Padraig O’Morain, Irish Times

‘Discuss your problems and meditate together each morning to empty the mind of all your problems.”

This is the advice given to Prince William and Kate Middleton by Britain’s senior Buddhist monk, the Venerable Bogoda Seelawimala.

The picture of the two young royals sitting down to meditate each morning seems an unlikely one. Yet they could do a lot worse, and there is much in Buddhist philosophy that can help them or anyone else to negotiate the sometimes stormy waters of marriage.

For stormy waters there will be, meditation or no meditation. A point will come when they will start to irritate each other and the age-old question – Why …

Like many who are drawn to the Bay Area, Chanda Williams Möllers, a yoga teacher and engineer, was looking for change. Within weeks of her arrival from New York in 2007, she made her way to a San Francisco meditation group affiliated with Spirit Rock. She also started a master’s program that in time led to her recent position as wellness manager at PG&E.

Life was going swimmingly. No boyfriend, but she had developed dating criteria. A potential partner would have a spiritual practice, a supportive family and work he enjoyed. An added bonus would be if he was from a different country. “Americans are too often consumed with consuming,” she explains.

And …

How do we maintain an active practice while being immersed in the world of parenting and work? Are children a hindrance to spiritual practice? Or can parenting also be a path? Steve Bell, Buddhist practitioner and social worker, speaks from his experience of meditating while parenting two young boys.

I tell prospective parents to make a list of all the things they enjoy doing in their spare time. What are your hobbies? Do you like to go to the movies? I ask them to list the obscure little things they would miss. Do you like timely haircuts? Do you like to luxuriate in the bathroom, on the toilet, in the shower, and grooming? …