Acknowledging Buddhism’s South Asian Roots
Vishnu Sridharan points out a blind spot in Western Buddhism — South Asia is exorcized, while Buddhism’s origins in South Asian culture are ignored.
Deep Dive
Sleep, Dreams, and Awakening
We spend roughly a third of our lives asleep — but in the Buddhist understanding, that time needn’t be considered wasted, practice-wise. Dreams and the states between waking and sleep are not mere background noise; they can become doorways to insight, liberation, and a deeper understanding of the nature of mind.
In this month’s featured Deep Dive, dharma teachers guide us into the rich territory of sleep, dreams, and the practice possibilities they hold — from accessible techniques for deep relaxation and lucid dreaming to the profound teachings of dream yoga and the bardos.
How to Practice Lucid Dreaming
Andrew Holecek teaches us how to be awake when we’re asleep.
A Commentary on “The Eight Bardos”
According to Tibetan Buddhism, all life and death take place in the gap, or bardo, between one state and another. While the most famous bardo is the one between death and rebirth, there are others that also shape our lives. Khenchen Konchog Gyaltshen presents a commentary on Milarepa’s song of realization “The Eight Bardos.”
You’re Caught in a Dream. Wake Up!
When you see that much of your life is spent in dreamlike states, says Pema Khandro Rinpoche, you are freed from the suffering they cause.
How to Practice Dream Yoga
When you develop lucidity in your dreams, you develop lucidity in your life. Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche on the practice of dream yoga.
Remembering Venerable Shwe Nya War and his Work for Democracy
Political-activist monk Venerable Shwe Nya War Sayadaw, who died in July 2025 after years of imprisonment under Myanmar’s military junta, embodied a form of Buddhist nationalism that championed democracy and solidarity with Muslims rather than scapegoating them. Hein Htet Kyaw remembers a monk whose legacy challenges comfortable assumptions about religion, resistance, and belonging.
The Taxi Was the Teacher
Thirty days of silent retreat didn’t prevent a flare of anger when a driver failed to show. The Buddha’s Simile of the Cook explains why — and what to do about it.
Khanti, or Patience, as Relational Practice
Khanti is one of the parami, and an antidote to anger. How can we bring it to bear in our relationships — meeting conflict, hurt, and intensity directly — without flinching, shutting down, or acting out?
A.I., Yogacara, and the Mind That Was Never Only Ours
AI, writes Rev. Mauricio Hondaku, is not a threat to the dharma, but “a new surface on which the dharma can write itself, provided we bring to its design the same care, depth, and intentionality that the tradition has always demanded of its vessels.”
Lion’s Roar among 2026 Awardees of The Robert H. N. Ho Family Foundation Program in Buddhist Studies
This year’s awardees include four Buddhism Public Scholars, nine dissertation Fellows, five Early Career Research Fellows, a new professorship grant of $300,000, and six Public Impact Grants to be announced this summer.
Ground Yourself from the Inside Out
Working with the subtle body’s inner wind can calm restlessness, restore emotional balance, and anchor you in the present — here’s a practice to begin.
Dharma Books: Excerpts
A Woman of Zen
Melissa Myozen Blacker recounts how she, as a practitioner and a teacher, has navigated a male-dominated tradition.
The Dark Side of Buddhism
If you think Buddhism is free of the religious nationalism and violent extremism that plague other religions, think again. Editor-at-large Melvin McLeod talks to journalist Sonia Faleiro about her new book, The Robe and the Sword: How Buddhist Extremism Is Shaping Modern Asia.
Why I Ordained — And What It Was Like
Rev. Dr. Aaron Shōken Proffitt shares his experience of tokudo shurai — the ordination training for priests in the Jōdo Shinshū Hongwanji-ha — and learns that “everything is tokudo.”
A Bigger Umbrella
Rev. José M. Tirado on working with the spiritual longing “for the complete thing, the practice that would hold all of me, the teacher who would see everything I was bringing and say: yes, this too belongs.”
Buddhism A–Z
Learn all about key Buddhist terms, concepts, and traditions in our in-depth glossary — perfect for beginners and committed dharma practitioners alike.
