zen

Quarantine life got you on edge? Experience the tranquility of a Zen garden in Kyoto without dealing with travel and, you know, people. Zen Fox Studio rock gardens, made in West Lafayette by artist Sarah Vrabely, come in a variety of sizes and styles

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

Homage to Jizo Bodhisattva, protector of those crossing over, guardian of children who have died, comforter of loved ones struggling on the path of crossing over from this life and those who grieve their deaths; homage to your great vow and to the fe

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

On the Bowery in the '80s, Richard Avedon protege Drew Carolan captured the mien of a subculture centered around mid-afternoon expressions of anger and community. The hardcore kids ain't kids no more.

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

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

In Conversation with Joseph Goldstein By Gail Stark Wisdom Publications 2020; 256 pp., $18.95 (paper) Joseph Goldstein is a key founder of the Insight Meditation movement in the West; Gail Stark, a businesswoman, has been his friend and student for m

The characters are like hungry ghosts, says ROD MEADE SPERRY, endlessly consuming liquor, drugs—and each other. WHEN WE THINK OF Matthew Weiner’s game-changing AMC series Mad Men, what do we picture? Smoking, suits, and sex. (Not to mention sexism.)

You have enlightened nature, says PEMA KHANDRO. If you truly know that, you’ll always be kind to yourself. WHEN PEOPLE TALK ABOUT daily practice, they usually mean doing silent meditation, a ritual, or mantra recitation. These are important parts of

I WAS RAISED IN YORK County, Pennsylvania. My extended family are ethnically Pennsylvania Dutch, and I was steeped in that culture as a child. My relatives were mostly farmers and factory laborers. I attended the University of Texas, focusing on anth