I Finally Put It Together

Bhikkhunī Ānandabodhī

I Finally Put It Together

When I started going on retreats in my early twenties, I’d find myself getting really angry with whoever was teaching yoga.

I didn’t consider myself a particularly angry person, but the yoga teacher always made me very angry. Through the stretching exercises, the anger that was locked away in my body started to wake up.

At some point, I finally put it together—it wasn’t the fault of the yoga teacher.

This reflection by Ayya Ānandabodhī is from the book, Leaving It All Behind, (pdf) pp. 25.

They Called Him ‘Buddha’

Ajahn Sucitto

They Called Him ‘Buddha’

Centuries ago a seeker, one who searches for a way beyond birth and death, was wandering through a remote valley of one of the many tributaries of the Ganges river. He had been wandering for six years and in the course of that time had studied under teachers, developed meditation and strengthened his considerable resolve. Most recently he had been part of a group of six ascetics whose view was tha…

Muditā

Ajahn Candasiri

Muditā

Muditā is the quality of sympathetic joy. This one has always interested me greatly–mostly because it was something that I often seemed to lack. I used to suffer enormously from jealousy, and there seemed to be nothing I could do about it. It would just come, and the more I tried to disguise it, the worse it would get. I could really spoil things for people, just through this horrible thing that u…

What’s Peacefulness?

Ajahn Chah

What’s Peacefulness?

Question: What’s peacefulness like? Answer: What is confusion? Well, peacefulness is the end of confusion. The forest is peaceful, why aren’t you? You hold onto things causing your confusion. Let nature teach you. Hear the bird’s song; then let go. If you know nature, you’ll know Dhamma. If you know Dhamma, you’ll know nature. These reflections by Ajahn Chah are from the book, No Ajahn Chah, (pdf)…

Fundamental Structures: Time and Self

Ajahn Sucitto

Fundamental Structures: Time and Self

The mental consciousness creates fundamental structures that support further differentiation. These structures are so well established, or conjured up so immediately, that they become realities. The basic structures are time and space, self and other. They arise so immediately that we do not believe that they are created. I don’t seem to create the future. The future is ‘out there’. ‘There is such…

The Whole of the Holy Life

Ajahn Karuṇādhammo

The Whole of the Holy Life

[From a Morning Reflection in 2013] With many people away, it’s so quiet I can hear the water dripping over the sound of our breathing. We can have our own little retreat here today, which is always the way it is here regardless of the day. We can use every opportunity to practice mindfulness—to be aware of where our body is and what our mind is doing and ask ourselves, “Is this a skillful state o…

A Blade of Grass

Ajahn Sumedho

A Blade of Grass

Each one of us is a blade of grass. We want all the blades of grass on the planet to be healthy, but it can seem overwhelming. There have never been this many people on this planet in the known history of human civilization. The mind boggles; it can’t cope with so many blades. But this one blade of grass is something I have some control over. This one conscious being is something I can work with.…

Start from Those Endings

Ajahn Sucitto

Start from Those Endings

We have to learn to open up to the world around us. It’s one of the last things we do, actually. We normally have an unawakened relationship with the world around us. We pay attention to it just to manipulate it, to find things for ourselves in it. We even talk about living our life as if life is something separate from us. We try to get ‘on top of life’ or get ‘ahead in life’. The world of nature…

At Least Refrain from Negativity and Ill-will

Ajahn Candasiri

At Least Refrain from Negativity and Ill-will

I remember when I first told people that I was going to be a nun, one immediate response was, ‘Well, how selfish! Isn’t that awfully self-centred?’ My reply was, ‘Yes. It’s completely self-centred… but until I can understand my own suffering, my own difficulty, I’m not going to be able to help anybody else very much.’ Although I wanted to help, I saw that my capacity for serving others was very li…

In Harmlessness Is Strength

Ṭhānissaro Bhikkhu

In Harmlessness Is Strength

The harmless selves in your toolbox are the ones you want to encourage, to put to use. Now, it may seem ironic that part of having a strong sense of self is that you try to make the self as harmless as possible. We tend to think of people with a strong sense of self as often being careless in their treatment of others, but that’s not genuine strength. The more you harm others, the more you’re crea…