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The Fertile Soil of Sangha
TWO THOUSAND five hundred years ago, Shakyamuni Buddha proclaimed that the next Buddha will be named Maitreya, the “Buddha of Love.” I think Maitreya Buddha may be a community and not just an individual. A good community is needed to help us resist the unwholesome ways of our time. Mindful living protects us and helps us go in the direction of peace. With the support of friends in the practice, peace has a chance. More » -
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Creating Sangha
A Buddhist community - a sangha - is not something one is merely born into or chooses to join, but something one is challenged to create. A sangha provides a matrix of communal support for people to realize their commitment to a common vision or concern. Yet it is in danger of lapsing into an institution intent on preserving the power of a minority of professionals. A sangha requires some kind of organized structure to serve an effective purpose…A Buddhist community - a sangha - is not something one is merely born into or chooses to join, but something one is challenged to create. A sangha provides a matrix of communal support for people to realize their commitment to a common vision or concern. Yet it is in danger of lapsing into an institution intent on preserving the power of a minority of professionals. A sangha requires some kind of organized structure to serve an effective purpose within a given society and persist over generations. More » -
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No Place to Hide
In people's idealized notions of a monk or a nun, one assumption is very accurate: that it simplifies your life so that you can put all your energy into waking up. Of course, not only monks and nuns are committed to waking up. But for many people, regular life is too distracting—which is to say, they are not at a place where they feel they can follow a path, because their ordinary life keeps overwhelming them or dragging them into passion, aggression, and ignorance. More » -
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What Would William Penn Think?
SITTING UP STRAIGHT in tall Shaker-style chairs, the members of Lilac Breeze Sangha follow their breath to the tune of Quaker silence. Like many other Westerners, they’ve taken to Buddhist sitting practice without giving up their religious roots, combining traditions for a customized spiritual experience. For math teacher David Shen, who combines Catholicism, Taoism, Quakerism, and Buddhism in his practice, mixing faiths works to their mutual enrichment: “In Quaker meeting,” he says, “when people speak, I now listen deeply, the way Buddhists would listen.” More » -
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Coming Home
Jesse has been blinded by shrapnel. Paul cannot swallow properly or digest his food. Claudia doesn’t remember giving birth to her daughter. Although they’re no longer in Iraq, the war is still with them. More »
