Was Buddha Boring? – Donna Quesada
by Donna Quesada: An oft-asked question from students: Wouldn’t following the Buddhist teachings of detachment lead to a dull and boring life? […]
Awaken Interviews Zen Buddhist Priest Karen Maezen Miller Pt 3
Donna Quesada: how do we take responsibility and acknowledge that interconnectedness that you were just speaking of… […]
Awaken Interviews Zen Buddhist Priest Karen Maezen Miller Pt 2
Karen Maezen Miller: We have to reach the point where we are not yet ready to die…but we don’t really know how to live and survive […]
Awaken Interviews Zen Buddhist Priest Karen Maezen Miller Pt 1
Donna Quesada: Maezen, I want to thank you for being with us today. I’m just personally so happy to interview you. […]
10 Short Zen Stories
by Sofo Archon: Sometimes a story can teach much more than entire philosophical treatises. […]
A True Taste of Peace – Tara Brach
by Tara Brach: We can learn to let go of our negative conceptions of ourselves when we realize that they’re real but not true. […]
The History and Origin of Meditation
by Elaine Mead: The French philosopher Michel de Montaigne is quoted as having once said ‘The greatest thing in the world is to know how to belong to oneself.’ […]
India Should Share Its Ancient Knowledge With The World: The Dalai Lama
by Dalai Lama: The Buddha’s teaching is essentially practical. It is not just for one group of people or one country, but for all human beings… […]
Green Tara: Feel Her Wisdom and Love
by Lama Palden Drolma: A fully enlightened female buddha, Tara is the actuality of compassion and wisdom. Meditating on her, says Lama Palden Drolma, can awaken our own buddhanature… […]
Om Mani Padme Hum: The Meaning Behind the Popular Mantra
by Meredith DeCosta: Next to OM, om mani padme hum is one of the most commonly chanted mantras in yoga… […]
How The Dalai Lama Is Chosen
Actually, the Dalai Lama is not technically chosen; rather, he is found. But to understand how it works, you first have to learn the basics of Tibetan Buddhism and its belief in reincarnation… […]
What Is Mu?
by Barbara O’Brien: The Barrier Gate of Zen… […]
Awaken Interviews Academy Award Winning Ellen Burstyn Pt 1 – Sacred Unity
Donna Quesada: I would like to just tell you what an honor it is to have this time with you and I’d like to thank you for sharing your wisdom with the Awaken community. [...]
We Are All Teachers: An Interview with Jack Kornfield
by Myra Goodman: Renowned Buddhist teacher Jack Kornfield explains how to be an effective teacher and discusses the many ways teaching can help us grow… […]
Letting Go of Anger—The Buddhist Way
by Victor M. Parachin: Discover six practices rooted in Buddhist teaching that can dissipate anger… […]
How to Be Happier—the Buddhist Way
by Victor M. Parachin: Humans lean toward the negative, but we can overcome this tendency. Discover five Buddhism-inspired ways to be happier right now… […]
Awaken Interviews Jonathan Robinson Pt 2 – The Enlightenment Project
Donna Quesada: What struck me about your magic trick and having a way out is that the way out doesn’t need to be arduous. […]
Om Mani Padme Hum: The Meaning Behind the Popular Mantra
by Meredith DeCosta: This special yogic chant is Sanskrit, and it’s pronounced OHM-MAH-NEE-PAHD-MAY-HUM. It’s comprised of four words, and those four melodic words are all the words on many of those colorful Tibetan prayer flags… [...]
The Best Friend You Will Ever Have: Meditation
by Ed and Deb Shapiro: Honestly speaking we cannot imagine how our lives would be without meditation. […]
4 Inspiring Pema Chödrön Quotes to Help you Through Any Day
As a Buddhist nun Pema has brought the humanity of Buddhism to the world through her teachings, writings and audio recordings. […]
We Are Not Alone Here
by Ed and Deb Shapiro: The Buddhist teachings describe a great net reaching in all directions with a multifaceted mirror-like jewel at each of the many knots, […]
Wisdom Seeks for Wisdom
by Suzuki Roshi: In this teaching from 1965—taken from the oldest extant recording of his talks—Shunryu Suzuki Roshi explains what it means to understand your true nature… […]
Meditation Only Goes So Far
by Willa Baker: If you want to connect with the open, spacious quality of mind, says Willa Blythe Baker, at some point you have to stop trying to meditate… […]
A Better Friend
by Victor M. Parachin: Dive into the Buddha’s advice for being a better friend… […]
Awaken Interviews Stephen Mitchell Pt 3 – Forgiveness Means That Realizing What Happened… Didn’t
Donna Quesada: it also answers my previous question about how self-inquiry and meditation go hand in hand. We hear so much about mindfulness, […]
Awaken Interviews Stephen Mitchell Part 1 – Joseph and the Way of Forgiveness
Donna Quesada: Hello and welcome to Awaken. […]
How to Be Happier—the Buddhist Way
by Victor M. Parachin: Humans lean toward the negative, but we can overcome this tendency. Discover five Buddhism-inspired ways to be happier right now… […]
The Blessing of Being Happy – The Dalai Lama
by Dalai Lama: An excerpt from The Dalai Lama’s Big Book of Happiness… […]
How to Water the Seeds of Happiness
by Thich Nhat Hanh: Thich Nhat Hanh’s teachings were always profound and practical, showing us effective ways to apply Buddhism’s deepest insights in our own lives… […]
Awaken Interviews Thomas Merton – Nirvana Is Found in the Midst of the World Around Us
Awaken: Firstly, thank you for so graciously sharing your wisdom with our awakened readers today. […]
Awaken Interviews Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoché – Let It Be That Way
Awaken: Firstly, thank you so much for spending this time with us. It is a great honor, Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoché. […]
Thich Nhat Hanh and the Light We Carry Forward
By Marianne Williamson: The blessing he leaves behind. When a great soul leaves the earth, the gifts they shared while they were here dissolve into a misty blessing that remains though they are gone… [...]
She Who Hears the Cries of the World
by Christina Feldman: In Buddhist iconography, compassion is embodied in the bodhisattva Kuan Yin, who is said to manifest wherever beings need help… […]
Renunciation In Buddhism Explained – Pema Chödrön
by Pema Chödrön: Like a raven in the wind… […]
Giving Your Heart Over to Real Change – Sharon Salzberg
by Tami Simon: You’re listening to Insights at the Edge. Today, my guest is Sharon Salzberg… […]
First Do No Harm
by Stephanie Kaza: Environmentalist Stephanie Kaza invites us to consider how Buddhist principles can help us nurse the planet back to health… […]
Awaken Interviews Lama Palden Pt 3 – Love On Every Breath
Donna Quesada: I love that. You bring up the notion of reincarnation, which is so much a part of Buddhist teachings and Indian teachings. […]
Awaken Interviews Lama Palden Pt 2 – Female and Male Energy In Full and Complete Awakening
Donna Quesada: How did you come to this path, Lama Palden? As a Tibetan, you have all of these unbelievable title appendages. […]
Awaken Interviews Lama Palden Pt 1 – Discover Our Unchanging Nature
Donna Quesada: Hi! First of all, how do I address you? Is it just Lama Palden? […]
Awaken Interviews Alan Watts – The Goal and Fulfillment of All Living Is The Immediate Now
Awaken: it might sound sentimental, but meeting you and having this time with you, is a crowning moment for me. […]
Seven Zen Stories That Could Open Your Mind
by Melanie Pinola: For centuries, Zen masters have used stories and koans, or paradoxical riddles, to help students realize their true nature… […]
Compassion: The Second Abode – Roshi Joan Halifx
by Joan Halifax Roshi: Compassion is not an idealized state. It is a profound realization that we are not separate from one another… […]
Enlightenment Of The Cosmic Buddhas
by Mark Unno: Through the Pure Land practice of nembutsu, explains Mark Unno, we “foolish beings” entrust ourselves to the full awakening of Amida, the primordial Buddha of Infinite Light… […]
The Mind-Heart Of The Buddha
by Kaira Jewel Lingo: At the core of Mahayana Buddhism, explains Kaira Jewel Lingo, is bodhichitta, the bodhisattvas’ enlightened aspiration to save all sentient beings… […]
A Simple Buddhist Guide to having a Mindful Morning.
by Alex Myles: Waking up this morning, I smile… […]