I just finished watching Origins, a movie about our roots, our planet, and our future. It made me cry as I thought about how we are in deep trouble. We are in deep trouble with our food system. This puts us in deep trouble with our health and our medical systems. This means that big […]
Stories
How to Visualize Uncle Monk
November 17, 2014 by
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 […]
Equanimity and Wisdom Work Together for a Happy Life
November 16, 2014 by
Andrew Olendzki is one of my favorite writers on Buddhism. Together with S. N. Goenka, we learn that equanimity and wisdom work together for a happy life. In the Tricycle article, Andrew says, “Mindfulness is the thin edge of a wedge that, if inserted deeply enough into our minds, will open them to wisdom. Whether […]
Life is Available Only in the Present Moment
November 15, 2014 by
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 […]
Compassion is Mandatory
November 11, 2014 by
In our world today, compassion is mandatory. It is mandatory because there are so many diverse interests. Compassion is necessary for us to develop tolerance for different points of view. Compassion is mandatory in order for us to develop non-discrimination. Many people still harbor discrimination towards people who are not like them. There is a […]
Forest Bathing
November 9, 2014 by
Today is November 7, 2014. I arrive at the Ben Lomond Quaker Center snuggled in the redwood forest of the Santa Cruz Mountains. I walk in the woods a bit and realize I am forest bathing. The joy I feel being there is enhanced by the early morning sunlight streaming through the trees. The canopy […]
Taking Care of Our Families
November 8, 2014 by
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 […]
Can We Avoid Becoming Complete Robots
November 5, 2014 by
D. T. Suzuki was one of the seminal figures in bringing Zen to the West. He noted that our modern civilization is dehumanizing us at a rapid rate, even back then when he wrote in the ’50s and ’60s, he could see this was already becoming true. Now it is worse than ever. Can we […]
Our True Home
November 3, 2014 by
Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh teaches us that our true home exists in the here and in the now. There is only the present moment, and if we are present, we are home. We sing a song that goes like this: I have arrived, I am home. In the here and in the now. I […]
A Buddha in Sitges
October 24, 2014 by
You read it right. There is a Buddha in Sitges, Spain! It was sitting in a window in a shop on the narrow street leading to the beach. I couldn’t resist taking the picture. This picture records a moment in time, according to David Butow. For me, it was a wonderful moment. For most of […]
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