"Our Suffering" is the Very Material with which we Practice

     “The path of spiritual practice is often called purification of the heart. We don’t have a choice about what we purify – rather, what needs purifying shows up in our lives. The question is whether we can be mindful enough to be present to it. Sometimes the suffering and pain we internalize goes deep into the core of who we think we are – whether it is a thirteen-year-old boy’s feeling of hating how he looks, other judgments we make about ourselves, or the multitude of judgments the world can make about us.
     The practice of mindfulness invites us to see that we are so much more than who we think we are and our full and beautiful lives are so much more than just our suffering. Can we be present to all of that too?”

       Larry Yang. “Awakening Together. The Spiritual Practice of Inclusivity and Community.” Wisdom Publications, 2017.                        excerpt published in Lion’s Roar, November 2017

At a Store's Doorway, Taos NM