This poem is all the more remarkable when you know the story behind it. The Elder Gotamī is the very same KisaGotamī who was at the heart of the mustard seed tragedy. As a young woman she was married into an abusive family, who scorned her for being so skinny (kisa) and for not bearing children. She finally did give birth to a fine healthy son, and was then treated well by her relatives. Alas the child had some sort of terrible accident as a toddler and was killed. This drove Gotamī mad with … [Read more...]
The Crow-Birth: A Jātaka Story
Margo McLoughlin
Jātaka is a Pali word meaning “birth-story” (jāta—“that which is born” and ka—from katheti—“to relate”). The Jātaka may simply be Indian folklore reworked to suit Buddhist aims, but they are also believed to be the Buddha’s own account of his previous lives. In each of these tales, the Bodhisatta [one committed to awakening] is seen perfecting those qualities that led to his full awakening as the Buddha of our era. Scenes from the Jātaka appear on the carved stone railings at Sanchi and Bharhut … [Read more...]
Simply Rest in Knowing
Sarah Doering
I would like to begin tonight by telling a story from the Zen tradition. One day, about 600 years ago, a so-called “man of the people” made his way up a steep path to the top of the mountain. A “man of the people” means an ordinary person, someone like you or me. When he'd reached the top of the mountain, he approached the wise old man who lived there, bowed, and said, “Please, sir, will you write down for me the first principles of wisdom?” The wise old man picked up a brush and wrote down one … [Read more...]
Outline of Abhidhamma
Andrew Olendzki
The Abhidhamma is a body of literature that emerged shortly after the lifetime of the Buddha, comprising the third of the “three baskets” (Tipitaka) of the early Buddhist canon. The word also refers broadly to a body of thought whose roots are in the psychological teachings and meditation practices of the suttas (the discourses) and whose branches reach far into the mature philosophical discussions of the Mahāyāna and Vajrayāna traditions. The Abhidhamma is essentially an attempt to … [Read more...]
Breaking Free with Creative Awareness
Martine Batchelor
Meditation is often seen just as a way to relax or to empty one’s mind. Personally I think this is a lost cause, because one can't stop the brain from functioning. This morning I would like to look at creative awareness. You might be more familiar with the word “mindfulness,” but it is the same idea. The common ground is looking at what we do in meditation. Meditation is often seen just as a way to relax or to empty one’s mind. Personally I think this is a lost cause, because one can’t stop the … [Read more...]
Dhamma as Skillful Kamma
Ajahn Sucitto
There is a rather humorous text in the Middle Length Discourses called the Kukkuravatika Sutta, or The Dog-duty Ascetic (M 57). In the Buddha's time, the so-called spiritual scene was full of people who did extreme ascetic practices. In this text, we’re told of an ascetic who likes to practice like he’s a dog. He walks around on all fours, traipsing in and out of puddles, and will only eat food that is thrown on the ground. And he has an ascetic friend who likes to practice like he’s an ox. This … [Read more...]
Post Copernicus
Andrew Olendzki
Remember how people used to naively think the earth was at the center of the universe, and that the sun and all the stars revolved around us? And then Copernicus came along and declared the radically counter-intuitive truth that the earth in fact orbited the sun. This launched a scientific revolution that focused on studying everything from an objective stance, as if we could hover outside ourselves and get a disembodied perspective on it all. This way, as the story goes, our view is not … [Read more...]