‘If we study theory, our practice won't develop at all.’ Ajahn Chah

“The moment we choose to love, we begin to move towards freedom, to act in ways that liberate ourselves and others.”—bell hooks The humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza has escalated dramatically since I published my commentary about the war in Gaza on Lionsroar.com. With...

I suffered terrible anxiety in my childhood. I desperately wanted to run away from it or fight it off. I don’t know exactly what the true cause of my panic was, but it manifested in many ways. I was terrified of snowstorms. In my hometown in the Himalayas, winter...

Tiempos precarios como los que vivimos exigen que guardemos silencio y escuchemos a nuestro corazón. Según su etimología, la palabra “precario” deriva del prefijo latino prec, que significa “plegaria”. Una forma de plegaria especialmente potente para momentos de...

‘I appear in the midst of the activities of all sentient beings without leaving the presence of all the Buddhas.’ Avalokiteshvara

‘The whole world is cause and effect; excluding this, there's no sentient being.’ Arya Nagarjuna

‘What joy there is in this radiance!’ Harada Tangen Roshi

Have you had that awkward, uncomfortable moment when a friend’s loved one has died, and you’re at a loss for words? Do you struggle with what to do when you’re with someone who’s grieving? If so, you are not alone. Over a twenty-six-month period, I navigated a...

In 1972, just after my mother immigrated from Korea to California, she attended a summer camp that gathered young people of different races and religions to build mutual understanding. A smiling sansei (third generation Japanese American) counselor approached her and...

Growing up both Japanese and Chinese, I often felt alienated because I lived in a majority white town. I also sometimes felt like I was on the outside of my sangha looking in because I didn’t completely fit in there, either. I was raised in the Japanese Jodo Shinshu,...