Economic Principles in Early Buddhism
In the Samyutta Nikaya we find this famous saying by King Pasenadi who – being physically in a bad shape – is surprised as to how much the Buddha was able to help in his wordly affairs: Indeed the Buddha…
Author Archives: theravadin
The bare awareness refrain
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…
Find the differences…
Found all the differences? Maybe now you know why there is no English translation of the Phusso Theragatha? v. 949 – 980. Hmmm…. The online versions of the Theragatha seem to ignore this interesting gatha. Seems like every monastic translator…
Making the Jhanas Mainstream
…was Ayya Khema‘s noble intention. Let us all walk in her footsteps. From an email thread: better i respond now, before letting this lie around too long…so short answers. if not clear enough, give me a call 🙂 I’m glad we…
Where is the Buddhist Bible?
Or: There IS a Buddhist Bible. An invitation to read: When was the last time you read a book? How many pages did you gobble up during a weekend? 400? 200? 800? What if someone tells you that, after reading…
Chanting in the 6th century
Just recently I came across this fascinating story, which is especially valuable to those among you who read or chant Pali texts: Dhammaruwan Story : Dhammaruwan was born in a small village near Kandy , Sri Lanka in November, 1968….
The breaking of a strong thought
A story from the pali canon: “The wise teachers of old, however, used manual work to break strong obsessions. This is how the story goes: A young monk called “Tissa” lived together with his preceptor in the Tissamahavihara monastery. It…
Who is the authority?
One of the better known parts of the famous 5th century Buddhist compendium “Path to Purity” by the scholar monk and commentator Ven. Buddhaghosa deals with concentration meditation and the steps necessary to get meditation instructions from an experienced teacher….
The pyramid of virtues
How are the five precepts, kamma from this and past lives and vipassana all related with each other? Actually, it seems like they really are, in a very intriguing way, and in this post we will explain how. But first…
The world II – concept and reality
There is one major misconception in current mainstream – understanding of Buddhism (if there is such a thing 🙂 ) IMHO, brought about by a rather misconceived interpretation of one very important and frequent term in the discourses of the…