Anicca vata sankhara — impermanent indeed are all formations. These were the words spoken at the Buddha’s passing. A canonical analysis of this profound Pali verse, its context in the Mahaparinibbana Sutta, and what it reveals about vipassana practice and the path to Nibbana.
A single short sutta in the Samyutta Nikaya contains the Buddha’s entire path to Nirvana compressed into five sentences. A close reading reveals why this overlooked teaching is among the most concentrated summaries of the Dhamma in the entire Pali Canon.
Here is an interesting book I read the other day: “Buddha laughed at theists (and accidentally created Christianity)”. The core idea revolves around the “strange” similarities between the Jesus of the New Testament and many of the (sometimes close to…
A peaceful Vesak to everyone. If you don’t know what Vesak is, please read here. Thus I have heard. On one occasion the Blessed One was dwelling among the Sakyans at Kapilavatthu in Nigroda’s park. Then Mahanama the Sakyan approached…
For many Dhamma friends who have studied Ven. K. Nyanananda’s Nibbana sermons in English translations, this will be great news. All 33 Dhamma talks (the complete series) on Nibbana can be found on this website (with the Pali in Unicode…
“At that time, the lay-follower Nandamata got up in the morning when it was still dark, and recited in a loud voice the Parayana[Sutta Nipata v.976-1149].” AN, VII, 50. “‘So be it, Lord!’, said the Venerable Sona to the Blessed…
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…
A dear friend of mine—who happens to be a fairly new convert to Theravada Buddhism—emailed me with a question. Is Buddhism more than just a philosophy? A colleague of hers, upon hearing of her new-found religion, quickly dismissed her ambition…
The other day I came across this very true statement: ”It is a sad fact that whereas we rarely find Muslims without the Quran or Christians without the Bible, yet we find many Buddhists without the Nikayas.” This quote is…
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…