The key to development along the Buddhist path is repetitive routine guided by inspirational vision. –– Bikkhu Bodhi On Monday November 2, 2020, just a day before the presidential election, a group of us from the Valley Insight community began gathering in our virtual Dharma Hall at 7:30 a.m. each weekday morning for a half…

2020: Its 10,000 Sorrows and 10,000 Joys  “No, Ananda, said the Buddha, Spiritual Friendship is not half the holy life. … When [one] has admirable people as friends, companions, & comrades one has the support needed for bearing that which is unbearable in this life, with wisdom and kindness.”  Upaddha Sutta (SN 45.2) “That which…

 Whatever Living Beings There May Be, Omitting None Since its inception in the mid-1990s, Valley Insight has had a commitment to what is known in as “Engaged Buddhism.” Among our early founders were political and social activists who had discovered peace of mind and a greater understanding of the world in the wisdom of the…

By Lee Steppacher [Doreen’s Note: We are living through difficult, uncertain, often incomprehensible times. There is no doubt about that. There is also no doubt that we as a species, along with so many other living species and the earth itself, are in peril. Yet the persistent earth is still holding us all––with what would…

Our Path to Courageous Energy and Wise Action I have been writing and thinking about the following essay on and off for some time now, and I have gradually realized that the question I have been addressing––the one I have been hearing from all of you and from the world at large––is, in fact, the…

Meditation retreat experience can play a very important role in the transformation of our hearts, minds, and bodies, which is at the core of the Dharma. The deep settling that happens when we practice with diligence over a sustained period of time supports the release of stress from our nervous systems, calms our anxieties, and…