Course on Dharmarakshita's Wheel of Sharp Weapons (higher quality version, larger files)

Here we present the recordings of a continuing weekly course given by Dr. Alexander Berzin in Berlin, Germany, on the earliest attitude-training (Lojong, mind-training) text, emphasizing the Mahayana Buddhist practice of taking on the sufferings of others and giving them our own happiness (tonglen).

Course Recordings

All files are in MP3 format. To listen to or download one of the recordings, choose one of the dates below:

Mon 16. January 2006 Foundation of the Text ‒ Love and Compassion (23 MB)
Mon 23. January 2006 Equanimity Free of Attachment, Repulsion and Indifference (22.2 MB)
Mon 30. January 2006 Equal Attitude toward Everyone (Points 1-3) (17.8 MB)
Mon 6. February 2006 Equal Attitude toward Everyone (Points 4-9) and Disadvantages of Self-Cherishing (24.4 MB)
Mon 13. February 2006 Homage to Yamantaka ‒ Outer, Inner and Hidden Yamantakas (19.9 MB)
Mon 20. February 2006 Analogy of the Peacock Thriving on Difficult Situations (verses 1-3) (26.4 MB)
Mon 27. February 2006 Transforming Negative Emotions (verses 4-6) (21.3 MB)
Mon 6. March 2006 Disadvantages of Self-Cherishing and Advantages of Cherishing Others (verses 7-9) (20.7 MB)
Mon 13. March 2006 Karmic Causes of Physical Pain and Mental Suffering (verses 10-11) (15.9 MB)
Mon 20. March 2006 Karmic Causes of Hunger, Being Mistreated, and Being Verbally Abused (verses 12-14) (18.7 MB)
Mon 27. March 2006 Karmic Causes of Terrible Living Conditions, Being Parted from Loved Ones, and Having Our Gurus Be Displeased with Us (verses 15-17) (21.7 MB)
Mon 3. April 2006 Karmic Causes of Being Falsely Accused, and Material Possessions Being Destroyed, Stolen or Lost (verses 18-19) (21.2 MB)
Mon 10. April 2006 Karmic Causes of Having Unclear Mind and Unhappy Heart, Unfulfilled Aims, and Never Being Able to Please Our Gurus (verses 20-22) (16.4 MB)
Mon 15. May 2006 Karmic Causes of Others Finding Fault with Us, Disagreements with Loved Ones, and Those Close to Us Becoming Our Enemies (verses 23-25) (14.9 MB)
Mon 22. May 2006 Karmic Causes of Cancers and Chronic Illnesses, Infectious Diseases, and Lack of Discriminating Awareness (verses 26-28) (16.2 MB)
Mon 29. May 2006 Karmic Causes of Sleepiness during Practice, Mental Wandering and Delighting in Disturbing Emotions, and Our Plans Going Astray (verses 29-31) (19.6 MB)
Mon 12. June 2006 Karmic Causes of Contrary Outcomes to Our Practice, Unfulfilled Requests to the Triple Gem, and Strokes and Bedevilments by Spirits (verses 32-34) (20.6 MB)
Mon 19. June 2006 Karmc Causes of Having No Home of Our Choice, Unwished For Things Happening, and Feeling Needy (verses 35-37) (17 MB)
Mon 26. June 2006 How to Have a Healthy Relationship with a Spiritual Teacher, and Karmic Causes of Being Unattractive, and Being Insulted (verses 33, 38) (23 MB)
Mon 3. July 2006 Karmic Causes of Being Overcome by Attachment and Anger (verse 39) (20.4 MB)
Mon 10. July 2006 Karmic Causes of Not Achieving the Aims of Our Spiritual Practice, and Having an Untamed, Unfocused Mind (verses 40-41) (15.5 MB)
Mon 14. August 2006 Extended Review up to Verse 41, and Karmic Causes of Regretting Constructive Behavior and Being Fickle (verse 42) (27.3 MB)
Mon 21. August 2006 Karmic Causes of Being Deceived by Others, and Being Confused by Our Anger and Attachment (verses 43-44) (17.7 MB)
Mon 28. August 2006 Karmic Causes of Our Positive Acts Eliciting Negative Responses and Summary of This Section about Karmic Causes (verses 45-48) (17.4 MB)
Mon 4. September 2006 How through Self-Grasping We Rob Ourselves of Liberation, How Understanding the Two Truths Rids Us of Self-Grasping (verses 49-50) (15.2 MB)
Mon 11. September 2006 Calling on Yamantaka to Summon Forth, Batter, and Kill the Demon of Self-Grasping (verses 51-52) (16.8 MB)
Mon 18. September 2006 Calling on Yamantaka to Bind the Demon of Self-Grasping and Free Us from Our Karma and Disturbing Emotions, How Self-Grasping Causes Rebirth in the Three Worse States (verses 53-55) (16.7 MB)
Mon 25. September 2006 How Self-Grasping Causes Us to Pursue Unhappiness and Neglect Spiritual Practice (verses 56-57) (20 MB)
Mon 2. October 2006 How Self-Grasping Causes Us to Form Fickle Friendships and Steal Resources (verse 58 (17.6 MB)
Mon 9. October 2006 How Self-Grasping Causes Us to Flatter Others, Be Stingy, and Boast about Our Hardships (verses 59-60) (20.5 MB)
Mon 16. October 2006 How Self-Grasping Causes Us to Study with More Teachers than We Can Manage and Neglect Our Own Students (verse 61) (19.3 MB)
Mon 23. October 2006 How Self-Grasping Causes Us to Neglect Helping Others Although Supposedly We're Following a Spiritual Path (verse 62) (22.7 MB)
Mon 30. October 2006 How Self-Grasping Causes Us to Boast and Pretend We Understand the Teachings, and How It Causes Our Followers and Patrons to Ignore Us (verses 63-64) (15 MB)
Mon 13. November 2006 Although We Have a High Status and Have Studied the Highest Philosophical View, Self-Grasping Causes Us to Act Worse than Animals and Demons (verses 65-66) (12.9 MB)
Mon 20. November 2006 How Self-Grasping Causes Us to Let Desire and Anger Fester Inside, Blame Others for Our Problems, Act Like Demons, and Go to Ghosts for Refuge (verses 67-68) (17.2 MB)
Mon 27. November 2006 How Self-Grasping Causes Us to Deceive the Three Gems, Be Carried Away by Worldly Distractions and Superstitions, Discard Ethical Discipline, and Chase after Suffering (verses 69-71) (16.6 MB)
Mon 4. December 2006 How Self-Grasping Causes Us to Waste Our Precious Human Rebirth, Focus on Worldly Things Instead of Spiritual Practice, and Steal from Others (verses 72-74) (16.9 MB)
Mon 11. December 2006 How Self-Grasping Causes Us to Expect Attainments without Having to Work on the Spiritual Path and to Get Confused between Friends and Foes (verses 75-76) (18.8 MB)
Mon 18. December 2006 How Self-Grasping Causes Us to Betray Those Who Trust Us and Makes Us Hard to Get Along With (verses 77-78) (20.6 MB)
Mon 8. January 2007 How Self-Grasping Causes Us to Harm Those Needing Help, Find Fault with Others, Get Offended and Easily Upset, and Abuse Those in Higher and Lower Positions Than Us (verses 79-81) (19.1 MB)
Mon 15. January 2007 How Self-Grasping Causes Us to Have Short-Lived Friendships and Make Ridiculous Claims About Ourselves (verses 82-83) (20.4 MB)
Mon 22. January 2007 How Self-Grasping Causes Us to Guess about the Teachings, Generate Distorted Views, and Act with Attachment, Anger, and Jealousy (verses 84-85 (20.4 MB)
Mon 29. January 2007 How Self-Grasping Causes Us to Belittle the Teachings and Make up Our Own (verses 86-87) (20.2 MB)
Mon 5. February 2007 How Self-Grasping Causes Us to Criticize Dharmic Acts, Accept Non-Dharmic Acts, and Have a Distorted Sense of Shame (verses 88-89) (17.7 MB)
Mon 26. February 2007 How Self-Grasping Causes Us to Fill Our Time with Improper Actions, Calling on Yamantaka, Destroyer of the Demon of Self-Grasping (verses 90-91) (17.8 MB)
Tue 6. March 2007 Calling on Yamantaka to Free Us from Self-Grasping Forever (verse 92) (18.8 MB)
Mon 12. March 2007 Smother Our Self-Grasping by Heaping on Us Everyone's Disturbing Emotions and Suffering (verse 93) (16.9 MB)
Mon 19. March 2007 Further Discussion of Verse 93 (20.1 MB)
Mon 26. March 2007 Demolish All Trace of Our Self-Grasping, Let's Meditate on Kindness toward All Beings, Taking on Their Suffering and Dedicating to Them the Roots from Our Constructive Acts (verses 94-95) (12.9 MB)
Mon 2. April 2007 By Taking On the Negative Consequences of What Others Have Done, May We Transform the Disturbing Emotions into Aids for Enlightenment (verse 96) (15.3 MB)
Mon 16. April 2007 Having Given Everyone the Roots from Our Constructive Acts, May They Quickly Attain Liberation and Buddhahood (verse 97) (15.1 MB)
Mon 23. April 2007 May We Help One Another to Uphold the Bodhichitta Aim until Everyone Has Attained Enlightenment (verse 98) (17.4 MB)
Mon 7. May 2007 May We Lead Beings out of Three Worse States and Bring Peace and Happiness to Joyless Hell Realms, May Even Hell Beings Achieve Higher Rebirth and Develop Bodhichitta (verses 99-101) (19.5 MB)
Mon 14. May 2007 May the Beings of the Higher States Meditate on No True-Self and the Equal Nature of Samsara and Nirvana, and Thus Attain the Causes for a Buddha's Form Body (verses 102-103) (17 MB)
Mon 21. May 2007 All Things Arise Dependently on Causes and Conditions, False Appearances Are Illusions (verse 104)b (19.1 MB)
Mon 4. June 2007 Further Discussion of Verse 104 (19 MB)
Mon 18. June 2007 Like a Bubble, a Mirage, a Reflection in a Mirror, etc., Our Life Has No Solid Core (verses 105-106) (20.6 MB)
Mon 25. June 2007 A True Self Seems to Exist But Has Never Existed At All, Although Karmic Causes and Effects Lack Inherent Existence, We Must Accept and Reject the Appropriate Actions (verses 107-112) (16.7 MB)
Mon 16. July 2007 A True Self Seems to Exist But Has Never Existed At All, Although Karmic Causes and Effects Lack Inherent Existence, We Must Accept and Reject the Appropriate Actions (verses 107-112) (18.2 MB)