(Buddhism Podcast) Buddhism Explained. Life is short — but what is it really for? This video looks into the quiet question many of us carry: Why are we here, and what gives life meaning? Using simple Buddhist wisdom, it shows how our constant chasing and avoiding can lead to deep restlessness. Instead of trying to fix life, we can learn to be fully present with it [to see it for what it really is and, seeing it, letting go and thereby being liberated from it]. The answer may not be something we find, but something we live.

Let's have a party with our sober veggie friends!

(The Hidden Truth Library) June 26, 2025: What if every drink we take dims our inner light and stalls our soul’s evolution? In this eye-opening video, we uncover the hidden spiritual cost of alcohol: ancient wisdom we’ve never heard, the energetic block it creates, and why mystics throughout history treated it as a toxic sacred taboo to be avoided. Discover how to break free, reclaim inner power, and truly awaken higher consciousness. #SpiritualAwakening #AlcoholTruth #MysticalWisdom

Why bother? Who needs mindfulness?

(Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche) Find yourself wondering about the differences between awareness and mindfulness? In this teaching, Mingyur Rinpoche explains this question from the traditional Tibetan Vajrayana Buddhist perspective by exploring the difference between object-oriented and subject-oriented forms of meditation as ways to connect with [bare] awareness.

🔗 Joy of Living Meditation Program: Learn meditation under the skillful guidance of Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche at your own pace. joy.tergar.org

🔗 Vajrayana Online: Study and practice of the Tibetan Buddhism with Mingyur Rinpoche. learning.tergar.org

🔗 Online events, retreats with Mingyur Rinpoche events.tergar.org

🔗 About Tergar Path: tergar.org/programs

What is the perfection?

(Buddhism Podcast) June 26, 2025: Buddhism Explained. [Who’s watching? There is watching; the question assumes a watcher, a habit of our customary way of thinking built into the language with nouns that do verbs. But if watching is only an impersonal process, then what?]

What if [that which or] the one who watches our thoughts is just another thought? This video gently follows a deep question in Buddhism: Who observes the observer?

Step by step, we walk through the layers of awareness, the habit of searching, and the quiet freedom beyond identity.

Through the Buddha’s teachings, the Dharma, we see how presence needs no owner. We don’t have to become anyone — we’ve never been apart from this presence. It has always been here.

(Eckhart Tolle) Oct. 17, 2024: Ever wonder why achieving your goals doesn't always bring the happiness you expected? Eckhart Tolle dives into the difference between external success and inner fulfillment in this video. He reveals how a deeper understanding of faith can transform your daily life and explains why feeling whole now is the key to effortless manifestation. If you're tired of the endless pursuit of more, Eckhart's wisdom offers a refreshing alternative. Discover more insights from Eckhart Tolle: Subscribe to his channel today!

(Eckhart Tolle) Oct. 22, 2024: Eckhart Tolle shares practical wisdom on how to be your authentic self in every situation. He explains why playing roles can hold us back and offers simple tips for staying present, even in high-pressure moments. Whether we're dealing with work stress or social anxiety, Eckhart's insights can help us find more ease and authenticity in our daily interactions.

Meditation is natural progress

Imagine pausing in the middle of chaos and suddenly feeling a wave of calm wash over mind and body. That’s the surprising reality many people experience when they embrace mindfulness (Buddhist sati).

In a world that never seems to slow down, mindfulness offers a rare and precious gift: the ability to be completely present.

It’s not a fleeting fad or a mystical ritual. Instead, it is a simple yet profound [formerly Buddhist] practice that science now shows can literally reshape our brains and boost our chances for success.

The idea that focusing on our breath or paying attention to our surroundings in the moment could change our brain may sound unbelievable, but the evidence is mounting: Mindfulness is not just about feeling better; it’s about training our mind for resilience and greatness. More

Author Nhi Yến Đỗ Trần has 5.0 out of 5 stars with 15 ratings. "[This is a] fiery debut... [Tran's] perceptive textual criticism and willingness to call out bias are refreshing. [This book] is a valuable contribution to the literature on Buddhism." —Publishers Weekly

​"A refreshingly frank, critical, yet ultimately loving analysis of Buddhism, challenging interpretations shaped by patriarchal views.

"This well-researched page-turner references early Buddhist texts to explore today's hot-button issues, such as abortion, gun rights, LGBTQIA+ identity, and gender equality. [Tran] weaves deeply personal experiences throughout with notable vulnerability and humor, making this book equally compelling as a memoir." — Lion's Roar

Budding Lotus in the West (p.1)

Born into a family legacy of Buddhist spirituality in Việt Nam, Nhi Yến Đỗ Trần immigrated to the US at age 10.

Budding Lotus in the West follows her journey and unveils the complexities of Buddhist teachings woven into American fabric. With raw authenticity, Trần combines personal narratives, scholarly insights, and critical analysis to share her experiences with Buddhism and provide a fundamental understanding of key Buddhist concepts and traditions.

Examining the interplay between ancient wisdom and contemporary challenges, she invites spiritual seekers and curious minds to relate these principles to their own lived realities.

Budding Lotus in the West (p.1)

For example, what would the Buddha say about abortion, gun, and LGBT rights, prejudice, discrimination, and gender equality?

How can Buddhist practitioners more skillfully navigate romance in their sangha (spiritual community)? Whether one is a longtime Buddhist practitioner or just beginning to explore the practice, Budding Lotus in the West offers wisdom, inspiration, and a path toward an evolving, authentic, and inclusive spirituality in the modern world. More

Seattle 🌸 Cherry Blossom Sangha

Nhi Yến Đỗ Trần (kneetran.com) immigrated with her family from Vietnam to the US at age 10 through the Humanitarian Operation Program [Express].

Now residing in Seattle, she cofounded the Cherry Blossom Sangha, a mindfulness community dedicated to fostering inner serenity, mutual understanding, and universal compassion.

AmeEx

Her diverse exploration of Buddhism, from Theravāda and Mahāyāna traditions to secular applications, has been enriched by Buddhist pilgrimages to India and Nepal and a residential internship at a Zen monastery.

Her book, Budding Lotus in the West, reflects these experiences, focusing on gender equality and social change. She is also a devoted patron of Tu Viện Giác Hải, a monastery in Khánh Hòa founded by her great-uncle, Venerable Thích Viên Giác.

Where's the Cherry Blossom Sangha? Map

She holds a master’s degree in public administration from Seattle University and enjoys exploring culinary delights from around the globe, always with a side of sriracha or chili pepper hot sauce. She is represented by literary agent Leticia Gomez (Savvy Literary Agency).

Ego (Buddhism Podcast) April 13, 2025: Buddhism Explained. Ever wonder why the Buddha considered letting go of sex the most skillful action we can take [in the Sensual Sphere]?

Ugly faces of pretty girls (ebaumsworld.com)

In this poorly worded and mildly insightful talk by American (Thai Theravada Forest Tradition monk) Ven. Thanissaro, let's explore the Buddha's teachings on sensual desire, attachment (clinging), and the profound freedom gained through a sense of urgency (samvega) non-complacency and mindfulness.

Discover how the mind creates reality through constant choices and learn practical techniques to transform commonplace attachment into extraordinary liberation. Explore how mindfulness and concentration can help us understand and skillfully handle sexual desires and other sensual attachments.

Find out why heedlessness can become our worst enemy, and how the Buddha’s path to freedom leads to a state of genuine liberation, peace, and happiness.

Let's take an enlightening journey towards mastering the minds and emotions we habitually identify with and fixate on until we're completely trapped in webs of delusion with no easy way out.

(The Mountain) March 28, 2025: The eye sees only what the mind is prepared to comprehend. #quantumconsciousness #paradox #selfawareness

Panentheism (/pæˈnɛnθiɪzəm/, "all in God" from the Greek πᾶν, pân, "all," ἐν, en, "in," and Θεός, Theós, "God") [2] is the belief that the divine intersects every part of the universe and also extends beyond space and time.

The term was coined by the German philosopher Karl Krause in 1828 (after reviewing Hindu scriptures) to distinguish the ideas of Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel (1770–1831) and Friedrich Wilhelm Joseph Schelling (1775–1854) about the relation of God and the universe from the supposed pantheism of Baruch Spinoza [2].

Unlike pantheism, which holds that the divine and the universe are identical [3], panentheism maintains an ontological distinction between the divine and the non-divine and the significance of both.

In panentheism, the universal spirit is present everywhere, which at the same time "transcends" all things created. Whilst pantheism asserts that "all is God," panentheism claims that God is greater than the universe.

Some versions of panentheism suggest that the universe is nothing more than the manifestation of God. In addition, some forms indicate that the universe is contained within God [3], like in the Jewish Kabbalistic concept of tzimtzum.

Much of Hindu thought is highly characterized by panentheism and pantheism [4, 5].

The religious beliefs of Neoplatonism can be regarded as panentheistic. Plotinus taught that there was an ineffable transcendent God ("the One," to En, τὸ Ἕν) of which subsequent realities were emanations.

From "the One" emanates the Divine Mind (Nous, Νοῦς) and the Cosmic Soul (Psyche, Ψυχή). In Neoplatonism the world itself is God (according to Plato's Timaeus 37).

This concept of divinity is associated with that of the Logos (Λόγος), which had originated centuries earlier with Heraclitus (c. 535–475 BC). The Logos pervades the cosmos, whereby all thoughts and all things originate, or as Heraclitus said:

"He who hears not me but the Logos will say: All is one."

Neoplatonists such as Iamblichus attempted to reconcile this perspective by adding another hypostasis above the original monad of force or Dynamis (Δύναμις).

This new all-pervasive monad encompassed all creation and its original uncreated emanations. Modern philosophy Baruch Spinoza later claimed that "Whatsoever is, is in God, and without God nothing can be, or be conceived" [6],

"Individual things are nothing but modifications of the attributes of God, or modes by which the attributes of God are expressed in a fixed and definite manner" [7]. Though Spinoza has been called the "prophet" [8] and "prince" [9] of pantheism, in a letter to Henry Oldenburg Spinoza states that:

"as to the view of certain people that I identify god with nature (taken as a kind of mass or corporeal matter), they are quite mistaken" [10].

For Spinoza, our universe (cosmos) is a mode under two attributes of Thought and Extension. God has infinitely many other attributes which are not present in our world.

Reverend Zen Master Soyen Shaku was the first Zen Buddhist abbot to tour the United States in 1905–1906. He wrote a series of essays collected into the book Zen For Americans.

In the essay titled "The God Conception of Buddhism" he attempts to explain how a Buddhist looks at the ultimate without an anthropomorphic [androcentric] God figure while still being able to relate to the term God in a Buddhist sense:

"At the outset, let me state that Buddhism is not atheistic as the term is ordinarily understood. It has certainly a God, the highest reality and truth, through which and in which this universe exists. However, the followers of Buddhism usually avoid the term God, for it savors so much of Christianity, whose spirit is not always exactly in accord with the Buddhist interpretation of religious experience. Again, Buddhism is not pantheistic in the sense that it identifies the universe with God. On the other hand, the [Mahayana] Buddhist God is absolute and transcendent; this world, being merely its manifestation, is necessarily fragmental and imperfect. To define more exactly the Buddhist notion of the highest being, it may be convenient to borrow the term very happily coined by a modern German scholar, "panentheism," according to which God is πᾶν καὶ ἕν (all and one) and more than the totality of existence [17, 18]. The essay then goes on to explain first utilizing the term "God" for the American audience to get an initial understanding of what he means by "panentheism" and then discusses the terms that Buddhism uses in place of "God" such as Dharmakaya [the body of the Dharma], Buddha or Adi-Buddha, and Tathagata [Well Gone One, Welcome One, Suchness]. More