Here is a very helpful teaching on the body by Ajahn Chah from a talk he gave called “Clarity of Insight.” “The Buddha taught to transcend delusion. The way to transcend it is through clearly seeing the body for what it is.” Ajahn Chah “With penetrating insight you must see that the true nature of […]
Read more
Archive | Insight-Meditation RSS feed for this section
Why it’s Important to Know What Mindfulness Is and Is Not
2010/11/19 
3 Comments
Mindfulness Defined by Thanissaro Bhikkhu What does it mean to be mindful of the breath? Something very simple: to keep the breath in mind. Keep remembering the breath each time you breathe in, each time you breathe out. The British scholar who coined the term “mindfulness” to translate the Pali word sati was probably influenced […]
Read more A Guided Loving-kindness Meditation with Julian Marc Walker
2010/11/18 0 Comments
Just as with her own life a mother shields from hurt Her own son, her only child, let all-embracing thoughts for all beings be yours. Cultivate an all-embracing mind of love for all throughout the universe, in all its height, depth and breadth Love that is untroubled and beyond hatred or enmity. The Buddha from […]
Read more Wise Teachings of Vimala Thakar
2010/10/22 2 Comments
Vimala Thakar was an Indian social activist who became a spiritual teacher after meeting J. Krishnamurti. Her teachings emphasize balancing one’s “inner” spiritual development with “outer” social development and action. In just a few words, Thakar helps us get to the very essence of meditation and mindfulness. ♥♥♥ Meditation If I am aware of the […]
Read more The Unshakable Peace of a Mind that Can Let Go
2010/10/22 4 Comments
The following in an excerpt from a dhamma talk by Ajahn Chah titled Unshakable Peace. It is a wonderful and deep teaching explaining how to practice the mind that lets go—the mind of liberation and peace. The Buddha did not teach about the mind and its psychological factors so that we’d get attached to the […]
Read more Ways to work with fear rather than avoiding it
2010/09/24 2 Comments
One of the great dharma resources in the Boston area is the Cambridge Insight Meditation Center: The CIMC Guiding Teachers and Teachers are (left to right) Larry Rosenberg, Narayan Liebenson Grady, and Michael Liebenson Grady: Below are some excerpts from a summary of a 1997 talk by Michael Liebenson Grady on how to deal skillfully […]
Read more Training the heart by seeing what is and letting go
2010/09/21 5 Comments
Here is more on “Training the Heart” by Ajahn Chah. It is a follow-up and further development of yesterday’s teaching: Train your heart! Don’t just follow its moods! May this teaching help liberate your heart and awaken the mindfulness and presence that lead to liberation and freedom! Training the heart by seeing what is and […]
Read more Train your heart! Don’t just follow its moods!
2010/09/20 1 Comment
From “Training the Heart” by Ajahn Chah Train your heart! Listening to your own heart is really very interesting. This untrained heart races around following its own untrained habits. It jumps about excitedly, randomly, because it has never been trained. Therefore train your heart! Buddhist meditation is about the heart; to develop the heart or […]
Read more Are things bothering you or are you bothering things?
2010/09/20 1 Comment
Here are some great insights from Thai Forest teacher Ajahn Chah about how to deal skillfully with distractions in our meditation and in our lives. Learning Concentration Ajahn Chah “In our practice, we think that noises, cars, voices, sights are distractions that come and bother us when we want to be quiet. But who is […]
Read more Do we really believe in impermanence?
2010/09/14 8 Comments
In my own practice, I’ve really been wrestling with the Buddha’s teaching of anicca—the truth that all conditioned, fabricated, created things are impermanent and constantly change. It’s one thing to accept anicca as a truism—after all, it’s obvious that all things change and are transient. And it’s another to see something of the truth of […]
Read more Coming to grips with the causes of suffering-the heart’s real work
2010/09/13 3 Comments
Ayya Khema is a wonderful Theravadan teacher who brought a remarkable love and light to her service as a nun in the Theravadan tradition. I highly recommend her book Who is My Self: A Guide to Buddhist Meditation. The following is an excerpt from a set of twelve dhamma talks entitled “All of Us: Beset by […]
Read more The Dhammapada – Audio Dharma by Gil Fronsdal
2010/08/06 4 Comments
The Dhammapada is a great treasure of the Buddhadharma and beloved by Buddhists of all traditions as well as many non-Buddhists. There are many wonderful translations of the Dhammapada from its original Pali, but one of my favorites is the fairly recent translation by Gil Fronsdal: The Dhammapada: A New Translation of the Buddhist Classic […]
Read more The Dhammapada-Verses That Bring Peace and Wisdom
2010/06/28 0 Comments
The Dhammapada comes from the earliest period of Buddhism in India and is loved by Buddhists of all traditions. These teachings, originally put in verse form for easy memorization for those who could not read, expound many of the philosophical and practical foundations of the Buddha’s teaching. Every day I open up one of my […]
Read moreThe Thorn in Your Heart
2010/06/18 0 Comments
The Thorn in Your Heart Selections from the Attadanda Sutta of the Sutta Nipata (935-939) (948-951) [Translation and comments by Andrew Olendzki] Fear is born from arming oneself. Just see how many people fight! I’ll tell you about the dreadful fear that caused me to shake all over: Seeing creatures flopping around, Like fish in […]
Read more The End of Suffering-The Light at the End of the Tunnel
2010/06/10 3 Comments
This is the third in a series of articles sharing insights of some spiritual thinkers on the First Noble Truth, the truth of suffering. The first article shared insights from Ken Wilber and can be read here: Dissatisfaction with Life—the Start of Discovery The second shared insights from Daniel Ingram and can be read here: […]
Read moreMay All Beings Be Happy
- Looking at the Ninth Zen Precept-I Do Not Indulge In Anger
- True God, True Buddha
- Now-and-Zen-Are you still carrying her?
- Ajahn Brahmavamso teaches Loving-kindness Meditation
- The Difference Between Compassion and “Idiot Compassion”
- Practicing the Middle Way-not too much, not too little
- Mindfulness of Breathing-The Anapanasati Sutta
- Healing the Body with Mindfulness of Breathing
- Buddhist Forgiveness-When We Have Hurt Another-Part 3
- The Karaniya Metta Sutta and Healing Through Loving-kindness (with Music)
- Non-resistance and the Art of Resisting without Resisting!
- Don’t be fooled! There is a Way and We Can Walk It!
- The Importance of Compassion in Assessing Our Dharma Progress
- Jesus and the Buddha on Good Friday
- How Practice and Creativity Can Open Up Your Metta
- Celebrate World Day of Metta!
- To Know the Dhamma is to Know Your Monkeys!
- A. H. Almaas on Emptiness or Sunyata
- Take Time to Be Present Before You Rush Off to Do
- The Difference Between Compassion and “Idiot Compassion”
