During the winter season a few years ago, 108 inches of snow fell in Boston, breaking the record for the most seasonal snowfall in recorded history. And this snow, it did not melt. We watched it drift into six-foot banks in our backyard, burying our dwarf Japanese maple entirely. Day after day dawned frigid, stinging our cheeks as soon as…
Over the last 40 years, Jack Kornfield has been a significant force in bringing Buddhist practices to the United States. In 1967, he graduated from Dartmouth College, joined the Peace Corps, and was assigned to service in Thailand. Kornfield then trained as a Buddhist monk in the monasteries of Thailand, India, and Burma, studying under many influential teachers. After returning…
It is easy to feel overwhelmed by global problems. Climate change. Children fleeing violence in Central America. Wars across the Middle East. Streams of refugees. Racism. Prison reform. Black Lives Matter. Homelessness. Economic injustice. Political gridlock. These are part of the fabric of the human race at this time. But the solutions to these problems are also within you. I…
Tina Chang is the Poet Laureate of Brooklyn and the author of two collections of poetry, Half-Lit Houses and Of Gods and Strangers. In one poem, she’s declared “I am placing myself in danger all the time” as she crafts her work fearlessly across forms and across histories. Her poems continually reveal the significance of the complex intersections of class,…
The three treasures are the path to the awakened mind, and they are that awakening itself. They point to the ultimate nature that is realized through practice, as well as to how that nature manifests in our practice and actualization, how we embody our understanding of the real nature of things. The Buddha, dharma, and sangha are the real activity…
I’ll never forget my astonishment when I heard the Tibetan teacher Nyshul Khen Rinpoche say, “Everything hangs on intention.” I thought, “Of course! Nothing happens without intention. It’s so crucial!” Wise intention is one of the steps of the Buddha’s eightfold path, and it might be the most important one. Wise intention is what keeps our lives heading in the…
I first began meditating at the age of 17, at a time when mindfulness was not mainstream and meditation was not touted as the burgeoning business opportunity or “wellness” trend that it is today. I remember being relieved and energized by my first experiences of intentional mindful attention. I say “intentional” because, of course, every human being has the potential…
We can spend our days trying to meet ever mounting “to do” lists, unmeetable schedules, wearying routines, the ceaseless demands and responsibilities of adult life. After all, those bills don’t go away on their own. And so it’s easy to forget that along with us on this dizzying ride there’s a child, often bewildered, overwhelmed, still healing from old wounds.…