This post is from a guest writer named Dipanshu Mansingka living in Hyderabad, India: My mother took me to Dhammagiri when I was 9 years old studying in 3rd standard. She sat a course and I was staying in the hall (present day Main office). Some volunteers used to help me getting food. At times …
Author: Ryan Shelton
While my job description is to lead the science department and teach physics at Padua Academy in Wilmington, DE, my calling is to prepare teenagers to lead their communities towards a vibrant and healthy future. This purpose has lead to the creation of Loving Lives Delaware.
Before becoming a teacher, I explored many careers and had many adventures in search of the best way to make a difference in the world. I hiked over 1700 miles, traveled to 5 continents, managed a bakery, started a meditation center, counseled troubled teens, attended Duke, UNC, and Harvard, protected forests as a wildland firefighter, volunteered thousands of hours with Americorps, rafted the Grand Canyon, and SCUBA dived on the Great Barrier Reef.
My next adventure is starting a family with my beautiful wife in our Wilmington home. I'm sure there will be many mistakes along the way, but I hope we're able to create a loving household that's a beacon of support and clarity for others in our community. Thank you for all of your support throughout our journey.
The Responsibilities Of A Householder
Until recently I thought that there was a continuous gradient between the lifestyles of various householders and a monk. I thought that as you progressed on the path your life would become more and more monastic. I was neglecting the fundamental difference between these two paths. While a monk has given up all material possession …
An End To The Stormy Phase
As the surface layers of my mind have slowly been purified, living daily life has slowly become easier. The stark contrast between dhamma life and the life I lived prior to meditating made for a stormy transition. I've changed the way I eat, work, communicate, and exercise. I've changed who I spend time with and …
Proactive Healthcare
Meditation has made me more proactive about my heathcare. I'm used to living in a very reactive system where we only go to the doctor when we get sick, we only stop doing harmful things like drinking, smoking, and eating fast foods when they're literally killing us, and we only exercise as much as we need …
Military Intelligence
The US Marines are testing the use of meditation in their training. http://vitals.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/01/20/16612244-meditating-marines-military-tries-mindfulness-to-lower-stress?lite At first I was unsure if this was an appropriate use of meditation. One of the precepts for deep meditation is to abstain from killing and soldiers are asked to kill sometimes. Therefore, a soldier must not be a proper candidate for …
The Science Of Meditation
I can't decide whether Vipassana research would benefit or hurt the spread of this tradition. With the mind of a western scientist my initial thought is that meditation should prove any benefits it claims. If a regular practice truly helps with certain mental illnesses why not demonstrate it in a series of controlled experiments? A …
Is It That Simple?
The only two things I need to pay attention to in my daily life are my physical and mental health. This statement is a proposal. Lets see if it can hold water. First, I want to express that I'm not married and I have no children. Obviously, if I had people in my life that depended …
Is There Partial Credit?
I'm struggling to find the balance between endorsing the pure teaching of dhamma as taught in this tradition and supporting people outside of this tradition to live a better life more in line with dhamma. The path of dhamma is a long path and we each start from where we are at this moment. While one person may …
Economic Growth Is Not The Solution
I'm not an economist or a business man so I might not be the ideal person to speak to this point but even an outsider can see the instability that comes with a society that builds its foundation solely upon the economy. The primary challenge that I see is that security and stability depend on …
The Reward Is Peace Of Mind
There is a perceived trade-off between taking care of oneself and taking care of others but I no longer find this true. This shift has occurred because my understanding of what it is to help others has changed. When my goals revolved around success, help ment helping others be successful, but then I realized that …
Living Vipassana 