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April 23, 2026   Keep an Open Mind   The nature of online discourse today, which favors strong opinions and loud voices, has, of course, heightened divisions by rewarding extremes and discouraging anyone uninterested in making a splash from jumping into the pool.  Buddhism, on the other hand, encourages an open mind and admitting we don’t have all the answers. Whether it’s Zen’s “don’t-know mind” or what Ajahn Sumedho, an influential American Buddhist monk in the Thai Forest Tradition, calls “affectionate curiosity,” inquiry is a key part of practice. In Zen koan practice, it is the whole of it. Expecting a definitive answer is to miss the point.    Seeing doubt as an imperative, not a weakness, the Buddha warned against accepting his teachings on blind faith and instructed practitioners to question and investigate, to come and see for themselves.   When Buddhist nun Jetsunma Tenzin Palmo admitted to her teacher that, after investigation, she still had trouble accepting certain parts of Tibetan dharma, her teacher told her not to worry. There are good reasons she might feel that way and it would also be OK if she never resolved those questions. Curiosity keeps us alert, and in the end, “We can be quite happy with a question mark,” Palmo says.   The Buddha called this the middle way. As Buddhist teacher Elizabeth Mattis Namgyel describes it, “The term ‘Middle’ points to the ignorance-free zone between static conclusions and stupidity, grasping and rejecting, believing and doubting. It is the vast and deep alternative to the tug-of-war we have with our world.”   This week’s Three Teachings reminds us that an open mind is a strong mind, and a potentially free one at that.

Necessary Doubt By Jetsunma Tenzin Palmo Reflecting on her own experience as a student, Jetsunma Tenzin Palmo, one of the first Westerners to be ordained as a Buddhist nun, teaches that a questioning mind is essential to the Buddhist path.

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The Power of an Open Question By Elizabeth Mattis Namgyel  Buddhist teacher and author Elizabeth Mattis Namgyel speaks about the imperative to question but also to be, or embody, the questions we can’t ask with our intellects. Each one of us must follow our own “practice of open-questioning” to embrace the full experience of reality without drawing false or unhelpful conclusions.

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Practice Questioning By Narayan Helen Liebenson    Insight teacher Narayan Helen Liebenson offers skillful questions to ask ourselves on and off the cushion.

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Via Daily Dharma: The Four Reliances

 

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The Four Reliances

The Buddha taught that there are four reliances in practice: Rely on the meaning, not the words; on the teachings, not the person; on wisdom, not mere intelligence; on ultimate truth, not conventional truth.   Guo Gu, “The Practice of Emptiness”     CLICK HERE TO READ THE ARTICLE

Via Dhamma Wheel | Right Action: Reflecting upon Verbal Action

 

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RIGHT ACTION Reflecting Upon Verbal Action However the seed is planted, in that way the fruit is gathered. Good things come from doing good deeds; bad things come from doing bad deeds. (SN 11.10) What is the purpose of a mirror? For the purpose of reflection. So too verbal action is to be done with repeated reflection. (MN 61) When you have done an action with speech, reflect upon that same verbal action thus: “Has this action I have done with speech led to the affliction of another?” If, upon reflection, you know that it has, then tell someone you trust about it and undertake a commitment not to do it again. If you know it has not, then be content and feel happy about it. (MN 61)

Reflection Let’s not overlook the last line of this passage. If you reflect upon what you have said to people in the past and on review you realize you have not said anything harmful, you should feel happy about that. Feeling happy and content about your own behavior is not only allowable but encouraged. Positive feedback is as valuable as criticism, and acknowledging your own self-worth is healthy. We forget this sometimes. Daily Practice Confide in a friend some instance in which you have spoken badly in the past and give that misdeed a chance to come into the open and be encountered with awareness. Perhaps you told a lie or spread a rumor or otherwise said something that caused harm. By revealing this openly you are able to acknowledge that it was wrong, that you know better now, and that you undertake a commitment to not do it again. Tomorrow: Abstaining from Taking What is Not Given One week from today: Reflecting upon Mental Action Share your thoughts and join the conversation on social media #DhammaWheel Questions? Visit the Dhamma Wheel orientation page.

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