Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh (affectionately known as Thay by his followers) says, “We are here to awaken from the illusion of our separateness.” This quote appeared in a Tricycle.com article by dharma teacher Wendy Johnson. She is the longest-running writer for Tricycle Magazine. Her articles on gardening appear each month and we have been […]
Anna Halprin Came to Our Shabbat Sangha
March 9, 2015 by
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 Best Season of Your Life
March 7, 2015 by
These words of wisdom from Wumen touched me the moment I read them. He was the compiler or and commenter on the Mumonkan (The Gateless Barrier) – a collection of 48 koans – stories, dialogues, questions or statements used to trigger enlightenment in Zen Buddhism and Chan Buddhism. This was one of the first books […]
How to Manage Habit Energy
March 2, 2015 by
Here are a few quotes on how to manage habit energy. Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh puts it this way: Concentrating 100% on our breathing or our steps liberates us. We become a free person in just a few seconds, free to transform the habit energies of our ancestors. And Dzongsar Jamyang Khyentse Rinpoche has […]
When Life is Over
February 28, 2015 by
Mary Oliver wrote this poem about when life is over. This poem arrived yesterday from Zen Master Cheri Huber in her daily Peace Quote email. When it’s over, I want to say: All my life I was a bride married to amazement. I was the bridegroom, taking the world into my arms – Mary Oliver […]
Engaging in Deep Listening
February 27, 2015 by
Dear Brothers and Sisters, I hope you are all well and warm on this winter morning. I know that with all of the hatred, anger and violence that is manifesting in our world, we are all looking deeply at how to engage effectively so that we can be of some help. I would like to […]
How Do We Make the New Future
February 26, 2015 by
Stephen Batchelor is one of my favorite Buddhist teachers. I like the way he presents “Buddhism without Beliefs.” I think he is now teaching at the Upaya Zen Center near Santa Fe, New Mexico. This quote is definitely in line with his stand on being a Buddhist atheist! He answers the question, how do we […]
If You Want to be Happy Be Grateful
February 25, 2015 by
The one thing all humans have in common is that each of us wants to be happy, says Brother David Steindl-Rast, a Benedictine monk and interfaith scholar. And happiness, he suggests, is born from gratitude. If you want to be happy be grateful. The Dalai Lama puts it this way: I believe that the purpose […]
Reaching the Ultimate Dimension
February 22, 2015 by
Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh teaches us about reaching the ultimate dimension. The ultimate dimension distinguished from the historical dimension of ordinary life. In ordinary life, we have pain. We have suffering. We have conflict. We have war. We have arguments. We strive for wealth, technology, sex, and power. We lose site of what we […]
The Mindfulness Trainings are not Formulas for Absolute Virtue
February 12, 2015 by
In these words of wisdom from Hannah Tennant-Moore, we learn that the precepts or the Mindfulness Trainings are not formulas for absolute virtue. Every single one of them, whether we are talking about the Five Mindfulness Trainings or the Fourteen Mindfulness Trainings of the Order of Interbeing, is relative and depends on what is happening […]
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