Author Archives: Jill Shepherd

Parami – a new book by Ajahn Sucitto

I was recently given a copy of Ajahn Sucitto’s latest free book, “Parami: Ways to Cross Life’s Floods,”  and have found it to be one of those rare books that I don’t want to put down, and can’t wait to come back to. The ten parami (sometimes translated as “ten perfections”) are qualities of heart/mindContinueContinue reading “Parami – a new book by Ajahn Sucitto”

Doing and being

Mangawhai Beach One of the delights of teaching insight meditation retreats is experiencing first-hand how even though the form and content of each retreat is similar, the mix of people attending each event is unique, and out of this uniqueness, different practice themes naturally emerge. Recently I taught a couple of day-long silent retreats inContinueContinue reading “Doing and being”

Effort and Enjoyment

Chicago lake shore Last week I gave a talk to the Lakeside Vipassana meditation group in Chicago.  It was an incredibly cold evening outside (by my standards) but there was a good turn-out and a warm response to my exploration of Effort and Enjoyment in meditation practice. I’ve been meeting with meditation groups in aContinueContinue reading “Effort and Enjoyment”

Generosity part 2 – Christmas

More on generosity – this time from the English monk Ajahn Sucitto. He asks some great questions in his latest blog: “So how well does the notion of the self-centred human, motivated by profit and personal gain, stand up in this light? What is noticeable is that when given a free choice, people incline towardsContinueContinue reading “Generosity part 2 – Christmas”