Who doesn’t love the idea of freedom? That, along with the pursuit of happiness, are the two basic wishes of all living beings, including a caterpillar who caught a ride inside on my shirt just now. But it just so happens that freedom comes not from holding onto a false sense of being independent but from realizing our interdependence. Since today is July 4th, I thought it’d be a good…
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There’s a lot going on at the moment. People are understandably feeling troubled: “I can’t handle this, it’s overwhelming,” because…
I don’t know if you’re like the rest of the world in having some trouble coping. It’s no secret that…
Another major benefit of getting good at concentrating is that we can make serious spiritual progress. This is important. Carrying…
This article is published in celebration of the Grand Opening of the Sixth Temple for World Peace — in Malaga,…
If we want to stay peaceful, and therewith feel good, we need to have some ability to focus our…
4 mins read. I suspect that, like me, you’d generally prefer to be relaxed. We want to chill out, unwind,…
Last Wednesday, one of my youngish housemates whom I’ve known for 20 years accidentally swallowed deadly poison in a euthanasia…
8.5 mins read. There’s a scaredy cat staying with me at the moment who I’m slowly taming with the help…
9.5 mins read. The more I hear about this war, the more angles there are, the more difficult seem the…
My teacher, Geshe Kelsang, started a tradition of Festivals and Celebrations in the New Kadampa Tradition many years ago, calling them “spiritual vacations”, and explaining…
Earlier today I was drinking tea and half-watching my (borrowed) cats. One of them made her happy Meow sound at me, and I felt a…
Here is the article I promised from the friend I quoted: Being a social worker makes me a better Buddhist. Being a Buddhist makes me…
9.5 mins read. Setting some time aside for a relaxing meditation session every day, even 10 or 15 minutes, is likely the quickest and most…
A guest article by a modern Buddhist and full-time worker who aspires to become an actual Mahasiddha soon. Realized teachers of Je Tsongkhapa’s tradition have…
Today I read an alarming statistic about loneliness in people aged 13-24 and all the reasons for it, which are sad. I was thinking, “If…
Compassion fills our life with meaning. So, what is it? It is…
This article is part of the series: Is Compassion Happy or Sad?…
Sometimes our lives are so busy helping others that we get out…
In the last article on Buddha and the Brain, I quoted from Transform Your Life…
Last Monday I found myself at Fort Funston in San Fran, had that vast beach…
The meditation on the nature of our own mind has many benefits, the first being…
A guest article. After great conversations with this long-term meditator and friend, I requested him to write an article on this subject. He kindly obliged.…
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MISCELLANEOUS
When asked to sum up his lifetime’s teachings, Buddha managed with his typical genius to condense all 84,000 of them into one short verse: Cease to do evil, Learn to do good, Control the mind. This is the teaching of Buddha. ~ Vinaya Sutras In Transform Your Life, in the section “A Daily Practice”, Geshe Kelsang explains how we can do this with 6 daily practices, 2 of them being…
Society
I was wondering recently if Dharma is what comes out when our…
Impermanence
7 mins read Do you ever have that feeling when you go…
Self Confidence
6.5 mins read. Here is a quick article to share something that…
Covid-19
9 mins read. Today finds me contemplating snow again. I am dog/cat/fish…