Wise Awareness (​Kumāra Bhikkhu's Blog)

As a meditator and a person with ADHD, I’ve learnt that the proper kind of meditation can reduce ADHD symptoms. The following are steps based on my personal experience: 1. Learn Mindfulness Meditation First, you need to learn how to practice mindfulness meditation. See here: ADHD-Friendly Way to Meditate . It’s a direct way to strengthen your working memory. 2. Relaxation Exercise Once you can be mindful about 30% of the day, you’re ready for the next step: Sit or lie down. Feel your body. Breathe, and relax. Bear in mind that the point is not the breathing, but the relaxation. Wherever you notice tension in your body, see how you can allow it to relax naturally as you breathe in and out. The mind and body are connected; so when the body calms down, the mind calms down too. 3. Observe the Subtle Manifestations of ADHD Once you have mastered the two steps above, you will begin to notice the subtler signs of ADHD—the physical restless energy, the mental un...

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...

Once, a woman brought an 11-year-old boy to see me. She said, “This son of mine doesn’t want to study. He keeps playing. Can you help me?” I noticed that he had an intelligent look. So, I said to him, “When you grow up, you have to work, right?” He nodded. “So, what kind of work would you like to do?” As he was thinking, I said, “You don’t have to tell me now. Go home and take your time to think about it. Then write it down on a piece of paper. If there’s more than one kind of work you’re interested in, that’s okay. But don’t write more than five, okay?” He said, “Okay.” They came again the next week, and he had a piece of paper in his hand. I asked the mother if he showed it to her. She said no. I said to him, “So, what have you written?” He handed me the piece of paper. First on the list was “plumber”. I said, “Okay, honestly speaking, if you want to be a plumber, you don’t have to study a lot. But you do need to know some language, so that you can read labels and write bills. Also, ...

A girl I’ve never met before came to my retreat. Though only 22 years old, she was already an engineer—a deeply unhappy one. After a few interviews with her, I found out why she was so happy: She had not been allowed to play. Her job as a kid was only to study and study and study. “Go and play,” I said to her. “I don’t know how to play anymore!” she replied angrily. “Play with children. Observe and learn from them.” She looked at me while seemingly thinking. After a while, she said, “Okay.” That evening, I saw her squatting by the roadside, picking little flowers. She seemed pretty happy.