I look at this picture and cannot help but smile. From it, the sensations I feel remind me of the warm feeling of love I had as a young boy looking at my grandfather. It makes me think of the time when everything was new and an adventure. I remember during this time recognising how …
The Joint Fight Against Suffering
As a kid, it doesn't take long to see that conflict and war are a part of civilization. We also see how groups of people with diverse backgrounds can unify when a common enemy appears. With my simple child mind I remember wondering, "What if aliens attacked? Would the world unite against this common enemy?" …
The Bad Vipassana Meditator: What Five Precepts?
You know that feeling you get when you go to slurp some warm chai tea (or coffee, you choose) only to find it has gone cold? That’s the feeling I get when someone brings up the five precepts. Should I be focused on lighting souls on fire with the radical clarity this practice bestows, or …
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My Identity
I've come to realize that my happiness is linked to how closely I'm living my identity. I live my identity by spending time with things that I identify with. I don't identify with sitting in front of a computer. I don't identify with drinking anymore. I don't identify with seeking fame. The one thing I've …
A Dhamma Job
I would love to get paid to contribute to people's lives in a way that actually helps them. I've worked in non-profits and schools, but the most meaningful tool I know to contribute to people's lives is dhamma. So how do I make a living contributing to society in a way that helps people grow in …
Finding Inner Space
As we continue our practice and navigate the sensations as they arise and pass, we find more space inside of us when we are concentrated. That space, sometimes can be felt physically. Scanning our body sometimes we feel that we are taller/longer. Another days when we are not so grounded, or "in the mood" we …
A Loving Home
Meditation has helped me learn how to love myself, but how do I extend this into a loving home, a loving family, and a loving friend network. With an established meditation practice, my mind stays present, positive, and focused. It feels like every step I take is in a positive direction, even if that step …
Reality As It Is
The fifth precept: to abstain from intoxicants, has been a part of Vipassana I have not seen the need of to try and maintain. But thanks to many of you who commented on my last post, my understanding of the importance of this precept has shifted something deep inside, which has started whispering that maybe …
Settling Into Conflict
There are times when my life is simply confusing. Some project may seem insurmountable, or some relationship irreconcilable, or some complication unsolvable, but I've learned not to roll in these concerns. The intellectual reality is that I can't currently see a direction. In the past this would make me extremely uncomfortable and I would continue grinding away, …
Right Friendship
When I started a regular meditation practice my social time was reduced considerably both by the 2 hours I was meditating in my free time, and by the reduction of events I was attending while attempting to follow my precepts. This reduced priority on relationships was always concerning to me at first. It seemed like …
Living Vipassana 