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The Institute of Buddhist Studies provides graduate level education in the entirety of the Buddhist tradition with specialized instruction supporting Jodo Shinshu Buddhist ministry.
Meditation |
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Meditation makes you a more rational decision maker
According to a recent study conducted by researchers in Canada and the US, meditation can actually reprogram the brain to make more rational--and less emotional--decisions. Via USA Today: More » -
Is Sitting a Lethal Activity?
We've all heard the meditation instruction "just sit," but what if just sitting leads to an early grave? A recent piece at The New York Times explores an emerging field that some call inactivity studies: More » -
Choosing a time to meditate
Plan to meditate at about the same time every day. Some people find it best to sit first thing in the morning; others find it easier to practice at lunchtime, or before going to bed at night. Experiment to find the time that works best for you. Then make a commitment to yourself. Write it in your datebook.I suggest you start by sitting for twenty minutes of meditation three times the first week—but if you'd rather start with a shorter time and gradually lengthen it, that's fine. Decide before each session how long it's going to be. (Set an alarm if you're worried about knowing when the time is up.) You'll add one more day of meditation in Week Two, another in Week Three, and two in Week Four, so that by the end of the month you'll have established a daily practice. More » -
Breath Meditation Instructions from Sharon Salzberg
Sharon Salzberg is now leading a Tricycle Retreat on The Five Hindrances, the five negative thought patterns that interrupt our practice (and life). The following meditation instructions are from pages 46-51 of her bestselling book Real Happiness: More » -
Awake at the Wheel
Last week, several Tricycle staffers traveled to Carmel, New York to visit the Venerable Bhikkhu Bodhi at Chuang Yen Monastery. Sam Mowe describes it here and provides some visual aids. (The monastery was pretty mind-blowing.) But he left out the driving part. Carmel is a bit off the beaten path and it's easiest to get there with a car. I drove. I don't remember why but it was a bit like musical chairs: We were at the car rental place and everyone piled into the car and I was left outside and the only empty seat was the driver's. So exercising the millennia-old "driver's privilege" of controlling the radio, for the ride back I decided to pop in Awake at the Wheel: Mindful Driving with Michele McDonald, which we've had in the office for a little while, but, since we live in New York City, we haven't had much chance to put into practice. More » -
What to do when mindfulness is not easy
The primary approach of mindfulness is to pay attention to what's happening and to develop a different relationship to our experience so that we're not rejecting it or hating it, but we're also not overwhelmed by it. So mindfulness has an inherent sense of balance. But the reality is that there are times when mindfulness is not that easy. We may be exhausted, or we may not be able to find balance through coming back to the breath, or mental noting, or other techniques we employ, or our mindfulness may be too intermittent. So there are a whole host of approaches to help us come back into balance and once again be mindful. It's fine to explore these methods instead of following a traditional mindfulness practice. Sometimes people think, "Oh, I blew it, I can't do the real thing." But it's not like that at all. More »
