The Joy Hidden in Sorrow Reflections by Ajahn Medhanandi “When Marpa, the great Tibetan meditation master and teacher of Milarepa, lost his son he wept bitterly. One of his pupils came up to him and asked: ‘Master, why are you weeping? You teach us that death is an illusion.’And Marpa said: ‘Death is an illusion. […]
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Metta Phrases for Dealing with Self-Hatred and Self-judgment
2011/09/06 
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I invite new and regular visitors to take a look at my updated and expanded Metta Instruction page. There you will find many helpful articles you can read online or download—articles such as these: Ajahn Brahmavmso Teaches Loving-kindness Metta—The Healing Power of Visualizing and Radiating Love Toward Others Bringing Metta to Daily Life—A Talk by […]
Continue reading How Loving-kindness Practice and Meditation Can Help with Military Suicides
2011/08/23 1 Comment
NOTE: This post is a revised and expanded version of an earlier Metta Refuge post of mine called Veterans Day-The Wounds of Combat Can Be Healed. I wanted to update and repost this particular message, because I was so disturbed and saddened by the news of so many more military suicides this year. As a recent […]
Continue reading Skillful Ways to Deal with Your Demons
2011/07/17 3 Comments
Recently, on Facebook, I posted a Photo to my Wall with a comment about working with “demons.” As I said at this Photo post: “Demons are not bloodthirsty ghouls waiting for us in the dark; they are the forces we find inside ourselves that fabricate around ego-clinging and that we project “out there” on others, […]
Continue reading Am I Pleasing Others to Make Myself Feel Loved and Good?
2011/02/19 5 Comments
The path of awakening, of liberation, always includes self-observation and self-inquiry. Without them, we tend to repeat the same unskillful ways of thinking and acting over and over again. That’s what is called samsara in Buddhism. In this essay I’m sharing my thoughts and observations on something I’ve struggled with much of my life: a […]
Continue reading Choose life! Choose love! Choose to live!
2011/02/11 9 Comments
“Most people can look back over the years and identify a time and place at which their lives changed significantly. Whether by accident or design, these are the moments when, because of a readiness within us and a collaboration with events occurring around us, we are forced to seriously reappraise ourselves and the conditions under […]
Continue reading How to Use Body Meditation and Mindfulness of the Breath to Dissolve Fears
2011/01/30 6 Comments
Morning “Check In” — What is present and what is arising? When I awake in the morning, the first thing I do is “check in” to myself to see what’s going on. I consciously breathe in and out, center myself, and just listen and watch to see what arises. I try not to get snagged […]
Continue reading Metta-the Healing Power of Visualizing and Radiating Love Toward Others
2010/11/23 4 Comments
Here is a unique teaching on metta, or loving-kindness meditation, by Acharya Buddharakkhita from “Mettá: The Philosophy and Practice of Universal Love.” In this teaching, Buddharakkhita focuses specifically on how to use visualization and thought-radiation to embrace others in universal love and goodwill. This teaching presents the classic sequence of beginning with loving oneself, and […]
Continue reading Veterans Day-The Wounds of Combat Can Be Healed
2010/11/11 1 Comment
As an ex-GI, I often find my heart and loving-kindness practice embracing our enlisted men and women throughout the world, and especially those in war zones. War is hell. That’s no cliché, and only those who have been in combat can truly testify to what that phrase means. That’s why around Veterans Day I highlighted the […]
Continue reading Thich Nhat Hanh on Loving Ourselves by Looking Deeply into Ourselves
2010/10/25 9 Comments
SELF-LOVE From Teachings on Love by Thich Nhat Hanh “Until we are able to love and take care of ourselves, we cannot be of much help to others.” We begin practicing this love meditation on ourselves May I be peaceful, happy and light in body and spirit. May I be safe and free from injury. […]
Continue reading The Karaniya Metta Sutta and Healing Through Loving-kindness (with Music)
2010/08/07 14 Comments
Over the years, I have collected many wonderful translation of the Metta Sutta, the Buddha’s sutta (sutra) on loving-kindness. But of all of them, I believe this one, from the Abhayagiri Buddhist Monastery, is my favorite. I have it printed out and taped to my wall, and I often turn to it for inspiration. I […]
Continue reading Thich Nhat Hanh on Healing the Wounded Child in Us
2010/06/16 4 Comments
From the great heart of the Buddha, and from the great heart of Thich Nhat Hanh, to the wounded child in each of us: “In our childhood we may have been through stages of great difficulties. We have been wounded, we have had traumas and we generally do not want to remember those stages of […]
Continue readingZen Master Thich Nhat Hanh on Nourishing Happiness
2010/05/14 4 Comments
This excerpt is from Thich Nhat Hanh’s wonderful book “Teachings on Love.” In it, Thây gives three exercises that are a kind of metta meditation—aspiration for our own happiness and the happiness of others. As is usual in metta, the first verse aspiration is for our own happiness. The second verse is for a friend, […]
Continue reading Bringing Metta to Daily Life-A Talk by Bhante Vimalaramsi
2010/04/24 7 Comments
You will find no finer or deeper teaching on Loving-Kindness than that of Ven. Bhante Vimalaramsi. I hope this short excerpt from a talk he gave on bringing loving-kindness to daily life will send you to his website to read the whole article. (Link below) Metta in Daily Life Ven.Bhante Vimalaramsi What we need to […]
Continue reading Healing the Body with Mindfulness of Breathing
2010/04/23 17 Comments
This excerpt from a talk by Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh explains how to use mindfulness of breathing to bring loving-kindness to our dear bodies. The physical effect of this can be truly remarkable. As Thây says, “You should really love your body. You should really take care of your body. Mindful breathing, with rest, […]
Continue reading How Insight and Loving-kindness Free Us from Mental Parasites
2010/04/15 3 Comments
In an earlier post entitled “Taming Elephants-How To Transform Negative Habit Energies,” I shared teachings from Thich Nhat Hanh on how to deal with what he called “habit energies.” As Thầy, as Thich Nhat Hanh is affectionately known by his students, writes: “We know how strong, how powerful the habit energy is. We notice that […]
Continue reading Audio Dharma-An Introduction to Metta by Gil Fronsdal
2010/04/01 1 Comment
One of the reasons I upgraded my blog for audio capability was so that I could include talks by Gil Fronsdal. Along with Thanissaro Bhikkhu, he was one of the very first dharma teachers I listened to, and he had a huge impact on my understanding and practice of Buddhism. I’ll always be grateful to […]
Continue reading The Path of Peace-In the Footsteps of the Buddha
2010/03/31 4 Comments
Of all the books that influenced me in my early study of Buddhism, the one that I probably cherish most is a remarkable free book I downloaded from the internet called “The Path of Peace (in the footsteps of the Buddha) by Brother Pho Quan. In my practice, this book as stood the test of […]
Continue reading How To Become a Loving Presence in the World
2010/03/15 5 Comments
Practicing loving-kindness, like mindfulness, isn’t just for our private meditation time or prayers. With practice, loving-kindness can actually become a way of being, a spirit of love that animates all our actions. If we open up our eyes and our hearts, we can find countless ways during the day to practice acts of loving-kindness. Indeed, […]
Continue readingLearn Metta Vipassana from a Master Teacher
2010/02/11 6 Comments
In yesterday’s post: Mindfulness of Breathing-The Anapanasati Sutta I shared Venerable U Vimalaramsi’s marvelous commentary on this seminal teaching of the Buddha on breath mediation. Since this post, a student of Bhante Vimalaramsi pointed me to his website, which supports his teaching and practice here in the United States: Dhamma Sukha Meditation Center Bhante Vimalaramsi […]
Continue readingMay All Beings Be Happy
- Looking at the Ninth Zen Precept-I Do Not Indulge In Anger
- True God, True Buddha
- The Difference Between Compassion and “Idiot Compassion”
- Ajahn Brahmavamso teaches Loving-kindness Meditation
- Now-and-Zen-Are you still carrying her?
- A Buddhist Mantra based on the Prayer of St. Francis
- Mindfulness of Breathing-The Anapanasati Sutta
- Buddhist Forgiveness-When We Have Hurt Another-Part 3
- Practicing the Middle Way-not too much, not too little
- Healing the Body with Mindfulness of Breathing
- Look at the Three Characteristics in Terms of Actions
- Thich Nhat Hanh – Healing Through Resting in the Breath
- How Metta Can Help You When Meditation is Hindered by Overwhelming Feelings
- The Importance of Taking the “Should” out of Spiritual Practice
- Can We “Choose” to Be Happy? No—and Yes!
- Ken Mcleod on how to use Thich Nhat Hanh’s Five-Step Method of Emotional Releasing
- Non-resistance and the Art of Resisting without Resisting!
- Don’t be fooled! There is a Way and We Can Walk It!
- The Importance of Compassion in Assessing Our Dharma Progress
- Jesus and the Buddha on Good Friday
Metta Refuge 