In these words of wisdom from Hannah Tennant-Moore, we learn that the precepts or the Mindfulness Trainings are not formulas for absolute virtue. Every single one of them, whether we are talking about the Five Mindfulness Trainings or the Fourteen Mindfulness Trainings of the Order of Interbeing, is relative and depends on what is happening […]
Joy is Great for Your Happiness
Did you know that joy is great for your happiness and health? That’s right! According to Dr. Lissa Rankin, MD in her book, Mind Over Medicine: Scientific Proof That You Can Heal Yourself, people who experience a lot of joy in their lives tend to be happier, live longer, and be in better health than […]
How to Visualize Uncle Monk
On Saturday night, I returned home from a short trip to New York to celebrate my son’s engagement and attend his last cabaret performance before he and his fiance move back to the Bay Area at the end of December. While meditating on the plane, I figured out how to visualize Uncle Monk, Zen Master […]
Life is Available Only in the Present Moment
Dear Friends: Now that the world knows that Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh (Thay) is in intensive care, it is important to remember one of his major teaching: “Life is available only in the present moment.” Tricycle also picked up on this theme with these words of wisdom from Thay. It is funny that things […]
Taking Care of Our Families
Taking care of our families is just as important as dharma practice. Even though we are taught that “non-attachment is essential,” we must continue to love and support our family members. I find this teaching to be really essential. At a time when many of my friends were attending retreats away from their families, I […]
How to Regard All Beings
Here is a quote from Huineng on how to regard all beings. Other than the quote, which is from Tricycle.com, this is my recollection of his role in Zen Buddhism. Huineng was the sixth patriarch of Zen. He was born in 638 and died in 713 at the age of 75. He began his spiritual […]
The Importance of Faith in Buddhism
Sharon Salzberg is a frequent visitor to these pages. She is one of the original founders of the Insight Meditation Center in Barre, Massachusetts, along with Joseph Goldstein and Jack Kornfield. I think her major contribution to Buddhism in the West is the way she writes about and teachs metta (loving kindness) practices. In these […]
Loving Kindness for All Beings
The music in this video is by Ashana from her album, All is Forgiven. The song is called, Loving Kindness for all beings! A friend of mine shared this with me for healing, relaxation, and inner peace. It was the one song I relied on during my recent eight weeks of cancer treatments. The words […]
Loving Kindness Meditation with Gil Fronsdal
It is with great pleasure that I present this Loving Kindness Meditation with Gil Fronsdal. The text is from his book, The Issue at Hand. The book is offered as a gift to the community. It is freely given and available online. I found this to be so instructive that I want to share this […]
The Basic Irrelevance of the Human Condition
Modern cosmologists have investigated our place in the universe and has found that our lives on earth are basically irrelevant. Thomas Merton recognized this long before it became a scientific fact. He wrote this in The Asian Journal of Thomas Merton, which was published in 1975. This was almost fifteen years before cosmologists even proved […]
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