Sometimes we come to a monastery with a real sense of purpose but discover later that things may be very different from the purpose we envisaged at first. After reading lots of books on Buddhism, we perhaps enter the monastery with the idea that we must become a good Buddhist, or become kind, or compassionate, or loving and so on. And thus we enter into conflict with ourselves because the reality…

As the Buddha explains, the steps to follow in awakening to the truth, once you’ve heard the Dhamma—such as the teachings of the step-by-step discourse or the four noble truths—you try to remember it. Then you try to penetrate the meaning of the words. Once you understand them, you ponder them until you find that they make sense: This is called “coming to an agreement through pondering the teachin…

So it’s interesting that the Kathina season begins with what’s called the Pavaranā – which means ‘Invitation.’ Pavaranā is the invitation that the samanas, the monks and nuns, offer to each other; it’s a kind of voucher. And this voucher says: ‘If you see or even suspect that there’s something that I’ve been doing wrong – please let me know.’ The Buddha said this is the most precious gift we can…

Although our goal in practice is clear seeing – wisdom – it is faith that ignites our aspiration and enables us to embark on this journey of awakening. We have faith that there is more to life than that which appears on the surface; we are keen to look more deeply. Faith helped pique my interest and led to my joining my first meditation retreat; faith meant I have been able to endure apparently un…

One of the characteristics for which Ajahn Chah was most well-known was his keenness to dispel superstition in relation to Buddhist practice in Thailand. He strongly criticized the magic charms, amulets and fortune-telling that pervade so much of that society. He rarely spoke about past or future lives, other realms, visions or psychic experiences. Anyone who came to him asking for a tip about the…

The secret of walking meditation is to walk in a manner that will imprint nothing but peaceful happiness with each step. This reflection by Luang Por Liem is from the booklet, Walking with Awareness, (pdf) frame 3.

The practice of maraṇasati consists of three primary reflections: Death is inevitable. We cannot know when, where, and how we will die. When death comes, we will have to let go of everything. These contemplations can be done while sitting in meditation, while walking, while lying down, or whenever we think of it. We can begin by taking a few breaths and grounding in the body. We might say to ours…

Taken as a whole, the practice of pāramī sets up values that skilfully direct the mind. Attitudes and energies that go towards self-aggrandizement, manipulation or distraction are cut off. And, as intention gets free of those biases, we notice different things – because what we look for affects what we look at. With worldly conditioning, the mind is focused on material gain, status and superficial…

Nibbidā is an experience which is hard to explain to most people. It can be translated as disillusionment, disenchantment, or world weariness. It is an experience of being put off by or fed up with the phenomenal world, much like what happens when you suddenly see someone as they really are after being fooled by their charm for so long. Nibbidā is not simply depression or despair from facing hards…

When we experience the ordinary flow of activity – walking from one place to another, talking with a colleague, checking the time – we can notice and reframe experience. Instead of, ‘I am walking. I am talking. I am checking the time,’ we can change the framework to, ‘There is walking. There is talking. There is checking the time.’ In a sense, we can retrain the mind to see the experience of the w…