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    In the Forest of Faded Wisdom Paid Member

    By Gendun Chopel, Edited and Translated by Donald S. Lopez Jr.
    Walking with weary feet to the plains of the sandy south,Traversing the boundary of a land surrounded by the pitof dark seas,Pulling the thread of my life—precious and cherished—across a sword’s   sharp blade,Consuming long years and months of hardship, I havesomehow finished   this book. Although there is no one to beseech meWith mandates from on high or mandalas of gold,I have taken on the burden of hardship alone and writtenthis, More »
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    Dear Abbey Dharma Paid Member

    By Sylvia Boorstein
    Dear Abbey Dharma, In my lifetime of professional work in Canadian social service, I have gone from being left-leaning to Social Conservative. I don’t find a place for myself in any Western Buddhist sangha where being politically left is the norm. Even my current dharma teacher spews out hateful speech against just about anyone and everything on the right side of the spectrum. I have a hard time listening to a Buddhist teacher going on about how much he despises George W. Bush or Sarah Palin or people like me. No one but me even notices, or at least is affected by it. How can I remain part of the Western Buddhist community under these conditions?—Up North More »
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    Unlimiting Mind Paid Member

    By Andrew Olendzki
    The perspective articulated by the Buddha was something very different from either materialism or spiritualism, and might be called an early form of phenomenology. What we take to be “the world” is a virtual construction of the human mind and body, woven together of moments of consciousness arising and falling away in an ongoing stream. It is a world of appearances, of phenomena, constructed and imbued with meaning locally by each individual according to patterns learned from, and passed on to, others. More »
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    The Dalai Lama’s Little Book of Wisdom Paid Member

    By His Holiness The Dalai Lama
    What do we understand by meditation? From the Buddhist point of view, meditation is a spiritual discipline, and one that allows you to have some degree of control over your thoughts and emotions. Why is it that we don’t succeed in enjoying the lasting happiness that we are seeking? Buddhism explains that our normal state of mind is such that our thoughts and emotions are wild and unruly, and since we lack the mental discipline needed to tame them, we are powerless to control them. As a result, they control us. And thoughts and emotions, in their turn, tend to be controlled by our negative impulses rather than our positive ones. We need to reverse this cycle.Hampton Roads Publishing Company (2009) More »
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    Sailing Home Paid Member

    By Norman Fischer
    This question of denial or deferral also reminds me of an incident that happened at a large conference of Buddhist meditation teachers and Catholic monastics I attended years ago. Pope John Paul II had recently issued some papal document that seemed to denigrate meditation practice, arguing that it was a narcissistic avoidance mechanism, a way of blissing out of this world, possibly a dangerous form of self-obsession or self-indulgence, like a drug. More »
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    Cutting to the Chase Paid Member

    By Sayadaw U Pandita
    During an intensive Vipassana retreat, personal interviews are held as often as possible, ideally every day. Interviews are formally structured. After the yogi presents his or her experiences, as described below, the teacher may ask questions relating to particular details before giving a pithy comment or instruction. The interview process is quite simple. You should be able to communicate the essence of your practice in about ten minutes. Consider that you are reporting on your research into yourself, which is what Vipassana actually is. Try to adhere to the standards used in the scientific world: brevity, accuracy, and precision. More »