The Heart of the Buddha's Teaching

The First Noble Truth is that all of us have suffering in our lives. None of us can escape from it. The Second Noble Truth is that we can identify the causes of our suffering. The Third Noble Truth is that we can put an end to our suffering and that healing is possible. Finally, the Fourth Noble Truth is that there are paths to free us from sufferi

The Buddha teaches that change requires insight, and insight cannot begin until we stop and focus our attention on what is happening right in front of us. This stopping, or shamatha, allows us to rest the body and the mind.

Peace, happiness, and freedom are the delicious fruits of the Beginner’s Mind, and they are also the essential nutriments for the Beginner’s Mind. Thus, if we fail to nourish peace, happiness, and freedom in ourselves daily, our Mind of Love can become eroded. Status, power, stress, frustration, worry, hope, aspiration, expectation, and disappointm

We need to cultivate the wish to be free of these things so we can enjoy the wonders of life that are always available — the blue sky, the trees, our beautiful children. After three months or six months of mindful sitting, mindful walking, and mindful looking, a deep vision of reality arises in us, and the capacity of being there, enjoying life in