A Bouquet of Flowers: Practicing Across Buddhist Traditions by Doreen Schweizer Unlike in the earliest days of the Buddha, we modern-day Dharma practitioners are exposed to many different Buddhist traditions––often somewhat superficially through mass-media coverage––but also at times through careful reading and exploration.  Such study can enrich our understanding and support the development of compassion,…

Mindfulness Training in Openness and Non-Attachment by Ray Chin I was recently asked to give a talk on the first and second mindfulness trainings of Thich Nhat Hanh’s (Thay’s) Fourteen Mindfulness Trainings of the Order of Interbeing at the Barre Center for Buddhist Studies (BCBS). The first training is Openness and the second is Non-Attachment.…

Stand still. The trees ahead and bushes beside you Are not lost. Wherever you are is called Here, And you must treat it as a powerful stranger, Must ask permission to know it and be known. – from “Lost” by David Wagoner Once many years ago, I was hiking by myself in the White Mountains…

Having Come to the Forest, to the Foot of a Tree, I Find Calm By Lee Steppacher Often, as we begin our sitting meditation, we first bring attention to our body. What does the body need in order to be as comfortable as possible? We might stretch our muscles before we settle into practice. Often,…

When I was reflecting on what happened in our Sangha in 2025, in preparation for Valley Insight’s state of the Sangha message, I realized that 2026 was particularly significant symbolically in our sangha’s history. Though I know that Valley Insight’s Sangha and practice was already strong by 2006––we’d been meeting for about a decade by…

By Subha Srinivasan Vesak Day is the celebration of three key events in the life of the Buddha: his birth, his enlightenment, and his death. It is celebrated in the Buddhist tradition during the first full moon in May. Each spring, practitioners around the world gather together to commemorate Vesak and to renew their commitment:…

By Joel Lazar Immersed in the shared stillness which these men experience as refuge, not one of us feels rushed to break the precious silence. We have formed an easy circle around this tiny table, on which sits a small sculpture of the Buddha. Here in our “mindful tea practice,” some of us hold warm…

“Blessings to you and your family.”  “Peace on earth.”  “Good will to all.” These are messages we often hear, and offer easily, at the New Year. As the well-wishing words ring though the air, I most always smile. I experience an embodied feeling of metta, compassion, shared joy, and an open-hearted equanimity––peace.  Many of us,…

“Mindfulness in the early Buddhist teachings is simply presence––presence of mind.” –– Ayya Dhammadinna A dear friend of mine from college––we were both eighteen when we met––and her husband, whom I met a few years later, have been meditating together every day since their adult son died eight years ago of a sudden, short, and…

Listen with the night falling we are saying thank you we are stopping on the bridges to bow from the railings1 As many of you know, I had an accident in late August, which led to a series of challenging events: surgery to pin a broken leg; influenza A contracted in hospital; surgery to replace…