Still Meditating in Troubled Times, Part 1 of 3

By Paul R. Fleischman | 8/20/2022

We are all feeling the pressure bearing down on us due to the war in Europe. A Vipassana talk on any other topic might seem as if he were ignoring the elephant in the room. Because of its relevancy, the presentation below is a revision of my 2017 lecture “Meditating in Troubled Times”.

Parenting and Practicing Vipassana

By Jeppe Strandskov | 8/20/2022

There are two days in my life that have left a bigger impact on me than any other days: the day I learned Vipassana and the day my son was born.

When asked when one should first sit a course, Goenka answered in the mother’s womb, before birth. My son was fortunate to experience this. The course was quite late in the pregnancy, and he was already a little wild. Placing my hand on his mother’s belly, I would often feel him moving about, kicking his little legs. But during the course he calmed down completely, and it continued like that until he was born. Even after he was born, he seemed calmly aware of his surroundings, always looking around with curiosity.

3 haikus

By Luz Donis | 8/10/2022

Perfectly present,
In sync with a metronome—
it’s time to let go.

Cause and effect rules:
All actions are subject to
concentric circles.

A spawn of nature
thrusted into existence,
hence the momentum.

Therikā’s Meditations on a Ruined Meal

By Thomas M. Luckett | 8/10/2022

Consider one of the more obscure disciples of the Buddha described in the Pāli canon and its commentaries. Her name may have been Therikā, but it is impossible to be sure. A poet, she left only a single four-line verse that has survived to modern times. Yet by following several different threads in the ancient sources it may be possible to understand something of her life and accomplishments, both literary and spiritual.