Bhaddekaratta
In the Middle Length sayings, one of the few parts of the Pali Canon most Western Buddhists actually do get exposed to, there is a very interesting and beautiful triage of suttas which circle around the following stanza uttered by…
Category: vipassana
Samatha (or ???) Vipassana
The question whether to practise samatha or vipassana comes up again and again. In the early days of the Burmese Vipassana movement long debates were waged on which approach would be the correct one (samatha || vipassana, that is). This question…
Immediate Enlightenment – Gradually attained
There is a rather interesting sutta in the Samyutta in which the Buddha illustrates the meaning and significance of the term sankharo in a straightforward manner: Idha bhikkhave, assutavā puthujjano ariyānaṃ adassāvī ariyadhammassa akovido ariyadhamme avinīto, sappurisānaṃ adassāvī sappurisadhammassa akovido…
Lets talk about the world!
Normally, when we talk about the world, we think of mountains, oceans, rivers, valleys, towns, transportation, globalisation, earth, planets, the universe. When the Buddha spoke about “the world” he had something else in mind: As he was sitting there, he…
Can you feel the sense stream’s drag?
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…
Ingredients of insight progress
Even at 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 practiced…
Dassanabhumi – studies in context II
Continuing on 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…
The hidden meaning of ‘yathabhuta’
In the context of liberating wisdom the Buddha frequently employs a term called “yathabhuta” when describing the practice of insight meditation. Usually this term is translated as “as it really is”. So, a passage like this: Sāvatthinidānaṃ. ‘‘Rūpaṃ, bhikkhave, anattā….
Dancing on the Ocean of Nothingness
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….
Forever taking a stand
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…