Just 45 minutes outside of Perth, the state capital of Western Australia, lies a sprawling acreage of dry forest. Fires can scorch the forest in bushfire season, but the 14 women of Dhammsara Nuns Monastery have learned to live on the land, devoting themselves to a life that is purposefully removed from the busy distractions of the city.

It is important to ask questions of ourselves, such as is it enough to only practice meditation or sadhana on the cushion? Are we becoming self-indulging Dharma junkies unless we go out and take concrete action, caring for the poor or fighting for justice on the behalf of the weak? Since altruistic actions are an integral part of our spiritual practice, we should aspire to engage with the world and become involved in social or political issues. This can be regarded as the way of the bodhisattva.

The far-reaching benefits of meditation and mindfulness, as long recognized by many spiritual traditions, are gaining increasing traction in the West, both within and outside the Buddhist world. Perhaps nowhere is this postivie impact being more keenly felt, and with the greatest potential to improve the future, than at the growing number of schools that are incorporating these practices into their daily curriculums.

The Tibetan Plateau is home to some of the world’s rarest wild species, among them the elusive snow leopard. With estimates for the total global population ranging from 3,920–6,390 in the wild, snow leopards are classified as endangered on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.* In recent years, however, an unlikely wildlife activist has embarked on a self-imposed mission to record the declining biodiversity of the Tibetan Plateau. The Buddhist monk, who comes from a traditional Tibetan nomadic community and goes by the name Drukyab, travels through the Himalayas documenting the snow leopard, along with other other flora and fauna in the remote region, seeking to raise awareness about threats to the region’s delicate ecological balance.

I truly enjoy my conversations with the quiet, authoritative Anam Thubten Rinpoche, and I was glad to learn last year that he likes coming to Hong Kong to teach. This patient and soft-spoken Nyingma master has a devoted, urbanite, and educated following in the cosmopolitan enclave. “I really enjoy being in Hong Kong and I feel that I’m learning how to teach in Hong Kong and understand more about the culture and people. The people have been wonderful, and the learning experience for me overall and sharing the Dharma has been a source of joy. The people who come to my teachings have been very sincere and intelligent, and I feel that these people really have the capacity to understand the depth of Buddhism,” he told me when we met in December.

The world is beset by what are often called “intractable problems.” Agitation and response seem to run in circles of escalating violence, with little apparent creativity in the attempts to resolve these issues. Perhaps it is time to take a moment to pause, to self-reflect on what it would take to change a discussion, to offer a way forward that is not merely a self-righteous rehash of the past? While I was working in the Vale of Kashmir in the summer 2016 with a 700-year-old tradition of satirical performers known as Bhand Pather, whose plays are based on Sufi poetry and social observation, these simmering tensions took a turn for the worse. Eight Indian soldiers were murdered on a bus when militants ambushed an official convoy. Several days later, Burhan Wani, a popular young militant leader, was killed in a gun battle with security personnel, unleashing years of pent-up frustration among the populations of villages in Kashmir as well as the Indian security forces. In this ongoing cycle of violence and retribution, Kashmir is, regrettably, not so unique in the world, but perhaps the world has forgotten the suffering of Kashmir?

“It’s not a thrill a minute. You’re not seeing auras and jumping into other dimensions,” says Susan Piver. “Meditation is not a life hack. . . . It’s a way to see clearly.”

In a new study published earlier this month in the journal Science Advances, climate researchers re-examine the likelihood that the swift and powerful Gulf Stream system of currents in the Atlantic Ocean—otherwise known as the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC)—could be affected or even collapse under the cumulative impact of climate change, leading temperatures in the northern hemisphere to drop by as much as 7°C.

The Buddhist practice of life release (sometimes known as mercy release)—the act of saving the life of an animal that was destined for slaughter and returning it to the wild—is practiced by monastics and lay Buddhists in almost all schools of Buddhism, and is commonly viewed as an ideal way to earn spiritual merit and, through a small act of compassion, to make the world just a little bit better. However, as with many good intentions, when not practiced mindfully and with skill, it can result in far more harm than good.

Adding lemon to water not only quenches thirst better than any other beverage, but it also nourishes our body with vitamins, minerals and trace elements which we absolutely need. Lemon with water can be considered the best natural energy booster. When we wake up in the morning, our bodily tissues are dehydrated and are in need of water to push out toxins and rejuvenate the cells. In other words, this homemade “lemonade” helps eliminate internal toxins, regulating proper kidney and digestive tract functions by forcing them to work as smoothly as possible.