Tag: resilience

In pre-industrial America, it was common for family heirlooms to be passed down from one generation to another.   A woman might wear her mother’s wedding dress to get married or a father might give his prized car to his son as a graduation present. Other times, the heirloom might be less descript; a bookcase that…

I discuss strategies for coping with suffering and the importance of focusing on positive actions that we can take in this present moment.  If you enjoyed this Dharma talk, you’ll love my books!

Two years ago, I bought an old farmhouse in the middle of nowhere.   I was tired of the noise and congestion of city life, and I wanted to be closer to nature.  More than that, I wanted to use the skills I’d learned by apprenticing on organic farms across the country. I wanted to build…

No one ever talks about the connection between homesteading and crisis management.   If one goes to Instagram and searches for #homesteadlife or #hobbyfarm, they’ll be greeted with pictures of happy chickens, well-groomed garden beds, and barns that look like they came from a magazine. The message is that growing food and caring for animals is…

In the meditation hall, I have an altar dedicated to Amida Buddha and the bodhisattvas Kannon and Jizo.  It contains three statues, which bear their respective images along with candles and an incense burner.   The statues are of good quality, but they aren’t that different from other figurines.  They’re white, standing approximately six inches tall.…

As a younger man, I prided myself on being a minimalist. I never owned more possessions that what I could fit into a duffel bag.   I did my best to avoid clothing purchases; choosing to make due with the free t-shirts that were passed out at college fairs and job recruitment events.  When I finally…

As I write this, it feels like hundreds of ants are biting my arms and legs.  I have a grass allergy, and prolonged exposure results in itching and small bumps appearing on my skin.   It’s been this way my whole life. When I was a child I loved playing outdoors with my friends.  We spent…

One common misconception about chickens is that they lay eggs every day.  In truth, their levels of production increase and decrease based on the weather.   In the summer months when the days are long chickens tend to lay eggs every other day.   However, they lay fewer eggs in the fall when the days get shorter,…

A student went to his Zen teacher and found him working in the garden.  The teacher greeted his student and asked, “How is Buddhism in the south?”   The student replied, “There is much discussion.”   The Zen teacher paused a moment, and then he said, “Come help me plant radishes in the garden.”   The student asked,…

Acceptance is a big deal in Buddhist circles.  We’re told that we must accept suffering, accept mistreatment, accept the opinions of others. We’re told to be like the ocean, which accepts all things and rejects nothing.  Much of this thinking is rooted in a slavish dependence on the absolute.   This is especially true in Zen…