Recent Discussions — NewBuddhist

My father died exactly a year ago today. Last year around this time I had my first look at the contents of his apartment, which I found very confrontational because it was like he was still there, in the furniture he had chosen, his gadgets, his art. I had to wait several months for the legal issues to become clear. Then my mother and I had to inventory his apartment and find...

A man once asked an old Buddhist monk:

"How can I allow myself to feel peace or happiness when the world is full of suffering, injustice, pain and chaos?"

The monk looked at him calmly and asked:

"If your house was dark...
Would you refuse to light a candle
Because the whole world is not illuminated yet?”

The man stood still.

Th...

When I was early in my practice I more readily accepted many of the metaphysical claims made in Buddhism. Then I encountered some teachings on the hells that described how far below the surface of the Earth each level was. At some point they got deep enough that it would put them all the way through the other side of the planet out into space. That sort of unlocked a sense th...

I’ve been following a video podcast called The Book Club for the past week or so, and one of the episodes that set me to thinking was about John Steinbeck’s novel East of Eden. Here is a link in case you have an hour to spare, it’s good fun:

So basic...

My YouTube feed has been bringing up a few new (to me) teachings by the late Thich Nhat Hanh. It’s been good to hear his voice again… I used to listen to him often, and he did both teachings and meditations very well, it’s good to see Plum Village reach back and give him the rightful place.