Category: Dharma Journal

Courage and Compassion

Entering a room, I scan for safety. Who do I know? Is there a defensible position, ie. a corner where I can control my space. Where’s the bathroom? Where are the exits? In times...

Lost and Found

When meditation practice ripens and our attachment to the ego-self begins to erode, we wonder what its all about. All the meaning we have assigned to the appearance of external objects and how we...

No One Prays

As I mentioned previously, my mother sleeps most of the time now and is in hospice care. Sometimes she goes so deep into the bardo of sleep, I cannot rouse her. Today I visit with...

Noticing

As I sit to quiet my mind, I watch thoughts form in my stream of awareness. I notice various textures and colors. One thought may have a charge of aggressive red energy and another...

Lessons

My mother spends most of her time sleeping now as she lives her final moments. Sometimes she is so deep in the bardo of sleep she is difficult to arouse. When she momentarily awakens,...

Looking Up

The trail to Green Lakes is one of the busiest in the Central Oregon Cascades. One is lucky to find a parking spot near the trailhead. We decide to take a chance on this...

The Sweet Spot

A very famous parable in Buddha’s teaching involves a stringed instrument called a veena. There are many variations of the story but the basic idea centers around the tautness of the strings. If they...

Colors: Change, Anyone?

Fall colors indicate changing seasons and act as harbingers of hibernation: sap ceasing to flow, birds flying south, and some mammals looking for a place to den up for the winter. The natural world...

Beginning the End

Mom is now on hospice care. The unmistakable signs of stilted breathing and dulling awareness indicate she is slipping away. Of course, no one knows how long the process will take, but her energy...

I Died Last Night

I find it strange I died last night My withered body quite a sight But here I am alive today Is this just another kind of play? I died last night. Everyone was properly...