This verse emerges from a discussion between the Buddha and the Kosala king Pasenadi, who generally feels secure behind his four-fold army (elephant, chariot, cavalry and infantry divisions), his conjurers and his treasury. The Buddha asks him to imagine a situation–the fantastic closing-in of four mountain ranges—where all his royal resources will not help him meet the foe. Such is the situation in which we actually all find ourselves—rich or poor, aristocrat or laborer—though we … [Read more...]
Andrew Olendzki
Practicing the Middle Way: Devadaha Sutta
On one occasion, when he was visiting his homeland among the Sakya clans, the Buddha is said to have given a significant discourse on the nature of exertion and striving. The context of the discussion was his criticism of the Jain ascetic practices, so common in ancient India, but his remarks on the subject are of immense importance to the contemporary practice of insight meditation. And how is exertion fruitful, bhikkhus, how is striving fruitful? Here, bhikkhus, a bhikkhu is not … [Read more...]
Let the Wilderness Serve! (Saṃyutta Nikāya 6.2.3)
At one time the Buddha was residing in Magadha, near [a place called] Andhakavinda. At that time the Buddha was seated under the open sky, in the deep darkness of the night, and the rain-god was making it rain, drop by drop. Then the Brahmā Sahampati, as the night was passing away, lighting up Andhakavinda with his surpassing brilliance, approached the Buddha and stood to one side. As he stood to one side, the Brahmā Sahampati offered up these verses in the presence of the … [Read more...]
Upon the Tip of a Needle (Mahā Niddesa 1.42)
This remarkable and powerful poem, found buried amid the rather dry linguistic commentary of the Niddesa (a canonical commentary on the Aṭṭhakavagga of the Sutta Nipāta attributed to Sāriputta), speaks to the dual themes of impermanence and selflessness. In the later systematic psychology called Abhidhamma, these themes are developed into the doctrine of momentariness and the thorough enumeration of impersonal phenomena. All human experience is ever-changing, but is … [Read more...]
The Thorn in Your Heart (Selections from the Attadaṇḍa Sutta)
The Sutta Nipāta is probably one of the most diverse collections of discourses to be found in the Pali Tipitaka, and the chapter from which this sutta is taken, the Atthaka-vagga, may well be the oldest portion of the entire canon. It is composed mostly in verse, and includes some lovely poetry. There is something particularly moving for me about this poem, perhaps because it is composed in the first person and appears to reveal the process through which the Buddha himself came to … [Read more...]
Like Moths to the Flame (Udāna 6.9)
One time the Buddha was staying near Sāvatthī, in Jeta's grove, at the garden of Anathapindika. At that time he was seated under the open sky, on a night of blinding darkness, while oil lamps were burning. And also at that time a great number of winged insects were flying around and falling into those oil lamps, thus meeting with misfortune, meeting with ruin, meeting with both misfortune and ruin. The Buddha saw those great number of winged insects flying around and falling into those … [Read more...]
The Healing Medicine of Dhamma (Milinda-pañho 335)
These two verses point to the healing symbolism of the the Buddha’s teaching. He is often pictured as the great physician who, seeing the suffering of all beings in the world, applies the medical formula of the four noble truths to 1) describe the symptoms of suffering; 2) investigate its specific causes; 3) using this information, reverse the causes to conceive a cure; and finally 4) lay out a flexible program of treatment that will lead a person out of affliction to lasting health of … [Read more...]
The Interdependent Arising of Feeling (Insight into the Aggregates)
Today we are turning our attention to the second of the aggregates, the aggregate of feeling. Before we get very far, however, we will need to appreciate the fact that the Buddhists are using this word quite differently than we usually do in English. Our understanding of the word “feeling” has been molded considerably by the Greek influence upon Western civilization. The Greek philosophers tended to divide the person into three parts. First there are the appetites, the raw drives like … [Read more...]
Three Views of Transience
–The Diamond Sutra –Saṃyutta Nikāya 22:95 This famous verse serves as a climax to the Diamond Sutra, a foundation text of the Mahāyāna tradition. Here we see the Sanskrit version in its original script, along with a transliteration and literal translation, as well as a version translated from the Chinese (quoted in Mu Soeng, The Diamond Sutra, p. 135). The same sentiment is articulated in the Pali verse on the right, taken from the Saṃyutta Nikāya. Notice that the Pali verse … [Read more...]
Teaching and Confusing the Dharma
This brief anthology of excerpts from the Pali texts on the subject of teaching the dhamma are offered as a modest contribution to the contemporary debate on how the teachings of the Buddha are transmitted. As we can see, the word "dhamma" in these passages seems to refer to a very carefully crafted curriculum of teachings, and that there was a great concern that this body of material be accurately and precisely communicated from teacher to student. The realization in personal experience … [Read more...]
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