The Lion’s Roar YouTube channelhas been updated with a wealth of fresh content, with new videos uploaded each week. On our channel, you’ll find inspiring talks, profound wisdom from Buddhist teachers, and engaging new video interviews fromThe Lion’s Roar Podcast.
For this Weekend Reader, we invite you to take a break from reading and join us in exploring three of our recently featured guided meditations. Below, Sharon Salzberg takes us through a 10-minute loving-kindness meditation to cultivate compassion and goodwill for ourselves and others, Pema Khandro Rinpoche teaches shamatha meditation to calm and quiet the mind, and Alisa Dennis offers instructions for walking meditation to bring the power of awareness to each step.
We hope you’ll take a moment to nurture your mind and body with these enriching practices this weekend. May they be of benefit.
The bodhisattva vow is the promise to free all sentient beings from suffering, without exception. Not some, not most — all. It can be a hard task in today’s world. Conflict is happening on every continent, political divides deepen with each election, and then there are those pesky family and work relationships we navigate daily. We’re constantly asked to draw lines in the sand.
A friend of mine who endured horrendous office politics said to me, “If my boss was dying in the street, I wouldn’t help him.” They were harsh words, but I understood. In the past, I’ve felt the same about people who hurt me in a variety of ways. But Buddhism has taught me that this kind of sentiment is a poisonous cocktail that I drink myself.
The bodhisattva vow to free everyone from suffering includes myself. What suffering am I enduring now? What poisonous cocktail am I mixing?
Starting with freeing ourselves doesn’t mean we turn a blind eye to the ills of the world. Rather, we’re asked to look at it — all of it. If the saying “hurt people hurt people” can be true, then so can “free people free people.” If I go to a march, a rally, or a voting booth as a free person, my choices will cause less harm. I worked in the LGBTQ community for decades, where I learned that a free person welcomes straight allies and all the help possible. A suffering person hates straight people and wants nothing to do with them.
At Lion’s Roar, I’m currently working onBodhi Leaves, our new monthly digital publication featuring articles and teachings exploring the Asian American Buddhist experience. Alongside my work in the LGBTQ community, I’ve worked in Asian American spaces for a long time as well, and attachment and aversion are forms of suffering I’ve seen and experienced myself. As a young, self-hating Asian American, I only thought a white man could ever be my boyfriend. Then as I grew more empowered, I went the other direction where I believed that I should only have an Asian boyfriend. Now, having found freedom on the Buddhist path, I only want someone kind and loving.
The three pieces below explore the meaning and practice of living the bodhisattva vow. I know it can be hard to think of liberation forall. Perhaps we can start with a smaller grouping, as I suggest in my piece “I Vow to Save Everyone?,” featured on theBodhi Leavespage. Mu Soeng’s “How Sad is Your Love?” provides insight into the essence of the bodhisattva, and finally, Mushim Patricia Ikeda's “I Vow Not to Burn Out” serves as a gentle reminder that even bodhisattvas require rest.
May our commitment to the bodhisattva vow inspire others to join us in spreading compassion and liberation far and wide.
A month has passed since spring’s arrival in the Northern Hemisphere, which brought with it the joyful scenes of sunshine, budding daffodils, sprouting crocuses, and an ever-growing chorus of morning birdsong. It’s easy to get used to these signs of spring as the months go on, but for now they still feel fresh — welcome gifts after the long dark of winter.
When I notice these spring treasures, I can’t help but think of the prolific Zen teacher Thich Nhat Hanh’s teachings about the profound beauty of our planet. In many of his teachings, he encouraged us to appreciate and connect with the present moment through a deep sense of gratitude for the world around us.
“So many beings in the universe love us unconditionally,” Nhat Hanh writes in his bookThe World We Have. “A bird song can express joy, beauty, and purity, and evoke in us vitality and love. The trees, the water, and the air don’t ask anything of us; they just love us. Even though we need this kind of love, we continue to destroy these things. We should try our best to do the least harm to all living creatures.”
“We humans think we’re intelligent,” he continues, “but an orchid, for example, knows how to produce symmetrical flowers; a snail knows how to make a beautiful, well-proportioned shell. Compared with their knowledge, ours is not worth much at all. We should bow deeply before the orchid on the snail and join our palms reverently before the butterfly and the magnolia tree. The feeling of respect for all species will help us to recognize and cultivate the noblest nature in ourselves.”
With Monday marking Earth Day, I encourage you to explore Thich Nhat Hanh’s reflections below on the wonders of our world and our responsibility to protect it. By cultivating this appreciation and respect, we can deepen our connection to the earth and better fulfill our role as stewards of its miraculous beauty.
Last weekend,The Washington Postreportedthat the Buddhist concept of mudita — sympathetic joy, or taking delight in the success of others — was headed to College Men’s Basketball’s Final Four.
It seems the Alabama Crimson Tide men’s basketball team had taken to the concept, and credited their success to it as they headed into the Final Four for their first time. The team talked mudita up in interviews again and again. Alabama’s star point guard, Mark Sears: “The word ‘mudita,’ having vicarious joy through others’ success, even though you may not be playing to your best . . . and you know, just being joyful for others, that’s really how we got here, and that’s really what brought us to our success.” Though the Crimson Tide fell to UConn in the Final Four match, Sears managed to set new records for the team.
Anyone can enjoy mudita’s benefits, and they’re simple to realize. As Christiane Wolf explains in “How to Multiply Joy in Your Life,” it comes down to making space to rejoice in one’s life and to rejoice in the happiness of others.
In Buddhist terminology, mudita is known as one of four brahmaviharas, or immeasurables, or “heavenly abodes” — positive qualities that also include loving-kindness (metta), compassion (karuna), and equanimity (upekkha). You can read more about mudita, loving-kindness, compassion, and equanimity and how to cultivate them in the articles included here.
Thanks for reading, and thanks for your practice.
—Rod Meade Sperry, editor,Buddhadharma: The Practitioner’s Guide
In 2014, while earning my doctorate in pastoral counseling, I began mining gems of wisdom from Black Buddhist practitioners in the U.S. I wanted to find out if Buddhism is good for Black people, because for years, it had been ingrained in me that it was not. From my research I learned that — contrary to what I’d previously been told — Buddhism isn’t just helpful for people of Asian and European descent. Black practitioners in the Insight tradition who responded to my research told me that they felt profoundly and remarkably more resilient as a result of their Buddhist practices, and I published those findings.
Over the past decade, other research focused on Black Buddhists has taken place, most notably by Professor Rima Vesely-Flad in her book Black Buddhists and the Black Radical Tradition: The Practice of Stillness in the Movement for Liberation (NYU Press, 2022). Now more such research projects are in the works, so what is emerging is increased attention from academia.
The new issue ofLion’s Roarmagazine is a“Black and Buddhist”issue. I am so excited about this issue that it’s impossible to be still, even after years of practice! All the teachings, stories, and illustrations in the issue are by Black creators, some with celebrity status, and some you may be encountering for the first time. Within its pages, Black Buddhist practitioners from different traditions offer fine art, literature, insights on activism, and more. They discuss African and Buddhist deities, provide practices for folks in different economic situations, and offer powerful reflections on the ten paramis, the perfected qualities of enlightened beings.
Below, you’ll find three pieces from the issue, each providing a glimpse into a world known only to a relatively few people on this earth. It is the world of the Black Buddhist experience in America. As you prepare to enter this world, allow yourself to open your mind, your heart, your history, your conditioning, and be blessed by the lived experiences, the insights, the art, the practices, and the wisdom of African Americans practicing the buddhadharma today. Reach deeply into this ebony box of onyx gems and see how blackness shines within the triple gems.
TheHeart Sutrais a text that confounds the logical mind, but pierces deeply into the heart of the person who observes it. As Karl Brunnhozl writes in “The Heart Sutra Will Change You Forever,” one thing we can safely say is that if we read theHeart Sutra,“it does not make any sense.” In fact, it’s when you’re not looking at it that you most often realize the truth of it.
For many, the “Aha!” moment comes while daydreaming onboard a plane, floating on a lake, or camping in the woods. For a moment, the tension breaks, the fog clears, and you experience the truth of emptiness and boundless compassion. The sutra becomes a personal experience — each person experiencing the same truth in different ways, yet arriving at the same lesson. To look at theHeart Sutrain its object form is to see it as just a text, but in the heart and mind it becomes a universal salve to a variety of emotional ailments that humans experience.
In anessay I wrote on LionsRoar.com, I describe my experience withHeart Sutra’s central mantra:gate gate paragate, parasamgate bodhi svaha. I still struggle to explain why this mantra came to my mind one weekend at the cottage, but it appeared to me exactly when I needed it. For me, the act of reciting it opened a door to the realization that this personal experience was the truth of the mantra. I will never forget the feeling of clarity I had when it jumped from the page and into my life.
My hope is that you may experience your own “Aha!” moment with the help of this perplexing and personal sutra.
ofBuddhadharma: The Practitioner’s Guideis here, offering a deep dive into the fascinating realm of the advanced tantric practices known as the Six Dharmas of Naropa. Dating back one thousand years, the Six Dharmas are considered a fast track to buddhahood, comprising famed practices liketummo(inner heat), yoga of the dream state, resting in luminosity, and more.
Deepen your Buddhist education with features on each of the Six Dharmas, written by those who know and teach them: Judith Simmer-Brown, Lama Döndrup Drölma, Charlie Morley, Lama Karma Wall, Andrew Holecek, and Lama Glenn Mullin — as well as a helpful overview by Pema Khandro Rinpoche.
Last year, I took my first pottery class. The serene sight of a clay vessel gracefully twirling on the pottery wheel mesmerized me like no other art form ever had. After my first class, I was hooked, enrolling in more classes and workshops and eventually setting up a home studio with my own tiny wheel.
When I first started learning how to throw pottery on the wheel, I was thrilled. It felt magical to turn a lump of clay into… something! Anything! But as with any skill, I soon started to feel the weight of my own expectations. I wanted things to be exact – my shapes to be tall, uniform, and smooth. I soon found myself squashing the clay and starting again whenever something didn't turn out as I’d envisioned. I knew I was still learning and growing, but my perfectionism and self-criticism were getting in the way of truly enjoying myself and the process.
When these thoughts start to creep in, I try to remind myself of the Zen philosophy of wabi-sabi. Wabi-sabi has many translations, but is often characterized by the beauty of imperfection. Embracing the essence of wabi-sabi, I recognized that my art, like myself, was inherently flawed. My aim was never to produce something perfect, but rather to just enjoy the journey of exploration and creativity. I’ve since learned to appreciate the imperfections of the clay in my hands — the unique bend of a slightly wonky mug handle, the fingerprints in my pinch pots.
The three pieces below highlight the concept of wabi-sabi in art and how it can translate into our daily lives. Whether in our artistic endeavors, homes, workplaces, or relationships, I invite you to embrace the wisdom of wabi-sabi this weekend, allowing imperfections to be celebrated rather than criticized.
—Martine Panzica, Assistant Digital Editor, Lion’s Roar
3 Guided Meditations
The Lion’s Roar YouTube channel has been updated with a wealth of fresh content, with new videos uploaded each week. On our channel, you’ll find inspiring talks, profound wisdom from Buddhist teachers, and engaging new video interviews fromThe Lion’s Roar Podcast.
For this Weekend Reader, we invite you to take a break from reading and join us in exploring three of our recently featured guided meditations. Below, Sharon Salzberg takes us through a 10-minute loving-kindness meditation to cultivate compassion and goodwill for ourselves and others, Pema Khandro Rinpoche teaches shamatha meditation to calm and quiet the mind, and Alisa Dennis offers instructions for walking meditation to bring the power of awareness to each step.
We hope you’ll take a moment to nurture your mind and body with these enriching practices this weekend. May they be of benefit.
Living Up to the Bodhisattva Vow
The bodhisattva vow is the promise to free all sentient beings from suffering, without exception. Not some, not most — all. It can be a hard task in today’s world. Conflict is happening on every continent, political divides deepen with each election, and then there are those pesky family and work relationships we navigate daily. We’re constantly asked to draw lines in the sand.
A friend of mine who endured horrendous office politics said to me, “If my boss was dying in the street, I wouldn’t help him.” They were harsh words, but I understood. In the past, I’ve felt the same about people who hurt me in a variety of ways. But Buddhism has taught me that this kind of sentiment is a poisonous cocktail that I drink myself.
The bodhisattva vow to free everyone from suffering includes myself. What suffering am I enduring now? What poisonous cocktail am I mixing?
Starting with freeing ourselves doesn’t mean we turn a blind eye to the ills of the world. Rather, we’re asked to look at it — all of it. If the saying “hurt people hurt people” can be true, then so can “free people free people.” If I go to a march, a rally, or a voting booth as a free person, my choices will cause less harm. I worked in the LGBTQ community for decades, where I learned that a free person welcomes straight allies and all the help possible. A suffering person hates straight people and wants nothing to do with them.
At Lion’s Roar, I’m currently working onBodhi Leaves, our new monthly digital publication featuring articles and teachings exploring the Asian American Buddhist experience. Alongside my work in the LGBTQ community, I’ve worked in Asian American spaces for a long time as well, and attachment and aversion are forms of suffering I’ve seen and experienced myself. As a young, self-hating Asian American, I only thought a white man could ever be my boyfriend. Then as I grew more empowered, I went the other direction where I believed that I should only have an Asian boyfriend. Now, having found freedom on the Buddhist path, I only want someone kind and loving.
The three pieces below explore the meaning and practice of living the bodhisattva vow. I know it can be hard to think of liberation forall. Perhaps we can start with a smaller grouping, as I suggest in my piece “I Vow to Save Everyone?,” featured on theBodhi Leavespage. Mu Soeng’s “How Sad is Your Love?” provides insight into the essence of the bodhisattva, and finally, Mushim Patricia Ikeda's “I Vow Not to Burn Out” serves as a gentle reminder that even bodhisattvas require rest.
May our commitment to the bodhisattva vow inspire others to join us in spreading compassion and liberation far and wide.
—Noel Alumit, Associate Editor, Lion’s Roar
For more stories by and about Asian American Buddhists, sign up forBodhi Leaves: The Asian American Buddhist Monthly, launching May 1.
Thich Nhat Hanh’s Love Letters to the Earth
A month has passed since spring’s arrival in the Northern Hemisphere, which brought with it the joyful scenes of sunshine, budding daffodils, sprouting crocuses, and an ever-growing chorus of morning birdsong. It’s easy to get used to these signs of spring as the months go on, but for now they still feel fresh — welcome gifts after the long dark of winter.
When I notice these spring treasures, I can’t help but think of the prolific Zen teacher Thich Nhat Hanh’s teachings about the profound beauty of our planet. In many of his teachings, he encouraged us to appreciate and connect with the present moment through a deep sense of gratitude for the world around us.
“So many beings in the universe love us unconditionally,” Nhat Hanh writes in his bookThe World We Have. “A bird song can express joy, beauty, and purity, and evoke in us vitality and love. The trees, the water, and the air don’t ask anything of us; they just love us. Even though we need this kind of love, we continue to destroy these things. We should try our best to do the least harm to all living creatures.”
“We humans think we’re intelligent,” he continues, “but an orchid, for example, knows how to produce symmetrical flowers; a snail knows how to make a beautiful, well-proportioned shell. Compared with their knowledge, ours is not worth much at all. We should bow deeply before the orchid on the snail and join our palms reverently before the butterfly and the magnolia tree. The feeling of respect for all species will help us to recognize and cultivate the noblest nature in ourselves.”
With Monday marking Earth Day, I encourage you to explore Thich Nhat Hanh’s reflections below on the wonders of our world and our responsibility to protect it. By cultivating this appreciation and respect, we can deepen our connection to the earth and better fulfill our role as stewards of its miraculous beauty.
—Lilly Greenblatt, Digital Editor, Lion’s Roar
Multiply Your Joy
Last weekend,The Washington Postreportedthat the Buddhist concept of mudita — sympathetic joy, or taking delight in the success of others — was headed to College Men’s Basketball’s Final Four.
It seems the Alabama Crimson Tide men’s basketball team had taken to the concept, and credited their success to it as they headed into the Final Four for their first time. The team talked mudita up in interviews again and again. Alabama’s star point guard, Mark Sears: “The word ‘mudita,’ having vicarious joy through others’ success, even though you may not be playing to your best . . . and you know, just being joyful for others, that’s really how we got here, and that’s really what brought us to our success.” Though the Crimson Tide fell to UConn in the Final Four match, Sears managed to set new records for the team.
Anyone can enjoy mudita’s benefits, and they’re simple to realize. As Christiane Wolf explains in “How to Multiply Joy in Your Life,” it comes down to making space to rejoice in one’s life and to rejoice in the happiness of others.
In Buddhist terminology, mudita is known as one of four brahmaviharas, or immeasurables, or “heavenly abodes” — positive qualities that also include loving-kindness (metta), compassion (karuna), and equanimity (upekkha). You can read more about mudita, loving-kindness, compassion, and equanimity and how to cultivate them in the articles included here.
Thanks for reading, and thanks for your practice.
—Rod Meade Sperry, editor,Buddhadharma: The Practitioner’s Guide
Black & Buddhist
In 2014, while earning my doctorate in pastoral counseling, I began mining gems of wisdom from Black Buddhist practitioners in the U.S. I wanted to find out if Buddhism is good for Black people, because for years, it had been ingrained in me that it was not. From my research I learned that — contrary to what I’d previously been told — Buddhism isn’t just helpful for people of Asian and European descent. Black practitioners in the Insight tradition who responded to my research told me that they felt profoundly and remarkably more resilient as a result of their Buddhist practices, and I published those findings.
Over the past decade, other research focused on Black Buddhists has taken place, most notably by Professor Rima Vesely-Flad in her book Black Buddhists and the Black Radical Tradition: The Practice of Stillness in the Movement for Liberation (NYU Press, 2022). Now more such research projects are in the works, so what is emerging is increased attention from academia.
The new issue ofLion’s Roarmagazine is a“Black and Buddhist”issue. I am so excited about this issue that it’s impossible to be still, even after years of practice! All the teachings, stories, and illustrations in the issue are by Black creators, some with celebrity status, and some you may be encountering for the first time. Within its pages, Black Buddhist practitioners from different traditions offer fine art, literature, insights on activism, and more. They discuss African and Buddhist deities, provide practices for folks in different economic situations, and offer powerful reflections on the ten paramis, the perfected qualities of enlightened beings.
Below, you’ll find three pieces from the issue, each providing a glimpse into a world known only to a relatively few people on this earth. It is the world of the Black Buddhist experience in America. As you prepare to enter this world, allow yourself to open your mind, your heart, your history, your conditioning, and be blessed by the lived experiences, the insights, the art, the practices, and the wisdom of African Americans practicing the buddhadharma today. Reach deeply into this ebony box of onyx gems and see how blackness shines within the triple gems.
—Pamela Ayo Yetunde, Associate Editor, Lion’s Roar
The Heart Sutra Will Change You Forever
TheHeart Sutrais a text that confounds the logical mind, but pierces deeply into the heart of the person who observes it. As Karl Brunnhozl writes in “The Heart Sutra Will Change You Forever,” one thing we can safely say is that if we read theHeart Sutra,“it does not make any sense.” In fact, it’s when you’re not looking at it that you most often realize the truth of it.
For many, the “Aha!” moment comes while daydreaming onboard a plane, floating on a lake, or camping in the woods. For a moment, the tension breaks, the fog clears, and you experience the truth of emptiness and boundless compassion. The sutra becomes a personal experience — each person experiencing the same truth in different ways, yet arriving at the same lesson. To look at theHeart Sutrain its object form is to see it as just a text, but in the heart and mind it becomes a universal salve to a variety of emotional ailments that humans experience.
In anessay I wrote on LionsRoar.com, I describe my experience withHeart Sutra’s central mantra:gate gate paragate, parasamgate bodhi svaha. I still struggle to explain why this mantra came to my mind one weekend at the cottage, but it appeared to me exactly when I needed it. For me, the act of reciting it opened a door to the realization that this personal experience was the truth of the mantra. I will never forget the feeling of clarity I had when it jumped from the page and into my life.
My hope is that you may experience your own “Aha!” moment with the help of this perplexing and personal sutra.
—Sandra Hannebohm, Digital Producer, Lion’s Roar
A Fast Track to Awakening?
The new issue https://www.lionsroar.com/buddhadharma/?utm_source=Lion%27s+Roar+Newsletter&utm_campaign=3f76b075ac-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2023_05_18_03_04_COPY_01&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_-e9963221fa-%5BLIST_EMAIL_ID%5D&goal=0_1988ee44b2-3f76b075ac-27337720&mc_cid=3f76b075ac&mc_eid=89d42a0840
ofBuddhadharma: The Practitioner’s Guideis here, offering a deep dive into the fascinating realm of the advanced tantric practices known as the Six Dharmas of Naropa. Dating back one thousand years, the Six Dharmas are considered a fast track to buddhahood, comprising famed practices liketummo(inner heat), yoga of the dream state, resting in luminosity, and more.
Deepen your Buddhist education with features on each of the Six Dharmas, written by those who know and teach them: Judith Simmer-Brown, Lama Döndrup Drölma, Charlie Morley, Lama Karma Wall, Andrew Holecek, and Lama Glenn Mullin — as well as a helpful overview by Pema Khandro Rinpoche.
Also included are anintroduction to the issue by Ian A. Baker, a Forum discussion on the future of Vajrayana Buddhism,Constance Kassor’s roundup of the newest in dharma booksthis season, andexcerpts from them all.
This Weekend Reader shares three selections fromBuddhadharma’s“Six Dharmas” issue. May they intrigue and awaken us all.
Thank you for your practice!
—Rod Meade Sperry, editor,Buddhadharma: The Practitioner’s Guide
Letting Go of Perfection
Last year, I took my first pottery class. The serene sight of a clay vessel gracefully twirling on the pottery wheel mesmerized me like no other art form ever had. After my first class, I was hooked, enrolling in more classes and workshops and eventually setting up a home studio with my own tiny wheel.
When I first started learning how to throw pottery on the wheel, I was thrilled. It felt magical to turn a lump of clay into… something! Anything! But as with any skill, I soon started to feel the weight of my own expectations. I wanted things to be exact – my shapes to be tall, uniform, and smooth. I soon found myself squashing the clay and starting again whenever something didn't turn out as I’d envisioned. I knew I was still learning and growing, but my perfectionism and self-criticism were getting in the way of truly enjoying myself and the process.
When these thoughts start to creep in, I try to remind myself of the Zen philosophy of wabi-sabi. Wabi-sabi has many translations, but is often characterized by the beauty of imperfection. Embracing the essence of wabi-sabi, I recognized that my art, like myself, was inherently flawed. My aim was never to produce something perfect, but rather to just enjoy the journey of exploration and creativity. I’ve since learned to appreciate the imperfections of the clay in my hands — the unique bend of a slightly wonky mug handle, the fingerprints in my pinch pots.
The three pieces below highlight the concept of wabi-sabi in art and how it can translate into our daily lives. Whether in our artistic endeavors, homes, workplaces, or relationships, I invite you to embrace the wisdom of wabi-sabi this weekend, allowing imperfections to be celebrated rather than criticized.
—Martine Panzica, Assistant Digital Editor, Lion’s Roar