I’ve started posting on Substack. It will be a space for me to share personal stories about Buddhism IRL, trying to write things, my love of music, enneagram musings, things I worry about, and why is it so hard to love?! Please head on over to subscribe and receive all future posts. I’d love to see you there. No paywall, everything... READ MORE
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Meditation practice begins at 11:06
Hello, wonderful Open Heart Project. I hope you are well and I send you my love. Before today’s sit, I share with you a chant I have been doing for more than 30 years: The Four Dharmas of Gampopa. In this short talk, I talk about who Gampopa was and how magical these four dharmas are. In fact, they outline... READ MORE
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Meditation practice begins at 18:58
Hello, wonderful Open Heart Project. In the past weeks, I’ve tried to convey to you how important your practice is–and not just for yourself (which it is), but for others and for this world. I outlined 6 points to explain how we view our practice here in the OHP as way more than self-help, but as a path of genuine... READ MORE
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Meditation practice begins at 15:11
Hello, wonderful Open Heart Project. Before today’s sit, I share a few thoughts (okay, more than a few) about the vital importance of remaining in control of your attention. Many forces in the world are vying for it, including people you agree and disagree with. While it is of utmost importance to pay attention to the suffering and chaos of... READ MORE
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Meditation practice begins at 10:22
Hello, wonderful Open Heart Project. Before today’s sit, I continue the conversation begun a few weeks ago to discuss how we view meditation in the OHP. (It’s different from most views!) The first point was We Engage in Daily Ritual. The second was We Live as Mystics (Hiding in Plain Sight). The third was The Personal is Not the Obstacle—It... READ MORE
Thank you to everyone who registered for this talk on my new book, Inexplicable Joy: On the Heart Sutra. During our conversation yesterday, some expressed (understandable) uncertainty about which skandha (heap) went with which sense perception and so on. I made this very inadequate drawing that hopefully clarifies more than it confuses. Love, Susan
Audio only version is here
Meditation practice begins at 13:05
Hello, wonderful Open Heart Project. Before today’s sit, I continue the conversation begun two weeks ago to discuss how we view meditation in the OHP. (It’s different from most views!) The first point was We Engage in Daily Ritual. The second was We Live as Mystics (Hiding in Plain Sight). The third is The Personal is Not the Obstacle–It is... READ MORE
Thank you to all who registered to learn more about this new course, Buddhism Beyond Belief. It was a joy to talk with you about the Buddhist path. I hope you found it illuminating, inspiring, and useful. To continue the conversation, please consider signing up for Buddhism Beyond Belief. Here is the curriculum: Curriculum (some topics subject to change to... READ MORE
Audio-only version is here.
Meditation practice begins at 14:32.
Hello, Open Heart Project. I hope you are well and finding ways to be joyful and kind (to yourself, others, the planet). This video suggests three ways we can work with so-called negative emotions. There are so many all over the place! It can be very difficult to figure out how to work with rage, fear, and, perhaps most dangerous,... READ MORE
Thank you to all who registered to learn more about this new course, Buddhism Beyond Belief. It was a joy to talk with you about the Buddhist path. I hope you found it illuminating, inspiring, and useful. To continue the conversation, please consider signing up for Buddhism Beyond Belief. Here is the curriculum: Curriculum (some topics subject to change to... READ MORE
Hello and I hope you’re starting the new year in a place of love and safety. May 2025 be a year of joyful connection, deepening, understanding, and sanity. Every year, I write a recap of what happened in the OHP sangha and where we are headed. Please have a look at your leisure and let me know what you think.... READ MORE
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Meditation practice begins at 06:42
Hello, wonderful Open Heart Project. Happy new year! May all beings become sane. Before we sit today, I describe 3 different ways of viewing the spiritual journey to enlightenment, according to the Buddhist view (while recovering from hip replacement surgery, which is why my leg is sticking out). You are on one of these paths, I promise! Please have a... READ MORE
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