Author Archives: EricKVanHorn

More Little Books

Books 4 & 5 of The Little Books on Buddhism are now available on the Books tab. Book 4 is The Little Book on Buddhist Wisdom. It is very similar to the same chapters in The Travel Guide to the … Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | Comments Off on More Little Books

New Biography of the Buddha

For those of you who are wondering why there is such a long time between my posts it is because I am working on the seven-part series of “Little Books on Buddhism.” I am in the process of releasing book … Continue reading

Posted in Buddhist history, Buddhist meditation, Buddhist practice, India, Teachings of the Buddha | Tagged | Comments Off on New Biography of the Buddha

The View from Space

When my grandson was born I did some research into my family’s history. Unfortunately I lost track of that research, but as I recall I actually traced the ship that brought my family to Philadelphia from Germany in 1754. They … Continue reading

Posted in Buddhist ethics, Buddhist practice | Tagged | Comments Off on The View from Space

Buddhism 101

I recently went out to the University of New Mexico web site to see what they have in the way of resources for teaching Buddhism. The good news is that there are a number of professors who teach various aspects of … Continue reading

Posted in Buddhist practice, Teachings of the Buddha | Comments Off on Buddhism 101

The Wolf You Feed

An old Cherokee is teaching his grandson about life. “A fight is going on inside me,” he said to the boy. “It is a terrible fight and it is between two wolves. One is evil – he is anger, envy, … Continue reading

Posted in Buddhist practice | Comments Off on The Wolf You Feed

Joy

I recently heard a Dharma talk on the topic of joy, and it got me thinking about the different contexts in which joy occurs in the Pali Canon. Those of you familiar with the practice of jhāna – meditative absorption … Continue reading

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

Generosity

A friend of mine recently sent me an article by Ken Wilber called “Right Bucks”. It is his defense of asking people to pay for Dharma teachings. He says this: “…dollars and Dharma are not only not incompatible, monetary exchange … Continue reading

Posted in Buddhist ethics, Teachings of the Buddha | Tagged , , | Comments Off on Generosity

Something Is True

I have been reading up a little on “secular Buddhism” lately because at the Albuquerque Vipassana Sangha someone is running a study group on it. Those of you who read this blog know that I am unabashedly a “religious Buddhist,” … Continue reading

Posted in Buddha's Enlightenment, Buddhist ethics, Buddhist practice, Teachings of the Buddha | Tagged | Comments Off on Something Is True

What I Want for Christmas

I saw an ad this evening that started: “So… What do you want for Christmas?” OK. I’m game. Here is what I would like. I want the United States to be as warm and open-hearted as the Canadians are in … Continue reading

Posted in Buddhist ethics | Comments Off on What I Want for Christmas

Metta, Syrian Refugees and Dazzle

I am reading the Itivuttaka (“This Was Said (by the Buddha)“), which is a small volume of discourses from the Pali Canon. The literary quality of this volume is particularly striking. Each discourse begins with a short prose passage, which is … Continue reading

Posted in Teachings of the Buddha | Comments Off on Metta, Syrian Refugees and Dazzle