Hole In The Donut Travels

In my daily meditations, I use a book titled “Awakenings: Asian Wisdom for Everyday.” The book contains a beautiful photo and an accompanying bit of wisdom for each day of the year. Prior to meditating each morning, I read the saying for the day and contemplate the message during my meditation.
Yesterday it was:
The actions of [...]

Master Taisen Deshimaru said:
“To think is to choose to observe and comprehend,
even if one is disturbed by oneself or others.
Ultimately, to think means to understand,
to understand primordial matter,
the first thing in history.“
Master Ok-Sung An-Baron said:
“Between he who has conquered a hundred thousand men in battle and he who has conquered himself, it is the [...]

My New Year’s resolution was this: “Every day is either a good day or a great day.” So far this year, I have kept my resolution. There have been times that tested me, and when that happened I used tools to get back on track, like this video I received via email today. Aside from [...]

A few years ago, Alex Cequea Fuentes wondered what would it be like to meditate in a public place where there is a lot of traffic, like a busy intersection or a shopping mall. His question ultimately led him to create the Public Meditation Project, a social and spiritual movement dedicated to bridging the gap [...]

I’ve been semi-studying Buddhism for many years, so when I discovered the Kadampa Buddhist Meditation Center here in Sarasota, I was eager to check it out. A week ago I went to their “Stop the Week” meditation on Friday evening and the middle of last week I participated in a Puja – a ceremony like [...]

At 2 AM this morning, unable to sleep, I was sitting in the recliner in my Dad’s living room. The darkened room was illuminated only by the flickering TV. Suddenly, I caught a movement out of the corner of my eye. A mouse! He came around the corner from the kitchen and crawled along the [...]

I have been trying to attend the annual teachings of the Dalai Lama in Dharamsala, India for the past three years, but each year something got in the way. So when I discovered that His Holiness was to make a public appearance in Sydney, I scheduled my travels around Australia accordingly. Despite [...]

I’ve really been in a funk lately. I don’t know why. I thought it may have been due to the cold weather but it seemed to persist even after I arrived in warmer climates. In Sydney recently, I attended a meditation class, where the teacher discussed the benefit of “remaining present” every [...]

My friend Jane and I attended a meditation class this morning given by a man named John Barter. John is a psychologist by trade who does counseling and life coaching and conducts classes in mindfulness and meditation. He is also an ex-Buddhist monk, having lived a monastic life for many years in Thailand, Switzerland, and [...]

I’ve been struggling with what to title this particular post. Since I am in the Thai town of Pai (sounds like pie) I thought maybe the title should be: “Hi, Hi Hi, I’m In Pai.” Nah! Too cutesy. I had just about decided on “Pie-Eyed In Pai” because of the eye-popping beauty of the area [...]