‘In this very fathom-long body, along with its perception and mind, I declare the world, the origin of the world, the cessation of the world, and the path leading to the cessation of the world.’ The Buddha

In the modern world, so many of us live indoors, on screens—strangers to our own bodies and sense experience—and this leaves us uneasy. We’re homesick, for a deep sense of place and belonging, so we try to fill the void the only way we know how: with rational thought....

When I was twelve years old, I experienced a near drowning at a public swimming pool. I’d been to the pool many times, but since I’d never had swimming lessons, I always stayed in the shallow end. One bright and sunny day, my best friend convinced me that he could...

In our modern world, where stress and anxiety often feel like constant companions, RAIN meditation stands out as a simple yet powerful tool for cultivating emotional resilience. Developed by Michele McDonald and popularized by Tara Brach, RAIN is an acronym...

Years ago, my daughter heard that remote Pollet’s Cove, Nova Scotia, was the summertime home of a herd of semi-wild horses, and she’s dreamt ever since of paying them a visit. This year, with her about to launch into high school and a new chapter of independence, I...

One day I was walking in a meadow and saw a great blue heron just about thirty feet away. It suddenly poked its head down into the grass and came up with a large snake with at least three feet of its body still dangling from the heron’s mouth. The snake’s body was...

The 2009 Copenhagen Accord failed to become a robust international agreement to reduce greenhouse gases because negotiations fell apart. After that fiasco, the prevailing view was that international agreement to reduce greenhouse gases was a pipe dream. There were so...

Twenty years ago, my partner and I decided to quit our jobs, leave our country, and check into a Tibetan Buddhist monastery in Kathmandu. We were determined to get enlightened, whatever that meant. I’d been active in the poetry community back home—getting published,...

“Each moment is astonishing radiance, full and round, without direction or corners, discarding trifles.”—Zen Master Hongzhi, twelfth-century China I’ve always wondered what time is. Is it animal, vegetable, or mineral? Is it solid, liquid, or gas? What is this moment?...

When I was a kid, it was the beginning of the Space Age. Each rocket launch was televised live on all the TV networks, and the countdown would fill our hearts with an intoxicating mixture of joy and excitement. Perhaps—for the adults who were watching—there was some...