Delusion is Not the Way Out

How can we have compassion for others without falling apart? The Buddha’s path of awakening teaches us how to disarm our internal armour, to be harmless. This will be for us a true basis for following precepts and thereby developing enough inner quiet to…

On the wings of the breath

Using the breath to move into the silent space in the heart and attentively following its rhythm, the breath becomes our whole world. We let go of all objects that arise, all thought, as we stay present and aware in the simple current of…

A Little Renunciation

How training the mind in following precepts, such as the rules regarding the use of four monastic requisites – food, robes, shelter, and medicines, can win us greater patience, faith, gratitude, calm, courage, and mindfulness. Such ways of renunciation test our commitment to the…

A Gift from the Sea – Unbroken Pāua Shell and Consummate Trust

There are many skills and restorative qualities needed for us to grow in our spiritual work. Let us not underestimate the essential ingredient of mettā. This universal quality of love will unfailingly nurture the unfolding of the Noble Eightfold Path. It enhances our energy…

Dwell in Intrinsic Emptiness – The Liberating Quality of Loving-kindness

What are the prerequisites and supports for walking such a path of awakening? Kindness and a loving forgiveness rank with those qualities that are foremost. They allow us to repair the seemingly unforgivable, to heal what we could not see or wish to see,…

Don’t Be Afraid, Mahanama – Lean Towards Nibbana

The Buddha told Mahanama not to be afraid of the muddled mind, just to keep developing the qualities which incline the mind to Nibbana. This Dhamma is for one who is content. A mind unburdened can pacify itself and be calmed. A mind fortified…

Repair What Feels Broken – The Hardest Walk of All

The path is a gradual one. Don’t go to the depths immediately. First develop the strength. Going slowly but deeply. Forgiveness, supported by patience endurance, acknowledging and seeing the breakage and repairing it regularly, repairing what has been broken or harmed, and freeing ourselves…

A Mystical Ladder – Patience, the Incinerator of Defilements

We are ascending a mystical ladder which must be done so carefully and gradually. For a spiritual warrior, the path of practice is a gradual one.  We are in a cloud of unknowing but patiently the cloud is emptied and we begin to see everything…

Breaking the Cycle of Harm – Patience and Friendship With The Lovely

The insight into not-self requires a deeper seeing and understanding of reality. Virtue is our saving grace. It gives us the energy for enlightenment which we transform into right effort. Thus we are guided through the wilderness of the world to develop and sustain…

What is Killing You – Thorns, Barnacles and Buoys on the Middle Way

When you know what is killing you then you will know what will save you. Right effort protects us and offers safety and seclusion. We find saving grace within if we can navigate through the wilderness of the mind assisted by a host of…