Have you ever sat down to meditate with every intention of being calm and mindful, only to discover that your mind seems determined to do anything else? I certainly have. During the first year of Covid, I began paying much more attention to the Five Hindrances in my meditation practice. I was trying hard to Read More
Tag: Meditation
Ten Minutes With The Buddha #4
Session Four: Can Meditation Help Me Let Go? "Breathing in, I observe the impermanent nature of all dharmas. Breathing out, I observe the impermanent nature of all dharmas."— Ānāpānasati Sutta {A note on the word "dharma": In this teaching, dharma (Pali: Dhamma) can be understood simply as the phenomena or experiences we encounter—everything that arises Read More
Ten Minutes With The Buddha #1
Session One: How Do I Begin a Simple Breathing Meditation? "Breathing in, I know I am breathing in. Breathing out, I know I am breathing out."— Ānāpānasati Sutta Many people ask me how to begin meditation. The internet is full of advice. Some suggest counting breaths, others recommend visualising peaceful places or listening to relaxing Read More
Ten Minutes With The Buddha
NEWSFLASH Something NEW on This Buddhist Life ……. Beginning Thursday 12th August a four session programme outlining Buddha’s meditation practice in a simple FREE step-by-step guide to to10min meditations. To help beginners AND current practitioners I will post four sets of instructions describing a series of building blocks for an ever increasing depth of meditation. Read More
What Buddhist Tradition Do You Follow?
"Come and see."-The Buddha During my recent pilgrimage to Nepal, I found myself being asked a question that I had never really considered before. "What Buddhist tradition do you follow?" At first, I wasn’t sure how to answer. Over three weeks I spent fourteen days in Kathmandu and four days in Lumbini, the birthplace of Read More