notes on the Dhamma

  It is like the case of four ministers who, aspiring to a position,  lived in close association with the king.  (1) Chanda One was energetic in waiting upon [the king];  knowing the king's wishes and desires,  he waited upon him night and day;  he pleased the king and obtained a position.  The one who produces transcendent dhamma with chanda as chief should be understood as like him.  (2) vīriya Another, however, thought:  'I cannot wait upon the king daily;  when a task needs to be done I shall please him by my valour.'  When there was trouble on the borders he was posted by the king,  and having crushed the enemy by means of his valour he obtained a position.  The one who produces transcendent dhamma with viriya as chief should be understood as like him.  (3) citta Another thought:  'Waiting upon the king daily, taking swords and arrows on the chest is burdensome.  I shall please the king by the power of ...

Full article below, 15 min. read. Excerpt: When Moses died of cancer in 1911 at 67, the Great Bend Tribune ran two pages of tributes,  and businesses closed for his funeral.  Describing him as “one of the best known peace officers in the West,”   the eulogists said he did not get his due —   “he never boasted of his deeds” and   “never played up the part he played in early day incidents that belonged to him.” ... America remembers and even lionizes the gunslingers and stone-cold killers and hucksters of the Wild West,  but it forgets other people who were no less fearless,  but more bent on keeping the peace and founding churches  than hanging out in brothels and preening for East Coast reporters and photographers. ...  The gun’s real value has nothing to do with its death count.  What matters is the mettle of the forgotten man who carried it,   as reflected in how he was eulogized in 1911: “Civilization in overt...

  Re: Not eating dinner Edit Delete Report Quote Post   by  frank k  »  Fri Jul 26, 2024 5:03 am befriend  wrote:  ↑ Thu Jul 25, 2024 1:22 pm Do monastics eventually get over the hunger pains of not eating after noon? I am thinking of not eating dinner just because it’s a hassle not for spiritual reasons. I've been not eating dinners (just breakfast 7am and lunch 12 noon) for about 15 years now. So that's a 5 hour eating window and 19 hour fasting period (only water). If you cook your own meals, pay attention to how much protein, fats, nutrients you actually need, it's really easy, especially with 2 meals per day. I'm retired and a full time yogi, but there are a fair number of worldlings who have jobs working full time also follow a similar intermittent fasting program (usually for health, not spiritual reasons), and they just have a bigger eating window, say 8 hours instead of 5 like mine, and perhaps more than 2 meals or snacking periods between the...

  The two latter aspects of right resolve,  Abyāpāda (non-ill will) and Avihiṃsā (non harming), have much similarity and overlap, but are emphatically not the same. There are some important differences.  Re: Abyāpāda and Avihiṃsā Edit Delete Report Quote Post   by  frank k  »  Wed Jul 24, 2024 4:34 pm MN 8 is a great find, @culaavuso, on distinguishing between Abyāpāda and Avihiṃsā. I'd always assumed this was the key difference between Abyāpāda and Avihiṃsā, but did not have any proof I could cite. Great answer and analogy by the way, you really hit the nail on the head. Abyāpāda is non-ill will, a mental activity. Avihiṃsā is non harming, a physical activity. The grouping in MN 8 shows that clearly. Avihiṃsā is grouped with physical actions, while Abyāpāda is grouped with mental actions. So while abyāpāda·saṅkappa and avihiṃsā·saṅkappa does have some overlap, they are very different classes of action. Just as culaavuso pointed out from similar items ...

speaking of non profit orgs, which Buddhist ones good to bequeath or include in will? Post by frank k » Sun Jul 14, 2024 6:15 am For the last 4 years I've been thinking of starting an NPO myself dedicated to preservation of authentic early buddhist jhāna teachings. In the USA, if you die unexpectedly, and you don't have a will, your wife and/or kids I believe will be entitled to your assets, but if you don't have dependents, then the US govt. claims all of your property. As I'm getting older, and I would like the remainder of my life savings to go to a good cause, and I'm not aware of any current Buddhist organization dedicated to preservation of authentic early buddhist jhana teachings, there's an urgent need to fill that void. I'm sure there are probably other people in my same situation, getting older, no dependents, not wanting govt. to take all your assets when you die, and not quite happy with the existing Buddhist organizations one can bequeath or ...

  Ven. Sujato revised his understanding of vitakka and jhāna in his   new MN footnotes ? Let's take a look at some of his footnotes from key suttas: MN 125: Dantabhūmisutta—Bhikkhu Sujato (suttacentral.net) his second jhāna translation with vitakka as not 'thinking': As the placing of the mind and keeping it connected are stilled, they enter and remain in the second absorption … his footnote says: The Pali version, in a unique presentation, has the four satipaṭṭhānas in place of the first absorption,  which offers further light on the problem discussed in the previous note.  The first absorption is characterized by seclusion from sensual pleasures, while vitakka is still present.  Clearly one is not “thinking of sensual pleasures” at this point, but it is not clear that one is not having vitakka for the body (and feeling, mind, and principles).  I have translated vitakka as “thought” here , but it could mean the application of the mind to a meditation...