notes on the Dhamma

frankk comment Sister of a monk from Wat Metta in 2018 writing her perspective of her brother ordaining. Original article was in Hebrew, I think this is a human translation to English. Article The Monk Who Left His Dazzling Israeli High-tech Career The residents of this small Buddhist monastery in California abandoned promising careers and the idea of raising a family in favor of an ascetic existence – and happiness Tamar Marcovitz Dec 14, 2018  paywalled https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/2018-12-14/ty-article-magazine/.premium/the-monk-who-left-his-dazzling-israeli-high-tech-career/0000017f-ded7-df62-a9ff-ded767b40000 full article reposted from https://www.dhammawheel.com/viewtopic.php?t=33653 SAN DIEGO – A small, high cabin with three large windows stands in a green grove.  On the raised platform outside the entrance, an old but clean metal pitcher is perched on a portable gas burner.  Flip-flops lie in a corner.  I, too remove my shoes and enter the small, 9-squ...

 If you're serious about the Dhamma, studying the suttas, this is one of the suttas you should have memorized,  all 8 factors in order, all subfactors of each of the 8 factors in order. Why do I say that? Because in the oral tradition, things are memorized, information memorized are necessarily compact and dense, and composed in a way to make it easier to memorize accurately. You don't want to memorize more data than necessary, that's just more data that can be mis-memorized and garbled. And if you're serious about studying the suttas,  what you'll find is that there's a lot of information conveyed in subtle ways, a kind of hidden commentary written in invisible ink, but only visible to those who've memorized the core Dhamma formulas and ideas, in proper order. For example, I'll bet if I ask most people, what's the difference between non-ill-will and non-harmfulness? (2 of the 3 factors in right resolve) There's some overlap, but there's a ve...

This is one of the suttas if you don't have memorized,  you should at least remember that the second sutta in the Samyutta Nikaya on dependent origination,  (conveniently located in SN 12, to match 12 links in 12ps), gives the definitive gloss on the 12 terms in 12ps. For example, I find if I ask most Buddhists what is nāma (of nāma rūpa), I get only partially correct or wrong answers. Usually people say, rūpa is material form, and nāma are the mental aggregates. Not completely wrong, but strictly speaking is not correct. So if you want to know the complete, precise, correct definition,  I've got it mapped out for you,  just takes you two seconds to look up from the table of contents on SN 12.2 SN 12.2 Vibhaṅga: Analysis (2025  SP-FLUENT  translation by  frankk‍ )      SN  12.2  - SN 12.2 Vibhaṅga: Analysis          SN  12.2.12  – (jarā-maraṇaṃ: Aging and death)          SN  12.2.11  – (jāti: Birth)        ...