What Is Mindfulness? We know that to be mindful is to focus on something for a specific purpose such as memorizing, learning, judging, analysing with, usually to make a decision at the end It is cognitive mindfulness. […]
Oakville Zen Meditation
What Is Mindfulness? We know that to be mindful is to focus on something for a specific purpose such as memorizing, learning, judging, analysing with, usually to make a decision at the end It is cognitive mindfulness. […]
Paraphrasing Buddha” The Middle Way is “ the path of moderation to everything is the way to reach Awakening”. This means avoiding all extremes and excesses that negatively may affect our behavioral /intellectual /emotional /spiritual activities. Going beyond simple moderation, it requires proper understanding, introspection, mindfulness practice, allowing each of us to navigate through […]
NO-SELF ( Anatta) by Mark F. The teaching of no-self is one of the more challenging teachings in Buddhist philosophy. This principle asserts that what we conventionally regard as the "self" is ultimately an illusion—a misconception that lies at the root of human suffering. To understand this complex teaching, we must examine how the Buddha […]
The Middle Way? Part 1: What is it? An introduction Historical background: As a Prince, the Buddha got it all, and yet he was experiencing a deep sense of emptiness. His courtly lifestyle inspired him to seek more about what life is all about. Leaving his father’s palace at ~19, he met the inevitable truths […]
Proper Livelihood: Walking the Ethical Path in Daily Life Proper livelihood is the fifth step on the Noble Eightfold Path. It falls under the broader category of ethical living: how we live in harmony with others and with ourselves. The Buddha was quite clear about what he meant by proper livelihood. In simple terms, it […]
THE MIRACLE OF SMILING: French philosopher Voltaire said: Smiling is the only feature that differentiates humans from other animals. One of the striking traits of the Dalai Lama is his constant, spontaneous smile. He said this: “ Offer your smile spontaneously to anyone, anytime. If she/he does not reply the same way, don’t take it […]
HOW CONCENTRATION IMPACTS OUR QUALITY OF LIFE KRIS Research suggests that concentration—both its quality and focus—plays a significant role in our quality of life, alongside other important factors such as those taught in the Dharma, like liberation of suffering, daily application of the 8-Fold Path, meditation, mind control, etc. Hungarian-born Psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi spent […]
The ego is: “ I, me, myself, and mine”. The image of how I create, perceive myself, and act in other words: the self. This entity is perceived as unique, permanent, separate, and indispensable, all of which are delusional. It is created by our mind from a multitude of factors such as our genetic background, […]
KARMA In Zen Buddhism, Karma is a central concept referring to intentional action of body, speech, or thought that is driven by decision (cetanā), leading to future consequences. The term itself comes from the Sanskrit word for "action" or "doing," and in the Buddhist context, it specifically denotes volitional actions, meaning they are done deliberately, […]
Compassion: a Zen perspective. From the Latin Com = together, Passionate = suffering. In Zen, compassion, referred to as karuna, is fundamentally the wish and the behavior that the self and others be free from suffering, and its roots. It is not a feeling of mere sympathy or just empathy, but a deep, intrinsic understanding […]
