The three characteristics of impermanence, dissatisfactoriness, and no-self are so central to the Buddha’s teachings that it is almost inconceivable how little attention the majority of “insight” meditators give them. I cannot possibly overstate the usefulness of trying again and again to really discern these three qualities of all experience. They are the stuff from … Continued
We can’t see our eyes, but we can see. This means that awareness cannot be an object. But there can be awareness. Ajahn Chah and other forest masters would use the expression “being the knowing.” It is like being rigpa. In that state, there is the mind knowing its own nature, Dharma knowing its own … Continued
What does death look like when we live within it? It looks like surrender. Instead of feeding on the backlog of our emotional reactions we just drop them; in place of elaboration we are quiet; instead of projecting out our discomforts we become accountable for them; and in place of surmounting a problem we drop … Continued
Most of us do not want to grow beyond what we know ourselves to be, and confronting death will force us to reexamine our conclusions. Once awareness is able to move through that resistance, an enormous amount of pent-up energy is liberated. That energy is the glue that has cemented our human sense-of-self together since … Continued
This shift toward allowing ourselves to be fully embraced by awareness starts with a keen interest in understanding what we are. Listening is the receptive action of awareness, and begins with the humility to release our knowledge and opinions to receive what is actually occurring. We “listen” to what awareness is revealing about what we … Continued