Mara is “the personification of the forces antagonistic to enlightenment.” Mara wants to be feared. We tend to run from the things that we fear, but what happens when we stop running and we look at Mara and say...

Dependent Origination is a Buddhist notion that is common among all schools of Buddhism. It’s the doctrine that states that all phenomena arise in dependence upon other phenomena. In other words, “this is because that is and this is...

Within any given discipline, we all have a circle of skills. In order to grow the circle of skills, we need to do things that are just outside the circle and once we master a new skill, that circle...

In this episode, I will talk about “The First Meditation” a story about an experience that Siddhartha (the Buddha) had when he was 9 years old. I believe this experience shaped his understanding of the importance of experiential vs...

It can be easy to get caught up “in the thick of thin things” when our perspective is too narrow or zoomed in. When we take the long view, we learn to zoom out and see things from a...

Zen Master Seung Sahn said “I do not teach Buddhism. I only teach don’t know.” The beauty of not knowing arises when we understand that reality is unknowable as a complete picture. First, because it’s always changing, and second,...

Liberation is not a destination we strive to reach, it’s a state of mind that is available to us right here and right now. When we fully understand the reality of emptiness, signlessness, and aimlessness, we become liberated from...

Observation in Buddhist practice is an active thing, it’s not passive and it’s not a form of resignation. The skilled observer, observes precisely in order to be able to act more skillfully.

In this podcast episode, I share my thoughts about “Buddha nature” and what it means to me. I also share the story of the little rock in my backyard that had a Buddha painted on the rock. When the...

Every moment that arises is simultaneously the first time and last time that moment exists. I used to value moments based on their pleasantness or unpleasantness but now I see the beauty of the uniqueness of each moment. In...