hat I learn at work bleeds over into practice, strengthening dana (generosity) and sila (ethics). And practice helps me develop skills to face the dukkha (suffering) in the often heart-wrenching lives I encounter at work. I look at suffering because I don't want to pretend that it doesn't exist in my life or in the world. The more honest I am, the more I am open to the possibility of freedom from suffering through practice and the development of compassion.

lthough BASE integrates daily life with dhamma practice, I still question whether I can reach nibanna (the end of suffering) this way. Long retreat is essential if I hope to achieve the continuity of mindfulness that leads to liberation.

do know that viewing life through the lens of practice helps me to make sense of it. When I notice in myself a small desire to ordain in Asia, I let it sit and watch to see if it will grow. When I notice a small desire to have a child arise, I let that be what it is too. I know my ultimate goal (enlightenment!); I just don't know the specifics of how to get there. When I really stray from the practice, and of course I have, countless times, the dhamma pulls me back like a rubberband -- thunk-- straight into the heart of it.