The Art Of Living

Swimology  Once a young professor was making a sea voyage. He was a highly educated man with a long tail

Chapter 1. THE SEARCH All of us seek peace and harmony, because this is what we lack in our lives. We

Questions and Answers   QUESTION: You keep referring to the Buddha. Are you teaching Buddhism? S.N. GOENKA: I am not

To Walk on the Path   In the city of Sāvatthī in northern India, the Buddha had a large centre

Chapter 2. THE STARTING POINT   The source of suffering lies within each of us. When we understand our own reality,

Questions and Answers   QUESTION: When you say “mind,” I’m not sure what you mean. I can’t find the mind.

The Buddha and the Scientist   The physical reality is changing constantly every moment. This is what the Buddha realized

Chapter 3. THE IMMEDIATE CAUSE   The real world bears no resemblance to the world of fairytales in which everyone lives

Questions and Answers   QUESTION: Isn’t suffering a natural part of life? Why should we try to escape from it?

Seed and Fruit   As the cause is, so the effect will be. As the seed is, so the fruit

Chapter 4. THE ROOT OF THE PROBLEM   “The truth of suffering,” the Buddha said, “must be explored to its end.”1

Questions and Answers   QUESTION: Can’t there be wholesome cravings and aversions—for example, hating injustice, desiring freedom, fearing physical harm? 

The Pebbles and the Ghee   One day a young man came to the Buddha crying and crying; he could

Chapter 5. THE TRAINING OF MORAL CONDUCT   Our task is to eradicate suffering by eradicating its causes: ignorance, craving, and

Questions and Answers   QUESTION: Isn’t performing right action a kind of attachment?  N. GOENKA: No. It is simply doing

The Doctor’s Prescription    A man becomes sick and goes to the doctor for help. The doctor examines him and

Chapter 6. THE TRAINING OF CONCENTRATION   By practising sīla we attempt to control our speech and physical actions. However, the

Questions and Answers   QUESTION: Why do you teach students to practise ānāpāna concentrating on the nostrils rather than on

The Crooked Milk Pudding   Two young boys, who were very poor, lived by begging for their food from house