I’ve not posted here at Metta Refuge for quite a while, which I something I plan to remedy, and I thought I would begin by sharing an excerpt of a wonderful talk from my heart teacher, Thich Nhat Hanh. It’s called “Healing Through Resting,” though it could just as well be called “Healing Through Resting […]
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Tag Archives: meditation
How Metta Can Help You When Meditation is Hindered by Overwhelming Feelings
2013/12/18 
3 Comments
When I woke up this morning, I found my that my breath “anchor” came to mind within just a minute or two, with no conscious impulse to do so. This progress feels like a carryover of last night’s sitting meditation, right before I went to bed, which itself, seemed to be quite a lot of […]
Continue reading Celebrate World Day of Metta!
2013/03/20 2 Comments
Today, March 20, 2013, the organizers of the World Day of Metta are asking people all around the world to open their hearts and from 12 PM to 2 PM, local time, to meditate on and offer the following metta to all beings of the world: THE METTA May all beings have fresh clean water […]
Continue reading A. H. Almaas on Emptiness or Sunyata
2013/03/07 3 Comments
I thought it would be helpful to follow a previous post, “The Skill in Looking at Emptiness as a Mode of Perception Rather Than a Worldview,” which presented an outstanding essay by Theravadan teacher Thanissaro Bhikkhu, with this essay by author and spiritual teacher A. H. Almaas. A. H. Almaas is the pen name of […]
Continue reading Some Helpful Suggestions on Working with the “What is this?” Koan
2012/02/12 7 Comments
Recently, I have been focusing on working with the Zen koan, “What is this?” This is not really a question to be answered with the conceptual mind or mental analysis, but more of a way of being with things with an openness and inquisitiveness into “what is.” This “What is this?” path or practice is […]
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 What Am I Doing Right Now? And Why Does it Matter?
2011/12/09 2 Comments
In this essay Thanissaro Bhikkhu analyzes the profound importance of understanding the nature of our intentions and the actions that arise out of those intentions. In many ways, as he points out, this issue is at the very heart of the Buddha’s teaching—looking deeply into intention, into cause and effect, and seeing how to “unbind” […]
Continue reading The Unconscious Motivations for Meditation Practice
2011/12/09 2 Comments
These remarks are excerpted from a day-long program given by Jack Engler at the Barre Center for Buddhist Studies (BCBS) on November 1, l997. Jack has had a long association with Dharma study and practice. He studied Pali language and Abhidhamma at the Post-Graduate Institute of Buddhist Studies in Nalanda, Bihar, and practiced meditation for […]
Continue reading Meditation as Medicine-Learning to Be Your Own Breath Doctor
2011/08/11 1 Comment
Meditation as Medicine Thanissaro Bhikkhu You all know the old image of the Buddha as a doctor and the Dhamma as medicine. When you come to practice the Dhamma, it’s as if you’re learning to be your own doctor, looking after the illnesses of your own mind. Everyone comes up here wounded in one way […]
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 The Importance of Alertness and Attention in Developing Concentration
2011/05/05 3 Comments
As I have grown in my meditation practice, I have been able to develop deeper and deeper levels of concentration and corresponding insight. And yet, when I’ve read about some of the various deeper levels of jhana (deep concentration, or samatha) I’ve sometimes wondered about my progress and whether I’m going “deep” enough. This great […]
Continue reading Krishnamurti on How to Meditate
2011/03/26 11 Comments
While Krishnamurti was not a Buddhist, nor of any other religion, his lectures are, to me, always pure “dharma”—insight into the way things work, into the way the mind works. These excerpts from various talks of his have been very helpful to me in going deeper into my meditation practice. I share them here for […]
Continue reading The Dhamma Brothers-A Film to Inspire Your Meditation Practice
2011/01/16 3 Comments
Last night my wife and I watched on of the most moving documentaries we have seen in a long time. It’s called The Dhamma Brothers, and I can’t recommend it enough. Brief Synopsis (from website) An overcrowded, violent maximum-security prison, the end of the line in Alabama’s prison system, is dramatically changed by the influence […]
Continue reading Meditation is About Our Whole Life, not Just the Inner Workings of the Mind
2010/12/15 1 Comment
In this essay, I want to look into how we can broaden and deepen our understanding of meditation, so that it encompasses more of our life and isn’t just something we do “on the cushion.” I’ve found the meditation instruction of J. Krishnamurti especially helpful in gaining this broader view, and so I share some […]
Continue reading Wise Teachings of Vimala Thakar
2010/10/22 2 Comments
Vimala Thakar was an Indian social activist who became a spiritual teacher after meeting J. Krishnamurti. Her teachings emphasize balancing one’s “inner” spiritual development with “outer” social development and action. In just a few words, Thakar helps us get to the very essence of meditation and mindfulness. ♥♥♥ Meditation If I am aware of the […]
Continue reading Sitting for hours in meditation is not necessary
2010/09/10 5 Comments
I’ve been enjoying the book “Voices of Insight” this week. The book is subtitled: “Teachers in the West Share Their Wisdom, Stories, and Experiences of Insight Meditation.” Because my entry into the dharma was through insight meditation, it’s a book I treasure and return to often. Since I’ve read the book. I’ve been jumping around, […]
Continue reading A Buddhist Mantra based on the Prayer of St. Francis
2010/07/14 19 Comments
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 […]
Continue readingThich Nhat Hanh on Buddhism, Mindfulness, and the Holy Spirit
2010/05/21 16 Comments
“We can touch the living Buddha. We can also touch the living Christ. When we see someone overflowing with love and understanding, someone who is keenly aware of what is going on, we know that we are very close to the Buddha and to Jesus Christ.” Thich Nhat Hanh One of the things I love […]
Continue readingUsing the Thousand Petal Lotus Meditation for Weight Control
2010/01/29 2 Comments
Yesterday I reviewed the book Meditating to Attain a Healthy Bodyweight by Dr. Lawrence LaShan. I said I thought it could be a helpful book, but one of the caveats I made was about the difference between a “therapeutic” or medical approach to meditation and what mediation means in Buddhism (or any other spiritual discipline, […]
Continue reading When Meditation is Too painful, Try Metta
2009/11/04 0 Comments
Maybe you’ve heard that meditation is “good for you” and that it can help you find peace of mind, Or maybe the concepts and teachings of Buddhism really speak to your heart, and you understand that meditation is the key to Buddhist practice. It is commonly believed that meditation is only what you do “sitting […]
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
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