Author Archives: EricKVanHorn

Sex and the Buddhist Cosmology

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

Posted in Buddhist ethics, Teachings of the Buddha, Women in Buddhism | Leave a comment

Perception

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

Posted in Buddhist practice, Teachings of the Buddha | Leave a comment

Perspective Redux

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

Posted in Buddha's Enlightenment, Buddhist meditation, Buddhist practice, Teachings of the Buddha | Comments Off on Perspective Redux

Perspective

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

Posted in Buddhist ethics, Buddhist practice, Teachings of the Buddha | Comments Off on Perspective

Peace

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

Posted in Buddhist practice, Teachings of the Buddha | Comments Off on Peace

Happy New Year

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

Posted in Buddhist ethics, Buddhist practice | Comments Off on Happy New Year

Wesak 2022

Today is Wesak day, which is the most important day in the Buddhist calendar. It is the first full moon day in May. According to the Buddhist tradition, the Buddha was born on this day, he attained enlightenment on this … Continue reading

Posted in Buddha's Enlightenment, Buddhist history, Buddhist practice, Teachings of the Buddha | Comments Off on Wesak 2022

Turning 70

I turn 70 next month and this seems like a particularly auspicious birthday. Of course, for me that is not saying much. Birthdays have not had much meaning for me in the past. I remember one year I was at … Continue reading

Posted in Buddhist practice, Teachings of the Buddha | 2 Comments

Thich Nhat Hahn

Thich Nhat Hahn—“Thây” to his students—died a few days ago on January 22. He was one of the great Buddhist monks and figures of the 20th century. And I was very blessed to have had him as one of my … Continue reading

Posted in Buddhist practice, Teachings of the Buddha | Comments Off on Thich Nhat Hahn

Fear and Anxiety

I listen to many Dharma talks. I am sure that over the years I have listened to thousands of them. And, of course, you hear the same topics covered repeatedly, and you also hear the same questions asked repeatedly. One … Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | Comments Off on Fear and Anxiety