Driving home the other day I tuned into the end of a radio program featuring various religious leaders discussing how they were helping their congregants cope with the myriad of social, physical, political and environmental stresses impinging on us all.
The Practice of Equanimity
This summer our Friday morning meditation group studied and practiced with the Seven Factors of Awakening. These are positive qualities of mind that, when cultivated, help us counter emotions that get in the way of our progress in meditation and
Hope and Justice
The prevalence of systemic racial injustice in America has once again come to the forefront of consciousness with the seemingly unrelenting killings of people of color while in police custody. This demand for social justice is not just about police
Reflections on a Pandemic: Don’t Panic, Practice!
I left the Barre Center for Buddhist Studies last Thursday and stepped into a strangely altered world. I had been intently cultivating the four brahmaviharas (loving-kindness, compassion, appreciative joy and equanimity) and the 7 awakening factors (mindfulness, investigation, energy, equanimity,
Mindfulness in a Time of Environmental Crisis
Our sangha has been involved in an ongoing discussion of how the dharma might guide us in response to the current climate crises. While on vacation, I wrote this short reflection piece on the topic. Navigating my kayak along the Maine
On the Practice of Mettā or Loving-Kindness
Our sangha has been practicing with mettā, or loving-kindness meditation these last few weeks. This is quite an appropriate practice for the holiday season. Mettā is the first of the four brahmavihāras and the foundation for the other “divine states”
Introduction to the Four Brahmavihāras, the Devine States in Buddhism
For the next few weeks, our sangha will turn toward a practice of the four “brahmavihāra,” or divine states or emotions in Buddhist practice. With the world in such turmoil, and fear and despair apparently on the ascendency, it is
Reflections on the First Ennobling Truth
The first task of the First Ennobling truth is to truly know dukkha or suffering. To turn around and really face what is occurring in out hears and minds. This is neither wallowing, justifying, nor giving vent to the our
On Love and Hate
No one can teach you how to love. If people could be taught how to love, the world problem would be very simple, would it not? If we could learn how to love from a book like we learn mathematics,
The Election and Beyond: A Buddhist Reflection
Dearest Sangha members, I am currently at a conference in Washington DC, and the anxiety in the air is palpable. As I write this I look out my hotel window at both the Pentagon and the Washington Monument and I