Int  It was Sept 11, 2017 when Lion’s Roar posted the following essay, which ends with the words: As Buddhists in the U.S., I think that if we knew our own history better — that is, the history of Buddhism in the U.S. — we would understand that the ICE raids (which...

In Buddhism, love is not just an emotion. It’s a way of being, an experience of openness, kindness, and presence. Love gives us strength. It nourishes our happiness and protects our sanity. When our hearts are filled with love, we are deeply peaceful, happy, and...

For the first two decades of my life, you could have told me a chaplain was a type of boat, a cozy shirt, or someone’s favorite meal, and I would have believed you. In retrospect, this seems perfectly sensible. English is my father’s third language (mine as well,...

My eighty-year-old mother has lung cancer and congestive heart failure. After the cancer diagnosis, there followed numerous visits to the hospital. She cried each time, imploring me to let her stay home. I didn’t listen. Determined to fix her, we pushed through what...

Once a year, in a training program for clinicians at The Institute for Mindfulness & Psychotherapy, my friend Chris Willard and I join a Zoom meeting to answer questions about sharing mindfulness with children. This year, a new question kept coming up: Does...

'Moved by their selfish desires, people seek after fame and glory. But when they have acquired it, they are already stricken in years. If you hanker after worldly fame and practise not the Way, your labours are wrongfully applied and your energy is wasted.' Buddha...

Life does not give you what you want. It gives you what you are.~Jerod Born in Miami, a city of vibrant light and deep roots, Jerod Simon learned early that even in the most beautiful jungles, life asks us to grow through seasons of profound transformation. He was...

“Between stimulus and response there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response.” ~Viktor Frankl  For a long time, my first response to difficulty was a single, aching question: “Why me?” It surfaced whenever life took an unexpected turn—when plans...

“Trauma is not what happens to you, but what happens inside you as a result of what happens to you.” ~Dr. Gabor Maté Most people think trauma comes from what frightened us. But not all trauma is rooted in fear. Some wounds come from betrayal—when something violates...

‘The mind lets go of external mind-objects and you continue to observe internally.’ Ajahn Chah