Many years ago, before the turn of the century, after a long day of working in the garden that I was creating on my small plot of land in downtown Lebanon, New Hampshire, I lay down — flat on my back, directly on the ground. I was exhausted, not just from that day’s work, but…

It’s a warm, moist Memorial Day morning — clear and windless. Earlier, just as the day’s heat was beginning to settle, I did Qigong outside behind the barn for the first time in many years. Then, I sat down right there, next to the asparagus bed, to meditate — using the sixteen steps of awareness…

“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…