I was talking to a new meditator about her understanding of what it means to commit to he practice and discovered that she believed all serious meditators meditated two hours a day. In addition, to be a good meditator, she felt obligated to sit two hours a day. She was concerned and overwhelmed by the …
Category: Opinion
The Equaliser
The dichotomy between the status-watching and egalitarian behavior has been an issue for me in the past. I’m definitely an equaliser at heart; trusting authority and respecting hierarchy does not come naturally for me. However, I have played along clumsily when I perceived the game of “status” and “competition” as crucial to my survival-needs, but because I …
The wisdom of Bruce Springsteen
Bruce Springsteen has long been one of my heroes and favorite musicians. I love his stories, his heart, his social conscience, his identification with real life ordinary people. I love his horn sections, his no-flash style, and his growl. But I never really thought of him as interested in meditation, or even as having a …
The Role Of Money
We blame these little pieces of paper for so much. Does it deserve the blame? Money doesn't have a brain, malicious intent, greed, or even a plan. It's just paper. Problems only start to occur when people enter the scene so I don't think we can blame the paper. Money is also a necessary as …
Sharing the news
“Speak of Zen only after the third request.” So say the Zen masters regarding telling others about the wonders of Zen meditation. In the Vipassana world, there’s no clear rule such as suggested by the ‘third request,’ but there is a similar feeling that it’s best to be circumspect about sharing your experience – a …
Purifying the Creative Process
Some say art has no place in Dhamma, and others say the path lessens the desire to alter artistic visions. I’m not exactly sure what it’s going to mean for me and my art yet because I haven’t gone into a heavy production phase since I’ve been on the path. My “personal art” creation process, …
Can I Be Happy If Others Are Sad?
The world is so big. Our problems are all tangled together. It's easy to get overwhelmed. Where do we start? What should we do? I've always come back to the idea that I need to help myself first before I can help others, but where is the limit? How much do I need to have …
Win Them Over
How do you get people to change without using force, fear, guilt, bribery, or some other negative action? In many social situation one person, whether it's your boss, parent, teacher, landlord, or social leader, carries the social power so we do what they say. Meditators have all of these social tacts taken away from them because …
Living Vipassana 