The Middle Way Initiative is an educational nonprofit Buddhist organization that supports and encourages spirited conversation around the Buddha’s most essential teachings.
Please join us on Saturday, October 4, 2025 from 10am- 12pm MT USA for the OQ Live Conversation: “Clear Seeing” with Elizabeth Mattis Namgyel and Karl Brunnhölzl.
Karl Brunhöltzl is trained in the Karma Kagyud tradition of Buddhist philosophy and meditation.
He translates Sanskrit and Tibetan to English and German, and has authored over twenty books, including the Heart Attack Sutra, and Nagarjuna’s, In Praise of Dharmadhatu.
7-day residential Chöd retreat at Drala Mountain Center (Colorado) with Anam Thubten Rinpoche and Elizabeth Mattis Namgyel
Note: Prerequisite for registration: Ngondro transmission and at least two months of practice. Please see information provided by WDM.
https://wildernessdharmamovement.org/
In this episode, Elizabeth explores the third aspect of bodhicitta: absolute bodhicitta. She uses the story of the 11th century Mahasiddha, Tilopa, and his disciple, Naropa, to illustrate the necessity of disrupting delusion in the context of spiritual awakening. At the heart of it all lies a deep exploration of the meaning and experience of what is real.
In this episode, Elizabeth opens up the topic of ‘engaged’ bodhicitta focusing on generosity. She weaves her experience of her recent trip to India with the story of Sujata, the young woman remembered for reviving Prince Siddhartha after his six years of austerities. Sujata offered him a bowl of sweet milk-rice, reviving his body with energy, enabling him to make his way to the Bodhi Tree, to attain enlightenment and become the Buddha. What happens when we conspire together to release generosity into life?
In episode 601, Across the Valley, Elizabeth uses the analogy of two communities situated on opposite sides of the valley where she lives to consider our tendencies towards fundamentalism and rightness. “What happens” she asks, “when everyone feels absolutely right?” The Bodhisattva Vow is a commitment to create connection with others, without bias, by looking inward at the mechanisms of reification, and then applying the Buddha’s Middle Way Beyond The Extremes.
Please join us on Saturday, September 13, 2025 from 12pm to 2pm MT USA for the OQ Live Conversation: “Radical Responsibility and Embodied Meditation” with Elizabeth Mattis Namgyel and Fleet Maull.
Fleet Maull is an experienced Buddhist practitioner, a senior teacher in the global Shambhala Community, a Zen master in the international Zen Peacemaker Order, and the founder of the Prison Mindfulness Institute and National Prison Hospice Association. Fleet is the author of two books, Dharma in Hell and Radical Responsibility. Fleet is truly an example of someone who has utilized challenging situations to mature and deepen spiritually and he has benefitted many through his activism. His insights and life experience will enhance our ongoing inquiry into the topic of bodhicitta, the practice of bearing witness and the meaning of “radical responsibility.”
This event is offered livestream via Zoom in English and in Portuguese simulcast translation.
Este encontro é uma preciosa oportunidade de aprofundamento com a querida Elizabeth Mattis Namgyel, que nos guiará pela sabedoria da Bodhicitta — o coração inteligente e compassivo que está no cerne do caminho Mahayana.
This gathering is a precious opportunity to deepen our connection with the beloved Elizabeth Mattis Namgyel, who will guide us through the wisdom of Bodhicitta — the intelligent and compassionate heart at the core of the Mahayana path.
“The Four Thoughts That Turn the Mind Toward the Dharma” from “Walking the Path of the Six Paramitas” Talk 1. May 29-30, 2021. Osel Ling, Crestone, CO.
