There are a couple of instances in the Pitaka where the Buddha compares our moment-to-moment experience (zoom out and you would call it “life”) with a swift river. In some similes he compares our journey from Samsara to Nibbana as…
Even at the Buddha’s time, insight meditators went through times of doubt regarding their meditation practice. In the following case, one monk thought he might simply ask his fellow monks how they practice and solve his own uncertainty. Unfortunately, they…
The story of the elder Mahāmitta: The elder Mahāmitta, as they say, dwelled in the “plougher cave”. Close to the cave was a little village where he went for alms. An old lady cared for him like her own son…
Continuing where I stopped the other day, I was amazed to see the interpretation of the next line of the Sutta Nipata by our alleged Mahakaccayana: ”Paññā ceva sati ca, Nāmarūpañca mārisa; Etaṃ me puṭṭho pabrūhi, katthetaṃ uparujjhatī”ti. ”Yametaṃ pañhaṃ…
Caveat: This post is probably very boring for most of you. However, if you manage to read it, you might a.) get a clearer picture of what anusayā (‘latent tendencies’) are and b.) see how one can arrive at filling…
Thinking about karma (pali: kamma), many people entertain a popular notion that your past bad and good karma is similar to a backpack which you carry with you. On occasion the understanding of kamma also comes pretty close to some…
Yathabhūta — usually translated as ‘as it really is’ — carries a precise, active meaning in the Pali Canon that goes far deeper than the standard rendering. Discover how this key term defines the direct seeing at the heart of insight meditation and the path to liberation.
This posting, in a way, continues the discussion on whether there can be craving for Nibbana. We concluded that there well can be such a desire, which is more like a motivation for the goal, and the craving for Nibbana…
If you drive back from a peaceful mountain region to the busy town, you can reflect on all the milestones and passing sights either while you drive or when you are back home. Now, of course, watching the scenery while…
Imagine a person hovering over the water, surrounded by an endless ocean stretching in all directions. As you come closer, you realize that this person does not really hover over the water. In fact, it is falling towards the water….