Archives: BD Articles
What If Our Delusions Aren’t a Barrier to Enlightenment?
What if our deluded minds aren’t a barrier to enlightenment at all?, asks Zenju Earthlyn Manuel. "What if they are the very path to it?"
Buddhists Must Awaken to the Ecological Crisis
Buddhists, says David Loy, have often been slow to open their eyes to the problem of climate change. He examines key teachings to understand why.
Here at the End of the World
Grief is how we love in the face of loss, as Joan Sutherland once wrote for Buddhadharma. Now, in an era of so much loss, her teaching on coming to terms with grief feels especially relevant.
Nothing Solid, Nothing Separate
When we look deeply into emptiness, says Phil Stanley, we find everything and nothing.
Why Bodhisattvas Need to Disrupt the Status Quo
According to Zen priest and climate scientist Kritee, part of our work in addressing climate change is to understand systems — how they work, how we’re complicit in them, and how we can change them to work for the good.
The Rice Seedling Sutra
The Rice Seedling Sutra is one of the most important Buddhist sutras on the topic of dependent arising, the basic Buddhist doctrine that everything depends on something else for its existence. Spoken by the bodhisattva Maitreya, it recounts a teaching that the Buddha had given while gazing at a rice seedling. “Whoever sees dependent arising…
What If Our Ordinary Experience Is All That Matters?
Stephen Batchelor poses the classical Zen question, “What is this?” The answer, he says, is right in front of us.
True Practice Is Never Disengaged
If we feel like our practice is here, and the world is over there, says Karen Maezen Miller, then we’re missing the point of practice.
Forum: Hear Our Voices
A panel of women teachers from different Buddhist traditions share their insights into being a female teacher and leader in today’s world.
Happiness in Every Breath
When we stop feeding our cravings, says Thich Nhat Hanh, we discover that we already have everything we need to be happy.
Inside the Spring 2020 Buddhadharma magazine
The Spring 2020 issue of Buddhadharma: The Practitioner’s Quarterly features in-depth teachings for cultivating your Buddhist practice and manifesting those teachings meaningfully in everyday life. Inside, you’ll find thoughtful commentaries, reviews of the latest Buddhist books, Ask the Teachers, and more. Features What If Our Ordinary Experience Is All That Matters? Stephen Batchelor poses the classical…
The Unseen World
Lama Tsultrim Allione, Rob Preece, and Acharya Gaylon Ferguson discuss their individual relationships with nonmaterial realized beings and the purpose of including them in your practice.
How the Gandharan Manuscripts Change Buddhist History
The Gandharan Buddhist manuscripts are leading scholars to rethink the origins of Mahayana Buddhism. Richard Salomon looks at what we can learn from the recently-unearthed texts.
Are You Ready for Death?
What we see as the worst crisis of our lives is actually an opportunity to discover enlightened mind, says Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche.
The Natural State of Happiness
Chokyi Nyima Rinpoche presents five noble qualities that enable us to experience our ever-present natural happiness.
The Koan in the Refrigerator
All he wanted was an egg. Instead Sam Guthrie got a close-up look at his compulsive need for order.
The Problem of Personality
We believe deeply in ourselves as personalities, says Ajahn Sumedho, each committed to the reality of our own personal history and distinctive traits. “It is so easy for us to conceive the conditions we attach to,” he writes. “Yet with satipañña (discriminating alertness) and sati-sampajañña (awareness), we begin to awaken ourselves to the way it is, rather than being committed to the conventional realities.”
The Real Practice of Mindfulness
As mindfulness becomes an increasingly popular concept, it is often mistaken for just “being in the moment.” Andrew Olendzki examines the Abhidharma teachings to uncover what mindfulness practice really is and how it works.
Becoming Truly Alive
We live a kind of artificial life, says Thich Nhat Hanh, lost in worries and anger. Our practice is to wake up and live each moment fully.
It Comes Down to Character
We often look at Buddhist practice as a way of cultivating particular qualities; Thanissaro Bhikkhu reminds us, however, that the Buddha also spoke of qualities we must have to take up the practice in the first place.