Doreen Schweizer The real basis of connectedness comes through our actions. When you interact with another person, a connection is made. –– Thanissaro Bhikkhu We act in this world in three ways: speech, action, and thought. In keeping with the current VIMS exploration of the word, concept, and experience of care (apamada in the Pali…

Doreen Schweizer “Continue on with your lives diligently, heedfully, with untiring wakefulness; earnestly, with full attention; appreciatively, mindfully, with vigilance, kindness, and care,” said the Buddha to his closest followers before he died. This statement is an elaboration and paraphrase from a teaching in Digha Nikaya, The Long Discourses of the Buddha called “The Buddha’s…

Doreen Schweizer “… Now it is your turn to stop.” These words about stopping have been important to me since I first heard them; they sound in my ears sometimes on their own, almost sung to me like an important message. They come from a teaching story about a man called Angulimala, a known murderer…

Doreen Schweizer Find rest in the middle of things (Frank Ostaseski’s Third Precept). We think rest comes at the end of something. At the end of the day. At the end of a meeting. When work is done. We think we rest when we change our living conditions, but it is possible to rest right…

Dear friends,   I have news that I want to share with you. I have stepped down from my role as the Guiding Teacher for VIMS––and happily, Peg Meyer and Karen Summer are stepping up into it! Basically, this means that I will be passing on my responsibilities in the general oversight and guidance of…

“You create the world in which you live through your actions.  By being generous––not only with material things but also with your time,  your energy, your forgiveness, your willingness to be fair and just with other people––you create a good world in which to live.”                ––Thanissaro Bhikkhu It…