The practice is called, “tonglen.” The word is Tibetan and can be translated as giving and taking or sending and receiving. The practice appears to date to the 12th century in Tibet, but originated in India before that. Over the last several months, I’ve been learning more about the Tibetan… Read More »Buddhist Practice and Christian Lent
It was Sunday morning. I stopped at the local grocery to pick up a few things for dinner preparation. No sooner had I stepped from the car than a young man gathering carts called over to me. “You ready for the game?” I laughed and responded, “I’ll be closer to… Read More »Sport and Lessons on Community
I find myself driving along a familiar street. While my speed is within the posted limit, I pull behind a car that’s moving noticeably slower. The driver appears to have difficulty staying in the lane. At first, I’m annoyed. But then the car comes close to side-swiping a parked car… Read More »Focus and the Challenge of Multi-Tasking
The teacher asked a classic moral question to get us thinking: is it right or wrong to kill another human being? I was in high school. It was through discussions like this that I developed a basic understanding of moral decision making. Indeed, after the question was asked, the discussion… Read More »Context and Moral Decisions
It’s a common understanding in Western countries: individual citizens have rights. Issues of human rights come into play when dealing with imprisonment, the news media, and a myriad of issues related to religious practice, personal choices, privacy, health, and so much more. Some countries are listed by the United Nations… Read More »Balance and Our Lives Together
I was no more than five or six years old. With my childhood friend, Denny, we’d roam the neighborhood looking everywhere we could imagine to find our treasure: empty soda bottles. We’d find as many as we could. We’d hope for at least three bottles each. But however many we… Read More »Values for Green Living
Having some time one afternoon, I stopped in at a local bookstore. As is my habit, I went first to see the books on the reduced price table. As I looked over the titles, I stumbled onto a large hardbound volume of photos from the Hubble space telescope. I paged… Read More »Awe and Wonder
If you’re like me, you live most of your life with an acute awareness of time. Minutes, hours, days, weeks, and months organize appointments, deadlines, and opportunities for routines like sharing meals or engaging in spiritual practice. Everything is governed by time. Or is it? We know that time is… Read More »Time and the New Year
