Exploring the interface between Buddhist teachings, meditation techniques, academic Buddhist Studies, and the practical application of them into our lives as lay Buddhists
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
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
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
In my blog post a couple of weeks ago I was exploring the role of habit in our sense of personality, and I have been thinking a lot about Maha Boowa’s idea that our feelings of self comes from attaching to the kilesas. The kilesas are usually translated as mental defilements, and can be as … Continue reading Making Friends With Kilesas
You might not automatically think of Buddhism and quantum physics at the same time, but reading the book Wholeness and the Implicate Order by David Bohm had me doing just that. While the book seems to mostly be aiming to encourage science to use the evidence it already has about the interconnected and constantly changing … Continue reading Thought and Not Thought
Leading on from last week's blog about learning to tolerate uncertainty, it seems only natural to explore the role of the mind in certainty and uncertainty. These are two states that we experience all the time, and yet when we scratch the surface it seems that all is not as straightforward as it appears. I … Continue reading Don’t Know Mind
The early days of practice can be an amazing time. You are full of enthusiasm, bursting to learn everything you can, champing at the bit to throw yourself into new challenges, and every day feels like a progression. Naturally this level of intensity wears off as your practice stops being something new and becomes part … Continue reading The Ruts That Lead to Better Places
So often when we are in the middle of a negative state of mind, or difficult feelings, we forget that we have any way to change what is happening. When you are in the grip of any kind of strong sensation it can be very easy to be consumed by it. We feel like we … Continue reading Don’t Wait, Cultivate
By a nice coincidence, after writing last week’s blog Finding the Middle Way, I happened to be reading the Hsin-hsin Ming (alternative spellings Xinxin Ming, Xin Xin Ming or Xinxinming), attributed to the Third Zen Patriarch. The Hsin-hsin Ming is a beautiful piece of writing likely dating from some time between 600 and 900 AD … Continue reading The Middle Way and The Great Way
The limitations of lockdown have given me, and many other practictioners, the opportunity to spend our now spare time doing some extra work that we don’t usually have the time or space to focus on. For me this has involved some gentle striving, a bit of finding my edges and seeing if I can go … Continue reading Finding The Middle Way
Kalyana Mitta 