I've gotten a greater appreciation of how pain--the non-life threatening, localized, physical kind of pain that something like a back spasm causes--can be gateway into the world of moment-to-moment awareness.

The greatest area of split and misunderstanding, which I discover among my friends and other writers and teachers, is the split between the longing of the spirit and material desire.

One of the greatest potholes today to people living in a relaxing condition in their day-to-day life, is the sense of wanting to compare ourselves to historical figures and "spiritual heros" from the past.

Just putting the names Ted Kennedy, Michael Jackson, and Buddha in the same title might seem like quite a tossed salad. In a way, it's true. And, ye...

"...keep knocking, and the Joy inside will eventually open a window and look out to see who's there." - Rumi On Monday, I struck the bottom of my c...

Can we step out of our identities that are constantly looking for ways to justify themselves and to put down the other, and open to a deeper presence and wisdom?

When the dream of self dissolves, we awake and see that the true church is wherever we are.

Of all the words I've heard in the past few days, the ones that spoke most deeply to me were these aboard the returning Amtrak train to Seattle: "Is there a doctor on board?" Believe me, I was invested in the answer.

(con't from Part I) He sought out all of the spiritual masters of his time. He studied with several great Hindu masters and learned all of the practi...

When our news is filled with the karmic results of our "Greed is Good!" ways (AIG, Merril Lynch, Madoff and Ponzi schemes), I personally find it helpful to turn back to my Buddhist tradition.

What's with Bill O'Reilly? He does not seem to know what he is saying! Ed was at a Dalai Lama talk in London when the Dalai Lama said, "People say t...

We're always thinking, of our health, finances, family, friends, environment, politics, and so on. We think of ways to improve, earn more, get ahead ...

There is a story of a Buddhist monk who meditated for many years on the quality of patience. He was immersed in everything to do with patience. One da...

Economic greed and fear are two sides of the same coin. When things start getting better, will the preoccupation with money also abate? Or will fear simply be replaced by another cycle of greed?

If a bull goes straight when the herd is crossing a road, then they will all go straight because he leads the way. The same among people. If the one w...

Get thee to an eco meditation cushion, if only for a few minutes each morning before the day's madness ensues, and if you need a jump-start of inspiration or a little training, check out one of these Buddhist teachers.

In the last week we have been witnessing a huge amount of hateful and vicious language and behavior in the election. Despite promising to run a positi...

We are not presuming to know what the Buddha might say to John McCain, any more than what he might say to any of us. But the Buddha did teach very cle...

A BLOCK off Grant Avenue in San Francisco's Chinatown -- beyond the well-worn path tourists take past souvenir shops, restaurants and a dive saloon ca...

When I looked at the cabbage, what I saw was forces of nature coming together in a certain configuration, at a certain time, with tentative form and tentative color, coming together.