Category Archives: Dukkha

Discernment along the Middle Way

My last post asking “What is Enlightenment?” drew some good comments and questions, and I respond to them here, in a rambling sort of way, beginning with a story about soap. Many years ago Robin worked for Colgate-Palmolive. She worked in the quality-control department at a plant where they made, among other things, Fresh Start [...]
Also posted in Buddhism, Change, Delusion, Dhamma, Nibbana, Truth | 2 Comments

The island of coolness

The Island: An Anthology of the Buddha’s Teachings on Nibbana is a hefty collection of extracts from the Pali Canon, Mahayana texts, and other Buddhist writings compiled and commented on by Ajahn Pasanno and Ajahn Amaro. The two Theravada monks are co-abbots of Abhayagiri Monastery in Redwood Valley, California. Ajahn Amaro handles the first part [...]
Also posted in Belief, Buddhism, Delusion, Desire, Nibbana, Suffering, The Buddha, wisdom | Leave a comment

Restlessness and remorse and the karma of lives past and present

Together, restlessness and remorse are the fourth of the five hindrances to meditation as well as to leading a happy life. Restlessness is a general sense of dissatisfaction with how things are. Feelings of restlessness can be very subtle or very intense. The result is a need to move, to do something. Remorse is a [...]
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Watching a doubtful mind

My visit to Abhayagiri Monastery last week – and the 13-hour drive to and from – is in the past. So too is the feeling that overcame me shortly after arriving early Friday evening. The Buddha speaks of three kinds of feeling: pleasant, unpleasant and neither pleasant nor unpleasant. What I experienced during the initial [...]
Also posted in Buddhism, Delusion, Desire, Dhamma, Dharma, Suffering, The Buddha, Upasaka | Leave a comment