The World Needs You!

In celebration of the 71st continuation day of Roshi Joan Halifax, I offer this quote from her. I received this in an email today and was touched by its simplicity. Roshi Joan Halifax is a Zen Master and founder of the Upaya Zen Center in Santa Fe, New Mexico. I first met her at a […]

Stories We Tell Ourselves

This quote is from Sharon Salzberg, a renowned teacher of vipassana meditation and co-founder of the Barre Center for Buddhist Studies with Joseph Goldstein. She is especially known for her teachings on loving kindness meditation. Mindfulness helps us get better at seeing the difference between what’s happening and the stories we tell ourselves about what’s happening, stories that […]

2500 Years Of Social Revolution

This quote by Roshi Joan Halifax came to me by email in December. This ties in with The Story of the Buddha from earlier this week and reflects on 2500 years of social revolution. Also, I have been listening to a podcast by Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh in which he talked about how the Buddha […]

Roshi Joan Halifax Talked About Compassion

Roshi Joan Halifax talked about compassion when she visited Capital University in Columbus, Ohio in 2011. She opened with some words of wisdom from Barry Lopez. He writes about environmental and social concerns. She read a piece of his related to the role of compassion-based ethics in our lives. Arctic Dreams is the name of his […]

Roshi Joan Halifax Is Coming To Stanford

Roshi Joan Halifax is coming to Stanford University in one week on February 20, 2013. She will be in conversation with Dr. Jim Doty, Stanford neuroscientist and founder of The Center for Compassion And Altruism Research And Education (CCARE). When I met Roshi Joan Halifax sixteen years ago, I had no idea she was such an […]

Phase Shift In The World Religions

During the summer of 1997, when I was on retreat with Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh in Santa Barbara, California, I met Roshi Joan Halifax. I was immediately struck by her presence and her beauty. Who would think that she could accomplish so much in her lifetime. She is the founder and abbess of the Upaya […]

Unarmed Truth And Unconditional Love

This quote came to me from the Upaya Zen Center run by Roshi Joan Halifax. Dr. Martin Luther King nominated Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh for the Nobel Peace Prize in 1967. I refuse to accept the view that mankind is so tragically bound to the starless midnight of racism and war that the bright […]

The Better World

This quote came to me on Christmas morning from Roshi Joan Halifax. If we are to have peace on earth, our loyalties must become ecumenical rather than sectional. Our loyalties must transcend our race, our tribe, our class, and our nation; and this means we must develop a world perspective. —Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. […]

True Giving

I received this quote from Roshi Joan Halifax. She is the abbot of the Upaya Zen Center in Santa Fe, NM. She sent this to me as part of her holiday greetings. True giving is not an economic exchange; it is a generative act. It does not subtract from what we have; it multiples the […]

The Tripple Truth of the Buddha

Just saw this quote courtesy of Roshi Joan Halifax: Teach this triple truth to all: A generous heart, kind speech, and a life of service and compassion are the things which renew humanity. —Buddha