I Am Interested In Buddhism

“When we start expecting things to stay the same we fill our wagons with suffering.”Once we feel secure in our general understanding, to challenge that understanding is a step toward the unknown; a step away from our sense of self...

An aging Zen master grew tired of his student complaining, and so, one morning, sent him for some salt. When the apprentice returned, the master instructed the unhappy young man to put a handful of salt in a glass of water and then to...

Ajahn Chah (1918~1992) was a teacher of the Theravadan Tree Forest tradition. He was considered to be one of the great Buddhist masters of our modern age. Here are some quotes and teachings attributed to him:
"There are people who...

I just met Julian Mantle, a successful and smart American lawyer who had nothing in mind but work. One day, he suddenly fainted in the middle of the courtroom. When he woke up, his doctor gave him two options: give up being a lawyer or...

Fatigue dominates the lives of those who are living without direction and dreams. -Robert S. Sharma (author 'The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari').

The purpose of studying Buddhism is not to study Buddhism, but to study ourselves. That is why we have teaching. But the teaching is not ourselves. It is some explanation of ourselves. To study the teaching is to know yourselves. That...

This was offered by Thich Nhat Hanh in The Plum Village Chanting Book (Parallax Press, 1991):

I am of the nature to grow old. There is no way to escape growing old.

I am of the nature to have ill health. There is no way to escape...

One of the many things that impresses me about Buddhism is that I'm not forced just to rely on faith as my method of determining the truth. I can actually consider things like evidence, use critical thinking.  I also like that there is...

This is so true. How many of us have forgotten that the essence of life is to live in the present and not to worry too much about the past and the future? I mean, it is ok to think about the future and look back to your past. Our...

“In the sky, there is no distinction of east and west; people create distinctions out of their own minds and then believe them to be true.” ~ Buddha

Human-beings are great creators; we craft from thin air the articles and verbiages...

A university professor went to visit a famous Zen master. While the master quietly served tea, the professor talked about Zen. The master poured the visitor’s cup to the brim, and then kept pouring. The professor watched the...

...about trying to remain mindful
 ...about living in the present
 ...about not judging others
 ...about not becoming "attached" 
 ...about not hating
 ...about enjoying what nature...

In my pursuit of further understanding and reduction of suffering I have studied and practiced mindfulness as much as possible on my own over the past year. The Buddha advocated that one should establish mindfulness in one's day-to-day...

There are many forms of Buddhism. They differ considerably. Some are more like a religion. Others are more of a practice. I lived in a Zen Center for a few years. I can tell you about that.
All belief systems are interpreted through...

THE WORLD IS ON FIRE:
AND ARE YOU LAUGHING?
YOU ARE DEEP IN THE DARK.
WILL YOU NOT ASK FOR LIGHT?
FOR BEHOLD YOUR BODY --
A PAINTED PUPPET, A TOY,
JOINTED AND SICK AND FULL OF FALSE IMAGINATIONS,
A SHADOW THAT SHIFTS AND FADES.
 
HOW...

Beautiful, soothing to the soul, and it touches me deeply.
Tibetan Buddhists believe that saying the mantra (prayer), Om Mani Padme Hum, out loud or silently to oneself, invokes the powerful benevolent attention and blessings of...

People say that practicing Zen is difficult, but there is a misunderstanding as to why. It is not difficult because it is hard to sit in the cross‑legged position, or to attain enlightenment. It is difficult because it is hard to keep...

Usually people lose themselves in a strong emotion and become overwhelmed. That is not the way to handle emotion, because when that happens you are a victim of emotion. In order not to become a victim, breathe and retain your calm, and...

A facilitator once put a large white paper on the floor with handwritten curves lines (see photo). He then asked four people to stand on each side. “What do you see?” the facilitator asked. One participant said he could see an “M...

How do we avoid pain? First, we have to understand what true love is. Understanding love is not easy. It takes faith, maturity and acceptance. It took me 34 years to finally understand what love is. Because true love is not what most of...