During the second half of our group pilgrimage, we encountered a giant snake during breakfast one morning, we visited several historically significant temples, and an unexpected illness reminded us of the uncertainty in all experience.

In this episode, I answer listener questions about Buddhist “leadership,” the tenure of monks, and the practices of alms mendicants.

For two summers, I lived in a haunted old house in coastal California. The good new is: I made friends with this spooky spirit. Believe it or not?!!

This week, a group of nine gathered in Bangkok to embark upon an 11-day pilgrimage of sacred Buddhist sites around Thailand.

In this episode, I respond to listener questions about the benefits of meditation and how to relax the mind through the practice of meditation.

In this episode, I respond to listener questions about how a person becomes a Buddhist monk and the lives of monks in the Theravāda tradition of Buddhism.

Traveling one of the most beautiful roads in the world, I made my way to Hue—the scene of the bloodiest conflicts of the Vietnam War, the final resting place of the beloved Vietnamese Zen master Thich Nhat Hanh, and home to a Theravāda Buddhist forest monastery.

By learning to see this life experience in terms of five aggregates—form, feeling, perception, mental states and consciousness—we can begin to unravel misunderstanding and uncover a great path to peace.

While relaxing in the charming beach resort city of Da Nang, Vietnam, I found myself reflecting on desert adventures, the Manson Family, and on the profound spiritual allure of Death Valley.

A gorgeous, mountainous resort city on the ocean, marble mountains covered in Buddhist pagodas and dotted with caves, a massive statue of elegant Guanyin, and hundreds of bonsais—this is fabulous Da Nang!