What to Do When the Going Gets Rough

Pema Chödrön on four ways to hold our minds steady and hearts open when facing difficult people or circumstances.

Anne Cushman yoga poses  People made them up  Shambhala Sun

Yoga from the Inside Out

For Christmas a few years ago, my partner, Teja, gave me a round yoga mat about six feet in diameter. When I spread it out and began to practice—by the twinkle of the Christmas tree lights—I was amazed at the way my asanas transformed.

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Watch: “Hector” (aka Simon Pegg) goes to Tibet

If a good-natured, fun-loving film is your cuppa tea, you know Simon Pegg; think Hot Fuzz, Paul, Shaun of the Dead, and so on. Pegg’s latest star turn is in the title role of Hector and the Search for Happiness, in which he plays a psychiatrist who’s trotting the globe in search of, yes, happiness.…

Are you trying to “settle the score”? Try “choosing peace” instead

There is a key moment, says Pema Chödrön, when we make the choice between peace and conflict. In this teaching from her program Practicing Peace, she describes the practice we can do at that very moment to bring peace for ourselves, for others, and for the world. If we want to make peace, with ourselves and with…

Journeys: Putting on My Oxygen Mask

When faced with caring for her aging mother, Ann Potter struggles to practice both compassion for others and compassion for herself. 

Buddha statue holding flowers.

Extreme Detox: How Buddhist monks led me to humility and freedom from alcohol addiction

Author Paul Garrigan tells how Buddhist monks in a Thai temple helped him to drop his drinking, and even the very idea that he was an addict.

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Buddhist Psychotherapist and “RAIN” Champion Tara Brach

Western psychology and Buddhism—together they offer us a complete diagnosis of the human condition. Andrea Miller talks to psychotherapist Tara Brach, who works to combine these two disciplines into a powerful path to love and fulfillment.

RAIN Cools the Flames of Anger

Emily Horn teaches us how to recognize, accept, investigate, and not identify with our anger. 

A Punk Looks at Fifty

I recently turned 50. Happy birthday to me! It’s an annoying age: you’re not old enough to be considered wise but you are old enough to be considered old.

Psychology, Forum, Jack Kornfield, Ajahn Amaro, Judy Lief, Bodhin Kjolhede, Zen, Insight MeditationX Vajrayana / Tibetan Buddhism, Buddhadharma, Lion's Roar, Buddhsim

Is Western Psychology Redefining Buddhism?

Jack Kornfield, Judy Lief, and Bodhin Kjolhede examine the influence of Western psychology on Buddhism. Introduction by Ajahn Amaro.

Off the Bridge and Onto the Cushion

Brandon Dean Lamson recalls how he turned away from his decision to commit suicide, and went to go sit zazen instead.

I Did Not Lose My Mind

It took an illness of the brain for Meg Hutchinson to discover the inherent sanity of her own mind. Her breakdown was actually a breakthrough.

It’s for You

Sometimes after a phone call, nothing is ever the same. But if you let it, says Douglas Penick, the bad news can come to feel a little like falling in love.

George Saunders

George Saunders on Kindness

The famed writer talks abou a failure of kindness and a convocation speech that went viral.

Pema Chödrön on 4 Keys to Waking Up

As Ani Pema Chödrön sees it, walking the walk is about being genuine; that is, not being a fake spiritual person.

Empty boat in water

Empty Graves & Empty Boats

At her grandfather’s grave, Rachel Neumann’s anger erupted, but who was there to yell at in those long-buried remains?

What’s Your Retreat Password?

Disentangling from the modern world to go on a meditation retreat, says author Anne Cushman, can be a little complicated.

pema chodron dzigar kongtrul

Let’s Be Honest

Pema Chödrön and Dzigar Kongtrül—a student and her teacher—talk straight about honesty, self-deception, and why the difference is the key to the dharma.

We Naturally Know What to Give — Jan Chozen Bays on Joyful Giving

Jan Chozen Bays's contribution to the “Joyful Giving” feature, looking at why generosity is the starting place of all the virtues.

Father of Sandy Hook shooting victim asks Thich Nhat Hanh how to prevent such tragedies in the future

Father of Sandy Hook shooting victim asks Thich Nhat Hanh how to prevent such tragedies in the future.