A meditation pagoda was unveiled at Hillview Lodge in a special Buddhist ceremony.

The Ultimate Truth can be found in the Teaching of the Buddhism.

As long as you are still breathing, live with mindfulness of the breathing. Whether you are standing, walking, sitting, sleeping, drinking, eating, cooking, cleaning the house, riding in a car, working, strolling or relaxing, in fact in every posture, try consistently to sustain mindfulness with your breath.

Predawn wake - up calls, days of silence and hunger may not be everyone's idea of a holiday, but for tourists seeking spiritual sustenance Burma's monasteries offer help on the path to Buddhist nirvana. The search for inner peace is unlikely to appeal to those who take a more hedonistic approach to vacations - booze, beaches and bikinis are definitely out.

The Diamond Way Buddhist Centre in Wellington will host a meditation and lecture course with Buddhist teachers Florinda & Guido Czeija, starting Thursday 5th September. The programme includes lectures by Buddhist teachers, questions & answers and guided meditation sessions. This is a unique opportunity to listen to Buddhist teachings presented from a secular perspective.

General-led study shows changes over time in areas associated with awareness, empathy, stress among others.

I Adapt your daily life so as to be conducive to practising mindfulness of the breathing Lead an uncomplicated life — reduce or eliminate unnecessary activities such as eating, working, traveling, and social functions. Don’t worry about losing friends; some old friends may move away, but you will gain new good friends (kalyanamitta).

The difference between thinking and meditation is that in thinking generally we have no definite object or too many objects, but in meditation we think of a definite object chosen by our will; that is why meditation is a real constructive practice of thinking. It is by meditation that we develop our power of seeing the object as it is, otherwise we many see only the appearance of the object without knowing anything of its nature. That is why meditation is very necessary; it purifies the thoughts, otherwise they are mixed up with many things, especially with ignorance.

This meditation has a special place in the Dharma. It is one of very few subjects of meditation which contain both a tranquillity aspect and an insight aspect. As well, it is a very useful practical meditation, providing a powerful antidote to the hindrance of lust.

Mind occupies the pre-eminent place in Buddhism, for everything that one says or does first arises in the mind as a thought. To have a well-trained mind is indeed to possess a treasure. When a person trains the mind, turns inward to examine and cleanse his own mind, he will find therein a vast storehouse of happiness. Real happiness is a quality of the mind which has to be sought and found in the mind.