Ajahn Chah's simple, profound advice to an aging student approaching her death. Today I have brought nothing material of any substance to offer you, only Dhamma, the teachings of the Buddha. Listen well. You should understand that even the Buddha himself, with his great store of accumulated virtue, could not avoid physical death. When he reached old age, he relinquished his [...]
The Fourteen Precepts of Engaged Buddhism
Thich Nhat Hanh's guidelines for anyone wishing to live mindfully. The Order of Interbeing (Tiep Hien) was formed by the Vietnamese monk Thich Nhat Hanh in the mid-1960’s, at a time when the Vietnam War was escalating and the teachings of the Buddha were desperately needed to combat the hatred, violence, and divisiveness enveloping his country. On the full moon day of [...]
Potato Fiascoes (& continuing cooking)
When I was the head cook at the Tassajara Zen Mountain Center in the late sixties, we ate a lot of brown rice. This was supposed to be good for you, at least according to the "Zen" Macrobiotics, who believed that rice was the perfect food. Although I was not personally an adherent of the macrobiotic diet, as cook I ended up catering to those who were, because they were so loud [...]
A Hole in Oneness
The first golf shot was a hole-in-one. It happened 600 years ago on a Scottish summer day. Two shepherds (Jack and Arnie) were walking their sheep to greener pastures; to pass the time they struck at small rocks with their staffs. One particularly clean hit by Jack sent the rock sailing off into the air for a moment, then down into a rabbit hole. When he recovered from the [...]
Dead Again, and Again, and Again
The Tibetan Book of the Dead continues to be fresh and relevant, both in our daily experience and at the time of death. It is an excellent guide for meditators and a provocative glimpse of fundamental mental resources and obstacles. Judy Lief on a "wonderful treasury for psychonauts." The Tibetan Book of the Dead presents a map of the mind using imagery. It is a direct and [...]
Road to Heaven: Encounters with Chinese Hermits
In the Lankavatara Sutra, the Buddha says, "Compassion comes from wisdom." For the past five thousand years, individuals in China searching for wisdom, whether they called it the Dharma or the Tao, have invariably looked for it, and sometimes found it, in the mountains. But sooner or later, wisdom gives rise to compassion. Sooner or later, the Tao comes to town. Buddhists [...]