notes on the Dhamma

  Nice new website here, by Javier. https://sites.google.com/view/buddhasgrove/method (actually, I don't know if the site is new, I don't see any dates on there, but it's new to me) One thing that needs pointing out. There is a place for abbreviated sutta translations with repetitions cut out or elided. It serves a useful purpose. You can more quickly digest the gist of the sutta and not lose the main points from getting lost in thinking out the repetitions. But there's a super important reason, actually at least 2 reasons, for the repetitions.  One, it's on an oral tradition, so repetitions help you to memorize the teaching and help catch errors when reciting repetitions sounds different or slightly off.  Two, and most important, the repetition is a positive brainwashing in the best sense of the concept.  You're washing out the akusala/unskillful, and replacing the washed mind with kusala skillful thoughts and perceptions. This sutta for example illustrates the...

  Re: Inspiring sign Edit Delete Report Quote Post   by  frank k  »  Wed Dec 30, 2020 7:52 am asahi  wrote:  ↑ Mon Dec 28, 2020 9:08 pm Hi forum , What does inspiring foundation or sign in the text refers to ? https://suttacentral.net/sn47.10/en/sujato That mendicant should direct their mind towards an  inspiring foundation . Tenānanda, bhikkhunā kismiñcideva pasādanīye nimitte cittaṃ paṇidahitabbaṃ. Read the short synopsis "essence of first jhana" from here, it contains links to the relevant suttas: http://lucid24.org/sted/8aam/8samadhi/smd1/index.html The line in particular with sutta suggestions for you are: 3. The way to stabilize and prolong first jhāna, is by learning how to use V&V  skillfully to direct the mind to inspiring themes to stoke the fire of first jhāna and keep it burning. Suttas such as MN 20, SN 47.8, SN 47.10, SN 46.3, AN 6.10, AN 8.30 are a few such examples. As others have pointed out, the key word you're looking f...

  Re: Question regarding the terminology 'discursive thought' Edit Delete Report Quote Post   by  frank k  »  Sun Dec 27, 2020 5:20 am See KN Pe 7.72 explanations of vitakka and vicara. http://lucid24.org/sted/8aam/8samadhi/v ... ndex.html 'discursive' means digressing from topic to topic. So that's not 'vicara' in samadhi context. In EBT, it would be the job of sati and sampajano to reign in vitakka (directed-thought) from digressing discursively. vitakka, inside first jhana, is selecting a topic to think about superficially, recalling a memorized Dharma topic and mentally reciting it with verbal thinking. Vicara takes the topic of thought selected by vitakka and evaluates/examines/ponders it more deeply. So for first jhana context, it's carefully delimited in that way. If there is a digression from the Dharma topic in first jhana, you wouldn't say it was vicara that digressed, it would be a separate vitakka starting up a different Dharma topic. Rea...

 It takes some serious courage and conviction for Theravadin monks to subsist on alms in very rural non Buddhist countries strictly following vinaya rules for alms round (no money, etc.) . I would think most who attempt this would end up starving to death or very malnutritioned. Here's one very inspiring story, and I really like how he practices doing brahma vihara door to door. https://americanmonk.org/stand-on-the-road/

  AN 10.60 Girimananda and the Raft 🚣, director’s cut What  AN 4.191  talks about, is what happens to virtuous monastics when they die and are reborn in Deva realms. They get infatuated with the pleasures of the Deva realm, and forget about what they learned and practiced as a human monastic. But because of their good karma and association with virtuous spiritual companions, either powerful human monastics with psychic powers communicate with them, or other Devas in their community who remember the Dharma from their human life jog their memory and help them return to the Dharma path. In  AN 10.60 , Girimananda is gravely ill, on his deathbed. The Buddha sends Ananda to talk to him and encourage him with 10 Dharma topics. What happens next, is surely a corruption, brought to you by the same Hollywood executive producers who corrupted SN 46.14 ,  SN 46.15 , and  SN 46.16 . But if you study  AN 4.191  carefully, you can reconstruct  AN 10.60 ...

 To understand how metta, mitta, work in the parittas, it's based on a very universal phenomena you can observe in the human and animal realm. It's not limited to wholesome friendships. Even criminals use the power of mitta to help protect each other. From today's news: President Trump granted clemency to Paul Manafort, his former campaign chairman; Roger Stone, his friend and confidant; Charles Kushner, the father of his son-in-law, Jared Kushner; and other loyalists in a new batch of pardons and commutations . Quid pro quo. You scratch my back, I'll scratch yours. You help me get elected, I'll give you juicy profitable government contracts in the rigged bidding process, and I'll pardon your crimes. 

  Re: Not supposed to control breathing during anapanasati? Edit Delete Report Quote Post   by  frank k  »  Mon Dec 21, 2020 2:42 pm dpcalder  wrote:  ↑ Sun Dec 20, 2020 9:22 pm I'm a little puzzled by the idea that we are not supposed to control our breathing during anapanasati. I guess my main concern is that I tend to suffer from shortness of breath due to anxiety, so I like to take really long and deep breaths, and occasionally hold the breath in my lungs for a few seconds. Is it wrong to focus on taking take breaths as opposed to allowing the breath to flow naturally, either "short" breathing or "long" breathing? Does doing this cause inordinate attention upon the breath that might impede meditation results? It's perfectly fine to intentionally adjust one's breath to pacify the body (passadhi awakening factor #5 of 7) to make it comfortable, relaxed, not stressed. The point of steps 1 and 2 of knowing long or short, is to train the mind to avoid u...

from my non-Dhamma blog, article link: Edward Thorp's single most important piece of advice: think for yourself and think critically   ( <-- that's a hyperlink to an article to read) There wouldn't be any jhana controversies in Theravada if people would just spend about 40 hours and read through the relevant suttas carefully and critically.  What Thorp is talking about he applies to the secular world, but the process behind it is the very nature of Dhamma-vicaya awakening factor, and vitakka and vicara of first jhana (critical thinking applied to skillful Dharma topics).  And when I say 40 hours to read the relevant sutta passages, what I really mean is that's probably the amount of time it takes to understand the passages, IF you think critically with Dhamma-vicaya. I've already dissected every single occurrence of vitakka and vicara in the pali suttas, analyzed it and walked you step by step through all of those ideas connect and cohere, all handed to you on a ...

 Metta is closely related to the word 'mitta', so a careful study of these suttas on mitta should give you a better idea of what the qualities of 'metta' encompass. Hint: Metta is not 'love', which is too broad of a concept that includes some of 'metta's core qualities, but also includes many defiled baggages (romantic love, clingly attached love of relatives, children) that aren't part of metta.  AN 1.71   Kalyāṇa­mitta -  AN 1.81 :  “Nāhaṃ, bhikkhave, aññaṃ Eka-dhammampi samanupassāmi yena anuppannā vā kusalā dhammā uppajjanti uppannā vā akusalā dhammā parihāyanti yathayidaṃ, bhikkhave, kalyāṇamittatā. “monks, I do not see a single Dharma that gives rise to skillful Dharmas, or makes unskillful Dharmas decline like good friends. Kalyāṇamittassa, bhikkhave, anuppannā ceva kusalā dhammā uppajjanti uppannā ca akusalā dhammā parihāyantī”ti. When you have good friends, skillful Dharmas arise and unskillful Dharmas decline.” AN 3.135 AN 3.133 Mitta:...

 The idea for this thread came from a discussion I had with a monk who personally witnessed  monk healing deep 5 inch cut (spurting fountains of blood) with paritta  chanting in 15 minutes.  I'll start with a story I heard from one of my Dharma brothers I spent 3 years with when I was living in a monastery.   Our meditation hall there is open 24 hours a day most of the time. I spent a lot of time there, so did he. I noticed many times when he had to leave groups sits because of some medical ailment. When I asked him about it, he said he's had chronic sharp digestive pains for many years, sharp enough pain he couldn't sit and meditate through it. So one time after a really long sit he did manage to sit through, I asked him about his health, and he told me this interesting story. His abdominal sharp pains were cured. Recently when he was going through a pain episode while meditating in the hall, he felt this strong external heat enter into his body from his u...