Buddhist teachings

Om When Drunk, by Trevor Leggett

At present you are occasionally saying it as a sort of insurance policy, paying a little sum now and then and then forgetting about it. But the time will come when there is a crisis, and you will need to practise seriously to find your way out of it. If you then try repeating ‘Om’ seriously, you will find that there are innumerable low-level associations coming into your mind, which will take a good time to get rid of. And you may not have that much time…

A Journey from Humiliation to Humility, by Corrado Pensa

Humiliation is centred upon the work of ego, and humility is freedom from ego. These two words capture the gist of bondage and freedom, the gist of our practice. Maybe the only effort we need to make is to re-own the word ‘humility’ in its true sense, which often gets lost in a pseudo-humility. Hubert Benoit talks about ‘remaining motionless within humiliation’. He refers to ‘resting on the stone bed’ and ‘letting the humiliation alone.’ These are excellent descriptions of our practice; they have the strength to evoke what is beneficial, what is skilful, in transforming us…

You Are Not A Permanent Person, by Ajahn Sumedho

So much of our suffering is around attachment to perceptions, views, opinions and emotional habits. In the enlightened mind one is breaking out of conditioning. Because there is an infinite variety of conditioned phenomena, the Buddha talked in terms of just five groups (five khandhas) in which to get a perspective on it, and this is to be understood in a very direct way, not in a theoretical way. Each one of us experiences through the body, feelings, perceptions, mental formations and consciousness, and…

The Burden of Selfishness, by Buddhadasa Bhikkhu

Selfishness is a terrible burden for the entire world. You can see that all the problems, all the conflict, all the crises, are the result of selfishness. Many people come to Asia to get away from the constant sense of crisis that they meet with in the West. But they can’t escape it by coming to Asia. The same problems are here as well!