Excerpt from an article for the Gay Buddhist Fellowship
by James Baraz

There are ten wholesome states that I say can really be cultivated easily. The first is the intention to be happy. Intending is the basis of all Karma as the Buddha said. Intending, I tell you, is Karma through body, speech and mind and it’s the second link in the eightfold path. Intention to be happy is one that doesn’t come quite as naturally to many people. We all want to be happy.

by Annie Nugent

In these troubled times that we live in, we can find ourselves very unhappy with the way events are unfolding in the world and wanting them to be a different way than they are.

Not knowing how to make sense of it all, the question might arise: Is it possible to be truly happy amidst the challenges of this mystery that we call life?

It is often these unsatisfying or difficult times in life that bring us to the dharma in search of answers to this question.

by David Chernikoff

I’d like to share some reflections on an issue that’s been on my mind a lot lately. I’ve come to believe that one of the most useful yardsticks of spiritual maturity is our ability to embrace paradox and contradiction.

The longer we tread the spiritual path, the more likely we are to notice the presence of these koan-like aspects of our human experience. Examples that come to mind are being/doing, perfection/imperfection, light/darkness, and the one I’d like to explore in this article – us and them.

by Steve Eiffert
I began meditating many years ago my intention was to discover more of who I was. My focus was on myself. I did learn and continue to learn about myself as my experience and knowledge of the dharma deepens. At some point, I began to understand that the dharma was also teaching me how to interact with others more skillfully. I clearly saw how as my interactions with others improved, it positively impacted both my life and theirs.

by Daniel G. Weidner, MS, LMHP

“It is our fear at experiencing ourselves directly that causes suffering” Mark Epstein, M.D.

This quote is from Dr. Epstein’s book: Thoughts Without A Thinker: Psychotherapy from a Buddhist Perspective. This book is a lucid and fascinating examination of the complimentary relationship between Buddhist Psychology and modern Psychotherapy. T

Whitney Prince attended “Cultivating Tranquility, Insight and the Awakening Factors” retreat with Philip Jones held in August, 2024. These poems were inspired by his practice of the 16 steps of mindfulness of breathing found in the Ānāpānasati-sutta (MN 118).