In a recent edition of the Free Buddhist Audio Podcast, Vajratara gives a wonderful introductory talk on the stories around Buddha’s enlightenment and subsequent turning of the wheel of the dharma (The Buddha’s Gift To The World). In it, she…
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To face what is and not turn away…
I’ve been thinking about this quote from Cutting Through Spiritual Materialism: When we face things as they are, we give up the hope of something better. On one hand this rings of defeatism. If we simply accept everything as it…
Internally and Externally
In the Satipatthana Sutta (alternate translation with commentary), the terms “internally” and “externally” appear about two dozen times each. A typical use of these terms is as follows: In this way he remains focused internally on the body in &…
Refuge in the Dharma – Coming to terms with Reality and Renunciation
This post is about “Cutting Through Material Spiritualism” by Chogyam Trungpa, a dharma book being read by the #BuddhaBkClb group located on Twitter at #BuddhaBkClb and in this online forum. Most expositions on the three refuges of Buddhism – The…
Shunryu Suzuki’s Big Mind
In my years of Buddhist study, I’ve frequently come across the concept of duality and non-duality. I understood this idea only on a philosophical level until recently. I’ve been reading Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind. It’s amazing I hadn’t read this…
Pali Canon as Teacher?
One of my Twitter friends, Mike D posted a link a while back to this FAQ on fundamentalbuddhism.com. It’s a response to the common question from those newly interested in practicing Buddhism: Do I need a local teacher? Their answer may…
The sum of our parts
Listened to a dharma talk today about the five aggregates with Pascal Auclair. He calls them the five rivers, a good reminder that we’re a complex process made up of many other processes with nothing fixed. The five aggregates of…
The Ten Perfections
I’ve been thinking about these today, trying to keep them in mind, trying to apply one or more of them to each situation I encounter, trying to perfect them in thoughts and actions, trying… this is why they call it…
My nature mantra
Sometimes my mental state calls for the repetition of a phrase. Not too often, but when a particularly disruptive mood strikes, nothing helps calms my mind like a mantra. My use of mantras is strictly secular – I see them…
Putting aside what is not connected with the goal
The Cula-Malunkyovada is one of my favorite suttas. In it, Buddha is approached by a monk who demands that questions of the soul and afterlife be answered, or he will leave the holy life. As you can probably guess, the…
