After years without any particular word for a new year, a word did come to me this year – liberate. So I wondered how to focus on this word, to make it a priority, to commit to it. A prayer came to me, and so I decided to have a prayer of the year, to …
Understanding that we do not know is wisdomBelieving that we know the unknowable is sufferingFirst year law students often arrive expecting that they are going to be told all the answers to legal questions. After a few weeks of hearing professors say, “That depends on …,” they begin to suspect that the professors know the …
I’ve always loved this story: As Buddha was walking down the road, someone approached from the other direction. This person was awed by the radiance shining from Buddha. Excuse me, but are you a god?No.Are you a king?No. Are you a wizard?No.Well, then what are you?I am awake. That story has always inspired me. When I think …
A meditation teacher was describing two approaches to attaining enlightenment. One, he said, is like showing someone a picture of a cake and telling them “Go make this.” The other is like giving someone a recipe. I understood what he meant. He was suggesting that the instructions in the recipe would be more helpful than …
In a recent post, I described my grandson’s loving acceptance of George the lemur who lost his tail. This morning, George was found with his hand resting on Chao Chao in what appears to be a gesture of kindness. (Everyone denies staging this scenario, so think what you will about how this came about.) Chao …
The title to this post is more “religious” sounding than my usual writing. Yet this phrase came to me up at the cabin this last weekend and it has persistently stayed with me. So I, in turn, have persistently stayed with it! I meditated and asked this phrase to reveal to me its message. And …
As I explained in Part 1, this unusually long chapter resembles a string of proverbs. Picking up from the earlier post, here are some key passages from the rest of the chapter. Action leads to failureGrasping leads to lossThus the sage refrains from action and does not failRefrains from grasping and does not lose Once …
Act without actingEngage without engagingKnow without knowing These opening lines present the paradox of Tao, especially the first line which returns to the theme of non-action. People sometimes misunderstand this concept to mean that we all should sit around binge watching our favorite show instead of going to work, taking care of the kids, paying …
They paved paradiseAnd put up a parking lot~Joni Mitchell Every other weekend, I leave my urban home to spend a few days at my forest cabin. Two weeks ago, I missed my usual weekend because I was sick. So when I went this last weekend I had been four weeks away. I always savor the …
I had an epiphany last night at a meditation gathering. The topic of the evening was exploring the Buddhist approach to anger. At one point in the evening, we were paired up with a “buddy” to share something we felt angry about. With the support of our buddy, we were encouraged to look beneath the …
This chapter paints an accurate picture of the human experience. If I have even a little knowledgeI will walk on the path of the great TaoStraying from it is my only fearThis path is very smooth and easyBut people love to veer off on side roadsWhile the palace courts are splendid The fields lie fallowAnd the …
The chapter opens with an observation on dualism. Going out into life, entering death What causes this cycle of life and death? Because attachment to life is intense The character for intense has additional meanings of thick, solid, lavish. This contrasts with the description in the second part of the chapter, which is one of …
Why Am I Talking? So much of the news today seems to be about what someone said on social media. Or what someone said in an interview or on the phone or in a meeting or on a blog or in a hotel room or inadvertently in front of a hot mic. Then other people …
The story is told of Milarepa, an 8th century Tibetan Buddhist, who came back to his cave one day to find it filled with demons. He didn’t know how to get rid of them. He got angry and shouted at them to leave. They just laughed. He regained his composure and tried to teach them …
In the Bible, Jesus and his followers encountered the funeral procession of a widow’s only son. Jesus had compassion for her and told her son to rise. The dead boy came back to life and was returned to his mother. The story is told in Buddhism of a mother who brought the body of her dead …
This poem by Rumi has come as a guest into my “home” recently. A series of events over last fall and the beginning of this year have left me at various times elated, terrified, energized, devastated, regretful, confused, excited, upset, exhausted, stunned, content, happy, and lost. This poem knocked on my door and offered me …
In 1954, an insignificant Buddha statue made of painted and decorated plaster was being moved in Bangkok from its modest shed to a new temple. Weighing over five tons, the statue was too heavy for the crane and it fell to the ground. A piece of plaster chipped off the base. When the workers examined …
