Meditation Valley.

The Buddha said:  Develop meditation on appreciative joy, for when you develop meditation on appreciative joy, any discontent will be abandoned. (MN 62) It is not uncommon to experience discontent. Th

..Undertaking the Commitment to Abstain from Taking What is Not Given* The Buddha said:  Taking what is not given is unhealthy. Refraining from taking what is not given is healthy. (MN 9) Abandoning t

The Ox Herding pictures are a traditional Zen teaching that emerged around the 600s. Many versions have developed since then.  The ten pictures are about an ox - the symbol of meditation practice, the

Rev. Oriana La Chance, Prior of the Eugene Buddhist Priory < http://www.eugenebuddhistpriory.org >, offered the following in the most recent edition of Walking the Buddha's Path:* Thoughts on the Para

A sense of wonder and awe is the foundation of religion. Too often we associate religion with belonging to a church or professing certain beliefs, but the religious instinct is so much broader tha

Thoughts from Reverend Helan of Redding Zen Priory. Refraining False speech is unhealthy. Refraining from false speech is healthy. (MN 9) Abandoning false speech, one dwells refraining from false spee

From An Introduction to the Tradition of Serene Reflection Meditation < https://www.shastaabbey.org/pdf/IntroSRM13.pdf > The Five Laws of the Universe. Rev. Master P.T.N.H. Jiyu-Kennett, M.O.B.C. Law

Hello Spiritual Travelers; with all of our time on our hands these days, I thought I would walk you along the trail to Meditation Valley and share all of the beautiful spring colors and some of the

Just put this new home page up. Tell me what you think. Click this link: https://www.spiritualtravelings.com/meditation-valley

Spring has come to Northern California and the trees are a vibrant...... almost glow in the dark lime green. and the wild flowers are starting to show themselves. Coming one at a time... in their ow

On this Labor Day may I offer Wendell Berry's words on* Our Real Work:* It may be that when we no longer know what to do we have come to our real work, and that when we no longer know which way to g

"Even when you are uncertain, do not use this one day wastefully. It is a rare treasure to value. Do not compare it with an enormous jewel. Do not compare it with a dragon’s bright pearl. Old sages va

I can 't say enough about how cool this is..........

Enlightenment is not a matter of adding anything but rather of peeling away the false, fabricated sense of self to allow the innate Buddha being to emerge.* *—Judith Hooper, “Prozac & Enlightened Mind

Carl Rogers, the great humanistic psychologist, said: Before every session, I take a moment to remember my humanity. There is no experience that this man has that I cannot share with him, no fear that

Could It Be Another Way? Ajahn Sucitto This term ignorance is considered in Buddhism to be the prime mover, the prime originator of our suffering. It’s not that we’re evil or fatally flawed or sinful,

With this amazing spring weather, it's a perfect time to spend among the oaks and do a few projects. Being present and mindful in this beautiful environment........ I am grateful; Gasho.

During our travels to Thailand. Cindy and I came across a temple gong and had made arrangements for it to be shipped to Meditation Valley in Cottonwood. The gong took three months to travel from N