On this Good Friday March 29, 2013, I offer these excerpts from a dharma talk given by Thich Nhat Hanh on December 24, 1997 in Plum Village, France. Jesus and Buddha as Brothers “There was a film maker who lives in Sweden who wanted to come and ask me this question: “If Jesus and Buddha met today what […]
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Tag Archives: Buddha
How Practice and Creativity Can Open Up Your Metta
2013/03/20 
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It was an honor to join millions around the world in giving metta, loving-kindness meditation, to my fellow beings on World Day of Metta! Although, like most Buddhists, I do “formal” metta every day, as well as “metta in the moment,” it felt good to set aside a special time to give metta with so many […]
Continue reading The Skill in Looking at Emptiness as a Mode of Perception Rather Than a Worldview
2012/01/18 6 Comments
Few words in Buddhism are more well-known, and more debated historically among Buddhists, than the word “emptiness.” What do we find about “emptiness” in the Pali canon, the oldest records we have of the Buddha‘s teachings? In this essay Buddhist monk Thanissaro Bhikkhu explains how Theravadan Buddhists understand the word in terms of these earliest […]
Continue reading A. H. Almaas on Emptiness and The Void
2011/11/10 3 Comments
In the “Diamond Approach” of A. H. Almaas, there are many similarities, yet profound and important differences between this path and Buddhism, perhaps particularly Theravadan Buddhism. Almaas envisions, and speaks from his experience, of “something” beyond “the void” or “emptiness” of traditional Buddhism—that which he calls “Essence” or “Being.” When Almaas speaks of “Essence” or […]
Continue reading Holy as the Day is Spent-Thich Nhat Hanh on the Holiness of Mindfulness
2011/09/27 2 Comments
This excerpt below is from “The Blooming of the Lotus: the Nature of No-birth and No-death.” It’s a dharma talk given by my heart teacher, Thich Nhat Hanh on May 3, 1998 in Plum Village, France. It is followed by the beautiful and profound song, “Holy as the Day is Spent” by Carrie Newcomer from […]
Continue reading Zen Minus Moral Precepts Equals No Zen
2011/09/23 0 Comments
In this post I’m sharing an excerpt from one of my favorite books by Zen master John Daido Loori. It’s a Shambhala Publications book titled Invoking Reality — The Moral and Ethical Teachings of Zen. In this short but powerful book Loori Roshi takes head on the prevalent misconception that Zen practice is just about […]
Continue reading Does a Buddha say to himself “I have obtained Perfect Enlightenment?”
2011/09/04 2 Comments
Buddha then asked, “What do you think, Subhuti, does one who has entered the stream which flows to Enlightenment, say ‘I have entered the stream’?” “No, Buddha,” Subhuti replied. “A true disciple entering the stream would not think of themselves as a separate person that could be entering anything. Only that disciple who does not […]
Continue reading Look at Karma in Terms of What One is Doing Right Now
2011/08/02 0 Comments
Karma—It’s About What We Can Do Now An excerpt about karma from “Noble Strategy” by Thanissaro Bhikkhu Karma is one of those words we don’t translate. Its basic meaning is simple enough—action—but because of the weight the Buddha’s teachings give to the role of action, the Sanskrit word karma packs in so many implications that […]
Continue reading How to Get Started with Sitting Meditation
2011/06/21 3 Comments
Because it was free and available online, Buddha Smile by Roberto Vicente, was one of the earliest dharma books I read when I first began investigating Buddhism. I feel very fortunate that I read his book during my initial discovery period, because the author conveys such a wonderful, joyous sense of the Buddha’s teaching and […]
Continue reading Sacred Scriptures and Gurus Are Not the Final Authority
2011/06/12 4 Comments
Anyone who grew up in a fundamentalist or doctrinaire religious environment can tell you how hard it is to to think for oneself and choose one’s own spiritual path. In a child’s mind, the authority of one’s parents becomes totally merged with the authority of her religious teachings and teachers. Because a child is totally […]
Continue reading The Marriage of the Princess and the Dragon-A Dharma Story
2010/12/30 4 Comments
I’ve been thinking about “dragons” recently and thought I’d share this wonderful retelling of a Swedish fairy tale by dharma teacher Jack Kornfield from his wonderful bookAfter the Ecstasy, the Laundry: How the Heart Grows Wise on the Spiritual Path. We all have our own “dragons” in our hearts. May this simple tale help us […]
Continue reading Why it’s Important to Know What Mindfulness Is and Is Not
2010/11/19 3 Comments
Mindfulness Defined by Thanissaro Bhikkhu What does it mean to be mindful of the breath? Something very simple: to keep the breath in mind. Keep remembering the breath each time you breathe in, each time you breathe out. The British scholar who coined the term “mindfulness” to translate the Pali word sati was probably influenced […]
Continue reading The Dhammapada – Audio Dharma by Gil Fronsdal
2010/08/06 5 Comments
The Dhammapada is a great treasure of the Buddhadharma and beloved by Buddhists of all traditions as well as many non-Buddhists. There are many wonderful translations of the Dhammapada from its original Pali, but one of my favorites is the fairly recent translation by Gil Fronsdal: The Dhammapada: A New Translation of the Buddhist Classic […]
Continue reading The Buddha on the Importance of Abandoning All Self Views
2010/07/21 4 Comments
Who am I? What am I? How am I? We’ve all asked these questions. Throughout history, people have asked these questions, and come up with countless answers and religions and philosophies to answer them. Just who or what is this “self” we all have to deal with? Interestingly, the Buddha does not offer a final […]
Continue reading The Dhammapada-Verses That Bring Peace and Wisdom
2010/06/28 0 Comments
The Dhammapada comes from the earliest period of Buddhism in India and is loved by Buddhists of all traditions. These teachings, originally put in verse form for easy memorization for those who could not read, expound many of the philosophical and practical foundations of the Buddha’s teaching. Every day I open up one of my […]
Continue readingThich Nhat Hanh-The Five Mindfulness Trainings
2010/06/02 3 Comments
I still remember vividly taking the Five Mindful Trainings vow in 2002 from Thich Nhat Hanh at Stonehill College in Massachusetts. By now, the Trainings are written in my heart, but I still look at them once a week, renewing my vow and sending to Thây, his monks and nuns, and his students, any merit […]
Continue readingA Buddhist Response to Albert Camus and the Absurdity of Life
2010/05/25 10 Comments
“I see many people die because they judge that life is not worth living. I see others paradoxically getting killed for the ideas or illusions that give them a reason for living (what is called a reason for living is also an excellent reason for dying). I therefore conclude that the meaning of life is […]
Continue readingThe Mind like Fire Unbound-the Fire Metaphor for Nirvana
2010/04/28 0 Comments
In an earlier post, The Aggi-Vacchagotta Sutta-the Buddha on the Nature of Existence and Nirvana, the Buddha explains how nirvana is like the extinction of a flame. The ascetic wanderer Vacchagotta can’t understand what happens after death to one who attains nirvana, or complete Unbinding. Does he still exist? Does he not exist? Does he […]
Continue reading Thich Nhat Hanh-No Death, No Fear (audio)
2010/04/22 8 Comments
“Our greatest fear is that when we die we will become nothing. We believe we are born from nothing and that when we die we become nothing. And so we are filled with fear of annihilation. The Buddha has a very different understanding, that birth and death are notions. They are not real.” ~ Thich […]
Continue reading The Buddha on Not Getting Caught in Metaphysical Speculation
2010/04/22 1 Comment
The Aggi-Vacchagotta Sutta is one of the Buddha’s teachings that I have come back to again and again when I have found myself entangled in metaphysical speculation and argument with myself—and with others! In this sutta, the Buddha answers the questions of the wandering ascetic Vacchagotta on the nature of existence and uses the simile […]
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 