Non-resistance and the Art of Resisting without Resisting!

In Buddhism, nature of non-resistance is truly non-dual, but I think this this non-dual nature is misapprehended sometimes. Paradoxically, non-resistance doesn’t necessarily mean no resistance! Non-resistance is more like the martial artist Bruce Lee’s “fighting without fighting.”  Or better yet—and maybe pet owners can relate to this—it’s more like the resistive nonresistance of a cat, […]

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To Know the Dhamma is to Know Your Monkeys!

Here is an short excerpt from a wonderful teaching called “Still, Flowing Water” by the great Thai Forest Tradition teacher Ajahn Chah.  As usual, the dharma talk shows Ajahn Chah’s great wit, his sense of humor, and the depth of his insight into human nature and the Buddhadhamma. Do you know your “monkeys”? “Some people complain, […]

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Ajahn Chah on the relationship of Concentration and Wisdom in Meditation

Ajahn Chah A Taste of Freedom “On Meditation” “When the mind is peaceful and established firmly in mindfulness and self-awareness, there will be no doubt concerning the various phenomena which we encounter. The mind will truly be beyond the hindrances. We will clearly know as it is everything which arises in the mind. We do […]

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The Great Freedom of Seeing the Body for What It Is

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 […]

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The Unshakable Peace of a Mind that Can Let Go

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 […]

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Training the heart by seeing what is and letting go

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 […]

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Train your heart! Don’t just follow its moods!

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 […]

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Are things bothering you or are you bothering things?

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 […]

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Sitting for hours in meditation is not necessary

I’ve been enjoying the book “Voices of Insight” this week. The book is subtitled: “Teachers in the West Share Their Wisdom, Stories, and Experiences of Insight Meditation.”  Because my entry into the dharma was through insight meditation, it’s a book I treasure and return to often. Since I’ve read the book. I’ve been jumping around, […]

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“Can’t you Theravadans ever just relax and just be?”

I was talking with a Zen Buddhist buddy last week, we were “breaking each others chops” about the differences between Theravada teachings, which I lean heavily on in my meditation practice, and Zen, the tradition of my heart techer, Thich Nhat Hanh. We talked about the differences and similarities of the two schools, and their […]

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Four Steps to Better Meditation Practice

If you are learning to meditate, this is a terrific “short course” in the basics of mindfulness. If you’re an experienced meditator, this dharma talk by Ajahn Chah is a great refresher. (This is a revision of an earlier post called “How Confident Are You About Your Meditation Practice?”) This excerpt come from “The Teachings […]

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Still, Flowing Water-Dharma Nuggets from Ajahn Chah

Ajahn Chah was one of the great dharma teachers of the 20th century and was one of the key figures in bringing Theravada Buddhism to the West.  He founded two major monasteries in the Thai Forest Tradition and left behind a rich legacy of dhamma talks and books.  Many of his students are very well-known […]

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Buddhist morality-it’s all about karma and skillful means

For those of us who grew up in fundamentalist or authoritarian religions, the word “morality” can be like a red flag in front of a bull.  Words like “morals” and “morality” can sometimes evoke powerful childhood images and feelings of a wrathful god making arbitrary rules and punishing the wrongdoer—forever!  The words may also evoke painful […]

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