- By Alan Cohen
by Alan Cohen. My eight-year-old neighbor Mark keeps me on my toes. Mark asks lots of questions, which I am sometimes tempted to dismiss as childish. But when I think about them, I usually discover a profound lesson. The other day Mark asked me for a ride to the local grocery store...
Most people have some physical symptom that signals them that they are starting to run down their batteries. A sore throat, headache, or hemorrhoid flare-up is the universe's way of alerting you that you are getting stressed.
The first among the six perfections is generosity. Generosity is of three types: giving material aid, giving dharma, and protecting from fear. 'Giving dharma' refers to the giving of teachings to other sentient beings out of the pure motivation to benefit them. Giving away one's own possessions without even the slightest touch of miserliness...
Every day we make choices. Some seem simple, some seem complex. What will I eat for breakfast? What will I say to this person? How will I react to this situation? Some choices we make without even thinking about it, and sometimes we are simply remaking a choice we made a long time ago.