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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:-)
Hi Bodhipaksa,
I have been practising mindfulness and meditation for around 9 years or so, which has had a tremendous effect on my mental health, particularly anxiety. My teacher recommended that I add self compassion to my toolbox and a visit to my local Buddhist centre was where your book (This Difficult Thing of Being Human) jumped out at me.
I am loving the book and this site so I just wanted to say a big thank you.
Be well,
Mark
Hi, Mark.
I'm delighted to hear that you're enjoying the book. I hope it turns out to be helpful.
Which Buddhist centre did you find it in?
All the best,
Bodhipaksa
Hi Bodhipaksa-- I participated on Sunday in your half-day kindness retreat which I loved. I've been wanting to go back and listen to parts of it again but haven't received any information about the recording being available. Is it still in process?
Thank you so much.
Lynne
Hi, Lynne.
I just checked and I sent you the link on July 24 in an email with the subject line, "Link to yesterday's workshop." Maybe it ended up in your spam folder?
All the best,
Bodhipaksa
I am rereading Living as a River, (first read 8 years ago).
And I just want to let you know how it helped me to see the interconnectivity of everything and has brought me great hope and peace.
That's really lovely to hear, Theresa. I'd really love the opportunity to do a second edition of that book. It would have to be with a new publisher, though, since Sounds True have no plans to reprint it, as far as I know.
Good day.
Thank you for this website and your work. I live in an isolated location so have been doing my own zazen meditation, with no teacher, just from what I got for martial arts, yoga and reading. Even this unskilled method has helped me immensely though a difficult time. I went looking on the internet for some way to further my practice and discovered from another site a stool should be used. Up to now, sitting on my heals on a yoga mat on a barn floor resulted in some tendon strain. Dimensions to make the stool were needed, the search led me to your site. Thanks for the stool plan. Put one together with jointing rather than screws and looking forward to my season with it later.
I think it is not a coincidence that I am here now.
I will use what you have so kindly made available, as many others charge what is impossible for me to meet.
Thank you again for the gift of your knowledge.
It's good to hear from you, Ivan. When I first came up with the idea for this website — last century — I very much had in mind people who live far from Dharma centers and those who have difficulty with mobility. I'm glad you're finding this place helpful.
I think Buddha was a formless philosopher - giving up name and form - When you look at anitya and anatta and the formless jnanas before his liberation - to reach dukkha nirodha there has to be cessation of desire - cessation of attachment to form / of dukkha itself because of anicca - away from a cosmology of concrete materiality ( why so many indians said it was all a dream )