Engaged Spirituality
On the spiritual path, we cannot separate our inner work from how we express ourselves in daily life. Engaged spirituality refers to the active engagement of our heart and awareness in service of the greater, collective good. It means responding to the crisis of climate change, to the suffering of racism and other forms of oppression and injustice, to economic inequality, to the violence between humans and against non-human animals. Ultimately engaged spirituality honors the intrinsic sacredness of all living beings.
Engaged Spirituality – Talks
Love-Based Activism: A Conversation with Tara Brach and Mohsen Mahdawi – Part II
In this conversation, Tara is joined by Mohsen Mahdawi—Palestinian refugee, Buddhist practitioner, and courageous voice for justice—whose life bridges worlds that are so...
Love-Based Activism: A Conversation with Tara Brach and Mohsen Mahdawi – Part I
In this conversation, Tara is joined by Mohsen Mahdawi—Palestinian refugee, Buddhist practitioner, and courageous voice for justice—whose life bridges worlds that are so often...
The Bodhisattva Path—Nurturing the River of Caring
As humans face the darkness of fear, violence, and division, something else is also stirring: an awakening field of courage, care, and connection. This talk explores the...
Spiritual Audacity: The Lion’s Roar of the Heart
When we remember our deep belonging to this world, a fierce and tender courage begins to move through us. In this talk, we’ll explore “spiritual audacity” as a sacred, embodied...
The Healing Power of Imagination: Transform Yourself and the World, Part 2
What if a key to personal and collective transformation lies in reclaiming our deep capacities for presence and imagination? In this two-part series, we’ll explore how...
The Healing Power of Imagination: Transform Yourself and the World, Part 1
This two-talk series explores how spiritual imagination can awaken us to our deepest potential for healing and transformation. In times of fear and division, our...
Freedom from Inner and Outer Tyranny: The Path of Spiritual Warriors
Many agree that this is the most unpredictable and dangerous time we’ve ever lived through. How do we hold what is unfolding, and respond with courage and clarity? In this...
Meeting these Times with Courageous Love
Many recognize that love is the antidote to the suffering in our divided world, yet finding the path to an open heart can feel more challenging than ever. This talk explores the...
Living with a Courageous Heart in Times of Crisis: A Conversation with Tara Brach & Oren Jay Sofer
The pace of change is speeding up and much of the news we receive is alarming. More than ever, we need the inner reflections and meditations that help us connect with our...
Compassion for All Living Beings
We often talk of widening the circles of compassion. This talk explores the qualities of mature compassion, what blocks us from this embodied and inclusive caring, and how each...
Concern for All Beings: Plant-Based Eating
Concern for All Beings: Plant-Based Eating – A conversation with Tara Brach and Tricycle‘s editor-in-chief, James Shaheen. A vegetarian diet, while encouraged in most schools of...
Engaged Spirituality – Meditations
Meditation: Calling on Your Future Self (14:29 min.)
Meditation: Calling on Your Future Self We have within us the wisdom and compassion that can carry us through the most challenging times. This meditation guides us in accessing...
Guided Reflection: The RAIN of Compassion – What Is It Like to Be You (11:55)
Compassion is hard wired in our organism, and can be cultivated. We have the capacity for affiliative care, to tune into each other and to hold each other in our hearts....
Meditation: Meeting Anger with Awareness (15:16 min.)
When anger is held in mindfulness, it can energize us to respond wisely to challenging situations. This meditation guides us in meeting personal or societal anger with RAIN -...
RAIN on Blame: A Guided Meditation (14:40 min.)
When we are stuck in blame or resentment we are in a trance - the other person becomes an unreal bad other, and our own sense of being contracts into a victimized self, an angry...
Engaged Spirituality – Articles/Resources
Blog ~ What is Love Asking from Us: Reflections on Gaza, the West Bank and Israel
Download text in PDF Listen and Watch 2024-02-07 Webcast: What is the Path to Peace? A conversation with Tara Brach and Assaf Katz Read the article "Reflections on Gaza and the...
Blog: About LGBTQIA and Use of Pronouns
About LGBTQIA and Use of Pronouns LESBIAN A woman whose enduring physical, romantic, and/or emotional attraction is to other women. Some lesbians may prefer to identify as gay or...
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More Resources on Engaged Spirituality:
Spiritual Activism/Engaged Buddhism – Serving the World
- Dharma for Times of Global Trauma – Tara Brach, Lion’s Roar: Buddhist Wisdom for Our Time, March 24, 2022
- Gregory Boyle, Tattoos on the Heart: The Power of Boundless Compassion
- Fred Eppsteiner, The Path of Compassion: Writings on Socially Engaged Buddhism
- Joanna Macy, World as Lover, World as Self: Courage for Global Justice and Ecological Renewal
- Ram Dass & Paul Gorman, How Can I Help?: Stories and Reflections on Service
- Donald Rothberg, The Engaged Spiritual Life: A Buddhist Approach to Transforming Ourselves and the World
- Kittisaro & Thanissara, Listening to the Heart: A Contemplative Journey to Engaged Buddhism
- Thanissara, Time to Stand Up: An Engaged Buddhist Manifesto for Our Earth — The Buddha’s Life and Message through Feminine Eyes (Sacred Activism)
Moving Towards a Plant-Based Diet: Compassion for All
- Resources for Plant-Based Eating
- Vegan Sangha Resources (PDF)
- Regeneration: Ending the Climate Crisis in One Generation, by Paul Hawkin
- T. Colin Campbell and Thomas M. Campbell, The China Study: Revised and Expanded Edition: The Most Comprehensive Study of Nutrition Ever Conducted and the Startling Implications for Diet, Weight Loss, and Long-Term Health
- Jonathan Safran Foer, Eating Animals
- Melanie Joy, Beyond Beliefs: A Guide to Improving Relationships and Communication for Vegans, Vegetarians, and Meat Eaters
- Melanie Joy, Why We Love Dogs, Eat Pigs, and Wear Cows: An Introduction to Carnism
- Norm Phelps, The Great Compassion: Buddhism and Animal Rights
- Lani Muelrath, The Mindful Vegan: A 30-Day Plan for Finding Health, Balance, Peace, and Happiness
- Matthieu Ricard, A Plea for the Animals: The Moral, Philosophical, and Evolutionary Imperative to Treat All Beings with Compassion
- Will Tuttle, The World Peace Diet: Eating for Spiritual Health and Social Harmony
