No opinion
The Pali language has a very interesting verb called “maññati”. Or rather the way the Buddha uses this verb is very intriguing. It is related to our English “to mean” or German “meinen”. It can be translated in a variety…
In search of the (original?) Oxen!
…sounds like Zen, might be Zen, but is no Zen? Hidden within in the scholastic bodies of ancient Theravadin commentarial literature dwell gems of wisdom taught by ancient Masters of Buddhist meditation. One such beautiful little gem, an allegory, really needs some…
Advantages of a systematic approach
Surely, most of you had had experience with the following most common approaches towards establishing a Buddhist practice: Scanning through bits and pieces of Buddhist literature and patching them together into your own personal regiment. Following the (ad-hoc) instructions of…
500 years after Schopenhauer
In one of his prefaces to the translation of the Majjhima Nikaya, Karl Eugen Neumann (who lived many years before the relativity theory was conceived, let alone quantum physics) once made the following observation: These discourses originated in the 6th…
Yoke of Oxen
Recently I was asked whether jhana and vipassana meditation ultimately lead to the same results.* My answer was, that I would rather rephrase that question: “How are jhana and vipassana faculties tied together on the path to Nibbana?” A…
Blind Faith – Gratitude – Disrespect
Sometimes we forget all about gratitude and respect for the help we receive from others. If one were to look at our attitude towards the many hardships and sacrifices of all the people who came before us who made it…
If someone were to ask you
“Tell me, which part of the Tripitaka is the most ancient? Which part would I want to read, study and practice if I look for the most authentic instructions?” The answer is very simple. There are two little collections of…
A Peaceful Vesakh 2553
…to you all! May you “live long and prosper” 😉 The above image, quite appropriate for the day, is one of the most skilled artistic representations of the “Buddha visiting the devas” (looks like 33) I have ever seen…thanks go…
Paticcasamuppada – Stop the burning flames
Famous words by the Buddha: Vuttaṃ kho panetaṃ bhagavatā: yo paṭiccasamuppādaṃ passati so dhammaṃ passati; yo dhammaṃ passati so paṭiccasamuppādaṃ passatīti. Paṭiccasamuppannā kho panime yadidaṃ pañcupādānakkhandhā. Yo imesu pañcasu upādānakkhandhesu chando ālayo anunayo ajjhosānaṃ so dukkhasamudayo. Yo imesu pañcasu upādānakkhandhesu chandarāgavinayo…
More Metta for stream enterers
From time to time I wonder: How many of you out there scratch their heads when they read the first line of the metta sutta? Sure enough, translations of the metta sutta abound and almost every (Theravadin) monastery in East…