A dozen years ago, I met an accomplished young yoga teacher from Toronto, Michael Stone. Michael had done a year of solo retreat in the northern woods of Canada and was diving deep into Buddhist meditation practice. We went for a long walk on the be... Read more

Last week I wrote about the camaraderie and solidarity among the folks who’d sat the silent meditation retreat at Vallecitos. For that time together, we formed a community of shared experience. It made me wonder, how can we create common memory and ... Read more

I’m in the shuttle bus to Albuquerque after teaching a meditation retreat at Vallecitos Mountain Ranch in the mountains of northern New Mexico. After a bumpy 11 miles of dirt road we reach paved road, leaving the beautiful Carson National Forest wil... Read more

This video from the Cleveland Clinic, “Empathy: The Human Connection to Patient Care”, was shown at InsightLA a few years ago. It shows a miraculous seeing into the hearts of others with eyes of compassion. If only we would see beyond the different ... Read more

You know how sometimes you agree to do something and then when that time rolls around, you’re really sorry? A while ago I said I’d teach an online video course for Conscious2. Teaching this way was definitely an edge for me… How do you act animated ... Read more

Tuesday morning when I took out the recycling, I saw several people up and down the alley bending over the big bins searching through the trash. I’d never seen so many people—all looking like homeless grandparents—foraging in the alley. The bottle a... Read more

When I took my first ordination vows as a shy young Zen Buddhist with Soen Sa-Nim 43 years ago, I could never have imagined sitting side by side with my teacher/mentors empowering a succession of wonderful teachers at a beautiful meditation center I... Read more

When I encountered Buddhist psychology and meditation teachings at age 26, I fell in love. It all felt so right and true. I definitely needed a “safe and reliable refuge.” At first, the awe that I felt for my teachers was about looking up to someone... Read more

  One of the most joyous occasions in my life is passing on the Dharma to teachers I’ve mentored and loved. And one special and unique hallmark of InsightLA is our place in a lineage of Asian and Western teachers whose blessings and protecti... Read more

As I sit here at Spirit Rock, where I am assisting Trudy and Jack’s retreat, I am reminded once again how our lives are not separate from our practice. What we are dealing with in our hearts and minds also comes on retreat with us. There is really n... Read more