Advice to beginners on the Buddhist path
4 Oct 2024
Be gently aware as you go through your day. Try to be present, and notice when the mind is pulled away from the present moment.
Be aware of that pull and what is happening in the mind.
When it's possible to let go of these distractions, you may wish to let them go and come back into a full experience of 1) what's happening, and, 2) how the mind is relating to that.
In formal practice especially,...
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My understanding of Buddhist practice and the four noble truths
19 Sept 2024
I found myself trying to neatly summarise how my thinking about Buddhist practice has developed recently, and my thoughts seemed to take the rough shape of the four noble truths.
The uncultivated mind will tend to get entangled in the messiness of life. This is painful or at least unsatisfying in a deep way.
It is craving and aversion that lead the mind to become entangled.
The mind can learn to...
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A primer on dependent arising
1 Sept 2024
Here's a talk I gave recently as a short introduction to the 12-link model of dependent arising. It carries an example throughout each stage, something I've borrowed from the insight meditation teacher, John Peacock. Soon, I want to write about a different model of dependent arising that I have found very helpful and insightful.
Introduction
I'm going to talk about dependent arising today, also...
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The effort to be aware
18 Jul 2024
So, what's been happening? A few weeks ago I felt as though I'd fallen in love with simple mindfulness again. It seemed so natural to be present with moment-to-moment experience. When sitting on the cushion, I didn't really long for anything else to happen outside of this quiet contentment. No longing to get anywhere or trying to create a special feeling.
It's hard to know what creates these...
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Creating a practice plan for the day
22 Jun 2024
Just this week, I've started being a bit more formal about my intentions for practice in the day ahead. I've started looking at the specifics of the day ahead and planning how I will bring mindfulness and other aspects of Buddhist practice into that situation and how I intend to negotiate any obstacles. The idea came to me when I realised I don't necessarily have to have the perfect approach to...
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