In this commentary from the Fall 2018 issue of Buddhadharma: The Practitioner’s Quarterly, Roshi Joan Halifax reflects on the idea of "wise hope" and why we should open ourselves to it. A good part of my life has been spent relating to situations that might be deemed hopeless—as an anti-war activist, a civil rights worker, a caregiver of dying people. I have also [...]
The Science of Meditation: What We Know and What We Don’t
While people have believed for thousands of years that meditation works, the search for scientific proof is just beginning. The team at Greater Good Science Center assesses the current state of the evidence — what we do, don’t, and might know. During the past two decades, we’ve discovered a lot about mindfulness. Specifically, there have been many studies of meditation, [...]
Who Was Sayadaw U Pandita?
Jake Davis recalls the legacy of Burmese meditation master Sayadaw U Pandita and his influence on the Western Insight movement. From the Fall 2016 issue of Buddhadharma. When Sayadaw U Pandita came to Insight Meditation Society in Barre, Massachusetts, in 1984 to lead a retreat primarily for a small group of Western teachers and senior Western students, most knew him then only [...]
5 Ways to Win the Internet
Zen priest Gesshin Greenwood offers five tips for staying safe and sane online. The internet is a scary place these days. Actually, it's always been a scary place. Remember when your kids getting abducted by strangers they met in chatrooms was the most pressing danger of the internet? Now your kids are the ones programming the chatrooms. And yet, since the revelations [...]
Two-Minute Meditations for Anytime, Anywhere
Life is busy. Here's a selection of quick meditations to work with emotional distress and foster mindfulness when time is scarce. Meditation is about relaxing with the truth. When we sit in that vulnerability, we can get in touch with our thoughts, emotions, and body. However, even the most experienced meditators can get uncomfortable or find themselves short on time. And [...]
Being Present with Suffering
By accepting our emotions and not reacting, says Lama Justin von Bujdoss, one of three teachers leading this year’s Lion’s Roar Retreat, “Facing Life’s Challenges,” we can learn to effectively serve others. My work in caregiving, both in hospice and at Rikers Island’s jails, has brought me face-to-face with pain, sorrow, loss, terror, fear, frustration, and anxiety. Since [...]
Toward a Worldwide Culture of Love
The practice of love, says bell hooks, is the most powerful antidote to the politics of domination. She traces her thirty-year meditation on love, power, and Buddhism, and concludes it is only love that transforms our personal relationships and heals the wounds of oppression. At a conference on women and Buddhism that took place in spring last year, I was upset because [...]
The Power of Sound
Shinso Ito, the head of the Shinnyo-en school of Buddhism, explains the role of bells and chanting in Shinnyo practice. When I was approached about the subject of sound and spirituality, I remembered a story about my birth. I was born in the early years of the Shinnyo tradition, which was founded by my parents. On the day of my birth, people were gathered for an evening [...]
Black & Buddhist in America
15 leading African American Buddhist teachers will hold public dialogue in New York City. Leading Buddhist teachers of black African descent from across the United States will gather at Union Theological Seminary in the City of New York on Sunday, October 21, for “Black & Buddhist in America,” a conversation about dharma, the state of the world, and what it means to be [...]
Two claimants to “Karmapa” title release joint statement calling for unity
The two claimants to the title of "Karmapa" have released a joint statement seeking to heal a decades-long rift in their community. His Holiness Ogyen Trinley Dorje and His Holiness Trinley Thaye Dorje spent the last few days together discussing how they can preserve and strengthen the Karma Kagyu lineage of Tibetan Buddhism. On October 11, the Karmapas released a joint [...]
