Appreciate Your Life

The pitfall is always within yourself. This very body and mind is the Way. You are complete to begin with. There is no gap, but you think there is.

No-self, Sakyong Mipham, Self, Shambhala Sun, Lion's Roar, Buddhism

Do I Exist or Not?

<h4>The complete negation of everything — is that Buddhism? No, says Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche, "Buddhism is more complicated than that: things don’t exist, but they don’t not exist either." </h4>

The Case for Contemplative Psychology

When spiritual tradition is viewed as its own school of psychology, it can offer more effective techniques and profound goals than conventional psychology.

On the Importance of Relating to Unseen Beings

While Westerners tend to view it as superstition or symbolism, Reginald Ray argues that spiritual ritual is at the very heart of tantric Buddhist practice.

Changing How We Work Together

Peter Senge and Margaret Wheatley talk about how we can create meaning, joy, and even spiritual fulfillment in the way we work together.

Toy soldiers posed to fight each other.

The Sage Commander

We are all leaders in our own way. We all face conflict and chaos in our lives. But the wise leader seeks victory beyond aggression.

Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche devotion

Approaching the Guru

A talk on devotion by Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche, given in 1996 in Boulder, Colorado at the commemoration of the death of His Holiness Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche.

Becoming a Buddhist

“When we take refuge in the Buddha, we mean the qualities of the Buddha that are inherent within us. We are taking refuge in our own intrinsic enlightenment.”

The Innermost Essence

From "The Innermost Essence" by the great Dzogchen teacher Jigme Lingpa (1730-1798) and translated by Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche.

A man giving a homeless person some spare change.

Noble Heart of All Existence

Compassion is not a path that is taken because it leads somewhere else. Everything that we encounter, all that we experience, is this path.

Shambhala Sun, Happiness, Psychology, Sakyong Mipham

The Endless Migration

Psychologically, we are migrators. Going from one thing to another is what makes us happy. So do you think that all stops when you die?

Walking With St Francis

Gretel Ehrlich walks in the footsteps of St. Francis through the Umbrian countryside and ponders the life of a saint who was "radical without bitterness, vital yet gentle, dramatic—even outrageous at times—without narcissism."

Take a Closer Look at the Journey from Birth to Death

We could look at our life as a whole as a journey from our birth to our death, says Judy Lief. But we should not stop there. We could take a closer look.

Zen Talks and Poems

"The vastness lying beyond can only be detected by those who know what real Zen practice is all about,” said Nyogen Senzaki.

Strengthening the Will to Live

When we consider the will to live seriously, formulae such as ‘anger is bad, love is good’ become painfully simplistic.

Learning Where You Are The Experience of Place Based Education

Where are you? Who are you? How does where you are affect who you are? Place based education is interested in examining these questions.

Bonded by Gunk and Styrofoam

“I was a styrofoam tar baby. We laughed together about my appearance. My brother told me it was a thankless job and that I had done well. We made a link.”

My Year of Meats Ruth Ozeki Shambhala Sun Buddhism

My Year of Meats

Mirroring the journey of her novel’s heroine, Ruth Ozeki explored meat and media and discovered that writing is always political and denial always a choice. What’s in a Name? Last year my first novel was published. It’s called My Year of Meats. It’s a good title, I think. A funny title. A little proud, a…

Zen Sells: How Advertising has Co-opted Spirituality

From computers to beauty products, Madison Avenue has discovered that spirituality sells. Todd Stein on the irony of spiritual themes in materialism.

A Time to Find Meaning

“Even when disease cannot be cured, there is often a way to use this difficult experience to know more intimately the value and purpose of your life.”