Read the new & improved version of this post: The Eightfold Path: Right Understanding
Spiritual Glossary: Buddha Nature
Buddha nature is your true nature. This may be hard to believe at times, but even a tiny glimpse of reality during awakening will reveal the truth of it. Enlightenment reveals the true nature of all beings as Buddha nature. It’s also called Buddha-dhātu, which means ‘Buddha Element’ or ‘Buddha Principle.’ This is the seed… Continue reading Spiritual Glossary: Buddha Nature
Lucid Living: Book Review
The cover announces that Lucid Living is a book you can read in an hour that will turn your world inside out. It’s a bold claim and I can’t say it worked for me. But then, I’d already been turned inside out before reading it so Freke was preaching to the choir. Lucid Living is… Continue reading Lucid Living: Book Review
Radical Passion: Book Review
This is a book to feast on, and then act upon. It pulls together a collection of Andrew Harvey’s previously published works and new interviews, and channels them into an argument for Sacred Activism. Building from his last book The Hope, Sacred Activism combines the mystic’s vision of unity and compassion with the activist’s passion for… Continue reading Radical Passion: Book Review
The Heart of the Buddha’s Teaching: Book Review
“To make hell into paradise, we need only change the mind on which it is based…” Classic and essential, The Heart of the Buddha’s Teaching provides everything you need to study the dharma. The subtitle reads: “Transforming suffering into peace, joy and liberation.” In the book, Thich Nhat Hanh explains the basic teachings in a clear and… Continue reading The Heart of the Buddha’s Teaching: Book Review
The Path to Freedom: Introduction
Read the new & improved version of this post: The foundational teachings of Buddhism and the Eightfold Path
Zen Flesh, Zen Bones: Book Review
Zen Flesh, Zen Bones is a collection of stories, parables and utterances designed to inspire and teach the dharma. The stories were collected together by Paul Reps who says of the book: “Old Zen was so fresh it became treasured and remembered. Here are fragments of its skin, flesh, bones, but not its marrow –… Continue reading Zen Flesh, Zen Bones: Book Review
Characteristics of a Writer
Sometimes it seems everybody wants to be a writer. Mention to your friends that you’re writing a book and you’ll be greeted by a chorus of: oh, I wish I could do that, if only I had the time, I’ve got loads of great ideas. Either that or they want to know if you’re writing… Continue reading Characteristics of a Writer
Spiritual Glossary: Three Marks of Existence
The Marks of Existence are the characteristics shared by all beings and are the basic facts of life: anicca (impermanence) anatta (non-self) dukkha (suffering) Impermanence Everything that exists is impermanent. All things are in a constant state of change, even things which seem fairly solid and immovable, like a mountain. Entropy is a fact of… Continue reading Spiritual Glossary: Three Marks of Existence
Stop Making Sense
Dateline 2003: It’s Christmas and I am alone again. Another relationship sacrificed to the god of my ego and my self-serving trek up the mystical garden path. Twelve years searching for liberation from my own stupidity, and I’m nowhere. I’ll never understand this. I’ll never be free. Maybe the whole thing is a lie. Maybe Buddha… Continue reading Stop Making Sense
Spiritual Glossary: Three Jewels
The Three Jewels of Buddhism are also known as the Three Refuges because when you commit to a spiritual practice you can take what’s called the Refuge Vow. This is where you take refuge in the Three Jewels to support and guide you on the path of liberation from suffering. The Three Jewels are: The… Continue reading Spiritual Glossary: Three Jewels
Spiritual Glossary: Buddhist Precepts
In Buddhism, the precepts form a basic code of ethics or minimum standard of morality. There are various numbers of precepts, depending on the teaching, but the most common are the Five Precepts found in the Paramitas. They’re designed to help you achieve liberation from suffering and illusion – if you can stick to them!… Continue reading Spiritual Glossary: Buddhist Precepts
