Natalie Goldberg wanted to survive, but so did the cancer inside her. Drastic action was required.
Another New Year
Gate at Upaya Zen Center. The banner says "Buddha." Photo by Seizan, courtesy of Upaya Zen Center.Sitting still in the dark zendo and breathing with others is exactly what Natalie Goldberg needs. On this last night of the year, she wonders what this human life is all about.
Waking Up to Happiness
Natalie Goldberg was awfully sick yet she was happy. Happiness is available to everyone, she realized, but we can find it only when we’re still.
Losing Katherine
Katherine was the sort of person who might suddenly ask, “How do you know love?” Natalie Goldberg recounts what she learned from this friend.
Waking Up to Happiness (July 2012)
Sneezing, coughing, blowing her nose — NATALIE GOLDBERG was awfully sick yet she was happy. Happiness is available to everyone, she realized, but we can find it only when we’re still. Last summer I was sick in bed. I could write “flu” and be done with it, but that would be a generalization. My eyes […]
Blossoms Falling
Natalie Goldberg finds herself hanging suspended between a Zen koan, an ailing hippo, and a “Who am I?” cry to greasy mechanics.
One Heart
Effort and longing, frailties and aspirations—we’re in this together says Natalie Goldberg, and it is so much bigger than we are.
Meeting the Chinese in St. Paul: Rhino Hits the Midwest
A season devoted to the koans of the ancient Chinese Masters gave Natalie Goldberg a taste for the stripped-down, naked truth of things.
A Time of No Place
Natalie Goldberg recalls a time when the bottom fell out of her life, when her place, purpose, and even her Zen practice seemed groundless. Was that a problem or the very point?
On the Shores of Lake Biwa
Natalie Goldberg goes to Japan in search of real Zen. Her days at the monastery are just as tough as advertised, but at the end she reaches Almond Joy.