We have a direction and a goal in this lifestyle. There’s something that we’re aiming for, and we should think about that. What’s the direction of our life? What’s the goal of our life? Where is that goal located? The goal is located in the present moment, it’s right now, and it’s always going to be there. Many of us live our life thinking about the future most of the time. Maybe as you get older…

That passage we chanted just now: “May I look after myself with ease.” It doesn’t refer to just being physically at ease. It also means learning how to look after your own mind, getting a sense of how to correct its imbalances. This is one of the treasures that the Buddha’s teachings have to offer, in that it gives you some pointers in how to look after yourself, how to be alone and not go crazy,…

…a question that someone asked in one of the meditation workshops. She said she was noticing that as she grew older she tended to forget things; her mind is no longer so bright and clear. She asked, ‘How do you practise with this? I know that it’s not going to get any better; I can feel that my mind is going.’ After she had asked this question, there was an awesome hush in the room. I think quite…

When living in a monastery, there tends not to be such an intense focus on Samādhi (concentration) as much as one might find on a ten day or seven day meditation retreat. However, life in a monastery offers different kinds of lessons, different qualities that can be developed. Things tend to be less intensely focused, so we need to look at our attitudes: how we view things like our requisites or o…