Category: Daily Success Habits
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I should have thought
Many years ago, when I was still an undergraduate, I traveled from eastern Iowa to the North of England to study English literature at the University of Leeds, a so-called “redbrick” university in West Yorkshire. There I lived for a year in a village on the outskirts of that soot-laden city in a hall of…
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what I’m working on
For my birthday my daughter gave me this monogrammed notebook. It fits in my hand. She inscribed it, “Take this with you everywhere. Use it for everything.” A few days ago I picked it up and put a pen to the pages. This is what I wrote. People ask me what I’m working on now.…
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A peaceable heart
Like the word silly, which once meant “innocent” (“the silly sheep”) but now means “foolish, frivolous, lacking in common sense,” the word contention has a distinctive history. Derived from the Latin contentio, it once meant “striving, struggle, competition.” But sometime in the sixteenth century, contention came to mean “disagreement, argument, fighting.” Unlike silly, contention has…
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zen: the authentic gate
We cannot attain genuine enlightenment unless we practice under an authentic teacher; we will be led to a spurious experience if we practice under a false teacher. ― Kōun Yamada, Zen: The Authentic Gate When I started my practice I received a very specific imprint, a very specific instruction on working with a teacher.…
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The practice of veneration
In the closing line of his poem “Sandstone Keepsake,” the Irish poet and Nobel laureate Seamus Heaney describes himself as “one of the venerators.” That line is striking, not only because the verb venerate has largely disappeared from everyday discourse but also because the spirit of veneration itself, like water in certain parts of the…
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this perfect way
Here we are, in the midst of this perfect way, and our practice is to realize it. — Maezumi Roshi Chapin Mill Retreat October 9-12, 2025 Register here Every year around this time, the people who practice with me come together at Chapin Mill Retreat Center in Batavia, NY. There are many reasons we keep…
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survival training
It started, as most things do, with me. I was the one who needed encouragement. After that impossible November day, it no longer mattered what I believed. It sure as hell wasn’t true. And then the fires from nowhere swept our homes. Everywhere, disasters exploded. Before long, we were broken by sickness, stress, and the…
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Life is Suffering (Dharma Talk)
In this Dharma talk, I discuss Buddhism’s first noble truth, “Life is Suffering.” At first, this teaching may seem morbid and nihilistic. However, when we look deeper, we find that the first noble truth serves to change our perspective; giving us an “enlightened pessimism” that protects us from suffering. If you enjoyed this Dharma talk,…
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Society is a Shared Hallucination (Dharma Talk)
In this Dharma talk, I discuss a teaching from Vasubandhu’s “Treatise on the Three Natures”. I use his description of reality to explain how societies are created, and the circumstances under which we should opt-out of societal norms. …
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Celebrating A Buddhist Thanksgiving (Dharma Talk)
In this Dharma talk, I read a passage from the Ornament of Realization Sutra and discuss how it relates to Thanksgiving. In the end, I show how traditional Thanksgiving practices like sharing food and spending time with family help us cultivate the wholesome Dharmas of generosity and gratitude. If you enjoyed this Dharma talk, you’ll…