My very first thought as I awoke this morning was that I was so happy to be alive. Grateful for this day. I do not always wake up like this, but today it was clear to me that simply waking-up…
Happy to be alive
Buddhism by the numbers
The four divine abodes (brahma-viharas in Pali) are the Buddha’s foundational teachings – the ones that connect most directly with our intention of liberation. Referred to as divine because they encompass immaculate and Godlike qualities. Metta: loving-Kindness, goodwill Karuna: compassion…
My secret Buddha
During a recent discussion with a Dhamma Brother who is currently incarcerated, I mentioned to him that my first Buddha was my Mother. He has since mailed me a letter stating that he was so moved by that, and realized…
Bearing witness
The First Noble Truth, “there is suffering”, would seem very self-evident. But how can we come to a deeper and more personal understanding of this? Even to try to define suffering can become an endless discussion and contain a myriad…
Out of touch and out of time
Two things became clear to me this morning during my practice. One of which is that I may becoming out of touch with some people. While certainly I may becoming more in-touch with others, I don’t think that being out…
How to fix yourself
The first step in fixing yourself is to understand that you are not broken. You may be hurt, down-hearted, alone, depressed, or angry, but you are not broken. Yet still you may struggle, as I do, with feeling as though…