Mirka knaster biography of william hill
In 2007, Sayadaw U Tejaniya, a Burmese monk, made his second visit to Western Dharma centers in the U.S. I had the opportunity to hear his teachings in several places, to interview him and his excellent translator, Ma Thet, and to speak with teachers and yogis about their experience of his transformative approach to Dharma practice. Sayadaw’s particular way of teaching is now influencing a number of Western vipassana teachers. He emphasizes practicing in a relaxed but continuous manner rather than forcing one’s effort; opening the field of awareness to all experience rather than beginning with a primary object to establish concentration; walking at a regular rather than slow pace on retreat; not imposing a fixed retreat schedule; and focusing on one’s relationship to objects rather than on the objects themselves. The integration of these elements appears to strengthen the five spiritual faculties (indriya)—faith, energy, mindfulness, concentration, wisdom—and deepen practice in everyday life.
Practicing with Ease
“At this point in the Dharma’s unfolding in the West, there seems to be a ripeness for Sayadaw’s relaxed and open approach,” says Myoshin Kelley, teacher-in-residence at the Forest Refuge in Barre, Massachusetts. For people who have done many years of practice, like Kelley, subtle levels of striving, wanting or trying to create something get exposed. That exposure of yet another layer of holding or attachment allows a certain ease to occur as well.
“Natural awareness is recognizing everything that’s happening without using a lot of effort,” says Sayadaw U Tejaniya. “You need to watch all day long, but you can’t be concentrating all day long. Meditation is for all the time—now, always, everywhere—not just to enjoy during a stay in the forest on retreat.” He compares vipassana to running a marathon, not a 100-meter dash. We need to keep at it relentlessly, but in a relaxed manner. It is not excessive mental and physical energy but a sense of p Dharma Teachers of Insight Meditation Community of Berkeley ‹‹ previousnext ›› 123456789 After practicing intensive meditation in various monasteries in Thailand and traveling extensively in Tibet, Nepal and India, he eventually settled at Wat Pah Nanachat, The International Forest Monastery, in the North-east of Thailand. Ajahn Chah established this branch monastery specifically for his English-speaking disciples. For the first five years after his full ordination as a bhikkhu, Ajahn Chandako was based at Wat Pah Nanachat. Ādittapariyāya Sutta: The Fire Sermon, SN 35.28 “Monks, the All is aflame. What All is aflame? The eye is aflame. Forms are aflame. Consciousness at the eye is aflame. Contact at the eye is aflame. And whatever there is that arises in dependence on contact at the eye—experienced as pleasure, pain or neither-pleasure-nor-pain—that too is aflame. Aflame with what? Aflame with the fire of passion, the fire of aversion, the fire of delusion. Aflame, I tell you, with birth, aging & death, with sorrows, lamentations, pains, distresses, & despairs. “The ear is aflame. Sounds are aflame… “The nose is aflame. Aromas are aflame… “The tongue is aflame. Flavors are aflame… “The body is aflame. Tactile sensations are aflame… “The intellect is aflame. Ideas are aflame. Consciousness at the intellect is aflame. Contact at the intellect is aflame. And whatever there is that arises in dependence on contact at the intellect—experienced as pleasure, pain or neither-pleasure-nor-pain—that too is aflame. Aflame with what? Aflame with the fire of passion, the fire of aversion, the fire of delusion. Aflame, I say, with birth, aging & death, with sorrows, lamentations, pains, distresses, & despairs. “Seeing thus, the well-instructed disciple of the noble ones grows disenchanted with the eye, disenchanted with forms, disenchanted with consciousness at the eye, disenchanted with contact at the eye. And whatever there is that arises in dependence on contact at the eye, experienced as pleasure, pain or neither-pleasure-nor-pain: With that, too, he grows disenchanted.” –Trans.: Thanissaro Just after his book When You’re Falling, Dive: Lessons in the Art of Living, came out in 2008, Mark Matousek said on Beliefnet, “When you’ve walked through whatever your fire is, it connects you to the human condi Mirka Knaster, author of Living This Life Fully: Stories and Teachings of Munindra, shares her insights into the life of Anagarika Munindra, an important Indian Vipassana teacher. Mirka highlights how Munindra's deep-rooted heritage and early life experiences shaped his path in Dharma. Mirka discusses how she became inspired to write this biography. It began during a silent retreat at IMS, where she felt a deep question arise: “Who is honoring Munindra’s legacy in the Dharma?” This sparked her determination to document his life and contributions. “I wondered why nobody else had written a book. And then I thought, ‘Well, okay, I'll start working on it,’” she recalls. She collaborated with Robert Pryor and Kamala Masters, conducting interviews with over 200 people worldwide. Mirka hopes her work highlights Munindra's influence on the spread of Buddhism in the West, not just as a meditation teacher but as someone who embodied living a mindful, compassionate life. Munindra was born in 1915 in East Bengal (now Bangladesh) into the Baruah family, whose lineage traces back to the Buddha's time. His father was a novice monk, but he was ostracized by the village because he stayed with the family instead of living in a monastery. This deeply affected Munindra. As Mirka notes, “He vowed for the rest of his life, never to harm anyone else, the way people were trying to harm them.” From a young age, Munindra showed a deep commitment to the Dharma. Mirka explains that although he excelled in school, he intentionally failed exams, avoiding the typical path of success and achievement. “He wanted his achievement to be in the Dharma,” she says simply. This focus on spiritual development over worldly goals set the tone for his entire life. Munindra’s personal journey also involved the death of three young girls he was betrothed to in succession, which further solidified his view of life’s fragility. “That really stirred Munindra’s mind how fick Ajahn Chandako Ajahn was ordained as a Buddhist monk in 1990 in the lineage of Venerable Ajahn Chah of the Thai Forest Tradition. Born in 1962 in Minneapolis, Minnesota, U.S.A., his interest in the teachings of the Buddha grew as he studied towards a BA degree in Religious Studies from Carleton College (1984). Following graduation, he began applying himself to training in meditation and subsequently went to Asia to find a monastery suitable for fully devoting himself to the Dhamma. Ajahn Guna (Gunavuddho Bhikkhu) Ajahn Guna (or called Bhante Guna) was born in a small Indiana farming town near Chicago in 1974. In 1987 he moved to the San Francisco Bay Area. He finished his B.A. degree in Jazz Piano Performance at the Berklee School of Music in Boston in 1996. He first came to Abhayagiri in 1998 where he was introduced to the Ajahn Chah Tradition. He went to ordain in Thailand at Wat Pah Nanachat later in 1998 and received Bhikkhu ordination in 2000 at Wat Nong Pah Pong, Ajahn Chah's monastery, with Luang Por Liem as his preceptor. Since then he has lived with many of the senior disciples of Ajahn Chah, such as Ajahn Anan at Wat Marp Jan and Ajahn Pasanno. After 10 years of liv Wheels of Fire: The Buddha’s Radical Teaching on Process
Episode #288: Anāgārika Munindra