Written by David Nichtern

More and more these days, our minds are actively engaged and stimulated, both with actual events going on around us and with data constantly streaming in and out. It’s like ...

Written by David Nichtern

From the Buddhist point of view, there is always a relationship between cause and effect; this notion is expressed in various teachings about karma. As we interact with the ...

Written by David Nichtern

When asked how we could possibly find time for our meditation practice in the midst of our oh-so-busy lives, Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche used to respond (in his best Tibetan/Ox...

Written by David Nichtern

Sometimes I wonder if religion would exist at all if it didnt address the most daunting fact that we human beings are faced with: that we are going to die and that everythin...

Written by David Nichtern

You’re sitting on the F train between a woman with too much perfume and a man with too little deodorant. Nearby, a baby wails an orchestral symphony of tears. Suddenly, the ...

Written by David Nichtern

For some of us, meditation may feel like an extension of the “me” culture in which it’s all about me, myself, my mind, and my body. But what about the rest of the beings in ...

Written by David Nichtern

The essence of Buddhism, I think most Buddhists would agree, is to cultivate awareness and compassion and to explore our existence in an open and unbiased way. In some sense...

Written by David Nichtern

In the old days in Japan, a spiritual aspirant would kneel in the snow at the gates of the monastery for several days before either gaining entrance or being turned away.

T...

Written by David Nichtern

I’m a Buddhist and as a Buddhist, I am trying to follow the Buddha’s example of an “awakened being” — but what does that really mean?

When we are ‘awake’ are we actually re...