Old News Archive: September 1999
Obsolete and unsupported links have been disabled and are highlighted like this.
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[26 September 1999]: Two suttas on how to bring about an end to conflict:
- Sakka-pañha Sutta (DN 21) — Sakka's Questions (excerpt). Sakka, the deva-king, asks the Buddha about the sources of conflict & hostility, and about the path of practice that brings them to an end. This discourse ends with a humorous account about Sakka's frustration in trying to learn the Dhamma from other contemplatives. It's hard to find a teacher when you're a king.
- Madhupindika Sutta (MN 18) — The Ball of Honey. A man looking for an idle argument asks the Buddha what his doctrine is. The Buddha's answer mystifies not only the man, but also a number of monks. Ven. Maha Kaccana finally provides an explanation, and in the course of doing so analyzes what is needed for the psychological sources of conflict to be brought to an end.
- [24 September 1999]: More study guides:
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[23 September 1999]: New offering: Study Guides "Stream-entry" is the first in a series of anthologies of texts designed for individual or group study, prepared by Thanissaro Bhikkhu.
In order to accommodate this new section, I'll be reorganizing the Theravada Text Archives over the next few days. Please let me know if you run into any bad links along the way.
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[21 September 1999] From the Buddhist Publication Society:
- Teacher of the Devas, by Susan Elbaum Jootla (WH 414; 1997; 115k/38pp.) This lively book explores the important role played by the devas (divine beings) in the Pali suttas, with particular emphasis on the Buddha's role as their teacher.
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[20 September 1999] From the Majjhima Nikaya:
- Cula-punnama Sutta (MN 110) — The Shorter Discourse on the Full-moon Night. How to recognize — and become — a person of integrity.
- Uddesa-vibhanga Sutta (MN 138) — An Analysis of the Statement. How to attend to outside objects without letting the mind become externally scattered, and how to focus in strong states of absorption without becoming internally positioned.
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[6 September 1999] From the Majjhima Nikaya:
- Ratha-vinita Sutta (MN 24) — Relay Chariots. Using the simile of a set of relay chariots, Ven. Punna Mantaniputta explains the relationship of the factors of the path to the goal of the holy life.
- Cula-dhammasamadana Sutta (MN 45) — The Shorter Discourse on Taking on Practices. Is something right because it feels right?
- Canki Sutta (MN 95) — With Canki (excerpt). A pompous brahman teenager questions the Buddha about safeguarding, awakening to, and attaining the truth. In the course of his answer, the Buddha describes the criteria for choosing a reliable teacher and how best to learn from such a person.
- [4 September 1999] Trading Candy for Gold: Renunciation as a Skill, by Thanissaro Bhikkhu. Which would you rather have: an unquenchable thirst for sense-gratification, or a stable, true, and lasting happiness? The choice is yours.
