notes on the Dhamma

article update 2024 - 01 - 29  Both volumes of PDF have now been released by the book publisher (before only first volume). The free version of  book is fully available now. free pdf here: https://www.buddhism.hku.hk/publication-post/the-path-to-freedom-vimuttimagga/   lucid24.org digital edition PDF's are terrible formats for digital devices. I've made an html version with massive table of contents of permanent hyperlinks here: 4👑☸  →  🏛️  →  Vimt-N   I'll be continuing to massage and improve the formatting of the book over time,  but so far the most important chapters, 8-12, I've made clear separation between footnotes and actual Vimt. text, and added a massive number of useful direct hpyerlinks to topics of interest, such as: Vimt-N  8  - CHAPTER 8 The Way to Practise [the Meditation Subjects]1      Vimt-N  8.0  - A. Earth Totality      Vimt-N  8.1  - B. First Jhāna      Vimt-N  8.2 ...

139 references in Vinaya, a few dozen more in suttas with the phrase sampajāna-musā-vādo = deliberate lie telling Results for: sampajānamusā Vin: 139 DN: 5 MN: 9 SN: 8 AN: 11 KN: 12 sampajānamusā (167) sampajānamusāvāde (11) sampajānamusāvādaṃ (1) sampajānamusāvādo (5) sampajānamusāvādassa (2) sampajānamusāvādoti (2)  SN 17.11 Suvaṇṇapāti: A Golden Bowl 11. Suvaṇṇapātisutta 11. A Golden Bowl Sāvatthiyaṃ viharati. At Sāvatthī. “Dāruṇo, bhikkhave, lābhasakkārasiloko … pe … adhigamāya. “Possessions, honor, and popularity are brutal … Idhāhaṃ, bhikkhave, ekaccaṃ puggalaṃ evaṃ cetasā ceto paricca pajānāmi: When I’ve comprehended the mind of a certain person, I understand: ‘na cāyamāyasmā suvaṇṇapātiyāpi rūpiyacuṇṇaparipūrāya hetu sampajānamusā bhāseyyā’ti. ‘This venerable would not tell a deliberate lie even for the sake of a golden bowl filled with silver powder.’ Tamenaṃ passāmi aparena samayena lābhasakkārasilokena abhibhūtaṃ pariyādiṇṇacittaṃ sampajānamusā bhāsantaṃ. But ...

  47.42 - SN 47.42 Samudaya: Origin 42. Samudayasutta 42. Origin “Catunnaṃ, bhikkhave, satipaṭṭhānānaṃ samudayañca atthaṅgamañca desessāmi. “monks, I will teach you the origin and the ending of the four kinds of remembering and applying Dharma. Taṃ suṇātha. Listen … 47.42.1 - (4sp #1 kāya: body) Ko ca, bhikkhave, kāyassa samudayo? And what is the origin of the body? Āhārasamudayā kāyassa samudayo; The body originates from food. āhāranirodhā kāyassa atthaṅgamo. When food ceases, the body ends. 47.42.2 - (4sp #2 vedana: sensations) Phassasamudayā vedanānaṃ samudayo; sensations originate from contact. phassanirodhā vedanānaṃ atthaṅgamo. When contact ceases, sensations end. 47.42.3 - (4sp #3 citta: mind) Nāmarūpasamudayā cittassa samudayo; The mind originates from name and form. nāmarūpanirodhā cittassa atthaṅgamo. When name and form cease, the mind ends. 47.42.4 - (4sp #4 dhamma) Manasikārasamudayā dhammānaṃ samudayo; Dharmas originate from attention. manasikāranirodhā dhammānaṃ attha...

  Sujato's AN 7.49 translation has, for all 7 perceptions, this refrain: Veditabbametaṃ, bhikkhave, bhikkhunā ‘subhāvitā me dukkhe anattasaññā, atthi me pubbenāparaṃ viseso, pattaṃ me bhāvanābalan’ti. they should know: ‘My perception of not-self in suffering is well developed. I have realized a distinction higher than before. I have attained a fruit of development.’ Itiha tattha sampajāno hoti. In this way they are aware of the situation .     The point of embedding sampajāno in the 4 satipaṭṭhāna formula, is to bundle the pañña (wisdom/discernment) faculty with sati faculty.  Abhidhamma and the commentaries agree here, look at how they gloss sampajāno in satipaṭṭhāna. Look at how SN 46.3 under Dhamma -vicaya awakening factor, bundles pañña, pa-viciniti, pa-vicārati (vitakka and vicāra of first jhāna), pari-vimamsa (4th iddipāda).  paññāya here is obviously referring to the sampajāno that's bundled with sati in the 7 awaken...

This is the  TITWOW Syndrome  : TITWOW = Translators Irritatingly Translate With One Word  I explore the meaning and translation of the term in detail here: 4👑☸  →  EBpedia📚  →  viveka    citing the suttas that most clearly show viveka can not be (just) seclusion, but more along the lines of wisdom, discernment, discrimination, judgment,  just as the sanskrit dictionary definition states (which doesn't even list 'seclusion' as an option!) sex, drugs, rock and roll Here I want to explore 'viveka' in the context of first jhāna's relation to Kāma (sensuality), and show why 'viveka' can not be (unqualified) seclusion. Suppose you're the parents of two teenage kids, one boy, one girl, who just hit the puberty age, where hormones are running wild and they're exposed to all kinds of temptations and dangers involving sex, drugs, rock and roll. The right way to train your kids, is with 'viveka'. But which viveka? Here are three kinds of viveka,...

Using 'google' to illustrate problem of 'sati' as 'mindfulness' If I were to say, "use google", or "google that."  Imagine if I was to translate that phrase for English speakers 2000 years from now. Maybe I would translate "search" or "find" for 'google'. Do you see the problem? "find that." leaves the questions of:  "what should I be finding?" "where should I be looking?" "when should I be doing this?" This is the  TITWOW Syndrome  : TITWOW = Translators Irritatingly Translate With One Word  It's not enough to just translate 'google' with 'find', I need to state what key word I'm searching for, if it's not explicitly stated near the phrase 'google that',  and I need to explain the context for the future readers that google searches a database of world human knowledge from 1000 CE to 2020 CE for example. Similarly, 'sati' is not jus...

Illustration by Bhikkhu Vimalo from a BPS postcard wishing a happy vesak   More images where Buddha looks human: https://notesonthedhamma.blogspot.com/2021/02/where-are-buddha-images-and-statues.html Buddha and Arahant images that look like real humans