The first Dharma talk of the Buddha after his enlightenment was about the Four Noble Truths. They express the cream of his teachings and method of practice. The Buddha continued teaching the Four Noble Truths right up until his “great passing away” (mahaparinirvana). It is important for us to study…
Search results for “is nothing something”
1458 Results
In celebration of Black history and Black futures
Kaira Jewel Lingo I was lucky enough to be able to mark the official end of Black History Month with a touching and all around inspiring interview with Dharma teacher and spiritual mentor Kaira Jewel Lingo, a nun for fifteen years in the international Plum Village community of Thich Nhat…
The Importance of the Dharma Discussion Guidelines
At our weekly Sangha gatherings, we present the Dharma Sharing (Dharma Discussion) Guidelines before each session. Doing so reminds us of our aspiration to listen deeply and to speak mindfully. The Guidelines also provide tools that enable us to build a safe and harmonious environment. Here we can learn to…
Musings on the Retreat at Deer Park From a Complete Novice
By Jim Dudley I have been a Police Officer for over twenty-seven years with the San Francisco Police Department. It is a fulfilling, challenging, rewarding, but sometimes difficult job. I have seen more than my share of violence and human tragedies. I worked two decades of patrol work with time…
Writing out the War
By Therese Fitzgerald The UC Berkeley campus hosted an event for war veterans entirely different from the days of dualistic rallies. Thirty men and women, mostly Vietnam veterans, gathered in a spacious, woodsy room of the Faculty Club on a Saturday in June to spend a day with Maxine Hong Kingston nourishing their writing process.…
I Embrace the Sky
Sometimes, I don't know how I managed to survive those few months in the north of France. At times, I thought death might be better. Every morning around five, I woke up to intense pain in my side. I had to go to the bathroom, where I experienced more pain with the passing of digested…
Conscious Sexuality as a Spiritual Path
Jane Ellen Combelic and Colin Ralph; photo courtesy of J.E. Combelic I’m standing in the old phone box at Lower Hamlet, the one that used to be by the bookstore under the tall oak trees. I am talking to my mother in Colorado, who has mild dementia. “Mom, I’ve met…
The Being Peace Practice Centre
Teri West shares the interwoven nature of the long journey towards helping to found a practice centre in the UK and her path to becoming a Dharma teacher.
Caring for Those Who Are Dying
By Hope Lindsay Patty, a Sangha friend, is a nurse for Mercy Medical Center Hospice in Roseburg, Oregon. Many people know that hospice is a cluster of care services for individuals in the last six months of life. When someone is diagnosed with a terminal condition, a team of health…
A Hut for Thay in Our Heart
Thai Plum Village, 24th November 2014 The Garden of the Buddha and Thay’s hut, Thai Plum Village. Photo by Carolyn Marsden Today, Monday, is usually Lazy Day, but we decided not to have a lazy day in order to support Thay and keep sending good, healing energy Thay’s way, because…






