Refuge: A Safe and Meaningful Direction in Life

Taking refuge is the foundation for all the Buddhist teachings and practices. It’s called “the gateway for entering the Buddhist path.” When we understand that taking refuge means working on ourselves, then we see that it is an active process of putting a safe and meaningful direction in our lives. We work on ourselves by following the methods Buddha taught for ridding ourselves of confusion, disturbing emotions and compulsive behavior and for developing all good qualities. This is what all the Buddhas have done and the highly realized masters are doing, and what we try to do by following in their footsteps.

The Buddha’s Noble First Teaching

Tulku Thondup on the four simple and practical statements that encompass the entire Buddhist path, the Buddha’s Four Noble Truths.

After his attainment of full enlightenment, the Buddha’s first teaching was on the Four Noble Truths. In it the Buddha explains the mental and physical evolution of the mundane world and the same cycle in reverse. He gave this teaching to his first five monk-disciples at the Deer Park, now known as Saranath, near Varanasi in India. The Buddha said, “Oh Bhikshus, there are four noble truths. They are the noble truths of suffering, the cause of suffering, the cessation of suffering and the path to the cessation of suffering.”

Living the Compassionate Life

The Dalai Lama explains how the Buddhist teachings of mindfulness and compassion lead inevitably to feelings of self-confidence and kindness.

As human beings we all have the potential to be happy and compassionate people, and we also have the potential to be miserable and harmful to others. The potential for all these things is present within each of us.

The Dharma of Staying Calm When Facing Challenges

When we can’t – or don’t want to – avoid facing challenges (our own or those of others), what does the Dharma offer us in terms of preventing anxiety, fear, overwhelm, burnout, depression, or despair? I talk about what is really means to stay calm, the value of staying calm, and some practices that can help us do this.

A Guided Meditation Script to Help Kids Explore Feelings About Change

This meditation can help children mindfully notice and cope with the big emotions that come with the nature of change.

All things must change, and we do not always know the outcome—if we’ll like the new thing or not, if it will be easy or not, if we’ll get used to what’s different. The inevitability and unpredictability of change is what can make it so uncomfortable and challenging to manage. Especially when things feel comfortable where they are, it’s easy to understand why we resist change.

What Are The Benefits of Zen Meditation?

Zen meditation has been a spiritual practice for centuries and is recognized for its numerous physical, mental, and spiritual benefits. 

This practice involves focusing on the present moment and observing one’s thoughts and feelings without judgment. While Zen meditation is primarily associated with spiritual and mental benefits, it also have strong positive effects on physical health.