Satipatthana and the Field of Relationship Most practitioners, says nico hase, understand the Buddha's Satipatthana Sutta as a framework for individual practice. But the instructions are more layered than that. The Buddha directs attention int...

“Over time,” writes nico hase, offering our true attention “becomes one of the quiet forms of love in a relationship.”

Venerating Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva by Engaging the World According to An Tran, reciting the Twelve Aspiration Prayers of Avalokitesvara encourages us to engage with the world as part of our practice, so that we may become instruments of the buddhas of this ...

"If practitioners are able to keep the Twelve Aspiration Prayers in mind throughout the day, we will naturally develop into more skillful instruments of the buddhadharma, tending to not only the suffering of beings but also the suffering of the planet and environment."

Celebration of Life for Venerable Dr. Pannavati is now online "Everything that she did was for the Dharma and for saving sentient beings," writes her community.

April 11's memorial is now viewable on YouTube.

Spirit Rock Honors New Stupa and Jack Kornfield’s 80th Year: A Day of…

Earlier this month the Spirit Rock community honored two milestones: the completion of a new stupa and Jack Kornfield’s birthday.

A Translator’s Journey Into the Tibetan Language Ana Carla Vergara Calvar on how she found her way into translating the dharma — and how you might, too.

"For those called to become translators — working from Tibetan or other languages into their own — translation requires sensitivity to meaning, context, and intention. It is rooted in lineage, responsibility, and care."

Tassajara Zen Mountain Center’s zendo destroyed by fire No one was injured but the zendo was completely lost to the fire, as well as some of the library.

We at Lion’s Roar and Buddhadharma wish to share our sympathies with the SFZC community about the loss and damage to this truly historic property.

Buddhadharma Newsletter Deepen your practice and study of Buddhism

The next Buddhadharma newsletter will come out near the beginning of the new month. If you're not yet signed up, please do: mailchi.mp/lionsroar/bu...

Death and the Practice of Love Dharma teacher and author nico hase on how death contemplation can transform the everyday frictions of partnership into a field for practicing impermanence.

"In the monastery where I lived, death was a daily practice.
I was eighteen years old when I began practicing this way.
I had no idea it would one day teach me to be married."

Like Fire, We Rise Up Together Roshi Joan Halifax of Upaya Zen Center looks at the notion of bodhisattva-based, socially engaged, participatory community — and how it could make a real difference in our world today.

A new LR piece from Roshi Joan Halifax:

Community joins together after Buddhist Church of Sacramento vandalization "One never fully realizes the strength of community until a time of need," writes the BCS in response to the care of its sangha and neighbors.

BCS’s Rev. Yuki has shared a video message of gratitude for community support. “What was meant to divide,” he says, “instead revealed connection. What was meant to wound, instead uncovered compassion.”

Concentrating on the Work at Hand In this excerpt from The Gift of Work (originally published as Skillful Means), the prolific Nyingma teacher Tarthang Tulku shares a plain-language exercise for concentration, as developed over his fi...

"Instead of looking at work as an enemy that must be conquered, we can embrace the many challenges it affords us. When we do this, we can focus our energy in a light and pleasurable way, and it is much easier to persist in a task until we have reached our goal."

Creating Buddhism-informed Spiritual Care on College Campuses The Maitreya Association’s co-founder and president explains the creation of the first-ever professional network of Buddhist college chaplains and its impact on American Buddhist higher education mini...

"Every other major world religion has a campus chaplaincy organization which does advocacy, training and fundraising. What would it take? Could we indeed form such an organization, so as to make possible a sustainable future for Buddha’s way in the West?"

Venerable Dr. Pannavati, Heartwood Mandala spiritual leader and humanitarian force, has died "Everything that she did," writes her community, "was for the Dharma and for saving sentient beings."

Lion’s Roar wishes to share our condolences with the Heartwood community and all who were impacted by Ven. Pannavati’s work and teachings.

The Dark Side of Buddhism If you think Buddhism is free of the religious nationalism and violent extremism that plague other religions, think again. Editor-at-large Melvin McLeod talks to journalist Sonia Faleiro about her new...

"What we are seeing is that in many cases it is monks who have supported or participated in this violence or incited it. This has been documented by human rights organizations. It is these facts that drew me to this story and to voyage across these countries."

What Does the Bardo Sound Like? Forty years ago, Éliane Radigue synthesized The Tibetan Book of the Dead into a sonic masterpiece.

The brilliant modern composer Eliane Radigue has died. Read Lion's Roar's 2017 appreciation of her masterwork, inspired by the Bardo Thödol, often referred to as the Tibetan Book of the Dead.

David Chadwick, chronicler of San Francisco Zen Center Community, has died He was the author of the classic biography, Crooked Cucumber: The Life and Zen Teaching of Shunyru Suzuki, as well as Thank You and OK: An American Zen Failure in Japan, and, most recently, Tassajara ...

"Our deepest bows and appreciation to David," writes San Francisco Zen Center, "who was indefatigable in his care for the history and memories of Suzuki Roshi and SFZC’s founding years. Our hearts and thoughts go out to David’s loved ones at this tender time of loss.”

Making Sense of Buddhism’s “Six Realms” “Here,” writes Timothy Addison in this piece from Turning the Mind, the third book in his new series, Like Honey Amidst Bees, “is what helped me understand the six realms in a way that felt both intel...

"I am someone who gets frustrated when something doesn’t make sense. [...] That frustration drove me to keep looking for clearer explanations. What I eventually found wasn’t something new, but something old."

Shinchi Linda Galijan to be installed as first female abbot of Berkeley Zen Center The ceremony will be viewable by livestream via the BZC website.

Galijan has been co-leader of the Bay Area Soto Zen center since 2004. Congrats to her and to the sangha.
(Sorry about the image crop shown here; that's a limitation of this platform.)

The Inspirational Example of Venerable Jotika Hein Htet Kyaw profiles Venerable U Jotika of Maha Myaing Forest monastery​ — monk and advocate for democracy, interfaith and multi-culturalism​.

"His unique transition — from intellectually gifted individual from a Muslim heritage to sincere forest monk — highlights a remarkable spiritual integrity."

Three Buddhist Nunneries Dance a New Chapter of Empowerment and Opportunity For over a thousand years, mostly monks performed the sacred cham dances of Vajrayana Buddhism. Then in 2014, the 17th Karmapa made a significant move by inviting nuns to learn and perform these dance...

"I wondered if this was the groundbreaking moment that I thought it might be. As I scrolled down the page, I noticed the caption below: An Historical First: Nuns Perform in Tsechu Lama dance. The description identified two nunneries involved, so I set to work arranging to visit them."

New Atlanta exhibit features Rima Fujita's works on the Dalai Lama The exhibit will run from February 13 through June 7, featuring imagery of the Dalai Lama, whom Rima Fujita considers her principal teacher.

In addition to her illustrations for the book, An Illuminated Journey, the Story of the Dalai Lama, the exhibit will feature Fujita’s extensive interviews with the 14th Dalai Lama, with an eye toward honoring His Holiness in this, his 90th year.

Bringing Yidam Practice to Human/AI Encounters Deborah McGlauflin wades into the “virtual buddhafield” — and asks us to consider joining her there.

"The question became practical and immediate: What changes when we bring yidam practice — not just mindfulness and compassion — into our encounters with AI?"

The Nation is Shattered; Mountain and Rivers Remain A heartfelt commentary by Zen teacher Roshi Joan Halifax on how, in this time of danger and loss, we can find “the measure of our humanity.”

"There are so many things that we could say. Yet in many ways, no words. But here is a final note."

Oh Tara, Protect Us In this teaching, Thubten Chodron comments on a prayer to the buddha Tara to protect us from the eight dangers.

"The fundamental way Tara—or any other buddha—benefits sentient beings is by teaching us the dharma and inspiring us to investigate its meaning so we reach a correct understanding. She then guides us in meditation practice so we generate transformative realizations."

What “Integrated Meditation” Is, and Why It Matters Amma Thanasanti explains how her program functions to "restore the relational ground required for deeper healing — and for meditation itself — to function."

"In my own life, meditation brought genuine realization. And still, something essential remained unhealed. This is not due to a failure of the dharma, but a mismatch of tools."

The Robert H. N. Ho Family Foundation Buddhism Public Scholars and New Professorships in Buddhist Studies is accepting applications Lion's Roar is honored to be among its participating host institutions. The deadline to apply is January 27.

Deadline: one week away!

A Glimpse of the Buddhist Monks’ “Walk for Peace” Across the United States A group of monks from the Huong Dao Vipassana Bhavana Center in Fort Worth, Texas have inspired folks in person and online with their walk “to raise awareness of peace, loving kindness, and compassion...

"They aren’t arguing for peace — they’re living it. Through harsh weather, pain, obstacles, crowds, and opposition, they mindfully return again and again to love, compassion, and peace."

The Building Blocks of Belonging According to Willa Blythe Baker, making a strong, healthy community starts with understanding how it is constructed.

"Most dharma communities, though strong in values, are weak in structures. This is overlooked by most people walking in the door. They are looking for a dharma that fits. They rarely look at the contours of power."

The Surprising Good News of Karma No Buddhist teaching is as challenging to the modern mind as karma. Is it determinism, cosmic justice, or the simple truth that unwholesome states of mind create suffering and virtuous states of mind ...

"If your volition is clear and strong—you have a clear idea of what you want to do and you set about doing it—then the karmic result will be equally clear and strong. On the other hand, if your intention is weak and hesitant the karmic result will not be well defined either."

Joseph Goldstein: It’s Not Either-Or In this conversation with Buddhadharma, the Insight Meditation Society cofounder applies the “harmonized understanding” approach championed in his book One Dharma to the idea of buddhanature. In the e...

"For me, the test of different teachings is simple: does it result in no clinging or not? If they’re seen as skillful means for not clinging, it doesn’t matter if they’re positing different metaphysical views."