DOCSLIB.ORG

The Path of Purification: Visuddhimagga Ebook

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
The Path of Purification: Visuddhimagga Ebook THE PATH OF PURIFICATION: VISUDDHIMAGGA PDF, EPUB, EBOOK Bhadantacariya Buddhaghosa,Bhikkhu Nanamoli | 950 pages | 01 Sep 2003 | Pariyatti Press | 9781928706014 | English | United States The Path of Purification: Visuddhimagga PDF Book John rated it really liked it Jul 16, See the various Visuddhimagga printings listed below to see the manner in which this sutta is explicitly integrated into the work. From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Facebook Twitter. Bhadantacariya Buddhaghosa composed the Visuddhimagga in the early part of the fifth century. Tattha sabbesampi gabbhaseyyakanam matukucchito nikkhamanakale pathamam abbhantaravato bahi nikkhamati. Morten Forfang rated it liked it Dec 06, Chapter 9 At Home in Strange Realms. Excellent and well worth the money many times over. The Visuddhimagga' s structure is based on the Ratha-vinita Sutta "Relay Chariots Discourse," MN 24 , which describes the progression from the purity of discipline to the final destination of nibbana in seven steps. Kirsche rated it it was amazing Jun 30, A certain bhikkhu by the name of Ven. He has left a tremendous treasure to English-speaking Buddhists. Even Buddhaghosa did not really believe that Theravada practice could lead to Nirvana. Views Read Edit View history. It was written during the reign of the Sri Lankan king Mahanama in the 5th century ce by the great Buddhist commentator Buddhaghosa. This comparison between practice and "seven relay chariots" points at the goal. According to the various traditions of Buddhism, there have been buddhas in the past and there will be buddhas in the future. This is it, the masterful commentary on Buddha's path that is one of the cornerstones of Theravada Buddhism. Open Preview See a Problem? Omar rated it it was amazing Nov 15, In these deeply absorbed states, one contemplates particular aspects of the teaching and comes to realize directly its meaning. As a reference book on the path of purification, it is a mine of information. This emphasis is recognizable in the value that is given to vipassana over samatha , especially in the contemporary vipassana movement. Buddhist Meditation , Edward Conze trans. The other three, apo, tejo, vayo are discussed in the same way there. It is considered the most important Theravada text outside of the Tipitaka canon of scriptures. According to Thanissaro Bhikkhu , "the Visuddhimagga uses a very different paradigm for concentration from what you find in the Canon. A marvelous translation of an indispensible text. When you're finished, you'll be changed enough that you can go back to the beginning and get new insights on a second trip through. Rating details. If I had to choose one book to take with me on a desert island, the Visuddhimagga would be my choice. He also wrote commentaries on the Vinaya Pali , the first four nikayas Pali and Sanskrit , and the seven books of the Abhidhamma Pitaka , though the exact chronology of their composition cannot be…. A complete, in-depth overview of the entire Buddhist path from first entry to final realization of nirvana, given by an accomplished master of the 5th century AD. Bhikkhu Sujato has argued that certain views regarding Buddhist meditation expounded in the Visuddhimagga are a "distortion of the Suttas" since it denies the necessity of jhana. The translator, the British monk Nanamoli, suggests that it can serve as a reference work and a guide for teachers. Windhorse Publications Ltd. Written by Buddhaghosa in the Fifth Century in Sri Lanka, and known by its Pali title, Visuddhimagga, it is the fundamental manual for the Theravadin school of Buddhism, upon which the popular Vipassana meditation is based. Mar 11, Chula Watugala rated it it was ok Shelves: abandoned , dhamma-treatise. Aniccata veditabba. The Path of Purification: Visuddhimagga Writer Details if other :. Help Learn to edit Community portal Recent changes Upload file. The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree Ryan Gulak rated it really liked it Apr 09, Bhikkhu Sujato has argued that certain views regarding Buddhist meditation expounded in the Visuddhimagga are a "distortion of the Suttas" since it denies the necessity of jhana. A marvelous translation of an indispensible text. Content is available under CC by 3. The monk is taught how to quiet his mind so that he attains the jhanas --a series of definite body-mind states that reflect deepening levels of absorption. One of the most famous books in Buddhist history. In addition, the Visuddhimagga contains a detailed description of Buddhist meditative techniques and can be regarded as a general reference work on Theravada doctrine. Dipa Ma. He gives detailed explanations on how to make kasina objects in the chapters 4 and 5 in Ref. Yoga Powers. Thich Phap Hanh rated it it was amazing Jul 19, Dominic Aspel rated it liked it Oct 26, He has left a tremendous treasure to English-speaking Buddhists. Philosophy East and West. It is considered the most important Theravada text outside of the Tipitaka canon of scriptures, [1] [2] and is described as "the hub of a complete and coherent method of exegesis of the Tipitaka," [3] but it has also been criticised for its non-canonical departures, and its interpretation of dhyana as concentration-meditation. This comparison between practice and "seven relay chariots" points at the goal. Categories : Clones Abhidharma texts Pali Buddhist texts. Print Cite. Mayur rated it really liked it May 09, The practitioner starts out with a mind that is defiled in a number of ways, and, by training in the dharma of the Buddha, he can purify that mind until it is completely undefiled, at which A complete, in- depth overview of the entire Buddhist path from first entry to final realization of nirvana, given by an accomplished master of the 5th century AD. This article is a clone. Aniccata veditabba. Leiden: Brill. Hidden categories: CS1 maint: extra text: authors list Harv and Sfn multiple-target errors Harv and Sfn no-target errors All articles with unsourced statements Articles with unsourced statements from January See Article History. Buddhaghosa was careful in introducing any new ideas into the Mahavihara tradition in a way that was too obvious. And yet in the postscript [ The other three, apo, tejo, vayo are discussed in the same way there. The Path of Purification: Visuddhimagga Reviews More Details Vimuttimagga has all the same technical details, and it seems like Buddhaghosa Thera added some anecdotes from Sri Lankan monks at the time to make it seem more of an original work after translating most of the material from the Sanskrit Vimuttimagga to Pali to appease the Mahavihara orthodoxy. Buddhaghosa also disregarded the importance of the Tilakkhana anicca, dukkha, anatta , but I will show evidence that he never distorted the meanings of them. Be on the lookout for your Britannica newsletter to get trusted stories delivered right to your inbox. Hardcover , pages. Ryan Gulak rated it really liked it Apr 09, This page was last edited on 22 August , at References 1. This article was most recently revised and updated by Matt Stefon , Assistant Editor. In the course of this treatise full and detailed instructions are given on 40 subjects of meditation aimed at concentration, an elaborate account of Buddhist Abhidhamma philosophy, and explicit descriptions of the stages of insight culminating in final liberation. I recommend reading Vimuttimagga first and then browsing Visuddhimagga for the anecdotal stories. Some forms of Buddhism hold that there is only one buddha for each historical age; others hold that all beings will eventually become buddhas because they possess the buddha nature tathagatagarbha The "Purification by Knowledge and Vision" is the culmination of the practice, in four stages leading to liberation and Nirvana. Bhikkhu Sujato has argued that certain views regarding Buddhist meditation expounded in the Visuddhimagga are a "distortion of the Suttas" since it denies the necessity of jhana. Dominic Aspel rated it liked it Oct 26, See Article History. This translation by Bhikkhu Nanamoli is wonderful. The Visuddhimagga' s structure is based on the Ratha-vinita Sutta "Relay Chariots Discourse," MN 24 , which describes the progression from the purity of discipline to the final destination of nibbana in seven steps. Feb 28, Ester added it. Views Read Edit View history. This is it, the masterful commentary on Buddha's path that is one of the cornerstones of Theravada Buddhism. The Path of Purification: Visuddhimagga Read Online Want to Read saving…. The Visuddhimagga is a systematic examination and condensation of Buddhist doctrine and meditation technique. The Visuddhimagga is one of the main texts on which contemporary vipassana method is based, together with the Satipatthana Sutta. There seems to be no doubt that the Visuddhimagga and the commentaries are a testimony to the abilities of a great harmonizer who blended old and new ideas without arousing suspicion in the minds of those who were scrutinizing his work. Buddhaghosa also disregarded the importance of the Tilakkhana anicca, dukkha, anatta , but I will show evidence that he never distorted the meanings of them. The Visuddhimagga is centered around kasina - meditation, a form of concentration-meditation in which the mind is focused on a mental object. The emphasis in this system is on understanding the three marks of existence, dukkha , anatta , anicca. By signing up, you agree to our Privacy Notice. Neil rated it liked it Jul 01, The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree This article includes content from Visuddhimagga on Wikipedia view authors.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Mahasi Sayadaw's Revolution
    Deep Dive into Vipassana Copyright © 2020 Lion’s Roar Foundation, except where noted. All rights reserved. Lion’s Roar is an independent non-profit whose mission is to communicate Buddhist wisdom and practices in order to benefit people’s lives, and to support the development of Buddhism in the modern world. Projects of Lion’s Roar include Lion’s Roar magazine, Buddhadharma: The Practitioner’s Quarterly, lionsroar.com, and Lion’s Roar Special Editions and Online Learning. Theravada, which means “Way of the Elders,” is the earliest form of institutionalized Buddhism. It’s a style based primarily on talks the Buddha gave during his forty-six years of teaching. These talks were memorized and recited (before the internet, people could still do that) until they were finally written down a few hundred years later in Sri Lanka, where Theravada still dominates – and where there is also superb surf. In the US, Theravada mostly man- ifests through the teaching of Vipassana, particularly its popular meditation technique, mindfulness, the awareness of what is hap- pening now—thoughts, feelings, sensations—without judgment or attachment. Just as surfing is larger than, say, Kelly Slater, Theravada is larger than mindfulness. It’s a vast system of ethics and philoso- phies. That said, the essence of Theravada is using mindfulness to explore the Buddha’s first teaching, the Four Noble Truths, which go something like this: 1. Life is stressful. 2. Our constant desires make it stressful. 3. Freedom is possible. 4. Living compassionately and mindfully is the way to attain this freedom. 3 DEEP DIVE INTO VIPASSANA LIONSROAR.COM INTRODUCTION About those “constant desires”: Theravada practitioners don’t try to stop desire cold turkey.
    [Show full text]
  • Stages of the Path: Stream Entry and Beyond by Bodhiketu
    Stages of the Path: Stream Entry and Beyond by Bodhiketu For many years I have thought that the traditional Nikāya scheme of Stream Entrant, Once- Returner, Non-Returner and Arahant was unclear. The category of Once-Returner seems particularly strange, even bizarre. What does it mean to have a 'stage' in which the fourth and fifth fetters (that is, craving and hatred) are merely weakened? How ‘weak’ is enough to qualify? How could that be measured or attained? This appeared to be nothing other than an example of scholastic foolishness, but the scheme was not easy to dismiss because it is asserted as a very real category in the Pali Canon and commentaries. Moreover, there is an apparent contradiction within the Pali Canon itself about the ethical criteria that are indicative of Stream Entry. I have for some time thought that these ethical criteria were often set too high, both within the Western Buddhist Order and within the contemporary Theravāda, within parts of which it seems that Stream Entry has even come to be regarded as beyond the reach of practitioners in this current age. Why does any of this matter? Ultimately, I believe, it makes a great difference to the confidence that we have in our traditions – our institutions, practices and practitioners. In addition, it seems to me that being clear about the doctrine is of critical practical importance. Sangharakshita, the founder of the Western Buddhist Order, is often quoted as saying that Stream Entry is well within the reach of members of the Western Buddhist Order who have practised wholeheartedly for 20-30 years.
    [Show full text]
  • Compassion & Social Justice
    COMPASSION & SOCIAL JUSTICE Edited by Karma Lekshe Tsomo PUBLISHED BY Sakyadhita Yogyakarta, Indonesia © Copyright 2015 Karma Lekshe Tsomo No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission. No part of this book may be stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means including electronic, photocopying, recording, or otherwise without the prior permission in writing of the editor. CONTENTS PREFACE ix BUDDHIST WOMEN OF INDONESIA The New Space for Peranakan Chinese Woman in Late Colonial Indonesia: Tjoa Hin Hoaij in the Historiography of Buddhism 1 Yulianti Bhikkhuni Jinakumari and the Early Indonesian Buddhist Nuns 7 Medya Silvita Ibu Parvati: An Indonesian Buddhist Pioneer 13 Heru Suherman Lim Indonesian Women’s Roles in Buddhist Education 17 Bhiksuni Zong Kai Indonesian Women and Buddhist Social Service 22 Dian Pratiwi COMPASSION & INNER TRANSFORMATION The Rearranged Roles of Buddhist Nuns in the Modern Korean Sangha: A Case Study 2 of Practicing Compassion 25 Hyo Seok Sunim Vipassana and Pain: A Case Study of Taiwanese Female Buddhists Who Practice Vipassana 29 Shiou-Ding Shi Buddhist and Living with HIV: Two Life Stories from Taiwan 34 Wei-yi Cheng Teaching Dharma in Prison 43 Robina Courtin iii INDONESIAN BUDDHIST WOMEN IN HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE Light of the Kilis: Our Javanese Bhikkhuni Foremothers 47 Bhikkhuni Tathaaloka Buddhist Women of Indonesia: Diversity and Social Justice 57 Karma Lekshe Tsomo Establishing the Bhikkhuni Sangha in Indonesia: Obstacles and
    [Show full text]
  • Myanmar Buddhism of the Pagan Period
    MYANMAR BUDDHISM OF THE PAGAN PERIOD (AD 1000-1300) BY WIN THAN TUN (MA, Mandalay University) A THESIS SUBMITTED FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY SOUTHEAST ASIAN STUDIES PROGRAMME NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF SINGAPORE 2002 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to express my gratitude to the people who have contributed to the successful completion of this thesis. First of all, I wish to express my gratitude to the National University of Singapore which offered me a 3-year scholarship for this study. I wish to express my indebtedness to Professor Than Tun. Although I have never been his student, I was taught with his book on Old Myanmar (Khet-hoà: Mranmâ Râjawaà), and I learnt a lot from my discussions with him; and, therefore, I regard him as one of my teachers. I am also greatly indebted to my Sayas Dr. Myo Myint and Professor Han Tint, and friends U Ni Tut, U Yaw Han Tun and U Soe Kyaw Thu of Mandalay University for helping me with the sources I needed. I also owe my gratitude to U Win Maung (Tampavatî) (who let me use his collection of photos and negatives), U Zin Moe (who assisted me in making a raw map of Pagan), Bob Hudson (who provided me with some unpublished data on the monuments of Pagan), and David Kyle Latinis for his kind suggestions on writing my early chapters. I’m greatly indebted to Cho Cho (Centre for Advanced Studies in Architecture, NUS) for providing me with some of the drawings: figures 2, 22, 25, 26 and 38.
    [Show full text]
  • Buddhism in Myanmar a Short History by Roger Bischoff © 1996 Contents  Preface  1
    Buddhism in Myanmar A Short History by Roger Bischoff © 1996 Contents Preface 1. Earliest Contacts with Buddhism 2. Buddhism in the Mon and Pyu Kingdoms 3. Theravada Buddhism Comes to Pagan 4. Pagan: Flowering and Decline 5. Shan Rule 6. The Myanmar Build an Empire 7. The Eighteenth and Nineteenth Centuries Notes Bibliography Preface Myanmar, or Burma as the nation has been known throughout history, is one of the major countries following Theravada Buddhism. In recent years Myanmar has attained special eminence as the host for the Sixth Buddhist Council, held in Yangon (Rangoon) between 1954 and 1956, and as the source from which two of the major systems of Vipassana meditation have emanated out into the greater world: the tradition springing from the Venerable Mahasi Sayadaw of Thathana Yeiktha and that springing from Sayagyi U Ba Khin of the International Meditation Centre. This booklet is intended to offer a short history of Buddhism in Myanmar from its origins through the country's loss of independence to Great Britain in the late nineteenth century. I have not dealt with more recent history as this has already been well documented. To write an account of the development of a religion in any country is a delicate and demanding undertaking and one will never be quite satisfied with the result. This booklet does not pretend to be an academic work shedding new light on the subject. It is designed, rather, to provide the interested non-academic reader with a brief overview of the subject. The booklet has been written for the Buddhist Publication Society to complete its series of Wheel titles on the history of the Sasana in the main Theravada Buddhist countries.
    [Show full text]
  • Towards a Christian Pastoral Approach to Cambodian Culture
    Thesis Title: Towards a Christian Pastoral Approach to Cambodian Culture In fulfilment of the requirements of Master’s in Theology (Missiology) Submitted by: Gerard G. Ravasco Supervised by: Dr. Bill Domeris, Ph D March, 2004 Towards a Christian Pastoral Approach to Cambodian Culture Table of Contents Page Chapter 1 1.0 Introduction 1 1.1 The world we live in 1 1.2 The particular world we live in 1 1.3 Our target location: Cambodia 2 1.4 Our Particular Challenge: Cambodian Culture 2 1.5 An Invitation to Inculturation 3 1.6 My Personal Context 4 1.6.1 My Objectives 4 1.6.2 My Limitations 5 1.6.3 My Methodology 5 Chapter 2 2.0 Religious Influences in Early Cambodian History 6 2.1 The Beginnings of a People 6 2.2 Early Cambodian Kingdoms 7 2.3 Funan 8 2.4 Zhen-la 10 2.5 The Founding of Angkor 12 2.6 Angkorean Kingship 15 2.7 Theravada Buddhism and the Post Angkorean Crisis 18 2.8 An Overview of Christianity 19 2.9 Conclusion 20 Chapter 3 3.0 Religions that influenced Cambodian Culture 22 3.1 Animism 22 3.1.1 Animism as a Philosophical Theory 22 3.1.2 Animism as an Anthropological Theory 23 3.1.2.1 Tylor’s Theory 23 3.1.2.2 Counter Theories 24 3.1.2.3 An Animistic World View 24 3.1.2.4 Ancestor Veneration 25 3.1.2.5 Shamanism 26 3.1.3 Animism in Cambodian Culture 27 3.1.3.1 Spirits reside with us 27 3.1.3.2 Spirits intervene in daily life 28 3.1.3.3 Spirit’s power outside Cambodia 29 3.2 Brahmanism 30 3.2.1 Brahmanism and Hinduism 30 3.2.2 Brahmin Texts 31 3.2.3 Early Brahmanism or Vedism 32 3.2.4 Popular Brahmanism 33 3.2.5 Pantheistic Brahmanism
    [Show full text]
  • Extraordinary Women by Bhikkhuni Ajahn Thanasanti
    September 2, 2011 Extraordinary Women by Bhikkhuni Ajahn Thanasanti September 2 is the anniversary of being a nun for 20 years. I take this time to pay homage to some of the extraordinary women who have directly and indirectly guided me to the path where I am now. I write as a prelude to International Bhikkhuni Day on Sept 17. My first memory thinking about the way important women influenced my life was when I was about 10 and we were driving to Sea World in Long Beach California. My stepmother, Barbara, asked me and my brother to think of 3 men and 3 women that we would have wanted to meet or be like. The women that I thought of were Anne Frank, Helen Keller and Mother Theresa. Barbara was not impressed. She was hoping I would come up with people who were more glamorous or sexy and asked me if I could think of any like that. When I couldn‟t she eventually asked me why I these women came to mind and I remember saying something like, “Anne never lost faith in peoples goodness, Helen never lost courage, and Mother Theresa never lost capacity in seeing beauty and divinity in others.” I was shocked at first by how silent she was after I spoke. Then I realized I am not someone who is into glamor and movie stars. Barbara helped me see that I respond to a different drummer and what I thought and believed was very different from what the people around me valued. In this way she inadvertently taught me a great deal.
    [Show full text]
  • The Practical Approach to the Enlightenment Through the Buddhist Meditation Venerable Bhikkhuni Anula Devi (Kyeong-Hee Yoo)
    The Practical approach to the Enlightenment through the Buddhist Meditation Venerable Bhikkhuni Anula Devi (Kyeong-Hee Yoo) PhD Candidate, Postgraduate Institute of Pali and Buddhist Studies Buddhism starts from the point of the Buddha’s Enlightenment. And thereby, the teaching of the Buddha becomes the way to the solution for the problems of human beings, i.e., the cessation of suffering. When it works it becomes meaningful. But, nowadays, the enlightenment has become rather treasure in the casket than in use. As the materialism goes extreme and the morality too extremely corrupted, the world urgently needs to balance it. Therefore, this is the high time to call for enlightenment. Then, what does the enlightenment mean? It simply means the total cessation of all kinds of suffering, or the solution for the existence. Then, now our concern comes on the possibility of enlightening in this very life. Before we deal with the possibility of enlightenment here and now, first of all I would like to trace the enlightenment appearing in the Suttas in four stages in two ways: One way is Theravāda Vipassana Meditation and the other way isMahāyāna Zen meditation. In Theravāda Vipassana meditation, four stages of Enlightenment are rather clearly mentioned in comparison with Mahāyāna Zen tradition. It talks about10 fetters or bonds that tie us to this samsāric world of existence and as we overcome these fetters, we progress to higher state of enlightenment. I will show this in a diagram in comparison with Zen tradition. Actually, there are no criteria to distinguish states like 10 fetters in Zen, but there are some mystery words left by the enlightened one from which we can have clue to judge their state.
    [Show full text]
  • The Buddhist Review
    Copyright 2021. Tricycle. All rights reserved. Enlightenments, Not Enlightenment By Jack Kornfield nce a month, Tricycle features an article from the Inquiring Mind archive. O Inquiring Mind, a Buddhist journal that was in print from 1984–2015, has a growing number of articles from its back issues available at www.inquiringmind.com. This month’s selection is “Enlightenments,” by Jack Kornfield, from the Fall 2010 “Enlightenment” issue. ♦ On a meditation retreat several years ago, late one evening after the dharma talk, a woman raised her hand and asked one last question: “Is enlightenment just a myth?” When we teachers went back to our evening meeting, we asked each other this question. We exchanged stories about great spiritual teachers—the creative freedom of Ajahn Chah (1918–92), the enormous field of metta [lovingkindness] around Dipa Ma (1911– 89), the joyous laughter of Poonja (1910–97)—and of our own awakenings. Of course there is enlightenment. But the word enlightenment is used in different ways, and that can be confusing. Is Zen, Tibetan, Hindu, or Theravada enlightenment the same? What is the difference between an enlightenment experience and full enlightenment? What do enlightened people look like? APPROACHES TO ENLIGHTENMENT Early on in my practice in Asia, I was forced to deal with these questions quite directly. My teachers, Ajahn Chah in Thailand and Mahasi Sayadaw in Burma, were considered among the most enlightened masters of Theravada Buddhism. While they both described the goal of practice as freedom from greed, hatred and delusion, they didn’t agree about how to attain enlightenment, or how it is experienced.
    [Show full text]
  • Kālāma-Sutta: Epistemology, Ethics, and the ‘Sacred’
    Buddhist Studies Review 24(1) 2007, 91–107 ISSN (print): 0256–2897 doi: 10.1558/bsrv.v24i1.91 ISSN (online): 1747–9681 Doubting the Kālāma-Sutta: Epistemology, Ethics, and the ‘Sacred’ STEPHEN A. Evans Bangkok [email protected] ABSTRACT: The Kālāma-sutta is frequently cited as proof of the rational and empirical spirit of early Buddhist epistemology, ‘The Buddha’s charter of free enquiry’, accord- ing to Soma Thera. A close reading, however, calls that interpretation into question. The Kālāmas do not ask what is the truth, and the Buddha does not tell them how to find it. Rather the Kālāmas ask ‘Who is telling the truth?’ in what may have been the pursuit of sacred or quasi-magical power through the person of a teacher. The Bud- dha, in turn, encourages them to adopt a set of attitudes and actions, which includes choosing a teacher. The method of evaluation that the Buddha gives, which includes the famous ‘know for yourselves’ is found to be as least as much ethical as it is epis- temological and to invoke the opinion of authority and the public. The Buddha here seems to call for a decision that is partly based on faith, and the Kālāmas respond not with independent research, but with an act of faith in committing themselves to (and being accepted by) the Buddha. INTRODUCTION The Kālāma-sutta (or, more accurately, the Kesamutti-sutta) is one of the best known and most widely cited suttas of the Pāli Nikāyas. Its importance, on the one hand, is that it seems to give an account of the Buddha’s epistemology; its popular appeal, on the other, is that the epistemology seems strikingly modern.
    [Show full text]
  • Chapter 1 Introduction Overview and Statement of the Problem
    1 Chapter 1 Introduction Overview and Statement of the Problem A continuing central issue in Buddhist meditation, a popular substitute for the Pāli term ‘bhāvanā ’ which literally means ‘development’ or ‘culture,’ i.e., mental development or mental culture, is how two interconnected processes are related. These processes are samatha (tranquillity) or samādhi (concentration) on the one hand and vipassanā (insight) or paññā (wisdom) on the other. 1 Samatha which denotes calmness, tranquillity, serenity and concentration possesses the function of calming, centering and unifying the mind by means of which the mind and its concomitants remain focussed on a single object. The mental unification cannot be attained all at once but develops in a graded sequence of absorption levels, namely the jhāna s. 2 Vipassanā aims to gain direct understanding of the true nature of phenomena as they really are, in terms of the three characteristics; anicca (impermanence), dukkha 3 (unsatisfactoriness) and anattā (not-self). It is generally regarded as the unique discovery of the Buddha and of central importance for the achievement of nibb āna. 4 The issue of the relationship between these processes is crucial because meditation provides the reliable means for the achievement of Buddhist liberation from the circle of existences and supreme security from bondage to ignorance. 1 Henepola Gunaratana, A Critical Analysis of the Jhanas in Theravada Buddhist Meditation , (Ph.D thesis, The American University, 1980), p. 11. 2 The grammatical rules for the use of the plural forms of Pāli terms, are very complex and depend on such things as the gender and final vowel of the term.
    [Show full text]
  • The Buddha and His Teachings
    TheThe BuddhaBuddha andand HisHis TTeachingseachings Venerable Narada Mahathera HAN DD ET U 'S B B O RY eOK LIBRA E-mail: [email protected] Web site: www.buddhanet.net Buddha Dharma Education Association Inc. The Buddha and His Teachings Venerable Nārada Mahāthera Reprinted for free distribution by The Corporate Body of the Buddha Educational Foundation Taipei, Taiwan. July 1998 Namo Tassa Bhagavato Arahato Sammā-Sambuddhassa Homage to Him, the Exalted, the Worthy, the Fully Enlightened One Contents Introduction ................................................................................... vii The Buddha Chapter 1 From Birth to Renunciation ........................................................... 1 Chapter 2 His Struggle for Enlightenment ................................................. 13 Chapter 3 The Buddhahood ........................................................................... 25 Chapter 4 After the Enlightenment .............................................................. 33 Chapter 5 The Invitation to Expound the Dhamma .................................. 41 Chapter 6 Dhammacakkappavattana Sutta ................................................ 54 Chapter 7 The Teaching of the Dhamma ..................................................... 75 Chapter 8 The Buddha and His Relatives ................................................... 88 Chapter 9 The Buddha and His Relatives ................................................. 103 iii Chapter 10 The Buddha’s Chief Opponents and Supporters .................. 118 Chapter
    [Show full text]