Understanding Sajja and Conquering the Hungry Ghost
“In terms of addictions and compulsions,
there is a liberating difference between ‘abstinence’ and ‘abandonment’.”
~ Vince Cullen
Category: Podcast
Sajja – A Practice for Transformation
In 2003 I took my first one-month temporary ordination at Wat Thamkrabok, a unique monastery in central Thailand. My intention on that occasion was to explore Buddhism and meditation, but what I got was not what I expected. I was given a ‘Sajja’ or a ‘truth’ to practice for 4-hours per day for the next 2-years.
My Sajja – “No one can do it for me, I must do it for myself”.
» Read moreSajja – A Practice for Everyone
Sajja is not just for those individuals trying to overcome manifest addictions, because when we look closely and honestly at ourselves, we might just see that we are all ‘in recovery’ from cravings, aversions and confusion.
» Read moreThe Pearl in Sorrow’s Hand
The Pearl in Sorrow’s Hand… “22-years ago when I was at my lowest point, overwhelmed with sadness and self-loathing, as I drank my last beer, I was oblivious to the gift that was being offered to me; the Pearl in Sorrow’s hand was the chance of sobriety, the chance to see things as they really are.” A poem by Rumi, […]
» Read moreHealing with Mindfulness
I am continuously inspired by some of the images that the Buddha offers us of ‘Sati’ or ‘Mindfulness’. My talk for Worldwide Insight (now known as Sangha.Live) on Sunday, December 2nd, was an exploration of some the many aspects of mindfulness – or in my case a lack of mindfulness – that continue to play themselves out in my life. […]
» Read moreEmbodied Intentionality
On Sunday, July 18th, 2018 I gave a podcast for the World Wide Insight: Healing & Insight channel (which is now Sangha.Live). This talk is about what I would have liked to have heard when I got sober. It is an exploration of the ‘truths’ (Sajja/Sacca) that might lead to conviction, to directed karma, to mindfulness as ‘remembering-to-remember’, and to […]
» Read moreM.A.R.A. and the Gatekeepers
Buddhist Recovery Academy “For most of his adult life, Vince says that he was an alcoholic but he also says that he has now been happily sober for the last 21-years. This change of being started when he deliberately, consciously – he would even say ‘mindfully’ – poured a can of lager into a glass and drank that beer knowing […]
» Read moreSwapping beer for Buddhism
Róisín Meets Vince Cullen : A Podcast from The Irish Times I didn’t so much pour my last beer away; but I did consciously, deliberately – you might even say ‘mindfully’ – pour it into a glass and I drank that beer knowing that I would never drink again. Twenty-one years later I can say with confidence that there is […]
» Read moreInterview about Waking Up… Anywhere!
Noel Sweeney interviewed Vince Cullen about the forthcoming ‘Waking Up to This Life‘ one-day workshop.
» Read moreBooze, Buddhism & the Body
BOOZE, BUDDHISM AND THE BODY WITH VINCE CULLEN Vince Cullen joins Mark Walsh to talk addiction and Buddhism. They discuss what addiction is and how the body the relevant to it, why the body is central to Buddhist practice and how mindfulness can help with addictions of all kinds from alcohol, to drugs, to food to Facebook! Vince and Mark […]
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