One of the first things I was taught when I ventured into Buddhist practice was to be mindful of mind. This is no easy task. One quickly discovers that thoughts are enticing, alluring, and in no time at all drag you off into a whole scenario, when the intent was simply to let the thoughts drift by like clouds. Continue reading “Mindful Modes of Thinking” »
Meditation by waterfalls
I’ve noticed a common thread in talking to many new meditators and Buddhist practitioners. People want to know how meditation is going to make them happy. How long do you have to meditate to transcend to the next plane? How long do you have to meditate before getting high. How does all this meditation get rid of my suffering?!!!! Continue reading “Meditation Magic” »
One of the resounding themes in the Buddhist studies and practices I’ve taken on over the last years has focused a lot on labels, concepts, and views. The foundation of everything being emptiness, impermanence, and unsatisfactoriness. In the beginning, emptiness was confusing and cryptic, but as I explored the titles and labels I wore, I realized I had to stop calling myself a Buddhist. Continue reading “Calling Yourself Buddhist Isn’t Buddhist” »
Accept life on its terms and it becomes a lot more interesting. Keep believing there is more, and you are on a chase for your own tail that takes you nowhere. Yet, many of us, possibly most of us, end up on spiritual journeys that take up years, sometimes decades of our lives. Continue reading “The Selfish Circle of the Spiritual Quest” »
Ban Offshore Drilling
Buddhism has a reputation for being passive, and there are good reasons for this. All that meditation and mindfulness we do appears passive. And in the beginning many of us do have to mindfully hold back reactions, and refrain from falling into old active patterns that used to get us into trouble. But there is a time for apparent passiveness, and a time to act, a time to be engaged. Continue reading “Engaged Buddhism Needed” »
I studied a lot about Buddhism, in various traditions, and one of the resounding and inarguable themes addresses the big A, attachment. There is resounding agreement that attachment is at the base of craving and causes suffering. The indisputable agreement on this topic stems from the fact that personal exploration proves that attachment causes craving and suffering, and the idea is repeated throughout most Buddhist’s text. Continue reading “Attached to Buddhism?” »
I’m reading Stephan Batchelor’s new book Confessions of an Atheist Buddhist, and I must say it resonates deeply with me, not because I’m an atheist, but because I went on a similar curvy path of confusion through Buddhism. Fortunately, I didn’t spend years and years on that twisty road like Batchelor did. I saw through the religious BS of Buddhist traditions over a 6 year span instead of decades. Continue reading “Bringing Buddha’s Ideas Back to Buddhism” »
As we head into 2010, I’ve contemplated my past, and consider my intentions for the New Year. Notice I say intentions, not resolutions. I don’t need to resolve with finality, but instead I have some firm intentions that I hope lead to discovery. After all, seeing is knowing, and I aim to avoid believing. Continue reading “Seeing is Knowing” »
Redwoods
If you’ve ever walked in a redwood forest, you know firsthand the feeling of awe. The redwood reaches high overhead, sometimes hundreds of feet tall, their bases as wide as a car, sometimes wide enough for cars to drive through. There is no place more peaceful than a forest, no place that can take you so quickly out of the day-to-day nonsense and into the present moment. Continue reading “Nothing More Noble Than Trees” »
I planned a trip to Wyoming on a whim, and scheduled only one tour. The rest of the four days would be entirely open. Having to plan the trip at all is a bit annoying to me, but for work, plane schedules, and booking a cabin, that much had to be done. And that is where the planning ended. Continue reading “Spontaneity – The Spice of Life” »
