I agree that there is not a significant difference as far as the practice is concerned. I think it might take a bit more effort to get the mind settled down due to the different types of jobs and distractions in modern societies. In the balance between concentration and insight we may need to work m...

Hi Cittasanto, I admittedly only have a vague idea of what life was like in the Buddha's time. I imagine an agricultural society where most people work as manual laborers with no electricity, so that it is quiet and peaceful at night. Whereas in most modern societies more people work with their mind...

One difference is that we are inundated with far more information than in the Buddha's time. Marketing, 24 hours news, ads, political propaganda, and multitude of screens are constantly distracting our a attention. The Buddha once compared sensory input to a flayed cow with no skin, and every where ...

If a mango has a worm in it you don't have to throw it away, just eat around the worm :) That is, you can carefully take what is skillful from Zen and leave alone what is not skillful. For example, the Zen practice is to meditate with your eyes open in order to stay alert and I have also found it he...

Meditation is like....lying on the beach listening to the waves while feeling the hot sand under you, the sun on your skin, a cool breeze, and without a thought in your head completely imbibed with serenity

Thanks for the list.

"The Teachings of Ajahn Chah" is also available online:

http://www.ajahnchah.org/book/index.php" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

The great thing about nada/sound of silence is that it becomes louder the more concentration you have and provides useful feedback loop for your meditation. It is reassuring to hear the celestial sounding noise get louder as you meditate. However, I did not find it skillful for maintaining mindfulne...

It is physical. He is speaking of the physical sensation, which seems like energy, that you feel when your awareness is on a body part or the entire body. I also did not understand initially and had to imagine/visualize but became sensitive to the "breath energy" after a little while. For ...

Thanissaro Bikhu points out that depending on what state of mind you are in you may need to breath differently. For instance, it is helpful sometimes to push the breath. Breathing unnaturally deep for a few minutes at the start is helpful to reset yourself in some cases. You have to experiment and f...

Make sure to check out Thanissaro Bikhu's informative and inspiring 15 min talks. http://dhammatalks.org/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; I have tried a few methods including Mahasi, but its the Ajahn Lee method as taught by Thanissaro Bikhu that I have had the most success....

You may want to point out classical Christian meditation books like St. John of the Cross’ The Dark Night of
The Soul. It is my understanding that Christian stages of meditation are mapped out remarkably similar to the Buddhist in their fundamentals.

thanks.

Anyone know of practical training for guarding the sense doors as described in below passage. Any suggestions would be appreciated. "'Here a monk, on seeing a visible object with the eye, does not grasp at its major signs or secondary characteristics. Because greed and sorrow, evil unskilled st...