The Road to Freedom: What You Should Know
From Rebel Buddha, Chapter 2, “What You Should Know” (pp. 32-33) Since we are talking about the Buddhist spiritual path as a road to freedom, then we need to ask: freedom from what? And what does...
View ArticleSweeping the Shrine Room Floor
In his earliest teachings, the Buddha taught that the “wheel of action” begins with sweeping the shrine room floor, with mindfulness and awareness, of course. We sweep the floor mindfully and we...
View ArticleThe Good Shepherd and the Outlaw
from Rebel Buddha, Chapter 13, “The Good Shepherd and the Outlaw” (pp. 185-6) When we are getting ready to wake up, our journey becomes very, very basic. No matter who we are in the eyes of the world,...
View ArticleGetting Out of the Way
I view everything I do as a creative act; the creativity manifests as poetry, movement, or as color and form. There is creativity also in the way I relate to my daughter, or speak to students, or grow...
View ArticleFamily Life as a Spiritual Path
From my perspective, family life and relationship are among the most obvious and paradoxical of paths on which to practice the dharma. Nowhere are we more triggered nor more loving. In one moment,...
View ArticleMindful Listening: The Music of Thoughts
As a musician, it is second nature to listen intently to other people’s voices and instruments. I listen for the warmth of tone in a wooden instrument or the crisp timbre of a flute, and the feeling in...
View Article
