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…
The English word mindfulness is a mistranslation. In the oldest Pali texts, sati carries a precise, active meaning that is central to the Buddhist path to Nibbana — and understanding the difference changes everything about how you practice.
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…
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…
While the number of drafted articles grows 🙂 . 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…
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, assutavā puthujjano ariyānaṃ adassāvī ariyadhammassa akovido ariyadhamme avinīto, sappurisānaṃ adassāvī sappurisadhammassa akovido…
Imagine you just planted an apple tree. Well, you actually took one little apple seed and found a nice spot for it to grow. Then you covered it with some earth and sprinkled water over the spot. Every day you…
What is the difference between a Buddha and an Arahant? Before “deciding” which way to go, let’s hear what the Buddha has to say on this topic: At Savatthi… “Monks, the Tathagata — the worthy one, the fully enlightened one,…
In the Samyutta Nikaya we find this famous saying by King Pasenadi who – being physically in bad shape – is surprised at how much the Buddha was able to help in his worldly affairs: Indeed the Buddha has shown…
In the famous sutta on the four pillars of mindfulness (Mahasatipatthana), we find a passage which is repeated throughout the text as some kind of refrain, summarizing the quintessence of samma sati, or right mindfulness/awareness: “In this way he remains…