Sunday, December 29, 2019

what's the emptiness, 空, in 3rd jhana of STED 4 jhana formula in agamas?

The 4 jhanas standard formula in the agamas of MA, match up very closely with the pali STED 4 jhana formulas. There's a striking difference in the 3rd jhana though, which is not in the pali. There's a sunyata/kong/空 on this part of third jhana:

聖所捨、念、 樂住、 shèng suǒ shě, niàn, lè zhù
the noble’s equanimity (捨), mindfulness, happy (樂) abode,
空,kōng
and emptiness.
得第三禪成就遊, dé dì sān chán chéngjiù yóu
He attains the accomplishment of the third meditation.

what is that emptiness?

Mystery solved, reading another translation of MA 2 with footnote

THE MADHYAMA ĀGAMA
MIDDLE-LENGTH DISCOURSES)
VOLUME I

footnote 47:
 Le zhu shi, Pāli sukha-vihāra. In the Chinese textual tradition the final character shi,
“room, abode,” is sometimes mistaken as kong, “emptiness.” Another variant is ding,
“concentration.”

That kong/空 is a scribal error is supported by the lack of a corresponding
term in the Pāli version of the formula.

full context



from MA 2, madhyama agama
復次,Fù cì
“Furthermore,
聖弟子離欲、 shèng dìzǐ lí yù,
the noble disciple parts with desire (欲 kāmehi)
離惡不 善之法, lí è bùshàn zhī fǎ
and parts with evil (惡) or un-wholesome (不-善) Dharmas (之法).
有覺、有觀,yǒu jué, yǒu guān,
With thought (覺 vitakka) and investigation (觀 vicāra),
離生喜樂, lí shēng xǐlè,
this seclusion produces joy (pīti 喜) and happiness (sukha 樂),
得初禪成就 遊,dé chū chán chéngjiù yóu,
and he attains the accomplishment of the first meditation (禪 zen, jhāna).
是時,聖弟子名葉還生,猶三十三天晝度 樹葉還生也。
The noble disciple then is called ‘leaves growing back again’ like the leaves growing back on the Trāyastriṃśa Heaven’s Pārijāta Tree.
復次,聖弟子 Fù cì, shèng dìzǐ
“Furthermore, once the noble disciple’s
覺觀已息,jué guān yǐ xī
thought and investigation have stopped,
內靜、 nèi jìng
he possesses an inner (內 adjhattam) stillness (靜 sampasadanam)
一心,yīxīn
(and) unified (ekodi-bhava) mind (心 cetaso)
無覺無觀, wú jué wú guān
without (無) thought (覺 vitakka) or investigation (觀 vicara).
定生喜樂,dìng shēng xǐlè
This concentration (定 samadhi) produces (生) joy (喜 piti) and happiness (樂 sukha),
得第二禪成就 遊,dé dì èr chán chéngjiù yóu
and he attains the accomplishment of the second meditation (禪 jhana, zen).
是時,聖弟子名為生網,猶三十三天晝度 樹生網也。
The noble disciple then is called ‘growing webs of buds’ like the Trāyastriṃśa Heaven’s Pārijāta Tree growing webs of buds.
復次,聖弟子 Fù cì, shèng dìzǐ
“Furthermore, the noble disciple
離於喜欲,lí yú xǐ yù
parts with joy and desire,
捨無求 遊,shě wú qiú yóu
and he is equanimous (捨 upekkha) without further pursuit.
正念正智 zhèngniàn zhèngzhì
With right mindfulness and right knowledge,
而身覺樂,ér shēn jué lè
he experiences (覺 patisamvedi) happiness (樂 sukha) with the body (身)
謂聖所說、 wèi shèng suǒ shuō
that’s described by the nobles as
聖所捨、念、 樂住、 shèng suǒ shě, niàn, lè zhù
the noble’s equanimity (捨), mindfulness, happy (樂) abode,
空,kōng
and emptiness.
得第三禪成就遊, dé dì sān chán chéngjiù yóu
He attains the accomplishment of the third meditation.
是時,聖弟子名 生如鳥喙,猶三十三天晝度樹如鳥喙也。
The noble disciple then is called ‘growing buds like bird beaks’ like the Trāyastriṃśa Heaven’s Pārijāta Tree growing buds like bird beaks.
復 次,聖弟子 Fù cì, shèng dìzǐ
“Furthermore, the noble disciple’s
樂滅、苦滅,lè miè, kǔ miè
pleasure (sukha) ceases and his pain (dukkha) ceases.
喜憂本已滅,xǐ yōu běn yǐ miè
The basis of joy (so-manassa) and sorrow (do-manassa) having ceased,
不苦不樂、 bù kǔ bù lè
he is neither (a-dukkham-a-sukham) discomforted nor delighted.
捨、念、清淨,shě, niàn, qīngjìng
Equanimous, mindful, and pure (pari-suddhim),
得第四禪成就遊,dé dì sì chán chéngjiù yóu
he attains the accomplishment of the fourth meditation.
是時,聖弟子 名生如鉢,猶三十三天晝度樹如鉢也。
The noble disciple then is called ‘becoming like a bowl’ like the Trāyastriṃśa Heaven’s Pārijāta Tree buds becoming like bowls.


Saturday, December 28, 2019

how many meditations have the word 'sati' in there? what are all the practices that are "great fruit, great benefit"?


how many meditations have the word 'sati' in there? what are all the practices that are "great fruit, great benefit"?

Post by frank k » Sat Dec 28, 2019 9:35 am


The motivation behind these two questions, is I suspect the Buddha emphasized some meditation practices above others for some reason or other. Obviously everything the Buddha taught would have useful applications at some stage, for some reason. But some practices have been touted as being especially useful for a particular purpose, such as metta to counter ill will. Anapana breath meditation, was the practice the Buddha engaged in on his personal retreats, he seemed to favor that above all else.
The 7sb awakening factors, are the samadhi engine that takes in any Dharma (meditation practice) that sati-sambojjhanga (awakening factor) 'remembers' and feeds into the 7sb samadhi engine.
The 4sp satipatthana are defined as 'samadhi nimittas', equivalent to the Dharma that sati remembers and feeds into 7sb, and as such, would cover every meditation subject.
So what we're looking for, in these two questions, is whether the Buddha used certain key terms to designate a small number of meditation subjects as being exceptional, among so many meditation topics taught.
Two questions:
  1. how many meditations have the word 'sati' in there? I'm aware of 3:
    • Ānā-pāna-s-sati 16APS🌬️😤: in-breath (&) out-breath remembering,
    • maraṇa-s-sati 💀🧟: death remembering
    • kāya-gatā-sati 🏃‍: body-immersed-remembering
They all have 'sati' in there name. I'm not including anu-s-sati practices (such as Buddha anu sati, Dhamma... Sangha....). And not including sati-(u)patthana.
Am I missing any? I think those are the only 3.
  1. what are all the practices that are touted to be of "great fruit, great benefit" (maha-p-phalā, mahā-nisaṃsā)? The 3 sati practices above are. the 4ip iddhi pada are. What else? I believe there are more.

Friday, December 27, 2019

funny google translation results from chinese agama to english sutta phrases


evam me sutam (thus I heard) 

我聞如是:
I smell like this:    


In MA 81, parallel, Buddha cusses up a storm, exclaiming "Shite!" (Shit!) many times throughout the sutta.

爾時,眾多比丘於中 食後,集坐講堂,共論此事。「諸賢!世尊甚奇! 甚特!修習念身,分別廣布,極知極觀,極修習, 極護治,善具善行,在一心中,佛說念身有大 果報,得眼、有目見第一義。」
In the meantime, many bhikkhus ate in the middle, and then sat in the lecture hall to discuss the matter. "Zhuxian! The world respect is very strange! Shite! Practice the mind and body, spread widely, know the insight, practice, protect, and have good deeds. In one mind, the Buddha said that there is great reward for mindfulness, See the first meaning. "    



So true, but not what the sutra actually meant 

Vipassana is painful and entertaining, 內 觀痛痛而自娛樂,



monk entertains himself by observing 31 body parts

「云何比丘 內觀身而自娛樂?於是,比丘觀此身隨其 性行,從頭至足,從足至頭,觀此身中皆悉 不淨,無有可貪。復觀此身有毛、髮、爪、齒、 皮、肉、筋、骨、髓、腦、脂膏、腸、胃、心、肝、脾、腎之屬,皆 悉觀知。屎、尿、生熟二藏、目淚、唾、涕、血脈、肪、膽, 皆當觀知,無可貪者。如是,諸比丘!當 觀身自娛樂,除去惡念,無有愁憂。
"Why does Bhikkhu look at himself and entertain himself? So, Bhikkhu sees his body as he goes, from head to toe, from foot to head, and he is not clean in this body, and there is nothing to be greedy. Looking back at this body, The genus of hair, hair, claws, teeth, skin, meat, tendons, bones, marrow, brain, grease, intestine, stomach, heart, liver, spleen, and kidney are all known. Shit, urine, raw and cooked, Tears, saliva, sputum, blood, fat, gallbladder should all be seen and understood, and there is no one who can be greedy. If so, all bhikkhus! When watching the body and entertaining itself, remove the bad thoughts, there is no worry.   



Wednesday, December 25, 2019

kāya-gatā-sati 🏃‍kgs: a comprehensive survey of all pali EBT references




4👑☸ Cattāri Ariya-saccaṃ 四聖諦

4👑☸ → STED → kāya-gatā-sati 🏃‍     sati 🐘   (⤴)


kāya-gatā-sati 🏃‍kgs = body-immersed-remembering

This practice involves maintaining continuous attention anchored to the physical body, or a bodily process (examples, SN 47.20SN 35.247. Doing so guards the sense doors. Also, like 16APS🌬️😤 breath meditation, which is a subset of 🏃‍kgs, it has the wondrous property of removing unprofitable thoughts and hindrances, since the energy required to monitor physical processes fully occupies one's attentional bandwidth, leaving no room for extraneous thoughts. Comparing MN 119 (🏃‍kgs sutta) with MN 10 (sati'paṭṭhāna sutta), the body contemplation (kāya-anu-passana) exercises listed are identical, except that MN 119 🏃‍kgs also includes the 4 jhānas and their similes (AN 5.28). Where the two suttas differ, is that the refrain that follows each exercise, in MN 10 there is a set of vipassana instructions to oberve rise and fall, etc. Whereas in MN 119 🏃‍kgs, the refrain instead has instructions to use the exercise to get into 4 jhānas. Interestingly, MN 119 🏃‍kgs, never mentions the ubiquitous 4sp🐘 formula at all. Surveying all the pāli sutta refernces to 🏃‍kgs, it's a frequently occurring theme to use 🏃‍kgs to get into 4 jhānas, or to expect that one is doing 🏃‍kgs with 4 jhānas concurrently.

kāya-gatā-sati 🏃‍


Tuesday, December 24, 2019

AN 1.583 B. Sujato accidentally translated vitakka & vicara correctly


https://suttacentral.net/an1.575-615/en/sujato

This passage is talking about second jhana. The pacification of body and mind confirms it (passaddhi-sam-bojjhanga). As well as the statement, vitakka-vicārā-pi vūpasammanti, which is straight from the second jhana formula. 

AN 1 .583 B. Sujato

“When one thing, mendicants, is developed and cultivated the body and mind become tranquil, thinking and considering settle down, and all of the qualities that play a part in realization are fully developed. “Ekadhamme, bhikkhave, bhāvite bahulīkate kāyopi passambhati, cittampi passambhati, vitakka-vicārā-pi vūpasammanti, kevalāpi vijjābhāgiyā dhammā bhāvanāpāripūriṃ gacchanti. What one thing? Katamasmiṃ ekadhamme? 

Mindfulness of the body. Kāyagatāya satiyā. When this one thing is developed and cultivated, the body and mind become tranquil, thinking and considering settle down, and all of the qualities that play a part in realization are fully developed.” Imasmiṃ kho, bhikkhave, ekadhamme bhāvite bahulīkate kāyopi passambhati, cittampi passambhati, vitakkavicārāpi vūpasammanti, kevalāpi vijjābhāgiyā dhammā bhāvanāpāripūriṃ gacchantī”ti.



Normally, when B. Sujato realizes 4 jhanas are being described with code phrases (not explicitly calling out which of the 4 jhanas), such as in AN 8.63, he uses the wrong translation/interpretation of vitakka and vicara as "placing the mind and keeping it connected".

AN 8.63 B. Sujato

When this immersion is well developed and cultivated in this way, you should develop it while placing the mind and keeping it connected. You should develop it without placing the mind, but just keeping it connected. You should develop it without placing the mind or keeping it connected. You should develop it with rapture. You should develop it without rapture. You should develop it with pleasure. You should develop it with equanimity. 
Yato kho te, bhikkhu, ayaṃ samādhi evaṃ bhāvito hoti bahulīkato, tato tvaṃ, bhikkhu, imaṃ samādhiṃ sa-vitakkampi sa-vicāraṃ bhāveyyāsi, avitakkampi vicāramattaṃ bhāveyyāsi, avitakkampi avicāraṃ bhāveyyāsi, sappītikampi bhāveyyāsi, nippītikampi bhāveyyāsi, sātasahagatampi bhāveyyāsi, upekkhāsahagatampi bhāveyyāsi.



The moral of the story


If you're going to misinterpret and mistranslate important pali terms, you need to be consistent and comprehensive, otherwise you're going to get caught and look like you lack conviction in your wrong view.



AN 1.583 translated and interpreted correctly


(This is 2nd jhāna here, done in conjunction with kāyagatā-sati)


583
583
“Eka-dhamme, bhikkhave, bhāvite bahulīkate
“When one ☸Dharma, monks, is developed and cultivated
kāyopi passambhati, cittampi passambhati,
the body and mind become pacified,
vitakka-vicārā-pi vūpasammanti,
thinking and considering settle down,
kevalāpi vijjābhāgiyā dhammā
and all of the ☸Dharmas that play a part in realization
Bhāvanā-pāripūriṃ gacchanti.
are developed to perfection.
Katamasmiṃ ekadhamme?
What one ☸Dharma?
Kāya-gatāya satiyā.
Body-immersed remembering.
Imasmiṃ kho, bhikkhave, eka-dhamme bhāvite bahulīkate
When this one ☸Dharma is developed and cultivated,
kāyopi passambhati, cittampi passambhati,
the body and mind become pacified,
Vitakka-vicārāpi vūpasammanti,
thinking and considering settle down,
kevalāpi vijjābhāgiyā dhammā
and all of the ☸Dharmas that play a part in realization
bhāvanāpāripūriṃ gacchantī”ti.
are developed to perfection.”


Monday, December 23, 2019

Did 12ps (dependent co origination) originally have fewer than 12 links?


Re: Buddha did not teach12 dependent arising links

Post by frank k » Mon Dec 23, 2019 2:52 am
Here in SN 35.113 is the most relevant and practical moment to moment portion of 12ps:
http://lucid24.org/sn/sn35/sn35-v11/index.html#s113

The fire sutta, guarding the sense doors, most of the major formulas all use that PS sequence.
PS (paticca samuppada) occurs all over the EBT, that's indisputable. The only question is how many links were there originally.
I suspect SN 35.113 was the original one, with 9 links, repeated for all 6 salayatana.
The ubiquitous 12ps, I suspect, was just a memory device to combine the 9 original, with two other types of dependent origination:
1) the mutual dependence between vinnana and nama rupa
2) the avijja underlying kamma/sankhara, tanha and dukkha.

Why do I think SN 35.113 with just 9 links was the original?
1. That ps pattern appears more frequently than the 12 (counting all the occurrences of the 12 which include the 9)
2. Read SN 35.113 carefully. The Buddha is witnessed composing oral teaching instructions of those 9ps, meant to be memorized, recited, and learned by disciples.
3. In the Theravada vinaya, the traditional first 3 suttas taught, the 9 links appear in fire sutta, but 12ps is not mentioned. In one of the Agama vinayas, the 4th sutta supposedly was one that included the 12ps. Now if the Buddha really taught 12ps that soon, SN 35.113 wouldn't make sense, and you would think all the EBT schools would agree on this.

Sunday, December 22, 2019

what is upasama-anu-s-sati?


what is upasama-anu-s-sati?

Post by frank k » Sun Dec 22, 2019 11:18 am
From AN 1
485–494
Buddhānussatiṃ bhāveti … dhammānussatiṃ bhāveti … saṅghānussatiṃ bhāveti … sīlānussatiṃ bhāveti … cāgānussatiṃ bhāveti … devatānussatiṃ bhāveti … ānāpānassatiṃ bhāveti … maraṇassatiṃ bhāveti … kāyagatāsatiṃ bhāveti … upasamānussatiṃ bhāveti ….
They develop the recollection of the Buddha … the recollection of the teaching … the recollection of the Saṅgha … the recollection of ethical conduct … the recollection of generosity … the recollection of the deities … rememberfulness of breathing … the recollection of death … rememberfulness of the body … the recollection of peace …”
The other items listed, aside from upasama sati, are well known Dharma vitakka (thoughts) with pali suttas that explain how one can use them to engage in the 7sb awakening factor sequence, having sati 'remember' that meditation subject.

But doing DPR search for upasamaanusati only turns up results like above, which only include it in a list of sati subjects, with no explanation. So what exactly is this meditation? How does it work? If upasama is meant as a synonym for nirvana, such as the frequent formula "upasama abhinnayaya sambodhaya nibbanaya samvattati", then it seems really dumb and unnecessary to list that as a meditation topic. If one already has the ability to touch and abide in nirvana, why would you need a Dharma instruction to remember to do that? It's not something you can forget.

My guess, based on the fact that there are no sutta passages that explain what this meditation subject is, is that upasama-anu-sati is a gratuitously added 'sati' to pad the number of sati's on the list to 10. Created by late Theravadans. Also near that AN 1 passage, are 10 kasinas, another late invention/addition.

Sunday, December 15, 2019

The EBT heart sutra


The EBT heart sutra

Post by frank k » Sun Dec 15, 2019 10:25 am
The EBT heart sutra doesn't exist. So lets compose one.
The idea is to summarize the heart/essence of the EBT as concisely as possible, in an easy to memorize composition.

Here's my first attempt:

It starts with the 4.
The 4th slurps in the 8.
Sati remembers Dhamma, the first 2 of the 7.
Sati, The Dragon's head, pokes above the surface of the ocean,
the other 5 segments lurking and now visible.
The powers and faculties,
are simply the Dragon with Saddha as the samadhi nimitta.
Of the four iddhipada, vimamsa is dhamma vicaya and pañña,
while the other 3 are factors in samma padhana.
Those are the 37, the 7 Buddhafication wings of Dharma.
Taking flight and spitting fire,
The Dragon emerges from the ocean of samsara.

If all that is too much to handle,
you only have to remember this holy mantra:
See dukkha clearly,
then let it go.


The Dragon simile is referencing SN 46.1


https://notesonthedhamma.blogspot.com/2019/07/unleashing-7sb-dragon.html

Wednesday, December 4, 2019

loopable suttas & sutta passages: timeless reminders you never tire of hearing


loopable suttas & sutta passages: timeless reminders you never tire of hearing

Post by frank k » Wed Dec 04, 2019 7:51 am
What are your favorite loopable sutta passages, ones that give profound messages that you could recite over and over again out loud and/or in your mind, for hours at a time, and you never tire of hearing it because it's such a timely reminder of what you should be doing or concerned about right now? They are also great at suppressing and directly developing understanding of how hindrances/defilements arise.

Here are a few of mine:

1. STED right effort, the four aspects, such as in SN 45.8
2. AN 4.14 guarding the sense doors
3. SN 46.2 the first 3 hindrances
4. SN 22.29: one who delights [in each of the 5uk aggregates] delights in dukkha. one who delights in dukkha, is not freed from dukkha.

question: tips for defeating lust

https://www.reddit.com/r/Buddhism/comments/e5g4q7/tips_for_defeating_lust/


Tips for Defeating Lust

So my whole life I’ve struggled with being overly lustful & I’ve been working to beat a porn addiction for a few months now. It’s also just generally difficult with day to day relationships when I can’t help but see many female friends of mine as being “attractive”. It makes it very hard to be mindful in my present moment as well. This isn’t that surprising as I’m a 20 year old man, but I wondered if there are any mindful practices or Buddhist teachings which could help me out!


SN 8.4: Ven. Ananda gives advice to lustful monk
MN 14: pleasures of meditation (once one can do it well) exceeds pleasures of sex
31 body parts meditation

Wednesday, November 27, 2019

B. Sujato's translation of 'situational awareness' for 'sampajano' is inadequate


Re: Situation awareness

Post by frank k » Wed Nov 27, 2019 6:09 am
Dhammanando wrote: 
Mon Nov 25, 2019 10:56 pm

English renderings of sampajañña are of broadly three kinds. The rendering "clear comprehension" (or some synonym of this) is usually used by those translators who accept the Abhidhamma's treatment of sampajañña as a mode of paññā:
It doesn't need Abhidhamma support to justify that interpretation.
AN 4.41 defines sampajano as :
STED S&S💭 definition custom built for in-jhāna usage
Now look in AN 4.41, the 4 developments of samadhi sutta, and once again you see the same definition of sampajano as in SN 47.35, the one that fits jhāna perfectly in terms of the most obvious things one would investigate from such a still and refined state of mind.
AN 4.41 third of four exercises, for sati and sampajaññāya
Katamā ca, bhikkhave, samādhi-bhāvanā bhāvitā bahulīkatā
{and} what, *********, concentration-development, when developed (and) pursued,
Sati-sampajañ-ñāya saṃvattati?
(to) mindfulness-(and)-clear-comprehension (it) leads?
Idha, bhikkhave, bhikkhuno
Here, monks, a-monk:
viditā vedanā uppajjanti,
known (are) feelings (as they) arise,
viditā upaṭṭhahanti,
known (as they are) attended-upon,
viditā abbhatthaṃ gacchanti.
known (as they) go to} disappear.
viditā saññā uppajjanti,
known (are) perceptions (as they) arise,
viditā upaṭṭhahanti,
known (as they are) attended-upon,
viditā abbhatthaṃ gacchanti.
known (as they) go to} disappear.
viditā vitakkā uppajjanti,
known (are) thoughts (as they) arise,
viditā upaṭṭhahanti,
known (as they are) attended-upon,
viditā abbhatthaṃ gacchanti.
known (as they) go to} disappear.
Ayaṃ, bhikkhave, samādhi-bhāvanā bhāvitā bahulīkatā
This, *********, concentration-development, when developed (and) pursued,
Sati-sampajañ-ñāya saṃvattati.
mindfulness-(and)-clear-comprehension (it) leads-to.



That same passage also occurs:

AN 7.38 contains same fragment from AN 4.41
MN 111 is really just a more detailed version of AN 7.38 and AN 4.41
AN 7.39 same as AN 7.38 except talking about Sariputta instead of monk
AN 8.9 S&S definition for Ven. Nanda, same as AN 4.41
DN 33.7 S&S definition same as AN 4.41
MN 111 for four jhanas and first 3 formless attainments
MN 123 marvellous quality of the Tathāgata:
SN 47.35 sati defined as 4sp, sampajano same as AN 4.41
Early Theravada Commentary
KN Paṭis, 1. mahāvaggo, 3. ānāpānas-sati-kathā
MN 18 what he feels, he perceives, thinks (compare to AN 4.41)


So in conclusion, 'situational awareness' is a poor translation for it fails to adequately address the important function of sati and sampajano in 3rd jhana, where 'situational awareness of physical postures, etc.' is a marginal feature at best.