The Paradox of Being: Alive and Aware
Sometimes I forget that I’m alive –– I mean, I know I’m alive conceptually but I haven’t tuned into it experientially. My meditation practice is to be aware of body, heart, mind, and the...
Blog
Reflections from our teachers
The First Duty of Love is to Listen
What is meditation and everyday life mindfulness practice but listening? Listening to our bodies, feelings, emotions, thoughts and different voices in us. Listening to the music of life around us: melodies and sounds, images,...
The Art of Being: Cultivating Presence in Troubled Times
I recently returned from a family visit to Tennessee. While I was there, I spent precious time with my three month old nephew. Since he cannot yet speak or walk, we all spent a...
Mindful Inquiry: A Path of Freedom and Joyful Responsibility
A good teacher can point to the teachings and ignite our wakefulness, but it is up to each one of us to find the willingness to embody our practice in daily life. We are...
Awakening Joy: Practice as a Path of Happiness
Despite pervasive images of the smiling Buddha, the practice and teachings of Buddhism often have a reputation of being rather more somber than joyful. With so much emphasis on “suffering and the end of...
Vast view, fine attention
Dharma practice invites us to hold an expansive view of our own lives, and of all reality. Like the sign in Thai monastery reminds us: Relax: In 100 years, all new people! However caught...
Coming Home To The Body with Breath
Imagine not being able to find your way home to your loved ones, to your friends and family. Imagine how traumatic this would be. This is the same trauma we experience when we have...
The Surgeon’s Probe: Healing with Mindfulness
I am uncomfortable with the way that ‘mindfulness’ has been packaged and sold as a cure for everything. I have an ongoing argument with some modern definitions of ‘mindfulness’. I feel that these definitions...
From Mindfulness to Dharma: The Fourth Foundation
Mindfulness in its original definition and understanding is a practice which is quite specific. It is basically shining the light on our genuine experience rather than running on automatic pilot. But in the growth...
Other People Are the Path: Relationships as Practice
When I was a novice nun, I was attending my teacher, Thich Nhat Hanh, whom his students call ‘Thay,’ which means ‘teacher’ in Vietnamese. It was always a great privilege to be able to...