On the eve of New York City’s lockdown for the pandemic, I felt the fear of the unknown that was in the air. So I meditated with a crooked tree with branches snaking out sideways, and insights from that tree meditation helped me weather the pandemic over the next...

‘Between mind and mind there is no gap. They all flow into the sea of original nature.’ Nan-yüan

Everyone, no matter how privileged, has moments when their world falls apart. Fear, despair, and grief can overwhelm us as we struggle with debilitating illness, economic insecurity, or the death of a beloved spouse or child. If we are members of a marginalized group,...

Ever since I can remember, I’ve battled a deep and insistent melancholy—an undercurrent of sorrow that seems almost intrinsic to who I am. Growing up I countered this sadness with a lot of effort, a lot of doing. I was always pushing—pushing to be the first, to be the...

1. Mindfulness of Breath While there are many variations of this practice, this simple version is common to many Buddhist traditions and is a mainstay of the secular mindfulness movement. It is a foundation of the path to enlightenment and offers immediate benefits to...