Melissa Myozen Blacker recounts how she, as a practitioner and a teacher, has navigated a male-dominated tradition. From the Winter 2017 issue of Buddhadharma: The Practitioner’s Quarterly. Case 24, Blue Cliff Record Iron Grindstone Liu went to Guishan. Might as well gather together, touching the difficult. Playing her part, this experienced old woman does not play by [...]
About Melissa Myozen Blacker
Let Me Know When You See the Iguana
Melissa Myozen Blacker proposes that awakening isn't that complicated. It’s when we encounter something just as it is, without preconception. You know the feeling: you’ve lost something and suddenly you realize it’s been there right in front of you the whole time. Those missing keys or that misplaced hat were, as they say, hiding in plain sight. They seemed to be invisible and [...]
Melissa Myozen Blacker’s 5 Favorite Movies With Buddhist Lessons
Melissa Myozen Blacker shares her own picks for great films that portray something meaningful related to the dharma. Intentionally or not, lots of movies do a great job of illuminating Buddhist ideas, giving us an entertaining way to contemplate the dharma. Here are some of my favorites. Let us know your favorites in the comments on Facebook: Lion's Roar - What would [...]
How to watch “Inside Out” and start talking about emotions with your kids
The hit film Inside Out will delight children and help them appreciate their emotions—even the difficult ones. Melissa Myozen Blacker offers tips for watching it together. Talking about emotions with your kids isn’t always easy, but this year’s blockbuster Pixar film Inside Out can be a real help. It’s not specifically Buddhist, but it explores important truths about the [...]
Koans: One with the Question
The enlightenment stories of the ancient masters are confounding to conventional mind. Their truth, says Melissa Myozen Blacker, is revealed only when our whole being becomes the koan. Koans represent the sayings and doings of Zen masters and their friends and students, as collected many centuries ago. Koan (Japanese) literally means “public case” (as in a legal precedent), [...]
The Joyful Leap – Embrace Change
Embrace Change: ten leading Buddhist teachers and writers offer personal stories, teachings, and meditations to touch our hearts, open our minds, and help us embrace the change in our lives. In the first episode of the television show Heroes, a young man has a recurring dream of leaping off a tall building and flying instead of falling. One day, he decides to jump for [...]
