notes on the Dhamma

31asb: where's the brain? 💩🧠  In KN Snp 1.11, the brain appears as an addition after the traditional group of 31. In KN Khp 3, it follows the Vism. order, where it groups it in the end of the  "earth element" group, right after feces.  KN Khp ,  3. dvattiṃsākāro  ( KN 1.3 ), para. 5  ⇒ antaṃ antaguṇaṃ udariyaṃ karīsaṃ (feces)  matthaluṅ gaṃ, (brain) In an interesting coincidence, In English, there's an expression "shit for brains". What's the meaning of the phrase 'Shit for brains'? https://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/317900.html Extremely stupid. What's the origin of the phrase 'Shit for brains'? This term of abuse originated in the USA in the 1960s. The earliest record of it that I can find is David Maccuish's novel Do not go Gentle, 1960: "Larko's got shit for brains." matthaluṅgaṃ (4) matthaluṅganti (2) matthaluṅgañca (1) matthaluṅgassa (1) DN MN SN AN KN ...

In most of the EBT Pali suttas, it's almost always 31 body parts. If a sutta has 32 (brain added in), it's a sure sign of late editing. By the time of Visuddhimagga, 32 body parts had become the new standard. If we compare to other EBT schools, like the Chinese agamas representing Sarvastivada, mula sarvastivada, and other schools, there doesn't seem to be a set standard on number of body parts, it varies quite a bit. In the MN 10 satipatthana sutta parallels, EA has 25, MA has 28. So who knows how many the Buddha originally designated? But what's nice about the number 31, there's a nice association with 31 days of a month. There's a  different flavor of asubha for every day of the month. In other words, the number 31 has the added association that you should be thinking about 31 body parts every day of the month, every day of the year. Vism. and Abhidhamma may have won the previous round.   But the duty of the EBT jedi is to take a stand and ...

Here's a well written essay, describing his problems in his personal practice with modern mindfulness and anatta. What he needs to focus on, is cause of dukkha, efficacy of karma, 7sb awakening factors, especially piti, to counter his somewhat nihilistic and tendency to depression. https://aeon.co/essays/mindfulness-is-loaded-with-troubling-metaphysical-assumptions excerpt: contrary to Kabat-Zinn’s loftier claims to universalism, mindfulness  is  in fact ‘metaphysically loaded’: it relies on its practitioners signing up to positions they might not readily accept. In particular, mindfulness is grounded in the Buddhist doctrine of  anattā , or the ‘no-self’.  Anattā  is a metaphysical denial of the self, defending the idea that there is nothing like a soul, spirit or any ongoing individual basis for identity. This view denies that each of us is an underlying subject of our own experience. By contrast, Western metaphysics typically holds that – in addit...

THOX (Theravada Orthodoxy) teaches this subject in a way that promotes the marginal case of spontaneously arisen Piti upon entering first jhana, as the main definition. Whereas in EBT, we can see Piti is something that needs to be actively developed, nurtured, reflected upon even while in jhāna, so one sees the cause and effect relationship between virtue and the spontaneous expression of piti in the jhanas. In other words, THOX has cause and effect inverted. It treats piti as an effect, as something that happens to you when you do their pure samatha VRJ (vism. redefinition of jhana), piti is a reward. In EBT, piti, pamojja, mudita, are all very closely related if not synonymous, and they are activities you actively do, nurture, develop, rather than treating them like magic beans that magically sprout when you blank your mind out 'one-pointedly' on a kasina or breath nimitta, and are rewarded with piti and sukha in jhana. In EBT, one is cognizant of the cause and effect rel...

Dragon hidden underwater If one doesn't practice 4sp remembering faculty assiduously, it's like a dormant dragon hidden underwater. Cool image here, notice the ying yang ☯ embedded. If you practice 4sp intermittently It's like the dragon pokes it's head out of the water occasionally If you practice 4sp assiduously, and slurp in 7sb The hidden dragon steps out of the water, the whole body (7sb), not just the head (sati) is out in the open and ready to rumble. If you get the hang of maintaining passadhi all the time while doing 7sb Then 4 jhanas and samadhi are almost permanently switched on, and your dragon has taken flight. SN 46.1 Himavantasutta: The Himalayas (🐉 enter the dragon) (1. 🐘 Sati -sb) (2. 💭 Dhamma-vicaya-sb) (3. 🏹 vīriya -sb) (4. 😁 Pīti -sb) (5. 🌊 Passaddhi-sb) (6. 🌄 samādhii -sb) (7. 👁 Upekkhā -sb) (conclusion) SN 47.4 sāla-suttaṃ (newly ordained) (1. kāye kāyānupassino) (2. vedanāsu vedanānupassino) (3....

https://buddhism.stackexchange.com/questions/1313/what-is-the-meaning-of-dhamm%c4%81-in-the-context-of-the-four-satipa%e1%b9%ad%e1%b9%adh%c4%81na/34239#34239 Does anyone have a proper explanation as to why the fourth set is called "dhammas"? Because the 4th category is not about dhamma (mental qualities or phenomena), it's ☸Dhamma-[teaching that leads directly to nirvana]. http://notesonthedhamma.blogspot.com/2019/07/proof-dharma-is-buddhas-teaching-not.html The standard Theravada interpretation of the cryptic formula in 4sp satipatthana, is that one focuses on one of the frames to the exclusion of the other 3. But that's not the real purpose. The real meaning, is that one should see "body as body [as it actually is]". http://notesonthedhamma.blogspot.com/2019/05/the-real-meaning-of-cryptic-formula-in.html For ☸Dhamma, the meaning of seeing ☸Dhamma as ☸Dhamma as it actually is, is very similar in meaning to  ☸Dhamma-anu-dhamma☸📐 {the practic...