Clear Your Mind and Open Your Heart
Daniel Ahearn shares an article and accompanying video teaching you the how and why of the Nine Breaths of Purification, a foundational practice from the Bön tradition.
Deep Dive
Taking Refuge
Taking refuge in the Buddha, dharma, and sangha is an essential part of becoming a Buddhist, but one’s relationship with refuge doesn’t end there. Whether you’re about to take refuge for the first time or the four-thousandth, this collection of teachings will help you continue a healthy engagement with the three jewels.
Take Refuge in the Three Jewels
If we take refuge in the Buddha, the dharma, and the sangha, we are never alone. Three Buddhist teachers explain.
The Decision to Become a Buddhist
Taking refuge in the Buddha, the dharma and the sangha is something more than a ritual, wrote Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche.
Shelter in the Three Treasures
Vanessa Zuisei Goddard shares how taking refuge in the three treasures of buddha, dharma, and sangha allows us to practice not in spite of trying circumstances, but with them.
The Jewel We Make
How do we take refuge in sangha? Former Buddhadharma editor Koun Franz, it’s all about embracing change.
Buddhanature
Buddhanature is a Mahayana Buddhist concept that, while foundational, can sometimes be confounding. Here, great Buddhist thinkers of the present and past shine a prismatic light on buddhanature so that we might all better recognize the potential for awakening within.
Why Buddhanature Matters
Lopen Karma Phuntsho, writer-in-residence for Tsadra Foundation’s Buddha-Nature project, takes a look at the history and development of the Mahayana concept of buddhanature.
The World Between Breaths
Vanessa Zuisei Goddard on the famous Zen koan “Mu,” and how it helps us dive into buddhanature.
To Be or Not To Be? Be a Buddha!
Looking at the words of classical texts, Karl Brunnhölzl explores the notions of buddhanature and emptiness—how they may be understood as one and the same, and how they are not identical.
The Teacher & The Student
All about this most crucial of dharma relationships—what a teacher (ideally) is, how to know when one is right (or wrong) for you, how to be a student, understanding the guru-disciple bond in Vajrayana Buddhism, and more.
The Treasure of the Teacher
“You do the practice, you realize the way,” writes Norman Fischer. “And yet you must begin by finding a teacher you can have faith in.”
A Meeting of Minds
Anne C. Klein on the importance of listening, relating, and actively engaging with our teachers as the foundation for a genuine, transformative connection with them.
When You Are Ready…
Willa Blythe Baker on the many forms in which our teachers might manifest, including even our body and our community.
Why Meditation Alone Can’t Heal Every Wound
Amma Thanasanti asks “the question that won’t go away”: If a dharma teacher has authentic awakening, how could they still be able to cause so much harm?
Three Ways of Working with Emotions
Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche shares a new article and video on the five kleshas — ignorance, aversion, craving, pride, jealousy — how they lead to suffering, and how not to let them.
Dharma Books: Excerpts
Dhammananda Bhikkhuni Hosts Groundbreaking Conference for Thai Bhikkhuni Sangha
Cindy Rasicot, author of This Fresh Existence: Heart Teachings of Bhikkhuni Dhammananda, shares a report from this historic event.
A Buddhist Response to “Climate Overshoot”
“Catastrophic climate chaos has become a fact,” writes Colin H. Simonds. “Once-in-a-generation disasters have become near-yearly events thanks to anthropogenic climate change. In the midst of these effects of our climate overshoot paradigm, what is a Buddhist to do?”
When We Have No Choice
Sometimes, says Pema Khandro, there’s no way out. It’s at those times that we can discover the depth and resilience of the mind.
How YouTube Is Changing Buddhist Pilgrimage and Re-Historicizing Buddhism’s Past
Nikhil Stewart shares what he’s learned by interviewing 30 monks about how vlogging (video-blogging) has impacted Buddhist pilgrimage — online, and “IRL.”
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.
