12.26.2025 Ending the Year With Gratitude   While the world has been focused on the December holiday season this month — the rush, the lists, the year-end buzziness — we here at Lion’s Roar find ourselves lingering in the spirit of Thanksgiving as the New Year approaches. Perhaps you’d like to join us? We remain in “Thanksgiving mode” not out of stubbornness, but because gratitude isn’t meant to end when the calendar page turns. It’s a practice, one the wisdom of Buddhism and mindfulness would have us carry through all the seasons, and all our days. So we wanted to write to you today from that place of gratitude. To pause and acknowledge what we’re thankful for, and share three teachings on gratitude in that same spirit.  We’re grateful for all our contributors — the voices of wisdom who share so skillfully and generously from their practice and understanding, week after week, across all the Buddhist traditions and in the language of secular mindfulness too. We’re grateful for our Resident Teachers thus far — Mary Stancavage, Karen Maezen Miller, and Pamela Ayo Yetunde — and the practitioners who gather online with us each week for meditation — proving that real community can form anywhere people commit to practice together, including online. And of course, we’re grateful for you. For your attention in a world that demands it constantly. For the time you spend with these teachings. For the compassion and wisdom you manifest through your practice, your relationships, and your communities. Together, we coexist in a circle of generosity and benefit. We offer teachings; you receive and practice with them. Your practice changes you, and through you, touches others. Your support allows us to continue offering, to reach more people, to make the benefit of the dharma available to, ultimately, all. So as this year draws to close, if you find yourself moved to support this work — or to deepen your support — we invite you to make a gift to Lion’s Roar. Now, your generosity will have twice the impact. A group of kindhearted and generous donors have created a Challenge Fund to inspire and match all gifts under $1,000 to Lion’s Roar until the end of the year, to help us meet our budget for 2025. Will you help us reach this goal? Your gift — whatever amount feels right — joins this circle of generosity and keeps these teachings flowing. And your gift today will have double the impact. Thank you for being part of this community. Thank you for your practice, your attention, your generosity. —Lilly Greenblatt, Rod Meade Sperry, and Andrea Miller, Senior Editors, Lion’s Roar Just to Be Alive Is Enough There is no greater gift than to be grateful for our lives, says the late Zen teacher Blanche Hartman, and gratitude leads naturally to generosity, because we want to share this gift with others. Not only is life a gift, and practice a gift, everything we have, without exception, has come to us through the kindness of others. Years ago Tara Tulku Rinpoche, a wonderful Vajrayana teacher, visited us at Green Gulch Farm, where I then lived. He taught us a traditional meditation to cultivate gratitude. He asked us to think of everything that we thought was ours and consider how it came to us. Our food, clothing, houses, books, tools, toys, health: anything we can think of comes to us through the kindness of others. Even something we have made with our own hands depends on the tools and materials we used to make it. And we, through the activities of our life, are also offering gifts to others. This dance of offering and receiving is going on continually. Gratitude and generosity generate each other. ADVERTISEMENT The Path of Gratitude The goal of Shin Buddhism’s central practice, nembutsu, is not to attain buddhahood for ourselves, says Jeff Wilson, but to express gratitude for all we have received. Shinran taught that we must give up attachment to our ego-laden efforts to become enlightened and relax back into the embrace of inconceivable wisdom and never-abandoning compassion. In this way, we are freed from our anxieties and pettiness. Our practice, then, stops being about attaining buddhahood for ourselves and instead becomes about expressing gratitude for all that we have received. This is a way of life that deep­ens as the years pass; as Shinran put it, “My joy grows even fuller, my gratitude and indebted­ness ever more compelling.” Buddhist practice is transformed into an act of pure expressiveness that puts our inner feelings into word and deed through the utterance of the nembutsu and other acts of gratitude. Healing Begins With Gratitude The late Joanna Macy on “the great open secret of gratitude.” The great open secret of gratitude is that it is not dependent on external circumstance. It’s like a setting or channel that we can switch to at any moment, no matter what’s going on around us. It helps us connect to our basic right to be here, like the breath does. It’s a stance of the soul. In systems theory, each part contains the whole. Gratitude is the kernel that can flower into everything we need to know. Thankfulness loosens the grip of the industrial growth society by contradicting its predominant message: that we are insufficient and inadequate. The forces of late capitalism continually tell us that we need more—more stuff, more money, more approval, more comfort, more entertainment. The dissatisfaction it breeds is profound. It infects people with a compulsion to acquire that delivers them into the cruel, humiliating bondage of debt. So gratitude is liberating.

Mausoleum O. G. Khouw

 

Mausoleum O. G. Khouw adalah situs bersejarah berupa Mausoleum di Jakarta yang merupakan makam Oen Giok Khouw (1874-1927), seorang filoantropis terkemuka dan keturunan keluarga Khouw van Tamboen. Jandanya, Lim Sha Nio (1879-1957), juga kemudian dikebumikan di sana. Situs bersejarah ini terletak di dalam kawasan Taman Pemakaman Umum (TPU) Petamburan.

Mausoleum O.G. Khouw menjadi salah satu arsitektur yang cukup langka di Indonesia, terutama di Kota Jakarta. Mausoleum O.G. Khouw juga dianggap sebagai mausoleum termegah di Asia Tenggara

Khouw Oen Giok Sia (Lahir di Batavia 13 Maret 1874 – Wafat di Ragaz, Swiss 1 Juni 1927), atau lebih dikenal sebagai Oen Giok Khouw atau O. G. Khouw, adalah seorang tuan tanah Belanda keturunan Tionghoa yang terkenal berkat sifatnya yang dermawan.

Sebagai bentuk penghormatan atas sifatnya yang dermawan, sebuah ide untuk membangun Mausoleum; yakni sebuah monumen makam yang megah, muncul dari istrinya Lim Sha Nio.

Makam ini dirancang dengan gaya arsitektur Art Deco oleh Giussepe Racina, arsitek Italia yang tinggal di Surabaya, Hindia Belanda pada awal abad ke-20. Makam ini juga memiliki ruang bawah tanah yang memiliki relief wajah O.G. Khouw dan Jandanya, Lim Sha Nio.

Perusahaannya, Ai Marmi Italiani, adalah kontraktor pembangunan makam tersebut. Pembangunan Mausoleum tersebut memakan waktu hingga dua tahun. Ketika makam itu selesai dan diresmikan pada tanggal 4 September 1932, biayanya mencapai f 500.000 (sekitar US$ 250.000 pada saat itu; atau US$ 4,5 juta uang hari ini) hingga f 2.000.000 (atau Rp 3.000.000.000 hari ini).Hal tersebut menyebabkan sensasi besar di kalangan pers kolonial Belanda dan Indonesia. Salah satu komentator mencatat bahwa makam Khouw jauh lebih mahal dari makam miliarder pertama di Amerika Serikat, John D. Rockefeller.

3 Ways to Destroy Karma

 

1. Jñāna (Knowledge) — Bhagavad Gita 4.37

Scriptural Reference

“Yathāidhāṁsi samiddho ’gnir bhasmasāt kurute ’rjuna

Jñānāgniḥ sarva-karmāṇi bhasmasāt kurute tathā.”

— Bhagavad Gita 4.37

Meaning

“Just as a blazing fire reduces wood to ashes,

in the same way, the fire of knowledge burns all karma to ashes.”

 Knowledge destroys karma through clarity and removal of ignorance.

⸻

 2. Tapas (Discipline) — Yoga Sutra 2.1

Scriptural Reference

“Tapah-svādhyāya-īśvara-praṇidhānāni kriyā-yogaḥ.”

— Patanjali Yoga Sutras 2.1

Meaning

“Discipline, self-study, and surrender to God — these constitute Kriyā Yoga.”

And the next sutra explains the effect:

“Saṁskāra-śeṣo ’nyaḥ.”

— Yoga Sutra 2.12–2.14 (summary)

Tapas weakens old impressions (saṁskāras) that create future karma.

 Discipline purifies, breaks patterns, and burns latent karma.

⸻

 3. Bhakti (Devotion) — Bhagavad Gita 18.66

Scriptural Reference

“Sarva-dharmān parityajya

mām ekaṁ śaraṇaṁ vraja

ahaṁ tvāṁ sarva-pāpebhyo

mokṣayiṣyāmi mā śucaḥ.”

— Bhagavad Gita 18.66

Meaning

“Surrender completely unto Me.

I shall free you from all karmic reactions — do not fear.”

 Surrender dissolves ego, and karma no longer binds.

Another supportive Bhakti reference:

“Bhaktyā mām abhijānāti.” — Gita 18.55

“Through devotion alone one truly knows Me.”

7 Earth’s Chakra

 

Just like the human body, our planet has energetic centers that pulse with life force — known as the Earth’s Chakras.

Each chakra is connected to a sacred site where spiritual energy is amplified:

 Mount Shasta — Root

 Lake Titicaca — Sacral

 Uluru — Solar Plexus

 Glastonbury & Stonehenge — Heart

 Great Pyramids — Throat

 Earth’s Third Eye — a moving gateway

 Mount Kailash — Crown

Indigenous traditions and ancient civilizations have been drawn to these portals for thousands of years — building temples, pyramids, and pilgrimage routes on top of the Earth’s meridians.

When we visit or even consciously connect to these sites, we harmonize with a greater grid — the planet healing with us and through us.

Because your spiritual journey is never just personal…

It is also planetary 

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𝐖𝐞𝐥𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐍𝐞𝐰 𝐘𝐞𝐚𝐫 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟔 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐧𝐞𝐰?

 

𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐉𝐢𝐮 𝐉𝐢𝐭𝐬𝐮 𝐣𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐲 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐀𝐝𝐮𝐥𝐭 𝐓𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐖𝐞𝐞𝐤 

𝐄𝐧𝐣𝐨𝐲 𝟏𝟎 𝐝𝐚𝐲𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐅𝐑𝐄𝐄 𝐜𝐥𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐚 𝐟𝐮𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐛𝐞𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐫-𝐟𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐥𝐲 𝐞𝐧𝐯𝐢𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 — 𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦 𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐥𝐮𝐝𝐞𝐝.

𝐒𝐭𝐞𝐩 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟔 𝐟𝐞𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫, 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐟𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐭, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐝 𝐛𝐲 𝐚 𝐬𝐮𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐠𝐫𝐨𝐰𝐬 𝐭𝐨𝐠𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫.

𝐌𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐍𝐞𝐰 𝐘𝐞𝐚𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐩𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐟𝐮𝐥.

 𝐒𝐩𝐨𝐭𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐥𝐢𝐦𝐢𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐟𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐟𝐚𝐬𝐭.

𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐧 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐮𝐬!

𝐒𝐞𝐧𝐝 𝐮𝐬 𝐚 𝐃𝐌 𝐭𝐨 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐬𝐩𝐨𝐭

Cara Orang Swiss Mengatur Uang

 

Orang Swiss stabil bukan cuma karena gajinya besar… tapi karena cara mereka ngatur uang itu disiplin banget!

5 prinsip ini bikin mereka bisa hidup mahal tanpa drama keuangan, tetap tenang dan punya masa depan yang terukur

Kalau harus pilih 1, mana yang paling susah kamu lakukan sekarang?

 Hidup sesuai kemampuan (bahkan kalau gaji besar)

 Prioritaskan tabungan jangka panjang

 Bayar semua tagihan tepat waktu

 Terbuka soal keuangan dengan pasangan/keluarga

 Pilih kualitas, bukan kuantitas

ENAM KEBIASAAN ORANG BAHAGIA

 

Banyak orang mengira bahagia itu soal nasib.

Padahal dalam psikologi, bahagia lebih sering lahir dari kebiasaan kecil yang konsisten.

Berikut maknanya satu per satu 

 Talk less

Orang yang terlalu banyak bicara sering kelelahan secara mental.

Diam seperlunya membantu otak lebih tenang dan fokus.

 Tidak pamer

Validasi berlebihan membuat kebahagiaan bergantung pada penilaian orang lain.

Orang bahagia cukup tahu dirinya bertumbuh, tanpa perlu pembuktian.

 Belajar setiap hari

Belajar memberi otak rasa progres.

Progres kecil → rasa hidup bergerak → muncul kepuasan batin.

 Membantu sesama

Secara ilmiah, membantu orang lain meningkatkan hormon oksitosin dan dopamin.

Itulah mengapa kebaikan sering terasa “menghangatkan”.

 Abaikan omong kosong

Tidak semua suara layak masuk ke pikiranmu.

Orang bahagia selektif terhadap energi yang ia izinkan masuk.

 Lebih banyak tertawa

Tertawa menurunkan hormon stres dan menenangkan sistem saraf.

Bukan karena hidupnya ringan, tapi karena ia tahu kapan melepas beban.

Jika kamu merasa:

• sulit menikmati hal sederhana

• mudah lelah secara emosional

• bahagia terasa “jauh” padahal hidup terlihat baik-baik saja

sering kali masalahnya bukan di luar,

tapi di luka lama yang belum dibereskan.