This evening is our observance night, an opportunity to recollect the refuges and precepts and to take the time to reflect on the direction we want to guide our spiritual practice. In the Thai language the observance day is called the “Wan…
So today, we’ve come to use the new place, which is still under construction. But it’s still a convenient place. It still makes for a convenient place for gathering. Because without a suitable place, then we cannot all gather together like…
Recently, I came across a sutta (MN 97, the Dhanañjani Sutta) that illustrates the themes of kalyānamitta (spiritual friendship) and making choices. The sutta begins with the Venerable Sāriputta walking with a group of monks in the hills…
We all have to understand the nature of the body. And it should play a central feature in our investigation and contemplation of the teachings. The Buddha taught the Anattalakkhana Sutta, the discourse on not-self. This discourse was given…
The entire world and everyone in it needs the Dhamma as a protection. We all survive and find comfort in life with the support of the knowledge and skills, mindfulness and wisdom, of countless others. Without their help we would all perish…
Walking – Something W**e Should Know H**ow to D**o.** Walking jong-grom is a way to practice meditation while walking up and down. Cultivating this will bring happiness and serenity to our practice. When walking meditation, we should move u…
One of the aspects of our lives that causes discordancy is our routine identification with emotional states. Given a little practice with meditation, before long most people can recognize that a passing thought is just like that passing car…
One of the Thai terms for meditating— tham khwaam phien—literally means “making an effort.” When I mention this to people here in the West, I often get some raised eyebrows. They’ve been taught that “efforting” is an enemy of meditation. An…
The then Samenera Karunadhammo, after the meal, kindly gave me a fifteen minute tutorial on how to use the sewing machine. He set me up with some cloth, a pattern, and taught me how to sew a “flat felled seam”. Four hours later when people…
What are we doing when we sit down and cultivate our meditation practice? The most important piece is bringing mindfulness, awareness, and attention back to a simple object. The mind loves its proliferations – the things it gets excited abo…