The practice of doing alms rounds set up a relationship of dependency between the sangha and the lay community in which the lay community provided food and the sangha gave Dharma teachings. We try to duplicate this economy of generosity in…

We are all interconnected and interdependent. Many of the beings that I have incarnated with in this life have struggled with achieving and maintaining healthy choices, which has caused immense suffering for them personally and their families. I weighed 400 pounds in…

I was a pretty normal kid growing up in the 1970s. I was never overweight but still feared gaining weight. I was heavily into dieting by age 12, and I was anorexic by age 15, followed by bulimia in my later teens. I spent about two decades toddling back and…

How do we cultivate a kind heart? It is not enough to tell ourselves that we should be nice, because telling ourselves what we should or should not be, feel or do does not make us become that way. Filling ourselves with “shoulds” often just makes us feel guilty because…

Bowing is an ancient Buddhist custom and a custom of all religions. It is done to show respect and to humble our ego. In many of the Buddhist monasteries I have visited, and in monastic conferences I have attended, you really see the effect of…