Category: Buddhist Wisdom
What to Do When You’re Lonely
The holidays are supposed to be a time of togetherness, but what if it’s the time of year you feel most alone? Therapist Harry Um offers advice.
Everything Is Our Teacher, Even Death
Tremendous healing can occur during the dying process, both for the dying person and for their family and friends. Barbara Rhodes on how to awaken to life, even as we die.
The Joy of Interbeing
Gather around the table, says Allyson Pimentel. A holiday meal can fill your belly and heart — and even give you a taste of enlightenment.
America has Zen all the time. Why, my Teacher, should I meddle?
Teachings and poems by the late Nyogen Senzaki. From Like A Dream, Like a Fantasy: The Zen Writings and Translations of Nyogen Senzaki.
The Lamp of Zazen
The point of zazen, says Shunryu Suzuki Roshi, is to live each moment in complete combustion, like a clean-burning kerosene lamp.
Empty, Pure, Luminous: Mind in Dzogchen and Mahamudra
Roger R. Jackson explains how different Tibetan schools approach the nature of mind, and why it matters.
Do Dishes, Rake Leaves: The Wisdom of the Ancient Homemakers
Karen Maezen Miller on how the domestic practice of ancient Zen masters can lead us to intimate encounters with our own lives.
How Does Buddhism Speak to Us Today: An Interview with Stephen Batchelor
Stephen Batchelor talks to <em>Buddhadharma</em> deputy editor Koun Franz about the importance of study in Buddhist practice and the relevance of the Buddha's teachings to modern life.
Revisiting the Traditional Buddhist Views on Sex and Sexuality
When it comes to sex, Western Buddhists tend to be fairly liberal. But as scholar José Cabezón explains, Buddhist tradition takes a much more conservative approach, prohibiting, among other things, oral or anal sex, male homosexuality, and even sex during daylight hours. He challenges us not to dismiss traditional Buddhist views on sexuality but rather to critically examine them, beginning with the study of sexual ethics in Buddhist texts.
I’m Not Here to Be a Vessel for Fear
Kaira Jewel Lingo encourages us to confront our own fears and assumptions with mindful presence and compassion, inspiring a path toward healing a fractured country.
Pema Chödrön’s Three Methods for Working with Chaos
Pema Chödrön describes three ways to use our problems as the path to awakening and joy.
Why Forms are Fundamental to Buddhist Practice
Embrace the ritual forms of Buddhist practice, says Buddhadharma deputy editor Koun Franz — you can't escape them anyway.
You Are the Great Perfection
Rest in your true nature without effort or distraction — Mingyur Rinpoche teaches the renowned practice of Dzogchen.
Beyond Good and Evil
Jan Chozen Bays ponders the question of evil's origin, considering the Christian and the Buddhist perspectives on good and evil.
Meet a Teacher: Rev. Doyeon Park
Rev. Park is a minister in the Won Buddhist community and the Buddhist chaplain at two New York universities.
Practice Is the Right Medicine
This, says Jan Chozen Bays, is the healing power of practice: we release our fear, transform our unskillfulness, and discover our kindest selves.
On Suffering and the End of Suffering
It's an essential truth about life itself: suffering of one kind or another is a natural part of existence. Knowing this truth gives our lives wholeness and peace, as it frees us from the exhausting postures of pretense and denial.
“Facing the Mirror”
What we perceive as the faults of others are simply a reflection of our own. A commentary on two verses of the Dhammapada by the late Ayya Khema.
How to Break the Chains of Thought
When you study your thought process, says Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche, you not only see how it rules your life. In the breaks and gaps between thoughts, you can experience awakened mind on the spot.