samaṇassa ahū cintā pupphitamhi mahāvane ekaggassa nisinnassa pavivittassa jhāyino: [Thag 920] This thought occurred to the wanderer Who was seated, single minded, Among the flowers of the forest, Meditating in seclusion: aññathā lokanāthamhi tiṭṭhante purisuttame iriyaṃ āsi bhikkūhnaṃ aññathā dāni dissate. [Thag 921] Compared to when that best of men, The guide of all the world, remained, The behavior of the bhikkhus Appears to be so different now! araññe … [Read more...]
What Feels Right about Right Action?
Jake Davis
Is there a right way to live? What is it? And how could we know? Questions about how we should live are central for all of us, and central as well to the teachings of the Buddha in the early Pali dialogues. The cultivation of mindfulness is described in these texts as a means of developing wisdom. By drawing on research into the role of attention and emotion, we can see how the practice of mindfulness can also give us an embodied and experiential way of knowing which ways of acting feel … [Read more...]
Deep Dukkha
Toni Bernhard
Getting Down in the Trenches with the First Noble Truth In his book, Venerable Father: A Life with Ajahn Chah, Paul Breiter tells the story of an encounter with Ajahn Chah after the latter had just completed two successive nights of long Dharma talks. As Ajahn Chah was walking away from the meditation hall, he said to Breiter, “Anicca, dukkha, anattā—I can’t listen to any more!” As most Buddhist practitioners know, anicca, dukkha, anattā—impermanence, suffering, no-self—refer to the three … [Read more...]
Study & Practice with Nāgārjuna’s Dharma
Jay L. Garfield
Distinguished scholar Jay Garfield is Professor of Philosophy at Smith College, taught at BCBS October 29, 2011. His course was titled “Nāgārjuna’s Dharma.” His translations of the texts of Nāgārjuna are among the most well-respected in English. Nāgārjuna is known as the founder of the Madhyamaka tradition (which later evolved into the Tibetan tradition, among others) and is considered so influential in later traditions that he is known by some as the “second Buddha.” We asked Professor … [Read more...]
We Are Constructed Through Metaphor
Arnie Kozak
While mindfulness meditation shows us that language pervades our mental experience, some of those who analyze human experience have long felt there was even more to it than that. Recent analyses of language suggest that metaphor is not just a type of language use but the very structure of language—and therefore thought—itself. From there, we are not far from seeing that what we regard to be “self” is largely constructed through language. Craving, clinging, and attachment are much stronger … [Read more...]
Seeing the Wheel, Stopping the Spin
Christina Feldman
As the morning star rose and the Buddha achieved his great insight, tradition tells us, he saw all at once the matrix of causes and conditions that result in human experience: a swirl of interdependent physical and mental events repeating over and over, creating dukkha (suffering). Because he saw so clearly, he also saw how to end the suffering: nibbāna. One could stop the spinning cycle forever. Its dynamic nature—its seeming strength—was also the gate to freedom. One of the most important … [Read more...]
No Hatred for Anyone
Andrew Olendzki
Itivuttaka 3:7d One who neither kills nor makes others kill, Neither steals nor makes others steal, Is one who has love for all living beings, And no hatred for anyone at all. yo na hanti na ghāteti na jināti na jāpaye mettaṃso sabbabhūtesu veraṃ tassa na kenacī ti. One who neither kills nor makes others kill Buddhist teachings place the greatest emphasis upon the moment-to-moment construction of experience in one’s own mind and body. This is where the rubber meets the … [Read more...]
The Moon Among Stars
Andrew Olendzki
Itivuttaka 3:7c Those who conquer the earth, teeming with beings, —Kings and priests who scurry around sacrificing— They surely do not partake in even a sixteenth part Of the heart well developed in loving kindness —Shining like the moon among all the crowd of stars. ye sattasaṇḍaṃ pathaviṃ vijitvā rājīsayo yajamānānupariyagā... mettassa cittassa subhāvitassa kalam-pi te nānubhavanti soḷasiṃ candappabhā tāragaṇā va sabbe. The full moon shining brightly against a background … [Read more...]
Even Once!
Andrew Olendzki
Itivuttaka 3:7b If one shows kindness with a clear mind— Even once!—for living creatures, By that one becomes wholesome. Having mercy in his or her heart for all creatures, A noble person brings forth abundant goodness. ekam-pi ce pāṇam-aduṭṭhacitto mettāyati kusalo tena-hoti sabbe ca pāṇe manasānukampaṃ pahūtam-ariyo pakaroti puññaṃ. If one shows kindness with a clear mind Here we see a rare case of the word mettā being used as a verb (mettāyati). This emphasizes the … [Read more...]
The Removal of Grudges
Andrew Olendzki
Anguttara Nikaya 5:161 If you give birth to a grudge towards any person, cultivate loving kindness towards that person… Thus the grudge towards that person can be removed. yasmiṃ puggale āghāto jāyetha, mettā tasmiṃ puggale bhāvetabbā. evaṃ tasmiṃ puggale āghāto paṭivinetabbo. This passage demonstrates one of the practical applications of loving kindness. We may be used to thinking of it in a rather abstract way, as a generalized care for the well-being of all sentient beings, … [Read more...]