Skip to main content

book: Bhikkhu Anālayo's mistranslation of V&V

This is why it matters

(V&V💭) vitakka & vicāra = directed-thought & evaluation
(S&S🐘💭) sati & sam-pajāno = remembering & lucid-discerning
VRJ = (Vism. Re-definition of Jhāna)

If one insists on politeness and gentle speech at all times, then it often comes at the cost of clarity.

In the case of V&V, this issue is of vital importance and grave errors need to be clearly expressed.
That includes the degree of severity.
If one is too worried about being polite in how that is expressed,
then it obfuscates the severity of the problem and the nature of the problem.

The Buddha Dhamma comes down to just seeing Dukkha clearly, and abandoning it.
You can only see Dukkha clearly to the degree that samādhi is powerful enough.

If you can’t see it clearly, you won’t abandon it, won’t want to abandon it, don’t realize you would be better off abandoning it.

That’s why samādhi is so important.

The Buddha promised a gradual training, including samādhi.

When you teach V&V (vitakka & vicara) of first jhāna monumentally wrong, you’ve killed the gradual training.

Without first jhāna, people think they “don’t have enough merit and/or wisdom” and need to wait lifetime(s) before they can practice seriously.

This is not conjecture, this is what happened when the VRJ (vism. redefinition of jhāna) became the dominant/popular understanding in Theravada.

Bhante Sujato and B. Analayo  translate V&V following the VRJ model of redefined jhāna (and V&V). There is no support for that anywhere in the EBT.

They need to be held accountable for that.

Until they fix their error, I will keep pointing it out, as politely as I can, but not at the cost of being clear and honest.



I've built a one stop V&V shop containing Bhikkhu Anālayo, Bhikkhu Sujato's views on V&V here:
https://archive.org/details/Lucid24VitakkaAndVicara
The one stop V&V shop, where errant views meet the chopping block. 

eighth installment

seventh installment, 3/3/2019

supplementary material:


sixth installment
sunday feb. 24
MN 19, MN 78, MN 125 when Bhikkhu Anālayo met 🔪 Occam's razor
https://notesonthedhamma.blogspot.com/2 ... layo.html

thur. feb 28,
the exciting but bloody conclusion to their meeting:

☸ MN 19, 78, 125 final score: 🔪 Occam's razor six, Bhikkhu Anālayo zero

https://notesonthedhamma.blogspot.com/2019/02/what-banalayo-says-about-v-in-mn-19-78.html



fifth installment:
Sunday, February 17, 2019
So why are references to MN 117 missing in Bhikkhu Anālayo's EBMS?https://notesonthedhamma.blogspot.com/2 ... sing.html
(sums up and connects the other posts related to MN 117)

There are several blog posts on MN 117 (in the blog subject titles) between today (2/17) and (2/14). 
https://notesonthedhamma.blogspot.com/2019/02/


frank k wrote: ↑
Sat Feb 16, 2019 5:47 pm
fourth installment:
MN 117 and its implications
It's not easy to explain, so first I need to explain a few concepts.
If you don't understand survivorship bias, bandwagon effect, and cognitive dissonance, it won't be easy to follow the audit.
So first, a parable that explains the big problem that I'm going to expose with Ven. Analayo's lack of mention of MN 117 in EBMS.

https://notesonthedhamma.blogspot.com/2 ... farm.html
excerpt:
A long time ago, in paradise valley, Sid and his family, with the surname of Gotonirvana, had a farm collective, growing a rich variety of fruits. They tasted extraordinary, and the fruit was completely wholesome and nutritious. Their fruit was available far and wide, famous everywhere.

their advertisement read:
Sid and Gotonirvana family farms,
quenching thirst with the tastiest fruit
with an entirely complete and pure variety of fruits.

frank k wrote: ↑
Wed Feb 13, 2019 4:45 pm
third installment:
Case study on intellectual dishonesty, agendas, biases: Frankk and his views on jhāna, vitakka, vicara
https://notesonthedhamma.blogspot.com/2 ... esty.html

second installment: 
MN 111 Bhikkhu Analayo, circular reasoning and red herrings
https://notesonthedhamma.blogspot.com/2 ... ular.html

First installment: 
covers MN 128, SN 40.1, narrative fallacy
https://notesonthedhamma.blogspot.com/2 ... ayos.html



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Advice to younger meditators on jhāna, sex, porn, masturbation

Someone asked: Is porn considered harmful sexual.activity? I don't have a sex life because I don't have a partner and I don't wish to engage in casual sex so I use porn to quench the biological urge to orgasm. I can't see that's it's harmful because nobody is being forced into it. The actors are all paid well and claim to enjoy it etc. The only harm I can see is that it's so accessible these days on smart devices and so children may access it but I believe that this is the parents responsibility to not allow unsupervised use of devices etc. Views? Frankk response: In another thread, you asked about pleasant sensations and jhāna.  I'm guessing you're young, so here's some important advice you won't get from suttas   if you're serious about jhāna.  (since monastics are already celibate by rule)   If you want to attain stable and higher jhānas,   celibacy and noble silence to the best of your ability are the feedstock and prerequiste to tha...
Post a Comment
Read more

SN 48.40 Ven. Thanissaro comments on Ven. Sunyo's analysis

This was Ven. Sunyo's analysis of SN 48.40: https://notesonthedhamma.blogspot.com/2024/05/exciting-news-honest-ebt-scholars-like.html And here is Ven. Thanissaro's response to that analysis: I think there’s a better way to tackle the issue of SN 48:40 than by appealing to the oldest layers of commentarial literature. That way is to point out that SN 48:40, as we have it, doesn’t pass the test in DN 16 for determining what’s genuine Dhamma and what’s not. There the standard is, not the authority of the person who’s claiming to report the Buddha’s teachings, but whether the teachings he’s reporting are actually in accordance with the principles of the Dhamma that you know. So the simple fact that those who have passed the Buddha’s teachings down to us say that a particular passage is what the Buddha actually taught is not sufficient grounds for accepting it. In the case of the jhānas—the point at issue here— we have to take as our guide the standard formula for the jhānas, a...
Post a Comment
Read more

1min. video: Dalai Lama kissing boy and asking him to suck his tongue

To give more context, this is a public event,  * everyone knows cameras are rolling  *  it's a room full of children * the boy's mom is standing off camera a few feet away watching all of this * the boy initiated contact, he had already had a hug with Dalai Lama earlier and then asked Dalai Lama for another hug which triggered this segment  17 min. video showing what happened before that 1 min. clip and after, with some explanation https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bT0qey5Ts78 16min talk from Ajahn Acalo with his thoughts on Dalai Lama kissing boy, relevance to Bhikkhu monastic code, sexual predators in religion in general, and how celibate monastics deal with sexual energy. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uK2m0TcUib0 The child's comments about the incident in a filmed interview later https://www.marca.com/en/lifestyle/world-news/2023/04/18/643eba5d46163ffc078b457c.html The child: It's a great experience It was amazing to meet His Holiness and I think it's a great ex...
Post a Comment
Read more