Tag: Buddhist

There are five hindrances, according to Buddhist philosophy, that block wisdom. Each influences happiness and fosters suffering. You will reduce your karma and increase contentment if you purge or curtail them. We often become more sage-like when we examine our lives, particularly our though...

To love means to lose. It’s an uncomfortable truth, but this reality helped me see love in a whole new light. I spent much of my undergraduate degree as a member of the Shambhala Buddhist community in my hometown. I started attending meditation sessions to help with the anxieties of life. I...

The grandest purpose I have chosen for myself is to be part of the magnificent history of creating peace on earth— a goal that might take more than one lifetime. Rather than focusing on the history of the world being a series of battles for domination of one people over another, I choose to be...

Everyone’s very serious and uptight…and at the same time, the great Zen teachers are famous for their irreverent troublemaking humor. I guess the view at the top of the mountain of our own foolish path is…equal parts sad and funny. A cursory understanding of Buddhism and Zen w...

I think I’ve often been loath to promise things because I never wanted to default, which makes me appear reliable, but possibly also non-committal, I think, maybe. I have quite a few friends, so over the years I may have demonstrated myself to be at least f-a-i-r-l-y reliable. Incidentally,...

Prayer is a conversation with God. It’s not a request hotline where you ask for your enemies to be smite, smote and ground down into smithereens. This might seem obvious to some people, but growing up in a Pentecostal church, the phrase ‘die by fire’ was very common...

I admire Kabat-Zinn. He spearheaded the modern mindfulness movement through his world-renown Mindfulness-based Stress Reduction (MBSR) program, which first opened its doors in 1979. Kabat-Zinn’s MBSR teachings have helped thousands of people manage stress, cope with pain, and improve focus ...

Parents! Children! The biggest funnest celebration of the year in the Buddhist tradition is upon us! It’s cross-cultural, too, it honors the Winter Solstice, Invicti Solis, the darkest day of the year, and the return of the sun! We just marked the shortest, darkest day of the year. Tha...

Last night I happened to call a friend right when she needed me. Her car’s on its last legs, lurching and clunking, and not long for the world unless she replaces the engine. She was at a friend’s for dinner and about to attempt the fortunately short drive home. That way, it would ...

Although I didn’t deliberately enroll in the course to get over my ex, it indirectly helped me deal with the breakup. In the Mind and Life dialogues, the Dalai Lama refers to Buddhism as “the science of the mind.” I couldn’t agree more. From my ow...

We all seek compassion from others, yet we often forget that the first place to start is within ourselves. Learn to hear yourself, see yourself, love yourself. Then, you will know how to listen, understand, and love others. Self-forgiveness is the first step in this journey of self-kindness...

I don’t call them “New Year’s Resolutions”, which could doom my goals and desires from ever being accomplished. Research shows 9% of Americans who make resolutions complete them. The research says that 23% of people quit their resolution by the end of the first week, and 43% ...

I thought it would be easy to practice them. The fact is, we have built up particular mental constructs about terms like killing or stealing. For instance, we associate killing with ending human life and stealing with breaking into a shop. I was oblivious to the fact that the concepts of “k...

Acentral question in philosophy is the nature of the self. Different philosophical traditions have tried to answer the question “What am I?” resulting in a wide variety of conclusions. In this series, I will compare and contrast answers from philosophical traditions around the world. ...

I am writing this article because yesterday I had the honor of speaking on Dr. Jennifer Todd's Podcast “Women’s Empowerment Power Hour.” The more we were talking, the more I was feeling how much this type of awareness is needed in the world. Today I would love to see this to...

Do you wish that you had more self-control over yourself? Maybe with increased self-control you’d have been able to lose that weight you were planning to lose at the start of the year. Or, you might have learned that new skill by now which you’ve been looking to master for some time n...

Consider the tale of a young seeker who approached Buddha, burdened by confusion about his identity. He asked the Buddha, “How do I discover who I truly am?” Buddha gestured towards the open sky and asked, “Do you see any borders up there, any divisions?” T...

Words and definitions are man-made but certainly needed. At the end of the day, how can we define what we feel and experience if we don’t (literally) put it into words? When it comes to romance, we have invented thousands of words. Soul mates, twin flames, partners, mates, second half, bett...

Few people were more instrumental in bringing Eastern philosophy and religion to the West than Alan Watts. He was born in England in 1915 and grew to be a brilliant student. His early fascination with Asian culture came from reading Sax Rohmer’s fictional tales about Fu Manchu. As a tee...

There’s a lot to unpack in this sentence. You can highlight the need to look toward the future, or the picking up and putting down of your feet, the importance of not being distracted from your goal, or not being disturbed by the cacophony created by the multitudes of living things carrying ou...

Lord Buddha’s life has always been a subject of fascination for the followers of Buddhism. To dive into how his life was and learn all about Buddhism, devotees visit many Buddhist sites with great enthusiasm. From Lumbini to Gaya, there are many sites all over the country that are im...

It is a caring for others that is balanced by the means to actually make a difference — and both of these are increased to literal infinity. It’s a focus on your heart’s capacity to motivate more and more positive action — not on “fixing” this world o...

If you are seeking inner peace, wisdom, and compassion in your everyday life, you may find value in exploring the path of Buddhism. Buddhism offers a set of principles and values that can guide you towards a more fulfilling and harmonious existence. By following the teachings of Buddhism, you can cu...

Final essay for PHIL2800: Buddhist Philosophy, The University of Hong Kong. The Nietzschean objection to Buddhism is contingent on the worry that the Buddhist outlook is life denying — one that seeks to eliminate suffering by leading a detached, desireless and dispassionate life. Nietzsche,...

Sometimes, in Buddhism, I see people talk about compassion for their enemies as some kind of magical healing elixer. There is no mention of how someone should stand up for or protect themselves from people who abuse and harm them. Even high lamas like the late FMPT lamas, lama Yeshe and lama Zopa en...

<1> Bronze: A Testament to Tradition Bronze, with its durability and capacity for intricate detailing, stands as a testament to the historical roots of Buddhist art. The art of bronze casting has been a revered tradition, allowing artisans to capture the essence of Buddhist teachings in thr...

When I was young, I was insecure. So insecure, it was hard to have a conversation, sometimes. I was sweet, too, and sensitive, and proud, and speedy — and wild. Over the years, my insecurity — the cracks in our ego are where the light gets in — connected with the Buddhadharma, and ...

Everyone’s very serious and uptight…and at the same time, the great Zen teachers are famous for their irreverent troublemaking humor. I guess the view at the top of the mountain of our own foolish path is…equal parts sad and funny. A cursory understanding of Buddhism and Zen w...

When I started out on my spiritual journey years ago, I became very fascinated by the idea of enlightenment. To me, it represented the whole aim of life — a sentiment that I, more or less, still carry today. And one of the very first stops on my spiritual path led me to Buddhism, ...

One is to see time as being like a road down which we are traveling. The present is wherever we are on the road and the past is “back there” behind us. It’s still there but, somehow, we aren’t. The other way is to think of time as a process and, rather than being “ba...