From the Theragatha, the Verses of the Elders. 445. Uppajje te sace kodho, āvajja kakacūpamaṃ; Uppajje ce rase taṇhā, puttamaṃsūpamaṃ sara. (1) 446.‘‘Sace dhāvati cittaṃ te, kāmesu ca bhavesu ca; Khippaṃ niggaṇha satiyā, kiṭṭhādaṃ viya duppasun”ti; 445. If anger arises…
What is the difference between right mindfulness and wrong mindfulness? [1] Both of them are part of an electric drill, if you excuse the mundane simile for a moment: It is the direction of the drill that ultimately matters, and…
“The religion of the future will be a cosmic religion. The religion which based on experience, which refuses dogmatic. If there’s any religion that would cope the scientific needs it will be Buddhism….”[1] said the famous Albert Einstein. Even before…
Take a classic text of Hinduism, the revered Yogasutra (approx. 200 BCE (2)) and compare its semantics and vocabulary to the Buddhist canonical texts. Such a comparison will make it pretty obvious that the author of the Yoga Sutra was…
One of the most essential terms used by the Buddha in reference to developing wisdom and pointing out the path to Nibbana is the Pali verb “manasi karoti” especially in the phrase yoniso manasi karoti. It is so essential to…
When the actor Talaputta went to the Buddha, he had an important question on his mind. And it was one of the few times when the Buddha at first did not want to answer. Not, because he did not know,…
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-…
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…
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…
“Tell me, which part of the Tripitaka is the most ancient? Which part would I want to read, study and practice if I look for the most authentic instructions?” The answer is very simple. There are two little collections of…