Years ago, I fell in love with a person I thought was my soul mate. We felt deeply for one another, yet we didn’t know how to make our relationship work. We would break up and make up, again and again. Sometimes he’d meet another woman, date her, and after some time...
‘Although the [Buddha's] teachings still exist, unless we follow them they can be of no benefit to us.’ Words of my Perfect Teacher
The Buddhist concept of mudita — sympathetic joy, or taking delight in the success of others — is headed to College Men’s Basketball’s Final Four. The Alabama Crimson Tide men’s basketball team has taken to the concept, as Chuck Culpepper reports for The Washington...
‘Just as any living beings depend on the great earth — so Bodhisattvas are all upheld by the perfection of wisdom.’ The Buddha
When someone is going through a big change in their life or facing something nerve-wracking, receiving a good luck wish from a friend can make a world of difference. I remember how supported I felt when my friends and family members personally sent me messages or...
Este verano, mientras visitaba a mi amiga y hermana de dharma, la Rev. Dana Takagi, me encontré con las enseñanzas del Daikoku. Takagi, maestra Soto Zen y profesora emérita de sociología en la Universidad de California en Santa Cruz, acababa de regresar de un viaje a...
‘Followers of Buddha are always poor. Poverty is of the body, not of the Buddha mind or the Way!’ Zen master Hsuan Chuen
My eyes are closed, my breath warm and sufficient. I feel connected and ready for the next moment. I softly open my eyes, reach for my paintbrush, and slosh blue paint across my page. And there it is—fear. My teeth clench, and I think how silly I was to even think I...
Mindfulness is our ability to be aware of what is going on both inside us and around us. It is the continuous awareness of our bodies, emotions, and thoughts. Through mindfulness, we avoid harming ourselves and others, and we can work wonders. If we live mindfully in...
1. Wake with the sun There is no purer light than what we see when we open our eyes first thing in the morning. 2. Sit Mindfulness without meditation is just a word. 3. Make your bed The state of your bed is the state of your head. Enfold your day in dignity. 4. Empty...