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Concentration is a spiritual power. It’s also a neglected practice in our harried, fractured culture. Concentration is the fourth of five powers known as the panchabala in Buddhism. When we cultivate these five powers, we invite spiritual growth. We’ve discussed faith, effort, and mindfulness. Now comes…
Attachment is harassment. It feels easier to let go of things when you put it that way, doesn’t it? This phrase comes from a little book of martial arts tales in the tradition of the tengu, a mythical, winged bird-man. The tengu has a long and…
Active awareness is a spiritual power. We call it mindfulness. Thich Nhat Hanh describes mindfulness as “being alive to the present reality.” I appreciate this definition, because it stretches beyond basic awareness. We are alive to the present, not just blankly aware of it. And we…
Buddhist teaching describes spiritual power in five particular ways, called panchabala. The second of these five powers is a familiar word: virya. Virya, or heroic perseverance, is also one of the paramitas. (You can read all my posts on practicing virya for a month here.) But…
Sensitivity grows out of stillness. This sentence from The Spiritual Legacy of Shaolin Temple surprised me. Isn’t sensitivity…bad? Aren’t sensitive people overly reactionary and not centered? Who ever uses the word “sensitive” to describe Bruce Lee? But this little sentence speaks profound truth. Here it is in…
This month, I’m practicing the ninth paramita bala, or spiritual power. Buddhist tradition names five powers, the panchabala, that provide us strength over whatever hindrances we may face. The first of these is faith, or more specifically, trust. Often, when we hear the word faith, we…
New month, new paramita! And this May, I’ll be practicing the ninth paramita, bala. Bala is spiritual power. More specifically, in Buddhist tradition it is the cultivation of five powers, called the panchabala. These five powers are faith, zeal, recollection, absorption, and wisdom. I’ll be talking…
A true ninja must always distinguish the mask from reality. In other words, a ninja needs to see clearly enough to know when someone is being honest, and when someone is putting on airs. In this way, martial arts shares something in common with playing poker,…
When we faithfully practice aspiration, eventually we arrive at a time when aspiration carries US. There’s something about the aspiration itself that carries us along. It’s as if we tap into something far beyond ourselves. This is great news, because if we had to do aspiration…
Keeping vows is not a one-time thing. Though we may mark our first commitment to a vow, it’s important for us to keep finding moments for aspiration. In our daily lives, how can we remember the vows we’ve taken? One suggestion is to take a moment…
