Shakyamuni Buddha

Why We Take Refuge

There are two kinds of refuge. The reason we take refuge in the outer forms of enlightenment is so that we may find the buddha within.

The Immeasurable Beauty of Queerness

Taryn Stickrath-Hutt shares her journey as a queer woman and Jodo Shinshu Buddhist, drawing inspiration from the infinite light of Amida Buddha.

How to Grow Wiser with Age

As you age, says Judy Lief, you can discover your true nature — timeless and luminous.

fallen flower petals on a dark table

What to Say When Someone Dies

Avoid pat expressions, says Valerie Brown. What a grieving person needs is loving presence.

Detox Your Mind: 5 Practices to Purify the 3 Poisons

Five Buddhist teachers share practices to clear away the poisons that cause suffering and obscure your natural enlightenment.

Excerpt: Sangha of Boundless Life, by Jeff Wilson

An excerpt from Jeff Wilson's new book, "Living Nembutsu: Applying Shinran’s Radically Engaged Buddhism in Life and Society" — reviewed in the Summer 2023 issue of Buddhadharma.

How Mindfulness Can Help Ease Anxiety

Buddhist teacher Judy Lief explains the Buddha’s deep analysis of the roots of anxiety and shows how mindfulness can help us ease the suffering of an anxious mind.

How Mindfulness Leads to Enlightenment

Melvin McLeod on how Buddhism uses mindfulness to develop the wisdom that frees us from suffering.

Scenes from the life of Milarepa.

How Listening Becomes a Spiritual Practice

Everything and everyone are always teaching us the dharma, says Christian McEwen. We just have to know how to listen.

Celebrating Vesak (“Buddha Day”) 2025

Vesak marks the birth, enlightenment, and death of the historical Buddha, Siddhartha Gautama. This year it falls on Monday, May 12, 2025.

The Sutra That Saved Me

Nichiren practitioner Johnny Edward Dean Jr. reflects on how his daily practice and chanting the Odaimoku helped him navigate mental health challenges during the Covid-19 pandemic.

How Travel Opens Your Mind and Heart

Travel wakes us up to the world. Three personal stories of transformational travel in Thailand, Ethiopia, and Yemen.

How Should I Work with Emotions?

Linda Galijan on working with emptiness and your emotions.

A Mindfulness Studies Student Book Roundup

Mindfulness Studies student Naomi Matlow shares her top 10 mindfulness books for those undergoing a similar path.

Recent Buddhist Books by Black Authors — A 2024 Roundup

On Tina Turner and bell hooks, love and liberation—eight inspiring new books are reviewed by Arleta Little.

The Eightfold Path of Joy and Liberation

The Buddha’s four noble truths include the truth that the eightfold path is a way out of suffering. It’s not just the path to happiness, says Sister True Dedication. It’s happiness itself.

No Self, No Suffering

Melvin McLeod breaks down the Buddha’s four noble truths and argues it’s not only the ultimate self-help formula, but the best guide to helping others and benefiting the world.

How to Practice Mindful Eating

Jan Chozen Bays teaches us how to make every meal a celebration of gratitude, enjoyment, and true nourishment.

I Vow to Save Everyone?

Noel Alumit reflects on the daunting commitment of the bodhisattva vows, and how his ordination bolstered his relationship with his mother and culture.

What Are the Four Foundations of Mindfulness?

The four foundations of mindfulness is the Buddha’s fundamental teaching on meditation common to all Buddhist traditions.