‘The exploration of the illusion of self is not merely an intellectual exercise, but a profound journey towards the heart of reality, where the dualities of self and other, form and emptiness, dissolve into the radiant clarity of clear awareness.’ Everyday Buddhism

As we study and practice Buddhism, we encounter three subtle yet powerful obstacles: the superiority complex, the inferiority complex, and the equality complex. Each creates unique suffering, trapping us in the habit of comparison and judgment. Yet, with gentle and...

I believe we are witnessing a momentous event in world spiritual history. It is the birth of an authentic new contemplative tradition. This new contemplative tradition, born on American soil, was founded by the man on this issue’s cover, Jon Kabat-Zinn. It is called...

I traveled to Costa Rica, where I was scheduled to teach a retreat at Blue Spirit. I went two weeks early to have some personal retreat time in a tiny fishing village called San Juanillo, not far from the Buddhist teacher Lama Tsultrim Allione’s house. I’d planned...

I recently offered an all-day program on mindful leadership to twenty Black public administrators. They work on the front lines of life-threatening situations, managing essential services such as food, health care, and housing for underserved and low-income...

Jungian psychologist and Zen teacher John Tarrant recounts the Buddha’s life in his colorful new book The Story of the Buddha (Shambhala Publications). In this beautiful tome, which includes a rich collection of traditional Chinese and Japanese illustrations, the...

A few years ago, a parent asked me to teach meditation to a group of mothers and their kids. I agreed, confident that I could replicate the children’s class I taught at the monastery where I lived. My plan was simple: I’d give this group of twenty or so kids and their...

An experiment to follow Mahatma Gandhi’s moral principles in these immoral times? It was an idea that seemed crazy and implausible, yet I took it on anyway.  Why Gandhi? Why me? Why now? Let me explain. By the spring of 2019, I had hit a wall. Spiraling into a dark...

I’m ushered into a small, crowded shrine room where there’s an abundance of offerings, Buddha statues, and images of Buddhism’s first nun, Mahaprajapati Gautami. I’m here to meet Bhikkhuni Dhammawati Guruma, the legendary ninety-year-old nun who’s widely credited with...

I was raised in Los Angeles, California, from the mid-1980s to the early 2000s. When I was growing up, my mother used to caution me not to interact with gang members and would prevent me from purchasing or wearing clothes that might be associated with gang...