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    Power of Conviction Paid Member

    By Thanissaro Bhikkhu
    ACCORDING TO THE BUDDHA, there is one thing that doesn't disappoint. When you pursue Awakening, it's not going to lead to disappointment. Quite the contrary, it goes wildly beyond your expectations, wildly beyond your hopes. Even just the first taste of the Deathless, stream entry, is enough to produce a seismic shift in your whole awareness, your whole understanding of what you think you are and what's possible in life, and in the importance of your own actions. Once you reach that state, your conviction in the Buddha, the Dhamma, and the Sangha is unshakeable. Your standards for what counts as true happiness get ratcheted up immeasurably. More »
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    Do the Thoughts Ever Stop? Paid Member

    By Bob Sharples
    THE BIGGEST HINDRANCE to our meditation is constant intrusive thoughts. This is normal for everyone and from the beginning you should expect it. The nature of our mind is to think, and it is childish to imagine that we can simply turn that process off when we wish to. Our minds have been almost completely out of control for most of our life. Recognizing this can help us to be practical and patient—it may take us some time and a lot of skillful practice to tame the crazy “monkey mind.” My own meditation practice was helped when I came across the instruction that while I have thoughts I am not those thoughts. When you stop to examine your thoughts you start to see that they have a life of their own, they come and go, generally in a random, idiosyncratic way. Recognizing the constancy of our endless thinking process is said to be one of the important early steps we take on the meditation path. More »
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    The Quiet Life Paid Member

    Sokei-An Shigetsu Sasaki, a Japanese Zen pioneer in the West, describes some of the many differences between his American lay followers and the monks back home. More »
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    The Secret Life of the Street Paid Member

    Australian Zen teacher Susan Murphy on finding solitude in the city More »
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    Like a Pig In... Paid Member

    Tibetan Buddhist teacher Geshe Sonam Rinchen isn't afraid to rub our noses in the dangers of ignorance More »
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    Power of Conviction Paid Member

    Thai forest monk Thanissaro Bhikkhu describes that which never disappoints More »