An interesting point made by Gombrich in his book Theravāda Buddhism: A social history from ancient Benares to modern Colombo is that when talking about things that can destroy wealth and cause suffering in the lay life, the Buddha gives a stock list of kings, thieves, fire, and water. This isn’t a credo for modern libertarianism, but the distrust of government makes more sense in nearly any context besides the stable Western democracies of the post-war order.

As I turned my phone back on after a week of intensive meditation practice this Sunday, I quickly checked in with my wife. She sent a video of our cat, so I guessed that meant everything was ok. But I didn’t check anything further and blissfully had all notifications off.

I don’t like the word retreat when talking about a period of intensive practice. It feels too closed off, whereas the point of intestive practice is to return to the world, albeit with a different perspective.