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    Suffering, Indexed Paid Member

    By Andrew Boyd
    Selections from the index to Daily Afflictions: The Agony of Being Connected to Everything in the Universe by ANDREW BOYD, a collection of the wisdom of the apocryphal Brother Void More »
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    Grinding Up Consciousness Paid Member

    By Sekkei Harada Roshi
    We are not conscious of our breathing. I don’t think there is anyone here who is consciously exhaling and inhaling. However, in Zen practice, you are asked to be aware of your breathing. This is something that is unavoidable, even though it would be better not to have to do such an inconvenient thing as to be conscious of breathing. In any case, I would like you to concentrate on your breathing: inhaling, exhaling, inhaling, exhaling—one breath at a time, gently, carefully, sincerely. By concentrating on the breath you can gradually enter a samadhi (concentration) of breathing, a samadhi of awareness. More »
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    The Light and the Dark Paid Member

    By Eliot Fintushel
    I love Toni Packer, though I haven’t seen her for twenty years. As a teacher, she is earthquakes, thunder, and the Northern Lights—or a still small voice. In her clarity of thought and subtlety of expression (the daughter of scientists) she evokes a sensation of profound intimacy. More »
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    Surya Says Paid Member

    By Lama Surya Das
    Truth telling is a rigorous spiritual practice.Buddha's not pretending.We can't just believe whatever we think. We think, therefore, we err.That which we call "I" is just impermanent, ownerless karma rolling along. Don't take it personally. Everyone is a little crazy. Remembering this helps us lighten up.We need a spiritual life, not just special experiences. Grasping fleeting things too tightly gives us rope burn.Awareness practice helps us become more transparent to ourselves.Resistance is another form of clinging.Practice being there while getting there.From Words of Wisdom, © 2008 by Lama Surya Das. Reprinted with the permission of Koa Books, koabooks.comImage: © James A. Menges, www.lifestyleartproject.com More »
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    Haikerouac Paid Member

    By Jack Kerouac
    In a little-known manuscript, as well as in his published works, Jack Kerouac imbued the haiku poem with his Beat ethic, yielding poems that he called “pops.” In true Kerouacian spirit, “pops” both embrace and reject the classical haiku form as they capture the fleeting everyday moments of American life. Barefoot by the seastopping to scratch one ankleWith one toe Drunk as a hoot owlwriting lettersBy thunderstorm Neons, Chinese restaurantscoming on—Girls come by shades I don’t carethe low yellowMoon loves me More »
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    John Muir and One Breath Paid Member

    By Gary Thorp
    In his book Caught in Fading Light, Gary Thorp recounts his quest to spot a cougar in the mountains of northern California. Using the literary form of nikki bungaku, a traditional Japanese diary-writing style, he explores what it really means to seek, to discover, and to find. More »