I’ve been thinking about Ajahn Ñāṇadhammo, recalling his most memorable interaction with Ajahn Chah while living at Wat Pah Pong. One day while out on alms round, Ajahn Ñāṇadhammo had a slight argument with another monk and became stirred up and upset. When he returned to the monastery, Ajahn Chah smiled at him and uncharacteristically in English said, “Good morning.” Of course Ajahn Ñāṇadha…

As most of us know, when bringing the practice into our daily lives, it’s necessary to apply mindfulness. But it’s also necessary to ensure that our mindfulness is operating under an appropriate and beneficial view or perspective. If we are mindful, but our view is misguided, then it’s likely that we’re mindfully following some sort of bias or obsession. In order to keep on the right track, we nee…

The word ‘awakening’ is part of a verb. It is an activity, a waking- up process. We can even reflect on the analogy of waking up in the morning: consciousness begins to become clearer, it tunes in to reality more and more, until you recognize that this is how it is. The limitation of that analogy is that when we wake up in the morning, our self-consciousness usually wakes up too. Consciousness is…

Discernment to be really effective has to come from within, has to be your discernment. There’s no way it’s going to be your discernment unless you’re willing to put in the time to watch, to learn, to experiment. So be patient with the practice. This doesn’t mean if things aren’t going well you just let them not go well. But it means having the persistence to keep coming back. If one approach isn’…

Having a sense of centering, whether we’re doing chores or sitting in meditation, can be a valuable practice for us. It’s essential that we remember to center ourselves—to bring things to a central place—so that we’re working from a still point, rather than having our energy and attention diffused and scattered out into the world around us. As we collect ourselves at that center point, it brings o…

So often we make something huge out of a simple problem, and blow it out of all proportion. How many of our difficulties start with one tiny misunderstanding: someone didn’t give us their usual smile today, our teacher gave us a stern look or our best friend criticized us; this morning’s cup of coffee was not so tasty; our mood was a bit cranky…that’s all it takes to ruin our whole day!… How tragi…

I remember Ajahn Chah teasing us Westerners because we generally had far more education than most of the Thai monks who went to study, train, and ordain with him. As he became better-known, there were more Bangkok Thais coming who were well educated also. It was always a source of amusement to him. He would say, “You know, people go and study and they get bachelor’s degrees, but their defilements…

His Holiness the Dalai Lama was once asked, “What’s the point of your practice?” He answered, “I am preparing to die.” What a wonderfully succinct response. He didn’t go through a detailed explanation of all of the philosophical schools—Vajrayana, Mahayana, Theravada—or the whole history of Buddhism. Instead, he cut straight to the chase of what spiritual practice is for and a human life is all ab…

…How do we handle the contrast between what is ideal and what is real? We can moan and whinge or retreat into fantasy and desire, but from the Buddha’s perspective, it’s always about establishing a sense of clarity and equanimity within the reality of the present moment. With something like the weather, it’s fairly easy for us to see our unrealistic hopes clearly and accept them for what they are.…

Our lives depend on learning and training. We are constantly encountering new situations, meeting new people, or meeting familiar people in new circumstances. All of these experiences require specific actions, behaviour, and responses. Even the process of wholesome thought and cognition—the aspiration to live one’s life well and to cultivate virtue—requires a degree of effort. In relation to all o…