You may be an atheist or follow a different religion but there is certainly something we all can learn from Buddhists - especially in these dark times. Buddhism teaches us compassion, kindness and mindfulness - such vital skills today. We recommend you to follow these 5 Buddhism resources that are so different but have this one common goal - to teach you kindness.

1. The Buddhist Chef

The Buddhist Chef is a blog owned by a young chef, Jean-Philippe Cyr who carries an important mission: to introduce more and more people to the pleasures of vegan eating. A practising Buddhist for the past 20 years, he lives with his wife in rural Quebec and spends his time creating easy and delicious vegan recipes for his platform, The Buddhist Chef.

2. Dalai Lama

The list of Buddhists cannot be complete without His Holiness the Dalai Lama who is the spiritual leader of the Tibetan people. He is promotes fundamental human values encouraging inter-religious harmony, advocating for the welfare of the Tibetan people and reviving ancient Indian knowledge.

As a Buddhist monk, His Holiness is committed to fostering harmony among the world’s religious traditions. Despite philosophical differences between them, all major world religions have the same potential to build good human beings. It is therefore vital for all religious traditions to respect one another and recognize the value of their respective traditions. The idea that there is one truth and one religion is relevant to the individual practitioner. However, with regard to the wider community, he says, there is a need to recognise that human beings observe several religions and several aspects of the truth.

3. Phillip Moffitt

At the peak of his career, former CEO and Editor-in-chief of Esquire magazine, Phillip Moffitt, exchanged in his worldly aspirations to explore the life within. He subsequently founded the Life Balance Institute and now teaches vipassana meditation with an emphasis on living the dharma in every day life. Phillip is a co-guiding teacher at Spirit Rock Meditation Center and the author of Emotional Chaos to Clarity and Dancing with Life.

4. Tiny Buddha

Tiny Buddha is led by Lori Deschene. Tiny Buddha is about reflecting on easy wisdom and learning new ways to apply it to our difficult lives—full of responsibilities, struggles, dreams, and relationships. Founded in 2009, Tiny Buddha has emerged as a great platform for peace and happiness. The site features stories, tips, and insights from readers of all ages, from all over the globe.

You’ll find posts about happiness, love, relationships, change, meaning, mindfulness, spirituality, simplicity, minimalism, letting go, and more. Much of it has its roots in Buddhism, but this is not a platform about religion. It’s about ideas that make sense and make a big difference when applied.

5. Dzigar Kongtrul

Dzigar Kongtrul is a Tibetan Buddhist teacher, author, and abstract expressionist painter. Unbroken lineages of wisdom traditions are rare in these times, and Kongtrul descends from a pure lineage of the Dzogpa Chenpo Longchen Nyingtik tradition of Tibetan Buddhism. Born into a noble dharma family in Northern India, his father was the third incarnation of the great tertön Chogyur Lingpa, while Rinpoche’s first teacher, his mother, was a great and renowned practitioner, completing thirteen years of solitary retreat before she married. At the age of nine, Rinpoche was recognized as an incarnation of Jamgon Kongtrul Lodro Thaye, by Kyabje Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche and the 16th Gyalwang Karmapa. Raised in a monastic environment, Rinpoche received extensive training in all aspects of Buddhist doctrine.