The Buddha Walks into a Bar...: A Guide to Life for a New Generation

When you’re finished changing, you’re finished. —Benjamin Franklin

There’s a power in every moment—a chance for happiness if you look for it. And it’s every person’s responsibility to find those moments and cherish them. —May Parker (the Amazing Spider-Man’s aunt)

I don’t necessarily suggest getting up in front of a crowd of people and announcing that at some point you will die. Instead, you might want to work with a common contemplation: “Death comes without warning; this body will be a corpse.” I recommend rolling that around in your head if you are looking to explore this important topic.

Shamatha is a Sanskrit word that can be translated as “calm-abiding.” That

You can follow in the footsteps of Milarepa. Regardless of the various mistakes you may have made in your life or the pain you currently carry, you can smile. You can renounce the aspects of yourself that continue to weigh you down or make you miserable. Through applying the basic technique of meditation practice, you can turn your mind toward the

confused and unable to express their wisdom. If you look to the Kagyu tradition of Tibetan Buddhism, you will find a long lineage of meditation masters. These individuals were like you and me: at one point in their life they were mired in confusion, and at times they caused harm to others. Somewhere along the way, though, they encountered these Vaj