Can a practice that we undertake which does not purify our mind be truly considered “cultivation of the mind”? Let’s forget our concepts and ideas about “meditation” for a moment and look at some words of the Awakened One on…
This is the disciple of the Buddha, living in the house. He has confidence in the Buddha’s awakening. He trains himself to purify his actions and his speech. He cultivates generosity, learns to sacrifice and let go. And this is…
Majjhima Nikaya, Middle collection M. 75th (VIII, 5) Māgandiya Sutta (Māgandiyo) translated from Pāli by Karl Eugen Neumann THIS HAVE I HEARD. At one time the Blessed One was staying in the Kuru country, in a town of the Kurus…
One of the most amazing and completely counter-intuitive “discoveries” of the Buddha is that samvara (typically translated as “discipline” or “restraint”, literally “holding together”, “keeping something shut”) can lead to happiness. One could almost argue that by being so counter-intuitive…
Okay, the following anthology seemed long overdue – I found that especially in a Western Christian environment many Buddhists do not know what the Buddha (or the early Buddhist literature, depending on the degree of your trust) had to say…
Anicca vata sankhara — impermanent indeed are all formations. These were the words spoken at the Buddha’s passing. A canonical analysis of this profound Pali verse, its context in the Mahaparinibbana Sutta, and what it reveals about vipassana practice and the path to Nibbana.
A single short sutta in the Samyutta Nikaya contains the Buddha’s entire path to Nirvana compressed into five sentences. A close reading reveals why this overlooked teaching is among the most concentrated summaries of the Dhamma in the entire Pali Canon.
Here is an interesting book I read the other day: “Buddha laughed at theists (and accidentally created Christianity)”. The core idea revolves around the “strange” similarities between the Jesus of the New Testament and many of the (sometimes close to…
A peaceful Vesak to everyone. If you don’t know what Vesak is, please read here. Thus I have heard. On one occasion the Blessed One was dwelling among the Sakyans at Kapilavatthu in Nigroda’s park. Then Mahanama the Sakyan approached…
For many Dhamma friends who have studied Ven. K. Nyanananda’s Nibbana sermons in English translations, this will be great news. All 33 Dhamma talks (the complete series) on Nibbana can be found on this website (with the Pali in Unicode…