Category Books
Noble Friendship
Another excerpt from Therigatha (213-215) today: To the world the Sage has praised The value of noble friendship. By resorting to noble friends Even a fool becomes wise. One should resort to worthy people, For thus one’s wisdom ever grows. By resorting to worthy people One is freed from all suffering. One should know the Four […]
One Excellent Night
Excerpted from the Bhaddekaratta Sutta (MN 131). Let not a person revive the past Or on the future build his hopes, For the past has been left behind And the future has not been reached. Instead with insight let him see Each presently arisen state; Let him know that and be sure of it, Invincibly, unshakably. […]
Mahāmoggallāna on the Five Aggregates
They penetrate the subtle truth As the tip of a hair with an arrow Who see the five aggregates as alien And do not regard them as self. Those who see conditioned things As alien and not as self Have pierced right through the subtle truth As the tip of a hair with an […]
Moving Quietly Along
Hello Friends, I know my blog has been rather quiet lately, but it hasn’t really just been the blog — the last couple of weeks I’ve simply kept to myself a little more, I suppose. I’ve made a lot of progress with my reading as a result, having started reading BDK’s “The Three Pure Land […]
Successes and New Reading Goals
Uposatha days are a great opportunity to reflect upon one’s recent failings and renew vigor toward the goal of restraint and practice, but one can also look back and see the successes one has had. Both practices can tend toward the same goal, and it is good to see the positive side of things — […]
Contemplating the Aggi-Vacchagotta Sutta
I read this passage a few weeks ago and decided to go back to it as it comes to mind often, in particular when subjects relating to the creation of the world or the matters of a soul come into discussion. …the position that ‘the cosmos is eternal’ is a thicket of views, a wilderness […]
Uposatha; Sutta Excerpt and Thoughts
Today being the New Moon Uposatha day for August, I have decided to share a brief excerpt I discovered during my sutta readings. Patient forebearance is the highest sacrifice, Supreme is Nibbana, so say the Buddhas. He’s not ‘one gone forth’ who hurts others, No ascetic who harms another. Not to do any evil, but […]
New Reading Material; Continued Progress
This week I’ve managed to make a few additions to my reading materials and I thought I’d take a moment and share. First, though, I can report continued progress on the Majjhima and Digha Nikayas, of which I’ve read 450 pages so far. Very mentally challenging, interesting reads. Further, I completed The Threefold Lotus Sutra, which was […]
The Allure of Form
As some of my readers may be aware, I have been reading the Majjhima Nikaya, or Middle Length Discourses of the Buddha, as a major part of my study and practice of Buddhism lately. I have found this text, translated by Bhikkhu Nanamoli and Bhikkhu Bodhi, to be amazingly easy to read and thought provoking, […]
Keeping with Reading Goals; Vesak
On April 17, some may recall that I committed myself to a certain reading goal. I’m quite pleased to report that I’ve surprised myself a bit. My original intention was to read for at least 10 minutes in the morning and 10 minutes after work. For a multitude of reasons, this proves to be impractical […]
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