Answers from the Heart: Practical Responses to Life's Burning Questions

The Buddha advises us not to try to run away from our fear, but to bring up our fear and have a deep look into it.

when you look at your body, you have to learn to see that this is only a small part of you. It’s like a rain cloud up in the sky that looks down and sees that half of herself is already down on Earth in the form of a river. The cloud in the sky smiles to the cloud on Earth and says, “Enjoy your journey, I will join you soon.”

The time when we are sad is a good time to cultivate the quality of stillness and peace in

Look deeply into your anger, and you might see that your anger has been created by your wrong perceptions, wrong views, and misunderstanding; and when you realize that, your anger is transformed.

Q. I worry so much that it’s hard for me to do whatever I need to do. How can I stop worrying?

Sitting with your fear, instead of trying to push it away or bury it, can transform it. This is true of all of your fears, both small ones and big ones. You don’t have to try and convince yourself not to be afraid. You don’t have to try and fight or overcome your fear. Over time you’ll find that when your fear comes up again, it will be a little bi

us. If you work on a computer you might get so carried

You can keep the object of your contemplation alive by means of mindful breathing. If you don’t breathe consciously, sooner or later your thinking will settle back in, and the bird or the tree will disappear.

Practicing the Dharma, using loving speech and deep listening, we can help each other remove wrong perceptions so that people will no longer be fearful and angry. That’s what we should do in order to stop wars, prevent terrorism, wipe out violence, and make peace.

As you learn how to handle the present moment, you’ll gain faith and trust in your ability to handle the situation. You learn how to take care of your feelings and what’s happening around you. That makes you confident; and as your confidence grows, you’re no longer the victim of your worries.