Buddhist Women on a Path of Spiritual Awakening
My Life Is Like An Alms Bowl
We are here to learn to see, to dispel all ignorance with intuitive wisdom. When I walk on alms round, even if nothing is given, I see that my life is like an alms bowl. It is both full and empty – full of…
An Oasis of Freedom
Learning to play an instrument, at first nothing good comes of it. The body is like an instrument. At first, it howls, it screams or cries. Then one day, that cry becomes a chant. So it is freeing the mind. We teach ourselves to…
I Give You My Bread
There is no final cure for the body, but the mind can be freed. No matter how much craving, anger, sorrow, fear or obsessive negative thoughts keep storming the mind, don’t let discouragement become another hindrance. Every new moment is a chance to see…
Train for Nibbana
On the path to freedom, every moment in every life situation is an opportunity for training the mind. We plant seeds of virtue, watering them with renunciation, respect, contentment, generosity and valiant effort. We clear the cobwebs of lifetimes from the mind with wisdom…
The Dhamma of Snow
In the grip of painful feelings such as fear, anger, grief, or despair, we are in danger of allowing these to subdue the mind. Discernment and clear awareness help us to see through our pain to the ending of pain – not only for…
No Going Back
On a wilderness trail, at times the path is clear, at times not. We get lost, confused, and disheartened. Tested again and again, we gain strength, skill, and clarity, and we learn to see what we could not see at first. The spiritual way…
Hauntingly Beautiful
Where is safety in this world? As the Buddha taught: “Not apart from awakening and austerity, not apart from sense restraint, not apart from relinquishing everything do I see any safety for any living being”. So with unshakeable faith, not faltering in the face…
Ecology of the Heart
Our most valued renewable resource is the heart, the seat of awareness and our true refuge in what is worthy of refuge – the ancient virtue of the noble ones. Breath by breath, we embody pure presence, wisely seeing how suffering arises and understanding…
Unwavering Mind
To directly know Truth, we enter the depths of the vast ocean of the mind. We refine our attention and focus it like a laser beam. In the knowing of knowing itself, impermanence is revealed together with the inherent suffering of the conditioned world…
Open the Gates to the Deathless
The Eightfold Noble Path is the Buddha’s map to freedom. His directions how to proceed are precise, rigorous and breathtaking – the better for our faith and diligence. Though we may falter or feel unworthy, we discard delusion of a self – the better…
~ Dhammapada Verse 54