Happy

The subject of happy was the theme of the Mindfulness In Healing Sangha on June 22, 2022. It was inspired by this quote: I am happy even before I have a reason. – Hafiz Thich Nhat Hanh says, “We have everything we need to be happy right now!” What do you need to be happy […]

Daily Practice

I want to share with you the details of my daily practice. These practices nourish me year after year and continue to be the source of my health and well-being. After I awaken, I log on to Insight Timer and begin my morning practice. I often listen to guided meditations to help me become centered and […]

American JuBu

In the current issue (Spring 2020) of Tricycle Magazine, there is a review article about Emily Sigalow’s new book, “American JewBu: Jews, Buddhists, and Religious Change.” I was deeply moved by this review to the extent of making a comment. Here is what I wrote: I was brought up in a conservative kosher home in […]

Taking Care of Anger

At a recent meeting of our Mindfulness In Healing sangha (meditation group) we discussed the Mindfulness Training #6, Taking Care of Anger. This training reads, Aware that anger blocks communication and creates suffering, we are committed to taking care of the energy of anger when it arises, recognizing and transforming the seeds of anger that […]

The Buddha

For the past five or six weeks, I have been watching episodes of The Buddha on Netflix. The series was produced by the famous Indian producer B. K. Modi. In truth, it is a Bollywood movie in 54 episodes. The costumes and jewelry are extraordinarily beautiful, but I can’t same the same thing about the […]

How to Navigate this Crazy World

These words of wisdom on how to navigate this crazy world came to me today from Dr. Lissa Rankin from her The Daily Flame email. I think that this is an important one to share, especially because we have been discussing deep listening and loving speech in our Mindfulness in Healing sangha for the past couple of […]

Reverence for Life

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 […]

For a Future to be Possible

The final session of the Earth Holder Retreat was on the theme of “For a Future to be Possible” on Sunday, May 1 at the Deer Park Monastery. The panel discussion was led by Brother Phap Ho (Brother Protection) and included Kristin Barker (founder of One Earth Sangha), Jayna Gieber (director of “People of the […]

Fourteen Verses on Meditation

These Fourteen Verses on Meditation were written by Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh and translated from Vietnamese by ChanCo, Maple Village May 2016. I want to express my gratitude to ChanCo who wrote regarding the translation, In my translation, I have considered that these verses are verses of practice so I have tried to make […]

The Importance of Sangha

Tomorrow, I’m going to the Earth Holder Retreat at the Deer Park Monastery where the importance of sangha in Buddhist practice is realized. The Practicing Pamphlet which I received clearly states, We have come to practice together as a community. We do not encourage isolated practices or solo retreats. We are part of a body […]