Three Years on the Great Mountain: A Memoir of Zen and Fearlessness (Shambhala Publications) is an inspirational call to practice. As a young adult, author Cristina Moon protested for human rights in Burma. She attended her first meditation retreat as a way to prepare...

I think what makes Buddhism unique — what makes it Buddhism — is its diagnosis of what causes suffering, which is called the second noble truth. Looking at the other noble truths, most religions acknowledge the pervasive reality of suffering, that it can end (if not...

As a Zen Buddhist, my starting point is: do not be sure. If I think I know the answer, I’ve fallen into a trap. If I think I “know” what spirituality is, or if I think I can say what it is, then I am no longer in touch with spirituality. The map is not the territory....

‘If we study theory, our practice won't develop at all.’ Ajahn Chah

“The moment we choose to love, we begin to move towards freedom, to act in ways that liberate ourselves and others.”—bell hooks The humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza has escalated dramatically since I published my commentary about the war in Gaza on Lionsroar.com. With...

I suffered terrible anxiety in my childhood. I desperately wanted to run away from it or fight it off. I don’t know exactly what the true cause of my panic was, but it manifested in many ways. I was terrified of snowstorms. In my hometown in the Himalayas, winter...