Category: Personal Life

Buddha’s Little Helper?

I felt as though I had reached a new level in my spiritual development — a step closer to Buddha-hood. Despite recent severe pain and despite shoulder surgery scheduled for next week, I was happy.

‘This Body Is Not Me’

So, indeed, this body is not me. It’s nothing like the body that ran three marathons in 1979 and ’80.

On Not Wearing a Watch

So what started as a cultural adaptation became a spiritual one. We Buddhists like to live in the present moment — the here and the now — without fixation on past and future.

We Thank Them All

Many of us in the worldwide blogosphere need to research, write, create art, spread ideas at the same time that we consume all of the above. Others focus on creating, or on taking it in.

Meditation and the Knower

My spiritual practice is to live as much of my life as I can as the knower, the observer. That’s where my heart-mind is. That’s where my compassion is, for myself and for others. That’s where I can live in the moment. That’s where I know I am not distinct from others. That’s the seat of my wisdom.

The Cracked Water Pot

I’ve been feeling lately a bit like the cracked pot, and I suspect that all of us do from time to time.

A Modern-Day Mara Story

Jigme realized it was a mistake to think that each annoyance of life is a discreet occurrence but instead to see it as part of Mara’s plan.

Mindful of What Matters

…how do we maintain our mindfulness and our wisdom amid real estate closings, tax season, and, oh yeah, grief?

Life Flows On

Buddhism teaches that impermanence is a pre-configured part of life, but judging from our experience some lives and some times are more impermanent than others.

Emptiness and Boundlessness

Co-meditation brings you together and overcomes your selfness. I found success with this technique once in a dining hall during a silent retreat.

The Tree

Wind, rain, ice, and snow have pushed and pulled at its branches, but it is wise enough to bend just enough to let the elements be what they need to be, so the tree can continue to carry out its role in the cycle of life, death and rebirth.

Wondering About Karma

If I can live on in bliss by doing good, that’s acceptable to me. I’ll take it.