Preparing for Your First Dokusan
What to bring to a Zen practice interview, how the forms vary, and how to ask useful questions about meditation, daily practice, and confidentiality.
Practice & Guides
Practical guides for meditation, daily practice and applying Buddhist teachings in life
The Five Spiritual Faculties in Buddhism: How They Work Together
Faith, energy, mindfulness, concentration, and wisdom: understand the five Buddhist faculties, their relation to the five powers, and how to develop them.
How to Choose a Meditation Cushion: Zafu Height, Knee Pain, and Posture
A practical Buddhist guide to choosing a meditation cushion for posture, knee pain, hip support, and daily sitting without turning practice into a shopping problem.
Can Buddhists Use Weed or CBD? The Fifth Precept Today
Is marijuana an intoxicant? Does CBD count as 'heedlessness'? Explore the Buddhist perspective on cannabis, medical use, and the Fifth Precept in a modern context.
What Does It Mean to Be a Lay Buddhist? Practice Without Ordaining
Lay Buddhism is the foundation of Buddhist life for the vast majority of practitioners worldwide. This guide explains what lay Buddhists actually do, from taking refuge and keeping the Five Precepts to daily practice, community involvement, and the Uposatha tradition, and why the path works without monastic robes.
What Is Zazen? Posture, Just Sitting, and a Practical Beginning
Learn what zazen involves, how to sit on a cushion or chair, what to do with thoughts, and how shikantaza relates to other Zen practices.
What Is Maranasati? Buddhist Death Awareness as a Practice for Living
Maranasati is the Buddhist practice of daily death contemplation, designed to sharpen how you live rather than prepare you for dying. Drawing on AN 6.19 and the Five Remembrances, this guide explains the traditional methods, what the practice actually changes in daily behavior, and why avoiding death awareness may be costing you more than facing it.
How to Join a Buddhist Monastery: Visits, Training, and Vows
Understand the steps from a first monastery visit to residency and ordination, with a specific example and questions about commitments and practical support.