My path towards greater alignment

( This blog article was originally published on the Golden Age Models blog, and has been re-edited here for the Sky Dancer World blog) Like with all significant transitions, I remember leaving lay life to pursue the life of a monastic as an initiation rite of sorts. My awakening heart was calling me out intoContinue reading “My path towards greater alignment”

སྒྲོལ་མའི་བསྟོད་པ། In Praise of Tara

Tara, also known as Drolma in Tibetan, is a Bodhisattva or Buddha of compassion in action, a protector who comes to our aid to relieve physical, emotional, and spiritual suffering. She is not like most of us human beings who, yes, can admit to her virtue of being a helper, but at the same time,Continue reading “སྒྲོལ་མའི་བསྟོད་པ། In Praise of Tara”

The Laughing Buddha

When I was little, I had this little colorful Buddha statue. It wasn’t a statue of the serene sitting Buddha, but rather a Buddha statue of what’s generally considered “the laughing Buddha,” usually represented as a fat laughing man standing up with his arms stretching towards the sky. I used to delightfully glance at himContinue reading “The Laughing Buddha”

In a changing world everything is possible

Enlightenment is sprung out of our willingness to consider what is broken, painful, and tragic as precious. Our broken, painful, and tragic stories are the heart of the matter —’no mud, no lotus’ as Ven.Thich Nhat Hanh has said, and ‘there is a crack in everything – that is how the light gets in,’ asContinue reading “In a changing world everything is possible”

Is that so?

A young girl in the village was pregnant. Her angry parents demanded to know who the father was. At first, there was a resistance to confess. Eventually, the anxious and embarrassed girl finally pointed to Hakuin, the Zen master whom everyone previously revered for living such a pure life. When the outraged parents confronted HakuinContinue reading “Is that so?”

Sati – Remembering Now

So, what is wrong with translating Sati as Mindfulness? Well, part of the early translations suggests that it has to do with remembering.  So, what exactly are we supposed to remember? ‘Sati‘ – is the seventh acre of the Buddhist wheel called ‘the eightfold path.’ And in its completeness, the eightfold path includes Right view, right motivation,Continue reading “Sati – Remembering Now”

No Time to Lose

As ten thousand years of climate stability are ending, the call to develop inner stability has never been more apparent. Time is now, so let’s not waste it but move into action!By being many who can embody a trustworthy path of stability and compassion, we can help many others in our global community. We haveContinue reading “No Time to Lose”

The most dangerous thing in the world

The 17th Karmapa has said that : A lack of love can cause people to have no help when they need help, no friends when they need a friend. So, in a sense, the most dangerous thing in the world is apathy. We think of weapons, violence, warfare, disease as terrible dangers, and indeed theyContinue reading “The most dangerous thing in the world”

Full Moon Holy-Day: Forgive, Let Go & Start again!

Some people may be under the impression that Buddhists are far too serious to celebrate something like the full moon, but it couldn’t be further from the truth! As I’m writing this, a potent Buddhist observation date is coming up—namely, the full moon of March 28th.  Like all full moon days, as well as newContinue reading “Full Moon Holy-Day: Forgive, Let Go & Start again!”

Renounce The World Now And Find Lasting Freedom

With a developed sense of renunciation, we realize that our usual reliance on pleasure prevents us from having complete happiness. Our usual compulsive habits need to be worn out, and we don’t have much time to act on them anymore. The more we realize that satisfying our pleasures will never add up, the more weContinue reading “Renounce The World Now And Find Lasting Freedom”