Seven Buddhist Mantras
Buddhist mantras are syllables and words chanted repetitively as part of a centering, consciousness-shifting practice. Their exact function can vary, but all have a goal of helping to inspire and...
Balance
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Where is the Buddha?
A monk embarked on a long pilgrimage to find the Buddha. He wandered fruitlessly for several years until he reached a river. Across the river, it was said, was the...
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Panchayudha Jataka – Five Kinds of Weapons
The Bodhisattva was once born as a son to King Brahmadatta. At his naming ceremony, the king’s priests prophesied that the prince would become a good and noble ruler, famous...
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Inspirational Quotes to Aid Your Personal Journey
In his acclaimed poem, Song of Myself, Walt Whitman writes, “I tramp a perpetual journey.” But Whitman is not alone. Every one of us is on our own unique journey,...
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6 Awesome Zen Thoughts on Water & Waves
There is something calm, cool, and contemplative about water – from a still puddle to the shifting ocean. And accordingly, poets, spiritualists, and writers from antiquity to the modern era...
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Schools of Yoga
Hatha Yoga Hatha Yoga originated in the 15th century and is credited to the Indian sage, Swami Swatmarama. Literally, ‘Ha’ means ‘sun’ and ‘tha’ means ‘moon’. It also refers to...
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Individuality and the Challenge of Separation
How do you describe yourself? Male or female? Married or single? An accountant or architect? With each label you place on yourself, you create distance between you and everyone else...
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The Eight Stages of Jhana
Jhana is the Pali word for meditation or a meditative state that is best characterized as a condition of supreme tranquillity. According to the Pali Canon, there are eight stages...
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Three Carts and a Burning House
Once, a fire broke out in a rich man’s house. The man began shouting out to his many children to run out of the building. Absorbed in their play, the...
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Story from the Dhammapada – Two Brothers
There once lived a Brahmin whose wife was a devoted follower of the Buddha. At first, he was indulgent towards her admiration. As her faith in the Buddha increased, the...
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Phala Jataka Tale
Once, the Buddha was born as a wealthy merchant. On a journey with his caravan, he stopped outside a forest through which their route led. “Beware, my brothers. This forest...
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Knowledge – A Sufi Folktale
There once lived a scholar who had to journey across a huge river. It was a long, slow trip and the scholar soon got bored. He called out to the...
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Kacchapa Jataka Tale – Talking Turtle
The Boddhisattva was once a greatly respected advisor to King Brahmadatta, an intelligent but excessively talkative ruler. His advisor often pondered on how to cure the king of this habit...
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Jataka Tales
Gautama Buddha’s birth as Prince Siddhartha – during which he attained Nirvana – was the last of several thousand births as a bodhisattva, an enlightened being who chooses to be...
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