Here is a mantra I often work with during the day. It’s an adaptation I made of the much-loved Prayer of St. Francis of Assisi. (St. Francis is my favorite Christian saint, among other things, because of his love of animals, and especially birds! See: The Compassion of the Swans) In Buddhism, working with a […]
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Tag Archives: bodhicitta
Learn the Alchemy True Human Beings Know!
2010/04/17 
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This beautiful poem by the Sufi poet Rumi seemed a perfect postscript for the previous post “How Insight and Loving-kindness Free Us from Mental Parasites.” And the music of “Cry, Cry, Cry” (Richard Shindell, Lucy Kaplansky, and Dar Williams) seemed an appropriate way to wrap up the post. Enjoy! May we all skillfully and compassionately […]
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 readingWhat does it feel like to walk like a Buddha?
2010/03/11 4 Comments
My last two posts have been about walking meditation: Freshen Up Your Practice with Walking Meditation Some More Helpful Tips on Walking Meditation I thought it would be appropriate to end this particular series on walking mediation with the “Zen poetry,” so to speak, of my heart teacher, Thich Nhat Hanh. There are so many […]
Continue reading Groundhog Day and the serious problem of impermanence
2010/01/31 5 Comments
One of the most basic teachings of the Buddha, so far as I understand it, is that all conditioned things, all contingent things, all fabricated things, all things that arise, and thus all things that pass away, are inherently impermanent, and thus are intrinsically dukkha—suffering and unsatisfactoriness. Further, the Buddha, or Buddhism, teaches that our […]
Continue readingAvatar-A Movie that Inspires Loving-kindness
2010/01/22 6 Comments
As followers of this blog know, I also have a science blog, Goodheart’s Extreme Science, and a blog about the wonders of nature in the Berkeley Hills of the San Francisco Bay Area called Berkeley, Naturally! Since the practice of metta includes loving-kindness mediation for all creatures and beings everywhere, I have occasionally mentioned posts […]
Continue reading Breathing in Peace-Breathing out Love (music)
2010/01/15 4 Comments
With so much pain and suffering in the news, I wanted to share this guided metta meditation that I’ve used for years. It’s from the book Who is My Self: A Guide to Buddhist Meditation by Ayya Khema, a wonderfully skillful nun in the Theravada tradition. This particular guided meditation has been especially helpful in […]
Continue reading Buddhist Forgiveness-When We Have Hurt Another-Part 3
2010/01/14 17 Comments
When we hurt others, and our conscience is awake, we suffer. While having a conscience is good, the Buddha is all about the ending of suffering, right? So, what do we do? Bhante Bodhidhamma is a vipassana (insight meditation) teacher of over 20 years experience. He offers some very helpful insight practices to help us […]
Continue readingMetta-Care-Please Donate but Avoid Haiti Scams!
2010/01/14 0 Comments
As always seems to happen when there’s a disaster, scammers try to take advantage of people’s generosity with bogus organizations and websites. This shouldn’t deter our generosity in this time of critical need in Haiti, but we can be wise, too! One of the very best places to check out the legitimacy of an organization […]
Continue readingMore Buddhist Forgiveness-Using Tonglen
2010/01/14 3 Comments
Tonglen for Self-forgiveness ~♥~ In my last post, All-Embracing Compassion-The Heart-Practice of Tonglen, I shared some introductory teaching on the Tibetan Buddhism practice of tonglen. In tonglen, we learn how to take suffering into our hearts—but without harm to us! And then to breath out love and compassion to the source and sense of suffering. […]
Continue reading All-Embracing Compassion-The Heart-Practice of Tonglen
2010/01/13 5 Comments
The devastating earthquake in Haiti is a terrible blow to good hearts everywhere. Already there has been a huge outpouring of physical aid and spiritual support to the suffering people of Haiti. In the days and months ahead, this support will need to grow and continue to help bring recovery and healing to Haiti. As […]
Continue readingMetta-Care-Earthquake Disaster in Haiti
2010/01/13 12 Comments
If ever a nation deserved a change of fortunes, it has got to be poor Haiti. As the New York Times reports in breaking news today: “A devastating earthquake struck Haiti late Tuesday afternoon, causing the collapse of the National Palace, leveling countless shantytown dwellings and bringing even more suffering to a nation that was […]
Continue reading When a Child Feels that She is Seen as “Real”
2010/01/10 0 Comments
In a previous post, Sarah Brach and Radical Acceptance I highlighted the wonderful book Radical Acceptance, by meditation teacher and clinical psychologist Tara Brach. In this post, I’m sharing a short passage from the book that never fails to move me deeply. It speaks both to parents and to any of who were children […]
Continue reading Ajahn Brahmavamso teaches Loving-kindness Meditation
2010/01/08 22 Comments
Ajahn Brahmavamso is a wonderful Theravadan monk whose wit and humor help bring the dharma alive. Because of his courageous stand on the ordination of women as Buddhist nuns, I thought it would be good to give people who are not familiar with him a feel for Ajahn Brahm’s skill as a teacher. I think […]
Continue readingBrave Hearts-Ajahn Brahmavamso Ordains Women Monks
2010/01/07 6 Comments
From time to time, I’m going to highlight some individual or group that shows remarkable courage in the face of adversity or in standing up against injustice. I call them brave hearts. Today I want to call attention to the courage of Ajahn Brahmavamso, or Ajahn Brahm (as he is affectionately known) for taking the […]
Continue readingMetta music-Oceans of Light
2010/01/06 0 Comments
This is another in the series of “dharma songs” I’ve been posting from time to time. These are songs that have comforted, inspired, helped, and healed me over the years. I invite you to look up the song and have a listen (the lyrics tell only part the story; the beautiful music and voice complete […]
Continue reading Taking Care of Our Heart Donkey
2010/01/06 4 Comments
Visitors to this blog know that I am a great admirer of Sufi mystic and poet Rumi, as these posts show: Rumi Poem-Quietness and No Longer Mourn for Me (music) Learn the Alchemy True Human Beings Know! This Being Human is a Guest House Recently, poking around the Internet, I found a very fine rendition of Rumi’s “The […]
Continue readingChristmas Metta 2009-The Four Immeasurables
2009/12/25 8 Comments
My Christmas gift to all is this wonderful explanation of The Four Immeasurables from the wonderful Naljor Prison Dharma Service, located in Boulder, Colorado. Metta is one of the four sides of the Four Immeasurables, and though this site’s emphasis is on metta, or loving-kindness, you can no more separate metta from compassion, sympathetic joy, […]
Continue reading Buddha and Christ-Let the Child be Born to Us
2009/12/24 1 Comment
Every year in Plum Village, France, my heart teacher, Thich Nhat Hanh, celebrates Christmas with his sangha, the community of students and practitioners there. Usually, he gives a talk about Jesus and about his meaning to us today, whether we are Christians or Buddhists or any other faith or non-faith. Now, it may seem strange […]
Continue readingThe Moral Math of Climate Change « Goodheart’s Extreme Science
2009/12/11 2 Comments
The Moral Math of Climate Change « Goodheart’s Extreme Science “…The future of the world depends on each one of us broadening and deepening our understanding of what is environmentally moral. The future depends on our moral imagination as a species.” This is a follow-up post to “Global Warming and the Loss of Earth’s Coral […]
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
- Healing the Body with Mindfulness of Breathing
- Practicing the Middle Way-not too much, not too little
- 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 