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
Beloved Community
Martin Luther King’s term, “Beloved Community,” points to our potential for living together with love, justice and respect. This talk explores the often hidden expressions of...
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...
Cherishing Each Other: A Conversation with Tara Brach and Father Gregory Boyle
Many are familiar with the Dali Lama’s words “My religion is kindness.” In this conversation you will sense the gritty and real way that we struggling humans can learn to cherish...
Navigating the Dark Ages
How do we process and respond to increasing societal oppression and violence? What helps us transform the energies of fear, hatred and delusion? This talk offers ways we can draw...
What is the Path to Peace? A conversation with Tara Brach and Assaf Katz
Assaf Katz is an activist and Buddhist teacher in Israel who opposes the Israeli governments’ devastating military action and long occupation in Palestine, and is dedicated to...
Changing Unhealthy Habits of Eating – A Conversation between Tara and Judson Brewer
Countless people live with shame and distress about their eating. Dr. Judson Brewer, scientist, professor and author of “The Hunger Habit” and many other groundbreaking books, is...
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...
Mind Our Democracy Together: Spiritual Action for the Midterms and Beyond
Mind Our Democracy Together: Spiritual Action for the Midterms and Beyond [streamed 2022-11-03] Are you feeling distressed about the future of our democracy? Are you ready to...
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...
Compassion toward Non-Human Animals
A Conversation between Konda Mason and Tara Brach The medicine our world most needs is compassion, and it is crucial that this include all living beings. Our societal...
Engaged Spirituality during Times of Upheaval
Engaged spirituality means responding to our world’s suffering with wisdom and deep care. This talk looks at three blocks to aligning our actions with our heart – “bad othering,”...
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 and the Bodhisattva Path
Download text in PDF - The moment we choose to love, we begin to move towards freedom, to act in ways that liberate ourselves and others. ~ bell hooks The humanitarian...
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 – Facing My White Privilege
Facing My White Privilege – from Lion's Roar, June 21, 2016, painting by Hildy MazeTara Brach When Tara Brach came to recognize her own white privilege, it revealed blind spots....
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...
New to Meditation?
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
