193 – Dolor en la Meditación 1: ¿Por qué la Postura Sentada?

193 – Pain in Meditation 1: Why the Seated Posture?

by | Jan 28, 2022 | Meditation

Many – if not most – meditators experience physical discomfort during seated meditation. This discomfort ranges from restlessness to severe pain. It’s worth exploring how to sit more comfortably, because otherwise you might be inclined to fidget when you sit, to sit less, or even to stop doing seated meditation entirely. In this episode I talk about why the seated meditation posture is so important, despite its tendency to cause some measure of discomfort. I also discuss the idea that mind and body are not separate, and in what way our discomfort always has both a physical and a psychological component.

192 – Los Ocho Vientos Mundanos: Ganancia, Pérdida, Estatus, Desgracia, Elogio, Desaprobación, Placer, Dolor

192 – The Eight Worldly Winds: Gain, Loss, Status, Disgrace, Praise, Censure, Pleasure, Pain

by | Jan 21, 2022 | Buddhist Teachings

According to one of the foundational Buddhist teachings, we are doomed to be “blown about” by Eight Worldly Winds unless we engage in spiritual practice: Gain and loss, success and failure, praise and blame, pleasure and pain. Personally, I find this a vivid and useful metaphor for the human experience. I share an excerpt from a Pali sutta about the Eight Worldly Winds, and then explore what it means to be “blown about” by them, and what we can do about it.

191- Contemplando el Futuro: el Camino Intermedio Entre el Temor y la Esperanza

191 – Contemplating the Future: The Middle Way Between Dread and Hope

by | Jan 6, 2022 | Buddhist Practice

When we contemplate the future, it may seem like we have only two options: dread, or hope. If we can’t summon hope, we may avoid thinking about the future at all in order to escape dread. Fortunately, the Buddhist Middle Way offers an alternative. Instead of getting stuck in dread or clinging desperately to hope, we refuse to get caught in either extreme. We can walk a dynamic path of practice, facing the future with eyes open while remaining responsive and free.

190 – Yendo Más Allá del Miedo al Rechazo: Brindar el Don de Uno Mismo

190 – Leaping Beyond Fear of Rejection: Giving the Gift of Self

by | Dec 23, 2021 | Buddhist Practice

The gift of self – such as our time, attention, energy, enthusiasm, perspective, sympathy, and creativity brightens the lives of everyone around us. Although the self is “empty” of inherent, enduring self-essence, it is all we have to offer the world. Unfortunately, many of us are very inhibited when it comes to sharing ourselves. We fear rejection, judgment, disinterest, and embarrassment. We figure no one particularly appreciates or needs our contribution. Fortunately, we can make a practice of offering ourselves open-handedly, setting aside the need for affirmation as we do so.

189 – Recolectando el Corazón-Mente: La Celebración de Una Sesshin – Parte 1

189 – Collecting the Heart-Mind: A Celebration of Sesshin

by | Dec 16, 2021 | Buddhist Practice

Sesshin – a silent, residential, Zen meditation retreat involving a 24-hour communal schedule – is an extremely valuable way to deepen your Zen practice. I discuss why I strongly encourage you to participate in sesshin, but also why – if you can’t do so – it isn’t necessary. Then I talk about several of the benefits and Dharma lessons of sesshin. I have many more such benefits and lessons to share, but I’ll cover them in Celebration of Sesshin Part 2.

188 – ¿Cómo Se Desarrola la Práctica Cuando su País está Destrozado?

188 – What Does Practice Look Like When Your Country Is Broken?

by | Dec 1, 2021 | Buddhism Today, Buddhist Practice

When our country – or our global community – is broken, how do we practice? Faced with incomprehensible violence, injustice, lies, greed, and destruction, how do we cope, let alone respond in accord with our bodhisattva vows to help free all beings and end all delusions? Our first responses are usually anger, fear, judgment, and an effort to assign blame. Then may come a desire to check out – to ignore what’s happening because we feel powerless to do anything about it. I discuss how our Buddhist practice can help us remain open, strong, and responsive.

187 – Sutra del Loto 5: Pasen y Vean SU Predicción de la Budeidad

187 – Lotus Sutra 5: Step Right Up to Get YOUR Prediction of Buddhahood

by | Nov 19, 2021 | Buddhist Texts

In the Lotus Sutra, thousands of the Buddha’s disciples line up, each requesting their own, personal prediction of buddhahood. What is this about? Shouldn’t advanced practitioners of the Buddha way be beyond any concern about themselves? I share the stories from the Lotus Sutra and discuss the teaching contained in them – namely, that we all have self-doubt, and that spiritual liberation is about transcending the self but only manifests through unique, individual sentient beings.

186 – Haciendo las Paces con los Fantasmas: Karma No Resuelto y el Festival Sejiki (Segaki)

186 – Making Peace with Ghosts: Unresolved Karma and the Sejiki (Segaki) Festival

by | Nov 11, 2021 | Buddhist Practice

The annual Buddhist ceremony of “feeding the hungry ghosts,” or Sejiki, offers rich mythological imagery as a teaching. Metaphorically, a “ghost” is anything painful or difficult which continues to haunt the present although its causes lie in the past. Sejiki and its surrounding mythology encourages us to make peace with our ghosts: We acknowledge them, set appropriate boundaries, make an offering, and hope that, over time, the ghosts will be able to partake of some healing and liberating Dharma.

185-14 Formas de Avivar tu Zazen – Parte 2

185 – 14 Ways to Enliven Your Zazen – Part 2

by | Oct 29, 2021 | Meditation

As I discussed in the last episode, if our zazen (seated meditation) practice is shikantaza, or just sitting, it can be difficult to remain wholehearted and attentive. I share nine more ways to enliven your zazen without employing methods that introduce dualism and struggle into your sitting. See Episode 184 for why this is important, and for my first five approaches.

184 – 14 Formas de Avivar tu Zazen – Parte 1

184 – 14 Ways to Enliven Your Zazen – Part 1

by | Oct 22, 2021 | Meditation

When we sit zazen, it can be difficult to remain wholehearted and attentive. Because of the momentum of habit energy, we get wrapped up in thoughts about the past and future, or we fall asleep, fantasize, or brood in worry or negative judgements. Our meditative practice (zazen) gives us nothing to concentrate on, nothing to do, so how can we enliven our zazen? In this episode I’ll discuss how to avoid duality and struggle in our zazen, and why we want to do so. Then I’ll share five ways to enliven your zazen. In the next episode I’ll describe nine more approaches, so you’ll have a nice repertoire of methods and may end up with some ideas of your own.

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