Family Life as Practice

“… monastic life was easy for (Gil Fronsdal), but marriage and a family pushed, stretched, challenged, and inspired him in ways that were as transforming as any other aspect of his Buddhist practice.”

Richard P. Boyle. “Realizing Awakened Consciousness. Interviews with Buddhist Teachers and a New Perspective on the Mind.” Columbia University Press, NY, 2015.

“This is why marriage is always sacred in religions and is consecrated with vows and rituals. It is the act of love as a committed spiritual journey, the bringing together of two halves to make one complete whole. It is the human embodiment of the cosmic principle of true love. When you truly ‘make relationship,’ as Roshi calls it, that is, give yourself fully to whatever is in front of you – marry your present circumstances – the ego is not conquered. It disappears. It is fulfilled. It dies in love. And from this union a fresh self is born, as vibrant and sparkling as a newborn. And its first job? To make relationship all over again. To give itself away.”

Shozan Jack Haubner. “Zen Confidential. Confessions of a Wayward Monk.” Shambhala, Boston, 2013.