The mental pain which some people have to endure can be even worse than physical torment. We should consider carefully whether the spiritual techniques that we pick up are in fact designed to address disruptive mental turmoil. We wouldn’t, for instance, encourage someone to go and see a dietician if we knew that they were recovering from a broken leg and what they needed was physiotherapy. When th…

…The view which emerged from the Upanishads, the late Vedic literature, was that the goal of spiritual practice was the union of the individual essence (ātman) with the universal essence (Brahman) achieved through various practices, e.g. spiritual study, austerities, yoga, etc. Most spiritual seekers in 6th century BCE India were on a quest to directly experience the supreme individual essence of…

I haven’t specified a particular point in the body at which to place attention in order to be mindful of breathing. This is because the Buddha didn’t leave any instruction to do so. Nor does ‘concentration’ (samādhi) mean holding attention onto a particular point – samādhi is a state that the mind enters into as it settles down and feels at ease. Such inner stability is the result of sustained min…

Also, this particular society conditions us to be very competitive. We’re brought up to try to be the best, so we put a lot of effort into doing well at school, doing well in sport; there are various values which are held to be particularly important. For example, when I was a child a lot of importance was placed on IQ (Intelligence Quotient). One Christmas my younger sister was given a book about…

In our culture we are programmed to stand out, to be special. It’s considered very important to have a ‘personality’ that’s special in some way. However, in fact this is an expression of ignorance, the first factor in the chain. We haven’t really understood that each of us – and all of existence – is simply part of a large number of interconnected phenomena that blend together. We put a lot of ene…

Luang Por reflects on traveling as a Buddhist monk as follows: “The Buddha said that we should go like an elephant who does not trumpet about where he comes from. We must humble ourselves, be obliging and gracious, and fit into the various situations as smoothly as gently flowing water which you can easily pour in and out of a bottle.” “If we come across as inflexible, things become difficult. We…

Remember to receive life as it is. This is the first step towards living in reality rather than in dreams which can easily turn into nightmares when we identify with them. If we don’t identify with the dreams, we can feel freedom in our hearts. Then we can go through both nightmares and pleasant dreams but not need to depend on any of them to be happy. Then we experience life as it is and let go o…

When I was about twelve, some of my mother’s extraordinary qualities became apparent to me in a very powerful way. I was a growing lad who had a cooked breakfast every morning before going off to school and would come back in the late afternoon and then eat cream doughnuts for tea and an hour later scarf down huge amounts of food at supper. I was turning into a burly youth. And every afternoon my…

Equanimity in Pali is called upekkha. It is characterized as that quality which brings about a sense of neutrality or an evenness of heart towards all beings. Its function is in maintaining a steadiness of mind and not allowing differences—whether physical, intellectual, spiritual, or whatever—to detract or influence our perception of those with whom we come in contact. Its proximate cause is unde…

When a negative feeling like irritation comes up, it can be challenging to want to be truly awake to that irritation. At those moments, one just needs to trust in this practice because one’s intentions are good. Developing trust in that full consciousness is often all you have to do. You don’t have to get rid of a negative mood or emotion, nor do you have to hate yourself for having it; but you do…