Caring for people who are suffering is a loving, even heroic calling, but it takes a toll. Roshi Joan Halifax teaches this five-step program to care for yourself while caring for others. In the early morning, a weary man dressed in tattered clothes walked into a rural Himalayan mountain hospital with a grimy, reeking bundle in his arms. I was in Nepal serving in one of [...]
How Buddhists are responding to America’s “zero tolerance” immigration policy
In the past six weeks, approximately 2,300 children have been separated from their parents at the US–Mexico border. Though US President Donald Trump announced Wednesday he would end the practice, CNN reports, "it's unclear whether those children will be reunited with their parents." Just one section of a very long line of people surrounding the ICE building at 4310 SW [...]
Where Everyone Can Thrive
East Bay Meditation Center in Oakland is a leader in developing dharma for people who don’t feel welcome elsewhere. Lindsay Kyte explores EBMC’s focus on respect, safety, and the joy of being seen for who you are. In a society where many fight to be seen and heard, Mushim Ikeda sees a great need for well-being for the oppressed through spirituality and community. “For [...]
To Enter the Vajrayana Start at the Beginning
"It doesn't make sense to grab at the highest teachings and reject the rest," says Tsoknyi Rinpoche in this teaching from the Lion's Roar archive. "It is the kindness of the buddhas to provide us with a complete path, and the preliminary practices are part of that path." All great teachers of the past have taught the identical message: "Gather the accumulations, purify the [...]
What Happens When a Government Loses Its Compassion?
Without compassion, everyone is worse off. Zen teacher Roshi Joan Halifax comments on the Trump administration's family separation policy. What happens when a government loses its moral footing? When elected officials seem to be operating without integrity? When our politicians and their officials lack any semblance of compassion? These questions have been burning in me [...]
What does “nirvana” really mean?
“Nirvana” is a Buddhist term you don’t hear much these days. What does it really mean? In Buddhism, we are said to be trapped in samsara, an existence filled with suffering caused by ego—our desire to create and maintain a permanent self that is not subject to change. We achieve nirvana—a state of total peace without any clinging or struggle—when we are completely free from [...]
Now is the Time to Find Our Compassion
On Monday, 200 Buddhist teachers issued a statement calling for an end to the US government’s practice of separating migrant children from their parents. Lion’s Roar magazine deputy editor Andrea Miller talked to Tenku Ruff — president of the Soto Zen Buddhist Association, which created the statement — about what she hoped the letter would achieve. Andrea Miller: What can [...]
The Burning Heart of a Bodhisattva
On the 55th anniversary of Thich Quang Duc's self-immolation, Edward Tick shares what he has learned from his pilgrimages to the site of the monk's famous protest. Fifty-five years ago, on June 11, 1963, in a heavily trafficked intersection in downtown Sai Gon, the 67-year-old Buddhist monk Thich Quang Duc self-immolated. Thich means “most revered” — a title given only [...]
Why Should I Meditate?
Matthieu Ricard answers everyone’s first question. Take an honest look at yourself. Where are you in your life? What have your priorities been up till now and what do you intend to do with the time you have left? We are a mixture of light and shadow, of good qualities and defects. Are we really the best we can be? Must we remain as we are now? If not, what can we do to [...]
200 Buddhist teachers call for end to separation of children and parents at US–Mexico Border
"As people of faith and conscience, we feel that it is important that we speak out clearly in defense of basic human rights at this time." On Monday, the Soto Zen Buddhist Association released a statement on the separation of children from their parents at the US–Mexico border. The statement, which you can read in full below, is signed by more than 200 teachers across [...]
