This tender poem of loss and recovery was (probably) composed by Patacara, one of the leading women of the Buddha's order of nuns. Born the daughter of a wealthy banker, Patacara fell in love with one of her father’s servants and ran off to live happily with him in a forest hamlet. Then, through a series of tragic accidents, she lost first her husband, then two sons, and finally her parents and brother. Wandering destitute, naked and mad with grief, she in time met the Buddha face to face, who … [Read more...]
Freeing the Mind
Joseph Goldstein
This article is excerpted from a talk given at the Barre Center for Buddhist Studies on September 18, 1994. One of the most important teachings of the Buddha is the teaching about the nature of mind, the nature of awareness itself. Often in meditation practice we focus predominantly on the arising objects, like sounds, the breath, sensations, and thoughts. But another side of the practice is to also notice the nature of that which is being aware. Of course, that’s much more subtle. … [Read more...]
Dedicated to Dhamma
Andrew Olendzki
On October 11, 1994, an inauguration ceremony took place at the Barre Center for Buddhist Studies to mark the completion and occupation of a significant new building. Built entirely with donated funds, the building is comprised of a large meditation hall/conference room/meeting room upstairs with a foyer that can also be used in a variety of ways, and 14 single rooms on the lower floor equipped for both study and practice. The new facility allows the study center now to host between fifty and a … [Read more...]
Life is a Retreat
Sylvia Boorstein
Can you tell us something about your jataka, your life story, where you came from and how you got into all this? I grew up in New York, was married when I was 18 years old, graduated from college a year or so later, and had four children in five and a half years (they are all grown, now). I always thought I would die very young because I did everything in such a hurry. I figured I’d be finished with all my things and there wouldn’t be anything else left to do, any people tell a story that … [Read more...]