Envision Liberation and Justice If we are able to quiet the mind and face what is true it’s easier to envision liberation from suffering for ourselves, our community and the world. Envisioning has enormous power. With our vision and imagination we can help...
Learning from the Precepts Pick and refine one or more of the five basic training precepts as a way to cultivate and strengthen mindfulness. Work with a precept meticulously for one week. Then examine the results and choose another precept for a subsequent ...
Undertaking the Five Precepts: Nonharming as a Gift to the World Every great spiritual system offers guidelines for ethical conduct as a statement that spiritual life cannot be separated from our words and actions. A conscious commitment to virtue and nonharming is...
Establish Clear Ethical Guidelines The most obvious principle in the maintenance of a wise spiritual community is the establishment of clear ethical guidelines that are followed by all. Each great spiritual tradition has some version of these. The question is: Are...
Enacting Mindfully The fifth skillful means for working with difficulties is called Enacting It Mindfully. Let’s face it, we act out most of our desires anyway. In the fifth way, we take whatever difficulty has repeated itself, and fulfill it while being fully aware...
Know That Power is Not Wisdom To further sort out the gold from the dross in spiritual life we must distinguish between wisdom and power. Powers can include psychic ability, special spiritual energy, creating visions for students, or just plain charisma. There are...
