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    April Retreat: Sharon Salzberg on the Five Hindrances Paid Member

    Posted by Philip Ryan on 14 Mar 2011
    Last week I had the privilege of attending some of the taping* of the April Tricycle Retreat: Sharon Salzberg on the Five Hindrances. The Five Hindrances are classically described as negative mental states that interfere with meditation. Sharon Salzberg in this retreat will speak of how they play out in our lives generally as well. They are translated in different ways, but generally speaking they are: craving, including attachment or clinging to sensual and other pleasures aversion, including anger and resntment sleepiness, inclduing boredom and laziness restlessness, including fear and anxiety doubt, lack of confidence and mistrust of the teachings More »
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    Watch: Meditation Instructions for Beginners Paid Member

    Posted by Philip Ryan on 11 Mar 2011
    Pamela Gayle White and Khedrub Zangmo are wrapping up the first week of their Tricycle Retreat, Letting Go. You can follow that link to visit Week 1 of the retreat, which contains two videos and supplementary readings and the discussion with the teachers. (You'll have to be a Tricycle Community Supporting or Sustaining Member to join in the three weeks that follow.) The second video, which contains 25 minutes of meditation instructions for beginners, has proved so popular that we're re-posting it here. Enjoy! More »
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    What are you holding onto? Paid Member

    Posted by Philip Ryan on 10 Mar 2011
    It's been a good week at Pamela Gayle White and Khedrub Zangmo's "Letting Go" retreat. You can watch the two videos that make up Week 1 here—the second video is meditation instructions.) One of the best features of Tricycle Retreats is the direct access they offer to teachers, and the discussions that follow the teachings reflect this. In this week's discussion, one commenter writes: What really strikes me about your presentation here, apart from its loveliness and deep sense of peacefulness and tranquility, is how you seem to be applying what one learns on the meditation cushion to our daily lives. You are teaching us here practical measures for integrating the message of the Buddha into the next moment and the one after it and the one after that, how to live like a Buddha every day and everywhere, in all situations. Thank you. More »
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    Letting Go, with Pamela Gayle White and Khedrub Zangmo Paid Member

    Posted by Philip Ryan on 07 Mar 2011
    Today we begin a new four-week video retreat on Letting Go with two teachers from the Bodhi Path organization, Pamela Gayle White and Khedrub Zangmo. Their topic is of course letting go, which cuts to the heart of every practice and every tradition. What is it that we need to let go of? The things we are holding onto that limit us. The Week 1 teaching is called "The Result" and defines the goals of the practice. The teaching itself is about 25 minutes long, and there is a bonus meditation instruction video that also runs 25 minutes. Additionally, there are instructions in the Supplemental materials section to guide you in your practice throughout the week and to provide materisla for further reading and study. More »
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    Buddhist at the border: an unexpected encounter with a customs agent Paid Member

    Posted by Rachel on 03 Mar 2011
    On my recent snowy road trip from Maine to Wisconsin I decided to make a stop at Niagara Falls (despite the outside temperatures being just 6˚F). My friend and I had heard that the falls are best viewed from the Canadian side of the Niagara River, so we headed over the bridge to Canada, wary of the unpleasant hassle that usually comes with border crossings. At the Canadian border we pulled up to the customs booth, occupied by a no-nonsense middle aged customs agent. After a long look at our passports, she asked about our professions. I told her I worked for a Buddhist magazine. "Hmmm," she said, and I thought I detected a quick smile flash across her face before she proceeded to her next questions: "What is the purpose of your trip?" then "How long do you plan to spend in Canada?" and finally, the unexpected: "So, if you don't mind me asking, do you meditate? I just started and I'm having a difficult time with my practice." I had stumbled across a Buddhist border agent. More »
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    Thank you to Enkyo Roshi and Sharon Salzberg Paid Member

    Posted by Philip Ryan on 02 Mar 2011
    Well, nothing lasts forever. This week, Roshi Pat Enkyo O'Hara's Tricycle Retreat, "Ease and Joy in Your Practice and Life," wraps up, as does the Tricycle Book Club discussion of Sharon Salzberg's book Real Happiness. Both events considerably brightened up an otherwsie gloomy February here at Tricycle! To both Enkyo Roshi and Sharon Salzberg, thank you very much for the gift of the dharma you've given us. Thank you for being available, generous, and patient throughout the month! A participant in the Week 4 discussion of the retreat put it beautifully: More »