“Why do we have to be human? O not because happiness exists – but because being in this Dharma realm means so much.” Our spiritual work reveals how we must hold the mind – as refuge, safety, and protection from harm. This is the ..read more

To bring the mind to peace, we must learn about all that makes it unpeaceful, unquiet. We learn how to guide ourselves to abide in wholesome states of mind, how to prevent dark and unskilfull states from arising and how to deal with them if they do. Follow virtue. Stay close to spiritual friends, and take refuge in the wisdom of the Buddha and our own potential to cultivate and develop this Noble Eightfold path. Practise gratitude, generosity, and kindness. Wake up. Love wisdom more than life. A talk given during a 7 day SIMT retreat, Chapin Mill, Batavia, NY 2016 ..read more

The human realm is ever fraught with greed and delusion, conflicted and loud in its extremes. These violations are just that – destroyers of our spiritual verve. As pilgrims of peace, we disarm them in the interior silence of the heart. Courageous, we stand our moral ground, resolved to hold the bar. Our faith, generosity and discernment rescue us from the flames of sensory fears and infatuations. There is giving up and letting go but the Buddha’s promise is true. Where kindness and compassion prevail, the heart knows unshakeable peace. A Sunday afternoon talk at Sati Saraniya Hermitage, May 1 ..read more

All conditions of this world have the nature to change: the earth, weather, governments, work, health, leisure, family, friendships and so forth. We observe these variations and consider the most critical change of all. It promises the greatest blessing – but first we must plow the interior field of goodness that yields our heart's deliverance. Faithfully, patiently, as we clear away the dust in the mind, the hindrances of greed, ill-will, fear and delusion fall away, and we abide in the clarity, serenity, and joy of the Dhamma. A retreat talk given at Spirit Rock, June 2013.  ..read more

Compassion is a sublime, healing quality that restores us to goodwill, integrity, wisdom and equanimity. Not only do we repair the harm that we have caused, but we turn the wheel of Dhamma in this world. This can also serve as a catalyst for others to wake up from their misguided ways of living. We bear compassion for harm caused and we sow seeds of reconciliation even in the blindest or most cruel of beings, for "hatred is never resolved through hatred, but through love alone." An OBS talk, Oct. 1, 2021 ..read more

Strong in restraint, courageous in wisdom, the Noble Eightfold Path unfolds with right view and right intention – healing from above and below, from the outside and internally. We bow to the present moment, stilling the mind’s endless fabrications.  All is contained in the unspoken silence of the heart that resounds in the galaxies – we are alone and with all beings at once. Here in true presence, aware, supremely blessed, we rejoice in the totality of unbounded compassion. Ottawa Buddhist Society, Oct 2022 ..read more

Are we present here and now? How much do we obsess in thought? Is the mind filled with worry – wavering from anxiety to fear?  Here and now, we examine and ascend to peaceful states. When we’re dreaming, wake up. Know that we’re asleep. Know that we’re not present. Know the mind that is upset, angry or boiling and cool it. Use the Buddha’s tools to repair and return our attention to present moment awareness. Mindfully knowing, seeing clearly with blameless joy and wise insight, we lighten our burden. We are cultivating the garden of the mind. A talk given for the Toronto Theravada Buddhis ..read more

When we meditate, we are alone and yet with all the world. Thoughts intrude from all sides. But we remain secluded within, protected, serene. Gently we open the door to the heart with unassailable trust. We bend and bow silently, observing the breath with an empty mind. Then what’s the result of that? Giving our full attention to this moment, we are absolutely present, feeling every nuance of the ground beneath us or the pressure of each breath. Mindfulness deepens our awareness. Now we truly know the boundless peace of the mind's radiance. Reflections and guided meditation, SIMT Nov 2021 ..read more

We are alone and yet with all the world. Intruders may pressure us from all sides. But we remain secluded within and protected as we gently open the door to the heart with unassailable trust. We bend and bow silently, giving ourselves fully to this special work. For the mind is radiant and we must abandon all that obstructs this wondrous peace within us. When we let the pure mind shine, great blessings rain forth. A guided meditation and reflections, SIMT Nov 2021 ..read more

Compassion is a sublime, healing quality that restores us to goodwill, integrity, wisdom and equanimity. Not only do we repair the harm that we have caused, but we turn the wheel of Dhamma in this world. This can also serve as a catalyst for others to wake up from their misguided ways of living. We bear compassion for harm caused and we sow seeds of reconciliation even in the blindest or most cruel of beings, for "hatred is never resolved through hatred, but through love alone." An OBS talk, Oct. 1, 2021 ..read more