Author Archives: EricKVanHorn

More Books

Books 6 & 7 in the Little Books on Buddhism series are now available on the Books tab. Book 6 is on rebirth. It has four sections. One is on whether the Buddha taught rebirth, the second one is on … Continue reading

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Learned Helplessness

I just got an email from one of my very dearest Dharma sisters. I met her in India and her friendship has been one of the great blessings of my life. I know that I have said this before and … Continue reading

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Ego

I recently heard someone use the word “ego” at a meditation group. I had not heard that in a while and it got me to thinking. It is unfortunate that the word has come into common use in Western Buddhism. … Continue reading

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The More Things Change… and Dogen

I have spent the better part of the last 20 years of my Buddhist life immersed in the Pali Canon. We are so blessed to have good translations of the Pali Canon in English. I always encourage people to at … Continue reading

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The Buddha’s Teachings on Rebirth

I have noted a number of times that I have been working on a book on rebirth. The eBook versions of that are now available on the Books tab. It is “The Little Book of Buddhist Rebirth.” Every one of … Continue reading

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Humility

I am not sure that Buddhism will ever again see the kind of glory that it saw in the heyday of the Silk Road. And unfortunately some of the most spectacular and humbling sites from that era have been destroyed. … Continue reading

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Rebirth and the Thicket of Views

I am writing a book on rebirth and the Buddhist cosmology. Rebirth is quite a hot topic in Western Buddhism. I think that it is safe to say that most Western Buddhists do not accept the doctrine of rebirth. That … Continue reading

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The Journey

I have just finished a week in northwestern New Mexico and southwestern Colorado in which I have visited what are now called “ancestral Puebloan sites.” As I have lived in the southwest, I have increasingly adopted a Native American view … Continue reading

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The Greatest Carrot of All

As I have worked my way through the Little Books series and visited and revisited each topic, I have come to think of practice as having three levels: The worldly level, in which the goal of meditation is to ease … Continue reading

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Dukkha

Sharon Salzberg tells this story about her time in India. She was really struggling with her practice, and when all you are doing is practicing, that is quite a struggle. I remember when I was at my first silent retreat … Continue reading

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