223 – Integrating Insights

223 – Integrating Insights

by | Nov 30, 2022 | Buddhist Practice

On the meditation seat and off, we may experience significant insights – realizations that shift our perceptions of ourselves and world, and help relieve suffering. Insights may be sudden or gradual, major or minor, but we naturally want to be able to hold on them instead of forgetting them and going back to our previous way of thinking or being. Yet sometimes these insights seem to slip away or fade with time. Our effort to hold on to them sometimes causes them to recede even further. How can we integrate insights into our lives and practice?

222 – Enfrentando el Discurso Sexista de Buda – Parte 2

221 – Confronting the Buddha’s Sexist Discourse – Part 1

by | Nov 16, 2022 | Buddhist Texts

I introduce the text that describes the Buddha’s negative words and actions in response to the question of ordaining women into what was called the “homeless life” of his monastic community. Then I’ll talk about various ways we can explain, dismiss, or justify the story contained in this text. In the next episode I’ll explore how, for some of us, explaining, dismissing, or justifying the story of the Buddha’s sexist discourse does not completely neutralize the discouraging effect of this story’s presence in the Buddhist canon, and how we can relate to the story without losing our faith in this path of practice.

220 – Ser El/La Único/a Budista en Tu Familia – Parte 2

220 – Being the Only Buddhist in Your Family – Part 2

by | Oct 29, 2022 | Buddhist Practice

This is Part 2 of my discussion about being the only Buddhist in your family. I continue discussing ways to create more harmony between your spiritual practice and your family relationships, and then talk about the special case of being in and intimate relationship with someone who doesn’t share your passion for Buddhist practice.

219 – Ser El/La Único/a Budista en Tu Familia – Parte 1

219 – Being the Only Buddhist in Your Family – Part 1

by | Oct 21, 2022 | Buddhist Practice

Many – if not most – English-speaking Buddhists are converts to Buddhism. Even if you were raised in a Buddhist family, chances are good that as an adult you are surrounded by non-Buddhists, or that as an active Buddhist practitioner you are surrounded by people for whom Buddhism is largely a cultural matter. I discuss the challenges of being the only Buddhist in your family or intimate relationship, and ways to create more harmony between your spiritual practice and your close relationships.

218 – El Cuádruple Voto del Bodhisattva Parte 3: Atravezando las Puertas del Dharma y Alcanzando la Budeidad

218 – The Fourfold Bodhisattva Vow Part 3: Entering Dharma Gates & Attaining Buddhahood

by | Oct 15, 2022 | Buddhist Teachings

I discuss the third and fourth vows of the Fourfold Bodhisattva Vow, about entering all Dharma Gates and embodying the unsurpassed Buddha Way. For some of us, these seem less accessible and relevant than the first two, about freeing all beings and ending all delusions. I talk about what the third and fourth vows mean and why making them is valuable to our practice.

216 – El Cuádruple Voto del Bodhisattva Parte 1: Liberando a Todos los Seres

216 – The Fourfold Bodhisattva Vow Part 1: Freeing All Beings

by | Sep 22, 2022 | Buddhist Teachings

In this episode I review the meaning of the Fourfold Bodhisattva Vow, and then explore the first of the vows in detail: Beings are numberless, I vow to free them. What does it mean to free beings, and what does it mean to our practice that we vow to free every last one of an infinite number of beings? In the next couple episodes I will similarly explore the second, third, and fourth vows.

215 – Moriremos Pronto: Contemplando La Impermanencia Para Motivar La Práctica

215 – We Will Die Soon: Contemplating Impermanence to Motivate Practice

by | Sep 12, 2022 | Buddhist Teachings

From the time of the Buddha, Buddhists have spent time contemplating impermanence – often by deliberately meditating on their own mortality and eventual death. This practice isn’t for everyone, but it can help motivate us stay motivated to practice, focus on our deepest aspirations, take responsibility for our karma, maintain equanimity, and remember the preciousness of this moment. It can also lead to profound insights about the nature of the self.

214 – How Do You DO Zazen, Anyway?

214 – How Do You DO Zazen, Anyway?

by | Aug 31, 2022 | Meditation

Offering you another episode on zazen risks me repeating myself, but I don’t think it hurts to offer a fresh new talk on zazen periodically. The practice – while profoundly simple – also can be frustratingly elusive. What are you supposed to do during zazen, anyway? We’re told to just sit, and then allow thoughts to come and go, neither chasing them nor pushing them away. Is that it? In this episode I explore exactly what we’re supposed to be doing in zazen, and how to know if we’re doing it correctly.

Share