Larry Ward (January 30, 1948 — August 19, 2025) was a senior teacher in Thich Nhat Hanh’s Plum Village tradition. He held a PhD in religious studies (with an emphasis on Buddhism and the neuroscience of meditation), was director of the Lotus Institute, and served as an advisor to the Executive Mind Leadership Institute at the Drucker School of Management. He was the author of America’s Racial Karma and coauthor, with his wife, Peggy, of Love’s Garden: A Guide to Mindful Relationships.
Larry Ward
Books
Recent Articles
A Loving-Kindness Meditation to Heal Your Inner Child
Peggy Rowe Ward and Larry Ward on how to give the wounded child inside you the love and compassion they deserve.
Listening to the Sounds of the Earth with Larry Ward
Larry Ward shares the daily meditation he uses every morning and every evening to ground himself with the planet.
The Seven Factors of Awakening
From mindfulness to joy to equanimity — when you cultivate beautiful qualities, they nourish your life and spiritual practice and enable you to be an agent of change in the world. Seven Buddhist teachers explain how.
Healing America’s Racial Karma
More than 150 years after the end of slavery, America’s tragic racial karma rolls on. If we understand how karma really works, says Buddhist teacher Larry Ward, we can stop it.
I Will Follow in the Direction of Hope
Larry Ward looks at the path of leadership, and how we get entangled along the way.
¿Qué puedo decir acerca de mi amado maestro?
Larry Ward nos comparte un poema acerca de Thich Nhat Hanh, maestro cuyas enseñanzas han guiado a muchos hacia una vida de presencia mental, alegría y paz.
What Can I Say About My Beloved Teacher?
Larry Ward shares a poem about Thich Nhat Hanh, whose teachings have guided many towards a life of mindfulness, joy, and peace.
Race, Reclamation, and the Resilience Revolution
In the wake of the death of George Floyd, a black man killed by police in Minneapolis, dharma teacher Larry Ward says we have to "create communities of resilience," and offers his mantras for this time.
Meet the Teachers: Peggy Rowe Ward and Larry Ward
Peggy Rowe Ward and Larry Ward answer our questions.
Love’s Garden
Peggy Rowe and Larry Ward reflect on the practice of metta, loving-kindness, reflected in the Buddhist imagery of the lotus flower.