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    Precepts: Ethics in Action: By the People, For the People Paid Member

    By Shakyamuni Buddha
    MONKS, there comes a time, there comes an occasion, when this universe after a long stretch of time begins to dissolve.... There comes a time, monks, there comes an occasion, when this universe, after a long stretch of time, begins to re-evolve once more, and while it is reevolving certain beings, in order to achieve the extinction of existence and karma... are born in this world. These beings are self-luminous, move through space, are made of mind, feed on joy, abide in a state of bliss, and go wherever they wish. That, monks, is the appropriate condition of these beings who are self-luminous, move through space, are made of mind, feed on joy, abide in a state of bliss, and go wherever they wish. The moon and sun were not yet known in the world. Hence the forms of the stars were not known, nor the paths of the constellations, nor day and night, nor months and fortnights, nor seasons and years. More »
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    Driving Me Crazy Paid Member

    By David Chadwick
    My FIRST TRIP to the Okayama Driver's License Test Building had been spent mainly helping the clerk do an analysis of my passport, enumerating the countries I'd visited, the dates I had gone in and out of the U.S., and so forth. The stopover in Hawaii for an hour on the way to Taiwan three years previously was properly noted. The space of time between the Taiwan trip and my arrival date in Japan was marked down. My month in Thailand and the side trip to Malaysia, as well as the times of visa extensions in Japan, were not neglected. It was a curious procedure. This was local government, not Immigration, and I really did not get the point. But mine was not to reason why. More »
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    Mindful to the Quarter-inch Paid Member

    By Janet Howey
    MID-AFTERNOON, twenty-four hours into a three-day vipassana retreat, I entered the teacher's cottage for my interview. Although I had attended many meditation retreats with lay teachers, this was my first interview with an Asian monk. Hesitant, bowing, unsure of etiquette, I walked in, sat on the floor, and waited for him to speak. He waited for me to speak. Noting awkwardness. "How's your practice?" he asked finally, quietly, smiling. "I am experiencing much boredom, sir. The hour-long sits seem to be taking three hours." "Yes," he smiled. "I think perhaps you are not in the present moment. You are wondering always, 'How soon will this be over?' Thinking ahead." “Yes, that is what I am doing." More »
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    Samsara Squared Paid Member

    By Tracy Cochran
    I GAZE UP AT A GALAXY of cartoon stars. Turning my head to the right I see five checkerboard platforms linked by staircases and studded with simple geometric pillars and arches. Pressing a button on my hand control, I "fly" toward this gameboardlike space station, zooming closer and closer until I'm "walking" on an upper platform. Human and inhuman enemies are hiding. Darting around, weightless, in a bare, bright, mechanically uniform world, I try to steady the cartoon gun extended in the cartoon hand before me. The scene shifts with my gaze, though there's a tiny perceptual lag that makes me feel like I'm trying to focus underwater. A geometrically muscular cartoon man in blue pants appears. I squeeze the trigger on my hand control. Rocket grenades fall in slow white arcs. More »
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    After Patriarchy Paid Member

    By Rita Gross
    BUDDHISM AFTER PATRIARCHY calls for a radical reassessment of the relationship between spirituality and so-called "everyday life." Like many other male-dominated religions, Buddhism has often demonstrated little interest in "ordinary" life, at least the ordinary life of the householder. Now maintaining one's livelihood and taking care of one's environment and family need to be accepted as an alternative that is not inferior to monasticism. The tasks of the householder must come to be seen as arenas in which mindfulness and detachment can be practiced. Furthermore, householder and monastic paths need to be seen not as choices in stark opposition, but as alternating modes of life that can enrich and inform one another. More »
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    A Life Outside of Time Paid Member

    By Pico Iyer
    A hermitage in Big Sur, California More »