A final teaching letter to a student who wilfully chooses to remain misinformed on what Buddhism is, the importance of contemplation, and how meditation should be practiced if stream-entry is ever to be genuinely experienced. Becoming a Stream-enterer is hard. Here's how to do it. As a teacher dedicated to guiding my students toward spiritual progress, I sent a detailed letter to a middle-intermediate Dhamma practitioner and meditator explaining why I am dismissing him from my program.  In this letter, I explain the importance of correct and sufficient practice and I outline and detail ..read more

A final teaching letter to a student who chooses to wilfully remain misinformed on what Buddhism is, the importance of contemplation, and how meditation should be practiced. You Will Never Attain Buddhist Stream-entry As a teacher dedicated to guiding my students toward spiritual progress, I sent a detailed letter to a middle-intermediate Dhamma practitioner and meditator explaining why I am dismissing him from my program.  In this letter, I explain the importance of correct and sufficient practice and I outline and detail the harmful nature of the various Wrong Views he subscribes to t ..read more

A final teaching letter to a student who chooses to wilfully remain misinformed on what Buddhism is, the importance of contemplation, and how meditation should be practiced. You Will Never Attain Buddhist Stream-entry As a teacher dedicated to guiding my students toward spiritual progress, I sent a detailed letter to a middle-intermediate Dhamma practitioner and meditator explaining why I am dismissing him from my program.  In this letter, I explain the importance of correct and sufficient practice and I outline and detail the harmful nature of the various Wrong Views he subscribes to t ..read more

How the fundamentals of Buddhist Right Speech can help you skilfully engage others in small talk and avoid the pitfalls of idle speech. A Complete Guide to Idle Speech and Small Talk for Buddhists ​In this practical teaching, I review the lesser-discussed notion of "idle speech," one of the components of Buddhist Right Speech — the third factor of the Noble Eightfold Path.  I also detail and provide examples of how practising Buddhists can skilfully engage in everyday small talk with people in ways that promote harmony, mutual respect, and deeper connections. Introduction to Buddhist Id ..read more

When anger and other strong emotions arise, use these five approaches to skilfully overcome your suffering. You don't have to be a Buddhist to use these techniques to overcome your anger and move forward gracefully, skilfully, and peacefully. ​​In this short "dharma bite," I provide five concise techniques that come from Buddhism that anyone (Buddhist or not) can use in-the-moment or after-the-fact to help reduce the heat of discontentment and cool the flames of anger.  This article includes a short guided meditation. ​Anger is an emotion that everyone experiences from time to time.&nb ..read more

Vedanās: A Complete Guide to Feelings in Buddhism (and How to Actually Use This Teaching To Be Happy) — Part 1 ​by Anagārika Pasannacitta ​(Anagārika Michael Turner) What are vedanās (feelings) in Buddhism? Definitively clearing up this oft-misunderstood subject and understanding how to apply this teaching in everyday life to practically lay the foundation for contentment, peace of mind, and actual progress toward nibbāna. ​ Vedanā Series Overview  — PART 1 —  What are feelings in Buddhism?​​ What are the vedanās? How are they connected and affected by other Buddhist concepts abou ..read more

Dear subscribers and visitors, ​I will be posting less frequently to this teaching blog while I work on some new Dharma teaching projects.  I nevertheless remain available as a teacher, personal coach, volunteer, consultant, and counsellor.  ​Please feel free to contact me, subscribe, or just stay tuned ..read more

When monastics tell jokes, use props, make fun, employ sarcasm, or raise their voices while giving Dharma talks. What does the Dhamma-Vinaya have to say about monastics who employ wrong speech when sharing or discussing the Dhamma? Is this ever OK? ​In this short "dharma bite," I answer this single question. ​Question When a Buddhist monk or nun uses a bunch of jokes, props, yelling, et cetera in a Dhamma talk, I often feel a sense of discomfort while listening to them and I actually find that it rubs me the wrong way.  Can you share your thoughts on this? ​Answer These days we have a ..read more

The Taking-and-Giving Meditation: a detailed dharma talk on how to do it and what the techniques, benefits, and results are; and using it to cultivate compassion to overcome your own pain, stress, and suffering. Using Tonglen meditation to ease suffering, overcome problems, cultivate the brahmavihārās, and attain Buddhist awakening (streamentry) ​In this dharma talk I dive into the details of a somewhat-lesser-known meditation technique that anyone can use to overcome mental suffering, physical pain, and generate deep and transformative states of compassion and gratitude. I also co ..read more

Understanding how to practically apply the Buddha's teachings of the Four Elements of earth, water, fire, & air. Everything is made up of Earth, Water, Fire, Air (and Space) Elements – even in the 21st Century In this teaching we dive into the details to review the Four Elements of physical formations, what they are, and how they are relevant to 21st century Buddhist practice and cultivating our understanding of anattā, the Buddhist concept of Nonself. ​I am occasionally asked by students and other practitioners about how to understand and apply the teachings on the Four Elements (Pāli ..read more