Free: A Most Inspiring Book
I originally posted the following in 2015 – and I’ve decided to re-post it here, because I think Buddhadasa Bhikku, and his book – Handbook for Mankind – are wonderful sources of information,… Continue reading
Tag Archive: buddhism
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Am I Enlightened?
A few days ago I got this rather curt question from one of my readers: ‘Roger, I read your posts with great interest and I’m thinking of buying your book. I have a… Continue reading
How Quantum Physics Intersects With The Buddhist Realization of Emptiness
When it comes to meditation, it’s rare that I find anything on YouTube that is both succinct and illuminating – but this video was both. In particular, it clarifies the Buddhist notions of… Continue reading
Embracing Anatta: The Wonderful Reality of Non-Self
I got an email the other day, with A very concise question:‘Hi Roger, what do you think of the Buddhist idea of non-self?’ So it occurred to me that, even though I’ve posted… Continue reading
Enlightenment
I keep getting emails about enlightenment, or nibbana, or nirvana – how it happens and what it is, and how long it takes. And though I’ve written about it before, I figure it’s… Continue reading
Clinging
Clinging creates tension because it flies in the face of change. When we cling, we presuppose it’s possible for things to always stay the same. We want things to stay the same –… Continue reading
Am I Happy Yet?
Sam was an international antique dealer with a holiday house in the South of France, a yacht, a beautiful wife and two children. He’d worked his way up from very poor beginnings in… Continue reading
Checking In
‘Be here now. Be someplace else later. Is that so complicated?‘ – David M. Bader One thing that makes meditation easier is if you blend the practice into your day. And, aside from… Continue reading
The False God of Happiness
‘If only we’d stop trying to be happy, we could have a pretty good time.’– Edith Wharton Got this question today, and thought it might be worth a post: ‘Roger, I’ve been meditating… Continue reading
Routine
‘The big things that come our way are the fruit of seeds planted in the daily routine of our work.’– William Feather One of the biggest problems people have with meditation is it… Continue reading
Practicing Mindfulness
‘Mindfulness isn’t difficult. We just need to remember to do it.’ – Sharon Salzberg Mindfulness gets a lot of media attention these days. Everybody’s talking about it, books have been written about it,… Continue reading
Going On Silent Retreat
If you’re as fascinated with meditation as I am, at some point you’re going to want to do it more intensively – to go into silent retreat and meditate for some days or… Continue reading
The Skill of Being Still
As you’ve probably noticed, I’ve not been posting over the last year, largely because I’ve been preoccupied with other things – but also because the answers to most of the questions I’m getting… Continue reading
The Practical Illusion of Self
Hi … I haven’t posted for a long time, largely because, this being question-based blog, most of the questions I’ve been sent of late have already been responded to in other posts, which… Continue reading
Rhythm of Breathing Affects Memory and Fear
NEUROSCIENCE NEWS DECEMBER 7, 2016Summary: A new study reports the rhythm of your breathing can influence neural activity that enhances memory recall and emotional judgement. Source: Northwestern University. Breathing is not just for oxygen;… Continue reading
Meditation the Journey
” The things that trouble our spirits are within us already. In meditation, we must face them, accept them, and set them aside one by one. Cristopher Bennett I was thumbing through a popular tabloid news… Continue reading
Fail Gladly to Succeed
Just found this wonderful interview with Ta-Nehisi Coates on the writing process, in which he says: “I always consider the entire process about failure …” Like with any skill, I also believe this to… Continue reading
Our Forgotten Friend
“It is slavery to live in the mind unless it has become part of the body.” -Kahlil Gibran One time, in one of the temples where I was doing Vipassana training in Thailand,… Continue reading
Becoming Mindful
“Most people, even though they don’t know it, are asleep. They’re born asleep, they live asleep, they marry in their sleep, they breed children in their sleep, they die in their sleep… Continue reading
Feeling Before Thinking – Always
As much as I’ve covered this subject in numerous posts, people still consider compulsive thinking to be the main obstacle when they meditate. And its completely understandable. After all, in a culture such… Continue reading
Letting Go of the Void
Question: I had only been meditating for a short while before I entered “the void”. I was meditating in my back yard one night and I guess you could say that I stumbled… Continue reading
Feeling Comes Before Thinking
As much as I have covered this subject in numerous posts, I keep hearing meditators complain about thinking. ‘I cant stop thinking,’ seems to be the main complaint, and obstacle in almost everybody’s… Continue reading
Stillness Heals Everything
Meditation can be summed up in one sentence: ‘Meditation is the skill of being still.’ The stillness I’m talking about is not the semi-comatose stillness we’re in when watching TV, nor is it… Continue reading