Category: Teachings
When the Buddha Was a Tree
Trees can show us how to be bodhisattvas. Rafe Jnan Martin draws important lessons from an old tale.
Who Was the Buddha?
The Buddha who lived 2,600 years ago was not a god. He was an ordinary person, named Siddhartha Gautama, whose teachings on enlightenment and the end of suffering became the basis of the world religion of Buddhism.
Buddha’s Birds
From the swan that Siddhartha nursed as a boy to the fantastical Garuda—Andrea Miller explores the intriguing role that birds play in Buddhist mythology.
The Inspiration of the Dalai Lama
Richard Gere reflects on how His Holiness the Dalai Lama has impacted him.
How to Break Free From Comparison and Judgment
The superiority complex, the inferiority complex, and the equality complex are painful traps we fall into if we believe we have a separate self. Sister Boi Nghiem on transforming complexes into confidence and compassion.
What Does It Mean to Be Enlightened?
Contrary to popular thought, awakening isn’t a distant goal. In fact, says Lisa Ernst, awakening is always available.
Your Enlightened Nature
The essence of mind is empty, luminous awareness. Mingyur Rinpoche on the Tibetan Buddhist practice of Dzogchen.
Discover the Joy of Doing Nothing
Zen teacher Pat Enkyo O’Hara teaches us the practice of Shikantaza.
The Clarity Aspect
Emptiness without wisdom can lead to nihilism, explains Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche. That's why we have the teachings on buddhanature.
Matthieu Ricard: The Path to a Compassionate Society
In this video interview, Buddhist monk Matthieu Ricard joins Lion’s Roar editor-in-chief Melvin McLeod to discuss compassion as a transformative force for addressing the challenges of our time. Drawing on his decades of humanitarian work with Karuna-Shechen, he shares how altruism can help build a more compassionate and hopeful society.
Quick! Who Can Save This Cat?
Zoketsu Norman Fischer's commentary on Mumonkan Case 14: Nanchuan's Cat.
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.
“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.
Do Buddhas think?
Zen teacher Blanche Hartman, Tibetan teacher Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche, and Insight teacher Narayan Helen Liebenson answer the question, "Do Buddhas think?"
Ask the Teachers: Why can’t I perceive bodhisattvas or deities?
Buddhism says that there are all kinds of beings out there—buddhas, bodhisattvas, deities—but I can't perceive them. How do I work with this discrepancy?
How Can I Accept the Suffering of Others?
Three teachers are asked about coming to terms with the suffering of others.
Awakening the Sacred Feminine
In Vajrayana Buddhism, dakinis are seen as unbridled and enlightened feminine energy. Lama Tsultrim Allione on how she discovered her own dakini power.
Forum: The Myths, Challenges, and Rewards of Tantra
A forum on Tantra with Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche, Anne Carolyn Klein, and Larry Mermelstein, with an introduction by Reggie Ray.
Impermanence is Buddha Nature
Change isn’t just a fact of life we have to accept and work with, says Norman Fischer.