Discovering Buddhism: Transforming Problems, with Ven. Amy Miller (Class #6)

Presented by Tse Chen Ling Center for Tibetan Buddhist Studies, via Zoom, Wednesdays, April 6 - May 11, 2022.
"Transforming Problems" is Module 11 in the FPMT Discovering Buddhism Program. More information about Discovering Buddhism can be found on our website: www.tsechenlin...
Program Description:
"Cherishing others is like a great holiday for the mind, a wonderful vacation from the oppressive self-cherishing thought." ~ Lama Zopa Rinpoche
Cherishing oneself is the major obstacle to happiness and to entering the path to enlightenment. By seeing how the mind creates problems, controlled by self-cherishing, we can learn to counter false projections and develop compassion and wisdom. Every situation can be made beneficial.
In this module, we’ll consider the disadvantages of self-cherishing and the advantages of cherishing others more than ourselves. We’ll get inspired to practice caring more for others, and learn how to employ the special techniques of mind training, or lojong, as a means to transform problems into happiness and learn to like problems as much as ice cream.
"With these practices there is always happiness. You have no fear. Wherever you are and whoever you’re with, your mind is in a fearless state." ~ Lama Zopa Rinpoche
About Ven. Amy Miller
Venerable Amy Miller was ordained as a Buddhist nun in June 2000 by the great Tibetan master, Ven. Choden Rinpoche, and has been teaching extensively since 1992. Her teaching style emphasizes a practical approach to integrating Buddhist philosophy into everyday life. She is happy to help people connect with meditation and mindfulness in an effort to gain a refreshing perspective on normally stressful living. Amy’s courses and retreats focus on establishing and maintaining a meditation and mindfulness practice, death and dying, overcoming anxiety and depression, battling addiction, dealing with self-esteem issues, and cultivating compassion and loving kindness. She is also often involved in leading a variety of retreats.
From 1992-1995, Ven. Amy managed Tse Chen Ling Center. She then served as Director of Vajrapani Institute, also in California, from 1995-2004. From 1998-2002, she was also the Manager of the Lawudo Retreat Fund (which supports the center in which the sacred cave of Kyabje Zopa Rinpoche is located) in the Mt. Everest region of Nepal. In 2004, after resigning as Director, Ven. Amy completed a seven-month solitary retreat at Vajrapani. For most of 2005 and 2006, she organized international teaching tours for and traveled with the esteemed Tibetan Buddhist master, Ven. Kirti Tsenshab Rinpoche until Rinpoche’s death in 2006. Ven. Amy then became a touring teacher for the FPMT (the Foundation for the Preservation of the Mahayana Tradition). From 2008-2014, Ven. Amy was Director of Milarepa Center in Barnet, Vermont.
Ven. Amy is the co-author of Buddhism in a Nutshell - and a contributor to Living in the Path, a series of online courses produced by FPMT. Her teaching schedule and other information can be found at www.AmyMiller.com.