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...
Spirituality
Bondad amorosa: Que todos los seres sean felices
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...
Morning meditation — I appear in the midst of the activities of all sentient beings.
‘I appear in the midst of the activities of all sentient beings without leaving the presence of all the Buddhas.’ Avalokiteshvara
Morning meditation — The whole world is cause and effect.
‘The whole world is cause and effect; excluding this, there's no sentient being.’ Arya Nagarjuna
Morning meditation — What joy there is in this radiance!
‘What joy there is in this radiance!’ Harada Tangen Roshi
What to Say When Someone Dies
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...
Asian American & American Zen
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...
I Figured I Would Never Find Another: On Being a Queer Asian American Buddhist
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,...
Reuniting Buddha’s Head and Body
Whether looted Greek antiquities, stolen indigenous artifacts—even remains—or Jewish-owned art pillaged during World War II, museumgoers often overlook just how exactly these pieces came to be in a museum’s possession. This question of provenance arose for artist...
Poetry as Spiritual Practice
Everything Blends Together to Form Its Own Coherence By Shin Yu Pai My earliest connection to Buddhism came through poetry. Growing up in a Taiwanese immigrant household without consistent ritual or practice, I learned social values through my father quoting Confucius...
