Category Archives: Buddhist practice

The Way in to the Fortress

I have been working my way through all of the books that I have written, reviewing what I wrote, double checking everything with what the Buddha taught, making minor stylistic changes to make everything uniform, and making occasional content changes … Continue reading

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Scholarship and Practice

I have written about this before, but it has come up again, and I think some of the points bear repeating. It has to do with scholarship vs practice in the Buddhist world. I recently started to read an interview … Continue reading

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Love Trumps Hate

It never ceases to amaze me what a difficult and challenging path the Buddha’s way is. Our habits are so ingrained to look outward. But following the Buddha’s path is like being in a room full of mirrors. Even the … Continue reading

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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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