notes on the Dhamma

Iti 109 uses vivid similes to describe 5 hindrances in an very unusual way Iti 110 right effort in purifying the mind of 5 hindrances in all 4 postures Iti 111 right effort in completing the development of 7 awakening factors, to attainment of jhāna again in all 4 postures Iti 112 praises the virtues of an Arahant, by stating the perfection of the Buddha with an unusual declaration of the 4 noble truths (loka/world appears where dukkha normally would). I've illustrated all the steps from Iti 110 and Iti 111 in a way to make it clear how they connect, relate, build on the previous step. Iti 111  never explicitly says "jhāna", or "seven awakening factors", but I've added annotations to make it clear where they happen. Especially watch for the 7th awakening factor, and how it leads to awakening. As with Snp book 5, the verse referencing upekkha uses a variant. 109 - KN Iti 109 Nadī-sota: A River Vuttañhetaṁ bhagavatā vuttamarahatāti me sutaṁ: This was said by t...

 Samādhi, Jhāna, pīti, sukha works on worldly applications, not just spiritual ones. You don't have a special nervous system set aside that only kicks in to give you pleasure if you meditate on spiritual topics. It's the same pleasurable brain chemicals hitting the same nervous system whether you use jhāna to contemplate rise and fall of aggregates, delight in the efficacy of Dhamma, or the worldly enjoyment of music, sports, dance. The nature of the topic determines whether the samādhi is sammā (right, in line with 4 noble truths) or not; but the mental and physical pleasure operate on the same nervous system.      SN  36.31  - SN 36.31 Nirāmisa: Non-carnal          SN  36.31.1  - (3 types of pīti)              SN  36.31.1.1  – ( s'-āmisā pīti / carnal rapture =  5kg  )              SN  36.31.1.2  – (nir-āmisā pīti / non-carnal rapture = first two jhānas)              SN  36.31.1.3  - (nir-āmisā ...

  Ironically, the sutta is titled "Ethics" (sīla) AN 4.12: Sīlasutta—Bhikkhu Sujato At the verse section ending the sutta, Carefully walking, carefully standing, Yataṁ care yataṁ tiṭṭhe, carefully sitting, carefully lying ; Yataṁ acche yataṁ saye ; a mendicant carefully bends their limbs, Yataṁ samiñjaye bhikkhu, and carefully extends them. Yatamenaṁ pasāraye. KN Iti 111 is the same sutta, contains same error. My lucid24.org translation based on Sujato's  is corrected to show Yataṃ care yataṃ tiṭṭhe, Carefully walking, carefully standing, Yataṃ acche yataṃ saye; carefully sitting, carefully lying down ; Yataṃ samiñjaye bhikkhu, a monk carefully bends their limbs, Yatamenaṃ pasāraye. and carefully extends them. Sujato is technically not wrong "lying" is a present participle of "lie",  and "lie" ambiguously can mean  (1) telling an untruth,  (2) or taking a horizontal resting position. I can only assume Sujato knew his  translation of  "ly...

offline downloadable version of lucid24.org 2026-03 announcement I have an automated scripting system to create an offsite version of website, with all images localized. I plan to generate a new version at least once per month. https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1adp4azg85-E0LHUeMuJPpt28OyxJREg8?usp=drive_link https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1adp4azg85-E0LHUeMuJPpt28OyxJREg8?usp=drive_link Windows PC Launcher/Installer/Updater For windows, you don't need to download the latest zip. In that same download directory above, get lucid24.exe and lucid24.ico (so your desktop shortcut will have cool icon). It will automatically install, update, launch your offsite version of lucid24.org in the bottom row, the pin will put a desktop shortcut for you. the trashcan does an uninstall.  android tablets and phones https://github.com/frankksutta/lucid24-offline-releases/releases/tag/latest https://github.com/frankksutta/lucid24-offline-releases/releases/tag/latest Works like the window...

It's important for ethical, decent human beings to admit when they made a mistake, and support a culture where people confess mistakes big and small. This should be celebrated, emulated, become the social norm. Here's one of my mine. After I wrote a scathing article complaining about people not using the word "literally" correctly definition of literal, figurative: People are "literally" insane. What about sutta translators? January 31, 2025 Today I suddenly remembered when I've publicly used the expression "literally" incorrectly. Correct usage of "literally" Here, I'm saying the Buddha didn't imply, use a pun,  or use code language, he 'literally' used the pāḷi word meaning "shit". AN 5.30 Fame and fortune: the Buddha literally called it a 'shitty pleasure'. Don't undermine the power of 'shit' with 'filthy' or 'vile' July 28, 2022 Wrong usage of "literally" Thur...