It's hard for me to think back to the way my life was before the internet. I know a lot of people can relate with that.

I don't just say this because of Buddhaimonia, I say this mostly because of my own spiritual path.

It wasn't through getting some special education, or special training, at a monastery with a long and ancient history.

It was through the internet that I met these wise sages.

And you know what? I'm far from alone. And so happy it happened that way because it means I can relate.

Nowadays, more people are introduced to just about everything in the world through the internet than they are through other more traditional (directly verbal or printed) means, and this includes spirituality, meditation, and anything included within that.

There was a time when I wanted to shy away from that when I didn't really like the fact that all I had was the internet to learn from.

But it's been a while since then, and my practice has developed (and so has the internet evolved), and with that, I've learned that the internet has been, and will continue to be, one of the greatest gifts we've ever received.

It's something which will allow many of us to develop a mindfulness, meditation, or general spiritual practice of some kind when otherwise we'd have no access to reputable teachers to do so.

And that is a beautiful thing.

8 Pieces of Wisdom from 8 of the Greatest Living Sages

Some time ago, I wrote a post titled 8 Pieces of Wisdom from 8 Enlightened Sages.

You guys really enjoyed that post and got a lot from it. But the one problem with the post was, while there's so much to get from past teachers, none of them are alive any longer.

That's not all bad, we can still learn so much from them through the writing and teachings they left behind.

But, that does hold us back for two reasons:

Modern life brings its own specific challenges, challenges that a teacher who is alive today can help teach us how to overcome. We can only learn so much from those no longer alive. Those teachers who are alive today we can continue to learn from day after day, as they give lectures, write books, and connect with and teach their followers in various ways.

It's for these two reasons that I wanted to highlight some of the greatest living teachers today. These are the teachers I've most associated with on my path, along with an important insight I've received from each of them, and I hope that they can be of help to you in your path as well.