 09 May 2009 – Images by Rene Edde
Sometimes life throws a curve ball. The full moon in Scorpio of Vaksha brought Buddha’s birthday festival at Bouddhanath. This festival brought out the pickpockets. They nabbed my phone. Then the mirror in my camera just fell out. [...]

My journey thorugh India and to Nepal was easy going and uneventful.  I am back at the IBA safe and sound.
I am in the midst of preparing the monks for finals which they will have on May 9th.  Then I am off to India for a few days to work on a story with The [...]

Ahh, to be able to download my podcasts again…
When I was in Nepal I became very frustrated with horribly slow downloads combined with my steadily crashing and dying hard drive. I rarely opened iTunes anymore, it was just too depressing.
So over the past couple of weeks I have been able to download and catch [...]

Tonight here in the NW Burbs of Chicago the sky is pretty clear. I can see the stars. But, I looked up and saw Orion’s belt with the sword hanging. I couldn’t help but have a memory… a flashback of sorts.
I thought back to Nepal recently and my time at IBA [...]

I have about 4 days of shoots and photos to process, audio to edit, etc. But for now I thought that I would pop up this photo just to show you all why it is that I love my life so much these days!
I may live with 30 monks, but I am still [...]

Lately I have been talking a lot about the ‘dakinis‘. I am not sure what it is, but lately the word seems to creep up in all of the books that I read (or listen to). I hear it in conversations. I see images of them hanging up in the shops around [...]

The holidays are times to spend with friends and family… We eat alot… We give and receive happiness, joy, love, and of course gifts when we can…
This year I thought that I was spending the season far from friends and family and that it didn’t feel at all like Christmas. [...]