Teachings

Articles

Starting a Mindfulness Meditation Practice

by Phillip Moffitt

Through the practice of mindfulness meditation, you can develop the ability to be fully aware moment-to-moment in daily life.

Taking in the Good Meditation

by Phillip Moffitt

When you are experiencing difficulty in some aspect of your life that is clouding your mind and causing you to contract, practicing this meditation can help soothe your suffering and clarify your thinking.

Practicing Nonviolence Toward Self

by Phillip Moffitt

Find freedom from self-violence caused by fearful or wanting mind-states through the practice of mindfulness.

Forgiving the Unforgivable

Forgiveness practice can help you find meaning in life's worst events and free you of the inner violence of your own rage. -

Awakening in the Body

by Phillip Moffitt

Mindfulness of the body is a profound, though often overlooked, opportunity to deepen your meditation practice and develop insight.

Freedom from Wanting More

by Phillip Moffitt

When we measure our self-worth by how well we succeed in meeting our desires, we organize around always striving to have more of whatever it is we want.

How to Meditate

Mindfulness meditation begins with learning to concentrate your attention on an object, typically the breath, which enables you to notice how your mind is reacting to what it is experiencing.

Forgiving the Unforgivable: 9/11

by Phillip Moffitt

Forgiveness practice can help you find meaning in life's worst events and free you of the inner violence of your own rage.

It's Not Personal!

Yoga and meditation teach you that life is not personal, and they enable you to be with your experience just as it is. Therefore, your life becomes much more peaceful and harmonious, because you're not always reacting to events.

Starting a Mindfulness Meditation Practice

by Phillip Moffitt

Through the practice of mindfulness meditation, you can develop the ability to be fully aware moment-to-moment in daily life.

Are You the Judging, Comparing, or Fixing Type?

by Phillip Moffitt

Knowing whether you are the judging, comparing, or fixing “type” will free you from compulsive behavior.

Taking in the Good Meditation

by Phillip Moffitt

Cultivating Clear Comprehension

by Phillip Moffitt

One of the benefits of practicing mindfulness is that you develop the ability to make wise distinctions in both thoughts and actions.

Getting Past Fear

by Phillip Moffitt

When you're caught in fear, you're clinging to a perception that is merely painted on the walls of your mind

Still Mind, Moving Body

Andrea Miller

Andrea Miller profiles five teachers who combine hatha yoga and Buddhist meditation. is this the perfect mind–body practice?

The Three Wholesome Exchanges of the Heart

by Phillip Moffitt

These exchanges are specific ways in which we interact with others that can bring about transformative change within ourselves.

Self-Soothing during Difficult Times

by Phillip Moffitt

Through the skillful application of mindfulness, we can learn to self-soothe whenever life knocks us off balance.

Cultivating Clear Comprehension

by Phillip Moffitt

One of the benefits of practicing mindfulness is that you develop the ability to make wise distinctions in both thoughts and actions.

Maintaining Mindfulness in Daily Life

by Phillip Moffitt

We all have a tendency to rush to interpretation in our lives, and that can present a challenge to being mindful of our experience.

Surrendering to Suffering

by Phillip Moffitt

If you wish to develop understanding, kindness, and clarity, you must willingly surrender to dukkha, the inevitable pain of life.

Opening to Love

by Phillip Moffitt

Practicing loving-kindness and compassion allows you to be at peace in the midst of suffering.

Releasing the Past through Investigation

by Phillip Moffitt

When you respond to difficulty as if it is a moment of dharma, it frees you from suffering.

Our Addiction to Preferences

As we start to see our preferences for what they truly are, just preferences, we begin to realize that we have many more choices in how we meet each moment of life than what our preferences dictate.

Are You the Judging, Comparing, or Fixing Type?

by Phillip Moffitt

Knowing whether you are the judging, comparing, or fixing “type” will free you from compulsive behavior.

The Gift of Generosity

by Phillip Moffitt

Practicing generosity is the intention to find release from attachment to gratifying our ego needs by giving freely of what we have that is of value.

Starting Over

by Phillip Moffitt

If you want to make lasting change in your life, practice starting over.

Forgiving the Unforgivable: 9/11

by Phillip Moffitt

Forgiveness practice can help you find meaning in life's worst events and free you of the inner violence of your own rage.

Realizing Your True Nature

by Phillip Moffitt

The Buddha taught that your true nature is emptiness and when this true nature is realized, the divine states of loving-kindness, compassion, empathetic joy, and equanimity emerge.

Reconcilable Differences

by Phillip Moffitt

When you feel at odds with others, practicing this reconciliation meditation can help you accept their differences and find harmony within.

Striking a Balance between Effort and Ease in Yoga & Life

by Phillip Moffitt

It takes a certain amount of will to practice yoga, and the same is true in life. But excessive willfulness creates tension. Finding the balance between will and acceptance in life is what you are learning in your yoga practice.

Beyond Happiness

by Phillip Moffitt

In the Four Noble Truths, the Buddha focused primarily on suffering as a gateway to liberation. But he also taught that mindfulness of happiness can provide the same liberating insights as suffering.

When the Student is Ready

by Phillip Moffitt

Finding the right spiritual teacher begins with knowing what you need at each stage in your spiritual development.

Meaning of the Pali Word "Dana"

Dana is not payment for goods or services rendered; it is given from the heart.

The Heart's Intention

by Phillip Moffitt

Setting intentions is not the same as making goals. Understanding the difference can lead to more skillful living and less suffering.

Healing Your Mother (or Father) Wound

by Phillip Moffitt

If you have unresolved feelings about your mother (or father), making them part of your mindfulness practice can transform what has been a hindrance in your life into a teacher.

Reconcilable Differences

by Phillip Moffitt

When you feel at odds with others, practicing this reconciliation meditation can help you accept their differences and find harmony within.

The Perfect Yoga Pose

by Phillip Moffitt

The goal of doing asana isn't to achieve perfect poses. The point of hatha yoga is to be present to the actual experience of your body and mind.

Forgiving the Unforgivable: 9/11

by Phillip Moffitt

Forgiveness practice can help you find meaning in life's worst events and free you of the inner violence of your own rage.

Beyond Happiness

by Phillip Moffitt

In the Four Noble Truths, the Buddha focused primarily on suffering as a gateway to liberation. But he also taught that mindfulness of happiness can provide the same liberating insights as suffering.

Starting Your Day with Clarity

by Phillip Moffitt

What your mind does right after awaking strongly affects you throughout the day. Therefore, the first moments after waking up is the perfect time for grounding yourself in your intentions.

Selfless Gratitude

by Phillip Moffitt

The Buddhist practice of cultivating gratitude leads to the direct experience of the interconnectedness of all of life.

Setting Personal Boundaries

by Phillip Moffitt

Developing and maintaining healthy boundaries is vital to your psychological growth and spiritual liberation.

Trust Issues

by Phillip Moffitt

Trust in the eternal now can help you find freedom from the endless cycle of fear and wanting.

Understanding Your Sense of Identity

by Phillip Moffitt

Through the Buddhist practice of mindfulness you realize that clinging to your sense of identity creates a separate self, which the Buddha said is the source of all suffering.

Lost in Doubt?

by Phillip Moffitt

The antidote to doubt is faith, an active willingness to suspend self-judgment and to see for yourself what is true.

Setting Personal Boundaries

by Phillip Moffitt

Developing and maintaining healthy boundaries is vital to your psychological growth and spiritual liberation.

Self-Soothing during Difficult Times

by Phillip Moffitt

Through the skillful application of mindfulness, we can learn to self-soothe whenever life knocks us off balance.

Freedom from Fear

by Phillip Moffitt

Being mindful of your fear allows it to become your teacher and gives purpose to what is otherwise meaningless suffering.

Working Mindfully with Anger

by Phillip Moffitt

By applying mindfulness to your moments of anger, you realize that it is impermanent, and this insight releases you from the prison of your anger.

Do the Right Thing

by Phillip Moffitt

Practicing doing the right thing in small ways builds the potential to do the right thing in big ways.

Reconcilable Differences

by Phillip Moffitt

When you feel at odds with others, practicing this reconciliation meditation can help you accept their differences and find harmony within.

Establishing a Daily Home Practice

by Phillip Moffitt

An attitude of surrender is a prerequisite to making a commitment to a daily yoga and meditation practice.

Living an Authentic Life

by Phillip Moffitt

Mindfulness is crucial for knowing what’s true for you, which in turn can help you be authentic moment-to-moment.

The Gift of Generosity

by Phillip Moffitt

Practicing generosity is the intention to find release from attachment to gratifying our ego needs by giving freely of what we have that is of value.

Practicing Self-Restraint

by Phillip Moffitt

These three renunciation practices will bring you greater happiness and inner peace, without having to give up all your worldly possessions.

Core Values and Essential Intentions

In Buddhist Psychology, your path to well-being begins with understanding the values and intentions you want to live by.

Being in Your Body

by Phillip Moffitt

The inner experience of integrating what you learn in yoga class into your daily life experience is what's referred to as "being in the body."

Opening to Love

by Phillip Moffitt

Practicing loving-kindness and compassion allows you to be at peace in the midst of suffering.

Balancing Priorities

by Phillip Moffitt

If you hope to find lasting happiness, you must answer the question, what is your true priority—your inner life or your outer life?

Practicing Self-Restraint

by Phillip Moffitt

These three renunciation practices will bring you greater happiness and inner peace, without having to give up all your worldly possessions.

Setting Personal Boundaries

by Phillip Moffitt

Developing and maintaining healthy boundaries is vital to your psychological growth and spiritual liberation.

Managing Fatigue with Mindfulness

by Phillip Moffitt

Most of us dislike being fatigued and aren’t fully open to experiencing it. However, when we practice vipassana, we use mindfulness to see the dukkha (suffering) in all of our experiences; therefore, we can treat fatigue as one more experience that can be known.

Trust Issues

by Phillip Moffitt

Trust in the eternal now can help you find freedom from the endless cycle of fear and wanting.

Healing Your Mother (or Father) Wound

by Phillip Moffitt

If you have unresolved feelings about your mother (or father), making them part of your mindfulness practice can transform what has been a hindrance in your life into a teacher.

Healing Your Mother (or Father) Wound

by Phillip Moffitt

If you have unresolved feelings about your mother (or father), making them part of your mindfulness practice can transform what has been a hindrance in your life into a teacher.

Getting Past Fear

by Phillip Moffitt

When you're caught in fear, you're clinging to a perception that is merely painted on the walls of your mind

Starting Over

by Phillip Moffitt

If you want to make lasting change in your life, practice starting over.

Knowing Regret

by Phillip Moffitt

Regret is a form of clinging that can be penetrated and released with mindfulness.

How Preferences Prejudice Your Perceptions

by Phillip Moffitt

What you perceive from among all the stimuli in your environment is biased by your preferences, and your preferences are conditioned by past experiences.

"Relaxed Attention to Freedom," interview with Ajahn Sumedho

by Phillip Moffitt

The Pursuit of Happiness

by Phillip Moffitt

When you organize and measure your life by how well you follow your intentions instead of getting what you desire, your moments of happiness are enhanced and your difficult moments are more bearable.

Sharing the Mat: The Synergy of Yoga & Buddhism

Shambhala Sun Interview

Three well-known teachers and practitioners of yoga and Buddhist meditation discuss the benefits and pitfalls of bringing both to your mat.

The Gift of Generosity

by Phillip Moffitt

The Buddhist practice of dana or generosity liberates you from feelings of separateness and alienation.

Striking a Balance between Effort and Ease in Yoga & Life

by Phillip Moffitt

Starting Over

by Phillip Moffitt

If you want to make lasting change in your life, practice starting over.

Releasing the Past through Investigation

by Phillip Moffitt

When you respond to difficulty as if it is a moment of dharma, it frees you from suffering.

Knowing Regret

by Phillip Moffitt

Regret is a form of clinging that can be penetrated and released with mindfulness.

Where’s My Reward?

by Phillip Moffitt

The true reward for spiritual practice is in being present in this moment through living our heart’s deepest values.

Gratitude in Daily Life

by Phillip Moffitt

Cultivating thankfulness for the interdependent nature of life builds your capacity for forgiveness.

Gratitude in Daily Life

by Phillip Moffitt

Cultivating thankfulness for the interdependent nature of life builds your capacity for forgiveness.

In Search of Meaning

Phillip Moffitt

If you can truly commit to “don’t know mind,” you can explore the question of whether life has meaning in a purposeful way.

In Search of Meaning

Phillip Moffitt

If you can truly commit to “don’t know mind,” you can explore the question of whether life has meaning in a purposeful way.

Fundamental Dharma Teachings

Starting Over

by Phillip Moffitt

If you want to make lasting change in your life, practice starting over.

The Heart's Intention

by Phillip Moffitt

Setting intentions is not the same as making goals. Understanding the difference can lead to more skillful living and less suffering.

Making Major Life Changes

by Phillip Moffitt

Does your desire to make changes in your life come from wholesome motivation or unresolved issues?

Lost in Doubt?

by Phillip Moffitt

The antidote to doubt is faith, an active willingness to suspend self-judgment and to see for yourself what is true.

Knowing Regret

by Phillip Moffitt

Regret is a form of clinging that can be penetrated and released with mindfulness.

Managing Fatigue with Mindfulness

by Phillip Moffitt

Opening to Love

by Phillip Moffitt

Practicing loving-kindness and compassion allows you to be at peace in the midst of suffering.

The Pursuit of Happiness

by Phillip Moffitt

When you organize and measure your life by how well you follow your intentions instead of getting what you desire, your moments of happiness are enhanced and your difficult moments are more bearable.

The Yoga of Relationship

by Phillip Moffitt

Cultivating mindfulness can help you face the inevitable difficulties and disappointments that arise in relationship with equanimity, compassion, and loving-kindness.

Our Addiction to Preferences

As we start to see our preferences for what they truly are, just preferences, we begin to realize that we have many more choices in how we meet each moment of life than what our preferences dictate.

Forgiving the Unforgivable: 9/11

by Phillip Moffitt

Forgiveness practice can help you find meaning in life's worst events and free you of the inner violence of your own rage.

The Tyranny of Expectations

by Phillip Moffitt

Without realizing it, your expectations may be undermining your happiness.

Start With Your Body

Buddhadharma Interview

Cultivating awareness in the body can lead to the realization of your true nature.

Living an Authentic Life

by Phillip Moffitt

Mindfulness is crucial for knowing what’s true for you, which in turn can help you be authentic moment-to-moment.

Decision Time

by Phillip Moffitt

It is possible to relieve your mental suffering around making decisions by applying the Buddhist practice of mindfulness.

The Four Noble Truths

Freedom from Fear

by Phillip Moffitt

Being mindful of your fear allows it to become your teacher and gives purpose to what is otherwise meaningless suffering.

Decision Time

by Phillip Moffitt

It is possible to relieve your mental suffering around making decisions by applying the Buddhist practice of mindfulness.

Self-Soothing during Difficult Times

by Phillip Moffitt

Through the skillful application of mindfulness, we can learn to self-soothe whenever life knocks us off balance.

Opening to Love

by Phillip Moffitt

Practicing loving-kindness and compassion allows you to be at peace in the midst of suffering.

Forgiveness Practice

You may feel that you can't possibly forgive, but it is your intention to forgive that you are cultivating in forgiveness practice.

How Preferences Prejudice Your Perceptions

by Phillip Moffitt

What you perceive from among all the stimuli in your environment is biased by your preferences, and your preferences are conditioned by past experiences.

Practicing at Your Edge

By Phillip Moffitt

What does it mean to go “to the edge” in your spiritual practice?

The Body As Spiritual Path

by Phillip Moffitt

Body awareness can be both a path to the realization of the dharma and a means for learning to stay present in every moment.

Are You Willing to Be Changed?

by Phillip Moffitt

When you allow yourself to be changed by change, you end up feeling more like yourself.

Beyond Happiness

by Phillip Moffitt

In the Four Noble Truths, the Buddha focused primarily on suffering as a gateway to liberation. But he also taught that mindfulness of happiness can provide the same liberating insights as suffering.

Freedom from Fear

by Phillip Moffitt

Being mindful of your fear allows it to become your teacher and gives purpose to what is otherwise meaningless suffering.

Starting Your Day with Clarity

by Phillip Moffitt

What your mind does right after awaking strongly affects you throughout the day. Therefore, the first moments after waking up is the perfect time for grounding yourself in your intentions.

The Gift of Generosity

by Phillip Moffitt

The Buddhist practice of dana or generosity liberates you from feelings of separateness and alienation.

Living with Disappointment

by Phillip Moffitt

If you choose to consciously accept life's disappointments, you will discover meaning in your suffering.

Making Major Life Changes

by Phillip Moffitt

Does your desire to make changes in your life come from wholesome motivation or unresolved issues?

Are You Willing to Be Changed?

by Phillip Moffitt

When you allow yourself to be changed by change, you end up feeling more like yourself.

The Five Precepts

The Five Precepts constitute the basic Buddhist code of ethics.

Healing Your Mother (or Father) Wound

by Phillip Moffitt

If you have unresolved feelings about your mother (or father), making them part of your mindfulness practice can transform what has been a hindrance in your life into a teacher.

Practicing Nonviolence Toward Self

by Phillip Moffitt

Find freedom from self-violence caused by fearful or wanting mind-states through the practice of mindfulness.

Ten Values Associated With Well-Being

Living with Disappointment

by Phillip Moffitt

If you choose to consciously accept life's disappointments, you will discover meaning in your suffering.

Practicing Self-Restraint

by Phillip Moffitt

These three renunciation practices will bring you greater happiness and inner peace, without having to give up all your worldly possessions.

Beyond Happiness

by Phillip Moffitt

In the Four Noble Truths, the Buddha focused primarily on suffering as a gateway to liberation. But he also taught that mindfulness of happiness can provide the same liberating insights as suffering.

Getting Past Fear

by Phillip Moffitt

When you're caught in fear, you're clinging to a perception that is merely painted on the walls of your mind

The Challenges & Rewards of Commitment

by Phillip Moffitt

In order to move beyond your fear of commitment—whether it’s to your spiritual practice, a relationship, or your career—you must first evaluate what is worthy of your commitment.

Working Mindfully with Anger

by Phillip Moffitt

By applying mindfulness to your moments of anger, you realize that it is impermanent, and this insight releases you from the prison of your anger.

The Tyranny of Expectations

by Phillip Moffitt

Without realizing it, your expectations may be undermining your happiness.

Practicing Nonviolence Toward Self

by Phillip Moffitt

Find freedom from self-violence caused by fearful or wanting mind-states through the practice of mindfulness.

The Challenges & Rewards of Commitment

by Phillip Moffitt

In order to move beyond your fear of commitment—whether it’s to your spiritual practice, a relationship, or your career—you must first evaluate what is worthy of your commitment.

Living with Disappointment

by Phillip Moffitt

If you choose to consciously accept life's disappointments, you will discover meaning in your suffering.

Releasing the Past through Investigation

by Phillip Moffitt

When you respond to difficulty as if it is a moment of dharma, it frees you from suffering.

The Promise of Karma

Showing Up for Your Life

Working with Difficult Emotions

Audio Dharma Talks

The Meaning of the Buddha Wall-Hanging at Marin Sangha

Explanation of the Buddha tapestry that is hung up every Sunday evening at the Marin Sangha.
Phillip tells the story of the particular tapestry and also the ritual of bowing and honoring the Buddha, the dharma, and the sangha.

Meditations

Cultivating Calm in Meditation, Part 2

Study Guides

The Antidote to Doubt	Personal Boundaries
Freedom from Fear	Emotional Chaos to Clarity Study Guide For Book Groups
The Rewards of Right Action	The Need for Renunciation
Mindfulness in Relationships	The Fruits of Forgiveness
The Dharma of Disappointment	Mindfully Making Changes
Happiness Here and Now	Integrating Right Intention in Your Life
Mindfulness of the Body	Being and the Brahma-viharas

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