Archives: LR Articles
Intimate Distances
Speculations on the nature of self, other, boundary and embodiment by the great cognitive scientist and Buddhist practitioner Francisco J. Varela, written after undergoing a liver transplant. The scene is viewed from the side. The patient is lying on his half-raised hospital bed. Tubes, sutures and drains cover his body from nose to abdomen. On…
When the Candle is Blown Out: On The Death of Katagiri Roshi
Natalie Goldberg offers a remembrance of her teacher and a cri de coeur over all that is left incomplete and unanswered by his death.
Not Every Gauntlet Requires Picking Up
Not every challenge – nor every thought – needs to be acted on, says Sylvia Boorstein. We could be happier just letting go.
Make Your Decisions for Others
The reason it's so hard to make decisions, says Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche, is that we're confused about what we really want. If we're motivated by the happiness and welfare of others, we'll have no trouble making clear and wise decisions.
What’s Right With Islam
In a discussion with Melvin McLeod, Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf says the true spirit of Islam is one of tolerance, pluralism, and democracy.
Khandro Rinpoche’s Tough Love
She is demanding of her students and uncompromising about the dharma, and she is a rarity—a prominent Tibetan teacher who is a woman. Trish Deitch Rohrer experiences the provocative and challenging Khandro Rinpoche. You took your twelve-year-old daughter to a children’s blessing the Venerable Khandro Rinpoche was presiding over a few years ago while on…
Be Peace Embodied
"And if peace is their goal, they will in the field of politics be themselves peace embodied," Charles R. Johnson on the principles of enlightened politics
Forum: Understanding Dogen
When student approach the work of Dogen Zenji, the founder of Soto Zen, they find enigma and obscurity, plus great clarity. A roundtable discussion on this.
The Great Love
As well as its famed doctrines of emptiness and nonattachment, the heart of Buddhism is the love and compassion we feel toward all beings.
Stay with the Soft Spot of Bodhichitta
Pema Chödrön on how to awaken bodhichitta—enlightened heart and mind—the essence of all Buddhist practice.
Discovering the True Nature of Mind
Geshe Tenzin Wangyal teaches us a Dzogchen meditation that goes from contemplating our worst enemy to the discovery that mind is empty, clear and blissful.
How to Study the Dharma
Understanding Buddhism, says Reginald Ray, takes place in stages of ever-deepening and more direct experience.
Forum: Formless Meditation
A panel discussion with Ajahn Sumedho, Reverend Patricia Dai-En Bennage, Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche and Gaylon Ferguson on shikantaza – formless meditation.
Listen, Think, Practice and Realize Your Life As Peace
This teaching by Maezumi Roshi on practicing the dharma was first given in Los Angeles in 1994.
Just Don’t Do It
Sylvia Boorstein on the struggle of adjusting to new circumstances. Dealing with that stress? Maybe it's time to just take a break.
The Future of Zen
Interviews with experts Sojun Mel Weitsman, Steve Hagen, Jiko Linda Cutts, & John Tarrant on how Zen is evolving in the West.
White Plums and Lizard Tails: The story of Maezumi Roshi and his American Lineage
The story of a great Zen teacher—Taizan Maezumi Roshi—and his dharma heirs. Finding innovative ways to express their late teacher’s inspiration, the White Plum sangha is one of the most vital in Western Buddhism.
The Paradox of Happiness
Real happiness is what we all want, but none of our strategies for finding it seem to work. Maybe it's the search for happiness that makes us unhappy. John Tarrant has some thoughts on why the Buddha smiles.
