‘There's a unborn unbecome unmade unconditioned. If there were no unborn-unconditioned, no escape would be possible from the born.’ The Buddha

Question: I recently moved to a Buddhist retreat center where I am pretty much the only person of color. I knew that going in, but it’s been more difficult than I expected. I love the practice and don’t want to leave, but I feel uncomfortable and miss my own people...

Meditation is making friends with yourself. It’s a statement that struck me as hokey when I first heard it, but the more I practice, the more profound it seems. Truth be told, there are things I’ve said to myself that I would never, ever say to a friend. I’ve flaked...

For decades a prayer has circulated in the background of my daily life: May I trust my own goodness. May I see the goodness in others. This longing emerged from a deep place of suffering I went through as a young adult. During that dark time, I felt anxious and...

In my freshman year of college, my religious studies class was at the sleepy hour of two o’clock, and to make matters worse the professor was hypnotically soft-spoken and wore tired shades of brown. So on the day that he slowly enumerated the four noble truths on the...

‘Don't invite the future.’ Words of my Perfect Teacher

In 2020, we at Lion’s Roar were blessed when the award-winning Tibetan singer-songwriter Yungchen Lhamo specially recorded a premiere video of her song “Awakening” (from her album of the same name) as part of our first “Dalai Lama Global Vision Summit,” produced in...

Today I took a long walk through the high desert woods of the Cerro Gordo Mountains. I’ve never taken this walk before, so I stepped cautiously around gnarly tree roots, keeping my attention bright in the hopes of avoiding a twisted ankle or stepping on the baby...

To practice mindfulness is to become alive. Life is so precious, yet in our daily lives we are carried away by our forgetfulness, anger and worries. We are often lost in the past, unable to touch life in the present moment. When we are truly alive, everything we touch...

Question: I don’t really like formal meditation that much but I love going for contemplative walks, listening to beautiful music, reading Buddhist books, and other things that feel spiritual to me. Is it OK if I find other ways to be meditative besides sitting on a...