We seem to determine our happiness by comparing our lives to our peers. These comparisons lead to competition. Competition can lead to jealousy, anger, conflict, and division. It seems like human nature and it's causing our communities to unravel. It all starts with the problem that we determine our happiness by comparing our lives to …
Continue reading The Truth I Wish Everyone Could Learn from Vipassana
Students tell me that we live in a selfish world where everyone only cares about themselves. They conclude that if everyone else is only looking out for themselves, the only path forward is to do the same. They know this will add to the decline of society, but they don't know what to do about …
With all the intellectual quarreling about different religions and philosophies, I was drawn to the universal nature of Vipassana. Regardless of your background or beliefs, observing the breath and scanning the body while living a moral life seems to help everyone reduce their agitation. These components of Buddha's teachings - sila, samadhi, panna - seem …
Societies connection to unconditional love is diminishing. Simply meditating two hours a day and surrendering to dhamma has not produced the changes in my life and community that I've been hoping for. Meditation helps me purify my mind and eliminate the anger, fear, and greed. This helps me to personally grow in unconditional love, but …
Continue reading Balancing Hiking, Meditation, and Friendship
In the process of surrendering, I forgot how to motivate myself and others. While avoiding the destructive competitiveness of our society, I lost my own motivation to grow and influence positive change. There is a deeper truth discovered through meditation that is difficult for others to see. People do need to come to dhamma in …
Baby Hannah is 10-weeks-old! William is almost 3-years-old, and loving being a big brother. We enjoyed the family cocoon we created over the holidays, but then it was time for Maria and me to return to work. Life is busy and it's easy to get caught up in the daily minutia, but we want to …
Balancing inward growth and outward growth is challenging. There are certainly benefits to shutting everything down for 10+ days to practice Vipassana. By slowly releasing agitating emotions, we become more open, peaceful, and compassionate. We start to understand ourselves more deeply while opening the door for deeper and more meaningful relationships. Unfortunately, just like when …
Continue reading Balancing Social Connection and Goenka Vipassana
Eight years ago, Maria and I got engaged with the intention to raise a dhamma family. The volition to sit two hours a day together and the volition to raise children together seemed to be in conflict. We dreamed about being part of a community of meditators that could support our family and our practice. …
I'm a practical dreamer. I like to fantasize about the outstanding possibilities for humanity, and I'm willing to confront the big challenges that stand in the way. Recently, it has been extremely difficult to curate an optimistic vision with so many barriers. The fundamental challenge we're facing is the division. Twenty-five years ago, we felt …
As I prepare for my 8th year of teaching high school science, I once again ponder the message I want to share with my students to inspire their dreams. Our communities continue to be divided, and without a vision to unite our efforts, it's difficult to get teenagers to invest in the future. We push …
Living Vipassana 