I found myself Googling Rivers Cuomo, the Weezer guitarist, last night after a friend recently mentioned that he is a serious Goenka Vipassana meditator. I knew that at one point, but had forgotten. Let me just say that after visiting his personal website, I am extremely humbled and inspired by him as a meditator. The …
Love and Truth in My High School Classroom
With mass shootings and teen suicide on the rise, there is a need to discuss what is important in life, and what is not. Most of us are running around trying to accomplish short term goals not realizing that our efforts are leading us towards an undesirable destination harming ourselves and others along the way. …
Purpose in Life
I’m at a juncture in my life, re-evaluating my career direction. At a deeper level, I am really re-examining the question what is my fundamental purpose in life? The instinctive rote answer, the one I long ago arrived at, is that my life is about “being the most loving person I can be.” But what …
People Can Change
Vipassana has a special message to share with the world; People can change. Youthful optimism transforms into frustration, stubbornness, and pessimism with age as individuals repeatedly run into the same barriers in their efforts to make the world a better place. The expectation that everyone is acting according to their own volition has created the …
I Believe
Dreams are a funny thing. When I believe my dreams are possible, I'm willing to sacrifice everything and work tirelessly to achieve them. When I submit to the struggles of life, I escape the difficulties through sensual pleasures and surrender to long term failure. Over the last few years I've been waiting for someone to …
Social Creatures
Meditating daily is great, but it's not enough to be a healthy human being. SN Goenka made an amazing contribution to our planet by helping to spread the practice of Vipassana around the world, but after your 10-day course you're essentially on your own, and this practice is too demanding for most of us to …
Seeking Dhamma Wisdom
by Anonymous I've been around awhile - growing older and more comfortable with the process of living. I'm still unsure of exactly who I am but as I sit Vipassana courses I realize my uncertainties are less important than my ability to forget about the ‘me’ and focus on breath or sensation. So twice …
Jamie Metzler
Introduction by Chris Hammond: I met Jamie around 2007. He had moved to Baltimore from Kansas City and was heading the registration for a local 3 day course I attended. He later contacted me asking if he could sublet at my acupuncture space for seeing counseling clients. That ended up working out and we shared space …
Time with a Western Forest Monk in Sri Lanka
I served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in a rural village near Tissamaharama in southeast Sri Lanka between 1994 and 1996. I feel fortunate to have been sent to a Buddhist country as that was my first coming into contact with Dhamma. From the first time I saw a Buddhist monk, I …
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Dhamma at Work
I’m navigating some challenging circumstances at work, which I’ve been viewing very negatively. As a result of these circumstances, I’ve strengthened my meditation resolve and have returned to regular daily sitting recently. Such a difference it makes! An example: I noticed that I was experiencing every little email or comment from various work colleagues as …
Living Vipassana 