Vipassana is known internationally as a silent meditation retreat program. What is the philosophy behind this program? In the Buddhist tradition, vipassanā (Pāli) or vipaśyanā (Sanskrit: विपश्यन) is to see into the nature of reality or as the official Vipassana website claims, it means to “see things as they really are.” अत्तदीपा विहरथ अत्तसरणा अनञ्‍ञसरणा। धम्मदीपा विहरथ धम्मसरणा अनञ्‍ञसरणा।। “Make…

Blue Mountains, Australia, 2010, I was enrolled in the most dreaded thing on my bucket list—my first Vipassana. Vipassana is a 10-day retreat in which participants take a vow of silence and are strongly encouraged to follow the program’s strict laws which include meditating for at least 10 hours per day, abandoning all communication devices…

What is the meaning of “Aloha?” Aloha is a traditional Hawaiian greeting for hello and goodbye. The word, aloha is made up of “alo” meaning presence or face, and “ha” meaning breath. Aloha is translated into the “breath of life” or the “presence of breath.” The meaning of aloha brings an essential message in terms…

“While washing the dishes one should only be washing the dishes. If while washing dishes, we think only of the cup of tea that awaits us, this hurrying to get the dishes out of the way as if they were a nuisance, then we are not alive during the time we are washing dishes. The…

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