Buddhist Women on a Path of Spiritual Awakening
This Is Sanctuary
The world goes on the way it does. We have no control over these conditions – just as we cannot escape diseases of the body. But waking up is not beyond us. Bowing to the present moment is our homage to awareness, to pure…
We Are Not Separate
Do joy, peace of mind, and trusted friendship rely on the state of the world outside, or on the qualities we foster within us? In the vast presence of pure awareness, trust and courage lift our feet forward, one at a time. We are…
The Miracle of Mindfulness
Mindfulness of pure present moment awareness guides us to the blessed joy of awakening. But can we still the interior tides of emotion and thought enough to taste that freedom? Everyday, devote time to witness habitual thought patterns and worldly attachments. Stopping in the…
A Ministry of Love
How can a bitter tasting medicine heal physical illness? Just so, understanding suffering can liberate us from it. Listen to the dance of impermanence arising and falling endlessly. Bear witness to thoughts of fear, anger or sorrow flowing into the sea of awareness and…
What More Can I Give?
After long years of monastic renunciation, living in seclusion and devoted to spiritual practice, I began to question if this was enough. Was I deluded about the quality of my efforts? Had I really let go the world living with so much peace and…
A Map to Freedom
We have the gift of a priceless inheritance, a BPS – Buddha’s Positioning System. It’s a map to freedom from hatred by way of undaunted love and compassion. It sets our feet on the hero’s path to the oasis of Truth. With the power…
What the Angel Asked the Buddha
How are we to nurture truth and peace in the midst of a world besieged by moral disintegration and violence? The Buddha gave an angel this advice: “Not apart from awakening and austerity, not apart from sense restraint, not apart from relinquishing all, do…
Darkness Just Before Dawn
Could we really love if we lived forever? There is no true love without suffering. This is revealed through our mortality and the impermanence of all conditioned things. We are not the body but its fragility reflects our true essence. Just as when a…
At Home With the Wise
What frees us from fear, anger, sorrow, chaos and all the many other sufferings of the mind? Beneath the rubble and ruin we may feel, in the silent depths of our own heart, there is a treasure. It may be hidden but it is…
Empty Yourself of Fear
One night, while Malani was dying, we gathered a group of her close friends to meditate with her. Each breath was a struggle yet she stayed aware, serene, composed, and at peace. We listened in silence, breathing freely – but our minds were not…
~ Dhammapada Verse 54