Ancient Wisdom for Our Times

These words of ancient wisdom for our times were offered centuries ago by Lao Tzu. He is the famous author of the Tao Te Ching, the Book of Changes. My copy of the Tao Te Ching dates back to 1969 or 1970. If you are depressed, you are living in the past. If you are […]

Anna Halprin Came to Our Shabbat Sangha

Last Friday, Anna Halprin came to our Shabbat Sangha. My good friends, Maryanne and David, open their homes on the first Friday of the month for a group of us to come together and build a community. We gather in the kitchen around 6:45 PM and set out our delicious plates to share with each […]

The Four Metaphors of the Buddha

The Four Metaphors of the Buddha teach us something about the nature of life as human beings. We all know that we will eventually become sick, grow old and die. These conditions of life cannot be avoided. In our culture, when we become sick, we call our doctor and ask for a pill that will […]

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 […]

The Perfection Of Wisdom

You might think that all of the paramitas that we have studied so far lead to this one, the perfection of wisdom. While we have studied them in the order of generosity, ethics, patience, diligence, concentration, and now, wisdom, it is true that the can be studied and practiced in any order. Not only that, […]

The Second Arrow

The second arrow is a teaching from the time of the Buddha. The Buddha was giving a teaching to an assembly of his monks and nuns. He asked, “If a person is struck by an arrow, is it painful?” The monks and nuns replied, “Yes, it is.” The Buddha then asked, “If the person is […]

The Gift of Justice

Mary Talbot wrote an interesting article on the gift of justice (No Justice, No Peace) on Tricycle.com. The article is about lawyers and judges who practice the dharma. Mary Talbot’s articles appear frequently in Tricycle Magazine. The current issue (Winter 2014) has an interesting article titled, “The Joy of No Sex” which I enjoyed very […]

Happy Thanksgiving 2014

Dear Friends: These lovely words of wisdom and photographs came to me this morning from my dear friend, Judy D. I want to share them with you because they touched me so deeply. Happy Thanksgiving 2014! “Gratitude is the sign of noble souls.” – Aesop “Be thankful for what you have; you’ll end up having […]

Acceptance and Surrender with Eckhart Tolle

A few years back, I could not get enough of Eckhart Tolle. I went to my local library and rented every audio recording they had of Eckhardt Tolle. One of the most influential books of his is The Power of Now: A Guide to Spiritual Enlightenment. This video is on acceptance and surrender with Eckhart […]

The Healing Power of Equanimity

These words of wisdom from Darlene Cohen, a long time teacher of Buddhism, on Tricycle.com demonstrate the healing power of equanimity. She learned this lesson the hard way, having to deal with the pain of rheumatoid arthritis. Unfortunately, she passed away in 2011 from ovarian cancer. No Goal | November 21, 2014 Just as a […]