Hunter Tissa’s wet straw
The monk elder Tissa, the hillman, we are told, was born in the land Rohana* in a hunting family and grew up in the vicinity of the Abbey Gamendavala. After he had reached a certain age and started a family, he…
Blog
The first discourse
A beautiful and very convincing modern rendering of the first discourse given by the Buddha happened to cross my path this afternoon. If you thought you’d already read the famous “Dhammacakkapavattana” sutta before, think again. Richard Blumberg’s translation is contemporary…
How to awaken from a movie by remembering to cut barley
I am sitting in a movie theater. But I don’t know. I am lost in the story in front of my eyes, around my ears. I am immersed, completely engulfed in the story of the movie. I don’t know where…
Feeling the powerful beauty of virtue
It is quite easy to mistake the Buddha’s encouragement to lead a virtuous and moral life with the call to blindly adhere to a religious codex or engulf into some form of social trend setting crusade. Nothing could be further from…
Bhikkhuni Ordination
Regarding the current Bhikkhuni ordination excitement in Ajahn Chah’s Sangha and the resulting “excommunication” (LOL) of Bhikkhu Brahmavamsa, the following Dhammapada verse came to mind: Other’s faults are easy to see yet hard it is to see one’s own, and so…
The triangulation of Samādhi
Sometimes, when we study literature about Buddhist meditation, it can seem very technical and … almost artificial. One of the great benefits of having such a structured and methodical approach to mental cultivation can become a hindrance on the path-…
The scent of “am”
Have you ever wondered what an Anāgāmī (a non-returner) needs to do or work on in order to attain Arahantship (or final and complete realization of Nirvana)? Or, for that matter, how – if there are any necessary changes –…
Seven Suns vs Civilizational Conceit
One way our ego and conceit expresses itself is the infatuation with this will or should go on forever, it will not change. at least not now, when it is, or should be, the way I want it to be……
Understanding Vipassanā
Is the practice of vipassanā the application of viriya (energy), sati (mindfulness), samadhi (concentration) but only when it generates wisdom (paññā), more specifically ñāṇadassana (knowing and seeing)? Introduction The Sutta-Pitaka has a couple of texts which are not the word…
Seeing the Seeing of the Disappearing disappear
One might wonder how and why the modern vipassana movement experienced its revival just over a century ago in Burma. Looking back at 19th century Theravada countries, we can observe a widespread renaissance of Pali studies. This period saw the…