Right effort is not striving. Striving leads to clinging. It reinforces the sense of self, and can be very painful. Right effort isn’t trying to get anything, for there’s nothing to get. It’s not trying to penetrate something and go deeper and deeper. Rather, it’s the effort to listen with greater sensitivity. It’s a soft… Continue reading
News
Tri-Cities Cancer Center Meditation Support Group Meets Dec. 18th
We’ll continue our monthly mindfulness meditation support group meeting at the Tri-Cities Cancer Center in May. The Cancer Center is located at 7350 West Deschutes Avenue, Kennewick and the next meeting will be Thursday,12/18/2025. The sessions, which are held on the third Thursday of each month, are meant for cancer patients, cancer survivors, and their caregivers. The session will begin at 12:00 pm at… Continue reading
Sangha News 12/2/25
Thursday Evening Meditation & Talk: Over the next month or so we’ll explore the Buddha’s teachings on three different ways of perceiving the nature of everything we experience in life. These ways of perceiving are to notice the impermanence of everything, its impersonal nature, and its unreliability as a source of long term happiness. Go… Continue reading
Updated Resources for Meditation and Support
Gil Fronsdal provides a good introduction to the five faculties recommended by the Buddha. He describes each of the faculties and identifies them as skills that we can enhance through practice. You can find his article here: The Five Faculties A more in-depth examination of confidence and faith can be found in an article that… Continue reading
Quote for the Week
With confidence, we apply ourselves and experience the results. The more confidence we have, the more fully we engage in the process of meditation. When we begin spiritual practice, our confidence may be inspired by someone we’ve met or something we’ve read. In time, we learn from our own experience that the practice is helpful:… Continue reading
Sangha News 11/18/25
Thursday Evening Meditation & Talk: Over the next month or so we’ll explore the Buddha’s teachings on three different ways of perceiving the nature of everything we experience in life. These ways of perceiving are to notice the impermanence of everything, its impersonal nature, and its unreliability as a source of long term happiness. We’ll… Continue reading
Updated Resources for Meditation and Support
The Buddha’s teaching identified several characteristics associated with everything we experience. Those characteristics include impermanence and our sense of self. When we don’t see those clearly, we often experience stress and dissatisfaction. Sean Oakes, a teacher at Spirit Rock, describes the three characteristics of conditioned experience. He also offers some suggestions for practicing with them,… Continue reading
Quote for the Week
The only thing lost when we understand that nothing can be held onto is the suffering we experience by grasping. Joy and appreciation of beauty can even increase when anxiety around loss diminishes. Seeing impermanence and understanding that suffering is simply the “rope burn” that comes when we cling to that which is inevitably slipping… Continue reading
Tri-Cities Cancer Center Meditation Support Group Meets Nov. 20th
We’ll continue our monthly mindfulness meditation support group meeting at the Tri-Cities Cancer Center in May. The Cancer Center is located at 7350 West Deschutes Avenue, Kennewick and the next meeting will be Thursday,11/20/2025. The sessions, which are held on the third Thursday of each month, are meant for cancer patients, cancer survivors, and their caregivers. The session will begin at 12:00 pm at… Continue reading
Sangha News 11/5/25
Thursday Evening Meditation & Talk: Over the next month or so we’ll explore the Buddha’s teachings on four qualities of the heart that support us in our lives and practice, and can help us to cultivate an open heart. These four qualities, lovingkindness, compassion, joy, and equanimity, are usually known as the Brahmaviharas or the… Continue reading