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….
The most difficult part in insight meditation is to realize that your mind always takes a stand. Otherwise it could not exist. If you see, you took a stand on a sight, a see-sensing, a seeing, a see-feeling If you…
Or: What does sankhara mean? There is quite a deal of confusion regarding this important Buddhist term. Some of the translations run as follows: volitional formations mental formations fabrications, etc. etc. However, a translation for sankhara is quite easy 🙂…
For those interested in understanding how insight leads to enlightenment, probably the best contemporary resource is venerable Ñāṇananda’s texts. This venerable monk, currently residing in Sri Lanka, combines a deep understanding of the Pali canon — not just in theory…
Here comes another very beautiful story from the ancient days of early Buddhism. Enjoy: At that time in the Mahāvihāra lived a monk named Tissabhūti, who was currently studying the books of monastic discipline. One early morning while he was…
Don’t you love this: ”Idha, bhikkhave, bhikkhu evaṃ paṭipanno hoti – ‘no cassa no ca me siyā, na bhavissati na me bhavissati, yadatthi yaṃ bhūtaṃ taṃ pajahāmī’ti upekkhaṃ paṭilabhati. Here, o monks, a monk does train himself thus: – “Had…