Guide Pages

Discovering Buddhism

Welcome to Prajna’s landing page on discovering Buddhism.

The main purpose of this page is to explore some of the key philosophical principles and practices of Buddhism that encapsulate Buddha’s insights into our mind and the world. No matter whether you want to get to know the Buddhist path in detail, to find some better means to face the challenges and big questions of life, or you are simply looking for some basic meditation instructions, this page should help you find what you need.
For an introduction to this guide page on Discovering Buddhism and to find out more about how this page can support you, check out the first video in our curated playlist below. 

One thing to bear in mind as you continue to explore this topic: the complete body of Buddha’s teachings (also called ‘Dharma’) is incredibly vast and rich, but its essence is actually very simple. It’s all about finding peace, compassion and wisdom through taming and transforming our minds, for ourselves and for everyone connected with us in this interdependent world.
13m 42s
Four lines essentializing the Buddhist teachings
Sogyal Rinpoche
1997
New York, 27 October 1997
The Buddha’s teachings are vast but can also be essentialized into just four lines.
To watch the full teaching, click here.

Featured live streaming

Meditation: 20 Minutes A Day
Meditation: 20 Minutes A Day

Deepening your understanding

Other resources

In this section, you find links to the websites of the teachers introduced above—wherever available and in the order of appearance.

Ian Ives
For other teachings on prajna, follow these links:
‘Precious Human Life’, and 'Contemplating the suffering of Samsara’ are available as part of the monthly sessions from The Way of the Great Perfection.

Jetsun Khandro Rinpoche
https://www.khandrorinpoche.org/
For other teachings on Prajna, click here

Sogyal Rinpoche
For other teachings on Prajna, click here

Dominique Side
https://dominique-side.com/
For other teachings on Prajna click here.

Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche
https://dpr.info/

Patrick Gaffney
You can find recent teachings by Patrick Gaffney as part of the monthly sessions from The Way of the Great Perfection— here.
Or find out more about his upcoming course called “Make the most of this life’ starting the 2 April— more details here.

Damien Brohon
You can find a Dharma talk entitled ‘How can dharma dialogue with contemporary culture?’
where he shares the creative process that led to the writing of his book "Au travers du visible".
To learn more about his book, you can also check out this interview with France 2.

Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche
https://siddharthasintent.org/

Sharon Salzberg
https://www.sharonsalzberg.com/

Andrew Warr
For other teachings on Prajna, click here

More on this topic

Discovering Buddhism–The Four Noble Truths, part 1
44m 40s
Discovering Buddhism–The Four Noble Truths, part 1
Jetsün Khandro Rinpoche, Ringu Tulku Rinpoche, Sogyal Rinpoche
2021
Buddhist Wisdom
Choosing to Look Within (Following the Buddha’s Journey)
1h 40m
Choosing to Look Within (Following the Buddha’s Journey)
Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche, Jetsün Khandro Rinpoche, Sogyal Rinpoche
2021
Buddhist Wisdom
Responding as a Buddhist to the environmental crisis
51m 30s
Responding as a Buddhist to the environmental crisis
Ringu Tulku Rinpoche, Sogyal Rinpoche, David Loy, ...
2022
Buddhism & Ecology
Little needs, much contentment
43m 15s
Little needs, much contentment
Dzigar Kongtrul Rinpoche
2008
Buddhist Wisdom, ...
The Art of Living and Dying
1h 48m
The Art of Living and Dying
Sogyal Rinpoche
2012
Understanding Death & Dying
Discovering who we really are
1h 26m 34s
Discovering who we really are
Sogyal Rinpoche
2002
Mind & Nature of mind
The Way to Inner Peace and Contentment
1h 34m 23s
The Way to Inner Peace and Contentment
Sogyal Rinpoche
2006
Buddhist Wisdom, ...
Dharma Talk - Discovering Buddhism
1h 39s
Dharma Talk - Discovering Buddhism
Dominique Side
2022
Buddhist Wisdom