If you understood my last post, you may remember that there are many ways we cause ourselves to suffer. What we don’t realize is that often the suffering is momentary and we get lost in the story instead of recognizing the impermanent nature of our sensations, feelings and thoughts. Once we understand this, we can […]
When You Love Someone…
August 2, 2016 by
When you love someone, you think it will be the same all the time and last forever, but we know that all conditioned things are impermanent, so nothing can stay the same. The best we can hope for is that our love continues to grow as we get older together. The other day, I was […]
Mindful Attention
February 16, 2016 by
Mindful attention allows us to know and experience what is going on inside of us moment to moment. With mindful attention, we can be aware of what is going on in our body, our feelings, our emotions, and our thoughts. We can begin to make sense of them and recognize that they are always changing. […]
Meditating with Emotions
September 14, 2015 by
These words of wisdom from Pema Chodron teach us about meditating with emotions from her book, How to Meditate: A Practical Guide to Making Friends with Your Mind. Read this quote and then see what Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh (known as Thay by his followers) has to say about meditating with emotions. Get Dirty […]
Addicted to Ease and Comfort
June 2, 2015 by
On Sunday night, I attended Marin Sangha. The teacher was Lisa Dale Miller and her topic was addiction. She said that we live in a society addicted to ease and comfort. I couldn’t agree more. She also explained that what we commonly thing of addictions are usually the result of some childhood trauma. This also […]
Do Not Kill Your Rabbit
November 25, 2014 by
In this video, Alan Watts tells a story about a little girl who was given a rabbit. He says, ”…pleasure in its fullness cannot be experienced when one is grasping it. “I knew a little girl to whom someone gave a bunny rabbit. She was so delighted with the bunny rabbit and so afraid of […]
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 […]
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 […]
Life Flows Between the Banks of Pain and Pleasure
September 28, 2014 by
In these words of wisdom from Nisargadatta Maharaj, we learn that life flows between the banks of pain and pleasure. We almost always prefer pleasure and almost always want to avoid pain. He was a great spiritual teacher and guru in the Advaita Vedanta school, which is a tradition based on non-duality. He passed away […]
The Buddha Never Said
April 4, 2014 by
The Buddha never said, “There is no self.” When I first read this in Tricycle Magazine, I was as surprised as anyone. Yet, when I thought about it, I considered what Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh teaches. He puts it like this: There is no such thing as permanent and separate. There’s nothing that can […]
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