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...

At some point, most of us have felt the quiet ache of not being enough—not smart enough, capable enough, or worthy enough. This sense of deficiency can burden our hearts, shaping how we see ourselves and holding us back from living fully and authentically. Yet, the...

Cultivating confidence isn’t always what comes to mind when people think of mindfulness, nor the reason why they decide to practice meditation or study Buddhism. We often start out looking to reduce stress or just generally be more grateful and present for all the...