Bodhisattva. For the non-Buddhist, it is almost certainly a foreign term. Maybe you recall the name of an old Steely Dan album, at best. Put simply, bodhisattva is “a Sanskrit term for anyone or anything motivated by great compassion.” It is a combination of two separate Sanskrit concepts: Bodhi—meaning awakening or enlightenment Sattva—meaning existence, reality [...]
The integration of The Twelve Steps with Buddhism has become increasingly popular, as mindfulness continues to cross over from "spiritual philosophy" to practical, every day self-care. This morning, it dawned on me that the words Buddha spoke upon his awakening were very much like those of people in 12 Step programs who have taken the 2nd [...]
Today in my meditation, I was gazing at my Jizo and he was gazing back. The thought drifted through my mind that money is not money. Money is not money. Money is not money. It flowed through my mind, once, twice… I took a deep breath and as I exhaled, I heard Money is Perceived [...]
Meet Jason. I am embarrassed to admit I hate him. His name is not really Jason. That would not be kind. Hating him is bad enough. Jason somehow finds me in yoga class and throws his mat down too close to mine. Not just once, but for four weekends in a row. The first week, [...]
Sometimes there are surprises when I choose stillness. I opted out of Memorial Day traffic this morning and was on posting in my jizoandchibi Facebook sangha, when a box appeared from my friend Christina Parker, adding me to a group. I always opt out of groups immediately. Too distracting. This one, however, cried out for [...]
For me, J.D. Salinger was a bit of a Zen Master. […]
I could never “successfully” meditate until finding my Jizo. Maybe I was too young, maybe my ego could not surrender to the process (likely it really hasn’t even now but there has been some progress). What I have found is that the grounding aspect of Jizo, whose Sanskrit name – Ksitigarbha – means Earth Womb, [...]
