Lion's Roar

The Lion's Roar celebrates the spirit of wakefulness wherever it appears - in the arts, relationships, politics, livelihood, popular culture, and all the challenges of modern life. It offers a Buddhist view for people of all spiritual traditions who are open, inquisitive, passionate and committed.

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Lion’s Roar

THE BUDDHA’S SMILE

THE ULTIMATE GIFT • MUSHIM PATRICIA IKEDA’s parents gave her baby sister to an aunt living an ocean away. This act of generosity changed the way she thinks about giving.

KNOWLEDGE WISDOM: THE PEACEFUL PATH TO LIBERATION. COLLECTED TEACHINGS, VOLUME 1

THE QUICKEST WAY TO CLEAN POTATOES • When you stir dirty potatoes in a pot, they clean each other. JANE MCLAUGHLIN-DOBISZ on the bumps and benefits of being with others.

HOW FREEDOM FEELS • When we see ourselves as separate, we’re limited, says REBECCA BRADSHAW. In experiencing the truth of nonself, we free our hearts and minds.

REFUGE IN THE STORM • BONNIE NADZAM surveys new books on crisis care, climate change, and deep dharma.

A ROSARY IN MY POCKET • In both Catholicism and Zen, says RUBEN HABITO, there’s a stillness where no words are needed.

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE + THE DHARMA • AI can articulate the sum total of human knowledge, but can it help us cultivate wisdom and compassion—or is it a danger on the spiritual path? ROSS NERVIG investigates.

CLICK TO LEARN MORE • Author Iain Thomas trained the AI platform GPT-3 on the world’s wisdom texts. Ross Nervig asked this spiritually trained GPT-3 some questions.

THE GARDEN PATH • Gardening is more than weeding and watering—it’s a spiritual practice. To celebrate this growing season, here are three evergreen teachings for gardeners.

THE TRUE NATURE OF A FLOWER • For VALERIE BROWN, her garden is a teacher of the dharma. In every bloom she sees impermanence, nonself, and nirvana.

INSTRUCTIONS TO THE GARDENER • KAREN MAEZEN MILLER on cultivating the three minds—joyful mind, kind mind, and great mind.

GROW YOUR MINDFULNESS • CHERYL WILFONG on how to practice the four foundations of mindfulness in the garden.

The Awakened One • The Buddha discovered a path to liberation, and more than two thousand years later people are still following in his footsteps. HEATHER SANCHE unpacks his life, legacy, and essential teachings.

You & Shakyamuni • How does the Buddha nourish your life and practice? Five Buddhists contemplate this question.

Free Yourself • Buddha is the great liberator, says ZENJU EARTHLYN MANUEL. He taught that freedom comes from freeing your mind.

In His Image • In drawing the Buddha’s curved hands and gentle smile, IRA SUKRUNGRUANG finds peace.

The Buddha’s Greatest Teaching • You’d be amazed how much your spiritual journey parallels the Buddha’s, says MELVIN MCLEOD. But he took the big step that woke him up. You can take it too.

An Enlightened Community • Laywomen and men, monks and nuns—all were held in equal regard. WENDY GARLING on the Buddha’s fourfold sangha.

Siddhartha’s Son • Siddhartha gave up everything to seek enlightenment. That story, says JOHN TARRANT, is a linear depiction of a nonlinear event.

This Is the Practice • When the Buddha tended to a dying monk, he demonstrated how to live, how to die, how to care for others. VANESSA SASSON offers her retelling of that poignant story.

EXPLORE BUDDHISM NOTHING TO TEACH • It’s a paradox, says HOKUTO DANIEL DIFFIN. No one can teach you Zen, but you need a teacher to understand that.

JUST SO