The Gift of Spiritual Practice
When I began spiritual practice, now nearly five decades ago, (oh my!), I believe I had a barely conscious belief that I would beyond the reach of life’s difficulties, ultimately rising above it all, unmoved, a stone Buddha, unshaken and unmoved.
It hasn’t worked that way.
The gifts of practice have been great, but not what I imagined. Instead of rising above, I am more aware than ever of my tender, quivering heart. Instead of calm transcendence I have found a greater vulnerability and sensitivity, to my own plight and the plight of others. In other words, there is a greater sense of kindness and compassion, toward myself and all beings, a greater sense of the fragility and vulnerability of life in all its forms.
I would not trade that for non-feeling, for any state that cuts me off from this tenderness of being alive.
Recent Posts
See AllOne of the hindrances to meditation the Buddha enumerated is restlessness. Restlessness is a problem all meditators are familiar with. When you are trying to sit, suddenly thoughts arise of things w
Sometimes life can feel like an endless round of things we have to do. We wake up in the morning reviewing the things we have to do that day, including everything from an important doctor’s appointme
If we look closely, we will see that we live most of our lives on autopilot. We may be taking dishes out of the dishwasher, doing laundry, making the bed, or taking a shower, while only being dimly a
