zen

4300 Melrose Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90029. (323) 665-4300, Fax: (323) 665-4404, service@againstthestream.org, www.againstthestream.org • Founded by Noah Levine, author of Dharma Punx, Against The Stream has two centers in Los Angeles and Santa Monica o

I was born in 1947 in a place that doesn’t exist anymore: the Panama Canal Zone. It was an American possession at the time and my father was stationed there. Growing up as a navy brat, I lived many places, and I’ve continued to move around a lot as a

Clear Serenity, Quiet Insight University of Hawai‘i Press 2,256 pages (3 volumes); $90 Clear Serenity, Quiet Insight is Paul Swanson’s English translation of the Mohe zhiguan (Jpn., Maka shikan; literally, “great calming and insight”), a massive comp

The second-century Indian Buddhist philosopher Nagarjuna had it out for anyone addicted to logic. He recognized logic’s importance in the context of philosophical discourse but observed that many of his non-Buddhist contemporaries wrongly believed in

PEMA KHANDRO RINPOCHE is a lineage holder in the Nyingma and Kagyu traditions of Tibetan Buddhism, as well as one of the few Westerners recognized and enthroned as a tulku. She founded the nonprofit organization Ngakpa International, residential medi

IN 1964, I WAS BORN in Saigon to a Buddhist family. At age eight, I was adopted by an American family. My parents worked for the State Department, so besides living in the United States, I also lived in Thailand and Egypt. These beginnings gave me a

THERE IS A CLASSIC KOAN in the Zen tradition, called “Sun Faced Buddha, Moon Faced Buddha.” In this koan story, Zen master Baso is dying. The head monk comes to visit him and asks Baso, “How are you doing?” Baso replies, “Sun Faced Buddha, Moon Faced

BECOMING A ZEN PRIEST was never about becoming someone other than who I was. I was well aware that I would never be able to escape myself. Instead, in walking the path of Buddha, in living a life of vow, I found I was more present than ever. I was ev

Calligraphy by Hakuin. Above the character “Virtue” it reads: “If you pile up money for your children and grandchildren, they won’t be able to hold onto it. If you pile up books for your children and grandchildren, they won’t read any of them. No, th

DHARMA REALM BUDDHIST UNIVERSITY 4951 Bodhi Way, Ukiah, CA 95482. (707) 621-7000, info@drbu.edu, www.drbu.edu • Dharma Realm Buddhist University (DRBU) is an accredited university in northern California dedicated to liberal education in the broad Bud

I have just set up camp on a rock ledge when all hell breaks loose. A violent windstorm suddenly sweeps out of the Panhandle, shaking my tent like an earthquake, and me with it. I step out to check the ropes anchoring the tent and blowing sand fills

4951 Bodhi Way, Ukiah, CA 95482. (707) 621-7000, info@drbu.edu, www.drbu.edu • Dharma Realm Buddhist University (DRBU) is an accredited university in northern California dedicated to liberal education in the broad Buddhist tradition. 3436 Divisadero