• Skip to main content
  • Skip to footer
  • Join My Email List
  • Donate
  • Contact

Judy Lief

Buddhism – Shambhala – Profound Treasury – Making Friends with Death

  • Home
  • About
    • About Judy Lief
    • Editorial Work
  • Offerings
    • Profound Treasury Volumes
    • The Slogans of Atisha
    • End of Life Teachings
    • Articles
    • Videos
    • How to Meditate
    • Sunday Sitting Practice
    • Additional Meditation Resources
    • Resources for Small Groups
  • Courses
    • Video Courses
  • Podcast
    • Dharma Glimpses Podcast
  • Blog
    • Label It Thinking
  • Events
    • Profound Treasury Retreats
    • Profound Treasury Events
    • Profound Treasury Video Courses
    • Upcoming Teachings

Episode 117 – Enlightened Genes 1

Buddhists are always talking about awakening, but what does that actually mean?  •  Trungpa Rinpoche taught that what is being awakened are our “enlightened genes” — a term which implies that awakening is somewhat natural, somewhat part of our makeup  •  sometimes Tibetans use the analogy of an acorn: if you try to get an oak tree by planting a bean seed, it will never work; but if you plant an acorn, you get an oak tree, not anything else  •  in the same way when you plant a human, you end up with an awakened being  •  there are two traditional signs that our enlightened genes are awakening: the first is that we become more kind; the second is that we become less deceptive  •  there are also two traditional signs that indicate our enlightened genes are not being awakened: the first is being unable to react to suffering; and the second is having a kind of a pettiness of mind  •  so if you really want to look for signs of progress on the path, don’t look so much for how much you’ve learned, how clever you are, how many hours of sitting you’ve done  •  in this teaching it’s said to look for simple things: your level of kindness, your level of straightforwardness and truthfulness, your ability to react to suffering, and your willingness to extend your vision further.

Join Judy on Social Media

  • Email
  • Instagram
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Contact Judy Lief

Contact Judy Lief:  judy@nulljudylief.com

Join my Email List

Join my email list to keep up with teaching events and other news from Judy Lief.

 

News and Events

 

 

 

 

 

Judy Lief • 802-598-5832 • judy@judylief.com