Finding a Place From Which to Start

When one sets out to choose a religion, how does one make the right choice? Different religions offer us such different perspectives on the nature of human life, and such different paths of practice, that it is impossible to find a unifying scheme capable of...

How to Become a Powerful Person

It is not through arsenals stacked with lethal weapons Nor by battalions of lightning-swift troops That we can vanquish the forces of darkness And open the gates to freedom for the world. The source of true power lies not in domination By the brute force of armies or...

What Does It Mean To Be Enlightened?

In a conversation with an aged brahmin, the Buddha once explained concisely what is meant by a Buddha, an enlightened one: “What has to be known, that I have known; What has to be abandoned, that I have abandoned; What has to be developed, that I have developed;...

Crossing the Realm of Death

In South Asia, during the rainy season, the monsoons rains come pouring down mightily and heavily. When the rains pour down, the rivers swell up and widen, and their current becomes fierce and tumultuous. Seemingly out of nowhere, many streams previously non-existent...

Our Mind Is Our Best Friend

Excerpt from a talk by Bhikkhu Bodhi (August 2, 2002) In our lives we often distinguish people as enemies and friends. We consider as enemies those people who are benton harming us, on doing some damage to us or to our loved ones. And we consider as friends those...