Category Archives: Dharma

Letting Go and the Symmetry of Canoes

Tualatin River, September 22, 1999 On Friday I sold my canoe. The last time we had it in the water was the summer of, maybe, 2005. Since then it’s been in the backyard, covered with a decaying plastic tarp. It needed some minor repairs to make it usable and a lot of work to bring [...]
Also posted in Buddhism, Canoeing, Dhamma, Freedom | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

People Repellent

Yesterday evening I was presented with another reminder of the subtle ways in which dissatisfaction can arise and was offered the opportunity to reflect on the nature of suffering. We went to a dance performance at my step-daughter’s high school. It’s a magnet school for the arts, and the performance was first-rate. The environment, though, [...]
Also posted in Buddhism, Dhamma, Suffering | Leave a comment

Buddhism, Suffering, Love, and Making Comparisons

Last week I led a Dharma discussion where the topic drifted to Buddhism’s emphasis on suffering. It’s very common for people to get the impression that Buddhism is a negative, depressive religion because of all its talk about suffering. “Why not teach love?” someone asked during the discussion, adding that love is what Christ taught. [...]
Also posted in Buddhism, Dhamma, Practice, Suffering, Truth | 4 Comments

What is a Buddhist, and Am I One?

During a conversation among a group of us prior to a formal meditation session several years ago someone said, “I’m not a Buddhist. I just practice the Dharma.” It sounded pompous to me, but I understand where she was coming from. Identifying with being Buddhist is no different from identifying with the body and mind, [...]
Also posted in Belief, Buddhism, Dhamma, Eightfold Path, Faith, Practice, Refuge, The Buddha | Tagged , , , , | 4 Comments