To start I want to recount a situation I had early on in my sitting practice, after a few short retreats I decided to go on a week-long...

Four other essentials of Zen are silence, discipline, ritual, and study. These elements give us a great structure to really ‘be’ and my...

“Through consistent meditation practice, we will begin to recognize the separate self as a fiction, and we will begin the experience our...

Is there an escape from hardships? I doubt it. Is there a way to face hardship with some degree of equanimity? Pema Khandro addresses...

One thing I’ve learned in my practice is that there are no guarantees – with perhaps a major exception. That is that we will all face...

I was recovering from a three-day flu. I had congestion and a nagging cough. Hurricane Elsa was on her way up the Gulf. It was raining...

As prisoners most of us are touched keenly by how unpleasant and stressful daily living can be. When we were free, our desire to attain...

Joko Beck’s thoughts on tragedy were a challenge for me, but I was attracted to these lines: “From the moment of conception our life is...

Claude Anshin Thomas’ book, Bringing Meditation To Life, is a collection of short, practical Zen teachings. Chapter 10 is titled “Go...

HARMONIZING THE MIND So here we are. We have come to the last phase of Master Sheng-Yen's teaching: No-Self, No-Mind. My hope is that you...