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“Wisdom tells me I am nothing. Love tells me I am everything. Between the two my life flows.” — Nisargadatta Maharaj

The inspiration to put forth and offer this web site is to share the wisdom, virtue, and meditative teachings of the Buddha dharma. This journey into Insight Meditation is a path to compassion and wisdom free from unnecessary suffering. It is a means for discovering greater happiness, ease, peace, understanding and connection in life. Through application over time we are actually retraining our minds how to rest in stillness, free of worry, agitation, greed, aversion and doubt. Although it seems so unlikely that we could live and embody this open, stress-free state of mind it is actually more possible than we can imagine.

What about “The Mindfulness Path”? In the Buddha’s teachings on how to cease suffering and enhance happiness, he talks about three trainings. These three trainings include virtue or sila ( Pali), wisdom or panna (Pali), meditation or samadhi. All three are foundational to live a balanced, whole life. Sila is composed of wise speech, wise action and wise livelihood. Panna is made up of wise speech, wise action, and wise view. Samadhi (Sanskrit) or meditation has three parts as well: wise effort, wise mindfulness and wise concentration. They are known as the Three Folds of the Noble Eight-Fold Path, eight steps to living in harmony and integration.

Of these three, mindfulness is a cornerstone in strengthening the ability to be aware of what is happening inside us as well as outside. It is a link to seeing clearly, being here and now moment by moment. It enables discernment between the most subtle details of our experience to the most obvious. We know what is happening by paying attention on purpose to our experience. Mindfulness is a direct gateway to awakening — being engaged and connected to life, as it is. It is mindfulness that allows us to keep returning repeatedly to the moment. Mindfulness is recognition without judgment of the ever-changing nature of existence and our part in it.

“Abandon what is unskillful. One can abandon the unskillful. If it were not possible, I would not ask you to do it…as it brings benefit and happiness, therefore I say, abandon what is unskillful. Cultivate the good. One can cultivate the good. If it were not possible, I would not ask you to do it…But this cultivation brings benefit and happiness, I say, cultivate the good.” —The Buddha