Buddha Weekly's Latest Features
Tips for Teaching Children Mindfulness and Meditation — ideal practice during lock down
Mindfulness meditation and yoga are ideal practices for our current "Covid-19 lockdown" situation — or any time. Many people all over the world are aware of the benefits of mindfulness, meditation and yoga. What better time to practice health and mindfulness with your children than now? Families in "lockdown" are under stress...
Manjushri as Father, Mother, Child — and Doctor: the eleven aspects of Manjushri — kind, wrathful, protective, teaching and “beastly”
Manjushri is the “master of the Seven Buddhas” and the “mother of the Buddhas” — and also the “child” of the Buddhas — according to Ajatasatruraja Sutra: “Manjushri is the father and mother of the Bodhissatvas, and their spiritual child.” [3] Manjushri's numerous faces, personas, and complexities only hint at the completeness...
Penetrating dualistic perception with the self-realized mind — and how to de-program a binary world
We are now witnessing the de-tethering and showcasing of two emergent and dominant branches of human orientation - the spiritual and the materially centered. Determining which direction all of our overlapping communities take, will ignite and be initiated first in the individual. We must now choose. We are each individually at a...
Ashtamangala: the Meaning of the 8 auspicious symbols Of Buddhism
The Ashtamangala are a sacred set of eight auspicious signs or symbols. They are considered a teaching tool, which point to the qualities of enlightenment. Within Buddhism, the Ashtamangala, are symbols of good fortune and represent the offerings made to Buddha by the gods upon gaining enlightenment. Here are the most common...
Meditation as key to increasing concentration, cognitive ability, productivity — tips for reducing stress and easing sleep
Although many people still do not admit it, the mere fact of studying, acquiring knowledge, can be a really tough task. Stress makes concentration, cognitive recall, and productivity difficult for most of us. Meditation is a proven method to reduce this stress — and increase your capacity to concentrate. By Diane Wong...
Home Retreat: a meritorious use of time while socially isolated during COVID-19 crisis. Dedicate the merit of Green Tara home retreat to all suffering beings
As we adjust to the new short-term realities of social distancing and isolation, many of our teachers are recommending home retreat while we have this time alone. Buddhist retreat is often an aspiration for many of us, due to busy work schedules. Now, many of us have time — but there is...
Response to the Cries of the World: Teacher Theodore Tsaousidis asks “Why do such terrible things happen?”
Excerpt from a feature by teacher Theodore Tsaousidis. Editor's note: Theodore is a profoundly impactful meditation teacher, popular in Ontario, and always has precious insights. Although this excerpt is from 2011, we are publishing here with permission because it seems as fitting today, in these difficult times as it did back then....
Why the Buddha is Regarded as the Supreme Healer; plus, a daily healing meditation anyone can practice.
Excerpt from "A Collection of Buddhist Methods for Healing" ebook (free to download), used with permission. Note: Healing meditations, even though effective, are not a replacement for the advice of your health-care practitioner. For links to all of Jason Espada's resources, see our earlier story>> By Jason Espada Buddha, the Supreme Healer...
Buddhist healing: strengthening health, helping others — downloadable text from Jason Espada: A Collection of Buddhist Methods for Healing
Editor's Introduction — Jason Espada is well-known for preserving and publishing teachings. Now, in this time of world crisis, Jason has published a free collection of Buddhist teachings on Healings. As he says in his introduction — "We have time now, and the strong motivation to practice, so if we connect with...
How to Use Writing as a Meditation Practice
Writing can be an effective and powerful meditation tool, which can help us activate our minds, integrating our creative mind with the mind of meditation [1]. The use of writing as a meditation practice can be used as a process of inquiry, which can help track our progress when we need to...
Mindfulness and meditation daily: tips for making it a healthy habit
The benefits of meditation are well-documented. From improving your mental clarity, productivity and problem solving all the way to fixing breathing issues and helping to reduce anxiety, it is something that can entirely change your life if you are willing to let it. For a feature on the 10 benefits of meditation...
Is there room for the supernatural in Western Buddhism? Four sutra views of magic and metaphysical and why a supernatural perspective helps “see beyond ordinary perception”
Does removing the magic from Buddhist practice seem less — magical? Sometimes, with a secular approach to Buddhism, we strip away some of the flair, the near euphoric joy of the Buddha's Dharma. That "bliss" can be an important part of practice, especially in Vajrayana. Even Tantric Buddhism, with all its supernatural...