Dropping it, picking it up

I have had the good fortune of dropping in on the zoom "teatime" at Abhayagiri a couple of months in a row now. Since then, my practice has improved as has the meditation. I have made an adhitthana (a determination) to meditate for an hour a day now, after Ajahn Naniko recommended I do so.…

Sharing Merit/Inspiration

In my last entry I was still wondering if planning days off from the precepts was a good idea. I'm still unsure. I still think I need guidance here. With that said- I do know this: I'm eight weeks into (again) keeping precepts for 4 or more days per week, and it has indeed gotten…

Rebuilding

It's the end of January 2022. Nearing four years since I began my journey in earnest (though many years since my interest in Buddhism was piqued) I am again, for the millionth time, rebuilding my practice. The first 2 years were very good, when I had what many call "Beginners Mind," a state of pure…

Sharing the World

This isn't an entry about practice, per se, but about something vaguely Buddhist that struck me, and which seemed to shrink the world down and simultaneously make it seem vast. That doesn't make sense to me either, so don't worry. I watched a short video on YouTube about Kalmykia, a Russian province which is sorta-kinda…

Back to the Monastery

After fourteen months (since just before the pandemic began in earnest) I drove up to the monastery today. Little did I know, it's Thai New Year, and there were some festivities and goings-on in the cloister area. I didn't remember seeing anything posted publicly on the website or otherwise, so, out of my usual (what,…

Vaguely Very Definitely

Since my teens, I've been vaguely interested in Buddhism, without much idea of what The Buddha actually taught. For the last two and a half years, I've been very interested in Buddhism, with some idea of what The Buddha taught. Now, after a bit of a slump, I've suddenly got some momentum in my practice…

Perception No.1

I'm not old. Yet, in my thirties, I begin to notice mortality. Friends, family and acquaintances-- they all seem to have an expiration date now. We don't think about death very often when we're young, but as we get older, inevitably, people around us begin to die. A frequent customer at our restaurant who is…

Goals

It's been around 120 days, and a little more, since my practice seemed to fall apart. A large amount of stress is where I've decided to lay blame- though I'm sure there are other factors. So for the last month or so I've been trying to revitalize my precept practice by setting goals. I figure…

Keeping at it

Today's meditation was short. It was hot in my little storage space turned meditation hall, and having slipped away from work knowing I'd only get 15 minutes, my mind relentlessly pulled itself back to thoughts of the tasks ahead. As always, waking up earlier to meditate before work would have been more beneficial. Surprisingly, my…

Setting it down

Before you read: If you're new to this page- this is the new home for my journals as a Buddhist Layperson in California. If you'd like to know more about these journals, check out the introduction, and a short primer on the topic of Buddhism from an aspiring practitioner. May you be well!....................................................................................................... I've been…