This was supposed to be a blog about Suzuki Roshi’s quote about making mistake after mistake after mistake. As often happens, wonderful mistakes occur when I search the Internet. First, I found this — a quote from Winston Churchill, “Success is going from failure to failure without losing enthusiasm.” He was a Zen Master. And [...]
In my understanding of Buddhism, hell is being stuck in a state of desire, of craving, of wanting anything other than what is right here, right now. Jizo is the bodhisattva whose role it is to help us out of these realms, making a vow to evolve to a higher state. […]
I know you have heard that we meditate to improve cognitive functioning, to bring peace, to cope with anxiety, and for myriad other reasons — just fill in the blanks. Bottom line: the consensus is that meditating is good for you. Kind of like broccoli. And yet, most of us quit. Eventually. And still, many [...]
I just had to get off the yoga mat to write this down this morning. I had not, until this very moment, internalized lovingkindness while I was doing yoga, or aerobics or Pilates mat work. I am always pushing myself to do longer asanas, more reps, better form. […]
I was an active kid. Not hyper-active, just spirited. Playful. Funny. In meditation, this part of me arises. Sometimes it is a whisper. Sometimes a volcano. Mostly, it’s just me being fidgety. Around age six, I attended Sunday church services with my mom. I remember her whispering, “Sit still.” She would promise me a root [...]
