“I don’t want to die without knowing all this.” — Joanna Macy “If I have faith in anything, I have faith in life.” — Stephen Batchelor Birth, vulnerability, ageing, death, awaking, and full liberation: in all Buddhist traditions, there is one special day, near the first full moon in May, intentionally chosen to celebrate all…

Buddhadharma: “Inviting each breath as a chance to stay connected, and if not, begin again.” – Sharon Salzberg, from a guided meditation Nineteen years ago, on a gray, slightly overcast Saturday morning in early April 2003, two of us from the Valley Insight Sangha pulled into the parking lot of the Northern New Hampshire Correctional…

(An earlier version of this essay first appeared in the Valley Insight newsletter in April 2018.)   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: through speech, deed, and thought. In reflecting on…

I will continue to be. But you have to be very careful to see me. I will be a flower or a leaf. I will be in those forms and send you a greeting. If you are aware enough, you will recognize me, and you will be smiling at me. I will be very happy…

There is a metaphor used often in the Buddhist teachings: it’s about how words spoken and written about experiences are like a finger pointing at the moon. We need the directional aid of the finger to discern the moon—to see what and where it is. The sharper and clearer the instrument doing the pointing, the…

Essay by Geraldine DeLuca I really hope no white person ever has cause to write about me because they never understand Black love is Black wealth and they’ll probably talk about my hard childhood and never understand that all the while I was quite happy ~~ Nikki Giovanni, from “Nikki-Rosa” Nikki Giovanni reminds me that…