By Devika Patil 19th December 2016 evening : I receive the acceptance email for a 10 day course starting 21st Dec at Dhamma Siri, Texas. I am a little tense with last minute travel but I really want to attend the course to let go of the passing year in peaceful way. I book my …
Funny Course Story
I remember a 20 day course I sat in Sri Lanka back in the late 90’s. On day 5 as we were going for tea, there was a sign posted by the dining hall which said something like, please be sure to shower and wash your clothes regularly with soap, other people notice. We’d been …
Jonathan Penn
Introduction by Ryan Shelton: When I arrived in Delaware, Jon was already an established contributing volunteer for the Mid-Atlantic Vipassana Association. I appreciated his enthusiasm, positive energy, and support of everyone in the community. My dhamma relationship with Jon grew as we served together on Committees, at Children's Courses, and at the Center. I could tell …
Screen Time Dulls Sensations
It's so easy to get sucked into technology. Waiting in the grocery store line? Why don't I check my email. Unwinding from work? Let's check out some Netflix episodes. Don't want to do your actual work on your computer? Why not scroll through Facebook for a little while. I started out convincing myself that this …
Aaron Cashman
Introduction by Ryan Shelton: After making the move to Delaware in 2014, I met Aaron at a small Dhamma gathering. We were both in our 30s working on establishing our real world lives after years of seeking and exploring throughout our 20s. We both bought homes with our partners that we had introduced to Vipassana. Integrating …
Distracted By Meditation
Somewhere along the journey of supporting the spread of Vipassana I started thinking like a worker instead of a dhamma worker. Presented with too much work for to little time, I returned to problem solving in my head instead leaving the heavy lifting to dhamma. I like mental challenges so the various obstacles were little …
Nate Kretzschmar
Introduction by Ryan Shelton: I met Nate in 2008 on a random Saturday afternoon at a restaurant in Carrboro, North Carolina. We hit it off immediately spending the next 14 hours on a wild adventure that included kick ball, dancing, amateur boxing, and failing to balance on aluminum cans. Little did I know that Nate would …
New Life Goals
Three years ago I had a mission: create a life near an urban meditation center and help dhamma spread. This mission drove my wife and I to move to a new city, support the birth of a new Center, buy a house, and establish ourselves in new careers. I'm amazed how successful we were with …
Ryan Shelton
Introduction: This is the first post of the Friendship Chain. Dhamma Story: One of my biggest dhamma adventures was helping Dhamma Delaware become a Center. I was finishing graduate school at University of North Carolina, and I had a strong desire to create a householder's life near a Vipassana Center. Since most Vipassana Centers are …
Friendship Chain
One of the most important assets on the dhamma path is friendship. In a world unfamiliar with the benefits of meditating 2 hours a day, it can be hard to find people to walk with on this life altering journey. In the early stages, and sometimes even later on, this practice can feel isolating and …
Living Vipassana 