Q: I’ve come to meditation to help me bear the atrocities of the world. What is awakening? Is it a moment of conscience when one embraces all the sorrows of the world, and in that case means hello to all sorrows or is it on the contrary a state of total forgetfulness and egotism, in that case it would be hello to guilt? So, which is it? A: Neither. Remember the image of feeding. Ordinarily, we fee…

Conditions all go their own natural way. Whether we laugh or cry over them, they just go their own way. And there is no knowledge of science which can prevent this natural course of things. You may get a dentist to look at your teeth, but even if they can fix them, they still finally go their natural way. Eventually even the dentist has the same trouble. Everything falls apart in the end. This ref…

We can take these next few minutes as a time to establish mindfulness and provide ourselves with a break. We can break the momentum of the mind, which so easily gets caught up in the process of becoming, especially when we have ongoing projects and duties to attend to. It can be so easy for the mind to obsess about unfinished tasks, keeping itself in a chaotic world. If we find ourselves stuck thi…

We have to practise being present no matter how excruciating. In our fury or fear, we want to scream, “Enough!” But can we bear the pain a little longer? Without wishing it to subside and disappear, or demanding that it change, are we able to accept it? Can we prepare a generous space for it in the heart and make peace with it – just as it is? Consciously letting in difficult feelings and keeping…

Q: What is the power of your last wish or last intention before the moment of death? A: The strength of your last mind state really depends on the totality of your kamma. Other things you have done prior to that moment may actually outweigh the power of that mind state. For instance, if you have any particularly heavy kamma—and “heavy” in this case means either very, very good or very, very bad—th…

We could, of course, elaborate a list of more than five such Hindrances, as there are quite a variety of different mental distractions or disturbances. One discourse lists forty-four qualities which a monk should ‘efface’ (M. sutta 8); another mentions sixteen qualities which make a monk difficult to admonish (M. sutta 15); and another quite similar list mentions the sixteen qualities which defile…

The brahmaviharas are a means of uplifting the mind, for brightening and bringing it joy. However, if the practice causes confusion, then something is wrong in the practice. You have to review it and look for the reason. This is where investigation comes in. The “near enemies” and “far enemies” are terms to aid you when reviewing your practice. They are guidelines to reflect back on the mind. The…

His Holiness, the Dalai Lama, speaking to a capacity audience in the Albert Hall in 1984 united his listeners instantly with one simple statement: “All beings want to be happy; they want to avoid pain and suffering.” I was impressed at how he was able to touch what we share as human beings. He armed our common humanity, without in any way dismissing the obvious differences. When invited to look at…

This term ignorance is considered in Buddhism to be the prime mover, the prime originator of our suffering. It’s not that we’re evil or fatally flawed or sinful, but there is this quality of not knowing, ignorance, or avijjā. These are all translations. So when you use the word ignorance, it sounds either like an insult—“You’re stupid. Thick—or that it can be cured by more information, which is ou…

…develop an inquisitive attitude toward pain. Put yourself in a position where you don’t feel threatened by pain so that you can probe the pain and ask questions, watch and observe and learn about it. Get so that pain holds no mysteries for you, holds no fear, because you understand not only the sensation of pain but also how the mind can latch onto it and create problems around it. Then you learn…