by Abby Mushin Terris | Nov 15, 2020
There are many of you who are instrumental in keeping our Zen center up and running, helping to sustain our practice opportunities. I want to express my gratitude to all of you. In this season that is so challenging (and always!), it’s a good time to acknowledge...
by Abby Mushin Terris | Nov 6, 2020
As we continue to work our way finally through the national election drama, I find the practice of metta is gaining new significance for me. Metta, loving kindness, or just plain kindness, is an immediate balm to anxiety and tension. The phrases, “May I be free from...
by Abby Mushin Terris | Oct 31, 2020
We hear a lot of outcry about wanting our freedom. What is freedom for you? For some, it’s freedom to love whomever we love. For some it’s freedom to hate whomever we hate – to exclude, to insult, to harm. The blatant selfishness that is meant by individual...
by Abby Mushin Terris | Oct 24, 2020
Taking a walk can bring you back to an equanimous mind, liberated from thinking that’s wracked by the competing mental narratives that push and pull and can contaminate our hearts. Recall your loving heart. Practice equanimity, and be aware of the whole in the...
by Abby Mushin Terris | Oct 18, 2020
The three poisons of greed, hostility and ignorance are everywhere evident. Do you find this to be true for you? Ironically, the distress we feel in the body and heart at the situation in the world is also a sign of our ability to recognize our real situation and the...
by Abby Mushin Terris | Oct 10, 2020
Don’t speak ill of the Three Treasures of buddha, dharma, and sangha. This precept, which refers to all actions of body, speech and mind, is often overlooked. Thich Nhat Hanh puts it this way, “Refrain from actions that cause the community to break.” Framing it so...
