Buddhist Women on a Path of Spiritual Awakening
The Mantra of ‘Good Enough’
In both the spirit and the letter of my Rule, I live as a beggar, completely dependent on the generosity of my supporters. I may not ask for anything to eat or drink other than water, unless a devotee makes a specific invitation on…
True North
Sitting here in the stillness of a winter’s afternoon, I find myself in the middle of my life – or closer to the ending – as if suspended between two shores. I hold on to the one, the known, seemingly secure bit of earth…
Stepping Back Into the River
I seem always to be stepping back out into the River. Which river is it this time? The same river, but a different step, a mildness, a tender stopping, not to make sure that the bottom is there but to feel the current and…
Uncooked Rice and No Ice-Cream
Living with contentment sounds easy. And it can be, particularly for one already withdrawn from the world and committed to a life of simplicity and renunciation – until that inevitable day when we are confronted with not getting what we want or, conversely, getting…
I Gave Up the Froth
Monastic life can be a regime of intensifying renunciation. This turning away from worldy pleasure is not undertaken for its own sake but to keep us on our toes, clarify our truest goals and sweep away the many webs of desire that constantly deceive,…
Taming of the Shrewd
My personal identity was dismantled on the full moon of March, 1988. That was the day I donned the robes of a Buddhist alms-mendicant nun. I’d been practising intensive meditation at the Mahasi Sasana Yeiktha in Yangon, Myanmar (formerly Rangoon, Burma) under the guidance…
Composting the Heart
Just as church steeples or temple spires once symbolized the essence of what we cherished, these days, our tallest buildings tend to be commercial in nature – as if to signify the moral erosion of contemporary civilization. We are in a state of decline…
Lenten Feast
As a nun, I practice Lent every day – not just because I fast after midday but because my fast is a devotion. I choose this path out of love for a truth that reveals the depths of my humanity even in the humdrum…
The Ninth Patch
Everyday I proclaim my faith by wearing my robe. I have no special vestments or ceremonial dress. It is the same robe each day that protects me and steers me from worldly pursuits. It links me to the ancient roots of the path I…
Not Straying from Ancient Virtue
While living in monastic community, visitors often asked, “What do you do?” I would describe the daily schedule: rising early, morning and evening meditations, chanting, the almsgiving, work projects, meetings and other duties. But what I am is not just what I do or…
~ Dhammapada Verse 54