Rainstorm near Te Moata Retreat Centre, Coromandel, New Zealand Exactly two years ago in July 2014, I wrote a post based on some well-known lines from the Dhammapada: Hatred never ceases by hatred, but by love alone is healed. This is an ancient and eternal law. 1 Lately, that same post has been getting someContinue reading “July 2016 full moon – Hatred STILL never ceases by hatred …”
Category Archives: Insight meditation – vipassana
March 2016 full moon – Retreat and pre-retreat practice
Planning to go on retreat? I’ve had a few conversations recently with people who are planning to go on retreat soon, and at some stage in the discussion, there’s often an embarrassed acknowledgement of feeling some anxiety about it. Even for people who have been on retreat before and have some familiarity with the set-up,Continue reading “March 2016 full moon – Retreat and pre-retreat practice”
February 2016 full moon – Motivation, Respect, Resolve
The rewards and challenges of technology Earlier this evening, I gave my first dharma talk via video-link, from the YHA in Sydney to Auckland Insight in New Zealand. Nothing too remarkable about that these days; but still, it was a delight to be able to connect with the group in this way, and I feltContinue reading “February 2016 full moon – Motivation, Respect, Resolve”
February 2016 new moon – sea anemone heart
Sea anemone by Virginia Draper http://www.virginiadraper.com/p822038089 Opening, closing, opening, closing … Everything has its natural rhythm, including the human heart. I’m not sure why it took me so long to understand this, but a childhood memory – of exploring rock-pools with my father while on holiday in Scotland – helped. On family visits to chillyContinue reading “February 2016 new moon – sea anemone heart”
December 2015 full moon – In praise of trees
This year, the full moon coincided with Christmas Day for the first time in 38 years. I’m in New Zealand visiting family for the holidays and even though it’s the middle of summer, there are evergreen Christmas trees decorated with icicles and snowflakes everywhere. The symbols of Christmas have always been messed up – theContinue reading “December 2015 full moon – In praise of trees”
November 2015 full moon – gratitude
A few slightly random reflections on Gratitude “These two people are hard to find in the world. Which two? The one who is first to do a kindness, and the one who is grateful and thankful for a kindness done.” AN 2.118 As the three-month retreat at IMS comes to a close, there’s a definiteContinue reading “November 2015 full moon – gratitude”
September 2015 full moon – Maintaining Motivation (or finding antidotes to “sloth and torpor”)
The five hindrances I’ve been back in New Zealand for the month of September, and with the Auckland Insight group, we’ve been exploring the Five Hindrances, five particularly unhelpful states of mind that get in the way of clear seeing, of insight. They appear in the Satipatthana Sutta under the Fourth Foundation of Mindfulness, asContinue reading “September 2015 full moon – Maintaining Motivation (or finding antidotes to “sloth and torpor”)”
Meditating together in May
Each month on or about the full moon, I’ve been trying to write a post about some aspect of dharma practice that’s relevant to what’s happening in my own life. This next full moon though, I plan to be on retreat at the Insight Meditation Society’s Forest Refuge in Barre, Massachusetts, for the whole monthContinue reading “Meditating together in May”
February 2015 full moon – freedom from the fetter of views
While in San Francisco recently, I had an opportunity to visit Alcatraz island, the former federal penitentiary, 19th-century military fortress, site of Native American heritage and protest, and now one of America’s most visited national parks. As we walked through the decaying cell blocks, I was struck by the layers and layers of defence thatContinue reading “February 2015 full moon – freedom from the fetter of views”
January 2015 full moon – resolution and determination
“The days and nights are relentlessly passing; how well am I spending my time?” (A question that the Buddha advised practitioners to contemplate frequently) 2015. Each year this changing-of-the-calendar-numbers seems to arrive a little more quickly. Each year, it seems that somehow there is less TIME … and so at first reading, the above reflection can seem to reinforce a senseContinue reading “January 2015 full moon – resolution and determination”
Jill Shepherd: insight meditation 