Small girl crying while border guards search her mother.

Now is the Time to Find Our Compassion

Lion's Roar deputy editor speaks with Zen teacher Tenku Ruff about a collective statement that she helped author — signed by 200 Buddhist teachers — calling for an end to the US government's practice of separating migrant children from their parents.

The Burning Heart of a Bodhisattva

On the 55th anniversary of Thich Quang Duc's self-immolation, Edward Tick shares what he has learned from his pilgrimages to the site of the famous protest.

Meditating Buddha.

Shamatha–Vipashyana: Our Original Nature

Gaylon Ferguson explains that through both shamatha and vipashyana meditation we bring our mind back to its original state.

Why I Didn’t Attempt Suicide

Zen teacher Brad Warner on the time he considered suicide—and the different kind of death he chose.

Flag at American concentration camp

Advice for Modern America, from When Buddhism Was Seen as a National Threat

For much of the 19th and 20th centuries, Buddhism was considered a threat to America. Hondo Lobley interviews scholar Duncan Williams about what we might want to remember from that time.

What Are the Four Foundations of Mindfulness?

The four foundations of mindfulness is the Buddha’s fundamental teaching on meditation common to all Buddhist traditions.

Meditators getting arrested.

5 ways Buddhist communities can take part in social change

Like fish in water, it's easy for us to ignore the systems of injustice that surround us. Colin Beavan offers five tips to recognize injustice and swing into action.

Painting of Sujata offering rice to the Buddha.

Buddhism Began with a Good Meal

Buddhism isn't about depriving yourself of worldly pleasures. Andrea Miller explains how a healthy meal helped Siddhartha understand the importance of nourishment — and offers a healthful recipe for cashew pulao.

A woman holding a man's hand in a hospital bed.

How to Be a Friend Until the End

According to Frank Ostaseski, offering care to someone who’s dying is like meditation: there’s no one right way, but practice helps, and so do basic guidelines.

A Buddhist Chaplain Disrupts Suffering in Rikers Island

Jennifer Keishin Armstrong profiles Justin von Bujdoss, the first-ever Buddhist chaplain in Rikers Island — America’s most notorious jail.