Practice Phrases for the Four Divine Abodes

Over the past many years, I have used the following sets if practice phrases for the four Divine Abodes also known as the brahma viharas, sublime abodes, immeasurable minds and so on. I discovered these many years ago and have been studying them ever since. I  believe that they have changed my life in significant […]

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 […]

Mindfulness Trainings

The Five Mindfulness Trainings of the Plum Village Tradition and the Fourteen Mindfulness Trainings of the Order of Interbeing are guiding wisdom for how we can be mindful in our daily lives. They were written by Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh (Thay) and modified over the years by Thay and the monks and nuns in […]

Mindfulness in Daily Life

These words of wisdom for Zen Master Eihei Dogen teach us about mindfulness in daily life. This is actually quite a universal teaching these days by Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh, Jon Kabat-Zinn, Phillip Moffitt, and many others. The idea is to take your mindfulness into your life in order to enrich your everyday experience. […]

If You Want To Change Your Life…

If you want to change your life, you have to change yourself. So how do you go about doing this? Phillip Moffitt may have some good answers for you. In his DharmaWisdom e-Teaching, which I received today, he talks about fundamental changes, not just job, car, house, etc. He says that according to the eightfold path, […]

Fear and Fearlessness

In yesterday’s post, Pema Chodron spoke about fear and fearlessness. Today’s Tricycle Daily Dharma had the following from Pema Chodron: Warm Heart, Clear Mind It’s as if everyone who has ever been born has the same birthright, which is enormous potential of warm heart and clear mind. The ground of renunciation is realizing that we […]

Eudaimonia Or Nirvana: Which Do You Prefer?

Have you ever heard the word, eudaimonia? I hadn’t heard the word until I listened to Destructive Emotions: A Scientific Dialogue with the Dalai Lama for about the third time. During this summer, I am making my way through the 13 tapes of the recording of the book by Daniel Goleman. When Owen Flanagan, a […]