If it needs to be taught, maybe it is because it is not innate for some...

The Great Buddha @ Kōtoku-in (高徳院) Kamakura, for no real reason but an obsession with labelling things..

Happy Kindness Day for all those who (should) celebrate... #WorldKindnessDay #KindnessDay

Kālāma Sutta, I presume...

"Denmark has required weekly empathy classes for children aged 6–16 since 1993 as part of its national curriculum, known as "Klassens tid" or "The Class's Hour". These sessions focus on developing emotional intelligence, building social skills, and fostering compassion through... Via Kusala Bhikshu

Explainer: not a website, but sites of Buddhist pilgrimage

Makes 🎃 look PG-13 🤔

Nuestro evento de #meditación "Portal entre dos mundos" para #ElDíaDeLosMuertos 🎃👻👹🏮el 2 noviembre 2025 en #ElMonte, CA, como parte de la ruta #SGV #CorazonDelValle. Disfruta de una meditación de muestra gratuita en nuestro puesto, dedica méritos a tus seres queridos y pérdidas. #ActiveSGV #SoCal

Our 'portal between two worlds' #meditation event flyer for #eldíadelosmuertos, #ElMonte, CA coming up on 11/2/25 as part of #SGV #ActiveStreets route. Free sample meditation at our stand and dedicate merit for loved ones #ActiveSGV #SoCal

"The problem is, most of us spend our entire life going from one promise of relief to another, never staying with the pain long enough to learn anything from it.~Pema Chodron, Living Beautifully

Three solutions............

“The test of a first-rate intelligence is the ability to hold two opposing ideas in mind at the same time and still retain the ability to function - F. Scott Fitzgerald

It's #Kathina robe offering season! Share and share alike. This video is a wonderful vote of thanks from #LosAngeles #Buddhist Vihara for our temple's contribution to their fund-raiser & robe-offering on October 18. It comes from their MMC TV USA dedicated satellite channel youtu.be/ifRYeVZQE3E?...

Earlier today...Long Beach 23rd Interreligious Annual #PetBlessing for this four-legged veteran of the DTLA #NoKings protest along with 200 other pet parents and pet-bereaved. Mostly dogs, one cat and one gecko. #SoCal Note: feather holy-water applicator for highly-strung recipients!

Combine your #NoKings afterparty with a pet treat! 🐈🐰🐶Shout out for the annual Long Beach Interfaith #PetBlessing at 5.00pm on October 19 in front of Chase Bank, 5200 E. 2nd St., Belmont Shore. Ten faith traditions represented! Details from justinrudd.com/blessing.html We'll be there! #SoCal 😄

Image thanks to International Buddhist Meditation Center - Los Angeles, CA Via Samuel Long

Myanmar’s military junta bombed a Buddhist festival this week, killing at least two dozen people and injuring dozens more, according to a witness and the country’s civilian government in exile. A manned paraglider with a motor dropped a bomb on the festival, they said.

On #NationalForgivenessAndHappinessDay, a Substack scribble to help dispel the Stoicism and pushback against the accusation that Buddhism is allergic to hope... 😇https://open.substack.com/pub/phranicholas/p/is-buddhism-pessimistic?r=6lw3lh&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true

Happy End of #Buddhist Lent Day! 🕯️Monks are free to roam again! 😊Yesterday I had the chance to conclude a🌜 #fullmoon #meditation 🧘‍♀️for the good folks of #Azusa highlight #HunterMoon significance and shoutout for #WorldMentalHealthDay #NagaFireballs #SuperMoon #MekongMagic youtu.be/GtiiEYBFCpY?...

If you can't beat 'em join 'em ... started a free #Substack to gauge demand for my lengthier scribblings #Buddhist #mindfulness substack.com/@phranichola...

Happy #OrangeShirtDay (from those who celebrate every day) My latest (gringo) Spanish #bereavement #meditation youtu.be/Omf177neuw4?... para hispanohablantes que busca transformar el vacío que queda por la #pérdida de un ser querido🧘‍♂️ #meditacion #dhammakaya #30minutemeditation #duelo #bondadamorosa

Happy #NationalBRAVEDay. For additional feminine empowerment, catch up with my latest #dharma (-lite) vlog in intro - #meditation 🧘‍♂️- #inspiration talk on the topic of #SpiritualIntelligence and its applications worldwide starting with #interreligious #Harmony #sdg17 #SQ youtu.be/7hwrRTSlQKk?...

💯

Thank you everyone who took part in #CoastalCleanup Day today, especially here in #SoCal where more than 30 Long Beachers were able to join a Candlelight #meditation with myself & colleagues at #sunset

Beware 👀 meditation may improve your attitude toward #Buddhism 🫣 Thanissaro's 2016, TSAB-R boxplot shows mean attitudes were significantly more positive [t(453)=10.67, p< 0.001] in those who had practiced Dhammakāya #meditation for more than 6 weeks, compared to those who had never meditated 🧘‍♂️

...on the elusive happiness of being 'without thoughts' #meditation #Buddhism 🧘‍♂️

From Walach et al.'s 2006, Freiburg Mindfulness Inventory, today's boxplot shows mean #mindfulness scores were significantly HIGHER [t(453)=8.27, p< 0.001] in those who had practiced Dhammakāya #meditation for more than 6 weeks, compared to those who had never meditated 🧘‍♂️ #SelfCare #MentalWellness😇

Joined the Srilankan monks of the Los Angeles Buddhist Vihara Dhamma School in #Covina CA to guide discussion with 19 Buddhist teenagers as part of 'Mindful Horizons Youth Dharma Retreat'. #BuddhistKids #Buddhism

From Waterman et al.'s 2010 QEWB, today's boxplot shows mean Eudaimonic ##Wellbeing scores were significantly HIGHER [t(453)=6.21, p< 0.001] in those who had practiced Dhammakāya #meditation for more than 6 weeks, compared to those who had never meditated 🧘‍♂️ #SelfCare #MentalWellness😇

From Lovibond & Lovibond's 1995 DASS-21, today's boxplot shows COMBINED mean #stress #depression and #anxiety scores were significantly LOWER [t(453)=7.48, p< 0.001] in those who had practiced Dhammakāya #meditation for more than 6 weeks, compared to those who had never meditated 🧘‍♂️ #MentalWellness😇

So, again from Lovibond & Lovibond's 1995 DASS-21, today's boxplot shows mean #stress scores were significantly LOWER [t(453)=7.80, p< 0.001] in those who had practiced Dhammakāya #meditation for more than 6 weeks, compared to those who had never meditated 🧘‍♂️ #SelfCare #MentalWellness #StressRelief😇

So, I used Lovibond & Lovibond's 1995 DASS-21 instrument. Today's boxplot shows mean #depression scores were significantly lower [t(453)=6.50, p< 0.001] in those who had practiced Dhammakāya #meditation for more than 6 weeks, compared to those who had never meditated 🧘‍♂️ #SelfCare #MentalWellness 😇

Finally got round to number-crunching on my evidence-based research and this is the boxplot that shows mean #anxiety scores were significantly lower [t(453)=5.27, p< 0.001] in those who had practiced Dhammakāya #meditation for more than six weeks, compared to those who had never meditated

Just finished reading an uplifting recently published read about the sacrifices of resisters fighting future totalitarianism - in this case AI. Spoiler alert, it has a happy ending 😀. #booksky

No lies detected...

#buddhist humor... 😉

“Any blatant move by Beijing to try to control the process of selecting the next Dalai Lama may backfire by driving Tibetan resentment into rage,” write Tenzin Dorjee and Gyal Lo. “For the Chinese, the issue is strategic; for Tibetans, it is existential.”

Happy Labor Day Weekend. Fun thought: One day maybe we'll see an American Memorial to the Martyrs of the Deportation like the one in Paris? #AbolishICE

Beating the #heatwave at #longbeach for a candlelit #meditation at sunset yesterday. 🌇 30 #socal 🧘‍♂️ evaded the purported #hellscape to join us. If you look carefully at the silhouette, you will see (checks notes) NO cargo vessels unloading at #lbc port

Huge validation for this random monk, thanks to all 20,000 of you incredible followers! 🎉 So grateful for the Bluesky community. I appreciate every like, comment, and share. Let's keep connecting! 😊 #20K #20000Followers #Milestone #ThankYou #FollowBack #FollowForFollow #Connect #Followers

I would generally say 'transform' or 'sublimate' in place of 'resist' to avoid pent-up anger by-products...

Change for the better...🧘‍♀️

Happy (Inter)national Relaxation Day to all you slackers! Slow down and unwind with my latest #meditation 🧘‍♂️🧘🧘‍♀️offering as we send #JustPeace vibes toward #Alaska #NationalRelaxationDay #InternationalRelaxationDay #InternationalRelaxationDay2025 #Relaxation youtu.be/z57-CbXympg?...

Eventually, don't hold your breath...

Meditate today, even just for five minutes. And please, for the love of whatever, find a moment or two to enjoy your own mind. It’s actually a beautiful place.

Happy World Meditation Day! 🧘‍♂️My latest Full Moon Meditation vlog before a live audience on #hiroshimaday and answering some of the subtler questions about #meditation #fullmoon #sturgeonmoon #worldmeditationday 🌜 youtu.be/smKmJUnkdmQ?...

First love yourself enough to take yourself on as a project...