Dharma Reflections

Why go on an insight meditation (vipassana) retreat?

What are the benefits?

I received an email from a student of journalism asking me two questions about insight meditation retreats. Based in Sydney, Australia, the student wrote that she was preparing a feature article on meditation. …

Why go on an insight meditation (vipassana) retreat? What are the benefits?Read More »

“We have no choice” generally means “We don’t have the wisdom to act differently”. Most wars, including this one, are fought because of fear, insecurity, anger or revenge. But these are individual and national emotions, often stoked up by media and political leaders. The emotions create a national blindness, in which neighbours become demonised and labelled as ‘the enemy’. …

Do We Really “Have No Choice”? From Dr. Stephen Fulder, a senior Dharma teacher in IsraelRead More »

Sixteen Brahmins come to the Buddha with Questions.

How would you respond to such profound questions?

After I spent three years (early 1970’s) as a Buddhist monk in a Vipassana monastery near the city of Nakornsridhammaraj (City of the Kings of Dharma) in southern Thailand, I left to spend nine months in a cave on Ko Pha Nga island. Our teacher, Ajahn Dhammadharo rejected reading as a distraction to practice throughout the day from 4 am with the loud morning gong to 22.00, seven days a week. …

16 Brahmins come to the Buddha with Questions. How would you respond to such profound questions?Read More »

A Dharma Teacher and a CEO

A comparison of a Dharma Teacher with a CEO (Chief Ego Officer, oops Chief Executive Officer). A CEO is the head of a corporation or company:

• A Dharma Teacher welcomes those who engage in deep inquiry into wisdom and compassion. A CEO welcomes those who engage in the strategies and goals of the company.
• A Dharma teacher emphasises right livelihood. A CEO emphasises career.
• A Dharma Teacher shows the way to depths of experience. A CEO shows the way to maximise profits.
• A Dharma Teacher points to the ultimate security.  A CEO offers temporary security.
• A Dharma Teacher reveals the power of co-operation.  A CEO’s fears the power of competition.
• A Dharma Teacher teaches rise and fall. A CEO resists rise and fall.
• A Dharma Teacher sees the path and goal as equally important. A CEO sees achievement of the company’s goals as important.
• A Dharma Teacher sees the here and now as an opportunity for discovery. A CEO sees the present as an opportunity for future achievement of company goals.
• A Dharma teacher offers practises for the complete destruction of stress. A CEO thinks that staff works better under stress or through a degree of stress reduction.
• A Dharma Teacher shows the emptiness of the mental constructs of success and failure. A CEO views reality in terms of success and failure.
• A Dharma Teacher applies mindfulness to ethics, wholesome action and marks of existence. A CEO hires mindfulness coaches for management to stay focussed, relaxed and co-operative to support the objectives of the company.
• A Dharma Teacher sees loyalty as an emotion deserving inquiry. A CEO sees loyalty as a virtue.
• A Dharma Teacher sees freedom as positionless. A CEO wants to hold to his/her position
• A Dharma Teacher sees holding onto a position as entrapment.  A CEO thinks s/he has reached the top of the ladder.
• A Dharma Teacher ranks wisdom as highly significant. A CEO ranks cleverness as highly significant.
• A  Dharma Teacher points to a vast range of realisations. A CEO points to narrow objectives.
• A Dharma teacher contributes to inner wealth. A CEO points to outer wealth.
• A Dharma Teacher sees a life spent wanting and getting as a waste of an existence. A CEO values wanting and getting as a primary reason for existence
• A Dharma Teacher uses his or her authority to show letting go. A CEO uses his/her authority to get what s/he wants.
• A Dharma Teacher takes a deep interest in your inner life. A CEO has little interest in your personal life.
• A Dharma Teacher takes a deep interest in your life outside the company. A CEO has little interest in your life outside the company.
• A Dharma Teacher explores solutions to problems. A CEO expects solutions to problems.
• A Dharma Teacher refers to the immediate experience of the practitioners.  A CEO refers to the track record of the staff.
• A Dharma Teacher develops trust between him/herself and practitioners. A CEO expects his staff to follow him/her even if they do not trust him/her.
• A Dharma Teacher sees what is common in the means and the end. A CEO sees the means as expedient to reach an end.
• A Dharma teacher addresses every area of life. A CEO addresses the working day.
• A Dharma teacher explores the immeasurable and unquantifiable. A CEO lives in measurement and quantifiable.
• A Dharma teacher explores the immediate reality. The CEO sees the reality in sales charts and profit/loss margins.
• A Dharma Teacher teaches wise action. A CEO sets targets.
• A Dharma teacher addresses the deathless liberation. A CEO has to cope with ageing, pain and death.
• A Dharma Teacher sits in the front of the practitioners. A CEO sits in his personal office.
• A Dharma Teacher offers teachings and practices on dana (donation). A CEO receives a salary according to the market.
• A Dharma Teacher represents a 2600 year old Dharma tradition.  A CEO lives vulnerable to a takeover.
• A Dharma Teacher has much to offer.  A CEO has …….
• A Dharma Teacher is a CEO (Chief Enlightenment Officer) for the worldwide Sangha. A CEO is a CEO.

MAY ALL BEINGS BE FREE FROM CLINGING TO ANY IDENTITY.

MAY ALL BEINGS LIVE WITH WISDOM

MAY ALL BEINGS LIVE WITH COMPASSION