What is the best chariot according to the Dhamma? A commentary on the Buddha’s conversation with Ananda about the noble vehicle that will carry you victoriously along the spiritual path - to Nibbana, full awakening.  A talk given at a 10-day retreat in Bodhinyanarama Monastery, Stokes Valley, New Zealand in 2002.

Learn how we can refine our mental skills of faith, energy, mindfulness, concentration and wisdom. Enhanced by right view and a deepened understanding of the Four Noble Truths, these spiritual powers vanquish hatred and fear, nurturing our readiness to forgive, and the blessed qualities of universal loving-kindness and compassion. A talk given during a 10-day retreat at Bodhinyanarama Monastery, Stokes Valley, New Zealand in 2002.

Stokes Valley Monastery Retreat, New Zealand The poison arrow of ignorance spreads its toxins through passion, desire and ill will. By sitting still, applying mindfulness and surrendering to what is, the right view will illuminate our minds and will help us extract the arrow and heal the wound.

Sangha is an essential element in the unfolding of ones Path.

True practice is knowing that you are already a manifestation of compassion without trying. Knowing that, we let go of what is false and keep returning to our peaceful heart.

RESPECT FOR SUFFERING The suffering that arises in the practice is a noble truth, something worthy of respect. You can’t just push it away. If you’re going to end suffering you have to give it space, understand it, and approach it systematically. INTERCONNECTEDNESS Interconnectedness is not always pretty. It means that our bad actions can have endless repercussions, and that our happiness is dependent on a very fragile web. But by becoming more skillful in our actions we can turn the principle of interconnectedness into a good thing: a path to a happiness that’s truly independent. BEING STILL The quieter you are, the more you see. Being quiet is a form of doing, and sometimes it’s the most skillful thing you can do: You learn perspective and sensitivity, and you position yourself in the best spot to recognize insight when it arises. THE WORLD IS SWEPT AWAY Instead of trying to find our happiness in a world of change, we take that changing world and turn it toward the changeless, look for that which is unchanging right here, right now. THE THREE CHARACTERISTICS The teaching on the Three Characteristics is meant to liberate the mind from unnecessary burdens. The normal mind shadows everything that happens, but as you bring the mind to every more subtle levels of stillness and ease, you can detect ever more subtle levels of inconstancy and stress, and so naturally let them go. FIVE TALKS ON ONE CASSETTE OR CD