Like Kylo Ren imploring Rey to let-go during “The Last Jedi,” it can often feel like self-help teachers self-righteously pummel us with...

The sixth Ch’an patriarch recommend that we regard all people equally. But we’re not all equal, how boring would it be if we were? There...

Gaze into the face of the newly anointed Lord Vader during the final quarter of “Revenge of the Sith” as he stands upon the volcanic...

I have captioned a still from Star Wars episode 4: “A New Hope,” depicting R2D2 face down upon Tatooine after being stunned by the Jawas....

“Will the practice of NO-fap grant me every success?” he asked. Neither success, nor failure, nor even stress is the problem. Ask an...

Anything new could be exciting, perhaps even scary. When anticipating a visit to a temple one might be frightened of transgressing...

M. asked: “Is Hinduism like a spiritual Buddhism?” Let us side-step the metaphoric landmine of defining spirituality and simply contrast...

M. wrote: “Does anyone have trouble blocking negative thoughts during meditation, like I do?” Dear M., I am delighted to read that you...

J. asked: Do you think it is necessary/ healthy to live a celibate life? It really depends upon whether or not the celibacy is...

J. wrote: I believe in angels. Is this anti Buddhist? Just as Glenda the Good Witch of the South, in the Wizard of Oz, asked Dorothy,...

Another “A.” wrote: “I am struggling. I wish to become a Buddhist but I do not want to give up my belief that there is a supreme being. I...

*NOTE to the reader/ viewer: It seems inevitable that there will be some conceptual overlap between this and previous lessons. And so if...

Jeremy wrote and asked: “How does one separate confidence from ego? It is a constant struggle of mine.” When our mindfulness is...

No one makes it though life without acquiring a scar or two. And those scars don’t have to be on the outside. They can be on the inside...

nee asked, “When a person is nearing death, is there a mantra for the occasion?” Oh sure, I could teach you Om A-mi De-wa Hri the mantra...

Ahamed recently asked a double question, “What’s the difference between Mahayana and Theravada Buddhism?” And, “Which is the true message...

What’s that? You say you want to meditate? Then be sure not to fall into the trap of rigid contrivance. The Buddha was a sage of...

From across the restaurant she flagged me down. “I can tell from the way you’re dressed that you’re a Buddhist monk.” she explained. “How...

Some of the Buddha’s teachings are literal, and others are figurative. Those who have been conditioned to view the world through the...

A good hearted fellow asked for a contemplative solution to, what he felt, were the destructive urges that he experienced when in public..