Every Buddhist practitioner takes refuge in the Three Jewels. The Three Jewels are The Buddha, The Dharma, and The Sangha. The Buddha What does it mean to take refuge in the Buddha? When we take refuge in the Buddha, we aspire to awaken the seeds of joy, happiness, peace, and serenity in our lives and […]
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The Most Beautiful Jewels In The Universe
I am happy to present another installment of Weekly Words of Wisdom chosen by Lama Surya Das. These come from a great teacher of the last century, Alan Watts. Alan Wilson Watts was born in England. He was a philosopher, writer, and speaker. Perhaps he is best known as an interpreter of Eastern philosophy for […]
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 […]
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 […]
What is Dharma?
A lot of people new to the teaching of mindfulness ask the question, “What is dharma?” They hear it mentioned in so many different contexts that they become confused. But, like many words in English, dharma has many meanings. Buddhists all over the world talk about the Three Jewels: the Buddha, the dharma, and the […]
Gratitude is Passive Energy
These words of wisdom from Masaru Emoto teach us that gratitude is passive energy, while love tends to be more active energy. While gratitude is one of the cornerstones of our practice, love is the foundation. We experience love for the Buddha – the one who shows us the way in this life. We experience […]
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 […]
Bodhi Mind
This Buddhist prayer comes from “The Gate of Sweet Nectar,” translated by Bernie Glassman Roshi. He joined with Krishna Das to talk and sing about how the prayer relates to the Hindu chant, Hanuman Chalisa. The bodhi mind is the mind that can awaken. As I wrote previously, “The Buddha taught that everyone has “bodichitta” […]
8 Stages Of Mental Mastery
The Buddha taught the 8 stages of mental mastery. What are these 8 stages of mental mastery? Beginning with familiar objects on one’s own body, one visualizes small objects such as a tooth, a scar, or a sore, as if they were external objects. One does not judge whether the object is beautiful or ugly […]
The Goddess Of Mercy
Robert Aitken Roshi was an American Buddhist pioneer and author of the widely ready book, The Mind of Clover: Essays in Zen Buddhist Ethics. Along with The Three Pillars of Zen: Teaching, Practice, and Enlightenment by Philip Kapleau and Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind by Shunryu Suzuki Roshi these provided me with my initial readings in […]
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