The moment was gone; he saw it going. He did not try to hold on to it. He knew he was part of it, not it of him. He was in its keeping. – Ursula K. Le Guin, The Dispossessed I love coming across the Dharma in unexpected places. This quote, describing a physicist’s startling vision into a theory he had spent his entire career chasing, made me pause and…
A feeling I had not experienced before visited during sitting meditation. I have heard whispers of it for a few days now – while ambling along the river in the neighborhood, while listening to a talk at my local meditation center – before it arrived in full force one morning. It was the feeling that, for anything that arose, be it a thought, a sight, a sound, it was impossible…
I was pleasantly surprised that I could still enter jhanas in daily life, where there are fewer supportive conditions than the retreat. On days with a mind not too occupied with work or scattered by too much social media, I could shift from access concentration to first jhana, to second, third, fourth, then practice insight meditation. On days when the mind is all over the place, I could still practice…
A reminder from The Noble Search sutta dropped into my mind as I sat down to meditate. It came from this passage: And what is the noble search? Here someone being himself subject to birth, having understood the danger in what is subject to birth, seeks the unborn supreme security from bondage, Nibbāna; being himself subject to ageing, having understood the danger in what is subject to ageing, he seeks…
This year, I’d like to come back and draw energy from an early aspiration that kept me on the Path. It wasn’t in order to get enlightened (although that would be lovely). It wasn’t in order to get some out-of-body experience or bliss. It wasn’t in order to get approval from others (though I’m sure that motivation was lurking around somewhere). No – I treasure mindfulness, because it allows me…
It is a paradox that even though the desire for enlightenment, for happiness, etc. may have inspired our journey on the Path, we eventually need to let go of grasping – for special meditation experiences, happiness, enlightenment itself – as we get closer to the truth. I have heard this in various ways from various teachers throughout the years: “My desire for enlightenment was a hindrance to my practice.” “When…
The bell sounded three times to end the sit. I slowly opened my eyes. My body felt light as air – just moments ago, it had felt no different from air itself, its boundaries dissolving into the empty space of the room. My mind hummed with ease, clarity, and tranquility. Slowly, very slowly – as if this peace was a skittish kitten ready to dash at any moment – I…
I’ve had more than a few episodes of sitting with emotional turmoil through my years of meditation practice. This sitting period, though, proved to be different from others. It was the first one where the insight of non-self directly reduced my suffering. I had been struggling with making a decision in my relationship for a while, and the frustration around it sat heavy in my chest as soon as I…
“One breath at a time” I heard this phrase for the first time from Sharon Salzberg in a guided meditation. Instead of striving to be mindful for a certain amount of time, she instructed us to be aware just for one breath – “one breath at a time”. Its simplicity struck me. Just one breath. Just this moment in time. Then the next, and the next, and the next… but…
I paused for a few seconds in front of the empty space on the condiment table, and drew back my hand which had already reached out in habit. “Strange,” I thought, “it’s always been here for the past week”. I went back and scanned all the condiment containers, once, then once more, then conceded to myself on the third time that, yes, everything was in its place. But what I…