Old News Archive: September 2001
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[15 September 2001] Have you read "Non-violence: A Study Guide" lately?
All
tremble at the rod,
all
hold their life dear.
Drawing the parallel to
yourself,
neither kill nor get others to kill.[Dhp 129]
Winning gives birth to hostility.
Losing, one lies down in pain.
The calmed lie down with ease,
having set
winning & losing
aside.[SN 3.14]
'I am subject to aging, have not gone beyond aging.' This is the first fact that one should reflect on often, whether one is a woman or a man, lay or ordained.
'I am subject to illness, have not gone beyond illness'...
'I am subject to death, have not gone beyond death'...
'I will grow different, separate from all that is dear and appealing to me'...
'I am the owner of my actions (kamma), heir to my actions, born of my actions, related through my actions, and have my actions as my arbitrator. Whatever I do, for good or for evil, to that will I fall heir'...
These are the five facts that one should reflect on often, whether one is a woman or a man, lay or ordained.
[AN 5.57]
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[13 September 2001] Now may be a good time for all of us to re-read and reflect upon the Karaniya Metta Sutta:
...
May all beings be happy at heart.
Whatever beings there may be,
weak or strong, without exception,
long, large,
middling, short,
subtle, blatant,
seen & unseen,
near & far,
born & seeking birth:
May all beings be happy at heart.Let no one deceive another or despise anyone anywhere,
or through anger or resistance
wish for another to suffer.As a mother would risk her life to protect her child, her only child,
even so should one cultivate a limitless heart
with regard to all beings.
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[10 September 2001] A series of suttas on the five aggregates (khandha)...
- Bhikkhu Sutta (SN 22.36) — The Monk (On Identifying with the Aggregates) [Thanissaro Bhikkhu, trans.]. How we define ourselves in terms of the aggregates, and how we don't have to do so.
- Bija Sutta (SN 22.54) — Means of Propagation [Thanissaro Bhikkhu, trans.]. The Buddha uses a striking image to illustrate how Awakening ensues from abandoning all passion for the five aggregates.
- Khajjaniya Sutta (SN 22.79) — Chewed Up [Thanissaro Bhikkhu, trans.]. How to gain release from identification with the five aggregates.
- Khemaka Sutta (SN 22.89) — About Khemaka [Thanissaro Bhikkhu, trans.]. Although dis-identification with the five aggregates indeed plays a crucial role in becoming a noble disciple, full Awakening calls for more.
- Channa Sutta (SN 22.90) — To Channa [Thanissaro Bhikkhu, trans.]. Ven. Channa, formerly the bodhisattha's horseman, receives a teaching on dis-identification with the five aggregates.
- Nakhasikha Sutta (SN 22.97) — The Tip of the Fingernail [Thanissaro Bhikkhu, trans.]. Not even the slightest trace of the aggregates is exempt from stress and suffering.
- Maha-punnama Sutta (MN 109) — The Great Full-moon Night Discourse [Thanissaro Bhikkhu, trans.]. A thorough discussion of issues related to the five aggregates. Toward the end of the discussion, a monk thinks that he has found a loophole in the teaching. The way the Buddha handles this incident shows the proper use of the teachings on the aggregates: not as a metaphysical theory, but as a tool for questioning clinging and so gaining release.)
- Anusaya Sutta (AN 7.11) — Obsessions (1) [Thanissaro Bhikkhu, trans.]. An enumeration of the seven anusaya (obsessions or latent tendencies).
- Anusaya Sutta (AN 7.12) — Obsessions (2) [Thanissaro Bhikkhu, trans.]. On abandoning the seven anusaya (obsessions or latent tendencies).
- Nava Sutta (Sn 2.8) — A Boat [Thanissaro Bhikkhu, trans.] A teacher, like a skilled boatman, is one who knows firsthand how to cross to the opposite shore.
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[3 September 2001] Talk by Ajaan Suwat
- Right Concentration, by Ajaan Suwat Suvaco. Ajaan Suwat explains the value of tranquillity meditation as a foundation for the development of insight.
