"Dukkha," they say. The Buddhists say, "All is dukkha." It is hard to translate, they tell us. It means literally "suffering" but the feeling of dukkha is closer to impermanence. The fact of impermanence is central to the Buddhist path to nirvana, enlightenment. Dukkha. All is impermanence....

It is a good morning to be together! When winter's darkness spreads across the land, and cold seeps through our thickest coats, we hurry here, drawn by the warmth of faces familiar and new, to the welcoming walls of this house. Here, for this hour, we open ourselves to new understanding,...

Let us join our hearts and minds in the quiet of meditation and prayer. How shall we pray? First, let us be open to the silence. Let us hear the sounds in this room, the noises outside, and the comfortable murmur from the children downstairs. Let us begin to hear the soft beating of our hearts....

Once upon a time, a thief snuck into the room of a sleeping Buddhist monk. As the burglar rummaged about, the monk awoke. The startled thief ran into the snowy streets with the monk racing after him, "Please stop!" the monk called, and the man finally did, realizing that his pursuer was no threat.

May our faith sustain us, our hope inspire us, and our love surround us as we go our separate ways, knowing that we will gather again in this beloved community. Amen.

The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord keep all those whom you love, whether here or in some other place. May God be your companion and you be God's friend, as you walk together through all the days of your life; and at the journey's end, may you find the welcome of God's love. It keeps us all.

We invoke thy gentlest blessings, God, on all true lovers. We praise thee for the great longing that draws the souls of two persons together. We thank thee for the revealing power of love, and the glory of joyous celebrations. We thank thee for the universal ritual of sharing—sharing of love, and...

Universal Spirit of love, O God within each one of us, whose power reaches to the stars, whose love connects us one to another and to all creation—we are one. We cry out with the pain of this broken world. With all our capacity for love, we ask: why can't we wrap this world in love and bring...

Shall we pray? Too often, God, we have ignored you. We have lived as though you didn't matter. We have denied the new life that you would have us embrace; we have perpetuated that which depletes life. Forgive us for hesitating when we knew action was the needed response. Forgive us also for...

O Thou whose power we see in the stars and whose presence we experience as love, we would today be sustained by that power and open to that love. Help us to remember that "as we sow, so shall we reap"—that whatever we project out from ourselves also comes back to us....

Teach my heart healing words. Show me the words that help rather than harm. Instruct me in the verbs that bring energy, the nouns pointing to the real, the adjectives describing your subtleties....

We gather together in this space to honor and understand our lives. We bring our pasts and would share them, our dreams and would express them. We use words, song, silence, and gesture....

To this house we come bringing our boldest dreams—seeking here the inspiration and strength to make them be! To this house we come hoping to bury broken dreams, to be sustained through their pain and to discover new ones amidst their tears. We come here lonely, isolated from meaningful human...

To pass the peace is a revolutionary act. It means to trust the outsider we fear, to wish well those who have hurt us; and to forgive at last ourselves. To offer the blessing to those around you is to love your neighbor and yourself and to be at peace with God. Pax vobiscum. Peace. Peace.

Reminded that we are part and participants of the Universe, let us go forth from the quiet of this hour encouraged to strive toward faithfulness to the best in ourselves, in others, and in the whole creation.

Our time in this place may have ended, but our connection to each other and this community remains. Together may we walk the path of justice, speak words of love, live the selfless deed, trod gently upon the earth, and fill the world with compassion. Until we meet again, blessed be.

May the quality of our lives be our benediction, and a blessing to all whom we touch.

Cherish your doubts, for doubt is the servant of truth. Question your convictions, for beliefs too tightly held strangle the mind and its natural wisdom. Suspect all certitudes, for the world whirls on—nothing abides. Yet in our inner rooms full of doubt, inquiry and suspicion, let a corner be...

Between the dawn and dusk of our being, let us be brave and loving. In our little passage through the light let us sustain and forward the human venture— in gentleness, in service, and in thought. Amen.