Pariyatti

I meditate mostly in my room, but I always meditate in silence. I remain still. Stillness is both a vehicle to silence and a byproduct of the same. Ajahn Chah referred to doing nondoing as a still forest pond. Stillness is also the antonym of distraction, whereas the conditioned mind is the epitome of distraction, filled as it is with well-trodden paths of judgment, impatience, craving, anger, and confusion. The myriad negative mind states prevent a banana from being seen as simply a banana.

narrated by Ian McCrorie · 2022 · 4 minutes 29 seconds

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On the way to Eungam Station in Seoul lived a tailor and his wife. He did simple alterations to pants and jackets. His wife did the measuring and the pinning. They had two large dry-cleaning machines, also her responsibility, as was the folding. He however did all the pressing. They both worked slowly. This being my favorite speed, I could relate. They took great care. They wore slippers because they lived upstairs. I always wanted a job in which...

narrated by Ian McCrorie · 2022 · 2 minutes 38 seconds

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When I was young, I would spend a few weeks of my summer holiday at my grandmother’s in Toronto. She lived by herself in a small apartment in the downtown. She had no television. She had no games or toys. There were no books at my age level, let alone comics. I loved it. My mother would catch up with Grandma. I was left to fend for myself. I was totally free, unprogrammed, unentrapped. I counted cars. I ran the streets.

narrated by Ian McCrorie · 2022 · 3 minutes 49 seconds

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Many years ago, I attended a performance of Aida. This was a full production and the director wanted to impress. In the opening scene, he featured a live elephant. The audience seemed to anticipate the arrival of the elephant more than the two hours of Verdi that would follow the pachyderm's entrance. As the curtain parted, there stood the elephant as right as rain, center stage. The woman seated beside me, unable to contain herself, shouted,...

narrated by Ian McCrorie · 2022 · 3 minutes 32 seconds

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Life naturally simplifies. The many miracles of small things sidetrack the singular quest for ever greater success and accomplishments. Life loses its Photoshop luster when you simply live it. The little voices in your head or your gut may tell you to go right or left, here or there as they are conditioned. These are not usually the voices of wisdom but of...

narrated by Ian McCrorie · 2022 · 2 minutes 10 seconds

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Even the daily grind can be seen anew. Marcus Aurelius said it best: “Early in the morning I am rising to do the work of a human being.” It matters not a jot how you spend your days, but each one bears the possibility of doing the work of a human being.

narrated by Ian McCrorie · 2022 · 2 minutes 41 seconds

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Doing non-doing, allowing the suffocating angst in, though insisting it must sit in the corner and not suck out all the oxygen in the room, opens up a new way of seeing and experiencing daily life. It is as if you had been suffering from severe cataracts before and now your vision is unimpaired. The clouds have dissipated. The familiar takes on subtle hues and an unfamiliar clarity, leading one to marvel in the contradiction that while everything is the same, everything is different....

narrated by Ian McCrorie · 2022 · 3 minutes 56 seconds

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I run almost every day. I don't push myself. I enjoy the sights and especially the smells as I run. I don't wear my glasses for that reason; my astigmatism enhances my sense of smell. I like the mustiness of mud thawing in the early spring and the tang of last night's rain as it evaporates in the first rays of the sun. Running is a kind of physical meditation. I am hyperaware of my breathing and every tweak and twitch in my body. I feel the sensations in my footfall. Like my daily meditation practice,...

narrated by Ian McCrorie · 2022 · 3 minutes 23 seconds

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The fourth and final noble truth, the prescription for our illness, to continue the medical metaphor, is outlined in eight stages. The path (which is not, you may remember, a path but a wheel) covers everything from your behavior, your occupation, your speech, and your daily practice, right up to your thoughts and understanding. Note, however,...

narrated by Ian McCrorie · 2022 · 3 minutes 56 seconds

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We used to drive to Toronto every Christmas vacation to spend the holidays with my grandmother. It was about 250 miles away, two-lane blacktop all the way. Our means of conveyance was at first a Prefect and later a Vanguard, both inexpensive, four-cylinder British imports with all the fire power of a lawn mower with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome....

narrated by Ian McCrorie · 2022 · 3 minutes 34 seconds

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