THE NOW - It Shows Up Uninvited
But don't worry, we can shield ourselves from "The Now" by watching Channel 4 news! Or at least that's what is implied by this ad.
1. Japanese teacher says: At first light, rise. Don’t hover between sleep and waking, this makes you heavy, puts a stone inside your heart. The minute you drift back to shore, anchor. Breathe. Remember your deepest name. 2. Sometimes objects stun...
You can tell whether something is an aspiration or a god -- whether it's an intention to work toward something or a desire to simply have it -- by the tension around it.
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He entered the subway car at 86th street, holding a clipboard with some papers. He announced to the car that he had come from California to be a Minister of Music in New York City and began singing a refrain of improvised Hallelujahs, eyes...
Gender is a dimension of ego, Lopon Rita Gross says, and the one we cling to most persistently. It's also one that we're least like to examine. It's not included in traditional Buddhist meditations designed to deconstruct identities and lead to...
A Manhattan taxi cab is one of the last places you'd expect to find ease or to try shamata -- calm-abiding -- meditation. But if you take a cab this week, you may find yourself listening to guided meditations (in addition to honking horns and...
For the past few weeks, I've been on hiatus from leading a weekly mindfulness meditation group so that I can complete a Super-8 filmmaking class with the Brooklyn-based filmmaking and teaching collective Mono No Aware. I have a fear of using...
I believe it was Dr. Seuss who said:
All Alone!
Whether you like it or not,
Alone will be something
you’ll be quite a lot.
-from Oh, the Places You’ll Go!
Imagine the stress faced by students at the nation's top universities, particularly one as competitive and proud as Harvard. Now imagine the pressure on the people who have to deal with them -- faculty, administrators, other Harvard employees.
Last week I went to see Fran Lebowitz in conversation with Harvard psychology Professor Steven Pinker as part of the Rubin Museum's Brainwave Series. Fran is an icon of the New York curmudgeon variety, and she's known for her observations. In...
(Photo: Mari Griffin)
I did not recognize you as fear
Deep vibrating abyssI did not recognize you as fearI did not recognize you as fearBecause your power has the births of many stars in its belly
Right or Wise Speech is one of the factors on the Buddha's Eightfold Path, and it includes a warning against harsh speech*. A new study shows the effect of harsh speech in reader comments.
March is Women's History Month. Friday, March 8, is International Women's Day. How many women in Buddhist history can you name -- not contemporary practitioners, but historical figures?
There's a Zen meal chant that says, "72 laborers brought us this food; we should know how it comes to us." If the meal involves a can of Coke, that's a serious understatement.
Right speech, sometimes called Wise or Skillful Speech, is the first principle of ethical conduct in the eightfold path to liberation from suffering. ... The importance of speech in ethical conduct is clear, Bikkhu Bodhi says in his guide to...
In mindfulness meditation we train in shamatha—peaceful abiding. This is basically the ability to hang out with and be curious about our experience, whatever our experience is. Through shamatha, we learn that our experience is valid and worthy.
I work part time in the college admissions world, which means I encounter a lot of people who want to know what they can do in order to be happy in the future (or ensure their children’s future happiness). While doing some research for work this...
On Valentine's Day, Facebook asked me if I wanted to send my spouse "a real Facebook gift." What does that mean? I asked myself (and then my Facebook friends -- who are almost real world friends). Does a "real" Facebook gift exist offline, ie IRL?...
