ARTICLE

FindCenter AddIcon

Life as Moments of Mercy: An Interview with Stephen Levine

By Randy Peyser, Stephen Levine — 2013

Much of the work that Ondrea and I do is the work of encouraging the mind to sink into the heart. We explore grief—not just the grief of the loss of a loved one, but the loss of safety, confidence, and trust which accompanies grief.

Read on awaken.com

FindCenter Post-Image

Learning to Live with Loss

There may be a reason so many people refer to losing a piece of themselves...

FindCenter AddIcon
FindCenter Post-Image

Choose Enjoyment Over Pleasure

Pleasure can be a boon or a burden, depending on our relationship to it. It can leaven laborious days, or lead us to waste them. The pleasures of a mild stimulant such as caffeine can be harmless or even beneficial, but the pleasures of amphetamines can be deadly.

FindCenter AddIcon
FindCenter Post-Image

An Introduction to the Death-Positive Movement

In most modern cultures, it’s common for people to feel uneasy about death. We express this discomfort by avoiding conversations on the topic and lowering our voices when speaking of the dead and dying.

FindCenter AddIcon
FindCenter Post-Image

Terminal Options for the Irreversibly Ill

My Feb. 5 column, “A Heartfelt Appeal for a Graceful Exit,” prompted a deluge of information and requests for information on how people too sick to reap meaningful pleasure from life might be able to control their death.

FindCenter AddIcon
FindCenter Post-Image

Alternatives for the Final Disposition

Though I wince at the redundancy, funeral “pre-planning” is a phenomenon receiving increased attention, and a growing number of Web-based guides tell how to go about it. As www.funerals.org puts it: “Funeral planning starts at home.

FindCenter AddIcon
FindCenter Post-Image

Ask the Teachers: Is Happiness Really the Central Goal of Buddhist Practice?

Question: Buddhist teachers, including the Dalai Lama, often speak of happiness as a goal (if not the goal) of Buddhist practice. I don’t begrudge anyone happiness, but making it so central to spiritual life feels self-serving. Am I misunderstanding what’s meant by “happiness”?

FindCenter AddIcon
FindCenter Post-Image

Practicing for Myself?

As part of our #MeditationHacks series, a Mahayana Buddhist who is encouraged to practice for the benefit of all sentient being feels like they are only practicing for their own benefit. Venerable Thubten Chodron answers.

FindCenter AddIcon
FindCenter Post-Image

Lasting Happiness

It’s surprisingly easy to achieve lasting happiness — we just have to understand our own basic nature. The hard part, says Mingyur Rinpoche, is getting over our bad habit of seeking happiness in transient experiences.

FindCenter AddIcon
FindCenter Post-Image

We Always Have Joy

The sun doesn’t stop shining just because there are clouds in the sky. Our buddhanature is always present and available, even when life gets difficult.

FindCenter AddIcon
FindCenter Post-Image

Is Grief Mental Illness? With Psychiatric Changes, Maybe

Normal bereavement and major depression share many of the same symptoms. And because of those similarities, psychiatrists have historically carved out what is known as a "bereavement exclusion." Its purpose was to reduce the likelihood that normal grief would be diagnosed as clinical depression.

FindCenter AddIcon

EXPLORE TOPIC

Grief