Dharma for a Dangerous Time

The world may seem particularly dangerous and uncertain, but it’s wise to remember that the ways of history—and the dharma’s response—haven’t changed.

Katie Zdybel grew up on the music of James Taylor and Carly Simon. Their son Ben Taylor discusses how the love of music brings the generations together.

All in the Family

Katie Zdybel grew up on the music of James Taylor and Carly Simon. Their son Ben Taylor discusses how the love of music brings the generations together.

The Wish-Fulfilling Jewel

Virtue, says Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche, is like the legendary jewel that fulfills all our wishes. By meditating on and practicing the virtues of wisdom and compassion, we make our lives meaningful, happy, and successful.

Why Can’t “I” Be Happy?

The four noble truths tell us that to be happy we must first discover the causes of our unhappiness. This is the approach of the renowned French Buddhist monk Matthieu Ricard, who says that genuine happiness is only possible after we understand the fundamental mistake that is the root of our suffering.

Review of “Encountering the Dharma”

Encountering the Dharma: Daisaku Ikeda, Soka Gakkai, and the Globalization of Buddhist Humanism by Richard Hughes Seager, reviewed by Martin Baumann.

Review of “The Madman’s Middle Way”

The Madman’s Middle Way: Reflections on Reality of the Tibetan Monk Gendün Chöpel by Donald S. Lopez Jr., reviewed by Felix Holmgren

Book Briefs Summer 2006

The State of Mind Called Beautiful; Buddhists, Brahmins, and Belief; Zen in Brazil; Dzogchen Teachings; On Buddha Essence; Explaining Pictures; and more.

The Power of Positive Karma

Rebirth and karma are the Buddhist beliefs that Westerners find hardest to accept. Yet are they really so foreign to us?

What the Buddha Taught

The Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche outlines the Buddha's teachings, broken down by the three turnings of the wheel of dharma.

Review of “The Women of the Way”

The Women of the Way: Discovering 2,500 years of Buddhist Wisdom by Sally Tisdale, reviewed by Roko Sherry Chayat.

Returning Home

Thich Nhat Hanh offers a guided meditation to relax our body and mind and return to the here and now. Fully present, fully alive, we find we are already home. Do you remember anything from your stay in your mother’s womb? All of us spent about nine months there. That’s quite a long time. I believe…

Robert Coles and the Moral Life

When so much talk of morality is marked by aggression and self-righteousness, Robert Coles, child psychiatrist, is a gentler and deeper moral voice.

A Few Words Before They Drag Me Away

In and out of hospital since childhood, Diana Atkinson on a life cut to pieces.

Where Outer and Inner Meet

Eva Wong explains kanyu, the Taoist philosophy of external and internal harmony that is the basis of feng shui, energetic principles that govern nature.

The Karma of Happiness

In measuring and prescribing human skills for a good life, lasting happiness requires that we carefully weigh the consequences of our actions.

Weezer’s Rivers Cuomo talks meditation

Weezer frontman Rivers Cuomo speaks to Jeff Pardy about his introduction to meditative practice, and it’s impact on both his music and the band.

Carolyn Gimian Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche Ego Happiness Kalachakra Tantra Materialism Shambhala Sun - Sept '05

Meet The Three Lords of Materialism

The Lords of Form, Speech, and Mind - we think they'll make us happy and secure, but Carolyn Gimian tells us that everything wrong with the world and our lives is their creation.

dalai lama neuroscience neuroplasticity mind and life institute science brain buddhism francisco varela eleanor rosch

Two Sciences of Mind

Barry Boyce reports on the dialogue between cutting-edge science and Buddhism's 2500-year study of the mind.

Buddhist wedding.

I Married a Monk

Sumi Loundon expects the worst when she and her boyfriend ask his Zen master for permission to marry. But a personal bodhisattva has already intervened.

Showdown at Punk Palace

It's mindfulness versus Megadeth when Ian Prattis visits his art school son. Will hope triumph over heroin?