Beelin Sayadaw enters my thoughts during those late hours when discipline feels isolated, plain, and far less "sacred" than the internet portrays it. The reason Beelin Sayadaw surfaces in my mind tonight is unclear; perhaps it is because my surroundings feel so stark. There is no creative spark or spiritual joy—only a blunt, persistent awareness

Recently, I find myself thinking often about structural pillars. Not the elaborate, artistic pillars that one observes at the entryways of historic institutions, but rather the ones buried deep within a structure that are never acknowledged until you see they are the only things keeping the roof from coming down. That is the mental picture that sta