An American Zen Buddhist training center in the Mountains and Rivers Order, offering Sunday programs, weekend retreats and month-long residencies.
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Survival of the Kindest
It's not such a dog-eat-dog after all. It turns out we may be wired to be kind. As you may have heard, Sharon Salzberg is leading our first Tricycle Online Retreat, a three-week teaching on metta, or loving-kindness, practice. In the teacher-led discussion, one retreatant points us to a University of California, Berkeley, study on sympathy and compassion. More » -
Pausing when We Eat
Here are some methods for helping yourself to slow down your eating by creating pauses: 1. Pause before beginning the meal. Look at each item of food, taking it in with the eyes. Notice colors, textures, shapes, arrangement on the plate or bowl. 2. Take a moment to say grace. Thank the animals, plants, and people who brought this food to you. Be aware of their gifts as you eat. 3. Begin the meal by pausing to inhale the fragrance of the food. Imagine that you are being nourished by just the smell. 4. Eat food like a wine connoisseur tastes wine. First sniff the food, enjoying the bouquet. Then take a small taste. Roll it around in the mouth, savoring it. What ingredients can you detect? Chew slowly and swallow. Take a sip of water to cleanse the palate. When the mouth is empty of food and flavor, repeat the process. 5. More » -
Working with Pain
Pain is an intrinsic part of being born in a physical body, as the Buddha has taught. In reality, aging and sickness begin the moment we enter the world. Yet we are conditioned to ward off all pain. We are unwilling to allow the pain simply to happen... Paradoxically, once we are willing to work with pain, we feel that it is not all bad. Pain is a riveting object of attention; to paraphrase Samuel Johnson, it concentrates the mind wonderfully. If we leave the breath and direct attention to whatever physical sensation is in the body, allowing ourselves to be present with whatever has arisen, the mind doesn’t tend to wander very much. If we are truly aware of the sensations, we find that pain can focus and calm the mind. There can be joy that arises with this concentration. We are not scattered. More » -
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Don't be afraid of pain
Sometimes I think anticipation of pain is far worse than the pain itself. That's not to diminish the reality of pain, but it's a fact that we've all got to deal with it so why not find a way to be with it? It goes against the grain, but Buddhists have traditionally seen in pain an opportunity for practice. (Granted, this was before the Fentanyl patch.) Not for everyone, but for those it does work for, it makes plenty of good sense. Try it next time you've got a toothache on the weekend. Read Upasika Kee Nanayon's "Tough Teachings to Ease the Mind" here. More » -
Is this Buddhist monk the world's oldest man?
Keep sitting: it might make you live longer. Thai monk Luang Phu Supha is celebrating his birthday today—his 115th birthday, he says, but this is up for debate. His birth certificate says 1896, but he believes he was two years old at the time. A 113-year-old American, Walter Bruening, also lays claim to the title of world's oldest man. Luang Phu Supha lives at the temple on Phuket where he is abbot. More »
