Selected Works

non-fiction books and articles
Highlighting 16 qualities that make a great person and lead to spiritual awakening, this is the first book to feature the life and teachings of Anagarika Munindra, the meditation master who taught so many of today's prominent dharma teachers in the West and helped start the contemporary mindfulness movement.
Can one of the world’s happiest countries survive the 21st century?
Honors worldwide spirituality grounded in the body and its senses.
Ethical speech is a neglected but essential aspect of spiritual practice.
Sayadaw U Tejaniya emphasizes practicing in a relaxed but continuous manner rather than forcing one's effort.
How silence soothes.
Our view of the body influences how we work with it in spiritual practices.

Living This Life Fully

Intention is everything

March 5, 2011

Tags: Munindra, Living This Life Fully, intention, motivation, precepts, wisdom, Dharma, Buddha

Although I interviewed nearly 200 people around the world for Living This Life Fully, much to my delight, more individuals who knew Munindra keep popping up. I have the pleasure of learning new stories that reinforce what I have written about his qualities. It’s curious that I did not hear of these students when I was working on the book, but maybe that’s to my advantage. Otherwise, I would have had to interview hundreds, even thousands, more! How would I ever have completed the book? (more…)

shining the light of mindfulness

December 27, 2010

Tags: mindfulness, illuminating factor, self-reproach, intention, vipassana, sati, Munindra

Now that the longest night of the year is behind us, I am looking forward to more and more light. Although I accept and even rejoice in the changing interplay of light and dark, I definitely prefer longer days and shorter nights. But my desire is not just for more sunlight. I also want greater mindfulness to brighten how I live those days and nights.

Munindra talked about mindfulness (he often used the Pali word sati) as “an illuminating factor” because it provides the brilliance of a lamp in shadowy places. “Where there is light, there cannot be any darkness,” he would say. “You are asked to develop mindfulness because sati illuminates the whole mental field. As soon as things come, you see them as they are.” (more…)