Buddha’s path
This post is based on some of the observations made in this post. It might help to understand this article. One day the Buddha mentioned to his students that his own meditation object with which he realized Nibbana was the…
Category: Buddhism
Nirodha – “Where” is Nibbana?
While preparing the post on Anapanasati, I came across several discussions on the topic of “nirodho”. Currently re- reading the SN on the Khandhas myself, I stumbled over one sutta which kept me pondering. In that particular sutta, the Buddha…
The process of awakening
In the “Group-Section” (Khandhasamyutta) of the Samyutta Nikaya, numerous short suttas can be found which – if we squeeze them in the right manner – provide valuable information about how a puthujjana (or unenlightened being) turns into an ariyapuggalo (an…
From Vipassana Hater to Vipassana Lover
And I’ll show you how š Okay, caught your attention (did you see what happened when you read this headline)? Now, let me rephrase a bit: This post is about how a Vipassana opponent turned into a Vipassana proponent. Interested?…
Buddhist Genesis
Most of you are probably familiar with the Christian/Jewish Bible’s Genesis, the little story about how Mahabrahma (aka ‘God’) created the world…. From a Buddhist cosmological [what a contradiction in terms, :-)] standpoint, this particular event was not really unique…
Mindfulness is not Sati?
Many people (especially those who intensively try to put the Buddha’s eightfold path into practice) have thought about the meaning of samma sati or “right mindfulness”. In fact, the meaning of this important aspect of Buddhist practice had troubled me…
Bhaddekaratta
Courtesy: jsarcadia (click image) In the Middle Length Sayings, one of the few parts of the Pali Canon most Western Buddhists actually do get exposed to, there is a very interesting and beautiful trio of suttas which circle around the…
Samatha (or ???) Vipassana
The question whether to practice samatha or vipassana comes up again and again. In the early days of the Burmese Vipassana movement, long debates were waged on which approach would be the correct one (samatha || vipassana, that is). This…
Search Highlights 2008
While the number of drafted articles grows š . I thought I might share with you some of the topics people were looking for, and I hope that at least some answers were found. May all beings be free from…
Immediate Enlightenment – Gradually attained
There is a rather interesting sutta in the Samyutta in which the Buddha illustrates the meaning and significance of the term sankharo in a straightforward manner: Idha bhikkhave, assutavÄ puthujjano ariyÄnaį¹ adassÄvÄ« ariyadhammassa akovido ariyadhamme avinÄ«to, sappurisÄnaį¹ adassÄvÄ« sappurisadhammassa akovido…