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In the Footsteps of the Buddha pilgrimages with Shantum Seth across India and South Asia. Other spiritual journeys that transform. Mindful travel.
Buddhist Teachings |
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Guest Post: Dying With Confidence
Today's guest post on the four essential steps to dying with confidence comes from Chris Lemig, a student of Anyen Rinpoche's. A while back my teacher, Anyen Rinpoche, came down to Colorado Springs to give a talk on his latest book, Dying With Confidence. I'm not going to lie, I was really excited and even a little bit proud to be even a small help in organizing that event. But then, as he began his talk to about fifteen attendees, I dropped my ego clinging like a hot potato. This was serious stuff. More » -
Jataka Tales: The Birth Story of the Great Monkey (Mahavanarajatakam)
This story is from the Jataka tales, stories of the Buddha's past lives. Though not from the Pali Canon, The Birth Story of the Great Monkey was written in Sanskrit by the poet Aryashura. It's taken from the Garland of the Buddha's Past Lives (Jatakamala), a collection of 34 stories. Enjoy! More » -
Guest Post: Judging the Universe
Today we have a guest post from Leonard Scheff, co-author with Susan Edmiston of the book The Cow in the Parking Lot: A Zen Approach to Overcoming Anger. Read about his views on dealing with anger and then let us know: What do you think of the assertion that "being angry at an event is judging the universe to be unacceptable"? The Dalai Lama said that overcoming anger is the front gate to enlightenment. Generally we become angry because something that happened or didn’t happen wasn’t the way we wanted. However to deal with anger on a more basic level, it is necessary to look at its effect in a broader context. The Buddha said: More » -
Buddha Buzz: Honesty, Poetry, and Exile
Barbara O'Brien's post on Tuesday, "Deep Honesty," made me think about all of honesty's different forms: honesty as a precept, honesty as a worldview, honesty as a tool for empowerment...and its less welcome forms too, like honesty as an unwelcome guest knocking on your door in the middle of the night when you're not quite ready to receive it. On all of these O'Brien writes, Speaking truth comes from a practice of truthfulness, or deep honesty. One of the things I first appreciated about Zen practice is that it requires self-honesty. Whatever shtick has gotten you through life is revealed to be a hindrance instead of a crutch, and the myriad little lies and rationalizations we tell ourselves about ourselves fall away. (And they're still falling away.) More » -
Buddha Buzz: Buddhism and the Internet, Friends or Foes?
The Internet is a many-headed beast. A many-headed beast that sometimes seems like it's eating everything, my free time being the first item on the menu. Websites like YouTube, StumbleUpon, Facebook and Twitter are so addictive—and some of the time, so mindless—that they can suck even the most seasoned Buddhist practitioner into a vortex of websites, blogs, and profiles, where the most profound of insights lose out to...are those pictures of baby animals? Let's put it this way: if the Internet could be summed up into one word, it would be distraction. More » -
Deeper Lessons: Gratitude at the End of the Day
We're reading Jan Chozen Bays's How to Train a Wild Elephant at the Tricycle Book Club. At the beginning of this week we posted one of the mindfulness practices from the book, "Gratitude at the End of the Day," and today we're following-up with the "Deeper Lessons" to be learned from that exercise. If you have questions or comments for Jan Chozen Bays please join the discussion!Deeper Lessons More »
