Riot Grrrl was an early-Nineties feminist movement that used punk music, zines, and a do-it-yourself ethic to wake up young women (and men) to the realities of violence against women in our society. It revealed a lineage of feminist history that is...
In a recent Tricycle blog post subtitled “Chinese Policing Tibetan Areas Suffer from PTSD” posted on the Tricycle blog, Alex Caring-Lobel describes the current state of T
Recently I was having one of my weekly interviews with my teacher. I was talking about how hard a time I was still having working through the emotions around my recent break-up. It’d been just over two months, and I was feeling as if the hurt...
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Having a child means that for a while (the period of time where they can’t be left alone for a few minutes without hurting themselves or destroying property), you no longer get to go to the bathroom alone.
Does political division stem from frustration over what we see as a common good for us as well as others, or frustration over not getting what we want in spite of what’s really best for others? Or both? And how does the answer (if any) relate to our...
During the retreat at IDP this past weekend, IDP Lineage Mentor and teacher Sharon Salzberg asked us to reflect on all the people in our lives who had led us to be here, sitting on the meditation cushion today.
I thought about the subway car...
Many years ago my family was visiting friends on Memorial Day. My youngest child was an infant; the older one was 2. My friends' sons were marching in her small midwestern town's Memorial Day parade. Another visitor offered to stay at the house with...
Faculty to include contemplative pioneers Bob Thurman, Sharon Salzberg,
Joe Loizzo, Dan Siegel, Richie Davidson and Rick Hanson
The Nalanda Institute announces that enrollment is now open for its inaugural Certificate Program in Contemplative...
I was telling a Buddhist teacher about the latest drama in my life, and the farther I got into my twisted tale of miscommunication and projection, the bigger his smile got. "This is great!" he enthused. "You've got so much to work with!"
Please let's include in our practice tomorrow a dedication of merit for the families and people near and far affected by the tornado in Oklahoma. If you would like to have a direct person in mind for your dedication, please watch this clip of a...
Sometimes waves of sadness crash over us that are so heavily charged it feels as if there will never again be any room in our hearts for any sort of happiness or peace of mind.
Whenever anger arises our tendency is to try to rid ourselves of...
Pope Francis, the 266th Pope of the Catholic Church, recognized that non-Catholics, including atheists, humanists, and other secular folks, can still have a moral compass. "We must meet one another doing good," he said on Wednesday. This comes as a...
One of the stickier concepts from Indo-Tibetan Buddhism that is difficult to translate, both into the English language and in Western culture, is “merit” (Tib. བསོད་ནམས་ bsod nams, Skt. punya). There is also another tricky layer to this notion: the...
Whenever I manage to get a driver’s license, I want to drive a hearse with a baby crib in the back. It will serve as an apt reminder of the constantly turning nature of birth and death.
I’ve been contemplating my aspirations for practice. Why do I meditate? Why do I practice the precepts? Do I have faith in the path of the Buddha? Do I feel compelled to attain enlightenment?
A tornado in Oklahoma killed dozens of people Monday and flattened whole neighborhoods in certainly the most destructive tornado in decades. Winds faster than 200 miles per hour were recorded, and at one point, the tornado measured over...
When the Buddhist path becomes a template for bypassing it becomes essential to loosen its tight grasp as an absolute illusion catering to a ”save one//save all” salvation & notice it as an alternative approach, flowing toward some...
As the recession drags on in European Union countries and austerity measures affect more and more people, the newly poor aren't finding sympathy but are being blamed. People trapped in the fear that they too will become victims look for...
Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche has just published his fourth major book, The Shambhala Principle, and I’ve been lucky enough to spend a good deal of time reading and rereading my now-wrinkled advanced readers’ copy over the past few...
“Praise and blame, gain and loss, pleasure and sorrow come and go like the wind. To be happy, rest like a giant tree in the midst of them all." -- Gautama Buddha Congrats to all.
