How can we develop sexual responsibility?

The Third Mindfulness Training of Thich Nhat Hanh
Aware of the suffering caused by sexual misconduct, I am committed to cultivate responsibility and learn ways to protect the safety and integrity of individuals, couples, families, and society. I am determined not to engage in sexual relations without love and a long-term commitment. To preserve the happiness of myself and others, I am determined to respect my commitments and the commitments of others. I will do everything in my power to protect children from sexual abuse and to prevent couples and families from being broken by sexual misconduct.

How can we live generously in a time of greed?

The Second Mindfulness Training of Thich Nhat Hanh
Aware of the suffering caused by exploitation, social injustice, stealing, and oppression, I am committed to cultivate loving kindness and learn ways to work for the well-being of people, animals, plants, and minerals. I am committed to practice generosity by sharing my time, energy, and material resources with those who are in real need. I am determined not to steal and not to possess anything that should belong to others. I will respect the property of others, but I will prevent others from profiting from human suffering or the suffering of other species on Earth.

Life is a Gift

San Francisco Zen Center: Dharma Talks by Blanche Hartman As I was walking out of the hospital having survived a heart attack about eleven years ago, I thought, “Wow! I could be dead. The rest of my life is just a gift.” And then I thought, “Well, it always has been a gift from the very beginning and I never noticed it until it was almost gone.”

Swimming meditation?

Is it possible to meditate while swimming? Maybe not in the traditional sense, although there may be comparisons with the so-called 'marathon monks' of Mount Hiei in Japan.

When I swim, I focus on my breathing, aware of every in breath and out breath. In these circumstances, breath cannot be taken for granted, but is obviously essential and precious. Even though a procession of diverse thoughts flashes through my mind, I keep bringing myself back to the present moment and to the actual act of swimming. After a while I forget how many laps I've done, or even how long I've been swimming. I'm not a particularly good swimmer, but I can learn to do what I do mindfully. That's a kind of awareness, I suppose. But then it's hard to say that it's Meditation with a capital M, because it's just swimming. Really swimming.

A parody of Buddhist swimming can be found at the
Zen Diving Organization.

How can we live peacefully in a world on the brink of war?

The First Mindfulness Training of Thich Nhat Hanh

Aware of the suffering caused by the destruction of life, I am committed to cultivate compassion and learn ways to protect the lives of people, animals, plants, and minerals. I am determined not to kill, not to let others kill, and not to condone any act of killing in the world, in my thinking, and in my way of life.

In the present moment, what can be said about the 'war on terror'?

"Strike against Terror", by Thich Nhat Hanh, a Buddhist monk and peace activist The root of terrorism should be identified, so that it can be removed. The root of terrorism is misunderstanding, intolerance, hatred, revenge and hopelessness. This root cannot be located by the military. Bombs and missiles cannot reach it, let alone destroy it. Only with the practice of looking deeply can our insight reveal and identify this root. Only with the practice of deep listening and compassion can it be transformed and removed.

The day is very busy, and there are many demands placed on us.

It can seem that there is no time to sit quietly and take stock of who, and where, and why, we are.

But the day is also a succession of one present moment after another, thousands of them,
each one filled with enough reality to last a lifetime.

The trick is to notice them, to be aware of what is passing.

What visited me today in my ten minutes of sitting meditation?

• Flies



• A large red ant



• A juvenile magpie

It sat on the railing in front of me, inquisitive.

At first I thought it hadn't noticed me, but then it seemed to be keeping me company.

I watched as it curled and uncurled the toes of its claws around the metal rail, as it sharpened its beak on the curve, scritch-scratch.

I noticed the way the wind ruffled its still-downy breast feathers so much that it turned around in one hop so as to streamline itself.

When at last I stood up, it didn't fly away, just bounced its way along the rail, apprehensively. I would have been apprehensive too, in its place. There is a four hundred metre drop directly below, all the way to the valley floor.

The yellow-tailed cockatoos sail over the chasm as if it weren't there.

In the present moment my 2 year old son is waking up.
I must see to him before I see to this.