Warrior Poses

"Yoga practice is not necessarily relaxing; it trains us to be centered, awake, confident and flexible within effortful situations."

Landing at Tranquility Base

Moonlight shimmers on the surface of the steaming Japanese bath, while a gentle wind rustles. The very atmosphere seems to radiate relaxation and serenity.

Buddhism Lion's Roar Four Noble Truths Mahayana Shambhala Sun Theravada Tulku Thondup Rinpoche Vajrayana / Tibetan Buddhism

The Buddha’s Noble First Teaching

Tulku Thondup on the four simple and practical statements that encompass the entire Buddhist path, the Buddha's Four Noble Truths.

What is This Me?

Are we interested in exploring this amazing affair of ‘myself’ from moment to moment?

Waiting. Waiting. For What?

Meditation, then, can show us our true and genuine life, with its freedom, its abundant creativity, and its joy.

The Sharp Sword of Prajna

Wisdom, says Judy Lief, is not about answers. It's about the power of questioning, about developing a great inquisitiveness that cuts through all solidity and self-deception.

Warriorship, bravery, Sakyong Mipham, Vajrayana / Tibetan Buddhism, Shambhala Sun, Lion's Roar, Buddhism

The Buddha’s Bravery

According to Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche, to have the definite intention to emerge from samsara is an act of warriorship, a way of dealing with our fear of death.

The Practice of Karma

Reginald A. Ray on how T'hrinlay Wangmo transformed an horrific incident into a situation of blessing through her understanding of karma.

Do Good and Be Well

Too cold to work out? Sure, but you can still do your body and mind plenty of good -- while also making a real difference to others.

It’s Time to Listen

Margaret Wheatley discusses how to heal in the months following the tragedy of September 11, 2001.

You Are Avalokiteshvara

Eric Holm on how visualization practice helps us overcome ego and pacify obstacles. Includes “A Visualization Practice: Avalokiteshvara, the Bodhisattva of Compassion.” The buddhadharma is renowned for its skillful methods of meditative training. In Vajrayana Buddhism, many of these methods are based on the visualization of archetypal wisdom forms, or deities. Visualization practices come from…

Don’t Be So Sure

In a changing world, certainty doesn't give us stability; it just creates more chaos. "Now is the time for far less certainty and far more curiousity."

Taking the Time

If we feel we're changing in ways we don't like then we need time to think-about where we are now and how we might start to change things.

Hand holding a bowl of tea. Koan.

What did Yan T’ou Whisper? A Commentary on “Te Shan Holds His Bowl”

Zen Buddhist priest Norman Fischer gives a commentary on "Te Shan Holds His Bowl", a Zen koan.

Something Has to Change: Blacks in American Buddhism

Lawrence Pintak tells the compelling stories of three African-American dharma teachers. He asks them why American Buddhism attracts so few people of color and what can be done about it.

Zen’s Radical Conservative: John Daido Loori Roshi

John Daido Loori is an imaginative modernizer yet fierce upholder of the old ways of Zen. John Kain reports from Zen Mountain Monastery.

The Miracle of Downward Dog

Buddhist practitioner Mark Epstein discovers the joys of hatha yoga.

Sisters

I can't know what it's like to be a woman, or even how exactly to be a dad to girls, but I know something of sisters, and even perhaps of sisterhood.

Religion Without God

What does it mean to be a religion without a God? More broadly, what does it mean to live without an exterior savior of any kind?

Meditation, Sakyong Mipham, Shambhala Sun, Lion's Roar, Buddhism, Vajrayana

Meditation and Post-Meditation

Normally, when we talk about meditation, we're talking about formal meditation, meaning that our meditation session has a definite beginning and end.