‘The mind that no longer grasps at duality or non-duality, being or not being, simply abides in the flow of reality — undivided, ungraspable, yet fully present.’ Everyday Buddhism
Spirituality
When Memory Fails Us
“Luke, I am your father.” If you recognize this as Darth Vader’s famous line from The Empire Strikes Back, you’re in good company—and you’re also wrong. The actual line is “No, I am your father.” This isn’t just a trivial mistake. It’s an example of what’s called the...
Morning meditation — Compassion, love, kindness.
‘Compassion, love, kindness, a sense of brotherhood or sisterhood, a sense of altruism — these are key areas for human development in the future as well as today.’ Dalai Lama
Morning meditation — I Mo Ko. What is this?
‘I Mo Ko. I Mo Ko. What is this? What is this? When we practise hua t’ou meditation, we are simply trying to generate doubt: What is this? Sometimes the `this’ is crying, sometimes laughing, sometimes feeling depressed, sometimes being excited.’ Jisu Sunim
Morning meditation — If a major fear or worry arises.
‘If a major fear or worry arises, tell it you’ll give it attention later. Remarkably, this works. The mind, like a restless child, often settles once it knows it will be heard.’ Everyday Buddhism
Morning meditation — To experience the Buddha directly.
‘To experience the Buddha directly is to be fully present with what is, without clinging or resistance. It is to engage with the moment, each thought, each feeling, as an expression of the Dharma.’ Everyday Buddhism
Morning meditation — Please consider this.
‘Please consider this: right now, you have a body, a voice and a mind, don’t you? Of these, mind is the most important.’ Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche
Morning meditation — The easiest and most harmful place for practitioners to find themselves in is the discursive mind.
‘The easiest and most harmful place for practitioners to find themselves in is the discursive mind — discrimination, analysing, categorising this and that, good and bad, here and now.’ Jisu Sunim
The Reluctant Bodhisattva
I felt conflicted because there was a gulf between what I thought I should feel and what I was actually feeling. I should be grateful, I told myself, that I was a perfect match. It would significantly increase the chances that my brother’s body would not reject my...
The Single Life
When my niece’s invitation to her eighth birthday party said 1 p.m. at Skateland, I knew what that meant: Vietnamese Standard Time. Sure enough, my family strolled in late. Fifteen minutes late, to be exact. But that’s okay; by then, I’d already laced up my own...