It was about three years ago that the Barre Center for Buddhist Studies (BCBS) first started distributing Dharma teachings by email on the full moon of each month, and about eighteen months ago the printed version of the Insight Journal became the electronically distributed full moon Insight Journal. Chris Talbott, who had been managing the production of these publications for several years, became the editor of the new offering, taking over the role from Andrew Olendzki, the BCBS senior … [Read more...]
Unburdened With Duties & Frugal In Our Ways
Tony Bernhard
The Personal Economy Of Right Livelihood For contemporary western lay practitioners of the Buddha's way, Right Livelihood (samma ājīva) is hardly the most compelling factor on the Eightfold Path. For us, livelihood is most often simply equated with our job, with what we do for a living, how we make our money. In the midst of our practice, we might pause for a quick mental check to confirm that we aren't supporting ourselves through any particularly egregious line of work, but we then move right … [Read more...]
The Busier You Are, The Slower You Should Go
Martine Batchelor
When I lived in South Korea as a Zen nun, I heard about a nun called Songou Sunim and went to practice with her for three months. She was known for her simplicity and dedication to practice. Once she practiced in a hermitage for many months and decided to eat raw food to make things simpler. She sat on a zabuton (flat cushion) without a zafu (round cushion) again to make things simpler and become less dependent on external things. I tried it but I could not do it. I had to renounce this … [Read more...]
The Arrows of Thinking
Thanissaro Bhikkhu
Papañca & the path to end conflict In a striking piece of poetry (Sn 4:15), the Buddha once described the sense of saṃvega—terror or dismay—that inspired him to look for an end to suffering. I will tell of how I experienced saṃvega. Seeing people floundering like fish in small puddles, competing with one another— as I saw this, fear came into me. The world was entirely without substance. All the directions were knocked out of line. Wanting a haven for myself, I saw … [Read more...]
A Conversation with Bhikkhu Anālayo
Bhikkhu Anālayo
This month we have an interview with Bhikkhu Anālayo, probably best known to students of Dhamma in the West for his 2004 book, Satipaṭṭhāna: The Direct Path to Realization, which has since become a touchstone modern interpretation of that key sutta. He paid an informal visit to Barre earlier this summer as part of larger trip to the U.S. (He lives & teaches in Germany.) Bhikkhu Anālayo graciously answered some questions for Insight Journal. His 2004 book, while very approachable for those … [Read more...]
The Language We Use to Talk about Meditative Experiences
Jason Siff
The words, phrases, and concepts found in the language we use to talk about meditative experiences has tremendous effect on our meditation practice. Believing that the purpose of meditation is to get beyond concepts and words doesn't necessarily free us from the traps of language, especially when we need to express, or somehow represent, our experiences to ourselves or another person. A wordless experience may still someday make its way into words; and contrary to popular belief on this matter, … [Read more...]
Mindfulness & the Cognitive Process
John Peacock
If sati, mindfulness, is not there in ordinary life, it is not working. If it is only there on retreat, and absent in your daily life, this is also problematic. What makes this integration so difficult is that taṅhā, desire or craving, is not just something added to our experience: It is literally built into our cognitive process. We are, if you will, born with the pathology of desire. Part I: The Pathology of Desire Craving, or taṅhā in Pali, is the central problem identified by the … [Read more...]
Getting Out of the Romantic Gate
Thanissaro Bhikkhu
Ajaan Thanissaro--whom many of our readers know well either from his courses at BCBS and/or from his prolific translations, commentaries, and transcribed Dhamma talks--has been studying and writing about how Romantic and Transcendentalist thought have affected Western understanding of Buddhadhamma for some time. He has deep familiarity with the relevant Western philosophical traditions, and this, combined with his first-hand understanding of Dhamma texts and practices, makes him an extremely … [Read more...]
Dhammapada 13
Andrew Olendzki
Dhammapada 13 yathagaram ducchannam vutthi samativijjhati evam abhavitam cittam rago samativijjhati Just as rain fully penetrates A house that has been poorly roofed, So passion fully penetrates A mind that’s poorly developed yathagaram succhannam vutthi na samativijjhati evam subhavitam cittam rago na samativijjhati ti Just as rain cannot penetrate A house that has been well roofed, So too no passion penetrates A mind that is well developed. The notion of … [Read more...]
Teaching Mindfulness to Children
Christopher Willard
Christopher Willard, PsyD. taught "Child's Mind: Professional Training for Mindfulness With Young People" at BCBS April 20-22, 2012. He is a psychologist and learning specialist at Tufts University and in private practice in the Boston area. He is the author of Child’s Mind, Mindfulness Practices to Help Our Children Be More Focused, Calm and Relaxed, and is working on a series of follow-up workbooks for teens that he teaches nationally and internationally. He currently serves on the Board of … [Read more...]
