There is no teaching of the bodhisattva ideal in early Buddhism, writes Professor Analayo. This idea only became an ideal 500 years after the Buddha's passing, so it is not the Buddha's teachings. But why did this ideal come about? Bhikkhu Analayo has written a small booklet on the subject, which can be downloaded here. Is it a myth?

We had more than 50 registered for the Venabu retreat in the spring of 2025, and since spring came early and Venabu was free of snow, there was also the opportunity for a trip and practice out in nature. You can also find the teaching here.

Guided meditation on contenment, which is a universial antidote to our hindrances.

A guided loving kindness meditation, or kindfulness meditation.

Letting be meditation is really simple, and works wonders on an active mind.

This talk is about the process the Buddha went through learning to meditate, starting with an experiences he had as a child, which teachers he met and learned from and how he was conditioned by other schools.

Early Buddhism is the Buddha's teachings that all traditions have in common − and which are not connected to a particular tradition. What is this doctrine, and what has come later?

In this guided meditation, the body is first allowed to relax and be free, then the focus shifts to the mind and we take on the role of an observer only, leaving everything as it is.

In this guided meditation, given deep into a longer retreat, the focus is on programming your mindfulness, which is not so much a doing, but a seeing.

This is a guided meditation that first focuses on our sensory impressions and allows them to calm down.

Often the meditation object, for example the breath, is too subtle to focus on, maybe because your life is bussy with work, responsibilities and being social.