Tag Archive: vipassana

On Living To Forget

A short while back I received an email with this very curt question:  ‘I read your book. Interesting. One question. Why do you talk so much about how hard meditation is?’ Aside from… Continue reading

The Immaculate Inbetween

Question: ‘Hi Roger … In stories of the Buddha that I’ve read, enlightenment seemed very easy to people. Just by listening to the Buddha, they used to suddenly become enlightened. Is this just… Continue reading

Using Mindfulness To Temper A Quick Temper

I’m not sure if I’ve written about this subject before, but I got the following question, so if I did, I’ll do it again Question was: ‘Hi Roger … I’ve recently been meditating… Continue reading

What Are You?

Everywhere I go, in various iterations, I keep hearing the same question: ‘Who am I?’ People pose this question as if somehow, if only they could find an answer, it would solve all… Continue reading

The Monk and The Bell.

Back in the 90’s, when I was researching stuff during the writing of my first book on meditation, ‘Happy to Burn’, I happened to find a fascinating article, (long since lost) which clarified… Continue reading

Keep It Simple

Meditation is very simple – just sit still with your attention resting lightly on the breath. Notice what arises in the mind and body, accept that it’s there, let it go and return… Continue reading

It’s Not About Relaxation

I think for this post I’ll get back to basics. It’s in response to a question a friend asked me the other day … a very, very … very … basic question which… Continue reading

Being Mindful

I replied to this on Quora, and thought it might make a good addition to this blog (the drawing to the right has nothing to do with it … it’s just something I… Continue reading

The Trap of Wondrous Meditation Experiences

“Hi Roger … I notice in your book you deal with the presence of pain and anxiety and the lack of calm that most of us experience in meditation, but you don’t describe… Continue reading

Does Meditation Alter Reality?

Got this interesting question from a reader: ‘Hi Roger, I’ve been interested in doing meditation so I’ve been reading a lot of material including your blog, and I have a question. The idea… Continue reading

Meditating Without Faith is Like Breathing Without Air

It occurred to me today, that one thing I’ve neglected to write about on this blog is perhaps, one of the most important requirements of efficient meditation. And that is the notion of… Continue reading

‘It’s Sensations, Stupid!’

Got this question: “Roger, I keep losing myself in daydreams while meditating. I get so lost sometimes I even forget I exist, and the more I try to focus, the more intense the… 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

Can Positive Thinking Work as Powerfully as Meditation?

This was another Quora question, which prompted my following reply. There’s a problem with positive thinking – and that is, your mind is not an idiot. It knows all of you, both positive… Continue reading

Why Do Monks and Nuns Meditate?

I’ve been getting lots of interesting questions on Quora. And usually, though I avoid talking about enlightenment, I decided to address this one. Question was: ‘What are monks longing for? Why do they… Continue reading

Excitement from Meditation?

Got this question from someone on Quora, and I thought it might make an interesting post. They asked: ‘How do I get an exciting experience from meditation?’ And my reply?Put simply, you don’t.… Continue reading

Clinging

Clinging creates tension because it flies in the face of change. When we cling, we presuppose its possible for things to always stay the same. We want things to stay the same –… Continue reading

Happiness Schmappiness

Got this question from Barry – he says: “Roger, I’ve been meditating for weeks now and I’m still unhappy. I’ve been unhappy all my life, and I’m losing hope that it will ever… Continue reading

Making Love With Yourself

Now, aside from the obvious sexual connotations of the title of this post, I think the notion of ‘making love with yourself’ is intensely important when it comes to meditation practice. Meditation should… Continue reading

Making Mindfulness Part of Life

This question came up on my Quora feed, so I thought I’d share it to this blog because I think it’s an important aspect of meditation practice: “How should the practice of meditation… 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

Windmill Stumblebum … and Other Creatures

Sorry I’ve been absent for so long, but I’ve been writing a book, and considering most of the 100 or so posts on this blog answer most questions I receive, I took a… Continue reading

Dealing with Dukkha

This post came in response to a question from one of my other posts, ‘Why Does Meditation Make Me Angry’– which, without fail, is, along with another similar post, ‘Why Does Meditation Make… Continue reading