“Jīvitam attabhāvo ca, sukhadukkhā ca kevalā;
Ekacittasamayuttā, lahuso vattate khaṇo.
Chinnāpi teva tiṭṭhanti, ye yuttā busasocanā;
Anāgatā na jāyanti, vartamānā nirujjhare.
Anāgatena na jātā, vartamānena jīvati;
Cittabhaṅgā mato loko, paññatti paramatthiyā.”


"Life, bodily existence, pleasure, and pain—all these
are joined together in a single mind-moment, and that moment passes swiftly.
Even those [states] that have vanished are gone entirely, and those who grieve over them are fools;
The unborn future states do not yet exist, and the present states are constantly dissolving.
One does not live by a future mind-moment, [but] lives solely in the present;
When the mind-moment breaks, the world is dead—this is the designation according to ultimate reality."


Partial excerpts from the Guhatthakasutta Niddesa

The Mind and The Way by Ajahn Sumedho

The Gift of Gratitude

Ajahn Sumedho recounts the joyful unfolding of a deep appreciation for his teacher and parents.
By Ajahn Sumedho

Part 3 of 3


The Lord Buddha, after his enlightenment, at first thought that the dhamma was too subtle, that no one would understand it, so there was no point in teaching it. Then, according to the legend, one of the gods came forth and said, “Please Lord, for the welfare of those who have little dust in their eyes, teach the dhamma.” The Buddha then contemplated with his powerful mind who might understand the dhamma teaching. He remembered his early teachers but through his powers realized that both of them had died. Then he remembered his five friends who had been practicing with him before, and who had deserted him. Out of compassion he went off to find these five friends, and expounded his brilliant teaching on the Four Noble Truths. This makes me feel katannu katavedita to the Lord Buddha. It’s marvelous: here I am—this guy, here, in this century—having an opportunity to listen to the dhamma, and to have this pure teaching still available.

Just having a living teacher like Ajahn Chah was not like worshiping a prophet who lived twenty-five hundred years ago, it was actually inheriting the lineage of the Lord Buddha himself. Perhaps because of visiting the Buddhist holy places, my gratitude began to become very strong. Then, thinking of Ajahn Chah in Thailand, I remembered how I had thought: “I’ve done my five years, now I’m going to leave. I’m going to have a few adventures, do what I want to do, be out from under the eye of the old man.” I realized then that I had actually run away.

When I felt this gratitude, all I wanted to do was get back to Thailand and offer myself to Ajahn Chah. How can you repay a teacher like that? I did not have any money, and that was not what he was interested in anyway. Then I thought that the only way I could make him happy was to be a good Buddhist monk and to go back and help him out. Whatever he wanted me to do, I would do it. With that intention, I went back after five months in India and gave myself to the teacher. It was a joyful offering, not a begrudging one, because it came out of this katannu, this gratitude for the good things I had received.

From that time on, I found that my meditation practice began to improve. That hard selfishness cracked in me: my trying to get something, my desire for harmony, my desire to practice and have a peaceful life, free of responsibility. When I gave up all that, things seemed to fall into place. What used to be difficult, like concentrating the mind, became easier, and I found that life had become joyful to me.

The last time I went to see my father, I decided that I would try to get some kind of warmth going between us before he died. In the last decade of my father’s life he was quite miserable and became very resentful. He had terrible arthritis and was in constant pain, and he had Parkinson’s disease. Eventually he had to be put in a nursing home. He was completely paralyzed. He could move his eyes and talk, but the rest of his body was rigid. He was resentful of what had happened to him because before he had been a strong, independent man.

When I saw him, his body needed to be stimulated, so I said, “Let me massage your leg.” “No, no, you don’t need to do that,” he said. “You’ll get bedsores, because you really have to have your skin massaged. I would really like to do it.” He still refused, but I could tell he was considering it. “I think it’ll be a good thing,” I told him. “So you’d really like to do it?” he asked me. “Yes.”

I started massaging his feet, his legs, his neck, shoulders, hands, and face; he really enjoyed the physical contact. It was the first time he had been touched like that. Physical contact is quite meaningful, it’s an expression of feeling. And I began to realize that my father really loved me, but didn’t know how to say it. I had this great sense of relief and immense gratitude.

Ajahn Chah on Parents:

Sometimes when teachings are given on birth, aging, illness, and death, people aren’t pleased. Especially in the West, when you talk about this, people get up and walk away. They don’t want to get old. So when people become old, they are abandoned.

In the Western countries this seems to be the custom, to discard the old folks so the youngsters can get on with their lives. Of course the youngsters will get old too, and then they will be discarded in their turn. When we are young, we should look at and reflect on old people. This is karma, isn’t it? I tried to explain this to the Westerners, that if you discard people, you will also be discarded. When we are old, we should think about young people. When we see old people, we should think about young people. They are connected, like links of a chain.

—Translated from the Thai by Paul Breiter

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Ajahn Sumedho is a senior monk of the Thai forest tradition and was abbot of Amaravati Buddhist Monastery, UK, from its consecration in 1984 until his retirement in 2010.

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Part 1 of 3:

https://t.me/wordsofbuddha/6160


Part 2 of 3:

https://t.me/dhammapadas/4418


Part 3 of 3

https://t.me/lorddivinebuddha/4946
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Free Buddha Dharma ebook

The World and the Heart
By Ajahn Anan

A collection of talks given by Ajahn Anan over the last 23 years exploring the wisdom gained from practicing the Buddha’s path and the integration of that wisdom into daily life.

Free download here:

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===

Free Buddha Dharma ebook

The World and the Heart
By Ajahn Anan

A collection of talks given by Ajahn Anan over the last 23 years exploring the wisdom gained from practicing the Buddha’s path and the integration of that wisdom into daily life.

Free download here:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1NbyRgXuocG9zBiuJcfF8eYW55yh3noDY/view?usp=drive_link
===

5. Dhammàràmo dhammarato
dhammam anuvicintayam
Dhammam anussaram bhikkhu
saddhammà na parihàyati. 364.

HE WHO FINDS PLEASURE IN THE DHAMMA DOES NOT FALL

5. That bhikkhu who dwells in the Dhamma, who delights in the Dhamma, who meditates on the Dhamma, who well remembers the Dhamma, does not fall away from the sublime Dhamma. 364.

Story

A monk, named Dhammàràma, knowing that the Buddha would soon pass away, refrained from mingling with the other monks and instead used to meditate on the Dhamma with the object of attaining Arahantship. Misconstruing his attitude, the monks reported the matter to the Buddha. When the monk explained his object in doing what he did, the Buddha applauded him and uttered this verse.
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Heavenly gapura gate facing Mount Agung, Candi Bentar temple, Lempuyang temple compound, East Bali, Indonesia.

Arahants are like fertile fields. Givers are like the farmers, and what they offer is the seed. The combination of these three will produce a fruit of merit.

The seed, the planting of the seed, and the field are helpful to the givers and their departed relatives. The departed relatives experience happiness from the merit and the givers will receive more merit.

By doing wholesome deeds and sharing the merits that they receive with departed relatives, they are reborn in heaven to enjoy the results of their good deeds.


Pv 1.1 Khettupama Sutta: Like a Field

6. Salàbham nátimaññeyya
n'áññesam pihayam care
Aññesam pihayam bhikkhu
samàdhim n'ádhigacchati. 365.
7. Appalàbho' pi ce bhikkhu
salàbham n'átimaññati
Tam ve devà pasamsanti
suddhájãvim atanditam. 366.

BE CONTENTED

6. Let him not despise what he has received, nor should he live envying (the gains of) others. The bhikkhu who envies (the gains of) others does not attain concentration. 5 365.

DESPISE NOT WHAT ONE GETS

7. Though receiving but little, if a bhikkhu does not despise his own gains, even the gods praise such a one who is pure in livelihood and is not slothful. 366.

Story

A monk, accepting an invitation from a monk who was a follower of the Venerable Devadatta, spent a few days enjoying his hospitality. When he returned to the monastery the other monks mentioned the matter to the Buddha. Thereupon the Buddha uttered these verses in admonition to him and other monks.
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Wat Phra Dhammakaya, largest Buddhist temple in Thailand, enshrines over one million Buddha statues, North Bangkok, Thailand.

These are the seven powers.

The powers are faith and energy,
conscience and prudence,
mindfulness and immersion,
and wisdom as the seventh power.
Empowered by these,
an astute mendicant lives happily.

They should examine the teaching rationally,
discerning the meaning with wisdom.
The liberation of their heart
is like a lamp going out.”

Partial excerpts from AN 7.4 Vitthatabalasutta: Powers in Detail

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The Question of Bhikkhunī Ordination
By Thanissaro Bhikkhu

A complete collection of Ṭhānissaro Bhikkhu’s writings since 2009 on the validity of recent attempts to reinstitute bhikkhunī ordination.

Free download here:

https://www.dhammatalks.org/Archive/Writings/Ebooks/QuestionofBhikkhuniOrdination_251113.pdf
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Free Buddha Dharma ebook

The Question of Bhikkhunī Ordination
By Thanissaro Bhikkhu

A complete collection of Ṭhānissaro Bhikkhu’s writings since 2009 on the validity of recent attempts to reinstitute bhikkhunī ordination.

Free download here:

https://www.dhammatalks.org/Archive/Writings/Ebooks/QuestionofBhikkhuniOrdination_251113.pdf
===

Do we really give the Buddha a bath in the ceremony? No, it is rather to cleanse the Buddha within by way of a ceremony involving the external Buddha, and the emphasis is on purifying the heart. Therefore, the celebration of the birth of the Buddha should be conducted with solemn attitudes encompassing moral development, compassion and respect.

Seeking the Path of Wisdom, The Path of Insight Meditation by Joseph Goldstein

Liberation Through Non-Clinging Across Buddhist Traditions

How approaches from different Buddhist traditions can complement and support each other on the path to awakening
By Joseph Goldstein

Part 1 of 3


When I first published the book One Dharma in 2003, I was grappling with a spiritual existential dilemma: what to do when great meditation masters in different traditions offer contradictory perspectives on the ultimate nature of reality. At the time, it felt as though the entire trajectory of my spiritual life hung in the balance. After months of inquiry, two simple notions resolved the issue—at least for the time being.

First, I realized that until I was fully enlightened (and perhaps not even then), I had no way of knowing which perspective was ultimately correct. I simply could not know what final liberation would reveal. Resting in this unknown proved to be a great relief. Rather than causing confusion, it allowed my mind to settle into an openness that fostered further inquiry and exploration of dharma understanding.

Second, I realized that one way to approach the diverse philosophical descriptions across traditions was to explore a common understanding of what frees the mind. My interest in this theme is spurred by the ongoing sectarian divides that persist to this day. Many traditions claim to be the best, quickest, or most authentic path to spiritual enlightenment. Bhikkhu Anālayo addresses this phenomena in his book Superiority Conceit in Buddhist Traditions.

One modern expression of this sectarianism arises in conversations about dual and nondual awareness. Just as mindfulness has gained prominence as a tool for easing suffering, both in its broad secular applications and in the deepest aspects of meditative understanding, the framework of nondual awareness has become a popular way to describe both the method and, for some, the goal of practice. At times, there is a tendency to privilege the experience of the nondual as being deeper or more complete than what are deemed dualistic practices. Ironically, this creates its own duality.

What, then, do the terms dual and nondual refer to, and is this distinction important on the path to liberation? Each of these terms can refer to a variety of experiences, and confusion often arises when the same word or phrase carries different meanings in different contexts. As in many dharma discussions, clarity in defining terms is crucial.

There are different understandings of dualistic perception: One is the perception of distinctions between this and that, between existence and nonexistence, between samsara and nirvana; the other is the experience of an observer separate from the observed. Similarly, the term nondual awareness can refer to different levels of experience. It may point to the inseparability of knowing and known (not a vague “oneness” in which all distinctions dissolve). It can refer to the Dzogchen view of mind as the union of clarity and emptiness, with nondual wisdom being their inseparability. It can also refer to the nonseparation of observer and observed.

On the surface, dual and nondual may seem like fundamentally different understandings of reality and how we perceive it. Upon further investigation, however, we may arrive at a more holistic understanding of how these two perspectives complement and support our path of practice. By emphasizing a particular perspective on experience rather than the essential qualities of a liberated mind, we risk overlooking those essential qualities across traditions.

Despite differences in understanding, there are some fundamental commonalities that capture the essence of dharma. In the Pali canon, and perhaps in later traditions as well, when the Buddha was asked what he taught, his reply was often some variation of “suffering and the end of suffering.” This is the point of it all.

The Buddha made clear in so many different ways that craving and clinging to anything at all is the cause of suffering. Most Buddhist traditions agree that liberation is experienced in the mind free of clinging—to the body, the mind, to awareness itself. The great Indian adept Tilopa expressed the importance of this to his disciple, Naropa: “It is not appearances that bind you; it is your clinging that binds you. Cut through your clinging, Naropa.”

I began to see non-clinging and its precursor, the cessation of craving, as central to liberation across nearly all Buddhist traditions, the foundation upon which different final goals may be realized. Depending on one’s particular aspiration, this might be the arahant of early Buddhism or buddhahood as taught in the later traditions.

Building on this understanding, which is succinctly expressed in the first three noble truths—suffering, its cause, and its end—we can then explore the fourth noble truth: the way to the end of suffering. If craving is the cause of suffering, and liberation is through the cessation of craving and clinging, the question then becomes how different traditions accomplish this, even when their metaphysics and end goals differ.

There are many methods for achieving non-clinging, and different doorways open to this freedom, each highlighting one particular Buddhist perspective or another. One comprehensive framework for exploring these methods is the three universal characteristics: impermanence, dukkha, and nonself. Although these characteristics are intimately connected, one or another of them may become more predominant in different traditions or for different practitioners, even as all of them are realized in the end.
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8. Sabbaso nàmarupasmim
yassa natthi mamàyitam
Asatà ca na socati
sa ve bhikkhu' ti vuccati. 367.

HE IS A BHIKKHU WHO HAS NO ATTACHMENT

8. He who has no thought of "l" and "mine" whatever towards mind and body, he who grieves not for that which he has not, he is, indeed, called a bhikkhu. 367.

Story

A devotee offered alms to the Buddha when He stood at his door and wished to know what constituted a bhikkhu. Briefly the Buddha described the attributes of a bhikkhu.
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