I can be pretty compulsive. I often say that anyone who earns a Ph.D. in an academic discipline has to be at least a bit compulsive, since the external gratification in writing a dissertation is nil. So I will continue to ply you with requests to donate to the fund…

The United States has the highest maternal mortality rate in the developed world. The United States now no longer guarantees the right to abortion at the national level. There is no official Buddhist position on abortion, just as there is no official Buddhist position on any topic. Well, okay, maybe…

This is the most macro possible perspective. Padmasambhava, who took Buddhism to Tibet according to their lore, is reputed to have said that his view was as wide as the sky. Awakening brings about enormous equanimity, such that no event can cause any perturbation in one’s mental calm. Of course…

I really do not understand why I routinely see ads for Facebook when I watch Youtube videos. I find it hard to believe that many people who know how to watch Youtube videos do not also know that Facebook exists. But I do not have all of the answers and…

It would be better to say that I have perceived beyond, since it wasn’t really visual. I do not have a great visual imagination. I’m a writer, not a painter, because I think in words, not images. Thinking in words is not great because awakening defies description. It beggars language. …

In some sense, Christianity, Buddhism, any religion is an account of reality. Humans live with a constant bombardment of sensory inputs that would drive us crazy if we did not learn to filter. I chose the Buddhist path because it seems to me to be the only option that offers…

As I often say, I do not really understand how most people think. I can see myself doing the same thing a lot of people who nominally follow me do, which is not read my posts very often apparently. …

Knowledge is great. I like being an expert and knowing a lot about a particular topic. I like having a Ph.D. and being very well informed about the field I studied. But knowledge is not wisdom. Earning a Ph.D. requires a sort of concentration that is not entirely different from…

I haven’t given up, although you may have forgotten, or started reading my work since I last brought this up. Red State Vihara is my idea to start a Buddhist retreat and meditation center in a red state. Robina Courtin says of herself that she was angry from birth. This…