Buddhist Women on a Path of Spiritual Awakening
The Miracle of Mindfulness
Mindfulness of pure present moment awareness takes us to the Deathless, the joy of deliverance. But how can we still the mind to taste that freedom? Once we let go self-concepts, selfishness and its baggage of worldly entanglements begin to fall away. Anger, sorrow,…
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…
Pain, Forgiveness, and 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…
Anger, Forgiveness, and Gratitude
How can we remain calm and inwardly strong when we feel anger or fear, greed or grief? Meditate with new eyes – keen, open, attentive, and dare to forgive even difficult feelings or troubling conditions. Stay present, stop and witness fear’s end, because stopping…
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…
Refuge
True refuge is a call to stop, even for a moment, to see and know the breath that brings the world into and out of consciousness. We witness the liberating silence of that present moment awareness. In the still space between thoughts from which…
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