By Shelley Anderson How do you help people facing grave injustices to develop compassion in action? This was the challenge facing me and the Buddhist nonviolence trainer Ouyporn Khuankaew, when we were asked to lead advanced nonviolence training for Cambodian activists. The advanced training was to follow up on a…
Search results for “is nothing something”
1459 Results
The Other Shore
Thích Nhất Hạnh teaches us about interbeing, impermanence, no discrimination, and the end of civilization: "Mother Earth does not discriminate. If you throw perfume or flowers on her, she’s not proud. If you throw urine or excrement on her, she’s not offended. For her, everything is perfect. She knows that without this, the other cannot be. Without the mud, the lotus cannot be. So we can learn a lot from Mother Earth."
Visit to Vietnam
By Linda Spangler I had wanted to go to Vietnam for a long time. I grew up with the Vietnam War on TV and watched the fighting and the nightly list of American dead. Escaping the draft was a frequent topic of conversation in my high school. I could not understand how anyone could…
Settling in at St. Michael’s
By Kim Warren Over 300 people gathered at St. Michael's College in Burlington, Vermont last May for Thay's 21-day retreat on the Sutra on the Full Awareness of Breathing. Thay, monks, nuns, and lay Dharma teachers led us as we learned about and practiced the exercises in the sutra. Being together at an urban college…
In the Shape of Your Palm
By Duncan Liddle The Fifth Remembrance: My actions are my only true belongings. I cannot escape the consequences of my actions. My actions are the ground on which I stand. In my bathroom, there is a rubber plant. It's a very beautiful plant, and it means a lot to me because I grew it…
Dharma Talk: Liberating Our Hearts – Practicing with the Paramita of Inclusiveness
Before our airplane takes off, we are told the way to use the oxygen mask. And we are always told that we have to put on the oxygen mask for ourselves first, and only then can we place the oxygen mask on our child, the young person sitting next to…
Overcoming Burnout
Discussion from Environmentalists' Retreat Randy Hayes (Director, Rainforest Action Network):I was working in the Southwest some years ago, fighting uranium mining on the reservations, and some of us were complaining about burnout In the midst of our complaining, one Sioux Indian looked over at us and said, "'Burnout' is just not in my language. This…
Summer Camp of the Pure Land
By David Lawrence Getting to Plum Village was not easy. I had a strong desire to go, but the prospect of leaving my many activities created doubts that I would actually be able to make the trip. Yet the anticipation of being with the greater Sangha and deepening my practice…
Healing from Abuse
Footsteps of Freedom, Love and Peace by Brian Kimmel On the day of his sentencing, my former stepfather said to me in front of the judge, my family and his, “I never did anything to hurt you, and I’m sorry you felt I did. I loved you like a son.”…
Hovering with Your Children
One of my favorite activities is hanging out and watching my children, just watching, not necessarily doing anything for or with them. Often, I sit at the antique wooden table in our kitchen and look out our picture window at their activity. This window frames the life work of my children engaging in play. By sitting and…