Difficulties and Hindrances
The Buddhist tradition speaks directly about the hindrances that are encountered in the course of the spiritual journey. Buddha said that those who conquer their...
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Vast Silence and Illumination (Part Two)
(Read Part One: Vast Silence and Illumination) Buddhist psychology offers a systematic training to open the mystical perspective by explaining how to develop states of...
Vast Silence and Illumination
Jhana states are two sets of stable states of absorption concentration and insight concentration outlined in Buddhist psychology. These states are so central to the...
Obstacles Are Part of the Path
When we examine our own minds we will inevitably encounter the root forces of greed, fear, prejudice, hatred, and desire, which create so much sorrow...
How Concentration Works
“It is through the cultivation of inner concentration that luminous purity of mind arises. It is through luminous purity that access to expanded states arise....
Turning Toward Our Essence (Part Two)
Read Part One: Turning Toward Our Essence As we have seen, when we turn to investigate who is being aware we may feel confused, like a...
Statement on Racism from Buddhist Teachers & Leaders in the United States
Buddhist Statement on Racial Justice May 14, 2015 “If you have come to help me you are wasting your time. But if you recognize that...
First White House Buddhist Leadership Conference
120 Buddhist leaders of every color and tradition joined together at last weeks’ White House Buddhist gathering. On a fine spring day there converged orange...
Turning Toward Our Essence (Part One)
“Who are we, really?” the Zen koans demand, “Who is dragging this body around?” or “What was your original face before your parents were born?”...
Awakening to Pure Consciousness
Let us consider the unbounded sky or mirror-like nature of consciousness. We need to be practical. Our first task is to learn to distinguish the...
The Two Dimensions of Consciousness
But this mirror is only one aspect of consciousness. Consciousness, like light, has two dimensions. Just as light can be described as both a wave...
Finding Refuge (Part Two)
(Read Part One of Finding Refuge) Traditionally, there are three levels of Buddhist refuge, outer, inner and innermost. On the outer level, we take refuge...