Pariyatti

Epilogue: Manjushri's Burden from Journey of Insight Meditation by Eric Lerner I SET THE CHAIN SAW down on the stump of the tree which I had just felled and sat down on the log to drink from my canteen. It was the very same orange water bag I had purchased to take with me to India two years ago. I looked up through the bare November trees at the sun edging toward the apex of its low autumn arc. Then I looked at the piles of cordwood I'd accumulated along the road during the past months. There would certainly be enough for the stoves before the first snowfall. Satisfied, I picked up my saw and headed back to the house. ... by Eric Lerner 2025 20 minutes 58 seconds Listen to Streaming Audio Your browser does not support the audio element. Download Audio (10.2MB) Audio copyright, 2025 Pariyatti View the book, eBook and free PDF download. You can also find it at Amazon worldwide using this link: http://a-fwd.com/com=pariyatti-20&asin=B0CJL9SG5D. About Eric Lerner. View more books and audio resources available in the Pariyatti bookstore.

Ch. 14 - Time Past and Time Present from Journey of Insight Meditation by Eric Lerner DELHI HOT LIKE A KILN. I wandered through empty streets at midday making final connections. London like a plunge into ice water, only hours later. I stood shivering in the transit lounge, my thin wool shawl wrapped tight around my shoulders, my socks incongruous in Indian sandals, even more incongruous in white pajama clothes, amidst fur and leather coats, heavy sweaters and fat, flushed, liquor-stained faces. I was emaciated by comparison. Crash landing in Boston, hours late. Time sense destroyed. I slept last in Calcutta. A strange wakefulness haunted my body. Alert to ponderous events all around me, I followed my breath as a customs official began pawing through my bag. Suddenly he stopped and handed it back to me with an apologetic smile. I felt a rising thickness in my throat to get beyond that door. She would be waiting. At first she wasn't sure she could, but after letters back and forth, she'd finally agreed. ... by Eric Lerner 2025 34 minutes 47 seconds Listen to Streaming Audio Your browser does not support the audio element. Download Audio (16.8MB) Audio copyright, 2025 Pariyatti View the book, eBook and free PDF download. You can also find it at Amazon worldwide using this link: http://a-fwd.com/com=pariyatti-20&asin=B0CJL9SG5D. About Eric Lerner. View more books and audio resources available in the Pariyatti bookstore.

Ch. 13 - The Essence is Anicca from Journey of Insight Meditation by Eric Lerner THE TWO-BLADED FAN above my head cut ponderously through the thick, hot air. It was late April and the annual three-month heat wave was in full bloom in Madras. My own body temperature had gone amok with some indeterminate fever, and I'd spent the past three days in this hotel room waiting quietly for my illness to pass. It was a comfortable enough place to be sick, with its clean, white walls and stone floors, and outside, a balcony that overlooked gardened courtyards where huge trees reached up to the third tier of rooms. The dark and faintly musky atmosphere was almost Mediterranean. ... by Eric Lerner 2025 53 minutes 16 seconds Listen to Streaming Audio Your browser does not support the audio element. Download Audio (25.7MB) Audio copyright, 2025 Pariyatti View the book, eBook and free PDF download. You can also find it at Amazon worldwide using this link: http://a-fwd.com/com=pariyatti-20&asin=B0CJL9SG5D. About Eric Lerner. View more books and audio resources available in the Pariyatti bookstore.

Ch. 12 - The Great Blind Sea Turtle from Journey of Insight Meditation by Eric Lerner ON MY RETURN TO the monastery from my brief journey out into the world, I had been warmly greeted by the head monk, Nyayaka Maha Thera, and by my two friends Bhikkhus Sunno and Ratanapala, who were convinced that I had returned for good. It was quite a homecoming. I asked Sunno if he might like to take a walk out to my hut one afternoon and have some tea so we could talk. He was quite pleased by the invitation and promised to visit me soon. The days went by, though, and he didn't come. One day after lunch, I sent the young boy who served me food back into the meditation quarters to fetch Sunno. I didn't think it proper for me simply to wander in there unexpectedly. Sunno appeared with a big smile, and after apologizing for not being able to make it to my kuti, invited me to his quarters. ... by Eric Lerner 2025 39 minutes 01 seconds Listen to Streaming Audio Your browser does not support the audio element. Download Audio (18.8MB) Audio copyright, 2025 Pariyatti View the book, eBook and free PDF download. You can also find it at Amazon worldwide using this link: http://a-fwd.com/com=pariyatti-20&asin=B0CJL9SG5D. About Eric Lerner. View more books and audio resources available in the Pariyatti bookstore.

Ch. 11 - The Path of Power from Journey of Insight Meditation by Eric Lerner THE LIGHT OF GOD. Ishvara, the Lord. Divine Luminescence. Seen with the mind's eye only through a mind that can see. I stared with eyelids drawn immobile at an empty black background. The shimmering disk of cool brilliance was not an object but an event, which eyes cannot see. My attention stayed with my breath as it had for days, the tiny touch of my life against thin skin. The awareness on that single point was almost unbroken. That stillness of mind created the light, the light that cannot be seen, only known, until I felt the light, breathed light as a tingly, glowing star. ... by Eric Lerner 2025 24 minutes 23 seconds Listen to Streaming Audio Your browser does not support the audio element. Download Audio (11.8MB) Audio copyright, 2025 Pariyatti View the book, eBook and free PDF download. You can also find it at Amazon worldwide using this link: http://a-fwd.com/com=pariyatti-20&asin=B0CJL9SG5D. About Eric Lerner. View more books and audio resources available in the Pariyatti bookstore.

Ch. 10 - The Great Elder from Journey of Insight Meditation by Eric Lerner AFTER TWO WEEKS OF isolation in the forest, I left the monastery for a short time, mostly to find out about the possibility of returning to Burma. It had been rumored that tourist visas to that country were going to be extended longer than seven days. If so, I could return there soon, and possibly stay for as long as a month. The rumors proved false, however, and I was left with a very open end to my trip. There was no particular rush to get back to Burma now, since that would probably be the last stop on my way home. And I certainly wasn't ready to return home. ... by Eric Lerner 2025 24 minutes 24 seconds Listen to Streaming Audio Your browser does not support the audio element. Download Audio (11.8MB) Audio copyright, 2025 Pariyatti View the book, eBook and free PDF download. You can also find it at Amazon worldwide using this link: http://a-fwd.com/com=pariyatti-20&asin=B0CJL9SG5D. About Eric Lerner. View more books and audio resources available in the Pariyatti bookstore.

Ch. 9 - A Taste of Stillness from Journey of Insight Meditation by Eric Lerner ON THE MORNING OF the tenth day I interrupted my return to the hut following my breakfast to catch my breath on a high flat rock that afforded a view of the entire valley beneath the monastery. The dawn haze had burned off, revealing the neighboring valley, whose sharply edged checkerboard fields stood out in contrast to the surrounding jungle. Perhaps I romanticized by calling this place “jungle” when, in fact, farmland was everywhere. But there is so much unclaimed land in Ceylon that nowhere in the countryside are you so far from the uncultivated forests that you'd not have second thoughts about wandering off in broad daylight, much less in the dark. No cobras here, though, the monks told me. The mongooses made sure of that. One of them was staring at me from a rock higher up the path. His elongated, rodentlike body was covered with prickly fur that made him look as though he'd been dunked in motor oil. His snoutish face was kind of cute, though, and I'd often seen the monks feeding these animals in the courtyard, as a good turn, no doubt, for the animal's appetite for poisonous snakes. ... by Eric Lerner 2025 20 minutes 53 seconds Listen to Streaming Audio Your browser does not support the audio element. Download Audio (10.1MB) Audio copyright, 2025 Pariyatti View the book, eBook and free PDF download. You can also find it at Amazon worldwide using this link: http://a-fwd.com/com=pariyatti-20&asin=B0CJL9SG5D. About Eric Lerner. View more books and audio resources available in the Pariyatti bookstore.

Ch. 8 - Unmeasured Time from Journey of Insight Meditation by Eric Lerner THE ENTIRE ISLAND OF Ceylon has only eight million inhabitants, and as I stood idly waiting for a bus or walked through the streets of Colombo, the capital city, I no longer felt the constant psychic assault that I had been aware of in India. The most obvious difference, however, was that Ceylon was a Buddhist country. Even the most casual conversation easily turned to a common appreciation of the Dharma. There are probably no more Ceylonese who actually practice the heart of Buddha's teachings than there are real practitioners of any religion anywhere, but everyone I met at least understood the value of his teachings and was willing to support those who really did wish to pursue them. ... by Eric Lerner 2025 46 minutes 54 seconds Listen to Streaming Audio Your browser does not support the audio element. Download Audio (22.6MB) Audio copyright, 2025 Pariyatti View the book, eBook and free PDF download. You can also find it at Amazon worldwide using this link: http://a-fwd.com/com=pariyatti-20&asin=B0CJL9SG5D. About Eric Lerner. View more books and audio resources available in the Pariyatti bookstore.

Realizing Change: Sébastian Bernier's Story This a Pariyatti Presents... event of the Realizing Change Series: Sébastian Bernier's Story. Sébastian Bernier December 2, 2022 1 hour 4 minutes Watch the video or download the audio. Download Audio (31MB) Video copyright, 2022 Pariyatti View the archive of all Pariyatti Presents... Events. View more books and audio resources available at the online Pariyatti bookstore.

Ch. 7 - No Way Off This Path from Journey of Insight Meditation by Eric Lerner SIX OF US ARRIVED at the International Meditation Center in Rangoon late in the afternoon of the day the retreat in memory of U Ba Khin was to begin. A charming, middle-aged Burmese gentleman who produced movies for a living met us at the gate and immediately took us on a tour of the grounds. After all the build-up and expectation that had surrounded our trip, it was difficult to appreciate the fact that we were actually there. All we could do was gawk as we followed our host around. The most prominent feature of the Center was the arrangement of the meditation cells, the small individual rooms where one was expected to sit in darkness and silence for most of the day. They surrounded a large central pagoda that contained the shrine room where U Ba Khin himself had sat in meditation. Opening onto the shrine room were eight cells, which were also accessible by doors from the outside. ... by Eric Lerner 2025 29 minutes 48 seconds Listen to Streaming Audio Your browser does not support the audio element. Download Audio (13.7MB) Audio copyright, 2025 Pariyatti View the book, eBook and free PDF download. You can also find it at Amazon worldwide using this link: http://a-fwd.com/com=pariyatti-20&asin=B0CJL9SG5D. About Eric Lerner. View more books and audio resources available in the Pariyatti bookstore.

Ch. 6 - Why the Buddha Sat Under a Tree from Journey of Insight Meditation by Eric Lerner IMMEDIATELY AFTER HOVER's departure I had begun another retreat, and on New Year's Day Goenka's chanting brought to an end forty continuous days of meditation behind walls for me. An hour after the meditation ended, my monastic woolen shawl and white cotton pajama suit were tucked away in my bag, and I marveled at the strange feel of denim against my skin once again. by Eric Lerner 2025 26 minutes 45 seconds Listen to Streaming Audio Your browser does not support the audio element. Download Audio (12.9MB) Audio copyright, 2025 Pariyatti View the book, eBook and free PDF download. You can also find it at Amazon worldwide using this link: http://a-fwd.com/com=pariyatti-20&asin=B0CJL9SG5D. About Eric Lerner. View more books and audio resources available in the Pariyatti bookstore.

An interview with Rivers Cuomo . This a Pariyatti Presents... event interview with Rivers Cuomo, lead singer, songwriter and guitarist for the band, Weezer. He is interviewed by Kory Goldberg, co-author of Along the Path. Rivers Cuomo February 18, 2024 54 minutes Watch the video or download the audio. Download Audio (52MB) Video copyright, 2024 Pariyatti View the video of the interview at Pariyatti. View more books and audio resources available in the Pariyatti bookstore.

Ch. 5 - Right Effort from Journey of Insight Meditation by Eric Lerner TOWARD THE END OF the first week of the course, Hover introduced a new schedule for vipassana meditation which he had been shown on his recent trip to Burma. It consisted of six hour-long sittings each day in which the resolve was made not to move at all: two in the morning, three in the afternoon, and one at night after his discourse, plus some hours in the early morning and after tea. It didn't take long for this regimen to produce some very deep pain. Shortly after we began it, a rock-hard knot about the size of a grapefruit surfaced in my neck. It grew in intensity during each hour-long sitting until I could no longer hold my attention on any other part of my body. When I focused right on the pain, my body would be gripped by enormous tension and the knot would suddenly disappear. This thrilled me the first time, but it soon became clear that it only meant that the knot would be back the next hour, stiffer, larger, and more difficult to deal with. by Eric Lerner 2025 24 minutes 40 seconds Listen to Streaming Audio Your browser does not support the audio element. Download Audio (11.4MB) Audio copyright, 2025 Pariyatti View the book, eBook and free PDF download. You can also find it at Amazon worldwide using this link: http://a-fwd.com/com=pariyatti-20&asin=B0CJL9SG5D. About Eric Lerner. View more books and audio resources available in the Pariyatti bookstore.

Ch. 4 - Noble Silence from Journey of Insight Meditation by Eric Lerner BENARES, THE SPIRITUAL CAPITAL of Hinduism, and the site of our next retreat, had been one of the most exciting places I'd visited in India or anywhere else in my travels around the world four years earlier. It's a city of death and rebirth. Pilgrims gather there to bathe away their sins in the holy Ganges River waters and then patiently await the end of this life in order to be cremated beside the Mother of Waters. Saddhus and holy men mingle freely with the poor and the well-to-do. Everyone is a beggar at the end. The fires of cremation along the river banks produce eerie, smoky sunsets while the holy chanting of “Hare Krishna,” “Hare Krishna” goes on night and day. by Eric Lerner 2025 30 minutes 25 seconds Listen to Streaming Audio Your browser does not support the audio element. Download Audio (14MB) Audio copyright, 2025 Pariyatti View the book, eBook and free PDF download. You can also find it at Amazon worldwide using this link: http://a-fwd.com/com=pariyatti-20&asin=B0CJL9SG5D. About Eric Lerner. View more books and audio resources available in the Pariyatti bookstore.

Ch. 3 - A Peacock is More Than a Bird from Journey of Insight Meditation by Eric Lerner IN MID-NOVEMBER, after nearly three weeks of waiting, I finally took a train to a small city in Gujarat state in the far west of India. It was the nicest time of the year in that part of the country. The weather was warm and dry with an empty blue sky all day, and the area had a different feel to it than any place I had been. It was less intense, almost relaxed, and without the air of desperation that much of India had those days, as its economy teetered toward collapse. by Eric Lerner 2025 35 minutes 28 seconds Listen to Streaming Audio Your browser does not support the audio element. Download Audio (16.3MB) Audio copyright, 2025 Pariyatti View the book, eBook and free PDF download. You can also find it at Amazon worldwide using this link: http://a-fwd.com/com=pariyatti-20&asin=B0CJL9SG5D. About Eric Lerner. View more books and audio resources available in the Pariyatti bookstore.

Ch. 2 - Siva's Smile from Journey of Insight Meditation by Eric Lerner IT TOOK A COUPLE of months to get used to the lack of drama that each hour of the ten-day retreat had contained. Hover had not given me much advice as to what to do next, except to keep sitting. Often I had no idea what I was doing, but I kept doing it at least one hour a day and although P, my wife, didn't participate, she respected my effort. I hadn't sat this evening, though, due to the rush of getting dinner before P and I went out. Now I wished I had. I wished I could be somewhere dark and quiet where I could close my eyes. by Eric Lerner 2025 29 minutes 34 seconds Listen to Streaming Audio Your browser does not support the audio element. Download Audio (13.6MB) Audio copyright, 2025 Pariyatti View the book, eBook and free PDF download. You can also find it at Amazon worldwide using this link: http://a-fwd.com/com=pariyatti-20&asin=B0CJL9SG5D. About Eric Lerner. View more books and audio resources available in the Pariyatti bookstore.

Ch. 1 - The Dharma of an Aerospace Engineer from Journey of Insight Meditation by Eric Lerner About a dozen of us sat cross-legged in a darkened living room in a Massachusetts country home, attentive to the speech of a man whom all present including myself would agree was a highly unlikely candidate for a meditation teacher. His name was Robert Hover, and he was an aerospace engineer from Los Angeles. He had the incongruity of a centaur. The bottom part of him looked right, seated comfortably on a cushion, wrapped in a Burmese style lungi, a cloth cylinder tied at the waist. Above that, though, was a 1950's style short-sleeved sport shirt and a prominent, clean-shaven face and balding head with a fringe of gray hair cut as close as possible. He didn't radiate beatitude, only practicality. He reminded me of my junior high school football coach. Something about his sparkling eyes, though, the slight hint of otherworldliness, reassured me. by Eric Lerner 2025 27 minutes 13 seconds Listen to Streaming Audio Your browser does not support the audio element. Download Audio (13.9MB) Audio copyright, 2025 Pariyatti View the book, eBook and free PDF download. You can also find it at Amazon worldwide using this link: http://a-fwd.com/com=pariyatti-20&asin=B0CJL9SG5D. About Eric Lerner. View more books and audio resources available in the Pariyatti bookstore.

Introduction from Journey of Insight Meditation by Eric Lerner AS THE WORLD ADVANCED into the early seventies I felt strangely dislocated. I really couldn't accept that the sixties had so quickly become an “era” in the past tense. I tried to remind myself that, if only for a brief time, the mind of my generation had been wide open to experiences, perceptions of the universe and modes of life whose power and truth contradicted a lifetime of convention. For a while, through chemicals, a wholly other state of being seemed possible. In the initial hour's rush of my first dose of mescaline, that surge in which my perceptions set out on their own, I was freed for the first time from my conceptions, and the world of accomplishment and prestige became someone else's bad dream. But somehow, I was still the same. Despite the incredible visions of Truth I had experienced, I was no more peaceful or loving than ever, and as the visions became memories, I began to experience the most profound disorientation. Nothing made sense. Almost overnight I had given up most of the beliefs and operating principles of twenty years. I was ready to give up old explanations as long as I had a new one. ... by Eric Lerner 2025 7 minutes 38 seconds Listen to Streaming Audio Your browser does not support the audio element. Download Audio (4.5MB) Audio copyright, 2025 Pariyatti View the book, eBook and free PDF download. You can also find it at Amazon worldwide using this link: http://a-fwd.com/com=pariyatti-20&asin=B0CJL9SG5D. About Eric Lerner. View more books and audio resources available in the Pariyatti bookstore.

Review of Buddhism without Beliefs by Bhikkhu Bodhi It has often been said that Western Buddhism is distinguished from its Asian prototype by three innovative shifts: the replacement of the monastery by the lay community as the principal arena of Buddhist practice; the enhanced position of women; and the emergence of a grass-roots engaged Buddhism aimed at social and political transformation. These three developments, however, have been encompassed by a fourth which is so much taken for granted that it is barely noticed. This last innovation might be briefly characterized as an attempt to transplant Buddhist practice from its native soil of faith and doctrine into a new setting governed by largely secular concerns. For Asian Buddhists, including Eastern masters teaching in the West, this shift is so incomprehensible as to be invisible, while Western Buddhists regard it as so obvious that they rarely comment on it. Stephen Batchelor, however, has clearly discerned the significance of this development and what it portends for the future. Having been trained in Asia in two monastic lineages (Tibetan Gelugpa and Korean Soen) and relinquished his monk's vows to live as a lay Buddhist teacher in the West, he is acquainted with both traditional Buddhism and its Western offshoots. His book Buddhism without Beliefs is an intelligent and eloquent attempt to articulate the premises of the emerging secular Buddhism and define the parameters of a “dharma practice” appropriate to the new situation. ... narrated by Jonathan Nelson 2025 22 minutes 32 seconds Listen to Streaming Audio Your browser does not support the audio element. Download Audio (11MB) Audio copyright, 2025 Pariyatti Investigating the Dhamma as a book and eBook can be found at https://store.pariyatti.org/investigating-the-dhamma. More by Bhikkhu Bodhi. View more books and audio resources available in the Pariyatti bookstore. "Review of Buddhism without Beliefs" at Amazon: https://amazon.com/dp/1573226564.

A Household Tradition by Patrick Given-Wilson This talk by Patrick Given-Wilson was given for the European Dhamma servers' meeting in Spain, June 2024. The talk is followed by a Q&A session. by Patrick Given-Wilson 2024 62 minutes 2 seconds Listen to Streaming Audio Your browser does not support the audio element. Download Audio (60MB) Audio copyright, 2024 Pariyatti View the video version of this talk at Pariyatti. All works by Patrick Given-Wilson. View more books and audio resources available in the Pariyatti bookstore.

The Simpler Side of Buddhist Doctrine by Kassapa Thera In the Holy Books are many sermons, long and short, full of advice to the average layman. Notable amongst these is the Sigālovāda Suttanta, known as “the Layman's Vinaya” which details correct behaviour for the good layman. Excellent though all such sermons are, none can surpass the brief simple appeal of the words to Nakula's parents, which advise the cultivation of four things: Saddhā, Virtue, Generosity and Wisdom. A striking thing in the Buddha-dhamma is that here we find naught of “Thou shalt” or “Thou shalt not.” When once it is realized that selfishness and self-indulgence cause all our woe, then a wise one strives for self mastery. Sīla is the mastery of speech and action. Of his own free will, the Buddhist “pledges to observe” this precept of virtue, and that. The minimum number of such precepts of virtue that the good Buddhist should observe is five: (1) I undertake to observe the precept to abstain from destroying the life of beings; (2) from taking things not given; (3) from sexual misconduct; (4) from false speech, and (5) from liquor that causes intoxication and heedlessness. The Buddhist has no impossible postulates; he tries to see, as his teacher taught, “things as they really are.” He looks at the world around him and sees that all, all is transitory there. He sees that what is transitory is bound to be sad. All that we love is passing away, and such parting from the loved is suffering. And we, we too are part of the passing show—with greying hair, falling and decaying teeth, disease and death looming ahead—it is all sad. The Buddhist sees that, to what is transient and sad, one clings in vain, and in all this we can see naught of which he can say—with assurance as to the permanent value of such statement—“This is me, this is mine, this is a soul.” by Kassapa Thera 2024 63 minutes 6 seconds Listen to Streaming Audio Your browser does not support the audio element. Download Audio (30MB) Audio copyright, 2024 Pariyatti View this audiobook and more information at Pariyatti. View more books and audio resources available in the Pariyatti bookstore.

Parents and Children: Transmitting the Buddhist Heritage across Generations by Ven. Medagama Vajirañāṇa Nayaka Thera One essential requirement for a happy society is that the individuals constituting the society must have tranquillity of mind. This tranquillity of mind arises from purity of thought, word, and action, which means the observance of an ethical lifestyle based on the Five Precepts. As human beings we are unique in our ability to see the difference between good and bad. We have the capacity to make moral choices and thereby to influence the pattern of our own lives and that of others. This influence is exerted through our thoughts, speech, and actions. If we can develop inner purity and strength, then we have established the basis on which we can give what is needed by others in all our relationships. It is up to us to create a safe and harmonious society. by Ven. Medagama Vajirañāṇa Nayaka Thera Narrated by Ethan Christy 2024 29 minutes 121 seconds Listen to Streaming Audio Your browser does not support the audio element. Download Audio (16MB) Audio copyright, 2024 Pariyatti View this audiobook and more information at Pariyatti. More by Ven. Medagama Vajirañāṇa Nayaka Thera. View more books and audio resources available in the Pariyatti bookstore.

Introduction to Vipassana by Patrick Given-Wilson This short introduction to Vipassana talk was given on June 29, 2024 at Bondi Beach, Sydney, Australia. by Patrick Given-Wilson 2024 32 minutes 15 seconds Listen to Streaming Audio Your browser does not support the audio element. Download Audio (16MB) Audio copyright, 2024 Pariyatti More by Patrick Given-Wilson. View more books and audio resources available in the Pariyatti bookstore.

The Jewel in Mumbai by Bikram Dandiya "The Global Vipassana Pagoda in Mumbai was built to mark the birth centenary year of Sayagyi U Ba Khin, the Burmese Dhamma teacher of Shri Satya Narayan Goenkaji. The monument is built in the Myanmar style of the Shwedagon pagoda, as a token of gratitude to that country where the essence of the Buddha's teachings was maintained in its pristine purity, and from where it is now spreading throughout India, and via India to the rest of the world. Our Dhamma teacher Shri S.N. Goenkaji became the vehicle to make this happen. He was also our inspiring guide for every important aspect of this building project. Tremendous volition and effort went into the building of this staggering monument and it is interesting and educative to explore the journey. "Mr. Bikram Dandiya has beautifully chronicled some of these experiences in his booklet, “The Jewel in Mumbai”, the story of the making of the crystal bud atop the Global Vipassana Pagoda. Although his story concentrates on a specific part of this enormous structure, it typifies the challenges and solutions witnessed by those of us closely involved in its creation. For example, experts had opined that it was not possible to construct a 325 foot wide stone dome without supporting pillars; the dome went up thanks to indigenous technology, using thousands of huge interlocking stones weighing 700 to 800 kg each, and now seemingly floating in the air!" —M.M. Khandhar, 14th January 2020 narrated by Bikram Dandiya 2024 23 minutes 35 seconds Listen to Streaming Audio Your browser does not support the audio element. Download Audio (12MB) Audio copyright, 2024 Pariyatti Available at Pariyatti at https://store.pariyatti.org/jewel-in-mumbai as a papaerback, free PDF download, and free audiobook. In Hindi as a PDF download. View more books and audio resources available in the Pariyatti bookstore.

A Journey into Buddhism by Elizabeth J. A. Harris . "The themes of the talks are rooted in my journey, as a Christian, into Buddhism. In the mid-1980s I felt the need to 'let go' of my own religious conditioning to enter the world of another faith. It grew from a conviction that people with an interest in religion should not remain imprisoned within one framework but should explore others. The choice of Buddhism and Sri Lanka was a natural one for me. Buddhism's emphasis on meditation and non-violence touched my own interests as a Christian, and a visit to Sri Lanka in 1984 had left me with the feeling that my link with the island was not finished. I originally intended to be in Sri Lanka for one year. One year, however, became seven and a half, from 1986 until 1993. My aim throughout was not only to study Buddhism but to practise it. I did not consider myself involved in 'interfaith dialogue' although I'm sure some perceived my actions in this way. I wanted to enter Buddhism on its own terms, as a human being rather than as a Christian." narrated by Ethan Christy 2024 34 minutes 56 seconds Listen to Streaming Audio Your browser does not support the audio element. Download Audio (25MB) Audio copyright, 2024 Pariyatti Available at Pariyatti: https://store.pariyatti.org/journey-into-buddhism-audiobook. More by Elizabeth Harris. View more books and audio resources available in the Pariyatti bookstore.

Deconstructing Constructions: The Role of Saṅkhārā in the Buddha's Discourses by Bhikkhu Bodhi . In this paper I intend to explore the Pāli term saṅkhārā, one of the pivotal concepts in the Buddha's discourses. The Pāli word has such a rich gamut of meanings that merely to draw them out into the open sheds a flood of light on the Buddha's understanding of reality. The word occurs in a variety of contexts that are subtly and intricately interwoven. To explore their contextual meanings and track down their interconnections will reveal the rigor of the Buddha's philosophical vision and the coherence of his teaching in expressing that vision in language and concepts. narrated by Jonathan Nelson 2024 50 minutes 48 seconds Listen to Streaming Audio Your browser does not support the audio element. Download Audio (25MB) Audio copyright, 2024 Pariyatti Investigating the Dhamma as a book and eBook can be found at https://store.pariyatti.org/investigating-the-dhamma. More by Bhikkhu Bodhi. View more books and audio resources available in the Pariyatti bookstore.

Your Best Friend: And Other Essays by M. B. Werapitiya. "To understand ourselves, we must live with ourselves and know all about ourselves. The mind for that matter is flickering, fickle, difficult to guard and control and flutters like a fish taken out of its watery abode and thrown upon the land. Somebody causes you hurt and although the aggressor has disappeared from sight, the hurt grows within you and every so often keeps surfacing with an overpowering intensity to give you a warp. Then again, you see something that has captured your attention and your mind has instantly photographed it from every conceivable angle with a see-through lens, developed it in your mental dark-room, brought out the prints and enlargements with the skill of an expert cameraman and processor rolled into one. Similarly, all the sense faculties and the mind are of high sensitivity and respond to anything and everything exciting. If the degree of excitement is not sufficiently satisfying, you step it up with the use of drugs, intoxicants and poisons. This activity goes on unabated and makes of you a human derelict. A wise person living in his mind protects himself holding himself dear. Such a person whose senses are subdued, whose pride is destroyed and is free from corruptions, is calm of mind, speech and action and rightly knows, and is perfectly peaceful and equipoised." narrated by Tejendra Patel 2024 38 minutes 45 seconds Listen to Streaming Audio Your browser does not support the audio element. Download Audio (19MB) Audio copyright, 2024 Pariyatti View more books and audio resources available in the Pariyatti bookstore.

Part 6 - Expanding Into New Frontiers from 'What Does Mindfulness Really Mean' by Bhikkhu Bodhi. Mindfulness has traveled a long way from its homeland in northeast India. It has journeyed to the island of Sri Lanka, the river basins of southeast Asia, the mountain monasteries of China, Korea, and Japan, and the hermitages of the Himalayan kingdoms. But the last lap of its journey is without parallel. Today Buddhist meditation has been lifted from its traditional setting in Buddhist doctrine and faith and transplanted in a secularized culture bent on pragmatic results. Here it is finding new accommodations in urban meditation centers and even in busy hospitals, pain clinics, and treatment centers. Its teachers and practitioners are more likely to wear street clothing or white coats than ochre robes; they are more likely to hold degrees in medicine and psychology than in Buddhist philosophy and scripture. Meditation is being taught to help people obtain release, not from the cycle of birth and death, but from the strains of financial pressures, psychological disorders, and stressful relationships. narrated by Jonathan Nelson 2023 6 minutes 58 seconds Listen to Streaming Audio Your browser does not support the audio element. Download Audio (3.5MB) Audio copyright, 2023 Pariyatti 'Investigating the Dhamma' as a book and eBook can be found at https://store.pariyatti.org/investigating-the-dhamma. More by Bhikkhu Bodhi. View more books and audio resources available in the Pariyatti bookstore.

Part 5 - Clear Comprehension from 'What Does Mindfulness Really Mean' by Bhikkhu Bodhi. While I said just before that clear comprehension plays a more prominent role in the contemplation of experiential phenomena, the refrain on right mindfulness shows that clear comprehension has been present to some degree all along. The formula describes clear comprehension as a constant entering each exercise virtually from the start. Whether contemplating the body, feelings, states of mind, or experiential phenomena, the meditator dwells “ardent, clearly comprehending, and mindful.” narrated by Jonathan Nelson 2023 5 minutes 55 seconds Listen to Streaming Audio Your browser does not support the audio element. Download Audio (3MB) Audio copyright, 2023 Pariyatti 'Investigating the Dhamma' as a book and eBook can be found at https://store.pariyatti.org/investigating-the-dhamma. More by Bhikkhu Bodhi. View more books and audio resources available in the Pariyatti bookstore.

Part 4 - What the Suttas Say from 'What Does Mindfulness Really Mean' by Bhikkhu Bodhi. Nevertheless, despite my reservations about the use of “bare attention” as an alternative expression for sati, if we consider how mindfulness is to be practiced in the system laid down in the Satipaṭṭhāna Sutta, we can find considerable support for the idea that the initial task of sati is to “keep to a bare registering of the facts observed” as free as possible from distorting conceptual elaborations. The problem, as I see it, is not with conceptualization itself, but with conceptualization that ascribes erroneous attributes to the objects and the experiential act itself. An experiential event can be viewed as a field distributed between two poles, the objective datum and the subjective act that cognizes it. Ordinarily, on account of the spontaneous functioning of unenlightened consciousness, this polarity is reified into a sharp duality of subject and object. The subjective pole seems to coalesce into a substantially existent “I,” an ego-self that hovers in the background as an autonomous and independent entity. The objective pole presents itself as an object that is there “for me,” ready to serve or oppose my purposes; thus it becomes a potential object of craving or aversion. This process is what the suttas refer to as “I-making” and “mine-making” (ahaṃkāra mamaṃkāra). It is the task of meditation to dismantle this structure by penetrating the selfless nature of all phenomena, whether pertaining to the objective or subjective poles of the experience. narrated by Jonathan Nelson 2023 9 minutes 10 seconds Listen to Streaming Audio Your browser does not support the audio element. Download Audio (4.6MB) Audio copyright, 2023 Pariyatti 'Investigating the Dhamma' as a book and eBook can be found at https://store.pariyatti.org/investigating-the-dhamma. More by Bhikkhu Bodhi. View more books and audio resources available in the Pariyatti bookstore.

Part 3 - Mindfulness and Bare Attention from 'What Does Mindfulness Really Mean' by Bhikkhu Bodhi. Many commentators who teach and practice in the contemporary vipassana movement have sought to convey the experiential flavor of mindfulness by means of the expression “bare attention.” With certain reservations (which I will discuss), I believe this characterization is acceptable if understood as a procedural directive for cultivating mindfulness in accordance with certain methods. It helps a novice meditator who has newly embarked on this unfamiliar enterprise get a grip on the appropriate way to observe the phenomenal field. The purpose of the expression would then be seen as pragmatic rather than doctrinal, as pedagogical rather than definitive. narrated by Jonathan Nelson 2023 21 minutes 56 seconds Listen to Streaming Audio Your browser does not support the audio element. Download Audio (10.7MB) Audio copyright, 2023 Pariyatti 'Investigating the Dhamma' as a book and eBook can be found at https://store.pariyatti.org/investigating-the-dhamma. More by Bhikkhu Bodhi. View more books and audio resources available in the Pariyatti bookstore.

Part 2 - The Meaning of Sati from 'What Does Mindfulness Really Mean' by Bhikkhu Bodhi. A problem in hermeneutics, with intimate bearings on the actual practice of meditation, concerns the exact meaning of the word sati both in general and in relation to Buddhist contemplative activity. We take the rendering “mindfulness” so much for granted that we rarely inquire into the precise nuances of the English term, let alone the meaning of the original Pāli word it represents and the adequacy of the former as a rendering for the latter. The word “mindfulness” is itself so vague and elastic that it serves almost as a cipher into which we can read virtually anything we want. Hence we seldom recognize that the word was chosen as a rendering for sati at a particular point in time, after other terms had been tried and found inadequate. narrated by Jonathan Nelson 2023 23 minutes 50 seconds Listen to Streaming Audio Your browser does not support the audio element. Download Audio (11.6MB) Audio copyright, 2023 Pariyatti 'Investigating the Dhamma' as a book and eBook can be found at https://store.pariyatti.org/investigating-the-dhamma. More by Bhikkhu Bodhi. View more books and audio resources available in the Pariyatti bookstore.

Part 1 - Mindfulness in the Buddhist Path from 'What Does Mindfulness Really Mean' by Bhikkhu Bodhi . The entry of systematic mindfulness practice into the fields of stress reduction and psychotherapy has dramatically altered modern medicine's perspectives on our capacity to regulate and overcome our human vulnerabilities. Mindfulness made its debut as a therapeutic discipline in 1979, when Jon Kabat-Zinn introduced his program of “Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction” at the University of Massachusetts Medical Center. Since then its use to reduce pain and stress has been adopted by hundreds of medical centers, hospitals, and clinics around the world. The application of mindfulness in clinical settings has spread beyond stress reduction to psychotherapy, where it has proven a potent tool for helping patients deal with such conditions as depression, anxiety, and obsessive-compulsive disorders. narrated by Jonathan Nelson 2023 12 minutes 20 seconds Listen to Streaming Audio Your browser does not support the audio element. Download Audio (6.1MB) Audio copyright, 2023 Pariyatti 'Investigating the Dhamma' as a book and eBook can be found at https://store.pariyatti.org/investigating-the-dhamma. More by Bhikkhu Bodhi. View more books and audio resources available in the Pariyatti bookstore.

Sangha at the Crossroads by Bhikkhu Bodhi "In this article I want to focus on one particular constituency of Buddhists in present day Sri Lanka, the Bhikkhu Sangha, the Order of Monks. I intend to examine, though briefly, the problems it faces and its prospects for the future. This task is especially critical because of the central role the Sangha plays in guiding the destiny of the Sāsana, and it is clear that if the Sangha does not learn to deal with the momentous forces inundating present-day society, the future will see it increasingly relegated to the sidelines...." This is a Pariyatti audiobook of the essay "Sangha at the Crossroads" from the book Facing the Future: Four Essays on the Social Relevance of Buddhism by Bhikkhu Bodhi. Narrated by Shelina Hetherington 2023 38 minutes Listen to Streaming Audio Download Audio (19 MB) Audiobook copyright, 2023 Pariyatti View Facing the Future: Four Essays on the Social Relevance of Buddhism by Bhikkhu Bodhi at BPS. View more books and audio resources available in the Pariyatti bookstore.

The Changing Face of Buddhism by Bhikkhu Bodhi "If Buddhism is failing to penetrate deep into the hearts of those who profess it as their faith, we have to ask ourselves why, and to ask what can be done to reverse present trends. I would like to approach these questions by first asking what role Buddhism is intended to play in our lives in the first place. I will deal with this question by distinguishing two aspects of Buddhism both stemming from the Buddha's original teaching. I shall call these the liberative and the accommodative strands of the Dhamma...." This is a Pariyatti audiobook of the essay "The Changing Face of Buddhism" from the book Facing the Future: Four Essays on the Social Relevance of Buddhism by Bhikkhu Bodhi. Narrated by Shelina Hetherington 2023 30 minutes Listen to Streaming Audio Download Audio (15 MB) Audiobook copyright, 2023 Pariyatti View Facing the Future: Four Essays on the Social Relevance of Buddhism by Bhikkhu Bodhi at BPS. View more books and audio resources available in the Pariyatti bookstore.

A Buddhist Approach to Economic and Social Development by Bhikkhu Bodhi "The notion of economic and social development has today become the rallying call of politicians, business leaders, and policy planners clear across the globe. This notion thus exercises a tremendous influence on the lives of all human beings, both at the personal level and as a determinant of social policy. Although the Buddhist texts prescribe certain principles to guide human beings in their economic and social activities, the notions of economic and social development that dominate current policy formulation have no precise parallels in earlier epochs. Thus to give adequate treatment to our topic it is not enough merely to listen to the canonical texts. Rather, we must draw out the implications of such ideas as economic and social development in their bearings on present-day social policy. Then we must use the profound perspectives offered us by the Dhamma as a tool for evaluating them and judging their worth." This is a Pariyatti audiobook of the essay "A Buddhist Approach to Economic and Social Development" from the book Facing the Future: Four Essays on the Social Relevance of Buddhism by Bhikkhu Bodhi. Narrated by Shelina Hetherington 2023 45 minutes Listen to Streaming Audio Download Audio (22 MB) Audiobook copyright, 2023 Pariyatti View Facing the Future: Four Essays on the Social Relevance of Buddhism by Bhikkhu Bodhi at BPS. View more books and audio resources available in the Pariyatti bookstore.

A Buddhist Social Ethic for the New Century by Bhikkhu Bodhi "In Theravada Buddhist circles during the past few decades a debate has repeatedly erupted over the question whether or not jhāna is necessary to attain the “paths and fruits,” that is, the four graded stages of enlightenment. The debate has been sparked off by the rise to prominence of the various systems of insight meditation that have become popular both in Asia and the West, especially among lay Buddhists. Those who advocate such systems of meditation contend that the paths and fruits can be attained by developing insight (vipassanā) without a foundation of jhāna. If we use the Buddha's teachings as a lens to examine the corporate economic system and its offshoot, the consumerist culture, we will see that it is ultimately detrimental to the well-being of both its masters and servants alike. Drawing upon the tools of Buddhist analysis, let us briefly sketch the inner dynamics of this system. We see in the first instance that such a social order is founded upon ignorance or delusion (avijjā, moha), namely, the supposition that material wealth and consumption are the criteria of the good life. According to the Buddhist texts, when ignorance infiltrates our cognitive systems it issues in a series of “distortions” (vipallāsa) which infect our perception (saññā), thinking (citta), and views (diṭṭhi). The Buddha mentions four such distortions: the notions that the impermanent is permanent, that the painful (or suffering) is pleasant, that the insubstantial is a self, and that the unbeautiful is beautiful. At the most basic level we perceive things by way of these distortions; when these distorted perceptions are taken up for reflection, we start thinking in terms of them; and finally, under the combined influence of distorted perception and thought, we adopt views—that is, beliefs, doctrines, and ideologies—that affirm the mistaken notions of permanence, pleasure, selfhood, and beauty." This is a Pariyatti audiobook of the essay "A Buddhist Social Ethic for the New Century" from the book Facing the Future: Four Essays on the Social Relevance of Buddhism by Bhikkhu Bodhi. Narrated by Shelina Hetherington 2023 1 hours 03 minutes Listen to Streaming Audio Download Audio (31 MB) Audiobook copyright, 2023 Pariyatti View Facing the Future: Four Essays on the Social Relevance of Buddhism by Bhikkhu Bodhi at BPS. View more books and audio resources available in the Pariyatti bookstore.

The Jhānas and the Lay Disciple According to the Pāli Suttas by Bhikkhu Bodhi. "In Theravada Buddhist circles during the past few decades a debate has repeatedly erupted over the question whether or not jhāna is necessary to attain the “paths and fruits,” that is, the four graded stages of enlightenment. The debate has been sparked off by the rise to prominence of the various systems of insight meditation that have become popular both in Asia and the West, especially among lay Buddhists. Those who advocate such systems of meditation contend that the paths and fruits can be attained by developing insight (vipassanā) without a foundation of jhāna...." This is a Pariyatti audiobook of the essay "The Jhānas and the Lay Disciple According to the Pāli Canon" from the book Investigating the Dhamma by Bhikkhu Bodhi. Narrated by Jonathan Nelson 2023 1 hours 16 minutes Listen to Streaming Audio Download Audio (36 MB) Audiobook copyright, 2023 Pariyatti View Investigating the Dhamma: a Collection of Papers by Bhikkhu Bodhi. View more books and audio resources available in the Pariyatti bookstore.

Story 98 from 'A Lifetime Doing Nothing' by Ian McCrorie. There is an old story about a young seeker who asks the abbot of a nearby monastery for guidance on how to become enlightened. The abbot declines his request but sends him to a shoemaker in a nearby village. The abbot assures him that the shoemaker will help him achieve enlightenment. The young seeker went to find the shoemaker, with one caveat from the abbot: “Learn everything you can from the shoemaker, but don't ask him anything spiritual.”... narrated by Ian McCrorie 2023 12 minutes 28 seconds Listen to Streaming Audio Your browser does not support the audio element. Download Audio (6.4MB) Audio copyright, 2023 Pariyatti 'A Lifetime Doing Nothing' as a book and eBook can be found at https://store.pariyatti.org/a-lifetime-doing-nothing. More by Ian McCrorie. View more books and audio resources available in the Pariyatti bookstore.

Story 97 from 'A Lifetime Doing Nothing' by Ian McCrorie. How long will it take to be enlightened? This is such a firstworld question. We want the truth and we want it now, to paraphrase Jim Morrison. There is no answer to that question, because it is the wrong question. And what's more, enlightenment is not simply an answer, similar to the woman in Saks Fifth Avenue who asked how much the fur coat cost in the window who was told, “Madam, if you have to ask, you can't afford it.” Nevertheless, let's respond with the truth rather than attempting an answer to the wrong question.... narrated by Ian McCrorie 2023 4 minutes 41 seconds Listen to Streaming Audio Your browser does not support the audio element. Download Audio (2.7MB) Audio copyright, 2023 Pariyatti 'A Lifetime Doing Nothing' as a book and eBook can be found at https://store.pariyatti.org/a-lifetime-doing-nothing. More by Ian McCrorie. View more books and audio resources available in the Pariyatti bookstore.

Story 96 from 'A Lifetime Doing Nothing' by Ian McCrorie. My teacher in India eventually attracted so many students that he began to appoint assistants to lead retreats on their own. I began assisting him in 1996 and soon was made a senior assistant teacher. I led ten-day retreats throughout Canada, the United States, England, Myanmar, and India. I especially enjoyed addressing the many issues my students faced, most of whom were dealing with the daily shock of seeing into the skittishness of their minds for the first time. I was on a mission to spread the teachings, I had status and prestige within the community of meditators, and my personal practice was strong. How my life had changed!... narrated by Ian McCrorie 2023 5 minutes 54 seconds Listen to Streaming Audio Your browser does not support the audio element. Download Audio (3.3MB) Audio copyright, 2023 Pariyatti 'A Lifetime Doing Nothing' as a book and eBook can be found at https://store.pariyatti.org/a-lifetime-doing-nothing. More by Ian McCrorie. View more books and audio resources available in the Pariyatti bookstore.

Story 95 from 'A Lifetime Doing Nothing' by Ian McCrorie. Doing non-doing is a long path and is not always straightforward. To understand what you need to do and why and how is relatively easy, and in this regard I hope this little book has been a help. However, old habit patterns, especially latent tendencies, are pernicious. You may continue to be sidetracked by their beguiling beckoning to react. You may succumb from time to time. You may find the process hopeless. You may get frustrated. These reactions are also old habit patterns. It is as if you are at a masked ball, dancing with many different partners, all of whom keep exchanging their masks with each other. Still, do not give up. Have faith.... narrated by Ian McCrorie 2023 5 minutes 54 seconds Listen to Streaming Audio Your browser does not support the audio element. Download Audio (3.3MB) Audio copyright, 2023 Pariyatti 'A Lifetime Doing Nothing' as a book and eBook can be found at https://store.pariyatti.org/a-lifetime-doing-nothing. More by Ian McCrorie. View more books and audio resources available in the Pariyatti bookstore.

Story 94 from 'A Lifetime Doing Nothing' by Ian McCrorie. With the death of a loved one, a grieving period is important, as is understanding how the mind works and how doing nothing with clear comprehension does not eliminate the grief. Once again, grieving is a natural condition of the mind. It is neither good nor bad. Some may be tempted to put on a happy face to demonstrate the powers of meditation. They can keep up the façade for a while. In time the effort to remain calm peters out. The suppressed grief returns in a myriad of ways later in life, when perhaps you cannot see a direct correlation between what you are presently dealing with and the death of someone close some months or even years before.... narrated by Ian McCrorie 2023 3 minutes 30 seconds Listen to Streaming Audio Your browser does not support the audio element. Download Audio (2.1MB) Audio copyright, 2023 Pariyatti 'A Lifetime Doing Nothing' as a book and eBook can be found at https://store.pariyatti.org/a-lifetime-doing-nothing. More by Ian McCrorie. View more books and audio resources available in the Pariyatti bookstore.

Story 93 from 'A Lifetime Doing Nothing' by Ian McCrorie. According to Thoreau, “The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation.” I think when people read this, they focus on the word “quiet” as the problematic one in the sentence. Echoing Pascal, quiet isn't the problem, it is the inability to accept the quiet that leads to the desperation. We don't need to change our environs as much as change ourselves, because as Anaïs Nin wrote, “We see things not as they are, but as we are.”... narrated by Ian McCrorie 2023 3 minutes 10 seconds Listen to Streaming Audio Your browser does not support the audio element. Download Audio (2MB) Audio copyright, 2023 Pariyatti 'A Lifetime Doing Nothing' as a book and eBook can be found at https://store.pariyatti.org/a-lifetime-doing-nothing. More by Ian McCrorie. View more books and audio resources available in the Pariyatti bookstore.

Story 92 from 'A Lifetime Doing Nothing' by Ian McCrorie. In the center of Igatpuri village is a street market. Vendors sit at stalls and sell their produce. Because every vendor sits in the same location, everyone knows what they sell. So all they need announce is the price. They don't try to out shout one another. They take turns. This creates a sort of chant, a back and forth. Except for the Hindi, it's a revival meeting in rural Alabama. At the main corner of the market are the banana sellers. First time there, I thought “do rupee” was the Hindi word for banana.... narrated by Ian McCrorie 2023 2 minutes 56 seconds Listen to Streaming Audio Your browser does not support the audio element. Download Audio (1.9MB) Audio copyright, 2023 Pariyatti 'A Lifetime Doing Nothing' as a book and eBook can be found at https://store.pariyatti.org/a-lifetime-doing-nothing. More by Ian McCrorie. View more books and audio resources available in the Pariyatti bookstore.

Story 91 from 'A Lifetime Doing Nothing' by Ian McCrorie. We needn't pause to figure out our next step in life. Life, real life, is there in the pause, in the quagmire of conflicting choices. We then choose one route and look for signs that this is the correct way to go. No doubt. “I have a good feeling about this” is more a sense of relief about finally choosing one route than a certainty that this route has been swept clean and is devoid of IEDs. Even the best choices cough up hairballs of unforeseen consequences. narrated by Ian McCrorie 2023 4 minutes 04 seconds Listen to Streaming Audio Your browser does not support the audio element. Download Audio (2.4MB) Audio copyright, 2023 Pariyatti 'A Lifetime Doing Nothing' as a book and eBook can be found at https://store.pariyatti.org/a-lifetime-doing-nothing. More by Ian McCrorie. View more books and audio resources available in the Pariyatti bookstore.

Story 90 from 'A Lifetime Doing Nothing' by Ian McCrorie. Most everyone is possessed by their possessions. I know people who are owned by their pets. I know others who build heated garages for their prized automobiles. My aunt bequeathed me an old rocking chair to which she added the caveat that I never change its mauve covering. In those years, I moved almost every year and carried that rocker to each apartment until its springs went and you couldn't sit in it without receiving a full rectal examination. And if you think about it almost everyone carries within themselves their own version of the mauve rocker,... narrated by Ian McCrorie 2023 4 minutes 32 seconds Listen to Streaming Audio Your browser does not support the audio element. Download Audio (2.6MB) Audio copyright, 2023 Pariyatti 'A Lifetime Doing Nothing' as a book and eBook can be found at https://store.pariyatti.org/a-lifetime-doing-nothing. More by Ian McCrorie. View more books and audio resources available in the Pariyatti bookstore.

Story 89 from 'A Lifetime Doing Nothing' by Ian McCrorie. I remember a Sayadaw (respected teacher) who lived in a remote monastery in upper Burma in the vicinity of Sagaing Hills. He was elderly and blind and very much loved. I visited him, excited to both meet a living legend and pay my respects. I was told to wait until he went for his evening walk when he would be with his attendant who could serve as a translator.... narrated by Ian McCrorie 2023 5 minutes 43 seconds Listen to Streaming Audio Your browser does not support the audio element. Download Audio (3.2MB) Audio copyright, 2023 Pariyatti 'A Lifetime Doing Nothing' as a book and eBook can be found at https://store.pariyatti.org/a-lifetime-doing-nothing. More by Ian McCrorie. View more books and audio resources available in the Pariyatti bookstore.

Story 88 from 'A Lifetime Doing Nothing' by Ian McCrorie. I volunteered with Mother Theresa at her Sisters of Charity palliative care hostel in Calcutta. My service was to help with the lunch meal as well as a certain undefined “nursing.” The hostel was smaller than I had expected and the number of volunteers fewer than I had hoped. I thought a larger cohort would allow me a few days to get my bearings. That was not to be the case.... narrated by Ian McCrorie 2023 5 minutes 09 seconds Listen to Streaming Audio Your browser does not support the audio element. Download Audio (2.9MB) Audio copyright, 2023 Pariyatti 'A Lifetime Doing Nothing' as a book and eBook can be found at https://store.pariyatti.org/a-lifetime-doing-nothing. More by Ian McCrorie. View more books and audio resources available in the Pariyatti bookstore.

Story 87 from 'A Lifetime Doing Nothing' by Ian McCrorie. Two more salient points about mettā. Mettā must be tempered by wisdom. There is a parable from India of a kind man who came upon a frog in the middle of a busy road. Concerned that the frog might be crushed under the wheels of a bullock cart and feeling uncomfortable leaving him to his fate, he gently picked him up and transferred him safely to the side of the road from whence he had come.... narrated by Ian McCrorie 2023 3 minutes 32 seconds Listen to Streaming Audio Your browser does not support the audio element. Download Audio (2.2MB) Audio copyright, 2023 Pariyatti 'A Lifetime Doing Nothing' as a book and eBook can be found at https://store.pariyatti.org/a-lifetime-doing-nothing. More by Ian McCrorie. View more books and audio resources available in the Pariyatti bookstore.

Story 86 from 'A Lifetime Doing Nothing' by Ian McCrorie. Mettā is a Pāli word meaning loving-kindness. As the mind deconditions, many positive mind states arise. The emergence of these so-called divine abodes had been held back by the continually self-reinforcing habitual patterns that you thought defined you.... narrated by Ian McCrorie 2023 6 minutes 14 seconds Listen to Streaming Audio Your browser does not support the audio element. Download Audio (3.4MB) Audio copyright, 2023 Pariyatti 'A Lifetime Doing Nothing' as a book and eBook can be found at https://store.pariyatti.org/a-lifetime-doing-nothing. More by Ian McCrorie. View more books and audio resources available in the Pariyatti bookstore.