By Barbara Casey For over six years Barbara corresponded with a prison inmate named Claude. He had been convicted of aggravated assault, which means that he did someone serious harm. In a letter to her, Claude asked Barbara for insight about karma, and she asked some dharma teachers to respond…
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Cultivating Our Blue Sky Nature
Skillful Means for Emotional Healing In the mid-1990s, John Bell began leading workshops on handling stress for the young people and staff in the YouthBuild programs throughout the United States. At the workshop, John introduced them to meditation and to methods of emotional healing. John has been exploring ways of…
An Offering for the Dharma
By Andrew Weiss On the evening of April 6, 1993, Pham Gia Binh, a quiet, dedicated practitioner of Pure Land Buddhism, immolated himself in Ellington, Connecticut, in the presence of five friends. Binh made this offering of himself to alert us to the continued violation of human rights in Vietnam, and the continued mistreatment of…
Zero And One
By Elizabeth Wood For me personally, the story of Thay's visit to Moscow last September began two nights before his arrival. I dreamed I was trying to hold the numbers zero and one together in my mind. As I woke up, the dream felt like a koan. Emptiness and form, zero and one, how…
Opening the Voice with the Practice of Chanting
Brother Goodness When I was in grade school and high school I attended chorus classes, but I never paid much attention. It was a wonderful time to goof around, and for my classmates and I it often turned towards playful endeavor that tested our teachers’ sanity. I was not aware…
The Fourteen Mindfulness Trainings and Sangha Building
Sister Annabel, True Virtue THE EIGHTH MINDFULNESS TRAINING:TRUE COMMUNITY AND COMMUNICATION Aware that lack of communication always brings separation and suffering, we are committed to training ourselves in the practice of compassionate listening and loving speech. Knowing that true community is rooted in inclusiveness and in the concrete practice of…
The Queen of the Night
Aurora Leon and Felipe Viveros share about bringing spirituality into conversations about racial equity and inclusion during the “Science, Spirituality, and Action” retreat at Plum Village, France.
Mindfulness Practice Center
Dear Friends, February 14th and 15th, we had an open house for the Mindfulness Practice Center of the Upper Valley, Vermont. About three hundred people joined us in mindful sitting and walking, clementine ceremonies, introductory talks, total relaxation and singing. The Mindfulness Practice Center of the Upper Valley is "a resource center and gathering place supporting…
Beach Cleaning Meditation
By Penelope Thompson Several months ago, our small sangha met at the beach for a morning of mindfulness. First we sat together, then we did forty-five minutes of "cleaning the beach meditation." After that we shared our experiences together and ended with walking meditation. The experience was extraordinary for all of us, and we have…
The Small Red Heart
By Lisa Boken Many times after driving from one place to another, I realize that I don't remember most of the trip. I often eat a plate of food so unconsciously that I wonder where the food has gone when I awaken to an empty plate. Here's a "day-in-the-life" example: I have plenty…