Myth of Free Dharma: The Lies People Tell Themselves – 30 December 2015

This Dharma teaching is prompted by an email I received recently though it is a comment I’ve heard numerous time directed either to myself or other Buddhist teachers. I hesitate to bring up the particular situation except for the depth of the harm of the myth and the lie that is told to make a person feel good about themselves while trying to make me feel guilty. I will not participate in this game. As…

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Spirituality and Compassion in Healthcare

Here is the text of my prepared presentation given in Grenoble on Spirituality and Compassion in Healthcare “Good evening, thank you all for your curiosity about my thoughts on caring for those among us, our families, and friends, who suffer from illness. I would like to express my gratitude to Hocine and others for making the arrangements which make my presence here possible. At this time, I would like to introduce to you the two…

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Incarcerated Lotus – #9 – Anger

Anger is one of the Ten Worlds and, therefore, a very real part of our whole self. The question for us as Buddhists is not to eliminate anger; that is impossible. I believe we serve ourselves well, and thereby improve our lives if we examine when we are the master of anger and when anger is our master. When anger so consumes you that you act without thinking or, act in ways you would not…

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Incarcerated Lotus – #8 – Vulnerability & Safety

In this installment I present two sections from the chapter tentatively titled Vulnerability. Vulnerability Vulnerability is a subject that I feel is important for you and me to consider. Much of what I feel important in Buddhist practice is about realizing we are all vulnerable, we all have hurts and pains, we all have our own areas of brokenness. Learning to be vulnerable can be healing and empowering. It may sound counterintuitive to say being…

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