A difficulty with the word Nibbana is that its meaning is beyond the power of words to describe. It is, essentially, undefinable. Another difficulty is that many Buddhists see Nibbana as something unobtainable—as so high and so remote that we’re not worthy enough to try for it. Or we see Nibbana as a goal, as an unknown, undefined something that we should some-how try to attain. Most of us are con…

When the weather turns wet and grey like this, the world is a bit less inviting outside, and it’s easy to follow the natural instinct to seek shelter and find a cozy spot. You might find yourself hanging around in the kitchen, the library, or the monk’s office. It starts off with waiting for the rain to ease off; then, an hour goes by, and then two hours go by. You can end up spending hours doing…

Remember the importance of one-pointedness of mind. Find skillful means to sustain one-pointedness. Mindfulness of the body is an important anchor to help that focus and sustain attention. Mindfulness of the body and one-pointedness don’t mean blocking out things around one, but rather having an anchor or focal point. It’s so easy for the mind to get distracted into different things going on aroun…

There has been a lot of busyness these days. There are things that need to be done and we’re doing them, but it’s really important to be careful and attentive to how much one gets swept up into the busyness. Those are two different things—actually doing something and the frantic, busy, scattered energy that you bring to the task. Try to watch and reflect on the feeling behind what you’re doing. Wh…

I don’t ever preach about what I’m doing but I can’t hide the fact that this is my life because I do live in a monastery. That was a big step to take, actually. I’m sure in the early days my family didn’t completely understand what I was doing. I live at Abhayagiri in a way that’s straddling both worlds, straddling the monastic life but it’s also straddling the lay life. Over the years my parents…

Something that is helpful, whether we’re doing chores or sitting in meditation, is a sense of centering. It’s essential that we have this recollection of centering, of bringing things to a central place so that we’re working from a still point, rather than being scattered and disbursed and having our attention diffused out into the world around us. As we collect ourselves at that center point, it…

It is important that we consider and reflect on the theme of the four requisites (clothing, food, shelter and medicine) —trying to both be clear in terms of what is that we actually need and what is it that we want or desire. It usually gets a bit cloudy or confused around these two points. If we try to rely on what is necessary for a simple life and question the desire or feeling of need that com…

Yesterday evening at the reading, Ajahn Munindo recounted a meeting with Lung Por Tate. Luang Por Tate was about ninety-four years old at the time. When asked “What is the essence of Buddhism?” Luang Por Tate very simply answered saying, “The heart of Buddhism is one-pointedness of mind.” That’s a very simple statement but it has many, many implications, particularly from the point of training. Th…

Every morning at Wat Nanachat Bung Wai, large numbers of laypeople show up for the meal offering. Some are villagers who come daily, some come from nearby towns and cities, some from other provinces and regions of Thailand. Within this matrix of generosity and reverence for the Buddha, his teachings, and his spiritual community, there is an atmosphere of harmony and joyfulness. On my most recent v…

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 Phra,” which means “Holy Day” or “Monk Day” or maybe “Day Worthy of Veneration.” Ajahn Chah used to say, “It’s helpful having these special days. They were est…