Attention is Everything

The path seems long and complicated, and at times it can feel like the only way that any of our unskilful responses change is by being slowly ground out of us, one at a time. I won't lie to you, this is sometimes the case, but it isn't the only mechanism for change. The Buddha pointed out that there is a simple principle that we should be employing, and it so simple that it can easily be overlooked as important. But when you do some work with it, you can quickly find out how effective it can be.

Letting Go Too Soon

Buddhist practice is the practice of letting go; of thoughts, feelings, habits, opinions, even our sense of who we think we are. Unsurprisingly letting go and Buddhism are pretty much synonomous. Ajahn Chah famously said: “Do everything with a mind that lets go. Do not expect any praise or reward. If you let go a … Continue reading Letting Go Too Soon

The Tides of Conceiving

In the time that I have been exploring the role of choice as a crucial element of practice, it has given me a new perspective and understanding of the various skills that we develop as part of the path. As well as coming to appreciate how important it is to be able to let go … Continue reading The Tides of Conceiving

Choices and Practice

My investigation of the kilesas last week left me with more questions to consider, this time around the role of choice. I found that even though the kilesas are impersonal processes, it appeared that there was still a requirement to make choices about how to deal with to them. This also posed me another quandary … Continue reading Choices and Practice