We take suffering as a great misfortune. We take the things that stop us in our tracks as a great misfortune, but actually they can be blessings. While you’re getting ahead, succeeding and coming out on top, how much do you stop and listen? There is no need to, is there? When life is fun, who needs to be wise? When we contemplate dukkha (suffering) we begin to be aware of that. We get stopped in o…

Now, in my passage through Malaysia, I have again taken the opportunity to walk piṇḍapāt in the local market of Penang where it is surprisingly easy to beg. I knew I would be well-fed. With my bowl secure in its harness around my shoulder and cradling it in my palms, I stood between the main fruit and vegetable vendors and rows of flimsy stalls that display a collage of baby clothes, ladies’ handb…

Only one book is worth reading: the heart. This reflection by Ajahn Chah is from the book, No Ajahn Chah, (pdf) p. 38.

Of all the concepts central to Buddhism, merit (puñña) is one of the least known and least appreciated in the West. This is perhaps because the pursuit of merit seems to be a lowly practice, focused on getting and “selfing,” whereas higher Buddhist practice focuses on letting go, particularly of any sense of self. Because we in the West often feel pressed for time, we don’t want to waste our time…

…When we’re working, how do we sustain our effort? How do we keep the kind of steadiness and pace that allows us to put forth effort without wearing ourselves out? In meditation, we have a chance to notice how difficulties can arise when we’re focused on trying to get or achieve something in our practice, when there’s an agitated energy of doing. Or we can notice a holding back of effort and how t…

I heard that you went to see cremations at the crematorium in Melbourne. What would be some good reflections to use on this topic? One can take what one sees at a cremation as a theme for questioning oneself. For example: today they have burned this person, but tomorrow who knows who is going to be burned… could it be me? These are good questions because they make us skilled in dealing with the re…

Now it is morning again and, after grey skies in Tromsø, like yesterday it is bright above and sparkling on the water. There is a mellow mood amongst us six – a feeling of re-entering that other world and a drainedness, after the peak of our Svalbard days. When we crossed the Arctic Circle after breakfast today, there was no impulse amongst us to do more than look out of the windows above the ster…

When the weather is beautiful, we notice how the human mind is influenced and affected by the brightness of sunshine. On a sunny day in England, I always feel that the sunshine brings happiness into people’s minds, and when they’re happy, they seem to get along better naturally. What happens to our minds when the clouds come? When the mind is miserable, it is difficult to connect with people. The…

It’s a wonderful feeling to confront some habit of the mind that makes you suffer until you know it well enough that you’re no longer falling victim to it. When you see that your emotional buttons aren’t being pushed anymore, you have more confidence in your practice. But this change doesn’t come without some effort. You have to make the determination: “I’m going to really look at this unskillful…

Probably every one of us who has practised meditation has experienced the ‘howling dog’ syndrome. It’s like you have something within you that is whining and, hearing it, you think, ‘I’ll shut that out and get on with the practice.’ It’s like having a dog howling in the basement, so you close the door and move up to the next floor to get away from all that. But the howling gets louder – maybe it’s…