Author Archives: EricKVanHorn

Meal Blessing

Posted on November 15, 2025 by EricKVanHorn

Thanksgiving is a holiday dedicated to gratitude and giving thanks. As we approach this day, I offer this as a meal blessing. It has been stitched together from various sources, and it expresses the sentiments that should be in such … Continue reading →

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The Dispute in the Middle East

Posted on October 11, 2025 by EricKVanHorn

I am a member of the Albuquerque Insight Meditation Center chat group on Google. And over the months, there has been quite a lot of chatter about the situation in the Middle East. So along those lines, let me share … Continue reading →

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Generosity, Buddha Style

Posted on May 31, 2025 by EricKVanHorn

I have a friend who practices in the Tibetan tradition. She is one of the most naturally generous people I have ever known. In fact, I don’t think she knows how not to be generous. However, her Tibetan Buddhist teachers … Continue reading →

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Fear and the Election

Posted on October 28, 2024 by EricKVanHorn

I have recently read a post on a Buddhist web chat about fear and the presidential election. Here are my thoughts. I understand the angst about the election, of course. We would like to live in a world of love, … Continue reading →

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Sex and the Buddhist Cosmology

Posted on October 7, 2024 by EricKVanHorn

A real hot button issue with me are so called Buddhist teachers who coerce their female students into having sex with them. Some of them are quite famous, like Richard Baker, Chogyam Trungpa, Joshu Sazaki, Dainin Katagiri, and Surya Das. … Continue reading →

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Perception

Posted on September 30, 2024 by EricKVanHorn

One of the things that I love about Dharma practice is how it unfolds. On one hand, you must expend energy. You must be diligent. You must persevere. On the other hand, you must let go. You must be patient, … Continue reading →

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Perspective Redux

Posted on September 16, 2024 by EricKVanHorn

In my last post, I gave an overview of the Buddhist cosmology. If you have not read it, you might want to. It will give you a good context for this post. Here is a summary. In the Buddha’s Dharma, … Continue reading →

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Perspective

Posted on September 12, 2024 by EricKVanHorn

Most of us—even as Buddhists—live with our minds in the weeds. There is nothing wrong with that, but at a certain point it is useful to get out of the weeds, to soar up to 10,000 feet, and to look … Continue reading →

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Peace

Posted on August 29, 2024 by EricKVanHorn

I heard a Dharma talk recently by Ajahn Brahmali—the vice-abbot of Bodhinyana Monastery—in which he discussed how simple and accessible the Buddha’s teachings are. To be sure, that is not always the case. The teaching on dependent origination is particularly … Continue reading →

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Happy New Year

Posted on January 2, 2024 by EricKVanHorn

As we start a new year, I have seen a lot of angst from various sources, emails, online forums, and so on. And I get it. The world is a mess. Of course. I just checked the news, and Rick … Continue reading →

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