notes on the Dhamma

DN Dīgha Nikāya Long collection MN Majjhima Nikāya Middle (length) collection SN Saṃyutta Nikāya Connected collection When I first (tried to) read B. Bodhi's SN printed book many years ago, it was a nightmare. Whereas with MN, AN, I've read the printed books several times all the way through beginning to end, with SN I never did that because I could never figure out WTHAI (where the heck am I)? For every sutta, he printed different numbers for different reference number systems in parenthesis, You had 5 major Vaggas for 56 samyuttas, and lower case vaggas for each samyutta, you just could never figure out where you were, and you could never look anything up because you couldn't figure out what the reference number. Only when digital books and webpages organizing SN in a more readable way was I able to finally get a grasp of it's structure and how and where to look things up when I needed to.   Find whatever sutta reference you want in a few seconds My goal for lu...

Kareem is referencing the murders in Minneapolis this week,  But he expressed so well what I frequently feel about people remaining silent when they hear Dhamma teachers, monastics corrupting teachings and staying silent.   excerpt from Kareem's substack  Kareem’s Daily Quote “…when we are silent, we are still afraid. So it is better to speak.” — Audre Lorde Audre Lord, for those who may not know,  was an activist who dedicated her life to confronting all manner of injustice. When I first read that line back in the 1970s,  it didn’t feel so much a suggestion as a reminder of something I’ve tried to live my entire life. Speaking out—especially when the world would much prefer your silence—is not an act of rebellion. It’s an act of responsibility. And for those of us who have witnessed injustice up close,  silence isn’t a good place to hide. It’s a surrender. I learned that early on. Long before I became Kareem Abdul‑Jabbar the basketball player,  I was ...

  I've updated this page with nice hierarchical TOC (table of contents) tree.   every reference  to the  STED  4 jhānas🌕 formula, From this, it's clear that kāma is referring to 5 cords of sensual pleasure,   vitakka  and vicāra are verbal thought, linguistic mental words, unvocalized speech.

click this line to open/close TOC: The Essential Nature of First Jhāna ( j1🌘 ) 0. memorize 7 awakening factors 1. see dangers of sensuality + 2. replace bad thoughts with good 3.stabilize first jhāna 4. measure progress 5. beware of fake EBT 6. Pacify (passaddhi) the body Through careful study of ...

  download mp3 audio, mp4 video here https://archive.org/details/audtip-lucid24-SN-47-20/sn47.20-embellished.mp3 an earlier translation with different video: SN 47.20 explained in 24 seconds of video: Sati on 24/7, or die a horrific death

  jane austen style presentation of SN 47.6, by claude ai, Dhamma portions reworked by frankk: The Hawk and the Quail: A Moral Tale Concerning the Imprudence of Venturing Beyond One's Proper Sphere In this section (click this to open/close TOC) Chapter I: In Which a Quail Exhibits a Lamentable Want of Judgment Chapter II: In Which Pride Precedeth a Most Literal Fall Chapter III: In Which Superior Knowledge Triumphs Over Superior Force Chapter IV: In Which the Moral Application Is Made Clear SN 47.6 - A Rendering in the Manner of Polite Society It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a creature in possession of good sense must be in want of the wisdom to remain within its proper domain. Yet how often do we observe, in both the natural world and in the drawing rooms of civilized society, individuals who, believing themselves exempt from this maxim, venture forth into territories where they have neither knowledge nor advantage, and there meet wi...

Just my notes, no conclusion, just wondering. Thanissaro translation:  In a single holy life, a thousand have left death behind. More in training, five hundred plus ten times tenfold ten: All have attained the stream that never leads to an animal birth. 500 + 1000 = 1500 trainees (all = 1000 + 1500) 2500 stream enterers Bodhi's translation, I thought it might be saying 1000 arahants, 1500 sekhas ( 500 more nonreturners and once returners than arahants) 10x10x10 x (1000 + 1500) = 2500 x 1000 stream enterers Obviously verse is tricky to say with any certainty, 1) wondering if sekha here in SN 6.13 (or in general) tends to refer to non-returners and once returners (excluding stream enterers) 2) wondering if this sutta is meant to give a breakdown of ratios between various types of enlightened beings, like in  SN 8.7 “Imesampi khvāhaṃ, sāriputta, pañcannaṃ bhikkhusatānaṃ na kiñci garahāmi kāyikaṃ vā vācasikaṃ vā. “There is nothing, Sāriputta, that these five hundred monks hav...