Theravada Buddhism Guides

Strengthening Mindfulness | An Exercise from The Path of Insight Meditation

Strengthening Mindfulness | An Exercise from The Path of Insight Meditation

Three Mindfulness Exercises 1. Daily sitting log. Here is a way to strengthen daily practice and to see its cycles more clearly. For one month or two, keep a small notebook at the place where you sit. Each day note down how long you sit. Then note down in one sentence the general qualities of
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Temple Boy and Spitting Cobra | An Excerpt from In the Cool Shade of Compassion

Temple Boy and Spitting Cobra | An Excerpt from In the Cool Shade of Compassion

A Lesson on Revenge Ajan Ngoen was born in 1890 in the Village of Grandma Hom’s Knoll in Nakhon Pathom, a province about sixty kilometers west of Bangkok. Ngoen’s father was a farmer and herbal doctor who taught him mantras and medicine from palm-leaf texts. In 1910 Ngoen (which means “silver”) was ordained as a
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Sacred Are the Trees

Sacred Are the Trees

Sacred Are the Trees: A Retelling of Ancient Stories from Biographies of the Buddha by Wendy Garling, author of Stars at Dawn Why Trees? Those familiar with the Buddha’s biography know that all major events in his life took place under trees. He was born under a shala tree (shorea robusta), for example, as his
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The Nyingma Summer Seminar: Reflections on a Buddhist Retreat

The Nyingma Summer Seminar: Reflections on a Buddhist Retreat

By Sanje Phillips This July, I attended the Nyingma Summer Seminar at the Mangala Shri Bhuti retreat land in Ward, Colorado, with Dzigar Kongtrül Rinpoche, Elizabeth Mattis Namgyel (wife), and Dungse Jampal Norbu (son). Over one hundred attendees with varied demographics sat daily meditation sessions, participated in the teachings, endured periods of silence and the usual
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Remembering S.N. Goenka

Remembering S.N. Goenka

We join our palms and say goodbye to a teacher who had an immense impact on the world. S.N. Goenka was a pioneer in making Vipassana meditation widely available to a secular audience. Over 170 meditation centers have been established around the globe under his auspices. His legacy will resound indefinitely.   29 January 1924
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