Category: Dharma in Daily Life
What Is the Threefold Training?
Buddhist training falls into three categories: sila (discipline or ethical living, samadhi (concentration), and prajna (insight or wisdom).
What Are the Five Powers?
The five powers are a set of qualities that work in a sequence to support awakening.
Swimming Upstream
Chinese legend has it that if a carp swims up a waterfall, it transforms into a dragon. Be like that carp, says Koshin Paley Ellison. Throw your whole self into waking up.
Commentary: Let’s Envision a Buddhist Political Philosophy
Randee says it's time to define Buddhist political philosophy. He proposes four core components for a political philosophy informed by the dharma.
The Invisible Majority
The vast majority of American Buddhists are of Asian heritage, yet they are too often ignored, mispresented, and even looked down upon. Chenxing Han offers four ways we can start to heal the great divide in American Buddhism.
The Natural World as a Powerful Teacher
Elizabeth Monson invites us to consider how the natural world can do far more than provide us with a peaceful environment for meditation.
What Are the Five Skandhas?
According to Buddhism, people are made of five aggregates, or “heaps.” These are known in Sanskrit as the skandhas.
Bodhichitta: The Excellence of Awakened Heart
The mind of enlightenment, bodhichitta, is always available, in pain as well as in joy. Pema Chödrön lays out how to cultivate this soft spot of bravery.
A Cat by Any Other Name
When Sarah Chauncey drops the label “cat,” she sees her pet clearly for the very first time.
What is “Secular Buddhism”?
Secular Buddhists reexamine Buddhism through a rationalist and humanistic lens.