notes on the Dhamma

KN Snp 5.1 vatthu-gāthā (prologue-verses) A rival Brahman had threatened to kill Bavari with his mighty psychic power and split his head into 7 pieces. In response, Bavarai was terrified, but did not lose his jhana ability: ♦ 991. ♦ ussussati anāhāro, He wasted away, taking no food, sokasallasamappito. afflicted with the arrow of grief, ♦ athopi evaṃ cittassa, and, with his mind this way, jhāne na ramatī mano. his heart found no delight in jhāna. These 16 students of Bavarai (haven't met the Buddha yet) could all do jhana! Note to  Ajahn Brahm, the Buddha did not invent Jhana like you claim.  ♦ 1015. ♦ paccekagaṇino sabbe, all          with their own groups, Sabba-lokassa vissutā. famed in  all the world, ♦ jhāyī jhāna-ratā dhīrā, endowed          with jhāna, delighting          in jhāna, pubbavāsanavāsitā. Enlightened,...

  https://discourse.suttacentral.net/t/jhanas-the-body/21371/27 nibbanka wrote: So, despite the shift to the “mental body” in the later literature, the Commentary still preserves the literal “physical body” meaning in this particular context. And explanation in the earlier sources, namely the Paṭisambhidāmagga and the Vimuttimagga, gives support for such a reading. cdpatton responds: The problem is that there’s only one Agama parallel that I can find that agrees with these Theravada passages that exist in DN and MN. There’s just not much evidence that it was from the earliest period of Buddhism, otherwise we should see more parallels and consistency the way we do with the jhana formulas themselves. After I posted my comments in the other thread, I did find a Chinese parallel to DN 2 (T22) that includes metaphors with the four jhanas. They use similar imagery but mean completely different things. Not only do they lack the connecting passage that Theravadins point to as explicitly de...

Before we dive into DA 20, here is a fictional story to illustrate the importance of distinguishing carefully between the terms  mind, body, and metaphorical use of 'personal' which vaguely encompasses both body and mind. Charles and Frank were eyewitnesses of an altercation between Alexander and Peggy Sue. They went to the police to give their report: Charles went first: "Alexander made a personal attack against Peggy Sue that was a slap in the face and  left scars. Peggy Sue felt that pain deeply and personally." The Police are thinking, "ok, sounds like we need to get a restraining order on Alexander, press charges against him for assault and battery." Then Frank gave his eyewitness account: "Alexander and Peggy Sue got in a really heated debate over a controversial religious topic. Peggy Sue was a slick talker, and her case sounded compelling, at first. But then Alexander just unleashed a tsunami of incontrovertible evidence from the thousands of su...

  I haven't shared it yet, because I couldn't figure out how to explain it in a way that people could fully grasp and feel genuinely motivated to really go for it, everyday with relish.   Any kind of obvious good advice that's (relatively) easy to do, people will nod their heads, agree that it's a great idea, maybe try it for a few days, and then forget about it because they didn't see quick results. I still can't figure out how to appeal to your good senses, but I'm just going to spill the beans and hope you get it. At the rate I'm going, I'll be dead before I ever write about it in detail with super clear examples. So better now that I share the great idea even if it doesn't completely convince you. Ask questions if I'm not being clear. The full explanation (which is still my notes in raw form) is here 4👑☸  →  ☯🦍  →  🦍❤️   <--- click that hyperlink to Gorilla Heart Sutra This mantra is an acronym that contains essential jhana and taij...

Following up on this article, DN 2 Third jhāna formula translation, "You get to personally experience B. Sujato's sophistry"   There's another important point to make, about the loss of important information when you use Sujato's type of sophistry.  I'll illustrate the point with a simile, based on a true recent event. I was shopping for 100% cotton black face masks, an item that's useful in these pandemic times. One of the ones I bought, came with the instructions, "dry clean only." (see appendix on toxicity of dry cleaning chemicals). So I've had plenty of experience with cotton material in my lifetime, and I know that you really only want dry cleaning if you're worried about cosmetic appearance, not getting wrinkles, white lint on your shiny and smooth black fabric, etc. But since it is a facemask I'm going to be breathing through, there is no way in hell I'm going to send it to the dry cleaners, and breathe all the toxic chemi...

Sujato's 3rd jhana sophistry DN 2: Sāmaññaphalasutta—Bhikkhu Sujato (suttacentral.net) 4.3.2.7. Third Absorption 4.3.2.7.   Tatiyajhāna Furthermore, with the fading away of rapture, a mendicant enters and remains in the third absorption, where they meditate with equanimity, mindful and aware, personally experiencing the bliss of which the noble ones declare, ‘Equanimous and mindful, one meditates in bliss.’ Puna   caparaṁ,   mahārāja,   bhikkhu   pītiyā   ca   virāgā   upekkhako   ca   viharati   sato   sampajāno,   s ukhañca   kāyena   paṭisaṁvedeti ,   yaṁ   taṁ   ariyā   ācikkhanti:   ‘upekkhako   satimā   sukhavihārī’ti,   tatiyaṁ   jhānaṁ   upasampajja   viharati. They drench, steep, fill, and spread their body with bliss free of rapture. There’s no part of the body that’s not spread with bliss free of rapture. So   imameva   kāyaṁ   ni...

  Re: Definition/meaning of Dhamma Edit Delete Report Quote Post   by  frank k  »  Tue Sep 21, 2021 1:12 am Assaji  wrote:  ↑ Mon Sep 20, 2021 1:47 am ... You have to take in account the context. For example, "kusalā dhammā" is rather "skillful modes of conduct", as in the Apaṇṇaka Sutta (MN 60; M I 402,17): ... 'dhamma' needs to remain untranslated. I dive into the reasons why here: https://lucid24.org/tped/d/dhamma/index.html#dhamma I can cite many examples where "kusalā dhammā" as "skillful modes of conduct" would not work. The primary meaning of Dhamma, is the teachings of the Buddha that lead directly to nirvana. So it's not just skillful qualities we're after, that's a huge class of actions, it's only those that lead to nirvana. For example, take right effort and viriya indriya. For example, being a skilled chef is a skillful quality, being a skilled judge is a skillful quality. But those are not the unarises skillfu...