From the Pure Land Podcast

I was minding my own unrelated business this morning when I received an invitation to try Gemini Deep Research. The email invited me to present it with a complex problem, so I used the type of prompt…

Chelsea Waves is an early adapter—not to technology and modern trends but in the ancient gifts of compassion and wisdom. The 35-year old is a death doula, grief companion, and lucid dreaming coach. S…

I never had a bucket list until now—290 days before my 80th birthday. Of course, impermanence might put a hole in the bucket, but I’m not attached to it. I can’t be attached to it.

I hope to have my b…

This recent post on Kaspa Thompson’s Substack, Just As You Are, got me thinking about a “higher power,” the two words that turn many away from religion. We wonder:

Except for nature, is there really s…

Following up on a post from 58 days after Donald Trump's inauguration as president of the United States, we look at the DEI tsunami and how the Buddha practiced diversity, inclusion, and equal opport…

Each of us individually has an effect on the lives of beings around us through the quiet processes going on in our minds. — Robert Thurman

Acquire a peaceful spirit and thousands around you will be sa…

On June 7, I announced a one-month sabbatical to finish the narrating and editing of The New Middle Way for Audible. It’s now complete and on sale. If you’ve been waiting for a version you could list…

For From the Pure Land blog readers, here’s a sample of what’s keeping me busy over the coming weeks. For podcast listeners, you won’t be hearing much from me as I finish the narration needed to rele…

How does a spiritual author celebrate a book launch at a time when so many of his friends, readers, and potential readers are deeply concerned about the world’s suffering? My friend Paula Davis and I…

My morning email contained an announcement from Google about improvements in its Gemini AI engine. I tried it out with two requests. It passed brilliantly, and one result was a teaching on ego as und…

This is two minutes from an unscripted talk I gave this morning. It summarizes (informally, conversationally, and imperfectly) the message I’d like people to get from my first full-length book, The N…

Dear Andrew, My Spiritual Friend:

In my last blog post, I encouraged living with gratitude, and here I am expressing some of mine. After you helped me find the key to unlock my bodhicitta a year ago, …

The Brahmaviharas, or Four Immeasurables, are guides to infinite love for all beings. As I described them here, they are:

* Loving Kindness: An attitude of boundless goodwill toward all beings without…

Writing a book has taught me about many things—ego prominently among them.

Over an almost 60-year professional career, I had come to think of myself as good at writing, editing, and managing publicati…

On April 10, I posted the Epigraph and Introduction of my forthcoming book, The New Middle Way: A Path Between Secular and Ossified, which is scheduled for publication this summer. The book combines …

The journey toward publishing my first full-length book is progressing better than I had hoped. I now expect a release date no later than August. I’ve begun an author’s email list, website, and Faceb…

May all beings be happy. May all beings be healthy. May all beings live with ease. May all beings live in peace. May all beings live in pure joy, free from bias and hatred.

Words similar to those are …

The mind, hard to control, Flighty--alighting where it wishes-- One does well to tame. The disciplined mind brings happiness. --The Dhammapada verse 35

I realized this morning that, for me, the First …

As I drafted the book The New Middle Way over the last eight months or so, my self-image changed. While my roles as husband, father, friend, student of Buddhism, and myriad other things remained, my …

When Dominique Side wrote a series on her Substack, The Softer Gaze, about her recent encounter with cancer and the resulting surgery, I thought that would make a great subject for her second From th…