A review of Zen: The Authentic Gate by Koun Yamada Roshi
An old friend passed away this morning. I wasn’t aware he had suffered a stroke two weeks earlier, so I was shocked to hear that he was gone. A silent pause seems to follow news like this, then my mind fills with questions…
Wisdom teachings are fascinating things. They may not appear to be special. They are never complicated. They can sound so ordinary that we don’t even hear them or grant them consideration. But like seeds, they burrow into us and one day surface in full bloom. Only then are we ready to appreciate them. Here are Maezumi’s Three Admonitions, which you’re not likely to find elsewhere…
I once heard Buddhist teacher Pema Chodron talk about the instructions she gave to people who came to retreats while dealing with trauma. She gave them the mantra, “Stay.” Whatever is going on, stay with it. Thoughts might be crazy — let them fly but stay with the moment. Want to get up and run — don’t, just stay. Stay within the body; stay within your field of hearing. Just stay. After a while, the individual would invariably settle.
A review of The Grand Biocentric Design: How Life Creates Reality by Robert Lanza, MD, and Matej Pavsic with Bob Berman.
A review of In Love With the World: A Monk’s Journey Through the Bardos of Living and Dying by Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche with Helen Tworkov.
Nyogen Roshi strongly recommended this book to me because the author writes in detail about what he does with his mind when faced with fear…
NUMBER 10: It’s so time-consuming. For a lot of people this is an obstacle to establishing a practice. We have so many conflicting commitments: partner, family, career, interests. I too used to have lots of people and ideas and projects competing for my attention – I was quite frenetic and scattered. But one day a big […]
“I read a book that changed my life,” says Claudia Hosso Politi. The Overstory–a Pulitzer Prize-winning novel about inter-connection between human beings and the natural world, especially trees–sparks wonder and a new passion for nature in Hosso…
A Review of Altered Traits: Science Reveals How Meditation Changes Your Mind, Brain, and Body by Daniel Goleman and Richard J. Davidson.
If you are a practitioner of Buddha Dharma for whom the pillar of great faith is unshakeable, I predict you will have no interest in this book. It is not really a book about the Way, as Zen refers to itself. An alternate title might be “This Is Your Brain On Meditation.”
A review of The End of Suffering: Fearless Living in Troubled Times by Russell Targ
For a number of years at the Hazy Moon, Nyogen Roshi has been talking about science. Specifically how a number of scientists from different disciplines increasingly are hitting upon a track that parallels the insights of classical meditative or spiritual practices…
Patrice Taisho Bucher’s poignant talk about caring for her elderly parents in her hometown of New Orleans reminds us that serious Zen practice can sometimes feel like trying to be quiet when you’re caught in a whirlwind. But the rewards are priceless…
My first novel, Aidan and the Dragon Girl Save the World, was borne of my love of history and an interest in how dragons are viewed in the east—not as fire-breathing reptiles but as shape-shifting water spirits and protectors of the Dharma.
Now I’ve written a second Aidan novel, inspired by my interest in early Buddhism and the cosmology of ancient Egypt. It’s called Aidan and the Mummy Girl Save the Universe…
My name is Honmei and my practice is counting my breath. I’ve been practicing at Hazy Moon for 11 years.
When I started practicing, I did it because I felt like I should. Practice is good for you, like exercise, and I felt a connection to Buddhism…
