RAIN is a useful acronym for the four key principles of mindful transformation of difficulties. RAIN stands for Recognition, Acceptance, Investigation, and Nonidentification.

“Praise Allah, and tie your camel to the post.” Pray, but also make sure you do what is necessary in the world.

bodhisattva vows based on the words of the beloved sixth-century sage Shantideva: May I be a guard for those who need protection A guide for those on the path A boat, a raft, a bridge for those who wish to cross the flood May I be a lamp in the darkness A resting place for the weary A healing medicine for all who are sick A vase of plenty, a tree

The art of listening is neither careless drifting on the one hand nor fearful clinging on the other. It consists in being sensitive to each moment, in regarding it as utterly new and unique, in having the mind open and wholly receptive. —ALAN WATTS

Gorillas in the Mist.

As the African-American sage George Washington Carver explained, “Anything will give up its secrets if you love it enough.”

There is a way of moving wisely and graciously through the world, bestowing blessings and happiness upon yourself and others, in times of trouble and ease. To find this freedom, you must learn how to quiet the mind and open the heart.

To continue this journey requires reinforcing the necessary foundation of virtue. By establishing a practice of basic morality, of nonharming, virtue becomes a safeguard on the path, guiding and protecting us and all we touch from harm. In the simplest fashion these safeguards are spelled out in the five traditional Buddhist precepts: (1) not

Mindfulness is this kind of attention. It is a nonjudging, receptive awareness, a respectful awareness.