Posts by Mark Knickelbine
The Four Noble Truths
According to the tales in the Pali Canon, the very first teaching Gotama gave after his awakening was what we have come to know as the Four Noble Truths. This concept is foundational to all traditions that we call Buddhism, Secular Buddhism included. To the extent that newcomers to dharma practice know any Buddhist doctrine…
Read MoreCultivating Compassion
This is to be done by one skilled in aims Who wants to break through To the state of peace: . . . As a mother would risk her life To protect her child, her only child, Even so should one cultivate a limitless heart With regard to all beings. Khuddakapatha 9, trns Thanissaro Bhikkhu…
Read MoreDependent Arising in Context, by Linda Blanchard: A Review
In the introduction to Dependent Arising in Context, Linda Blanchard credits the inspiration of Nanavira Thera. One of the first Westerners to become an ordained Theravadin monk, Nanavira’s spirit echoes through Blanchard’s work. Boldly idiosyncratic, driven both by his ferocious intellect and his fervent belief that the Pali canon held wisdom that had been ignored…
Read MoreBody Scan Guided Meditation
Guided Body Scan Meditation Follow this Guided Body Scan Meditation by Mark Knicklebine (about 40 minutes):
Read More20 Minute Sit
A guided 20-minute mindfulness meditation session featuring mindfulness of the breath and of the body, guided by Mark Knicklebine
Read MoreWhat is Metta?
With good will for the entire cosmos, Cultivate a limitless heart: Above, below, & all around, Unobstructed, without hostility or hate Whether standing, walking, Sitting, or lying down, As long as one is alert, One should be resolved on this mindfulness. This is called a sublime abiding, here and now. This is from Thanissaro Bhikkhu’s…
Read MoreScenes from a Mindfulness Retreat: Experience
This is the final installment of four. Here are links to the first, second, and third part. It was 6 a.m. on the first morning of the retreat, and after a restless night’s sleep I was sitting on a wooden bench before a still farm pond, examining again my intention for being there. For several…
Read MoreScenes from a Mindfulness Retreat: Ritual
Here are links to Part One and Part Two. One of the things I’ve admired about the Friday night drop in mindfulness sessions at the UW Health Integrative Medicine Center is the creativity displayed by the teachers in developing rituals, symbolic objects and activities that help to express the wisdom of practice. There is no…
Read MoreScenes from a Mindfulness Retreat: The Work
Part two of a four-part series. You can read the introduction here. One of the things I think those of you who have been on more traditional retreats would find most unusual about the mindfulness retreat is how interactive it was. There were no long periods of silent meditation, broken by occasional meals, dharma talks…
Read MoreScenes from a Mindfulness Retreat: Introduction
I’m feeling better now. Not that I’ve been feeling bad, exactly; on the contrary, I can tell you without exaggeration that I have had more moments of pure joy in the last two weeks than I have in many years. And that’s been the problem. How do you handle it when your heart opens wide,…
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