Category: Philosophy
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Observing the Breath
What exactly should one observe in the Breath during meditation? That was my nagging question after the first few sittings of Aaana Paana at Dhamma Paphulla in Jan of 2016, when I went in for my first 10 day retreat. I went into the 10 day retreat with a lot of excitement and motivation. But…
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Vipassana and Anger
I had a violent and angry outburst three days ago, the kind I had not experienced in a long time. I have been consistently practicing vipassana for close to 8 weeks. In the past 4 weeks, its been two sessions of an hour each, every single day. I know that I am making progress on…
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An approach to getting fit
Being fit has a whole lot of benefits associated with it. Getting fit, on the other hand may feel like a roller-coaster ride. The process seems to feel less than inspiring. One has to deal with making new year resolutions, only to break it just a couple of weeks later, while simultaneously noticing other people…
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Seeing, not with eyes. Hearing, not with ears.
Eyes are not the only ones seeing, ears are not the only ones hearing. Vision is a sensation, but it is not always something that happens in the eyes. Hearing is a sensation, but it is not always something that happens in the ears. Pain is a sensation, but it is not always something that…
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Waves of Sensations
When one sits by the beach and watches waves in the ocean, it becomes clear that waves arise, do their thing and pass away. No wave stays put. Once arisen, they move, and ultimately pass away. Each wave is made of the same water as every other wave. No new water is created, or destroyed.…
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Back to Vipassana
My first and only vipassana retreat was in January 2016. The retreat was great and I got back with lot of enthusiasm. I did attempt to get into regular practice once I got back, but soon I realised that I was getting nowhere. So, I stopped my practice entirely in April 2016, a mere three…
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Learning Backwards
Watching my son and a several other kids at Aarohi Open Learning community, I have come to notice a new kind of learning – which I would like to call as “backward learning.” However, before I can actually get to describing it, I would like to first talk about something else first … Forward Learning…
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Lifestyle Changes
Sometime in November last year, a few months after I had turned 40, I looked at myself and felt dissatisfied about my health & fitness. I had been dissatisfied for a long time, but it felt like I had reached my threshold by Nov 2021. Nutrition – Lifestyle I signed up for a 3 month…
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My son knows how to create his relationships
Yesterday evening, I was working on something. Advay, my 8 year old came by and without giving a damn about the fact that I was occupied with something, he started telling me something and demanded that I pay attention to him. I was super-pissed. In a angry tone I said – “Please give me some…
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What is the meaning of meaning?
Advay (my 8 year old) asks me: “Appa, what is the meaning of meaning?” Having read a lot of philosophy, this question appealed to the philosopher in me. I paused for a while, pondered over the question and tried to grasp the depth of such a question. After spending a while in deep thought I…
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Progress with Vipassana
Since completing my Vipassana course in Jan this year, I have been trying to scrape time to practise atleast once a day, if not two (like they suggest). The idea is to find a place at home and practise Vipassana for a period of 1 hour, twice a day (morning & evening). I have been…
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Vipassana – Getting in touch with reality as-it-is
It has now been almost a month since I finished my Vipassana course. I still feel the magic! So I thought that it is apt to write about my experience now – since it has not faded away. There are a ton of blogs out on the Internet that give a fairly accurate day-by-day account of the…
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Vipassana – almost begins
Since my graduation – there has always been some sort of an interest in “figuring out life”. The vast abyss that life is – sometimes scares me, sometimes inspires me and sometimes makes me just plain lazy. I seek education in the hope that I might be able to make leaps in my journey of…