Sharon Salzberg on opening to the truth of suffering, the core of the Buddha's teaching. A friend of mine once had to explain to her four-year-old son that the woman who had been providing child care for him since he was born was going to move away. Because her child was very attached to this person, my friend carefully told him about this step-by-step, making sure to say that [...]
What Is Your Body?
It’s less than we think. It’s far more than we know. It’s who we are but it’s not. Contemplate the deeper reality of the body with Buddhist teacher Norman Fischer. We think about our bodies all the time. How do they look? What is their state of health? Are they aging? Are they sufficiently strong, attractive, impressive? These questions churn out an almost [...]
Who Was the Buddha?
"Buddha" means "one who is awake." The Buddha who lived 2,600 years ago was not a god. He was an ordinary person, named Siddhartha Gautama, whose profound insights inspired the world. Contents Who Was Buddha? What Do We Know About the Historical Buddha? Have There Been Other Buddhas? What About the Buddhas in Buddhist Art? Do Buddhists Worship the Buddha? [...]
What Are The Three Jewels?
Buddhists take refuge in three different expressions of awakened mind: buddha, dharma, and sangha. Each of these is a precious and necessary element of the Buddhist path, and so they are called the three jewels. 1. Buddha: The Teacher This refers, first, to the historical Buddha, the original teacher. He was not a god but a human being like us, and his example shows us that [...]
Shamatha Meditation: Training the Mind
"The process of undoing bewilderment is based on stabilizing and strengthening our mind," says Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche. "Shamatha meditation is how we do that.” We sometimes forget how the Buddhist teachings came into being. We forget why the Buddha left his father's palace. Dissatisfied with maintaining an illusion, he wanted to understand his life—and life itself. Why [...]
Buddhism in the Age of #BlackLivesMatter
We need to update the traditional narrative of the Buddha’s life, says Pamela Ayo Yetunde, for people who know suffering all too well. She offers some alternative stories for the time of #BlackLivesMatter. I am a person of African descent practicing Buddhism in the age of #BlackLivesMatter. I am also trained in the Insight Meditation tradition to organize and lead Buddhist [...]
Do Buddhas think?
Question: Do buddhas think? Narayan Helen Liebenson: As I understand it, the awakened mind includes thinking; it’s just that the thinking is necessary, functional, and discerning rather than indulgent, unnecessary, and addictive. Without attachment to thinking, silence and peace are available. In not grasping after thoughts and taking them to be me and mine, there is freedom [...]
What Actually Happens in the Lotus Sutra?
In his book, The Lotus Sutra: A Biography, Donald S. Lopez, Jr. unpacks what may be the most famous of Buddhist scriptures, explaining how it came to be and how its influence has grown over centuries. Here, Lopez provides what he calls “The Plot Summary” of the Lotus Sutra. Whether you’re experienced with the Lotus or have never endeavored to read it, you’ll have a deeper [...]
Playing With Buddha
“The Buddha is with you,” his mother used to say. “Believe in him.” At age seven, Ira Sukrungruang believed that the Buddha was more than a bronze statue. The Buddha was his best friend. I used to stare at the meditating Buddha in our living room: his straightbacked posture, his wide shoulders and narrow waist, his elegant hands resting humbly in his lap. This statue sat [...]
Trusting the Three Treasures
Taking refuge in the Buddha, dharma, and sangha, says Geoffrey Shugen Arnold, involves taking a leap forward with a deep sense of trust in our own basic nature and the natural wisdom of all phenomena. The three treasures are the path to the awakened mind, and they are that awakening itself. They point to the ultimate nature that is realized through practice, as well as to how [...]
