American Buddhist Net

http://www.buddhanet.net/pdf_file/upanisa_sutta.pdf
http://www.accesstoinsight.org/lib/authors/bodhi/wheel277.html

Tucked away in the Samyutta Nikaya among the "connected sayings on causality" (Nidanasamyutta) is a short formalized text entitled the Upanisa Sutta, the "Discourse on Supporting Conditions." Though at first glance hardly conspicuous among the many interesting suttas in this collection, this little discourse turns out upon repeated examination to be of tremendous doctrinal importance. Its great significance derives from the striking juxtaposition it makes of two applications of "dependent arising" (paticcasamuppada), the principle of conditionality which lies at the heart of the Buddha's doctrine. The first application is the usual one, setting forth the causal sequence responsible for the origination of samsaric suffering. Apart from a slight change it is identical with the twelve-factored formulation recurring throughout the Pali canon. The change — the substitution of "suffering" for "aging-and-death" as the last member of the series — becomes the lead for the second application of dependent arising. This application, occurring only sporadically in the Pali canon, allows the same principle of conditionality to structure the path leading to deliverance from suffering.

http://www.archive.org/download/Tse_Chen_Ling_LC_DB_Tantra_200705/Tse_Chen_Ling_LC_DB_Tantra_200705_64kb.m3u

http://www.archive.org/details/Tse_Chen_Ling_LC_DB_Tantra_200705

Learn the definition of tantra, how tantra works and why it is a powerful form of practice. Get a broad overview of the four classes of tantra and learn how to practice simple Kriya tantric methods. In addition, find out how to integrate the practices of tantra with lam-rim meditation for optimal results.

I like to think of myself as a rational person. I don’t hold with superstitions or superstitious behavior—I don’t believe in fairies or gods, and I think that supplicational prayer is foolish. I believe that the methods of science have evolved into admirably rigorous tools for extending, clarifying, detailing our understanding of the universe we inhabit and our own material beings, and I am persuaded and amazed by the picture of the material world that modern science has composed. I have faith in science.

I also have faith in my own ignorance. I’ve studied widely and diligently—science, and literature, and some history, and the foundational literature of many of the world’s spiritual traditions; I know a lot, about a lot. And I have absolute faith that what I don’t know dwarfs what I know. I am profoundly ignorant.

And I have faith in the Buddha and his Dhamma (Sanskrit: dharma). That last faith has become more and more important to me over the past several years. It owes, in part, to the fact that the Buddhadhamma acknowledges my ignorance. It shows me how my ignorance is the foundation for all of the dissatisfaction that characterizes this worldly existence; it also describes a clear and persuasively logical path that may lead to an end to ignorance and suffering. Several times in my life, I have taken the first faltering steps onto that path, and I have been almost immediately confronted by something that tested my faith. That is the doctrine of kamma (Sanskrit: karma) and rebirth, and it induces doubt because it seems to conflict with that other faith—the faith in science and in the infinite nature of our ignorance.

I don’t think that I’m alone in my confusion....

LINK TO ORIGINAL

Delightful essay. ABN
______________

Henk Barendregt

Abstract

Analytical philosophers have criticized some phenomenological texts from buddhism, existentialism and mysticism, because of the presence of logical contradictions. Being interested in those phenomenological texts, people with a different philosophical inclination sometimes make the following claims. ``There are two ways of viewing the world: the rational and the irrational. The first view gives rise to science (with all of its drawbacks), the second one to the `higher' truths of mysticism." In his book Exploring mysticism (Penguin, 1975), F. Staal disagrees with such claims. He put forward the following views. 1. Mysticism consists of experience and is as such neither rational nor irrational. 2. As phenomenon mysticism can be studied in a rational way. 3. In order to do this, it is advisable to practice meditation in order to have first hand experience.

Following Staal's program, this paper will first explain briefly how contradictions occurring in phenomenological texts can be understood. Then the main part of the paper will be devoted to a description of phenomenological data collected during the practice of buddhist meditation.

Acknowledgments
The information contained in this paper is obtained by following several practice periods of intensive meditation under the skilled guidance of The Most Venerable M.T. Mettaviharee, teacher of buddhist meditation in Amsterdam. I wish to thank Dr. Dick de Jongh of the University of Amsterdam, for improving the English text.

2. The aim

Buddhism has been described in many ways. It has been called a religion, a philosophy, a way of life and a psychology. Each of these descriptions is correct and emphasizes different aspects. Buddhism is a religion as it deals with questions of life and death and the meaning of life. It is a philosophy as it does not need the hypothesis of a god or of life after death. Buddhism is called a way of life as it teaches the way of non-violence and compassion. Finally, it is called a psychology as it investigates the working of our mind and distinguishes different types of consciousness.

There is yet another way to describe buddhism, namely as a course. The aim of this course is first the lessening and in the end the elimination of human suffering. This goal is to be reached by using experimental phenomenology: investigation of our consciousness as it is presented to us by means of self-observation. The method, both in theory and in practice, and some methodological considerations will be treated in this paper.

LINK TO ORIGINAL

Thursday, March 20, 2008
By Charles Robinson

AUGUSTA — The Kennebec Center for Buddhist Studies and the Unitarian Universalist Community Church of Augusta will offer a unique daylong opportunity for the study of five distinct Buddhist traditions currently practiced in Maine.

There is no charge to attend the gathering which will be held from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Saturday, March 22 at the Unitarian Universalist Community Church on 69 Winthrop St.

The format of the workshop will offer opportunities to learn the teachings of five Buddhist traditions as well as guided instructions on how to practice the meditation techniques developed over the course of more than 2,500 years.

LINK TO ORIGINAL

March 13, 2008

MIDDLEBORO, MA — "Twenty-Four Brand New Hours" is the sermon topic to be presented this Sunday by Rev. Tricia Tummino at the First Unitarian Universalist Society of Middleborough, 25 South Main St. The service begins at 10:30 a.m.

Rev. Tummino will dip into the gentle life and works of Thich Nhat Hanh, who has spent much of his lifetime here in the west teaching "engaged Buddhism."

LINK TO ORIGINAL

March 13, 2008

PORTSMOUTH — A practical introduction to Buddhism will be held from 10 a.m. to noon on Saturday, March 15 and/or 7-8:30 p.m. Wednesdays, March 26 through April 16, at South Church, 292 State St.

Using the practices of Thich Nhat Hahn and Plum Village, participants will learn to make Buddhist teachings truly alive in themselves and their daily lives, including the practice of meditation and living the path to peace.

LINK TO ORIGINAL

Wednesday, March 12, 2008

Students interested in Buddhism can satisfy their curiosity tonight in Baker Center Ballroom where Khenpo Ugyen Tenzin, a Tibetan Buddhist Lama, will give a speech titled, “Anger & Compassion.”

Tenzin was previously the leader of a monastery in Tibet before being called to bring the message of Buddhism to the United States, said Tom Erlewine, the director of local Buddhist group Athens Karma Thegsum Choling, which began in 2004.

LINK TO ORIGINAL

Teachings of Phra Ajaan Khamdee Pabhaso
Translated from the Thai by
Thanissaro Bhikkhu

There are three sorts of Dhamma: the Dhamma of theory, the Dhamma of practice, and the Dhamma of attainment.

The Dhamma of theory refers to the teachings of the Buddha: the discourses, the discipline, the Abhidhamma, all 84,000 sections of the Pali canon. This sort of Dhamma is everyone's common property.

As for practice and attainment, they're the individual property of those who do them. For example, Ven. Moggallana's practice was his own practice. His attainment of the paths and fruitions leading to nibbana was his own attainment. The same holds true for Ven. Sariputta and each of the noble disciples, all the way down to all of us practicing here. The practice and attainments of each person are that person's very own. It's like your own land and fields. They belong to you; they're not common property.

The Buddha set out the Dhamma of theory for each of us to practice. When we practice it, it becomes our own. If we follow the precepts, they become our own precepts, our own virtues. If we practice concentration, it becomes our own concentration. If we attain jhana (mental absorption) or any of the paths and fruitions leading to nibbana, they become our own attainments. So understand this point and practice in line with it.

LINK TO ORIGINAL

"Here, O, Monks, a disciple lets his mind pervade one quarter of the world with thoughts of unselfish joy, and so the second, and so the third, and so the fourth. And thus the whole wide world, above, below, around, everywhere and equally, he continues to pervade with a heart of unselfish joy, abundant, grown great, measureless, without hostility or ill-will."--Buddha

Introduction: Is Unselfish Joy Practicable?
by Nyanaponika Thera

The virtue of mudita [muditaa], 1 i.e., finding joy in the happiness and success of others, has not received sufficient attention either in expositions of Buddhist ethics, or in the meditative development of the four sublime states (brahma-vihara [brahma-vihaara]), of which mudita is one. It was, therefore, thought desirable to compile this little book of essays and texts and to mention in this introduction a few supplementary features of this rather neglected subject.

It has been rightly stated that it is relatively easier for man to feel compassion or friendliness in situations which demand them, than to cherish a spontaneous feeling of shared joy, outside a narrow circle of one's family and friends. It mostly requires a deliberate effort to identify oneself with the joys and successes of others. Yet the capacity of doing so has psychological roots in man's nature which may be even deeper that his compassionate responses.

_______________________________________________________________

The Meditative Development of Unselfish Joy

by Ven. Buddhaghosa (fifth-century)
Excerpted from The Path of Purification (Visuddhimagga)

One who begins the development of unselfish joy should not start with dearly beloved person, a neutral person or hostile person. For it is not the mere fact that a person is dearly beloved, which makes him an immediate cause of developing unselfish joy, and still less so neutral or hostile person. Persons of the opposite sex and those who are dead are not suitable subjects for this meditation.

A very close friend, however, can be a suitable subject. One who is called in the commentaries an affectionate companion; for he is always in a joyous mood: he laughs first and speaks afterwards. He should be the first to be pervaded with unselfish joy. Or on seeing or hearing about a dear person being happy, cheerful, and joyous, unselfish joy can be aroused thus: "This being, verily, is happy! How good, how excellent!" For this is what is referred to in the Vibhanga: "And how does a bhikkhu dwell pervading one direction with his heart imbued with unselfish joy? Just as he would be joyful on seeing a dear and beloved person, so he pervades all being with unselfish joy" (Vibhanga 274).

LINK TO ORIGINAL FOR BOTH OF THE ABOVE AND SOME OTHER ESSAYS ON THIS TOPIC

Good attitude - and so different from the one we have in most societies nowadays: "To get as much food as possible for as little work as possible."... Sonja
_____________

Hyakujo, the Chinese Zen master, used to labor with his pupils even at the age of eighty, trimming the gardens, cleaning the grounds, and pruning the trees.

The pupils felt sorry to see the old teacher working so hard, but they knew he would not listen to their advice to stop, so they hid away his tools.

That day the master did not eat. The next day he did not eat, nor the next. "He may be angry because we have hidden his tools," the pupils surmised. "We had better put them back."

The day they did, the teacher worked and ate the same as before. In the evening he instructed them: "No work, no food."

We highly recommend acquainting yourself with Nisgardatta Maharaj. ABN
_____________

My Guru ordered me to attend to the sense 'I am' and to give
attention to nothing else. I just obeyed. I did not follow any
particular course of breathing, or meditation, or study of
scriptures. Whatever happened, I would turn away my attention from it
and remain with the sense 'I am', it may look too simple, even crude.
My only reason for doing it was that my Guru told me so. Yet it
worked! Obedience is a powerful solvent of all desires and fears.

Nisargadatta Maharaj

LINK TO ORIGINAL

Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj

Thoughts on Nisargadatta

Remembering Nisargadatta Maharaj

Thanissaro Bhikkhu

...So to genuinely free the mind from fear, we can't simply deny that there's any reason for fear. We have to overcome the cause of fear: the mind's weaknesses in the face of very real dangers. The elegance of the Buddha's approach to this problem, though, lies in his insight into the confusion — or to use the standard Buddhist term, the delusion — that makes fear unskillful. Despite the complexity of fear, delusion is the single factor that, in itself, is both the mind's prime weakness and its greatest danger. Thus the Buddha approaches the problem of fear by focusing on delusion, and he attacks delusion in two ways: getting us to think about its dangerous role in making fear unskillful, and getting us to develop inner strengths leading to the insights that free the mind from the delusions that make it weak. In this way we not only overcome the factor that makes fear unskillful. We ultimately put the mind in a position where it has no need for fear.

LINK TO ORIGINAL

When Banzan was walking through a market he overheard a conversation between a butcher and his customer.

"Give me the best piece of meat you have," said the customer.

"Everything in my shop is the best," replied the butcher. "You cannot find here any piece of meat that is not the best."

At these words Banzan became enlightened.

The core of the Buddhist teaching is the Four Noble Truths: There is suffering. There is a cause to suffering. There is an end to suffering. The is a path out of suffering (the Noble 8-fold path).

LINK TO ORIGINAL

The Buddhist Law of Conditionality

P. A. Payutto
Translated from the Thai by Bruce Evans

Introduction

The teaching of causal interdependence is the most important of Buddhist principles. It describes the law of nature, which exists as the natural course of things. The Buddha was no emissary of heavenly commandments, but the discoverer of this principle of the natural order, and the proclaimer of its truth to the world.

The progression of causes and conditions is the reality which applies to all things, from the natural environment, which is an external, physical condition, to the events of human society, ethical principles, life events and the happiness and suffering which manifest in our own minds. These systems of causal relationship are part of the one natural truth. Our happiness within this natural system depends on having some knowledge of how it works and practicing correctly within it, through addressing problems on the personal, social, and environmental levels. Given that all things are interconnected, and all are affecting each other, success in dealing with the world lies in creating harmony within it.

LINK TO ORIGINAL

Hi there

I am a 27 year old atheist male from New Zealand. I have no contact with any religion or have never heard about Buddhist beliefs (until recent investigation)

When i was 16 i had a near death experience while suffocating and saw 'the light at the end of the tunnel'. This is common among many people, the only difference with mine is I completely understood where i was and was also informed about reality.

The tunnel that people speak of is on another plan a 'transition' if you will between 2 realms.

The vision i received was as follows;

Then the Blessed One, having encompassed the awareness of the entire assembly with his awareness, asked himself, "Now who here is capable of understanding the Dhamma?" He saw Suppabuddha the leper sitting in the assembly, and on seeing him the thought occurred to him, "This person here is capable of understanding the Dhamma." So, aiming at Suppabuddha the leper, he gave a step-by-step talk, i.e., a talk on giving, a talk on virtue, a talk on heaven; he declared the drawbacks, degradation, & corruption of sensual passions, and the rewards of renunciation. Then when he saw that Suppabuddha the leper's mind was ready, malleable, free from hindrances, elated, & bright, he then gave the Dhamma-talk peculiar to Awakened Ones, i.e., stress, origination, cessation, & path. And just as a clean cloth, free of stains, would properly absorb a dye, in the same way, as Suppabuddha the leper was sitting in that very seat, the dustless, stainless Dhamma eye arose within him, "Whatever is subject to origination is all subject to cessation."

— Ud 5.3

LINK TO ORIGINAL

Just as the ocean has a gradual shelf, a gradual slope, a gradual inclination, with a sudden drop-off only after a long stretch, in the same way this Doctrine and Discipline (dhamma-vinaya) has a gradual training, a gradual performance, a gradual progression, with a penetration to gnosis only after a long stretch.

— Ud 5.5

Monks, I do not say that the attainment of gnosis is all at once. Rather, the attainment of gnosis is after gradual training, gradual action, gradual practice. And how is there the attainment of gnosis after gradual training, gradual action, gradual practice? There is the case where, when conviction has arisen, one visits [a teacher]. Having visited, one grows close. Having grown close, one lends ear. Having lent ear, one hears the Dhamma. Having heard the Dhamma, one remembers it. Remembering, one penetrates the meaning of the teachings. Penetrating the meaning, one comes to an agreement through pondering the teachings. There being an agreement through pondering the teachings, desire arises. When desire has arisen, one is willing. When one is willing, one contemplates. Having contemplated, one makes an exertion. Having made an exertion, one realizes with the body the ultimate truth and, having penetrated it with discernment, sees it.

— MN 70

LINK TO ORIGINAL

A Self-guided Tour of the Buddha's Teachings

These pages invite you to explore some of the Buddha's basic teachings as they are presented in the Pali canon. Each page in this section contains a selection of short passages from the suttas (discourses or sermons; see sutta in the Glossary) that introduce or illustrate different aspects of a single topic. If you encounter a particularly meaningful or interesting passage you can, in most cases, read the full text of the sutta from which it came by simply following the link at the end of that passage. Many of the passages are cross-referenced to other pages, allowing you to pursue a theme to whatever depth or breadth you desire.

LINK TO ORIGINAL

I have heard that on one occasion the Blessed One was on a wandering tour among the Kosalans with a large community of monks — approximately 500 monks in all — and arrived at Salavatika. Now at that time the brahman Lohicca was reigning with feudatory rights over Salavatika — together with its wealth, grass, timber, & grain — through a royal grant bestowed by King Pasenadi Kosala. And at that time an evil viewpoint to this effect had arisen to him: "Suppose that a priest or contemplative were to arrive at a skillful doctrine. Having arrived at a skillful doctrine, he should not declare it to anyone else, for what can one person do for another? It would be just the same as if, having cut through an old bond, one were to make another new bond. I say that such a thing is an evil, greedy deed, for what can one person do for another?"

Then Lohicca heard it said, "Gotama the contemplative — the son of the Sakyans, having gone forth from the Sakyan clan — on a wandering tour among the Kosalans with a large community of monks — approximately 500 monks in all — has arrived at Salavatika. And of that Master Gotama this fine reputation has spread: 'He is indeed a Blessed One, worthy, & rightly self-awakened, consummate in knowledge & conduct, well-gone, a knower of the cosmos, an unexcelled trainer of those persons ready to be tamed, teacher of human & divine beings, awakened, blessed. He has made known — having realized it through direct knowledge — this world with its devas, maras, & brahmas, its generations with their contemplatives & priests, their rulers & common people; has explained the Dhamma admirable in the beginning, admirable in the middle, admirable in the end; has expounded the holy life both in its particulars & in its essence, entirely perfect, surpassingly pure. It is good to see such a worthy one.'"

21. "I don't envision a single thing that, when undeveloped, is as unpliant as the mind. The mind, when undeveloped, is unpliant."

24. "I don't envision a single thing that, when developed, leads to such great benefit as the mind. The mind, when developed leads to great benefit."

"Possessed of form, one sees forms. This is the first emancipation.

"With the complete transcending of the dimension of the infinitude of consciousness, [perceiving,] 'There is nothing,' one enters and remains in the dimension of nothingness. This is the sixth emancipation.

At Savatthi. While once seated, the Venerable Radha asked the Blessed One:

Form, Radha, is suffering, feeling is suffering, perception is suffering, mental constructions are suffering, consciousness is suffering...
Understanding this, Bhikkhus, a well instructed Noble Disciple experiences disgust towards form, disgust towards feeling, disgust towards perception, disgust towards mental construction, & disgust towards consciousness itself. Experiencing disgust, he becomes disillusioned. Through disillusion his mind is released. When it is released, one instantly knows: This mind is liberated, and one understands: Extinguished is birth, this Noble Life is completed, done is what should be done, there is no state of being beyond this...

Sam?yutta Nik?ya 23:15 III [196.1]

These are the four developments of concentration. Which four? There is the development of concentration that, when developed & pursued, leads to a pleasant abiding in the here & now. There is the development of concentration that, when developed & pursued, leads to the attainment of knowledge & vision. There is the development of concentration that, when developed & pursued, leads to mindfulness & alertness. There is the development of concentration that, when developed & pursued, leads to the ending of the effluents.

LINK TO ORIGINAL