The knots of suffering To be happy or even serene is not to be free from suffering, it is to suffer less. If we cannot transform the pain within ourselves, serenity would not be possible. Many people look for happiness outside themselves, but true happiness must come from inside of us. Our culture tells us […]

Is there a journey toward Awakening? “I have been meditating for 2 years with the group and alone at home every day. Also, I have been listening and read all Dharma talks. Where am I in the journey toward Awakening” asked the student. “ You are far away from it and also too close” I […]

The 4th Noble Truth (Reality): The Noble eightfold path 1st Noble Truth = Suffering” is an integral part of life. 2nd = 3 main causes of suffering (I want but don’t get, I am getting what I don’t want, and ignorance (illusions) ) 3rd = Extinction of suffering = Nirvana The 4th Noble Truth (Reality): […]

Being mindful cultivating relationships and joy. I started meditating in my early twenties, to address drugs, anxiety, and depression, I am now in my early seventies and still going, except for several hiatus’s I have been reading, studying, and practicing the Tao, Zen philosophy and of course meditation. Most people seek meditation as a way […]

Nurturing our good seeds As the soil of our planet, our subconscious is full of good and bad seeds that I will call weeds. When we water our seeds, they mature and manifest in our consciousness. Example: 1-By watering good seeds they will grow stronger creating positive thoughts, feelings, and attitudes. The growth of our […]

We are already Enlightened Being Awakened or Enlightened has nothing to do with paradise and being in a constant state of euphoria, bliss with spiritual power. The central teaching of Zen is that we are all intrinsically awake that is, we can experience genuine reality at it is and not as the mind-made fictional one. […]

Making friends with ourselves Cultural brainwashing Making friends with ourselves can be a challenging undertaking because we have been taught very quickly in life that we are lacking on this and that, and we should ain to be the best on whatever. There are things I’ve said to myself that I would never, ever say […]

Complaining: our ego’s favorite food Complaining is one of our ego’s favorite strategies for strengthening itself. We are complaining almost all the time about anything. It can be verbal, from thoughts but it is mostly subconscious as demonstrated using hypnosis. Facts: We are complaining about everything, even if there is nothing we can do about […]

Only genuine compassion is enough. Adapted from the writings of the Dalai Lama “It’s not sufficient, says the Dalai Lama, to simply think that compassion is important. We must transform our thoughts and behavior on a daily basis to cultivate compassion without attachment” What he just said is not an oxymoron and I will try […]

Actual reality, virtual reality, and spacetimes. A Zen perspective. It is 8 pm. Imagine yourself sitting in a movie theater and watching an exciting movie. In this setting there are 2 space-times: - Your space-time is your immediate surrounding (Space) at 8pm (Time) also called the present moment. - What is going on on the […]