self-awareness Archives

Book Bits, The Masters, Zen

Bodhidharma’s Bloodstream Sermon

November 23, 2020November 27, 2020 Vanessa Able

Bodhidharma's fundamental teaching was that the Buddha can only be found in the mind since its essence is mind itself.

Book Bits

Jung and the Meaning of Self-Knowledge

February 25, 2019 Vanessa Able

In his essay 'The Undiscovered Self', written later in his career and after the atrocities of the Second World War, Jung emphasized the importance of self-awareness in individuals in order to counter the frivolous effects of mass culture. In this extract, he explains his vision of how one person's inward realization can affect their environment… Continue reading Jung and the Meaning of Self-Knowledge

What is Meditation? Shinzen Young on How to Deepen Our Focus
Shinzen Young on the most basic principle of mindfulness meditation: the cultivation of focus that can be practiced at any moment of the day, during any activity.
The Most Beautiful Thing We Can Experience Is The Mysterious: Albert Einstein’s Living Philosophy
Albert Einstein lays out his living philosophy and the set of ideals that he held in his personal, spiritual and political life.
Joseph Campbell On Experiencing Mystery
Joseph Campbell takes on the notion of experiencing mystery and considers how religious narratives can actually stymie the expansive human experience of transcendence.
You Have To Say Something: Dainin Katagiri on What To Say When There Is Nothing To Say
According to Katagiri, it can be difficult to find the words or modality to enter back into the world from a place of silence, but it is something we ultimately have to do.
Astronomer Pippa Goldschmidt on Seeing Far and Seeing Up Close
Astronomer Pippa Goldschmidt on working in the starry deserts of Chile during a time when new technologies meant a more remote relationship to the act of stargazing.

Jane Hirshfield – All The Difficult Hours and Minutes
In Hirshfield's poem, calamity turns to calmness when things turn into themselves, a principle that goes to the heart of transformative practice.
Shangyang Fang – Chaconne
Fang's beautiful and complex poem addresses the questions of sin and redemption against the background of a young monk entering a monastery.
Jericho Brown – Bullet Points
Jericho Brown's poem talks to the weight carried by black Americans who live under the constant threat of police violence and injustice.
Leonard Cohen – Roshi
Leonard Cohen on how the teachings of a Zen master can manifest in unexpected and obtuse ways.
Seamus Heaney – Wheels Within Wheels
This very personal and autobiographical poem of Seamus Heaney's harks back to the objects and curiosities of his youth.