The Tattooed Buddha strives to be a platform for the spiritual misfits and contemplative rebels. We aim to promote peace and educate through writing, workshops and community. We offer a dialogue that is aware and awake to the reality of our present day, tackling issues of community, environment and compassionate living.
Just an Ordinary Jane Looking for a Little Zen, The Yoga Slut
Latest
Why are We All Watching the Monks and Their Peace Walk?
There are no demands for our attention. They aren't asking for anything. And still, crowds are gathering to watch.
A Mindful Berean
Latest
Understanding and Overcoming Attachment
De-criminalize attachment in your mind. Merely having an attachment isn't a Failure, a Sin, or a Crime that needs to be punished.
The Bodhisattva of Power Suits
Latest
How Ego Death at a Bachelorette Party Helped My Mental Health
The best thing I have done for my mental health in the last month was listen to the new album by Hayley Williams. If you struggle just getting through the day, this album provides a soundtrack for the struggle.
Loving Thoughts From Nowhere
Latest
Zen Retreats, a Party for Introverts
For me, this was a final challenge. I've been pondering how to be more active in sharing what I know.
Living the Dharma: Stories of Everyday Life
Latest
An Old Song for a New Year: Going into 2026 with a Silent Night
This year we do not sing to be louder than the past or braver than the future. Maybe we do not try to outrun who we were twelve months ago or audition a shinier self for the year ahead. Maybe we let the year turn without commentary. No vows shouted into the dark. No reinvention demanded at midnight. Just presence.
The Renegade Buddhist
Latest
Which Seeds Do I Water? Yogacara and Connecting It All
By Johnathon Lee I sat on break, broken by emotional agony, thinking, “I don’t...
Buddha School Dropout
Latest
Trauma, Grieving and the Root of Suffering
Because a lotus will not thrive in clear water, it needs the mud in order to bloom.
One Deep Breath of Dharma
Latest
With So Many Talking, Who Do We Listen To?
Now here is the tough advice from another sutta in the collection. What do we do with this person, since we have determined that they are not a person to be listened to?
- Buddhism
- Right Livelihood
- Addiction & Recovery
- Reviews
Distortion Mantra: Sitting as Resistance
To simply be nowadays is a rebellion of sorts, removing yourself from a process of obey, consume, repeat (to quote an old John Carpenter film).
A Lawyer and a Tattooed Buddha Hang Out on a Blog
Lots of people now ask me how I make teaching mindfulness, writing, and practicing law, fit. Perhaps it is because of my copious life experience feeling like I don’t fit in, but I am comfortable with this question. In fact, it is one of my favorites.
In the Forge: Where Buddhism Fails (and Sometimes Works)
In my darker moments, I sometimes wonder if Buddhism in the West has become a plaything for middle class dilettantes, a sizeable number of whom seem to prefer to turn their back on current realities---because they can.
To Be Seen By The Sacred: The Weight and Wisdom in Thai Tattoo Magick
This book challenges the romanticization of exotic tattoos that end up representing experience without responsibility. Zed is explicit about the cosmic scrutiny such talismans invite.
The American Buddhist
Latest
The Thing Within Us That Lives Off Conflict
Like cats, looking for a fight, we have a thing within us that lives off of conflict.
Holly is Not Broken, She is Breaking Through
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Just Breathe, Holly
Nobody ever told me about breathing SLOWLY before.
Cultivating Peace Under Lock and Key
Latest
Wait: A Love Letter to Those in Despair {Book Review}
By Acharya Samaneti I have to admit that I have a soft spot for dhamma teachers that are,...
- Beginner Meditation
- Advanced Meditation
Distortion Mantra: Sitting Fast, Sitting Slow
Being calm enough to push back and set aside time to do nothing is truly subversive in these times, when even hobbies can be turned into consumable content or gamified.
Anger is an Energy
But what if we take away the small self, the ego? When there is no “I” or “me,” then how can “I” be angry? If there is no more inner fortress to protect then anger, if it arises, can dissipate back from where it arose.
Addiction & Recovery
Latest
In the Forge: Where Buddhism Fails (and Sometimes Works)
In my darker moments, I sometimes wonder if Buddhism in the West has become a plaything for middle class dilettantes, a sizeable number of whom seem to prefer to turn their back on current realities---because they can.
- Empower Me
- Yoga
- Meditation 101
Hope and Care Bears
I find it hard, if not impossible, to wave one hand limply at another cut in public health spending and mumble platitudes about karma.
Choosing to Run Toward (not Away) from Pain
By Robert Butler When I was 19 years old, I joined a Krishna ashram. Searching eagerly for...
When Meditation Retreats Go Wrong: Suicide, Meditation and What We Can Do (Jaqui’s Story)
Jaqui loved meditating and had been trying to get into a 10 day Goenka meditation retreat for awhile and when her name came up on the list to be able to go, she was very excited.
Podcast
LatestThe TTB Team Reflects on 2025
The TTB Team Reflects on 2025
We discussed what challenged us, what we learned from, what we hope to see in 2026. We talked about grief, recovery, dogs, family, changes, the changing landscape of our nation and our world.
- News & Politics
How the Walk for Peace Brought Me Back to Buddhism
You know things have gotten bad when monks take to the streets.
- Family & Parenting
- Relationships
- Interfaith
I am Still Hoping
Hope is a charged word---like love---that can have different meanings for people, and different ways of expressing it.
You’re Not Crazy. You’re Grieving: What Happens When a Relationship Ends in Betrayal and Trauma
Survivors of infidelity, abandonment or narcissistic abuse have long known it: the death of a deeply committed relationship can trigger trauma almost indistinguishable from PTSD. When betrayal, gaslighting, or emotional abuse are involved, grief becomes a labyrinth.
An Old Song for a New Year: Going into 2026 with a Silent Night
This year we do not sing to be louder than the past or braver than the future. Maybe we do not try to outrun who we were twelve months ago or audition a shinier self for the year ahead. Maybe we let the year turn without commentary. No vows shouted into the dark. No reinvention demanded at midnight. Just presence.
- Wellness
- Health and diet
- Environment
Not Sick Enough to Help, Too Broken to Keep: What Despair Sounds Like When Systems Fail
When someone says, “I’m too broken to be accepted,” they are not revealing a truth about themselves. They are reporting the cumulative impact of being unmet---by people, by institutions, by care models that confuse scarcity with triage and distance with professionalism.
Easy Vegan Cream Cheese Made from Nuts
By Marcee Murray King When I became vegan, one of the biggest challenges was having to...
The Reason I Talk to Animals (I’m Not Dr. Doolitle)
By David Jones We have two cats at home, a couple of dogs and a visiting dog who I call the...
- The Faces of Meditation
Snapshots of Meditation: Deb Taylor
I used to roll out of bed and meditate in my room. However, in August of 2020, my boy died in his...
