woman swims in a frozen lake

How Mindfulness Enhances Cold Water Therapy

Roberval Oliveira shares his experience with cold water therapy, highlighting the important role mindfulness has played in unlocking its numerous benefits.

The Four Givings

Buddhism’s four immeasurables aren’t just states of mind we can achieve, says Venerable Hui Cheng. They’re gifts we can give to others.

Meeting Heart-to-Heart

When it comes to difficult people, says Koshin Paley Ellison, the key is two people willing to let go of being right.

a white candle reflects on a frosted window

My 49-Day Journey Through Grief

After the loss of her son, Karen Wallace Bartelt sought solace beyond the practices of her Christian faith. Finding inspiration in Buddhism, she shares how she learned to sit with her grief and create a sacred space within for transformation to unfold.

3 Lessons Pema Chödrön Taught Me

On the occasion of Pema Chödrön's birthday, Lion's Roar's deputy editor Andrea Miller shares the important lessons Pema has taught her.

Understanding Self Power & Other Power

Mark Unno on how giving ourselves over to other power, an idea central to Asian Buddhist thought, can lead to awakening.

How to Make a Spectacular Mistake

You’re going to make one anyway, says Anita Feng. So why not go big? You might end up with something more beautiful than perfection.

Thich Nhat Hanh Sunlight of Awareness Practice

The Sunlight of Awareness

Shine the warm light of awareness on your thoughts and feelings, says Thich Nhat Hanh.

Growing Together

To commit to another person is to embark on an adventurous journey, writes Thich Nhat Hanh. You must be wise and patient to keep your love alive so it will last for a long time.

Healing the Scars of History

Retreats are being held at Auschwitz, a former plantation, and a site where Indigenous people were massacred. Lindsay Kyte reports on how retreatants are finding freedom from their ancestral pain.

How to Stay Calm in the Midst of Chaos

Sharon Salzberg on the power of equanimity.

hook shenpa pema chodron Lion's Roar Buddhism Shambhala Sun

How We Get Hooked and How We Get Unhooked

Shenpa is the urge, the hook, that triggers our habitual tendency to close down. We get hooked in that moment of tightening when we reach for relief. To get unhooked we begin by recognizing that moment of unease and learn to relax in that moment.

Welcoming the Life That’s Yours

Claire B. Willis and Marnie Crawford Samuelson share how when you allow and accept all of life's experiences, you can fully open to the life that’s yours to live.

Person meditating.

Why Should I Meditate?

Matthieu Ricard explains what Buddhist meditation is and why we do it.

Beginning Anew

A meditation instruction by the late Thich Nhat Hanh on starting over.

Karen Maezen Miller Happiness New Years Zen

A New Year’s Blessing

Karen Maezen Miller gives her New Years well wishes.

How to Work with the Winter Blues

Perhaps these days of less sunlight are opportunities for more contemplative time, more looking deeply to see what can only be seen in the dark.

What Does It Mean to Be a Trauma-Sensitive Mindfulness Practitioner?

Over the last decade, there’s been an increased awareness of the adverse effects of trauma in the mindfulness and meditation discourse. Naomi Matlow explains.

Cooked with Love

Arepas have been eaten in South America since pre-Columbian times. For Mariana Restrepo, they’re a reminder of all the hands that have fed and shaped her.

How to Work With Anxiety: 3 Techniques For Lasting Change

Anxiety is a natural response to being human, says Lion’s Roar’s Chris Pacheco. When we try to control our anxious feelings instead of accepting them, we might end up exacerbating fear and worry. Here, he outlines three main strategies for moving through anxiety.