A teaching by Roshi Pat Enkyo O'Hara. A group of twelve of us lived on the streets in Lower Manhattan for four days, practicing meditation and experiencing how it is to survive without money or cellphones. It was a renunciation and a pilgrimage, a way to give up all our habitual comforts and resources and to open up to reality, to the conditions of the world of which we are [...]
About Roshi Pat Enkyo O'hara
How to Make All Your Work Meaningful
Whether you’re waiting tables or washing laundry, meditating or making art, the key, Roshi Pat Enkyo O'Hara teaches, is always to savor the task at hand. Find a calm space and sit comfortably. Try to view what you experience as neither bad nor good. Sit at ease and let the sounds in. Feel your body; allow the sensations in your body to be present and not blocked off. Include [...]
Stand Against Suffering: An Unprecedented Call to Action by Buddhist Teachers
Thirteen leading Buddhist teachers, joined by more than 140 additional signatories, call on Buddhists and all people of faith to take a stand against policies of the new administration that will create suffering for the most vulnerable in society. As published in the May 2017 Lion's Roar magazine. As long as a society protects the vulnerable among them, they can be expected [...]
Our Moment of Possibility and Joy
Who am I, really? Roshi Pat Enkyo O’Hara shares three teachings that have given her solace and strength as she’s asked that question. Conceived as part of our “Rainbow Dharma” coverage focusing on LGBTQ Buddhists, the lessons here are universally helpful to us all. The walls that separate us seem to be falling away. These days, many of the old constructions and categories [...]
The Work of the Moment
Like the monk who strived so hard he couldn’t see the goddess right behind him, if we push too hard for results we miss what is most intimate. When we and our work are one, says Roshi Pat Enkyo O'Hara, even the most mundane of life’s activities are profound and beautiful. Several years ago, I was in the Catskills with a colleague, celebrating the completion of a [...]
Which River Will You Cross?
Whether buying products on the Internet or Skyping with our students and teachers, we instantly recognize our interdependence, and yet how about when we walk outside our door? It feels as if the ways of teaching and studying the dharma are changing at an accelerated rate. Today, with apps, blogs, tweets, and podcasts, there are numerous possibilities for connecting with people [...]