Mahamudra and Dzogchen: Thought-Free Wakefulness

The ability to dissolve thoughts is essential to attaining liberation, says renowned Dzogchen teacher Chökyi Nyima Rinpoche. Devotion and Pure Perception are two principles that lie at the root of Vajrayana practice that lead beyond confusion to thought-free wakefulness. Meditation training, in the sense of sustaining the nature of mind, is a way of being…

Basic Goodness or Original Sin?

Buddhist psychology is based on the notion that human beings are fundamentally good. Their most basic qualities are positive ones: openness, intelligence and warmth.

Kobun Chino’s Trailer

Reginald Ray writes a remembrance of Zen master and famed calligrapher Kobun Chino Roshi, who died tragically with his young daughter in July, 2002.

Philip Whalen Shambhala Sun - Nov '02 Zen Life Death & Dying

Philip Whalen on Zen, life, and death

A talk on poetry and Zen from Philip Whalen

Relaxing with Suffering

"I'm certain that compassion is the only possible response to pain, yet I still sometimes become resentful when I or someone else is suffering."

Ask The Teachers: “After twenty years, I’m wondering: ‘What’s the point?'”

I've been a Buddhist for more than twenty years and I've done a lot of meditation practice. More and more I find myself asking "What's the point?"

How Do We Develop Faith?

The Buddha once told this story about faith: A herd of cows arrives at the bank of a wide stream. The mature ones see the stream and simply wade across it.

Lion's Roar

The Issue of Faith in a Non-theistic Religion

What does faith mean to a Buddhist? Zen teacher Norman Fischer talks with Sharon Salzberg about the conclusions she draws in her new book.

Traleg Rinpoche

Taming the Mind, Transforming Ourselves

Traleg Rinpoche describes the techniques of Buddhist meditation, explaining how working with our passions requires attention to one's body and thoughts.

The Red Coat and the Teaching of Impermanence

“In that moment, I discovered a love for her that had nothing to do with my own preconceptions.”