"Be there with 100 percent of yourself. In every moment of your daily life. That is the essence of true Buddhist meditation. Each of us knows that we can do that, so let us train to live each moment of our daily life deeply. That is why I like to define mindfulness as the energy… Continue reading 100% of Yourself
At some point, if you’re fortunate, you’ll hit a wall of truth and wonder what you’ve been doing with your life. At that point you’ll feel highly motivated to find out what frees you and helps you to be kinder and more loving, less affliction driven and confused."-Pema Chodron
"To agree that life’s road is windy and sometimes narrow is easy. But to walk that narrow windy road with its ninety-nine turns takes a particular type of effort. No matter what we engage in, it always comes down to just putting one foot in front of the other, for wholehearted effort is wholehearted action."… Continue reading Ninety-nine Turns
"Someone once asked me, “What would it feel like to have burned up all those seeds, to be a person who no longer has any aggression?” The person who asked this was thinking that such a person might be pretty boring. No juice, no passion. I answered that I really wouldn’t know from personal experience,… Continue reading Unafraid to be Insecure
Lately, I've been thinking about concepts a lot, particularly how tied we can be to them when they become our beliefs or opinions. But concepts are not reality. Unfortunately, we humans can only think and communicate in concepts. They are very useful to navigate through this life, which is a consensus reality vs. an absolute… Continue reading I Carry My Concepts as Long as I Am Able
This is not unique these days, but I feel like I've lost my ability to socialize. It was never my forte. I was sick a lot as a child, so I didn't learn to socialize as a young child and just had to wing it. I'm still winging it many years later after therapy, study,… Continue reading I’ve Lost My Ability to Socialize But Not Because of the Social Distancing Rules
Today the smoke from the Western U.S. fires reached Ohio. The smoke is too high to permeate the air, but the sky has a smoky haze, as you can see in this comparison photo. It got me thinking about how a smoky haze is a metaphor for how so many of us view the world.… Continue reading Realization Realizes Realization Despite the Smoky Haze
In the book Zen Chants by Kazuaki Tanahashi, he shared Joan Halifax's version of the Four Great Vows (or Bodhisattva Vows). I've come across these before, having chanted them at a local sangha, but this particular version resonated with me more than most. Creations are numberless; I vow to free them.Delusions are inexhaustible; I vow… Continue reading Delusions and Life Purposes and Freedom
I don't know if reincarnation happens and what form it might take. There are a number of ways people interpret what reincarnation looks like, mainly depending on whether or not a person believes in a literal soul as a discrete entity. I'm most drawn to the idea that energy is the building block that coalesces under certain conditions to become matter.
Lately, I've been seeing an uptick in memes or comments on social media to the effect of "it shouldn't be this way" or "this is the way it should be," depending on the subject and one's POV. This kind of thinking leads to a lot of dissatisfaction and stress because you can't change how things… Continue reading Accepting Reality as a Starting Point for Openness
Suicidal Tulip 