Hi, I’m Bodhipaksa, and I set up Wildmind in 2001 with the help of several friends who offered me their time and technical support when I was a grad student with no financial resources at all. I’m a member of the Triratna Buddhist Order, I’ve been a practicing Buddhist since 1982, and I’ve been teaching meditation since the late 1980’s.
I’m the author of Wildmind: A Step-by-Step Guide to Meditation, a book called Living as a River, which explores the Buddhist teaching of not-self though a traditional reflection on interconnectedness called the Six Element Practice, and Vegetarianism: A Buddhist View, which is a book on Buddhism and the practice of vegetarianism. Additionally, I’ve written I Can’t Believe It’s Not Buddha! (a book on fake Buddha quotes), This Difficult Thing of Being Human (on self compassion), and A Year of Buddha’s Wisdom (which is a collection of daily readings, reflections, and meditation suggestions). I’m also the author of ten audiobooks of guided meditations.
In Oct 2012 gave a TEDx talk on compassion.
I was given the name Bodhipakṣa when I joined the Triratna Buddhist Order in 1993 (although at that time it was called the “Western Buddhist Order”). “Bodhi” means enlightenment and “paksha” (there’s a dot under the “s” which gives it a “sh” sound) means “wings.” So my name means “Wings of Enlightenment.”
I was born and brought up in Scotland, although I now live in the US. For three years, I was the director of Dhanakosa retreat center, in the Highlands of Scotland, and after that I ran the Edinburgh Buddhist center. For three years, I taught Buddhist meditation in the Religious Studies department at the University of Montana, before moving to New Hampshire.
I love teaching meditation. It’s had a tremendously positive effect on my own life, and I’ve seen it have an equally large effect on the lives of my students. Over and over again, students have told me how learning to meditate has changed their lives.
For many years I’ve been excited by the potential for bringing the benefits of meditation to millions of people over the Internet. That enthusiasm is what led to me setting up Wildmind.
Wildmind started as a project while I was completing a Masters degree in Montana. Supported by a grant from the American Council of Learned Societies, I worked with Dr. Alan Sponberg to develop an innovative Internet based meditation course for the University of Montana, and that experiment formed the basis of Wildmind.
I hope you find these materials useful, and I’d love to hear from you. Please feel free to drop me a line using the comment form below. If you want to write more privately use the “contact” link above — the message will get to me.
I also have a personal website where you’ll find links to all my publications, YouTube videos, etc., as well as information about the meditation coaching that I do. It’s at Bodhipaksa.com.
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Help! Have subscribed to 100 day challenges before. Would really like to get the emails for sit,breathe, love. Have tried to join three times but am not getting the confirmation email. I have checked junk mail and blocked senders. I am not part of google+
The email address you used in your comment isn't subscribed to Sit Breathe Love. Send me an email at bodhi at wildmind.org and we'll get you added, Sally.
I enjoy the Scottish accent when I use your guided meditations.I spent a very happy year of my life in Scotland and the accent adds to my ease as I meditate. I am fairly new to meditation and have attended 2 day long workshops with Diana Winston at UCLA.
Good morning...just a quick note to thank you so much for your loving kindness meditation that I found on my Insight Timer app...what a gift it is! I have a dual practice as a Kashmir Shaavite and Tibetan Buddhist (it does weave together beautifully ☺ï¸Â) and I generally don't utilize guided meditations...more shamata with tonglin or mantra or chakra opening with the breath...but I will enjoy sitting with you through this meditation often going forward. May you abide in joy today! Kath
I did meditation for 1:30 - 2 hours regularly for 1.5 year, sometimes more than 2 hrs perday
because I was suffering from anxiety so to reduce the symptoms, thoughts , feelings and emotions
I used to reach a stage when there was no thought in my head blank stage.
now I have left the meditation and I m feeling depressed, disguested by people who do petty work,
my ego is gone, self esteem gone, i feel i am broen.
I used to be very energetic and had very good self image and esteem.
I feel I cannot go study in the liberary of my colege because I feel small and disguesting to go there.
I want my old self back where I was confident, had self esteem and ego
and I used to look at future with brightness, i was happily pursuing my goals.
now I feel directionless.
Hi, Raghav.
First of all, apologies for the delayed reply, but I had a very busy summer and didn't have time to keep up with the volume of comments on the blog.
I'm sorry to hear about what's happened to you. You don't say what kind of meditation you did, who taught it to you or how you learned it, whether you had guidance whether you were learning, whether you've talked to your teacher, and what advice they night have given you. So I'm guessing you didn't have a teacher, but I've still no idea what you were doing.
The state of blankness you were getting to certainly isn't what we're aiming for in meditation. While thoughts might quiet down substantially, our experience should be full of sensations from the body, feelings, emotions, etc. In other words the mind should be full, rather than blank.
So again, I've no idea what you were doing, but it sounds like you were getting yourself into a strange state of alienation by cutting yourself off from the body and by repressing your thinking (and probably the emotion that went along with that thinking). Please do feel free to tell me more about what your practice involved...
Anyway, I suppose the question is what to do now. I'd suggest that you try paying attention to the body. Do exercise. Swim. Run. Walk. Keep your attention focused as much as possible on the sensations that are arising in the body. Change your routine. Shake things up.
I don't suggest you try any meditation without guidance. In theory, I think lovingkindness meditation might help you, but I'd be worried that whatever habits you'd picked up in your previous practice would cause you to do the meditation in an unhelpful way. So I suggest staying away from any sitting meditation for now. Perhaps that's something you could go back to, with proper guidance.
Hi Bhodipaksa,
Thank you so much for this website, I have been very grateful for it, and suggested it to friends who have said the same.
I was just wondering why you were advertising a brain training device on it?
Thanks,
Isabel
Hi Isabel.
We're advertising a brain training device because we need money in order to keep running. We've tried to fund our activities mainly through selling CDs and by asking for donations from the people who have been taking part in our Year of Going Deeper events. Unfortunately only about 3% of the people who participate in these events contribute anything financially, and we're in serious danger of ceasing operations within the next couple of months.
Dear Bodhipaksa,
I just wanted to tell you how much I appreciate the time and effort you’ve put into this website and to thank you so much for all of the helpful and insightful information. I’ve been meditating daily for a little over 4 weeks now, and I just signed up for the “Living with Awareness” meditation event for February. I’m really looking forward to it. You are very kind to share your knowledge, and your teachings have helped make a real difference in my life.
Namaste
Thank you for your kind words, Tracey.
hi - I am have been doing daily meditation for about six months now and recently was in an 8 week mbsr class. In the last class we did a silent retreat and i after about the third hour during a sitting meditation where our instruction provided imagery of an ocean i experienced a very deep and complete meditative moment that was incredibly peaceful. I'm curious how you would describe this experience. Some more detail. I began to mentally picture my thoughts as distinct levels of strata or bubbles in a vertical fashion and felt and imagined myself descending deeper into my mind and self. I would alternate doing this while with watching my breath. At a point i became incredibly still and my sense of self seemed to merge very holistically with my breath. I felt peaceful and unaware of my body, my surroundings, a sense of time or any feeling of tension or anxiety. The moment was profound and am find my self longing to return. Is this simply just meditation deepening and nothing more? if so I can hardly wait to deepen my practice. I absolutely loved this experience. Thank you in advance for any response.
Hi, Even.
Yes, this is just your meditation practice deepening. But be aware that this doesn't happen linearly. In other words, we have peak experiences which may take a long time to repeat themselves. Craving to repeat them actually makes their return more difficult! So just keep going with the practice, which is about gradual and beneficial change throughout your being and your life, and not just about peak experiences.
I thank you for openly sharing your heart. Just now I followed the beautiful guided meditation made available on the insight timer app. It was profoundly restorative, allowing hidden sadnesses to be felt, soften and dissolve. The feeling of love and care and tender warmth that flowed from your gently uttered words was astonishingly moving, and, awe inspiring actually. I no longer feel separate. I feel safe and accepted. Thank you for being/doing what you are.
You're welcome, Melissa. I'm always pleased to hear that someone has benefitted from what I do.
Dear Bodhipaksa,
I am glad to have discovered your website.
May I also make a small contribution to promoting Buddhism?
My name is Edward Jurewicz and my book is called Zen-Zen Stories. It is about Zen Buddhism and Japan. It is available on Amazon.com.
As an accomplished Buddhist teacher and an author of many books on Buddhism, could you help my book reach some audience? At this point, my book on Zen Buddhism is virtually unknown and waiting to be discovered. :)
The book Zen-Zen Stories promotes many values which you and I seem to share - including compassionate living.
Thank you for your support!
- Edward Jurewicz and Master Hakuin! :)
Hi Bodhipaksa,
Have been visiting your informative blog and meditation news stories frequently over the past year.
Firstly thank you WildMind for keeping us informed of the latest stuff concerning meditation.
Am also signed up for the current LovingKindness Newsletter you are running via email.
Do have a couple of questions which I thought you might be able to shed some light on here?
Been meditating daily for about 2.5 years.
During my breathing or mindful practice my head rotates involuntarily on occasion. This has given me trouble with backache in the past, as the back also sways due to the head movement which has caused a clicking in my lower back, leading to the back pain.
Now I am aware of this happening during practice, am able to keep my back rigid enough, so only my head moves, negating the pain in my back.
Do you know why some people move involuntarily whilst in practice or is it just me?
Sometimes after my practice I have a ringing in my ears or tinnitus, which does fade after a few hours.
My perceived understanding of this issue is of an anatomical nature although so far have been unable to find a confirmation or different understanding via a search?
When you meditate there is increased blood flow to the brain.
The main arteries involved in the upper neck leading to the brain are the jugular veins running in close proximity to your inner ear and balance canals.
Can actually hear this whooshing, rushing sound of what I perceive to be blood flow, whilst in deep practice.
Is this the likely cause of the tinnitus or is it unrelated?
Don't get me wrong, the beneficial effects of regular meditation practice, far outweigh the annoyance of a condition like tinnitus.
Thank you for your help in my understanding.
Hi, Rob.
I don't know why your body is twisting in this way. I had a similar experience myself, where my back would twitch and twist. Th twitches seemed to be at a very regular interval, and were strongest when I was lying down. I eventually found that I had a misaligned vertebra, and regular visits to a chiropractor sorted it out. I think what was happening was that my body was trying to realign itself. I don't know if this is what's happening with you, but it's worth looking into.
The ringing in your ears probably isn't clinical tinnitus, since it fades so quickly. I sometimes get that toward the end of a run, or sometimes for a few minutes after I've lain down in bed, and it's never bothered me. It may be that you're just more sensitized to sensations from within the body during meditation, or maybe it is to do with blood flow. But no one seems to know for sure what causes tinnitus.