Buddhism famously says that everything we are looking for—happiness, the end of suffering, even enlightenment—is found right here in this life. Chop wood, carry water, and all that. But what is this life? It may be much vaster and deeper than we think, both less real...

‘Unless you see your nature, all this talk about cause and effect is nonsense. Buddhas don’t practise nonsense.’ Bodhidharma

‘Nature of mind is basically empty, neither pure nor impure Free of both practise and realisation.’ Bodhidharma

Wu Wei is a key concept within Daoism — and refers to a serene acceptance of events. It’s a wisdom we’re very uninclined to remember in our own times.

‘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