by Abby Mushin Terris | May 8, 2022
“Silence is the great revelation,” said Lao Tzu. Even without going any further, this is a powerful statement about the quality of practice. It instantly reminds us of what we know of silence already that comes in breeze and birdsong. The silence that...
by Abby Mushin Terris | May 1, 2022
One of the Paramitas that we practice is patience. Patience prompts us to take our time, be kind, listen well, and to persist in our efforts. I surely notice for myself these days, and maybe you do too, that I am called on to practice patience — with myself, with...
by Abby Mushin Terris | Apr 24, 2022
Dust, gravel, mud, clay, flesh, bone, muscle, breath, cloud, tree, bird, flower, cement, rock, wire, mountain, worm, shrub, rice, water, whale, human. When we celebrate Earth Day, we’re celebrating how every morsel of matter that makes up this world is brought to us...
by Abby Mushin Terris | Apr 17, 2022
One of the miscellaneous koans is “Stopping the sound of the distant temple bell.” We begin looking into this koan by considering our experience with sound. First, what do you know of bells? Your direct experience of them? There are so many varieties of bells. The...
by Abby Mushin Terris | Apr 10, 2022
One of the Four Practices that Bodhidharma teaches in his Outline of Practice is requiting injustice, or requiting animosity. “Requiting” is a word we don’t use in American English much but it’s a key to embodying wisdom and compassion. How to respond to animosity?...
