“[In meditation: The Buddha] seats himself cross-legged, his body held erect and establishes mindfulness in front of him. He does not occupy his mind with self-affliction, or the affliction of others, or the affliction of both; he sits with his mind set on his own welfare, on the welfare of others, on the welfare of…

“Just as in the great ocean there is but one taste — the taste of salt — so in the Dhammavinaya [these teachings] there is but one taste — the taste of freedom.”  — Buddha Over this past year, all four of our sitting groups have been studying the Eight Fold Path, a core teaching…

Our collective world is churning, and many of us are finding ways to act on behalf of our highest aspirations and values. It seems like a good time to reflect on the role and qualities of our efforts in these endeavors. Shanti Deva, an eighth century Buddhist scholar and poet, uses the metaphor of wind…

Though I am thin, sick, And lean on a stick I have climbed up Vulture Peak. Robe thrown down Bowl turned over, [I] leaned on a rock, Then the great darkness opened. – Citta’s awakening poem from The Therigatta from The First Buddhist Women by Susan Murcott After many years of steadily presenting their desire and…

“Let Kindness Flourish From Sea to Shining Sea.”  (From a poster created by VIMS sangha member Doris Hampton) Since the November presidential election, there has been a noticeable uprising of public and personal, spoken-aloud commitments to kindness. I read it in letters to the editor. I hear it from friends and acquaintances. I see it…

(If you are accessing this essay from the drop-down menu and see only a few lines, click on the title to read the complete essay.) All experience is preceded by mind, Led by mind, Made by mind. Speak or act with a corrupted [reactive] mind And suffering follows As the wagon wheel follows the hoof…