I have always been an optimistic person, always trying to see something good in every situation. I lived through abuse from childhood into adulthood, yet somehow I always found a reason to smile. Almost twenty years ago, I became very ill. I would spend days at a time...

Six months ago, all I cared about was me. That was it. All I wanted was my next high, no matter the cost. It didn’t matter what I had to do to get it, I was going to get high. That mindset led me to self-destruction. I thought I knew everything, but the truth was I...

‘So how do we sustain this awareness in the midst of a busy, complex life? The answer lies in consistency. Meditation, yes — but also mindful living.’ Everyday Buddhism

‘In terms of a human being, a Buddha is a person without ego-self. This means that for sentient beings there is no centre or self-nature. In Buddhism, this is explained as the law of causality.’ Harada Sekkei Roshi

“As a solid rock is not shaken by the wind, the wise are not shaken by praise or blame.” ~The Dhammapada, Verse 81 Some moments lift you like moonlight. Others break you like a wave. I’ve lived through both—and I’ve come to believe that the way we move through these...

When people ask me about meditation, they often say, “Rinpoche, I want to meditate, but my emotions get in the way.” I always tell them: emotions are not obstacles to meditation. They are the very path. The Buddha himself discovered this. As a prince, he had...

“Music was my refuge. I could crawl into the space between the notes and curl my back to loneliness.” ~Maya Angelou I used to believe that healing and personal transformation required a lot of effort—writing page after page in a journal or getting up at the crack of...

‘Through the cultivation of wisdom, we move beyond the limitations of the conceptual mind and touch the true nature of reality. We see that in emptiness, there is no separation between self and other, between wisdom and compassion.’ Everyday Buddhism

A talk by Ajahn Sumedho on Chronic Pain, Ego and Liberation.

More than 250 Buddhist nuns from around the globe will receive bhikshuni ordination in Thimphu, Bhutan, from November 15–19. The ordination will be presided over by His Holiness the Je Khenpo, spiritual head of Bhutan’s largest Buddhist school, the Drugpa Kagyu. Since...