Reverence for Life is the first of the Five Mindfulness Trainings authored by Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh (known as “Thay” by his followers.) In the time of the Buddha it was known as the first precept and, in fact, at that time, all of the precepts were simple statements like, “Not to kill,” “Not […]
True Presence
What are the attributes of true presence? How do we learn to cultivate and activate them? Cheri Huber advises us that, Only presence gives us what our hearts long for. So simple, easy, beautiful and affordable! Costs us nothing; gives us everything. – Cheri Huber Her close friend, Ashwini Narayanan adds, With practice, it becomes […]
The Declaration Of Interdependence
We, the sentient beings of the third planet (earth) from the star commonly known as the “sun”, declare that all existence is in a state of interdependence. The state of interdependence is a state of interbeing, of interconnectedness. We recognize that people, animals, plants and minerals inter-are and share a single dwelling place on planet earth. […]
Meditation and the Science of Human Flourishing
Meditation and the Science of Human Flourishing was the name of a workshop which took place last Saturday, June 11, 2016 with Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche and Dr. Richie Davidson at Stanford University sponsored by The Center for Compassion and Altruism Research and Education (CCARE) and Tergar, Rimpoche’s meditation community. Richie talked about how he was […]
Four Questions on Racial Justice
These four questions on racial justice were pondered by three participants at the Earth Holder Retreat on Saturday, April 30 at the Deer Park Monastery in Escondido, California. What are your personal connections with racial justice? Touching the mud: what are the challenges, feelings and difficulties that you had growing up? When I think about […]
Nurturing Practices
This article is a summary of a wonderful dharma talk on nurturing practices given by Sister Mai Nghiem, a French nun and Dharma Teacher in the Plum Village Tradition. The dharma talk was given on April 29th, 2016 at the Earth Holder Retreat at the Deer Park Monastery last week. I was especially moved by […]
Guided Meditation for Loving Kindness
This guided meditation for loving kindness was created by Michael Sealey and is quite good for learning how to give and receive loving kindness, compassion, happiness, abundance and healing and eliminating stress and anxiety. Michael begins with a soothing body scan that takes about 7 minutes. Then he asks us to bring into mind an […]
Ram Dass on Unconditional Love
Continuing our theme of unconditional love, we can now see what Ram Dass has to say about it. Unconditional love is the love that a mother has for her new born infant. It is love without question, doubt or insincerity. It is love with kindness, compassion, empathy, good will and generosity. It is freely given […]
Practicing Compassion
Here is some advice on practicing compassion which I received in an email from Wild Divine. I found this practice to be particularly beneficial because it relies on an old Buddhist practice of putting yourself in the other person’s frame of mind. As the Dalai Lama says, “If you want others to be happy, practice […]
The Bells of Mindfulness from Mother Earth
The polar ice caps are melting. BONG! The sea levels are rising. BONG! The deserts are expanding. BONG! The temperature is rising. BONG! Species are becoming extinct. BONG! Water sources are depleting. BONG! The rainforests are disappearing. BONG! These bells of mindfulness from Mother Earth are ringing over and over again. Are we listening to […]
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