Dear Friends, As we discussed earlier, Joseph Goldstein teaches that effort itself generates energy and that the key to skillful effort lies in balance, learning when to engage with curiosity and when to relax with spaciousness. This nuanced approach transforms our practice into an exploration of energy and ease, guiding us toward greater clarity and insight. Going through… Read More »
Dear Friends, In Questions and Answers, Jill and DaRa respond to some of the questions that participants had written. Today and tomorrow, I’ll pick out a couple of their responses that have resonated with some of my own questions about the practice. One question was about the hindrance of doubt: Confusion is at times, natural. For example, not… Read More »
Dear Friends, Continuing with Kamala’s talk, “The Five Spiritual Faculties’ relationship to Equanimity,” and in particular her comments on the faculty of effort and energy. This effort and energy is balanced. Kamala shares an analogy from Sayadaw U Tejaniya: This is not like a 100-yard dash, it’s more like a marathon. Kamala describes the qualities as patient and… Read More »
Dear Friends, I’m going to share a bit of advice from Sayadaw U Tejaniya, a Burmese monk. Before becoming a monk, he was a householder and merchant, so he can relate well to the challenges that people like us deal with. Here’s a paragraph from the first chapter of his recent book When Awareness Becomes Natural: A Guide to Cultivating… Read More »
