Monthly Archives: November 2016

Religion must affirm, in the clearest terms, that morality and ethical values are not mere decorative frills of personal opinion. They are not a subjective superstructure, but intrinsic laws of the cosmos built into the heart of reality. —Bhikkhu Bodhi

If we want to be loved, we are looking for a support system. If we want to love, we are looking for spiritual growth. —Ayya Khema

Liberation is not a place, another realm, or a destination. It is an uprooting of the emotional afflictions in my mind, so that they never arise in the future and are purified within the expanse of suchness.   “Once the … Continue reading →

Our society has progressively exiled the four defining moments of our life experience: birth, disease, aging, and death. We are born, are ill, and die mostly in hospitals, and the old live in institutional ‘homes’ or artificial aging communities, separated … Continue reading →

When you are sick and in pain, when your possessions are stolen, when you are scolded, defamed, or abused, when you experience misfortune or are hungry, don’t let your head hang low, don’t let your complexion pale or your tears … Continue reading →

Some well-intentioned persons believe that rage and outrage are necessary for beneficial activism. However, all variations of anger, while making us feel “sharp”, actually dull the mind and make us ineffective. Anger narrows our focus, and makes us blind to … Continue reading →

To manifest any given emotional state, we develop a pattern: we focus our attention on a specific feeling (pleasant or unpleasant) and magnify it we generate a supporting discursive thought process and identify with it we assume a compatible breath … Continue reading →

Today we can still be kind. We can be compassionate. We can rejoice in the virtue of others. We can be generous. We can be peaceful. We can wish that all be free from suffering and the causes of suffering. … Continue reading →

At this very moment, for all peoples and nations of the Earth, may not even the names of disease, famine, war, and suffering be heard. May pure conduct, merit, wealth and prosperity increase; and may supreme good fortune and well-being … Continue reading →

I teach Dharma, and I say what I say for one sole purpose: that you abandon that which leads to sorrow. If you practice according to this Dharma, unskillful acts dissipate and skillful ones take their place, and you attain … Continue reading →