Reader's Write: "Where Do You Work?"

A friend writes:

"Nice one, cutting the hours back to practice. Where do you work that lets you do that, lucky."

My job is wonderful, and I feel very fortunate to have it. It doesn't pay a lot, and there isn't really any "upward mobility" or "career ladder" to climb. But, it is lots of fun, and the people are great. Basically, I wake up at 4am, eat an omellette, and then drive to meet my carpool from which point we continue on to Wattsonville. There we pick up a truck which has been loaded with super fresh fruits and veggies (mostly picked the day before) and start driving up toward the
Bay Area.

By the time I arrive, it's around 7am, the sun is up, people are laughing, and the day is getting underway. We set up our veggie stand at the Farmer's Market (I'm in Berkeley on Saturday and Montclaire on Sunday) and start selling by 9am. It's fast paced hustle and bustle - not at all like Safeway. We weigh people's food by old time scales and geuestimate the prices to the nearest quarter. Sometimes I can take maybe about 20 customers per minute when things are really flying!

We sell super fresh California delicious certified organic produce. It's seriously some of the highest quality food on the planet. Special Bonus: I get to take home as much as I want as well as "trade" with other vendors for whatever they are selling. My food bill averages about $10 per week. And, when I get it home, I don't even do fancy recipes or lots of spice because the food is so good and so fresh that it just bursts with flavour as-is. My favorite dish is to throw everything in a cast-iron pot with some olive oil (garlic, onions, potatoes, squash, broccoli, tomatoes, fennel with some fresh rosemary, marjoram, sage) a little salt - don't even cut them up, just cook 'em whole. And, eat them super hot right out of the pot. Simple food can taste so good.

Before i know it, it's already 1PM, market's over and time to pack up and go home. I get back to the farm around 4:30pm, finish unloading the truck and getting it ready for the next day. Clock out with about a 12.5 hour day and drive home for a quick bubble bath and a few hours of sleep before I repeat the whole thing again the next day. So, right now I'm just working Saturday and Sunday (for a total of 25 hours)... and then mon-fri I have free to do whatever I want!

My Breakthrough Books (chronological order)

I thought for fun, I'd write a list of those books and teachers who have had huge impacts in my life and my continuing path of personal awakening. I will try to get all the big ones in there, but may miss a few. I'm sure the most important will make it on the list. I don't necessarily recommend any of these anymore, as it seems like it's as much a matter of timing as anything. They were perfect for me, where I was, at the time. I hope this doesn't come off as too much narcissistic reminiscing, but I just wanted to share these resources out of gratitude.


1985 (?)
Aikido Class
I remember bowing to the Sensei and wearing cool clothes. I loved (and still love) the Japanese aesthetic. I don't think I had any idea what I was doing, however, but the drop falls really helped me from breaking bones later when I got into skateboarding. And, I think the sense of flowing with life has stayed with me ever since.

1983-1988 (?)
Nueva Learning Center
I was blessed to go to this ahead-of-its-time school as a kid. I can't even imagine my life without it.

1998
Way of The Peaceful Warrior by Dan Millman
I didn't read that many books back in those days, but this one was recommended to me by my mom, and was my first glimpse at a possible spiritual life that wasn't confined by the likes of Christianity or Science.

1999
The Tao of Physics, by Fritjof Capra
This was my first introduction to Eastern philosophy that was presented in a way that I was actually interested. (My first time hearing the Dharma.) I was simultaneously studying quantum physics at UC Berkeley, falling deeply deeply in love, and having the time of my life - the synchronicity was unbelievable and changed the entire course of my life. I think, after reading it, I called my sister and told her that I was a Buddha (psychotic delusions are always the mark of a really good book - he he). After this, I read a vast number of books from 1999 on in many different subjects that would be way too long a list to put here. None of them stand out now as particular highlights, though each one had a piece of the puzzle.

2003
10 Day Retreat, Suan Mokh, Thailand
My first real taste of silent meditation. I got into some very peaceful states, but really had no idea what these monks were going on about, with their Jhanas and Wheels of dependent origination and whatnot.

Gestalt Therapy, by Frederick S. Perls
I learned how to yell at pillows! No, actually, I just read the book (didn't actually do any therapy per se.) The book was my inspiration to stop being shy and start talking to real people in the real world (though it was something of a bumpy ride at first).

2004
Without Embarrasment (link requires parental supervision), by Mike Pilinski
It's totally embarrassing to mention this book here (if you click the link, you'll see what I mean - but don't click it at work). Ha! I mean, it's one of the cheeziest books out there, and I wouldn't really recommend it. But, out of all the dating books that I read from 2004-2006 or so, this one still stands out in my mind the most (thanks Mike!). The basic thing I got from it was to start questioning my shame. Like, I would discover a self-judgement: "I'm bad if I do xyz..." and then question "am I really bad?" It sounds simple, but it had a Profound Impact!

2007
The Authentic Man Program
I don't really know what they did, or if it really helped at all, but I do know it re-ignited the flame of my inner journey. I'm sure Decker would consider this success enough.

2008
10 Day Vipassana Course in the tradition of Sayagyi U Ba Khin and S.N. Goenka
Recommended to me by Decker and Bryan from The Authentic Man Program, my first course at the California Vipassana Center dropped a bomb on my psyche that's still sending shock waves through the Earth's crust. This really re-ignited the inner journey which started with Tao of Physics in 1999, and this time the lid blew off.

The Point of Existence by A.H. Almaas
What Goenka provided in practice, Almaas delivered in theory. For the very very very first time in my entire life, I actually considered that there might be an Absolute Truth (albeit beyond any explanation) and that therefore there might actually be... that's right... a point of existence. Not at all what I thought it'd be though. I think the meticulousness and scientific scrutiny with which the Diamond Mind books are presented actually gave me for the first time some faith that this stuff was real, and that it was well-traveled territory, and that although it's subjective and hard to describe, it is no less available for scientific discovery as any other landscape in existence. I'm not sure I would've gone on if not for this book.

Adyashanti
I found Adyashanti after first recommendation from my friend Greg, and then also from Damian (thanks guys). I really liked his down to earth descriptions of what it may mean to live the enlightened life. Again, it gave me a sense that there really was something going on here, and that it was possible.

2009
The Way to Ultimate Calm by Webu Sayadaw
The Vimuttimagga by The Arahant Upatissa
During my stay at the California Vipassana Center, I read a number of Theravada Buddhist texts, these two stand out as my favorites for extremely direct and practical teachings about meditation. And, the six month stay at CVC was a breakthrough in itself, to say the least.

Mastering The Core Teachings Of The Buddha, by Daniel Ingram
This is a profound book which is direct and to the point.

2010
Christopher Titmuss
Open Dharma
All of this is on my blog in the archives, so you guys know the story. But, I have so much love for Christopher, Jaya, Jess, Ajay, and Zohar.

I hope maybe someone gets a fresh idea for reading options or retreat options from this. If your out there reading this, I'd love to hear any breakthrough books or teachers, etc. which came at the right time and left a meaningful impact in your life. You can add it to the comment section and keep the list going!

Portrait Of The Artist

"An artist must possess Nature. He must identify himself with her rhythm, by efforts that will prepare the mastery which will later enable him to express himself in his own language."
- Henri Matisse

Self Portrait

Punk Monk Meditation

A while back, I listened to an interview with Fleet Maull where he talks about "plunge experiences." One of the plunge experiences he was talking about was something called a "Street Retreat," in which the practitioner goes on retreat as a homeless person on the streets of a big city. These Street Retreats are put on by Bernie Glassman and the Zen Peacemakers. They also lead a retreat in Auschwitz where they sit by the train tracks and help heal the land of it's violent past.

I must admit, the street retreat didn't sound so tempting. But, I did my mini-version for an hour or two today. i shaved into the crazy mohawk ensemble you see in the picture, put on an army style jacket, and then did my walking meditation through Golden Gate Park and Ocean Beach. I can't say I really learned much from the experience, though it's always interesting to notice how much our physical appearance affects our self-image as well as the image others hold of us. I hope I didn't scare anyone.

I saw one man picking up bottles for recycling and eating some crumbs from someone's thrown out bag of chips. I felt a little twinge of sadness that for me it's just an "experiment," but for someone else it may be a world beyond their design.

Coming back, I decided to look into this Punk Monk thing more and found the website of San Francisco's official Punk Monk - an episcopal friar! Cool.

There's also a group called the Dharma Punx. Although it looks cool, I don't know much about it. There was one guy at a retreat up in North Fork who was part of the Dharma Punx who had a "Meditate and Destroy" sweatshirt on during the retreat. Arggg! Rar! yeah.

Don't worry, though. I shaved it all off after my little experiment, and now I'm just an ordinary bald guy - ready for my trip to the Monastery in a couple weeks.

Such vanity from nothing
But a spirit; a hungry ghost who feeds upon our sighs, swallows up the echo of our wailing days – we, whose withered hearts grow plaintive, now wandering as a flock of birds.
- The Punk Monk

Bangkok, Babaji, and Bob Dylan

Well, I wasn't going to write anymore before I left, but I'm back in the internet cafe listening to Bob Dylan on youtube.

I guess my beard must be getting LONG because random people around town are calling me Babaji. It's so funny how the tourist crowd of Khao San Road, Thailand is so different from Rishikesh, India. In Rishikesh, I think I was a little bit clean cut for the hippie crowd there. And, now I feel like a weird hippie surrounded with all these college kids and their 75 cent beers.

The Red Shirt protests have apparently settled a little bit after 38 people have died. But, it should be safe to get out of here tomorrow. One thing seems sure (from talking with the locals) no one seems to like fighting. Yet, we humans seem to do it anyway! Oh, what silly monkeys we are.

Here are some Bob Dylan lyrics:

And what'll you do now, my blue-eyed son ?
And what'll you do now my darling young one ?
I'm a-goin' back out 'fore the rain starts a-fallin'
I'll walk to the depths of the deepest black forest
Where the people are a many and their hands are all empty
Where the pellets of poison are flooding their waters
Where the home in the valley meets the damp dirty prison
Where the executioner's face is always well hidden
Where hunger is ugly, where souls are forgotten
Where black is the color, where none is the number
And I'll tell and think it and speak it and breathe it
And reflect it from the mountain so all souls can see it
Then I'll stand on the ocean until I start sinkin'
But I'll know my songs well before I start singin'

- Bob Dylan, Hard Rain

For My Grandfather

As I stood in the bookstore, holding "The Devotional Poems of Mirabai," I flipped through another couple pages when my eyes landed on this poem:

Whatever thou seest twixt earth and sky
Will perish.
...
Take no pride in the body,
It will soon be mingling with the dust.
This life is like the sporting of sparrows,
It will end with the onset of night.

- Mirabai

It seems that Mirabai was singing to me again. Earlier that day, I had discovered that on May 5th, my grandfather Russell Hawkins passed away. He reached the impressive age of 95, and was well loved. I feel grateful for having him in my life.

So, Grandfather, I chose another Mirabai verse to share with you now. Please enjoy...

Go to that impenetrable realm

That Death himself trembles to look upon.

There plays the fountain of love

With swans sporting on its waters.

- Mirabai

My family has organized a gathering in memorial of my grandfather and also in honor of the passing of his generation on my mom's side of the family. Many friends and family will attend, and yes... so will I. In 9 days, I will be on an airplane back to the US!

More on my travel plans soon, but for now:

"Annica!" (things change)

With Love,

Daniel

Readers Write: Compassion in The World

I've been writing some long email responses to some of the readers of my blog (ie. friends and family), and since I already did the writing, I figured I could put some of it here (edited some) and share the message with everyone. Hopefully I won't upset those who wrote to me. This one's from my Dad. He writes:

Hi Daniel,
Happy Losar – belatedly.

...Here is something you can find when you look up the city on Wikipedia: "Dharamshala" is a Hindi word (derived from Sanskrit) that is a compound of dharma and shālā . An approximate translation into English would be 'spiritual dwelling' or, more loosely, 'sanctuary'.

Cool! I just read that the Dalai Lama's ideal goal for Tibet would be that it becomes a "global peace sanctuary!" A place for human's and animal's to live simply, compassionately, and at peace. I love that idea!

...On Saturday at a dinner, I sat across from a fellow who talked about being red-green color blind which got me thinking about that feature again. I wonder how you see the myriad colors of India. Your photos are wonderful. I found a web site that simulates different color blindness visions

I loaded the image, 17th_karmapa_funny_face_losar.jpg, into the simulator and tried the different options. Tibetan red is a nice dark color; good contrasts. When you get back maybe you can help me see as you see. At any rate, in any hue rendering your photos are wonderful.

Thanks. Nothing like some fatherly appreciation!

Yesterday on the radio I heard a piece on the new Delhi ragpickers. Trash pickup is being privatized and at the moment is displacing ragpickers with private contractors – there are hopefully fixes to get the ragpickers employed or running such businesses. One person interviewed used to make 360 rupees a day and could afford to send his kids to school. Now he makes 100 rupees a day and has his whole family helping him. I think 100 rupees is about $2 a day. Yipes.

I have been reading an India atlas and looking up information on Bihar. Last year was a horrible drought year e.g. "With crops failing, 3.3 mn people in Bihar risk death by hunger" November 30th, 2009 ICT by IANS By Sahil Makkar. And, another article: "Even after 50 years of planned development more than half of the population of Bihar are classified as poor. According to All India Statistical Data 1999-2000, 54.63% of total population of Bihar survive in absolute poverty i.e., they are living below poverty line. It means, they do not even receive the minimum basic needs of livelihood." I realize it must be a painful experience, but you are really there in the middle of this intractable situation.

Bihar was incredibly poor, yes. It was announced during the retreat that on one very cold night in Bodh Gaya, 4 villagers had died of the cold. Too poor for proper warmth and shelter.

I am glad you saw the Dalai Lama. He is full of joy and good sense. I think about what it is like to struggle for justice for your whole life time. You know you will not succeed in your lifetime. And still to have such joy, humor, practicality, and intensity of purpose. I think he is one of the most remarkable people in the world. And, he was tapped for the job. He did not fill out an application. But he stepped up to the job.

Love,
Dad

About the Dalai Lama, I totally agree with you, and it has been a wonderful experience both to see him, and to see the impact he's had on the people of this village. On the flip side, I have been exploring another issue which is the issue of "spiritual celebrity." I heard it said by one teacher in the west that we (as westerners) don't know how to deal with the concept of a "guru" or a spiritual teacher. We don't have a good model for it. (Probably there are lots of poor models for it worldwide, but specifically speaking about the west...) We have preachers, and we have the pope. But, perhaps more influential, we have celebrities! And, so, this teacher was suggesting that a lot of people who want to live a good life may fall back on the celebrity model when they don't know what else to do.

I think it'd be a shame to say that the love of the Dalai Lama for the Tibetan people is any better or more important or more dazzling than say the love of a mother for her child, or the love of a child for bananas! I'm not saying that you were suggesting such a hierarchy, Dad, but this aura of celebrity does seem to surround the Dalai Lama, and I think it's disempowering for the heart of the individual. Anyway, enough said about that.

Thanks for sharing, Dad, and I hope you don't mind me passing on the message with others.

Cushion Report: 20 Days in Bodh Gaya

This is the abbreviated version of my notes from my meditation retreat. I'm mostly posting the cushion reports for my Dhamma brothers and sisters out there who are walking the path as well. It may be a bit technical for those who haven't studied meditation as much. So, if that's the case, don't worry. It's just like my research report on my discoveries within the vast realm of this human mind phenomenon. If even that sounds a bit technical... well, I just like meditation, so I like to write about it too. Your comments and thoughts are welcome.

I had mostly been practicing Goenka-style Vipassana (posted about it earlier), and I was prepared for something different this time. The teachers seemed reluctant to give firm instructions like Goenka does, and rather they gave more responsibility to the yogi to find what works best for him. I ended up floundering with this for a while, and ultimately just went about using Goenka with a little bit more open mindfulness here and there, and occasional noting or inquiry. According to my notes, I didn't seem to really start practicing until about day 13. But, better late than never.

This being my first time in India, I had many challenges with the environment as well. But, you'll see as I go along with the report.

Here's the play-by-play...

Day 1:
Slowing down. Anapana. Settling mind. Typical of a day 1. Felt cold & flu symptoms coming on.

Day 2:
I recieved a warm India welcome - Illness! From my notes: "HELL DEATH PAIN." Head pain, fever, snot everywhere. Attempting to work with the illness, I had some profound moments of letting go. 2 specific moments which felt like dying - like I was ready to die - like I was letting go into a deeper peace. That was kinda cool - it was almost dissapointing to discover that actually I was still alive and... sick! Ha! Most of my attention, however, was on taking care of my body.

Day 3:
It got worse before it got better. "Lots of crying" Took medicine and then slept. Changed rooms to a single kuti. Dark room, alone in bed - heaven. Slept most of the day. Meditation-wise: Some moments of stabilizing or resting the mind. This seemed like maybe what Ajahn Brahm refers to as "the Nimmita," but not a stable nimmita. The mind was simply resting on a mental object. This kept me motivated to keep practicing despite the illness.

Day 4:
More sleep. Started getting confused by the multitude of teachings being suggested. I contemplated the impermanence of all this. From Goenka to Titmuss - Annica! Body was healing itself.

Day 5:
"Health Back to 75%. Sitting again." Lots of insights, plus more experiences of "stabilizing" concentration. Experienced some bliss, which is something I'm developing my capacity for. Each time I'm just a little more comfortable with it, and that feels like success. Progress was ungrounded however, and I started having lots of distracting thoughs (that will continue for some days) about "attainments" what a great meditation achievements I must be making, on and on... I knew that this couldn't possibly be helpful, but my mind was quite hooked on the subject. Very lost in the concept of "tasting Nibbana." Craving, excitation, etc.

Day 6:
Similar to day 5, more insights, more equanimity. Thoughts about equanimity, and equanimity with those thoughts. Equanimity with the craving, circular thinking, etc. Not what I expected in that it was more equanimous rather than joyful. It was just an ok-ness with everything. I explored this experience with no urgency to move past it. Still lots of commentary though.

Day 7:
More of the same. Progress with insights and practice. But, still comentary, attachments, excitation with each step of progress. Some moodiness. Still confused and lost about technique and teachings.

Day 8:
Practice is scattered, dull, and lost with occasional powerful insights. Health mostly better, but body pain still. Finally starting to adjust to India.

Day 9:
Still feeling lost and confused with technique. I interviewed with the teacher (Radha) and asked about it. She anwered, "middle path" and "whatever frees the mind." This didn't help much. I decided to just go on faith: "all questions are eventually answered through the practice."

Day 10:
Faith helped. Back to awareness and equanimity. Started getting a sense of what's meant by "formations." I described it in my notes like this: "seeing that this moment is not the last moment." Because this was the transition day between the two ten-day retreats, I took the afternoon to go sit under the Bodhi Tree! A cool advantage of sitting in Bodh Gaya! Christopher Titmuss showed up that evening with an epic opening talk. Very happy to have him here. Craving and excitement about it too.

Day 11:
Adjusting to "new" retreat. Still grappling with craving meditative attainment. Excitation, wanting, etc.

Day 12:
Finally, I just decided to drop all the "attainment" stuff. Slow day. Some doubt about why I'm even here or why do any of this. Some pain and confusion.

Day 13:
Doubt got worse, so I eventually sat down and asked my inner guidance what to do. Inner guidance gave a very clear response: "just do the retreat." This settled my mind considerably. Ease and ok-ness now. Staying with direct experience.

Day 14:
Mind calming. Remembering a lot of old "lessons learned" and getting back in the groove of practice. Doing less, being more.

Day 15:
Christopher said: "harcore buddhists are just a nightmare!" Funny! I went deeper into being with direct experience. Relaxing, happier.

Day 16:
Chill day!
Tranquility and Joy. Lots of "just sitting" and not using any technique. Loving the retreat and most everything around me. Finally letting go. Concious and relaxed.

Day 17:
From note: "PAIN. Lots of pain." I think I overdid it with the sitting yesterday. Body soreness, physical pain. Sore muscles. Thoughts starting to come up about "after the retreat," so concentration weakening a bit.

Day 18:
Pains and doubts - worry about if I have some physical condition. Lots of time in bed. Christopher suggested "moving the energy" with yoga or a brisk walk. This maybe helped a little, but mostly staying in bed helped. Very bright vivid lucid dream at night. Still relaxing into the ups and downs of experience. Restlessness about the end of the retreat building.

Day 19:
More pain in body. Christopher led an inquiry about "what is nirvana?" and it was phenomenal! I felt big chunk of misconception dropping away. Some deep and profound insights that I can't really explain in word. Practice was strong, but still overcome with body pain. Lots of time in bed. Contemplating dukkha (suffering).

Day 20:
It's over. From notes: "amazing level of happiness and trust throughout the pain."

Anyway, I hope this long and very personal report of my inner adventure may be of value to my Dhamma brothers and sisters. It's pretty weird to share such intimate inner stuff with the world (and there's a good chance that meditation teachers would advise against it), but I guess I just like getting naked sometimes.

Be Happy.

How to Change Your Life with a Backpack and an Airplane Ticket

Only a few hours left before I head to the airport, slug through security, find my little seat on a crowded plane, and then take to the air for a long journey across the globe.

If you read the title of this post and were hoping for some kind of how-to guide, well here it is in three simple, easy, marketable, friendly steps:

Buy a plane ticket.
Pack everything you have into a backpack.
Go.

Change your life - it's that simple.

Why Travel The World For What You Already Have?

Why India? Why go all the way around the world just to sit in silence with my eyes closed? What am I going to find in India that I couldn't find anywhere else?

These are some questions that a lot of people have asked me lately. I imagine them to be commonly asked of any spiritual traveler.

Well, my story might be a bit different from others... It starts with frequent flier miles. I earned enough miles for an international ticket, and my miles were set to expire in March of 2010. I wasn't about to let them go.

So I had the first ingredient: a free ticket.

Another thing worth noting is that many of the meditation centers in India and Asia are run entirely on donation. The California Vipassana Center, and some other centers in the US are also run on donation, but many of them charge too. Not to mention, a donation in India goes a lot farther than it does here. And, when I'm not at a meditation center, my costs will be much cheaper for daily room and board.

So, free ticket, free meditation centers... this is looking pretty cost effective so far.

Then, of course, we can throw in the fact that: I will meet many other international pilgrims also on their spiritual journey's; I can visit the historical sites that I've read about in the Buddha's life; I can meditate in the same places where thousands (if not millions) of Buddhist followers have sat and meditated before; I can visit the land of origin of Buddhist thought (not to mention so many other spiritual traditions too), etc.

And, to top it all off I was in search of a place where I could do some serious meditation long term with highly qualified instructors. These were my two biggest challenges with the S.N. Goenka center that I recently stayed at: retreats were limited to 10 days max, and there was very little personal instruction.

So from one perspective, I'm off for a pilgrimage to the holy land in hopes to find the eternal Truth of all human existence by studying with the great enlightened masters and surrendering into the sacred spaces of India's ancient country. From the other perspective, it just seemed like a fun way to not have to go back to work.

Will I find my soul in a fresh cooked Samosa? We'll just have to wait to find out.

"It's kind of fun to do the impossible." - Walt Disney

India Dreamin' (Travel Plans For January)

Ten Days Left in the USA!

I'm gettin' a little antsy in my pantsy over this ...I'm excited! In ten days, I'll be boarding a plane heading off for my next grand adventure.

Here's my itinerary to start with: The trip to my first destination will be a four day trip. (At least I should get in a lot of airplane meditation.)
January 12th - San Francisco to LA
January 13th/14th - LA to Tokyo to Bangkok
January 15th - Bangkok to Kolkata (Calcutta)
January 15th/16th - Overnight train to Gaya
January 16th - auto-rickshaw to Bodh Gaya

I chose Bodh Gaya as my first stop because I wanted to attend the annual Bodh Gaya Retreat led by Christopher Titmuss and some of his other co-instructors.

January 17th to Feb 6th - Silent Retreat in Bodh Gaya, India.

The perfect place to start a trip, Bodh Gaya is the town where the Buddha is said to have attained Enlightenment. And, there is even a tree in the middle of town which is said to be a grandchild of the very tree under which the Buddha sat.

"This Truth, won to by me, is deep, difficult to see, difficult to understand, peaceful, excellent, beyond dialectic, subtle, to be experienced by the wise... This that through many toils I've won"
- The Buddha (upon his enlightenment)

I've been told by fellow meditators that a retreat in Bodh Gaya will inevitably have a special energy to it. The entire city is said to be a center of Buddhist practice in India (though in the country of it's origin only 0.76% of Indians are Buddhist). A world famous pilgrimage spot as well, Buddhist practitioners come from all over the world. Literally, it is said to be a Buddhist bouquet - red and yellow robes of Tibetan monks, the saffron robes of south-east Asia. Black and gray robes of China, Korea, and Japan.

The teachers of the retreat aren't any whom I've studied with before. However, Christopher Titmuss was a monk under Ajahn Buddhadasa at Wat Suan Mokh in Thailand, and this is where I first learned Vipassana (although many years after Titmuss had left, and after Buddhadasa had died.) Christopher Titmuss has a number of his discourses available online in mp3s (many which were recorded at previous Bodh Gaya retreats.) I've listened to a bit, and liked what I heard.

I'm definitely looking forward to this opportunity, and to my longest retreat yet (20 consecutive days).

After my sit, I plan to hang out in Bodh Gaya for a bit and get a chance to actually see some of India... with my eyes open! I also plan to visit some other Buddhist pilgrimage spots while on my way up to Nepal for more meditation. I'll write more about February's travel plans a little later on.

Wish me safe travels!

The Empty Vessel

"If your mind is empty, it is always ready for anything"
- Shunryu Suzuki Roshi

Here lies an empty blog. Who knows what will fill it up? Like the empty vessel of my mind, I never know what will pop up next. And as I empty my mind onto the pages of this blog in posts to come, I only hope that there will be a reader out there in internet land who will enjoy my efforts.

The photos will be, for the most part, as seen from my own camera lens, and the words from my own finger tips. I wish I could also take credit for whatever intelligence, wisdom, or humor may arise. But really, I think I'm probably just getting lucky.

I always get nervous about beginning something new. Perhaps because I imagine that there might be some hairy growling monsters dressed in rags who will read this and then come and grab me with their claws and eat me alive while making lots of slurrping sounds and giggling. That would be a most unfortunate result of such a simple internet venture - but at this point, it's just a risk I'm going to have to take.

If you find yourself getting bored or lost, or you just don't want to read anymore, then I'll offer you now a short summary of everything I will ever write. Here it goes: I love you; I'm traveling; I like to meditate; I hope you're happy; Human Beings are weird; Be well.

“There is no moment of delight in any pilgrimage like the beginning of it.” – Charles Dudley Warner

My Original Charcoal Paintings

These are some of my charcoal paintings. I learned this technique in Thailand about 6 years ago, and most of the paintings were done after that. I haven't done much in a while, but I still love it.

These first paintings were original works based on photos I took:









These two were based on photos I got on the internet, but with my own artistic touch.





These two were projects I was assigned from my teacher while I was doing my apprenticeship. You may recognize them as pretty famous photos (national geographic, I believe).





Here's a photo of my teacher, and one of his works. He was incredible!

Who Is Daniel Johnson?

“I am so glad to salute the brave, reckless gods in another man. So glad to meet a man who will abide by his very self… If only people would meet in their very selves, without wanting to put some idea over one another, or some ideal. Damn all ideas and all ideals. Damn all the false stress, and the pins.
I am I. Here am I. Where are you?” - D.H. Lawrence

I am not enlightened, nor do I have any special powers or mystical attainments. I have played the role of expert in the past (teaching English in South Korea, teaching three year-olds how to skateboard, teaching single men how to meet and keep the woman of their dreams) but at my core, I claim no authority over life's great mysteries. I'm a student first, and a student of all the unfathomable and unending intricacies of this world of mind and matter.

I'm willing to talk about anything or explore anything without hiding behind a sense of taboo or secrecy. And, with a great respect, I may at times assume that the readers of this website are mature enough to handle some of the straight-forward facts of life, as well as the perhaps not so factual opinions of my crazy mind.

I am interested in spiritual awakening, travel, and all kinds of artistic expression (including: painting, music, dance, poetry, skateboarding, fashion, writing, yelling, chewing with your mouth open, public speaking, politics, cooking, architecture and so forth.) My current life project revolves around the complete mastery of meditation, with that being the main topic of this website.

My spiritual practice follows primarily from the teachings of the Buddha (the Buddha-Dhamma), particularly the Theravada tradition and the practice of Vipassana-Bhavana (Insight Meditation) which I've been practicing for a few years. However, my teachers have varied far and wide throughout the many years of my personal evolution, and would be such a large list that it'd be impossible to compile here. Let's just say, I like it all, and my mind is usually more bent toward synthesis than sectarianism.

You may also notice that I like exploring cultures, and I like to travel. Having already visited 19 countries across the globe and many of the 50 United States, my current pilgrimage to India and Nepal will be the next chapter in this story.

I appreciate a love for truth and honesty, for the desire to peel back layers of appearance and discover who and what we really are. I prefer the company of fellow adventurers who openly share what they know and what they experience in order to help each go deeper into their own journey.

I write with the hope that I may entertain, inspire, delight, inform, stir things up a little, and generally give something back to the many wonderful people who have supported me and continue to support me on my journey.

I received a BS degree in Chemistry from UC Berkeley, and spent most of my life living in California. I've held jobs doing everything from living on an organic farm and selling fruits and vegetables, to environmental chemist, to working personally with hundreds of men as a life coach and mentor, to sales and marketing, to video editor and director of photography, to fire prevention and maintenance. And when not working, I enjoy creating art, playing guitar, or swimming in a creek or ocean.

Enjoy yourself, and don't hesitate to contact me.

Live fully, and love fully.

- Daniel Johnson

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