10 Misconceptions about Buddhism (#2)

This article is the second in the 10 Misconceptions about Buddhism series with scholars Robert E. Buswell Jr. and Donald S. Lopez Jr. 

Which Mindfulness?

The modern understanding of mindfulness differs significantly from what the term has historically meant in Buddhism.

 

MAY 08, 2014

There are hundreds of forms of Buddhist meditation, some for developing deep states of concentration and mental bliss, some for analyzing the constituents of mind and body to find that there is no self, and some for meeting the Buddha face-to-face. Among these, mindfulness, commonly assumed to be the primary form of Buddhist meditation, has only recently risen to prominence.

Udana 56

Just as the ocean has one taste, the taste of salt, even so, this Dhamma has one taste too, the taste of freedom.

International Buddhist conclave open session in Sarnath

PTI, Oct 5, 2016 Varanasi, India -- The International Buddhist Conclave-2016 aimed to showcase Buddhist heritage and pilgrimage sites in the country, opened its sessions in  Sarnath today, the heartland of Buddhist pilgrimage. The opening session was addressed by Union minister of state for culture Mahesh Sharma and Uttar Pradesh Tourism Minister Om Prakash Singh. "India is the seat of Spiritual Tourism and Government of India and Government of Uttar Pradesh are committed to develop the Buddhist Circuits," Sharma said. "Sarnath will be made the hub of Buddhist to tourism in India and efforts will be made to bring in air, rail and road connections from Sarnath to various Buddhist sites in India," he said.

Abhidhammatthasangaha

Tattha vuttābhidhammatthā,
catudhā paramatthato
Cittaṃ cetasikaṃ rūpaṃ,
nibbānamiti sabbathā.

Here, the Abhidhamma spoken therein,
the fourfold realities.
Mind, mental factors, matter,
Nibbana, altogether.

To generate loving kindness and compassion in you

“…charity is actually a means for you to let go. You should not have too many possessions because they cannot get rid of your bad feelings. The fewer things you have, the fewer bad feelings you will have. The more you have, the more bad feelings are generated. So the Buddha’s teaching is living in a frugal and austere manner—just having enough to maintain life and no more.

Einstein and Buddhism

There are three kinds of wisdom ~ S N Goenka

"There are three kinds of wisdom. The first, suta-maya panna, is the wisdom gained by hearing or reading the words of others. The second, cinta-maya panna, is intellectual wisdom: to test with one’s reasoning and analyzing faculty whether the received wisdom is rational and logical.

It cannot be said that these two types of wisdom are absolutely useless. However, because they are borrowed wisdom, usually the knowledge gained is merely intellectual and no lasting benefit is derived from it.

Bhavana-maya panna, the third kind of wisdom, is experiential wisdom. It is wisdom manifested within ourselves, based on our own experience of our body sensations. This wisdom is based on direct experience and therefore is truly beneficial.

To develop bhavana-maya panna, it is essential to practice sila (moral conduct) and to develop right samadhi (concentration). Only the mind established in right samadhi can understand and realise the truth as it is. (Yatha-bhuta nana-dassana)"

Ajanta Caves

BY KEVINSTANDAGEHOTOGRAPHY ON MARCH 22, 2015

The Ajanta Caves are located about 100km north east of Aurangabad, it takes about two hours to drive there from the city. If possible try to arrive early (for 9am) so you stand the best chance of enjoying them with the minimum of fellow visitors. The caves are very popular with school parties who seem to start arriving by 10am.

Upon arrival and having parked your car it’s a short walk via the obligatory souvenir stalls to a bus pickup/dropoff point that takes you on a short 10 minute ride to the caves themselves.

All the caves are man-made, and are located along a horse-shoe bend of cliffs high above a stream known as the Waghora. It’s an amazingly peaceful setting (if you get there early enough!), one can appreciate why this was chosen as a location by the Buddhist monks.

No merely thinking

Merely thinking about practice is like pouncing on the shadow and missing the substance.

Ajahn Chah

10 Misconceptions about Buddhism (#1)

November 18, 2013 Tricycle

In the new series 10 Misconceptions about Buddhism, scholars Robert E. Buswell Jr. and Donald S. Lopez Jr. will expand on one of these popular misconcept. This is the first of the series.

 

For over two millennia, Buddhists have made singular contributions to meditative theory and practice. Buddhist literature abounds in discussions about the stages of meditation, the prerequisites to achieving those stages, and the ways in which meditation serves to develop liberating insight. However, the majority of Buddhists throughout history have not meditated. Traditionally a monastic practice, meditation was even then considered a specialty of only certain monks. Furthermore, it is only since the 20th century that meditation has been considered a practice appropriate to teach to laypeople.

How by ~ Jon Kabat-Zinn

“By repeatedly bringing your attention back to the breath each time it wanders off, concentration builds and deepens, much as muscles develop by repetitively lifting weights.”

Smiling “Jizo”

Deepening Our Enduring Connections

October 2016.

Autumn leaves are turning red and gold here in New England, the High Holy Days are here and the Day of Death (Halloween) is approaching-- and my spiritual mind turns towards the poignancy of ageing and death. Perhaps it's because my Dad died in late august and my Mom in September. Or is my own later season approaching as well? Who knows? Life is tenuous. Lama says: Handle with prayer.

Ladakh, where Buddhist spirituality, culture reign supreme

By Vishal Gulati , IANS, September 29, 2016

It's a cold desert in northern India, dotted by tiny hamlets spread over the Himalayan peaks adjoining Tibet, where one can simultaneously have a close brush with sunburn and frostbite in summer.

Leh, Ladakh (India) -- Ladakh, once the hub of the ancient Silk Route -- is aptly described as a place where Buddhist spirituality and its ancient culture reign supreme amidst virgin nature.

<< The recently concluded weeklong Naropa festival that witnesses unveiling of a 60-foot-tall silk embroidery brocade of Buddha Amitabha at the newly-built Naro Palace near the Hemis Monastery, some 40 km from Leh in Jammu and Kashmir.

That's much too simplistic

"There's that mistaken belief that if you want to see somebody's past actions, you look at their present conditions. If you want to see their future condition, you look at their present actions. That's much too simplistic. When you look at their present condition, you're seeing only a few of their past actions. When you look at their present actions, you can see only a very vague, limited indication of what their future might be.

The Dangers of Sensuality, Forms and Feelings

'Good is restraint over the eye;
good is restraint over the ear;
good is restraint over the nose;
good is restraint over the tongue.

Good is restraint in the body;
good is restraint in speech;
good is restraint in thought.
Restraint everywhere is good.
The monk restrained in every way is freed from all suffering.'

Dhammapada Verse 360 & 361

Dhamma Sharing by Ajahn Brahmali

Coming to Train Ourselves, to Correct Ourselves, Is No Easy Matter!

This is why I say that what people call practice is not really practice, but it's disaster. If you don't stop and take a look, don't try the practice, you won't see, you won't attain the Dhamma. To put it straight, in our practice you have to commit your very life. It's not that it isn't difficult, this practice, it has to entail some suffering. Especially in the first year or two, there's a lot of suffering. The young monks and novices really have a hard time.

Making Fields of Merit Buddhist Female Ascetics and Gendered Orders in Thailand

Making Fields of Merit
Buddhist Female Ascetics and Gendered Orders in Thailand
Monica Lindberg Falk
University of Washington Press (2008)

How Meditation Can Slow Alzheimer’s

June 20, 2016

Memory Loss and Alzheimer's Prevention

Alissa Sauer

A new study suggests that taking time from your busy schedule to meditate can actually help preserve your mind and slow Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias.

Learn more about how meditation can slow Alzheimer’s.

Buddhist Answers to Question asked 040 : Meditation and mental issues

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5I9LkjfLWTA

Published on Feb 4, 2016

Buddhist Answers to Questions Asked presented
by Venerable Sander Khemadhammo
Master's degree in Psychology from Radboud University-Netherlands, Wat Phra Dhammakaya, Thailand.

Of Faults, Beauty and the House on Fire

The Great Bell Chant (The End of Suffering)

Read by Thich Nath Hanh, chanted by brother Phap Niem.

The creators of this audio track were Gary Malkin, the composer/arranger, producer, and collaborator Michael Stillwater. The work came from a CD/book called Graceful Passages: A Companion for Living and Dying, and it could be purchased by going to wisdomoftheworld.com.

Visuals taken from: HOME, Earth and Baraka

https://vimeo.com/6518109

How not to add to pain and suffering?

Snakes, Ladders, and Utopia, by Diana St Ruth

Posted on 29 August 2016 by Buddhism Now

Have you ever noticed? If everything seems to be going right in your life, if everything seems to be perfect and you start thinking that this is the most perfect time in my life and it’s going to be wonderful from now on, your world suddenly falls apart. It’s a bit like that old board game of snakes and ladders where you throw the dice and climb the ladder to greater and greater heights, then encounter a snake and zoom down you go again, maybe even to a lower position than before.

Buddhist Answers to Question asked 039 : Working with many people (Ven.Sander Khemadhammo)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gUhCb05lx90

Published on Feb 4, 2016

Buddhist Answers to Questions Asked presented
by Venerable Sander Khemadhammo
Master's degree in Psychology from Radboud University-Netherlands, Wat Phra Dhammakaya, Thailand.

So work is suffering.....

Samyutta Nikaya. V,272

The brahmin Unnabha asked Venerable Ananda: “What is the aim of living the holy life under the monk Gotama?” 

Faith and Practice in Pure Land Buddhism, as Taught by Nagarjuna Bodhisattva

By Alan Kwan Buddhistdoor Global | 2016-09-02

From wikipedia.org

An easy practice with faith as an expedient means

Nagarjuna Bodhisattva is recognized as the “Founder of the Eight Schools in Mahayana Buddhism.” He also inaugurated the Pure Land commentarial tradition with his Chapter on Easy Practice. In it, he wrote, “There are infinite ways to practice the Buddhist teachings. They are similar to taking different paths in the world: some are difficult, and some easy. Traveling overland on foot is toilsome, while traveling the seas by ship is joyous. It is the same with the Bodhisattva paths. Some practitioners may be diligent in practice and rapid in progress, but others take the easy practice, with faith as an expedient means, so that they can rapidly reach the state of Avinivartaniya (non-retrogression).”

Buddhist Answers to Question asked 038 : Best time to meditate (Ven.Sander Khemadhammo)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AS7IZYaiKH8

Published on Feb 4, 2016

Buddhist Answers to Questions Asked presented
by Venerable Sander Khemadhammo
Master's degree in Psychology from Radboud University-Netherlands, Wat Phra Dhammakaya, Thailand.

Is Buddhism a pessimistic religion?

Temple bakery raises funds for new buildings

• 28 Sep 2016 WRITER: CHINNAWAT SINGHA Bangkok Post 
• 
  

Monks prepare their fresh baked bread buns for sale to visitors at Wat Phothiyan in Muang district of Phitsanulok. (Photos by Chinnawat Singha)

PHITSANULOK – Monks at Wat Phothiyan in Muang district have succeeded in a novel enterprise to raise funds for a new public building and a pollution-free crematorium at the temple.

Majjhima Nikaya. I,500

One whose mind is freed does not argue with anyone, 

he does not dispute with anyone.

He makes use of the conventional terms of the world without clinging to them.

Commemorating Mr. Satya Narayan Goenka

“All persons must be free to profess and follow their faith. In doing so, however, they must be careful not to neglect the practice of the essence of their religion, not to disturb others by their own religious practices, and not to condemn or belittle other faiths.” - S. N. Goenka