By Laura Bennett Lately, I’ve been on a journey to be more compassionate towards myself. For me, this has meant learning to offer more compassion towards the thoughts, sensations, emotions, perceptions, and habitual patterns that arise. This journey has also naturally lent itself toward learning how to truly receive compassion. When I say compassion here,…
Category: Buddhism
A Prayer in Every Breath (It’s ok to suck at meditation)
By Kelly Branan I want to begin with something very simple:the sound of breathing. Let’s start by listening to a few of our own breaths. What do you notice? What parts of your body feel loud right now?Which parts feel quiet? Before we do anything else, before we try to understand anything, before we try…
Attend to All and Each
Chris Leibow’s dharma talk invites us to embrace the Buddhist mantra “come as you are” through Namu Amida Butsu, focusing on compassion, interdependence, and mindful presence. He reflects on the meaning of attending to ourselves and others within a unique, trans-ectarian Buddhist fellowship inspired by Pure Land teachings. This talk blends poetry and ancient wisdom to guide listeners toward awakening and wholeness in everyday life.
The Dharma of Creativity
By Rio Branham I want to talk about an idea expressed in this quote from Rev. Gyomay Kubose, Living in oneness with [the] Buddha’s teachings is a creative life in which everything becomes meaningful. I’ve been coming across this idea in lots of different places, that a spiritual life, awakening, enlightenment, is related to creativity…
Is not impermanence the very fragrance of our days?
Good morning. So the title of this dharma talk is actually a quote from Rainer Maria Rilke: “Is not impermanence the very fragrance of our days?” I love this quote because it reminds me that our impermanence is what gives life meaning. The fleeting, unknowable, ephemeral, impermanent nature of being alive can bring heartbreak and…
Ordinary Awakening
In Ordinary Awakening, Christopher Kakuyo Leibow reflects on the freedom of being who we already are. Drawing on Shin Buddhist teachings, he reminds us that awakening isn’t escape but clarity—the humble seeing of our interdependence, where even the most ordinary moments shine with luminous truth.
The I 15 Sutra
Discover a profound Buddhist sutra fragment found on the shores of the Great Salt Lake, where the Buddha’s timeless teachings on mindfulness and compassion were originally spoken at the busy junction of Interstate 15 and Interstate 80. This unique text invites modern drivers to embrace the Eightfold Path amid their daily travels, turning moments of traffic stress into spiritual practice and inner peace.”
Build-a-Buddhism: Choosing what spirituality means to you
By Rio Branham I want to start by talking about a favorite book of mine. The Alchemist by Paulo Cuelho. It’s a story about a boy named Santiago who decides to leave all he has and all he’s known behind to follow a dream. Without knowing much about what will come of his pursuit, he…
Not knowing is the most intimate.
Not Knowing – I would like to start today’s Dharma talk with one of the most famous of the Zen Koans – Attention! Master Dizang asks Fayan,“Where have you come from?”Fayan replies, “I pilgrimage aimlessly,”“What is the purpose of your pilgrimage?” asks Dizang.“I don’t know,” replies Fayan.“Not knowing is the most intimate,” remarked Dizang.At…
On Humility: The Path of Studentship
DHARMA TALK by CHRISTOPHER KAKUYO Today, I want to share a few thoughts on humility. Some years ago, I came across a profound teaching by Nubuo Haneda in his book Dharma Breeze. In the first chapter, he recounts the origins of the Shin Buddhist tradition when Shinran meets his teacher, Honen. Here is the passage….
Everyday Nembutsu 