I have the impression that many of us are afraid of silence. We’re always taking in something—text, music, radio, television, or thoughts—to occupy the space. If quiet and space are so important for our happiness, why don’t we make more…
It is a great turning point in our spiritual lives when we go from an intellectual appreciation of a path to the heartfelt confidence that says, ‘Yes, it is possible to awaken. I can, too.’ A tremendous joy accompanies this…
Spiritual change is precisely a process that is bigger than you. You don’t control it. You surrender to it. You don’t reinvent yourself through spiritual work. You face yourself, and then you must let go of all the ghastly things…
Change is continuous in spite of our efforts to resist it. We begin to realize that we do not have any way to stop it or to slow it down. The more we try, the more we suffer. But there…
In surrendering to our deepest fears, we put ourselves in touch with the fundamental awareness of just being—the true ground that is always available to us. —Ezra Bayda, “More than This Body”
Try looking into how feeling gives rise to craving. It’s because we want pleasant feelings that craving whispers—whispers right there to the feeling. If you observe carefully, you will see that this is very important. This is where the paths…
Following the path is about experiencing it for ourselves. It’s not taking on what other people have described. It’s not based on blind faith. Of course, you need a certain amount of confidence to buy a ticket and start on…
You can’t go preventing pleasure and pain, you can’t keep the mind from labeling things and forming thoughts, but you can put these things to a new use. If the mind labels a pain, saying, “I hurt,” you have to…
A lot of what meditation is teaching, a lot of what Buddhism is teaching, is basically how to acknowledge all of the traumas that are around us. That’s what the Buddha was talking about with the word dukkha, that everything…
Laypeople live in the realm of sensuality. They have families, money, and possessions, and are deeply involved in all sorts of activities. Yet sometimes they will gain insight and see dharma before monks and nuns do. Why is this? It’s…