Like millions of others in the United States, and around the world, I’ve been keeping a close watch on the tragic situation with the BP Deepwater Horizon oil disaster. I don’t live in the Gulf area, but I’ve tried to help by various forms of advocacy and by getting good, solid scientific and technical information […]
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Tag Archives: nature
“I Thank You” – e.e. cummings – Poem and Music
2010/06/09 
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This my favorite e.e. cummings poem. Though it’s been a friend for over 40 years now, it still makes my heart soar, “which is natural which is infinite which is yes!” (If you are curious as to why a “Buddhst” blog would have posts with references to God in them, you might want to take […]
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 reading Among Trees – Quiet and Still
2010/03/19 3 Comments
An untitled poem from from a collection of Wendell Berry’s poems called A Timbered Choir: The Sabbath Poems 1979-1997 I go among trees and sit still. All my stirring becomes quiet around me like circles on water. My tasks lie in their places Where I left them, asleep like cattle. Then what is afraid of […]
Continue readingDo You Hear the Call of the Wild Geese?
2010/03/18 6 Comments
Wild Geese by Mary Oliver You do not have to be good. You do not have to walk on your knees For a hundred miles through the desert, repenting. You only have to let the soft animal of your body love what it loves. Tell me about your despair, yours, and I will tell you […]
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 The Selfish King and the Compassion of the Tree Spirit
2010/03/01 7 Comments
Doing some dharma study this weekend, I came upon this wonderful story in a document I downloaded from internet years ago. I regret that I no longer know the source of this, but the message is a relevant as ever: A long time ago there lived a selfish king. He wanted to build a large […]
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 Metta Music-This Morning I Am Born Again
2010/01/06 4 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 readingThich Nhat Hanh-Kiss the Earth
2009/12/22 7 Comments
Kiss The Earth Walk and touch peace every moment. Walk and touch happiness every moment. Each step brings a fresh breeze. Each step makes a flower bloom. Kiss the Earth with your feet. Bring the Earth your love and happiness. The Earth will be safe when we feel safe in ourselves. Thich Nhat Hanh
Continue reading The Ten Ox-herding Images of Zen
2009/12/20 3 Comments
I thought I’d do something different and fun in this post, and take a look at probably the most beloved images in Zen Buddhism. Known as The Ten Ox-herding Pictures, they have been the source of endless commentary and inspiration in Zen since at least the 12th century. From the first time I saw them, […]
Continue readingThe wisdom of a fox and the compassion of a woman
2009/12/18 0 Comments
Today, I’m going to do something slightly unusual and refer to a post of mine at one of my other blogs, Berkeley, Naturally, entitled: Gray Fox in Strawberry Canyon and a Mother Fox’s Wisdom Although my posts there are nature oriented, all the posts there arise from my great love of our natural world, and […]
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 readingMetta-care: saving our coral reefs
2009/12/10 3 Comments
Our oceans are in big trouble. Not only are they increasingly polluted with chemicals and dangerous trash, such as plastics, their very nature is being changed by increasing CO2 levels and warming of the water. Few places are more sensitive to this increase in water temperature and decrease in pH (popularly called ocean acidification) than […]
Continue readingThe Compassion of the Swans
2009/12/08 11 Comments
I’m a big animal lover and have been as long as I can remember, but I always seem to have had a special connection with birds. Even when I was a youngster, I was always finding wounded birds that I would bring home and nurse back to health. I’ve rescued sparrows, starlings, pigeons, and wild […]
Continue readingHow Buddhists Give Thanks at Meals
2009/11/25 6 Comments
How Buddhists Give Thanks at Meals Every day Buddhists all over the world recite “The Five Contemplations” at mealtime. These five simple sentences have endured for over twenty-five centuries because of the depth of compassion and wisdom inherent in them. These verses gently remind us to be fully present in the moment. They remind us […]
Continue readingThanksgiving Thought-Gratitude for an Orange
2009/11/25 2 Comments
“When we enjoy eating an orange, we might feel grateful to the orange tree, which has spent a lot of time making a beautiful orange for us. So by thinking of giving and receiving, we can establish a deeper sense of relationship to the orange tree. We know that the orange tree also receives a […]
Continue readingMetta-care: Animal Rescue Center in Bolivia
2009/11/18 3 Comments
All around the world, wildlife populations are under tremendous pressure due to loss of ecosystems and human population increase. The Comunidad Inti Wara Yassi animal rescue centre in Bolivia is an “ark” for animals needing help and shelter. These wonderful images from Earth Picture Galleries at UK’s Telegraph website remind us of what’s at stake. […]
Continue readingA Beautiful Short Translation of the Metta Sutta
2009/11/17 1 Comment
This is an especially beautiful translation of the Metta Sutta and one I often work use in my own practice. May All Be Filled With Joy and Peace May all be filled with joy and peace. May all beings everywhere, The strong and the weak, The great and the small, The meek and the powerful, […]
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 