Watercolor illustrations of a parent and child playing with a kite while a butterfly flies above

How to Talk to Kids About Death

When a loved one dies, grown-ups don’t always know what to say to kids. Gail Silver has helpful tips based on Buddhist teachings.

Buddhadharma on Books: Spring 2024

Constance Kassor reviews "The Sound of Vulture’s Wings" by Jeffrey W. Cupchik, "The Kalachakra Mandala" by Edward Henning, "Xuedou’s 100 Odes to Old Cases" by Steven Heine, and more.

Illustration of a man sitting zazen with his hair on fire.

Practice Like Your Hair’s on Fire

Enlightenment is possible in this lifetime but time is running out. We have to make the most of this rare and fleeting opportunity to wake up.

Mahaprajapati’s Daughters

If there’s a mother of Buddhism, it’s Mahaprajapati, says Andrea Miller. In women dharma teachers throughout the ages, we see a continuation of her strength and practicality, her wisdom and compassion.

How to Apologize When You Say the Wrong Thing

René Rivera on how to have empathy for the person you’ve hurt—and yourself.

woman swims in a frozen lake

How Mindfulness Enhances Cold Water Therapy

Roberval Oliveira shares his experience with cold water therapy, highlighting the important role mindfulness has played in unlocking its numerous benefits.

Navigating Marriage as a Buddhist-Christian Couple

Kaira Jewel Lingo and Fr. Adam Bucko share how their union as a Buddhist-Christian couple has revealed that love is not only a feeling, but an intentional practice

The Four Givings

Buddhism’s four immeasurables aren’t just states of mind we can achieve, says Venerable Hui Cheng. They’re gifts we can give to others.

A More Present Life Starts Now

Life and practice don't need to be separate, writes Emily Horn. She shares how we can integrate moments of meditation into the routine experiences of our every day lives.

Severing the Roots of Our Discontent – The Buddhist Way

B. Alan Wallace on how the kleshas or “mental afflictors” keep us from realizing the true nature of our mind, and how we can begin to get to the root of our discontent by recognizing the kleshas for what they are.

Resources for Confronting Abuse in Spiritual Communities

From Ann Gleig and Amy Langenberg, authors of “Sexual Ethics and Healthy Boundaries in the Wake of Teacher Abuse,” from the Winter 2023 issue of Buddhadharma, comes this gathering of select websites, communities, and projects of value to Buddhist communities, teachers, and students looking to develop and maintain best practices when it comes to fostering healthy teacher-student relationships and addressing conflicts and pitfalls.

Read “A Teachers Return to the Valley of Renewal” an excerpt from Notebooks of a Wandering Monk

An excerpt from Notebooks of a Wandering Monk by Matthieu Ricard.— as reviewed in the Winter 2023 issue of Buddhadharma: The Practitioner’s Guiden

Read an excerpt from Illumination: A Guide to the Buddhist Method of No-Method

An excerpt from Illumination: A Guide to the Buddhist Method of No-Method by Rebecca Li — as reviewed in the Winter 2023 issue of Buddhadharma: The Practitioner’s Guide.

Read an excerpt from Seeing One Thing Through: The Zen Life and Teachings of Sojun Mel Weitsman

An excerpt of Seeing One Thing Through: The Zen Life and Teachings of Sojun Mel Weitsman, by Sojun Mel Weitsman — as reviewed in the Fall 2023 issue of Buddhadharma: The Practitioner’s Guide.

Read an excerpt from The Buddhist Tantras: A Guide

An excerpt from The Buddhist Tantras: A Guide by David B. Gray— as reviewed in the Winter 2023 issue of Buddhadharma: The Practitioner’s Guide

Read “Mere Perception in Vasubandhu’s Twenty Verses” from Making Sense of Mind Only: Why Yogācāra Buddhism Matters

An excerpt from Making Sense of Mind Only: Why Yogācāra Buddhism Matters by William S. Waldron — as reviewed in the Winter 2023 issue of Buddhadharma: The Practitioner’s Guide

Read an excerpt from Chapter 2 of Karma and Grace: Religious Difference in Millennial Sri Lanka

An excerpt from Karma and Grace: Religious Difference in Millennial Sri Lanka, by Neena Mahadev— as reviewed in the Winter 2023 issue of Buddhadharma: The Practitioner’s Guide

The Vastness of a Robe

Falling into bits and pieces, the robe — like everything else — becomes the universe. A teaching by Tenshin Reb Anderson.

Developing Our Spiritual Capacities

Informed by the teachings of Nichiren Shonin, founder of the Nichiren school of Buddhism, and Sot’aesan, the founder of Won Buddhism, Rev. Ryuei Michael McCormick looks at our capacity for spiritual awakening and how it relates to our maturity.

Awakening Through Sound

Guo Gu, contributor to the “Glimpses of Buddhanature” feature in the Fall 2023 issue of Buddhadharma, shares the practice of contemplation of hearing, a practice rooted in a method for awakening attributed to the bodhisattva Avalokitesvara.