Wise Awareness (​Kumāra Bhikkhu's Blog)

It is common among meditation communities to believe that people with mental illness or trauma should not meditate, as it might worsen their condition or cause them to relive their trauma. While I understand this concern, I find this view to o extreme. The matter actually depends on two factors: What is the kind of meditation practised? Is the student properly taught? What is the kind of meditation practised? If the meditation involves deliberate concentration, then I agree that people with mental illness should avoid it. Concentration exaggerates things, and since people with mental illness already tend to exaggerate things, developing concentration is very risky for them. If, however, the meditation is about cultivating awareness, complete with right view and right attitude, then it is quite safe for them to meditate—even on their own. In fact, a student of mine who had Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID, more ...

Although some people believe they can choose not to feel hurt when criticized, the reality is that most people can’t help but feel hurt. If you struggle with this, this article is for you. First, let me explain why criticism feels painful: If someone pokes you where there is no wound, would it hurt? No. But what if there is a wound? It would hurt, wouldn’t it? In fact, even a gentle touch on the wound can still be painful. Similarly, if someone criticizes you when you have a psychological wound that is sensitive to criticism, you’ll feel hurt. Even a gentle remark about a fault may hurt. But if no such wound exists, criticism won’t affect you. As long as the psychological wound remains in you, getting criticized will hurt. Therefore, the key to not feeling hurt is to heal the wound . Here’s what you need to do: Notice your reacti on w hen criticized. Do you do anything behaviourally (e.g., finding something to eat) to avoid feeling hurt? Do you fight back verbally or ...

Have you noticed that some Buddhists—lay or monastic—seem to become more peaceful and happier? It may be because they have grown spiritually. What do I mean by that? For lay Buddhists who don’t yet desire the ultimate ending of suffering, the recommended practice is dāna, sīla, and bhāvanā. Dāna (giving) is mentioned first because it’s the easiest to understand and practice, followed by sīla (moral conduct). Bhāvanā is the most challenging, but it is also the most important for becoming more peaceful and happy. In this article, I want to help you understand bhāvanā correctly so that you can practice it and gain its rewards. Bhāvanā Is More Than Meditation Many Buddhists misunderstand bhāvanā as “meditation.” While meditation is a kind of bhāvanā, the scope of bhāvanā is actually far greater. Bhāvanā means “cultivation”—specifically, spiritual cultivation. While meditation cultivates the mind, bhāvanā extends to how we live—how we respond to challenges, treat others, and let go ...

You’ve probably heard of this advice: Be yourself. But what does it mean? Are you supposed to look for a “self” to be? Of course not. To put it more clearly, it’s saying, “Don’t pretend to be different from how you really are.” Let me give some examples: You’re not feeling confident. Then don’t act as if you’re confident. You don’t know. Then don’t act as if you know. You want something. Then don’t act as if you don’t want it. You’re offended by a joke. Then don’t act as if you’re okay with it. Does this mean that you should always act out your inner world? No. It simply means don’t act as if the opposite is true. By the way, this advice also doesn’t mean that you should do or say whatever you want. That’s acting impulsively and recklessly. So, now, why should we be ourselves? It’s simple: Not being oneself is pretending. And pretending is stressful. One might say, “In this world, we sometimes do need to pretend.” Yes, sometimes . But that doesn’t take away...

I’ve said and done things that I later deemed stupid or bad. Perhaps you have too. Should we criticize ourselves for these things? I don’t think so. Why? Because my experience tells me it doesn’t do me any good. Worse, it makes me feel bad—and I suppose it makes you feel bad too. But simply recognizing this isn’t enough to stop us from criticizing ourselves. So how do we stop? How can we forgive ourselves? Forgiveness is about letting go—but letting go of what? The past? The memory? No. It’s about letting go of a belief , such as “I should have done that”, or “I should not have done that”. Do you agree? Now, try asking yourself: Who do you think you are that you shouldn’t have made a mistake? Some kind of special being that never make mistakes? Bring yourself back to that situation. Now, instead of being that person that you were then, be an observer and look at that person: How wise was that person? Was that person’s mind composed? Was that person thi...

What You Might Not Know about Jhāna & Samādhi 什么是禅那和三摩地，你真的知道吗？ [pdf] Open Awareness Meditation: a quick introduction [ebooklet] 开放式觉知禅：简介 [电子小书册] Meditation Tips [ebrochure] 禅修提示 [电子小册子] Meditation Is Like Riding a Bicycle [ebrochure] 禅修就像骑脚车 [电子小册子] Meditation Is Seriously Like Riding a Bicycle [ebrochure] 禅修真的就像骑脚车 [电子小册子] Meditation Is Like Doing Business [ebrochure] 禅修就像做生意 [电子小册子] Meditation Is Seriously Like Doing Business [ebrochure] 禅修真的就像做生意 [电子小册子] By Kumāra Bhikkhu’s students 14 Stories of Growth & Freedom [7 in English, 7 in Chinese; ebooklet] Notes: The ebooklets (电子小书册) are PDFs designed for tablets. The ebrochures (电子小册子) are PDFs designed for smartphones.