Category Archives: Uncategorized

A man falls into a manhole. Whenever he sees someone walk by, he calls for help. Finally someone stops, looks down into the hole, and jumps in. “What did you do that for?” the man asks. “Now we are both … Continue reading →

I have not done a post in quite a while. I put most of my energy into my Jātaka book project these days. I am currently working on the final edits for volume 4. When you do a project like … Continue reading →

One of the most fascinating teachings of the Buddha is the one on anatta, non-self. Not surprisingly, it is enormously misunderstood. The Buddha was focused on one thing, and that is teaching us how to escape from dukkha (suffering/stress/unsatisfactoriness) and … Continue reading →

I want to revisit a topic about which I have written previously, and that is the topic of joy. I have been listening recently to some of Ayya Khema’s Dharma talks. If you are not familiar with her, Ayya Khema … Continue reading →

In Buddhism we often talk about the present moment. And in each life there are billions of present moments. Most of them are noise. But every so often we have a deeply profound moment. We need to cherish and remember … Continue reading →

I would like to discuss three (Pāli) words that I think are often misunderstood in the Buddha’s teachings. These are saṃsara, nirvāṇa, and saṃvega. They are closely related. Saṃsara is sometimes defined as a place. It literally means “wandering” or … Continue reading →

It is always amazing to me how nuanced meditation is, and it gets more nuanced the deeper your meditation practice gets. That is why a) you have to keep at it, and b) it is very important, I think, to … Continue reading →

I know someone – in fact, I know quite a few people – who are very upset with the political situation in the United States right now. And that is understandable. I don’t know that I can put that to … Continue reading →

I recently went to a short retreat with Ṭhānissaro Bhikkhu. The subject of the retreat was “awakening.” At the retreat, Ṭhānissaro described the death and rebirth process. Ṭhānissaro was almost electrocuted when he was 35 years old, so he had a … Continue reading →