Godless Contrition & Non-dual Confession
perhaps we do ourselves a disservice by assuming that glimpses of emptiness, or self-nature, or whatever fundamental realities we are aspiring to encounter in our spiritual lives will necessarily come in the form of pleasant peak experiences. Sometimes, if not often, I reckon, such insights come from sincere acknowledgement of limitation, contingency, and the spontaneous conviction to spare others the harmful effects of our compulsive denial of such things.
The Hill Myna Messenger
In this reflection, Ven. Samitha lingers with a single stanza from the Sinhala poem The Hill Myna Messenger. By slowing down with just a few lines, he invites us into the gentle work of contemplative reading. Poetry, he reminds us, is not something to be solved for meaning, but a doorway—each verse casting light, allowing the world to be seen anew.
Pause & Look
When you next descend the stairs at Peace House, take a moment to pause before the print by Michael Mazur (1935–2009).
Let your eyes rest on it. Breathe. Simply look.
Then close your eyes.
The Buddha Spoke of Happiness
Not just fleeting pleasure or comfort—but deep, stable, liberating happiness. Again and again, in his own words, he pointed to sukha—true happiness—as the natural fruit of a mind trained in kindness, clarity, and letting go. He even spoke of paramaṁ sukhaṁ—the highest happiness.
Failure as Redemption
We don’t have to just tolerate our failures, nor do we need someone holy to forgive us. We need our failures because they redeem our struggle. They are the only thing that can.
The Power of the Robe (Today)
For me, the power of the robe today is in its capacity to orient me toward tomorrow.
Why Peace House Stands
What is available here is the opportunity to discover that things can be otherwise. The capacity to be otherwise is freedom.