Category: Dharma Journal

The varied thrush(Ixoreus naevius) is a very striking robin-sized bird. Its colorful plumage is orange, blue-gray, and black, with an obvious ‘necklace’ of dark gray to black encircling its neck. It inhabits western areas...

Bless my mind to turn toward the dharma. Bless my dharma practice to follow the path. Bless my path to be free of delusion. Bless me that all delusion be transformed into wisdom. The...

In the First Noble Truth, the truth of suffering, Buddha taught the core issue from which all our dissatisfaction arises is the suffering of conditioned awareness. This is the kind of suffering we rarely...

One of the ways we honor our spiritual tradition is in how we sustain our practice over time. If we are sincerely interested in awakening to the truth mirrored to us by our lineage...

A dear sangha member passed away recently. He simply faded away with ease and demonstrated the face of death to remind us of the tenuous nature of existence. Everyone will wear this face at...

I am writing this on new year’s day according to the Tibetan lunar calendar. It is called Losar and is celebrated for fifteen days during which all activities are thought to be multiplied by...

Sometimes what we call Buddhism seems so esoteric that we wonder about practical application. From an absolute point of view, we absolutely know how to apply the teachings. We simply love. We listen to...

The shakuhachi flute is a very difficult instrument to play, let alone master. It demands very precise air management. In reality, you are only playing air. The flute is simply a channel. Gaining skill...

The snow is gone for the moment but winter is not yet done with us. The cold will return, the snow will fly, and we will deal with whatever arises. In the meantime, frosty...

The overlook at Crooked River Gorge is not for those with acrophobia. I have a bit of this affliction myself. Today, as I look down basalt cliffs from the ‘bump out’ in the retaining...