Westerners are putting down the bottle. The percentage of U.S. adults who consume alcohol has dropped to 54% in 2025, the lowest rate in nearly a century. Inadvertently following in the footsteps of Buddhist Monks, who are prohibited from consuming alcohol. However, in the modern world, consuming alcohol can sometimes…
Category: Lifestyles
Lifestyles
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Forest Bathing: Modern Shinrin-yoku in the Digital Age
You’ve probably heard the term “Forest Bathing” being tossed around on TikTok or your social media platform of choice lately. But what you might not know is that it’s a relatively modern term that originated in Japan in the 1980s. It has since been rebranded, repackaged (you can almost say…
Home and Garden
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Shojin Ryori: Everything You Need To Know About Buddhist Vegetarian Cuisine
Shojin Ryori is the traditional cuisine of Zen Buddhist monks. It is historically vegetarian, and usually vegan, due to its roots in the Buddhist concept of non-violence. But some modern iterations include animal products like milk and cheese. Each meal is typically made up of several small bowls with an…
Lifestyles
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Why Film Photography Is the Ultimate Zen Practice for a Mindful Life
Pull out your cell phone and open up your photo gallery. Do you have ten to fifteen nearly identical versions of every picture on your digital camera roll? If the answer is yes, read on. We’ll teach you how to pare down that massive photo library while simultaneously living a…
Home and Garden
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Dogen’s “Instructions To the Tenzo”: Buddhist Wisdom For Family Dinners
Parents today are more stressed, overworked and pushed to their limits than ever before. Feeling like finding time for a traditional sitting meditation practice is out of reach? You’re not alone. In today’s modern world there simply isn’t enough time in the day to sit in silence for busy parents….
Home and Garden
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The Best Part of Waking up is The Buddha in Your Cup
It’s Saturday morning. You roll out of bed and wipe the sleep from your eyes. You stumble to the kitchen and fire up your trusty Mr. Coffee machine. The aroma of coffee fills your kitchen as the anticipation of your first cup O’joe drips closer and closer to completion. That’s…
Home and Garden
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Samu and Soil: Finding Mindfulness in Your Garden
In today’s modern world your meditation practice can take a backseat to the demands of everyday life. At times it can feel nearly impossible to find the time for a traditional sitting practice. Work, school, family and the tasks of everyday life are sometimes so overwhelming that carving out 15…