Am I Enlightened?
A few days ago I got this rather curt question from one of my readers: ‘Roger, I read your posts with great interest and I’m thinking of buying your book. I have a… Continue reading
0 Comments
Experience The Experience
‘Experience the experience’ was the epitaph my father wanted engraved on his headstone when he died. And indeed, it was the creed he tried to live by. He was constantly pushing himself to… Continue reading
Suffering And Kamma – A Wonderful Talk by Ajahn Jayasaro
The words ‘suffering’ and ‘kamma’, as core principles in Theravada Buddhism, are very much misunderstood by many. In this illuminating talk, Ajahn Jayasaro brings them to life as aspects of the path to… Continue reading
Commitment Gives Life To Our Dreams
I was watching a movie the other night and something was said that annoyed me. A woman was complaining to a friend about her husband and how their marriage had become stale. To… Continue reading
The New Science of Death
Recently, a couple of very good friends have died. And being months away from my seventieth year and sensing the approaching end of my own life, I have been contemplating the nature of… Continue reading
Releasing The Breath
I recently spoke with a friend who had just begun meditating – she was having difficulty with using her breath as a main object. She said as soon as she turned her attention… Continue reading
Our Attention Creates Our Reality
I think there is a core principle in meditation, and in life, and it’s this: Our attention energises whatever we attach it to. Whether it’s a thought, an idea, a feeling or emotion,… Continue reading
May We All Live Well This New Year
Well, here we are, alive and breathing at the end of another year – a particularly insane year of stupid wars and narcissistic politicians arguing in their eternal political games – and perhaps… Continue reading
How Quantum Physics Intersects With The Buddhist Realization of Emptiness
When it comes to meditation, it’s rare that I find anything on YouTube that is both succinct and illuminating – but this video was both. In particular, it clarifies the Buddhist notions of… Continue reading
Embracing Anatta: The Wonderful Reality of Non-Self
I got an email the other day, with A very concise question:‘Hi Roger, what do you think of the Buddhist idea of non-self?’ So it occurred to me that, even though I’ve posted… Continue reading
The Way to Stillness
Question: Roger, I read your book and I get what you’re saying about how meditation isn’t all fairy dust and bliss, and how we’ve got to build a mental and physical skillset to… Continue reading
Thich Nhat Hanh: Know How to Suffer to Suffer Less
A friend referred me to the following video by one of the great contemporary meditation masters, Thich Nhat Hanh, in which he talks about how essential it is to learn how to suffer.… Continue reading
Perfect World Syndrome
A long time ago, I had a client who was constantly angry. She was quite wealthy, lived in a big house, drove a Porsche and had a family who loved her – but… Continue reading
Routine is Everything
So let’s get back to basics.Essentially, meditation is no big deal. The problem is, people keep making it into a big deal – investing all kinds of significance into a skill which, ironically,… Continue reading
Using Mindfulness to Deal With Anguish
Question:Roger, I suffer from chronic depression. I’m not sure what triggers it – it can happen anywhere. All I know is it usually happens when I’m among crowds of people. When it happens… Continue reading
Making Mindfulness A Habit
I’ve been getting more emails asking about mindfulness – more than I have about meditation. So I’ll write another post about it to see if I can bring a bit more clarity to… Continue reading
My Body, My Love
A few years ago I used to go to a nearby gym and, being physically rather unambitious, I’d do my leisurely routine with lots of rests in-between, then have a swim and go… Continue reading
Reactive Cycles
Question: ‘Hi Roger, in your book you talk about reactive cycles. I’ve not heard of them before and it’s an interesting idea, so I was wondering if you could flesh it out for… Continue reading
On Living To Forget
A short while back I received an email with this very curt question: ‘I read your book. Interesting. One question. Why do you talk so much about how hard meditation is?’ Aside from… Continue reading
Videos of Ajahn Chah
I was bumbling through Youtube and I found these, and considering I have often quoted Acharn Chah, and regard him as one of the greatest teachers of Vipassana meditation, I decided to insert… Continue reading
The Immaculate Inbetween
Question: ‘Hi Roger … In stories of the Buddha that I’ve read, enlightenment seemed very easy to people. Just by listening to the Buddha, they used to suddenly become enlightened. Is this just… Continue reading
Coping With Insomnia
The following question about insomnia came through the other day, and I wondered why I’ve never addressed it before. So here it is: ‘Hi Roger … I’ve suffered from insomnia for the last… Continue reading
Using Mindfulness To Temper A Quick Temper
I’m not sure if I’ve written about this subject before, but I got the following question, so if I did, I’ll do it again Question was: ‘Hi Roger … I’ve recently been meditating… Continue reading