"Wherever we may be in our practice, we’ve all at times asked ourselves: What would it be like if I sat a little longer? Perhaps after our first afternoon, or daylong silent retreat, we thought—'I was really able finally to settle in there and experience stillness. It was powerful, and some interesting thoughts arose. What … Continue reading A Deeper Dive: Reflections on a Four-Year Silent Meditation Retreat
Tag: Buddhism
One Choice: Pleasant Living vs. End of Suffering
"All we have to do is choose between pleasant sense contacts and the end of dukkha. That one choice determines our lives." —Ayya Khema, Be an Island, pg. 29.
The Poor Man Sells Peace
The central idea of Buddhism is that human beings are driven by ego which tends to be dissatisfied, or when satisfied, fears change, which always comes. But, we can always choose to be satisfied, to walk our path and accept what comes our way. It's wanting things our way that creates karma, or things we're … Continue reading The Poor Man Sells Peace
The Five Daily Recollections
I am subject to old age. I am subject to illness. I am subject to death. I must be parted and separated from everyone and everything dear and agreeable to me. I am the owner of my karma.
The Temple of LiLoLa
From Catholicism, I learned the value of ritual, religious practice and the power of story to shape our understanding of the world. Years after hearing a homily from one Sunday, I still think of the need to leave a series of empty tombs. The resurrection applies not to some afterlife, it applies to this one, … Continue reading The Temple of LiLoLa
Words & Worldviews
I was reading another one of those end of year life hack articles yesterday, about how changing one word can change your attitude toward obligations. The crux: instead of saying, "I have to wake up to go to work at 0600," you change it to get, "I get to wake up to go to work at … Continue reading Words & Worldviews
The Parable of Fish & Turtle
"Once there was a fish and a turtle who were friends. They had been living in the same lake together for some time. One day the turtle decided to visit the land surrounding the lake. She had a good look around and came back to tell her friend the fish of the wonders she had … Continue reading The Parable of Fish & Turtle
Too Much Fruit Kills The Root
"A king went riding in the forest and encountered a mango tree laden with fruit. He said to his servants, 'Go back in the evening and collect the mangoes,' because he wanted them for the royal dining table. The servants went back to the forest but returned to the palace empty-handed. 'Sorry, your Majesty,' they … Continue reading Too Much Fruit Kills The Root
2018 Experiment: Daily Meditation
Background: "Mere intellectual understanding is not enough. It is not by leaving the doctor's prescription by the bedside or learning it by heart that we are cured. We must integrate what we have learned so that our understanding becomes intimately bound up into our mind's flow. Then, it ceases to be theory and becomes self-transformation. … Continue reading 2018 Experiment: Daily Meditation
Kaihōgyō: Enlightenment or Die Trying
https://vimeo.com/221877640 Years 1,2,3 — 100 consecutive days of 25 mile runs. Years 4,5 — 100 consecutive days of 25 mile runs x 2. Year 6 — 100 consecutive days of 37.5 mile runs. Year 7 — 100 consecutive days of 50 mile runs and 100 consecutive days of 25 mile runs. At the end, there's … Continue reading Kaihōgyō: Enlightenment or Die Trying
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