Buddhist Women on a Path of Spiritual Awakening
Opinions
Are you watching your breath or watching your opinions? It is not enough to just watch the breath; you must reflect closely on what is arising. Come to the truth of the way things are by identifying and letting go of your opinions. Reflect…
An Island Beyond Which We Cannot Go
The Buddha gives us lessons in emptiness. We are compelled to trust so completely to be able to truly receive these teachings, surrendering to the Dhamma, offering everything. We bless each step, harvesting wisdom with a brave heart. And in this remarkable learning, we…
Gatekeeper Mindfulness
When we clear the mind of obstacles, we gain a special skill in developing samadhi. Mindfulness is the gatekeeper enabling the burning away of the defilements. There in the clear, stilled, stabilized mind of unfabricated, primordial purity, the factors of awakening arise. No where…
Fictitious Noodles: The Fake News of Old Fears
What are we doing on this planet? How do we cope with feelings of fear? Can we observe wisely and penetrate through the fictions of the mind? To abandon them, we must understand them. Ayyā Medhānandī coaches us to investigate emotions like fear and…
Holding the Lotus to the Rock
Sariputta said (SN 21.1): “There is nothing in the world with whose change there would arise in me sorrow, lamentation, pain, distress, and despair.” It is hard to remember the Buddha’s teachings when the mind is beset with fear and anxiety. But we can…
Noble Friendship, Noble Warming
As we grow in wisdom, our fear of death dissolves. The more we purify from within, the more we abide with a clarity of mind that bestows the ultimate seeing, our cosmic ordination, our unburdening from the sufferings of this realm. The veil of…
In the Stream of the Noble Ones
Two overarching supports for gaining the fruits of the Path are mental purity and spiritual friendship. Consummate virtue and prize virtuous friends, the highest being the Blessed One himself. Emulate his conduct and mental practices in everyday life. Gradually transform mundane right view into…
Even as a Mother
How can we love everything the same? How can we come to a place of pure love within us so that whatever energy is arising in the heart, we can receive it, and we can accept it fully. We don’t have to run away…
Standing for the Dhamma: Reflections & Guided Meditation
Standing up in pure presence is one of the four great postures. In this simple act of being present, know one mind-moment at a time, repeatedly. Grateful for one breath, one posture, one point, we gain balance and poise. We allow our suffering to…
When Truth Speaks – Limbless Man On the Bridge
When delusion, impatience and lack of trust prevail in our spiritual work, we rape our own goodness and execute ourselves over and over again. This suffering, clearly known, helps us to see how we cling and how we let go. When clinging again, let…
~ Dhammapada Verse 54