In 2020, we at Lion’s Roar were blessed when the award-winning Tibetan singer-songwriter Yungchen Lhamo specially recorded a premiere video of her song “Awakening” (from her album of the same name) as part of our first “Dalai Lama Global Vision Summit,” produced in partnership with Tibet House US.  Since then, I have only become more and more a fan, by this point playing Yungchen Lhamo’s most recent album, One Drop of Kindness (2023), more times than I could guess. Hers is some beautiful music: uplifted and unpretentious, inspired and inspiring. And the kindness—in her voice, her melodies ..read more

In high school, my friends often asked me about the Buddhist take on social justice issues. “What do Buddhists think about abortion?” “How about gay rights?” “Do Buddhists eat meat?” “Are you allowed to own a gun?” Sometimes I had an answer, but for other issues, I wasn’t sure. I knew I had my stance, but I didn’t know what I was “supposed” to believe. Some of my religious friends seemed so set on their opinions, and part of me envied their strong conviction even if I didn’t agree with it. As someone who wanted things spelled out in black-and-white terms, the ambiguity of Shin Buddhism felt fr ..read more

What better place to practice mindfulness than in the garden? In the garden, we can let go of what others think of us, let go of trying to please other people, let go of judging our every action. Our flowers do not judge us. We can settle into our authentic selves. We’re home—our hearts are home. Practicing mindfulness, we don’t need to improve our garden in any way. We are ordinary gardeners with ordinary gardens, and we’re doing the very best we can, given our resources of time, money, and other commitments. Let’s embrace the ordinary beauty in our backyard. Let’s tune into that happiness. M ..read more

El título de Uji, traducido como “Ser–Tiempo”, contiene en su esencia la totalidad del texto. Desentrañar el significado de esta palabra abre un vasto panorama de prácticas interconectadas. Los dos caracteres u-ji suelen traducirse como arutoki o “por el momento”. Dogen los separa (u, que significa “ser”, y ji, que significa “tiempo”) y los recompone en la palabra uji, a menudo traducida al español como “ser–tiempo” o “existencia–tiempo”. Como bien escribe Hee-Jin Kim: Dogen . . . transforma una frase tan cotidiana como arutoki (“en cierto momento”, “a veces”, “hay un momento”, “una vez”) en ..read more

Via Sarvodaya.org comes the news that activist Dr. A.T. (Ahangamage Tudor) Ariyaratne, founder of the socially engaged Sarvodaya Shramadana Movement — “Sri Lanka’s most broadly embedded community-based development organization,” dedicated to “the awakening of all” — and a major inspiration for engaged Buddhists worldwide, has died. He was 92. Born November 5, 1931, in the Galle District of Ceylon, Ariuyaratne was, as the Sarvodaya website puts it: A former high school teacher at Nalanda College, he conducted the first Shramadana work camp in 1958, which eventually led to the establishment of ..read more

Bhutan is pioneering the creation of the world’s first “Mindfulness City,” a sustainable economic hub located in the town of Gelephu along the country’s southern border with India. King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck of Bhutan announced plans for the city in December, which when built will cover about 250,000 acres. The plans for the city aim to incorporate the natural ecology of the land and serve as a center for sustainable investment and development.  Bhutan is well-known for its creation and value of the Gross National Happiness (GNH) index, a philosophy and series of nine measurable ..read more

Un rasgo clave del Zen es el gran énfasis que se pone en la transmisión directa de la sabiduría de mente a mente, de maestro a discípulo, más allá de las palabras. Pero esto no significa que las palabras sobren, sino que pueden ser empleadas por el maestro como medios hábiles (upāya) que ayudan al discípulo a encaminarse en la dirección conducente a la sabiduría. En ningún otro lugar se ilustra esto tan claramente como en la leyenda del Buda y su discípulo Mahakasyapa y la flor. Se cuenta que un día el Buda estaba con sus discípulos y decidió exponerles una enseñanza sin palabras, para lo cual ..read more

El Chan se considera una escuela budista surgida en China. Pero desde la perspectiva del Chan mismo, no es una escuela, una práctica fija, ni algo que alcanzar; ni siquiera se trata de una experiencia. Es simplemente la manifestación del buddhadharma tal y como se expone en la triple práctica de la virtud, la meditación y la sabiduría. Esta triple práctica es la esencia del noble óctuple sendero del budismo. La virtud se asocia con el habla correcta, la acción correcta y los medios de vida correctos; la meditación se asocia con el esfuerzo correcto, la concentración correcta y la meditación co ..read more

The global pandemic that began in 2019 has upended almost every facet of our lives, from our health to our homes, from our sustenance to our livelihood. An initial wave of job losses in 2020 became a wave of job leaving in 2021. But whether we lost our job or quit our job or tried to stay the course, the way we approach our working life has fundamentally changed. Teaching 2,500 years ago, the Buddha had a lot to say about change. He called it annica, or impermanence, and listed it among the three fundamental marks of all existence. Everything that exists, he told us, is subject to change. As h ..read more

It’s our second date. We talk animatedly over Darjeeling and scones. I’m struggling to focus on his words, distracted by his ocean-blue eyes and wondering what our first kiss will feel like. Suddenly he leans across the table and kisses me slowly and very, very well. The traffic noise disappears. My body quivers with energy. All that exists is this moment, these lips, and focused, intense, erotic pleasure.  Fast-forward ten years.  We are making love. It’s…okay. We go through the routine—I touch him here, he strokes me there. I’m remembering the time we had hot sex on the ferry ..read more