In this practical and pointed meditation instruction, Upasika Kee Nanayon, the foremost woman dhamma teacher in twentieth-century Thailand, shows us how to combine concentration and clear-seeing to penetrate the "mass of deceit" that is the mind. It’s important that we discuss the steps of the practice in training the mind, for the mind has all sorts of deceptions by which [...]
What kinds of programs can Buddhist centers offer children?
In this excerpt from a sweeping conversation about Theravada practice in everyday life, Buddhadharma asks three teachers what kinds of programs centers can for families and children. Marcia Rose: The Insight Meditation Society in Barre has had a family retreat for many years, one of the first in the Theravada tradition in the West. It has grown tremendously as people have [...]
Mind Is Buddha
A simple three-word koan. Or just a one-word koan: buddhanature. So deceptively simple, so easy to leave in the realm of concept, yet it penetrates to the very heart of the matter. Here's Geoffery Shugen Arnold, Sensei, on Case 30 of the Gateless Gate, "Mazu's 'Mind is buddha.'" The Main Case Damei once asked Master Mazu, “What is buddha?” Mazu answered, “Mind is [...]
Tiny, Slippery Spot of Mind: The four foundations of mindfulness in the Mahayana tradition
In the Mahayana tradition, mindfulness is regarded as wisdom, transcendental knowledge, which is known in Sanskrit as prajna. Mindfulness is also a method of working with our mind. It is the method of recollection, of watchfulness, which develops into the stage of awareness. But if you look at this mindfulness and awareness, you will see that there is not much difference [...]
Spring Comes, the Grass Grows by Itself: Remembering Zen Master Seung Sahn (1927-2004)
Stanley Lombardo remembers Zen Master Seung Sahn, founder of the Kwan Um School of Zen, who died in November. Zen Master Seung Sahn died of heart failure at Hwa Gye Sa temple in Korea on November 30. Known to his students as Dae Soen Sa Nim (Great Honored Zen Teacher), he was the first Korean Zen master to live and teach in the West and was the founding teacher of the Kwan [...]
In Translation: Great Perfection in the Palm of Your Hand
"Great Perfection in the palm of your hand." The seminal text Essential Advice for Solitary Meditation Practice, by the late Dudjom Rinpoche, translated by Ron Garry. Essential Advice for Solitary Meditation Practice was written by Dudjom Rinpoche (1904-1987) at the behest of a retreatant, Rikzang Dorje, in residence at Dudjom Rinpoché’s three-year retreat center, Ogmin Pema [...]
Theravada Practice Off the Cushion
A roundtable discussion with Gil Fronsdal, Michael Liebenson Grady and Marcia Rose, with an introduction by Thanissaro Bhikkhu. For anyone dedicated to a spiritual path, the most recurring concern is how to keep one’s daily activities in line with one’s highest aspirations. Special religious activities may punctuate the calendar to give energy to this daily quest, but the [...]
Peace Is More Than Not Fighting
Felix Holmgren talks with the "Sri Lankan Gandhi," Dr. A.T. Ariyaratne, about his movement promoting peace, self-reliance, and the transformation of the Sri Lankan society. When I walk into Vishva Niketan, the “Universal Abode of Peace,” I encounter camera and lighting gear all around its pavilion. They are trained on the man I’ve come to meet—the founder, ideologue and [...]
Forum Essays: the Efficacy of Practice
The question of whether my practice or meditation is working raises the further question of how I know. Is my meditation working if I feel happy, loving or confident? If I am less anxious and free of stress-related mental and physical ailments? If I am a better worker, spouse or person? If I am a more active sangha member and bodhisattva? If I am more enlightened? Yes, [...]
What is a Yidam?
A yidam as defined by Sarah Harding, a Tibetan translator and lama in the Kagyü school of Vajrayana Buddhism. To define the concept of the yidam is to approach the essence of Tibetan Buddhism. The yidam is a special deity one works with in meditation as a means towards recognizing one's own awakened nature. The word is said to be a contraction of yid kyi dam tshig, which [...]