Life Flows Between the Banks of Pain and Pleasure

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 […]

Generosity Leads to Happiness

The perfection of generosity (dana) is the first of six paramitas (perfections or virtues) taught by the Buddha. The Buddha taught that generosity leads to happiness and a whole lot of other benefits. Modern research is beginning to confirm this 2,600 year old wisdom tradition. The scientists are also telling us that generosity leads to […]

The First Precept

Bernie Glassman is back again with more words of wisdom from Tricycle Daily Dharma. This time, he is talking about the first precept taught by the Buddha. The traditional rendering of this precept is, “Non-killing,” or  “To abstain from killing any living creature.” This is sometimes taken to extreme by certain monks and nuns in […]

Pulled By Our Own Attachments

Bhante Henepola Gunaratana is a popular Sri Lankan Buddhist monks in the Theravadan tradition. He offers these words of wisdom today to show how we are pulled by our own attachments. These words of wisdom appeared in the Tricycle Daily Dharma last month. Our attachments these days are many and mostly quite useless in the […]

Embracing Anger

These words of wisdom from Mark Epstein in Tricycle Daily Dharma teach us about sitting with anger, or, as Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh (Thay) teaches, embracing anger. Can you imagine a more explosive situation than what is going on in Israel today? With the recent war in Gaza started by Hamas with their bombing […]

Why You Should Meditate – Pema Chodron

These words of wisdom are from Pema Chodron. She teaches you why you should meditate. She tells us that we are not meditating to become good meditators. We are meditating to become more alive, more aware, more awake. Daily practice is the key to establishing a good meditation practice. It can be as little as […]

Gratitude as a Daily Practice

I first met Zenju Earthlyn Manuel at an event sponsored by the Buddhist Peace Fellowship around 2006 or 2007. I was impressed with her lovely demeanor, and want to get to know here better. She is no longer the director of the Buddhist Peace Fellowship, and I keep encountering writings from her from time to […]

The Bliss of Awakening – Adyashanti Warning

Adyashanti issues a warning in these words of wisdom from Tricycle. He warns us that the bliss of awakening can be addicting and we should watch out for it. It is merely a by-product of awakening, and not true awakening itself. Adyashanti is an American born spiritual teacher with loads of credentials. He teaches non-duality […]

The Answer That is Blowing in the Wind

Pema Chodron, in these words of wisdom from Tricycle gives us the answer that is blowing in the wind about our ability to take a step into the unknown. This is called renunciation. Renunciation, in Buddhism, is a step in the direction of becoming a monastic. When a person decides to become a monastic, they […]

May I Have the Courage

These words of wisdom come from my dear friend Gabrielle Roth. She passed away on October 22, 2012 and she is sorely missed by many of my friends and me. You can read about her passing here: In Memory Of My Beloved Teacher, Gabrielle Roth. Her son, Jonathan Horan, has taken over the Five Rhythms […]