Publications by Kumāra Bhikkhu

Open Awareness Meditation: a quick introduction    What You Might Not Know about Jhāna & Samādhi    20 Meditation Tips   Meditation Is Like Riding a Bicycle   Meditation Is Seriously Like Riding a Bicycle   Meditation Is Like Doing Business   Meditation Is Seriously Like Doing Business   Why We Should Stop Bringing Youths to Buddhism

By Kumāra Bhikkhu’s students:

14 Stories of Growth & Freedom [7 in English, 7 in Chinese]   11 More Stories of Growth & Freedom [2 in English, 9 in Chinese]   

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Popular Posts in last 30 days

Why Many People Don’t Suffer Less Despite Years of Meditation

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As a meditation teacher, I’ve met thousands of meditators. I’ve learnt that many have started meditation years ago yet remain stuck in their suffering. Meditation may have given them some relief (which may be why they still persist), but only temporarily. Why so? I see three basic reasons for this: 1. Mistaken Ideas about Meditation For them, meditation is about following a method. By persisting in that method, they believe they will one day somehow suffer less. In reality, however, ending suffering doesn’t happen that way. Although the Buddha did teach meditation methods—such as breathing mindfulness, cultivating loving-kindness, cultivating the perception of unattractiveness, etc.—they are not meant as complete ways to end suffering. They are only meant to fulfil certain principles of ending suffering. These methods are used to settle the mind if there is a need for them. The mind needs to be fairly settled to do the work of ending suffering. That’s the principle here. Here’s another...
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What You Might Not Know about Jhāna & Samādhi

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What You Might Not Know about Jhāna & Samādhi Author: ​Kumāra Bhikkhu Do you wonder about the conflicting teachings on Buddhist meditation?   Are you uncertain if you should practice jhāna ? Have you tried to practice concentration and found it stressful ?   This is an invaluable contribution to the modern discussion among both practitioners and scholars concerning exactly what jhāna, samādhi and related terms mean. Confusion about these terms has been endemic in the Theravada tradition, probably for many centuries. Āyasmā Kumāra extracts the relevant passages of the earliest texts, the Buddha’s discourses, and—with particular sensitivity to the semantics of the Pāli—argues that the original intent of these terms is quite different from how they came to be most widely understood in the Theravada tradition. The result is persuasive if not conclusive. This is a must-read for all practitioners and students of Buddhist meditation. Bhikkhu Cintita D...
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How to Free Yourself from Unwise Thoughts

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To progress spiritually, we do need to learn how to stop behaving unwisely. However, that is not enough—we also need to learn how to stop thinking unwisely. While unwise physical and verbal conduct can be stopped directly, the same is not true for unwise mental action. Why? Because trying to stop a mental action directly is itself another unwise mental action. Let’s take thoughts of self-criticism as an example. If you try to stop them, that’s another unwise mental action. Doing this is not only unlikely to work, it also causes you to suffer even more. Not clever, is it? So, instead of trying to stop such thoughts, try this: Accept the fact that these thoughts are happening. Regard them as “just thoughts”. Don’t resist them—or at least notice the resisting. When you’re no longer resisting, notice how having those thoughts feels: Are they peaceful or stressful? Imagine: how you would be without these thoughts? Do this every time such thoughts come up, and their st...
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A Monk’s Airport Predicament

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It was year 2000. I, as a very young monk, travelled with a group of monks and laypeople to Thailand. Almost all of them left after a week, while I stayed for a month. On my way back alone, while transiting through Bangkok’s airport, I found myself in a predicament. After long hours of waiting for my connecting flight, I finally got my boarding pass at the check-in counter. When I got to the security checkpoint, I showed the official there my boarding pass, and she asked, “Airport tax?” “Airport tax?” I asked in return. “Please pay at the airport tax counter and get a coupon.” “Uh-oh….” Anxiety began to rise within me. I told the nice lady nicely that I didn’t have any money, hoping she would think, “Oh, silly me. He’s a monk. He’s not suppose to have money,” and let me through. It didn’t work. The matter was plain and simple: no money, no entry. She suggested that I return to the check-in counter. “Ah, good idea,” I thought, since I had no idea what to do. Back at the counter, I expla...
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Is Your Buddhist Group Cultish?

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You may have heard of some Buddhist cults, but do you know what makes a group a cult? Psychiatrist Robert Jay Lifton, a highly regarded cult expert, defines a cult as having these characteristics in his paper Cult Formation : A charismatic leader, who increasingly becomes an object of worship as the general principles that may have originally sustained the group lose power. A process call[ed] coercive persuasion or thought reform. Economic, sexual, and other exploitation of group members by the leader and the ruling coterie. If your group has all these, it’s a full-blown cult. If it has only one of these, though not yet a full-blown cult, it can be considered cultish. I think the first and the last characteristics are clear enough. The second however needs some elaboration. Coercive persuasion or thought reform is more commonly known as “brainwashing” . It's a process in which a group or individual systematically uses unethically manipulative methods to persuade others to confor...
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How to Meditate if You Have Mental Illness

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Some peope say you shouldn't meditate if you have mental illness. They are partly right. You shouldn’t do concentration meditation, as that can easily worsen your condition. However, that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t meditate at all, or can’t benefit from meditation at all. Meditation can relieve you of mental illness if you do the right kind of meditation correctly. People with mental illness have an unsettled mind, which exhausts them. In this situation, you need to find a way to settle the mind. Let me suggest a way: Breathe in. Feel the body. Relax the body as you breathe out. That’s it. Yes, it’s that simple. No need to close your eyes or sit cross-legged. Do this as regularly as you can throughout the day. It’s okay if you forget. That’s normal. When you know you’ve forgotten, just start again. Be kind to yourself. Remembering to meditate throughout the day takes years of practice. As you keep practising this way, the length of time you remember will grow, and the length of ti...
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Kumāra Bhikkhu's Profile & Teaching Channels

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This page is no longer updated. For the most updated version,  click here . Teaching Channels Facebook (2-way teaching & announcements) WhatsApp (1-way teaching & announcements) Instagram (1-way teaching) Xiaohongshu (1-way teaching) Mailing List (announcements only) Publications (English & 中文 ebook/ebooklet/ebrochure) English Blog | 中文博客 Dhamma talk recordings: Spotify  |  SoundCloud Profile Ordained in 1999 under Sayadaw U Revata at the age of 27, Bhante Kumāra (古玛拉) is a Buddhist monk and teacher known for his pragmatic approach to the path of liberation.His spiritual path has been profoundly influenced by two monastic teachers: Bhaddanta Aggacitta Mahāthera , who provided a foundation in the Vinaya, Suttas, and Pāli language, while emphasizing a timeless principle: Value any teaching that leads to the end of suffering. ...
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I Found a Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing

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Some months ago, a woman I had met only a few times (let’s call her MC) told another woman, “Did you notice that when Bhante spoke to you just now, he seemed to have some opinion against you?” The next morning, the other woman (who had been my main supporter for over a year; let’s call her CC) came to ask me if what MC said was true. I was perplexed. I recalled merely agreeing to CC asking to borrow something. How could that be interpreted as me having an opinion against her? I told her no and asked, “Did it seem to you like I had any opinion against you?” She said it didn’t seemed that way to her either. Then she added that MC had also said something against two other women. To keep it simple, MC claimed those women had done something to hurt CC. Knowing those two women fairly well, I found the story nonsensical and completely out of character for them. “That friend of yours is dangerous!” I said. “Actually, I don’t know her very well. I only got closer to her recently.” “...
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Why No Chanting Sessions in My Meditation Retreats?

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Some laypeople express surprise that there’s no chanting sessions in my retreats—but their reaction doesn’t surprise me. Chanting is practically a standard item in organized Buddhist retreats in Malaysia. So why do I leave it out? During the Buddha’s time, lay Buddhists didn’t chant either. Even when observing the eight precepts on uposatha days, they do so without any recitation. Monastics did chant, but mainly to memorize and preserve the Buddha’s teachings—which isn’t why most laypeople chant today. In fact, they often don’t even understand the words they’re reciting. Nowadays, people chant for a few common reasons: To occupy the mind with something soothing, so that it can settle; but sometimes so that they can forget their suffering. To satisfy the belief that by chanting they gain merits. To cultivate a sense of community in temples or monasteries. I don’t include chanting in my retreats because: I want my students to have maximum opportunity t...
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