Like Podcasts? Give this one a listen

 

Adorable pic of Dharmage

I had the great pleasure of being interviewed on the Dharmage podcast that was released today. The website and podcast Dharmage is done by the same woman you may recall from the Full Contact Enlightenment blog that had a good long run. I’m not saying her name because […]

Integrating Dharma into Daily Life

How would you suggest integrating Dharma into daily life, based on your own example? Especially, how to overcome the excuse of having no time?

Venerated lineage holder of the Sakya school of Tibetan Buddhism

“You have to make time. There is enough time. You work eight hours a day. Some people then say: […]

Advice about Retreat

“We need the advice of teachers who have actually done long retreat, not those who have simply read about the process from texts. We can read the texts ourselves, but we can’t read between the lines: what it is like to do the practice; how we should feel or not feel; how to know […]

Turn toward, then take a good look.

 

“As much as possible, I attempt to step toward my distress rather than turn away at the first whiff of discomfort. A better way to put it might be to turn toward, rather than immediately turn away from, distressβ€”turn toward, then take a good look. It’s clear that responses are often governed by habits […]

A Visit to the Buddhist Church of Oakland

I had a wonderful experience today. I attended the weekly family service the Buddhist Church of Oakland. The people were very warm and welcoming. A jolly fellow named Jon Takagakiβ€”from the Board of Directorsβ€”showed me around, and sat next to me in the service… kindly showing me through their hymnal-style liturgies. The service is […]

The Vow of Princess Moon of Wisdom

Once upon a time, after having been told by a monk that she could not attain complete awakening as a woman, Princess Wisdom Moon made the following vow:

There are many who wish to gain enlightenment in a man’s form, and there are but few who wish to work for the welfare of living beings […]

There is Only One Complete Nature

“This is wonderful, my dear. In Buddhism, there are no distinctions between people. There is only thisβ€”each person must hold fast to the desire to awaken and cultivate a heart of great compassion. People are complete as they are. If you don’t call into delusive thoughts; there is no Buddha and no sentient being; […]

The Fog of Grief

It rolls in like the fog creeping under the Golden Gate. It is the leaden, motherless, mantle of sorrow. The fundamental discernment of how short of expectations this life will fall.

My life hip joint pains me when I flex it outward. All the yoga and bodywork in the world may […]

A Practice that Shifts You

If you feel stuck in your practice, as though your meditation is not creating a permanent shift away from your tired old patterns, consider introducing some deity practice from the Tibetan tradition.

In the last couple of weeks, I’ve heard from a couple of folks in Buddhist traditions famous for plain sitting […]