This author has not written his bio yet.
But we are proud to say that admin contributed 620 entries already.
/// By David Chernikoff I first heard the phrase effective suffering from meditation teacher Shinzen Young, who used it in a story he told about the renowned Christian contemplative Thomas Merton. 1 Merton lived quite a bohemian life before he converted to Catholicism and then entered one of the church’s strictest and most ascetic monastic […]
By Tim Gallati // We may not know it, but we have a well-established history with environmental noise. From 6th century Buddhist scriptures lamenting “the ten noises in a great city” to a desperate plea for quiet scribbled on a wall in ancient Pompeii, environmental noise has troubled us for millennia.* Today, environmental noise is pervasive. […]
By Katharine Kaufman This morning, right after the sun, I scraped ice off windshield and drove East, past black cows, brown horses, corn and oil fields, into the small town of Mead. A huge decoration says, Peace on Earth. Deflated plastic Santa and reindeer lie on the ground. We lie on the floor, rest our […]
By Ann Saffi Biasetti // The word self-protection may feel elusive and hard to wrap our mind around as it is not something we may think of often. Self-care, yes, but self-protection, not so much. However, whenever I teach about self-compassion I make sure to define self-compassion as self-protection because that is really what it […]
In this video, meditation master Orgyen Chowang Rinpoche, a meditation master in the Nyingma lineage of the Buddhist tradition, discusses how communication is a true foundation to happiness. His humor, wisdom and brilliance shine as he suggests that we be reasonable, gentle and realistic in our attempts at creating happiness. Next month (in the virtual […]
by Rona Wilensky, PassageWorks Institute // When our country shut down in March 2020 to limit the spread of COVID-19, probably no profession, excepting frontline health workers, experienced the challenge more than educators. The overnight switch to virtual teaching was compounded by 14 months of continuous changes in how and when teaching would take place. If […]
by Janet Solyntjes // Do you associate the practice of mindfulness meditation with freedom? How is freedom discovered within the form of a meditation retreat? This article is intended to offer a framework in which to view silent retreat practice as a path to freedom. The Gateway to Retreat: Motivation and Preparation The gateway to retreat is acknowledging your personal motivation for retreat practice. Motivation is often based […]
By Dhi Good // “Meditation in the midst of activity is a thousand times superior to meditation in stillness.” Zen Master Hakuin Ekaku Samu is work practice, meditation in the midst of activity. In Japanese Zen monasteries, samu involves the work of keeping the monastery clean, the monks fed, the buildings and grounds maintained. One […]
By Marcella Friel // Having no choice but to stay home this past year, I’ve taken advantage of the lockdown to deepen my commitment to what had previously been my “do-it-when-I-feel-like-it” yoga practice. Enlisting the support of a pod mate, we’ve been spending 90 minutes a day, five days a week, in meditation, asana, chanting, […]
As we look forward to hosting an online retreat with long-time friend of SMC Sara Avant Stover next month, we’d like to share a dharma talk she gave during another retreat this past winter. In this talk, Stover, a bestselling author and teacher of feminine spirituality, speaks about The Power of Yin. “In a world […]
By Acharya Judith Simmer-Brown (Excerpted from Article in Bodhi Magazine, October 2002) After the awakening, a radiant Buddha remained seated under the Bodhi tree for seven weeks, enjoying the bliss of emancipation. According to legend, the Indian god Brahma was concerned that he would pass into oblivion and appeared to the Buddha, supplicating him to […]
By Blake D. Bauer // With everything that’s going on in the world it’s very natural to feel overwhelmed, worried or confused. Every emotion you’re feeling within yourself is valid. Helplessness, sadness, anger, and frustration are all healthy responses to the various situations we’re each facing. Instead of shutting down, numbing out, pretending you’re okay, […]