icon caret-left icon caret-right instagram pinterest linkedin facebook twitter goodreads question-circle facebook circle twitter circle linkedin circle instagram circle goodreads circle pinterest circle

RECALLING THE MEDITATION MASTER, AKHYUK RINPOCHE

AKHYUK RINPOCHE (1927-2011)
Recalling the Meditation Master, Akhyuk Rinpoche
By Matteo Pistono

The most renowned meditation master in Tibet, Akhyuk Rinpoche (Tib. མཁན་པོ་ཨ་ཁྱུག), Jamyang Lungtok Gyaltsen (aka Drubwang Lungtok Gyatso) passed away Saturday at as his remote encampment in the highlands of Eastern Tibet. Together with the late Khenpo Jikmé Phuntsok (1933-2004) of Larung Gar Buddhist Academy, Akhyuk Rinpoche revitalized the study and practice of Buddhism in Eastern Tibet beginning in the 1980s, eventually drawing tens of thousands of students from across Tibet and China to his Buddhist encampment of Yachen Gar.

I first met Akhyuk Rinpoche (pronounced Acho) nearly fifteen years ago, and continued to visit him whenever I returned to Eastern Tibet. Read More 
3 Comments
Post a comment

Engaging the World through Buddhism

Ajan Sulak Sivaraksa and Matteo Pistono in Thailand at an International Network of Engaged Buddhist event
Engaging the World through Buddhism
The Washington Post July 10, 2011
by Matteo Pistono

Engaged Buddhism refers to Buddhists who are seeking ways to practically apply insights from their meditation practice and spiritual teachings to social, political, environmental, and economic suffering and injustice. While the roots of Engaged Buddhism may be found in the teachings and actions of the Buddha himself, and other great teachers of the past, Engaged Buddhism can also be understood principally as a movement that began in the late 19th century as a response to Western colonialism in Asia. It is best known through its political movements, such as the struggles by the Tibetan, Burmese, and Vietnamese Buddhists for self-determination, democracy, and peace.

Engaged Buddhism is not simply being a Buddhist and involvement in politics and social justice. Rather, Engaged Buddhists critically and creatively apply the Buddha’s teachings to transform themselves and their societies. Thich Nhat Hanh of Vietnam, Ajan Maha Ghosanand of Cambodia, The Dalai Lama of Tibet, Aung San Suu Kyi of Burma, and Ajan Sulak Sivaraksa of Thailand are modern-day leaders who embody Engaged Buddhist principals and have guided organizations such as the Buddhist Peace Fellowship, the International Network of Engaged Buddhist, and the Zen Peacemakers.  Read More 
Be the first to comment

Krishna Das & Sharon Salzberg: Practicing Loving Kindness In The Capital

Practicing Loving Kindness In The Capital
The Huffington Post July 12, 2011
by Matteo Pistono

The historic synagogue at 6th and I Street near Chinatown was host Sunday night to Sharon Salzberg , renowned meditation teacher and NY Times best-selling author, and Krishna Das, often called the rock-star of the Western yoga scene for his captivating devotional chanting. Both have made significant contributions to the transmission of Indian spiritual traditions to the West by sharing their deep knowledge and experiences through music, meditation and teachings.

Sharon Salzberg started the evening by encouraging over a thousand people in the audience to "develop a mind so filled with love that it resembles space." Salzberg co-founded the Insight Meditation Center in Barre, Massachusetts over 30 years ago with Joseph Goldstein and Jack Kornfield. The Center focuses on mindfulness meditation and methods of developing metta, a Pali term for "loving-kindness." Salzberg, like Krishna Das, has devoted years of her life to study and spiritual practice with great masters from India, Tibet, Burma and Thailand.  Read More 
Be the first to comment

Who Is The Dalai Lama?

Who Is The Dalai Lama?
The Washington Post July 8, 2011
by Matteo Pistono

There are up to 100,000 people expected to attend events with the Dalai Lama in Washington, D.C., over the next ten days. If you were to ask each of them, “Who is the Dalai Lama?” you will likely receive different response from every individual. Most certainly deep respect and veneration would be expressed. The Dalai Lama describes himself as “a simple Buddhist monk,” while in Beijing, the Chinese government regularly vilifies him as “a wolf in monk’s robes.” The Dalai Lama strikes many different cords.  Read More 
Be the first to comment

In the FOX News room

FOX News Channel 5

WASHINGTON - Celebration for His Holiness the Dalai Lama continues in DC.

Matteo Pistono, a Tibetan scholar and author of ‘In the Shadow of the Buddha’ and Mary Beth Markey, president of the International Campaign for Tibet, joined us for more insight into the significance of his visit.

Be the first to comment

What is the Kalachakra?

What is the Kalachakra?
The Washington Post On Faith July 6, 2011
by Matteo Pistono

On Faith asks, “The Dalai Lama will preside over the Kalachakra ritual at the Verizon Center. What is the Kalachakra?”

The Kalachakra refers to a corpus of tantric Buddhist teachings, as well as a specific tantric Buddhist deity.

With regards to the body of teachings, the Kalachakra is set of tantric Buddhist practices and teachings that include philosophy, meditation instructions, cosmology, medicine, and yoga. The Kalachakra is one of a number of different systems taught in tantric Buddhism in Tibet, all of which originated in India.  Read More 
Be the first to comment

Dalai Lama arrives in Washington DC for two week visti

The Washington Post On Faith July 5, 2011
by Matteo Pistono

The Dalai Lama arrived in the nation’s capitol and will spend much of the next two weeks (July 6-16) at the Verizon Center conducting rituals and prayers for world peace, and imparting Tibetan Buddhist teachings. The Dalai Lama is also expected to have meetings with U.S. government leaders.

Events on July 6 will include a birthday celebration for the 76 year-old Tibetan leader. Martin King, son of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Mr. Arun Gandhi, grandson of Mahatma Gandhi, will join the celebration.

On July 9, the Dalai Lama will give “A Talk for World Peace”on the West Lawn of the National Mall. Whoopi Goldberg will emcee the event, which will include chanting by monks from Namgyal Monastery, performances by cellist Michael Fitzpatrick and singer Skylar Gray.  Read More 
Be the first to comment

China, Tibet, and the Human Rights Debate

On Thursday, April 7, I presented "China, Tibet, and the Human Rights Debate: Why Can’t the Dalai Lama and China find Common Ground?" at the University of Wyoming International Scholars Lectures Series. An engaged crowd of 100 or so students and professors attended.

The gist of the lecture was this:
The Dalai Lama fled a pursuing Communist army in 1959 after the People’s Republic of China invaded Tibet. The Tibetan spiritual leader has lived as a refugee since, setting up a Tibetan government-in-exile in India, and today traveling the world as the spokesperson for the Tibetan struggle for freedom.  Read More 
Be the first to comment

Why I Went Public About Smuggling News of Brutal Crackdowns Out of China

The Huffington Post
Why I Went Public About Smuggling News of Brutal Crackdowns Out of China
by Matteo Pistono Monday, March 14, 2011


Today is the anniversary of the 19th century Tibetan mystic named Tertön Sogyal. Tertön Sogyal was a meditation teacher to the 13th Dalai Lama, the predecessor to the current Dalai Lama. In the late 1990s, I began a ten-year pilgrimage to Tibet in Tertön Sogyal's footsteps. I was drawn to this mystic's life because he, like the Dalai Lama today, was a master at integrating his social activism with spiritual practice, never losing the pure motivation that holds others' well-being as the priority. Read More 
1 Comments
Post a comment

China and the (Next) Dalai Lama

The Huffington Post
China and the (Next) Dalai Lama
by Matteo Pistono Thursday, March 10, 2011

March 10 marks the anniversary when Tibetans rose up in the streets of Lhasa against China's nascent occupation of Tibet. It is also when a 24-year-old Dalai Lama fled a pursuing Chinese army and eventually crossed Tibet's border into India as a refugee. That was 52 years ago.  Read More 
Be the first to comment