This sonnet by American poet and playwright Edna St. Vincent Millay is addressed to a lover and to the latent sense of impermanence and loss built in to all moments when one becomes conscious of great love or great happiness.
“From the earliest times, human civilization has been no more than a strange luminescence growing more intense by the hour, of which no one can say when it will begin wane and when it will fade away.”
Dogen answers the questions of his students regarding monastic renunciation – how can one have faith that one’s basic needs will be met?
Rather than signifying a lack or a void, Thich Nhat Hanh took emptiness to be a state of inextricable and fundamental interconnectedness.
Milarepa is a much-loved figure in the Tibetan tradition, renowned for his songs that expound the teaching of the Buddha and his own dharmic worldview.
Shunryu Suzuki on our inability to accept the truth that we and everything around us are in a state of constant flux.
Ruth Ozeki on aging, facing up to oneself and one’s appearance, and the Buddhist practice of contemplating death and decomposition.
Christian Dillo on a contemporary Zen approach to awakening and what meaningful transformation actually looks like.
Fourteenth century poet Hafiz is one of Persia’s most celebrated poets. Not so much is known about him, and it’s thought that only a small portion of his prodigious work survives. At first glance, many of Hafiz’s poems read like heartbroken laments, penned at closing time after a rowdy night at the tavern. However, they… Continue reading On the Lip of Oblivion We Linger – Hafiz
The acceptance of the fundamental changing, impermanent nature of the world is at the heart of Buddhist philosophy and is a constant theme through Pema Chodron’s teachings. When things fall apart, when the ground is pulled out from under us, it is not a cause for panic, but rather a cause for celebration.
