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Illustrated King Fruitful - King Size Tusker and The Queen Who Hated Him
Chaddanta Jataka
By Venerable Kurunegoda Piyatissa Mahathera
The Jataka stories, over millennia, have been seminal to the development of many civilizations, the cultivation of moral conduct and good behavior, the growth of a rich and varied literature in diverse parts of the world and the inspiration for painting, sculpture and architecture of enduring aesthetic value. The Buddha himself used jataka stories to explain concepts like kamma and rebirth and to emphasize the importance of certain moral values. A Jataka bhanaka (jataka story teller) is mentioned to have been appointed even as early as the time of the Buddha. Such appointments were common in ancient Sri Lanka and among others, king Ilanaga (1st centuryA.D.) is recorded in the Mahavamsa, to have heard Kapi Jataka from abhanaka bhikkhu. It is in continuation of this noble tradition that these stories are now re-told in print to an audience which had been denied access to them by language and other cultural barriers. These stories are ever more relevant in the fragmented societies of today, where especially children, their most formative years, seek helplessly for guidance in steering their lives to success and fulfilment.
Free download available:
https://news.1rj.ru/str/buddha_ebooks/881
https://ftp.budaedu.org/ebooks/pdf/EN141.pdf
http://www.buddhanet.net/pdf_file/jataka_p.pdf
============
Illustrated King Fruitful - King Size Tusker and The Queen Who Hated Him
Chaddanta Jataka
By Venerable Kurunegoda Piyatissa Mahathera
The Jataka stories, over millennia, have been seminal to the development of many civilizations, the cultivation of moral conduct and good behavior, the growth of a rich and varied literature in diverse parts of the world and the inspiration for painting, sculpture and architecture of enduring aesthetic value. The Buddha himself used jataka stories to explain concepts like kamma and rebirth and to emphasize the importance of certain moral values. A Jataka bhanaka (jataka story teller) is mentioned to have been appointed even as early as the time of the Buddha. Such appointments were common in ancient Sri Lanka and among others, king Ilanaga (1st centuryA.D.) is recorded in the Mahavamsa, to have heard Kapi Jataka from abhanaka bhikkhu. It is in continuation of this noble tradition that these stories are now re-told in print to an audience which had been denied access to them by language and other cultural barriers. These stories are ever more relevant in the fragmented societies of today, where especially children, their most formative years, seek helplessly for guidance in steering their lives to success and fulfilment.
Free download available:
https://news.1rj.ru/str/buddha_ebooks/881
https://ftp.budaedu.org/ebooks/pdf/EN141.pdf
http://www.buddhanet.net/pdf_file/jataka_p.pdf
============
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See the Universe in a Sunflower
Buddhist teacher Thich Nhat Hanh explores how looking deeply at a sunflower can help us discover the reality of interbeing.
Listen Shariputra, all phenomena bear the mark of emptiness;
their true nature is the nature of no being, no nonbeing…
—The Heart Sutra (Thich Nhat Hanh translation)
I live in Plum Village, in the Dordogne region of southwest France, an area known for its sunflowers. But people who come to Plum Village in April do not see any sunflowers. They hear people saying that there are many sunflowers around, but they cannot see them anywhere. However, if you ask the farmers in the region, they will tell you that they can see the sunflowers very well, because they have already sown the sunflower seeds. They have ploughed the earth, sown the seeds, and spread manure. They know that there only needs to be one more condition for the sunflowers to manifest. That final condition is warmth. As the weather begins to warm up, the sunflower seeds will sprout, and, if the weather continues to be warm in June or July, the sunflowers will bloom.
So the farmers can see things that the visitor cannot yet see. We say that there isn’t a sunflower here because we cannot see all the latent causes and conditions lying in wait. We have the tendency to think that as long as we can’t see the sunflowers, they don’t exist, and that once we can see the sunflowers, they suddenly do exist.
We shouldn’t wait until we see big yellow flowers blooming in the fields to say that the sunflowers are there. They are there, just hidden.
The words “do not exist” are not really correct, but the words “do exist” are not correct either. When something has not yet manifested, we tend to think that it’s in the realm of nonbeing, and when it manifests we say that it’s in the realm of being. But the two categories of being and nonbeing do not correspond to reality. That is why we shouldn’t wait until we see big yellow flowers blooming in the fields to say that the sunflowers are there. They are there, just hidden, and whether or not we see them is only a matter of time and latent conditions.
Our body is also a conditioned thing. It is a manifestation, and there are causes and conditions that need to come together for it to manifest. Like the sunflowers, if one of these elements is not yet there, the body will not yet manifest. The Buddha teaches very clearly that when something manifests it does not come from anywhere, and when it no longer manifests it does not go anywhere. It is not born. It does not die. It does not pass from the realm of being into the realm of nonbeing.
The Ultimate and the Relative
We can speak of two levels of truth: relative (or conventional) truth and ultimate (or absolute) truth.
Ideas of birth and death, being and nonbeing, above and below, coming and going, sameness and difference, defilement and purity, increasing and decreasing, can all be called conventional truths. They are concepts that we use in daily life, and they are useful in the historical dimension, at the level of conventional truth. If we do not have a birth certificate proving our date of birth, how can we get a passport or an identity card?
So birth and death are important. Above and below are important. Left and right are important. Politically you have to know whether you are on the right or on the left. If you are following your GPS, you need to know that left is not right and right is not left.
At the level of conventional truth, these pairs of opposites are everywhere. There is “you” and “me,” there is “father” and “son.” Father and son are not each other; they are distinct from each other. People are different from animals. Animals are different from plants. Plants are different from minerals. At the level of conventional truth there is discrimination and separation. Things are outside of each other. One thing is not another.
This is the realm of the ultimate, where everything is in everything else.
Buddhist teacher Thich Nhat Hanh explores how looking deeply at a sunflower can help us discover the reality of interbeing.
Listen Shariputra, all phenomena bear the mark of emptiness;
their true nature is the nature of no being, no nonbeing…
—The Heart Sutra (Thich Nhat Hanh translation)
I live in Plum Village, in the Dordogne region of southwest France, an area known for its sunflowers. But people who come to Plum Village in April do not see any sunflowers. They hear people saying that there are many sunflowers around, but they cannot see them anywhere. However, if you ask the farmers in the region, they will tell you that they can see the sunflowers very well, because they have already sown the sunflower seeds. They have ploughed the earth, sown the seeds, and spread manure. They know that there only needs to be one more condition for the sunflowers to manifest. That final condition is warmth. As the weather begins to warm up, the sunflower seeds will sprout, and, if the weather continues to be warm in June or July, the sunflowers will bloom.
So the farmers can see things that the visitor cannot yet see. We say that there isn’t a sunflower here because we cannot see all the latent causes and conditions lying in wait. We have the tendency to think that as long as we can’t see the sunflowers, they don’t exist, and that once we can see the sunflowers, they suddenly do exist.
We shouldn’t wait until we see big yellow flowers blooming in the fields to say that the sunflowers are there. They are there, just hidden.
The words “do not exist” are not really correct, but the words “do exist” are not correct either. When something has not yet manifested, we tend to think that it’s in the realm of nonbeing, and when it manifests we say that it’s in the realm of being. But the two categories of being and nonbeing do not correspond to reality. That is why we shouldn’t wait until we see big yellow flowers blooming in the fields to say that the sunflowers are there. They are there, just hidden, and whether or not we see them is only a matter of time and latent conditions.
Our body is also a conditioned thing. It is a manifestation, and there are causes and conditions that need to come together for it to manifest. Like the sunflowers, if one of these elements is not yet there, the body will not yet manifest. The Buddha teaches very clearly that when something manifests it does not come from anywhere, and when it no longer manifests it does not go anywhere. It is not born. It does not die. It does not pass from the realm of being into the realm of nonbeing.
The Ultimate and the Relative
We can speak of two levels of truth: relative (or conventional) truth and ultimate (or absolute) truth.
Ideas of birth and death, being and nonbeing, above and below, coming and going, sameness and difference, defilement and purity, increasing and decreasing, can all be called conventional truths. They are concepts that we use in daily life, and they are useful in the historical dimension, at the level of conventional truth. If we do not have a birth certificate proving our date of birth, how can we get a passport or an identity card?
So birth and death are important. Above and below are important. Left and right are important. Politically you have to know whether you are on the right or on the left. If you are following your GPS, you need to know that left is not right and right is not left.
At the level of conventional truth, these pairs of opposites are everywhere. There is “you” and “me,” there is “father” and “son.” Father and son are not each other; they are distinct from each other. People are different from animals. Animals are different from plants. Plants are different from minerals. At the level of conventional truth there is discrimination and separation. Things are outside of each other. One thing is not another.
This is the realm of the ultimate, where everything is in everything else.
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But when we observe more closely, we see something different. We see the ultimate truth that things are really inside of each other. We think that father and son are two different people, but there is really no boundary between them. The father is the continuation of the son into the past, and the son is the continuation of the father into the future. This is the realm of the ultimate, where everything is in everything else. Everything interpenetrates, so the notions of inside and outside do not apply.
The same is true for the notions of above and below. If we are standing in front of an elevator, we need to know if we are going up or down. We need the notions of above and below in order to know whether we will stay on the tenth floor or go to the ground floor. The ground floor must be below and the tenth floor must be above.
But if we ask people in Japan sitting on the other side of the planet, they wouldn’t agree. If they could see us in the elevator going “up,” they would say we are going down. So the notions of above and below are only relatively true. In the ultimate truth there is no below, there is no above. The same is true for all other pairs of opposites: coming and going, birth and death, being and nonbeing.
Finding a Middle Way
Birth and death, being and nonbeing, coming and going, same and different—these cannot be applied to the ultimate truth of any phenomenon. In order to touch the true nature of all phenomena, we need to find a middle way between all these pairs of opposites.
When we encounter polarities, or pairs of opposites, we have the tendency to believe that one must be right and the other wrong. For example, we think that either everything exists, everything is real, or that nothing exists, nothing is real. These are the two extremes of eternalism and nihilism. Either we believe that we have an eternal soul which will live on forever, or we believe that we are just a meaningless collection of atoms and that when we die, we will be extinguished for ever and nothing will be left.
If we are wise, the Heart Sutra can help us to find the middle way between these extremes. This middle way between being and nonbeing is a state of coolness, peace, and nonfear that can be experienced in this very life, with this body and with our five skandhas. It is nirvana.
We waste a lot of time trying to prove whether something exists or doesn’t exist.
The traditional Chinese and Sanskrit versions of the sutra do not mention “no being and no nonbeing.” Traditionally, there are just three pairs of negations in the sutra: “no birth and no death,” “no defilement and no purity,” and “no increasing and no decreasing.” But in order to touch the ultimate truth, we need to transcend all pairs of opposites––all duality.
I have added “no being” and “no nonbeing” in this new translation so that people do not fall into the trap of thinking that emptiness means nonbeing or nonexistence. The understanding of “no being and no nonbeing” helps us to understand “no birth and no death.” It helps us avoid falling into the trap of describing things as either existent or non-existent.
Does God Exist?
In Western theology and philosophy we waste a lot of time trying to prove whether something exists or doesn’t exist. We are preoccupied, for example, with the question: Does God exist? For over 2,000 years people have been debating this without ever coming to any satisfactory conclusion. One group says that there is God, and the other group says there is no God. But in Buddhism, for more than two thousand years, we’ve been saying that the ultimate transcends both being and nonbeing. So if God is the ultimate, then God must certainly transcend both being and nonbeing. We cannot say that God exists, nor can we say that God does not exist, because existence and non-existence are only two faces of one reality.
Interbeing means you cannot be by yourself alone; you can only inter-be.
The same is true for the notions of above and below. If we are standing in front of an elevator, we need to know if we are going up or down. We need the notions of above and below in order to know whether we will stay on the tenth floor or go to the ground floor. The ground floor must be below and the tenth floor must be above.
But if we ask people in Japan sitting on the other side of the planet, they wouldn’t agree. If they could see us in the elevator going “up,” they would say we are going down. So the notions of above and below are only relatively true. In the ultimate truth there is no below, there is no above. The same is true for all other pairs of opposites: coming and going, birth and death, being and nonbeing.
Finding a Middle Way
Birth and death, being and nonbeing, coming and going, same and different—these cannot be applied to the ultimate truth of any phenomenon. In order to touch the true nature of all phenomena, we need to find a middle way between all these pairs of opposites.
When we encounter polarities, or pairs of opposites, we have the tendency to believe that one must be right and the other wrong. For example, we think that either everything exists, everything is real, or that nothing exists, nothing is real. These are the two extremes of eternalism and nihilism. Either we believe that we have an eternal soul which will live on forever, or we believe that we are just a meaningless collection of atoms and that when we die, we will be extinguished for ever and nothing will be left.
If we are wise, the Heart Sutra can help us to find the middle way between these extremes. This middle way between being and nonbeing is a state of coolness, peace, and nonfear that can be experienced in this very life, with this body and with our five skandhas. It is nirvana.
We waste a lot of time trying to prove whether something exists or doesn’t exist.
The traditional Chinese and Sanskrit versions of the sutra do not mention “no being and no nonbeing.” Traditionally, there are just three pairs of negations in the sutra: “no birth and no death,” “no defilement and no purity,” and “no increasing and no decreasing.” But in order to touch the ultimate truth, we need to transcend all pairs of opposites––all duality.
I have added “no being” and “no nonbeing” in this new translation so that people do not fall into the trap of thinking that emptiness means nonbeing or nonexistence. The understanding of “no being and no nonbeing” helps us to understand “no birth and no death.” It helps us avoid falling into the trap of describing things as either existent or non-existent.
Does God Exist?
In Western theology and philosophy we waste a lot of time trying to prove whether something exists or doesn’t exist. We are preoccupied, for example, with the question: Does God exist? For over 2,000 years people have been debating this without ever coming to any satisfactory conclusion. One group says that there is God, and the other group says there is no God. But in Buddhism, for more than two thousand years, we’ve been saying that the ultimate transcends both being and nonbeing. So if God is the ultimate, then God must certainly transcend both being and nonbeing. We cannot say that God exists, nor can we say that God does not exist, because existence and non-existence are only two faces of one reality.
Interbeing means you cannot be by yourself alone; you can only inter-be.
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The view of “being” is one extreme view, and the view of “nonbeing” is another extreme view. We need to transcend both these notions. The term interbeing can help. By adding the prefix “inter” to the word “being” we have a term that is no longer the opposite of nonbeing. Interbeing has no opposite, so we can make use of it to avoid falling into the trap of dualistic thinking.
The term “interbeing” still uses the word “being,” but it helps us to get out of the notion of being. So the notion of interbeing, although it is a notion, helps lead you to the ultimate truth.
Interbeing means you cannot be by yourself alone; you can only inter-be. Interbeing can connect the conventional truth and the ultimate truth, so it can lead you gradually to emptiness. Emptiness represents the ultimate truth, the true nature of reality. On this level, there is no beginning and there is no end. There is no birth and there is no death. And the notions of being and nonbeing are removed.
The two notions of being and nonbeing oppose each other, and so we have to struggle. But when we speak of the ultimate truth, we use words like “emptiness,” and emptiness when used like this also has no opposite. At first, we think emptiness is the opposite of fullness, but emptiness is fullness. You are empty of a separate self, but you are full of the cosmos. So “emptiness” is an expression that we could say is equivalent to “God.” God is the ultimate, and emptiness is the ultimate. Emptiness is the absence of notions and concepts. You cannot describe God with notions and concepts. You cannot say that God is or is not. To say that God exists is nonsense, and to say that God doesn’t exist is nonsense, because notions of being and nonbeing cannot be applied to the ultimate.
In the West, “to be or not to be” has been the question for more than two thousand years. But in Buddhism, being or nonbeing is not the question. We practice transcending the notions of being and nonbeing, and erase the boundary between being and nonbeing in order to see the true nature of reality.
When the Buddha was asked what is the “right view” to have of reality, he described it as the view that transcends being and nonbeing. This is what in Buddhism we call “right view.” So now if somebody asks you whether or not you exist, you can answer, “I am not caught in the notions of existence or non-existence, I am not caught in being or nonbeing, I can only inter-be with everything!”
Adapted from The Other Shore: A New Translation of the Heart Sutra with Commentaries, by Thich Nhat Hanh.
===
Thich Nhat Hanh (1926-2022) was a renowned Zen teacher and poet, the founder of the Engaged Buddhist movement, and the founder of nine monastic communities, including Plum Village Monastery in France. He was also the author of At Home in the World, The Other Shore, and more than a hundred other books that have sold millions of copies worldwide.
===
Dhammapada, beloved and favorite teachings of the Buddha channel:
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===
The term “interbeing” still uses the word “being,” but it helps us to get out of the notion of being. So the notion of interbeing, although it is a notion, helps lead you to the ultimate truth.
Interbeing means you cannot be by yourself alone; you can only inter-be. Interbeing can connect the conventional truth and the ultimate truth, so it can lead you gradually to emptiness. Emptiness represents the ultimate truth, the true nature of reality. On this level, there is no beginning and there is no end. There is no birth and there is no death. And the notions of being and nonbeing are removed.
The two notions of being and nonbeing oppose each other, and so we have to struggle. But when we speak of the ultimate truth, we use words like “emptiness,” and emptiness when used like this also has no opposite. At first, we think emptiness is the opposite of fullness, but emptiness is fullness. You are empty of a separate self, but you are full of the cosmos. So “emptiness” is an expression that we could say is equivalent to “God.” God is the ultimate, and emptiness is the ultimate. Emptiness is the absence of notions and concepts. You cannot describe God with notions and concepts. You cannot say that God is or is not. To say that God exists is nonsense, and to say that God doesn’t exist is nonsense, because notions of being and nonbeing cannot be applied to the ultimate.
In the West, “to be or not to be” has been the question for more than two thousand years. But in Buddhism, being or nonbeing is not the question. We practice transcending the notions of being and nonbeing, and erase the boundary between being and nonbeing in order to see the true nature of reality.
When the Buddha was asked what is the “right view” to have of reality, he described it as the view that transcends being and nonbeing. This is what in Buddhism we call “right view.” So now if somebody asks you whether or not you exist, you can answer, “I am not caught in the notions of existence or non-existence, I am not caught in being or nonbeing, I can only inter-be with everything!”
Adapted from The Other Shore: A New Translation of the Heart Sutra with Commentaries, by Thich Nhat Hanh.
===
Thich Nhat Hanh (1926-2022) was a renowned Zen teacher and poet, the founder of the Engaged Buddhist movement, and the founder of nine monastic communities, including Plum Village Monastery in France. He was also the author of At Home in the World, The Other Shore, and more than a hundred other books that have sold millions of copies worldwide.
===
Dhammapada, beloved and favorite teachings of the Buddha channel:
https://news.1rj.ru/str/dhammapadas
===
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Dhammapada Verses 209, 210 and 211
Tayojanapabbajita Vatthu
Ayoge yunja'mattanam
yogasminca ayojayam
attham hit va piyaggahi
piheta'ttanuyoginam.
Ma piyehi samaganchi
appiyehi kudacanam
piyanam adassanam dukkham
appiyananca dassanam.
Tasma piyam na kayiratha
piyapayo hi papako
gantha tesam na vijjanti
yesam natthi piyappiyam.
Verse 209: He who does what should not be done and fails to do what should be done, who forsakes the noble aim of life (i.e., Morality, Concentration and Insight) and grasps at sensual pleasure, covets the benefits gained by those who exert themselves (in meditation).
Verse 210: Do not associate with those who are dear, and never with those who are not dear to you; not seeing the dear ones is painful, and seeing those who are not dear to you is also painful.
Verse 211: Therefore, one should hold nothing dear; separation from the loved ones is painful; there are no fetters for those who do not love or hate.
The Story of Three Ascetics
While residing at the Jetavana monastery, the Buddha uttered Verses (209), (210) and (211) of this book, with reference to a trio, consisting of a father, a mother and a son.
Once in Savatthi, the only son of a family first became a bhikkhu; the father followed suit and finally, the mother also became a bhikkhuni. They were so attached to one another that they rarely stayed apart. The family stayed in the monastery as if they were in their own house, talking and eating together, thus making themselves a nuisance to others. Other bhikkhus reported their behaviour to the Buddha and he called them to his presence, and said to them, "Once you have joined the Order, you should no longer stay together like a family. Not seeing those who are dear, and seeing those who are not dear to one, are both painful; so you should not hold any being or anything dear to you".
Then the Buddha spoke in verse as follows:
Verse 209: He who does what should not be done and fails to do what should be done, who forsakes the noble aim of life (i. e., Morality, Concentration and Insight) and grasps at sensual pleasure, covets the benefits gained by those who exert themselves (in meditation).
Verse 210: Do not associate with those who are dear, and never with those who are not dear to you; not seeing the dear ones is painful, and seeing those who are not dear to you is also painful.
Verse 211: Therefore, one should hold nothing dear; separation from the loved ones is painful; there are no fetters for those who do not love or hate.
====================
Ajahn Chah, Buddhist teacher of Thai forest meditation of Theravada Buddhism channel:
https://news.1rj.ru/str/ajahnchah_buddhism
===
Tayojanapabbajita Vatthu
Ayoge yunja'mattanam
yogasminca ayojayam
attham hit va piyaggahi
piheta'ttanuyoginam.
Ma piyehi samaganchi
appiyehi kudacanam
piyanam adassanam dukkham
appiyananca dassanam.
Tasma piyam na kayiratha
piyapayo hi papako
gantha tesam na vijjanti
yesam natthi piyappiyam.
Verse 209: He who does what should not be done and fails to do what should be done, who forsakes the noble aim of life (i.e., Morality, Concentration and Insight) and grasps at sensual pleasure, covets the benefits gained by those who exert themselves (in meditation).
Verse 210: Do not associate with those who are dear, and never with those who are not dear to you; not seeing the dear ones is painful, and seeing those who are not dear to you is also painful.
Verse 211: Therefore, one should hold nothing dear; separation from the loved ones is painful; there are no fetters for those who do not love or hate.
The Story of Three Ascetics
While residing at the Jetavana monastery, the Buddha uttered Verses (209), (210) and (211) of this book, with reference to a trio, consisting of a father, a mother and a son.
Once in Savatthi, the only son of a family first became a bhikkhu; the father followed suit and finally, the mother also became a bhikkhuni. They were so attached to one another that they rarely stayed apart. The family stayed in the monastery as if they were in their own house, talking and eating together, thus making themselves a nuisance to others. Other bhikkhus reported their behaviour to the Buddha and he called them to his presence, and said to them, "Once you have joined the Order, you should no longer stay together like a family. Not seeing those who are dear, and seeing those who are not dear to one, are both painful; so you should not hold any being or anything dear to you".
Then the Buddha spoke in verse as follows:
Verse 209: He who does what should not be done and fails to do what should be done, who forsakes the noble aim of life (i. e., Morality, Concentration and Insight) and grasps at sensual pleasure, covets the benefits gained by those who exert themselves (in meditation).
Verse 210: Do not associate with those who are dear, and never with those who are not dear to you; not seeing the dear ones is painful, and seeing those who are not dear to you is also painful.
Verse 211: Therefore, one should hold nothing dear; separation from the loved ones is painful; there are no fetters for those who do not love or hate.
====================
Ajahn Chah, Buddhist teacher of Thai forest meditation of Theravada Buddhism channel:
https://news.1rj.ru/str/ajahnchah_buddhism
===
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Free Buddha Dharma ebook
Meditation is The Only Way
By Venerable Sri K Dhammananda
Free download available:
https://ia802700.us.archive.org/9/items/meditation-the-only-way-new/Meditation%20The%20Only%20Way%20New.pdf
https://ftp.budaedu.org/ebooks/pdf/EN158.pdf
===
Meditation is The Only Way
By Venerable Sri K Dhammananda
Free download available:
https://ia802700.us.archive.org/9/items/meditation-the-only-way-new/Meditation%20The%20Only%20Way%20New.pdf
https://ftp.budaedu.org/ebooks/pdf/EN158.pdf
===
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Free Buddha Dharma ebook
Meditation is The Only Way
By Venerable Sri K Dhammananda
Since earliest times men have recognized the vast benefits that can be gained through mind control. While meditation was practised in Europe over the last two thousand years, it was in India and later in China that the techniques of mind control were fully recognized and developed. Over a period of more than four thousand years, religious and spiritual disciplines were centred around meditational practices, but it was the Buddha who gave meditation a central place for gaining Enlightenment, and final salvation. All other religious systems use meditation to direct the mind towards external powers, but the Buddha taught us to use meditation to look within ourselves, to gain INSIGHT and thus develop ourselves without depending on external powers.
The primary purpose of meditation is to help the individual to control the mind and train it to bring inner peace to the individual who practises it. In this way a great deal of mental energy can be concentrated and thus make the mind capable of harnessing great power. Examples of the kind of power that mind control can give are the miracles performed by saints and religious leaders, e.g. walking on water, being in two places at the same time, going through solid walls, light emanating from the body etc. However, the Buddha taught that such mental power was not the final goal of his teaching. Mind control through meditation brings calmness but the Buddha has taught that such control is merely superficial. The suppression of the mental defilements is temporary. They can come to the surface of the mind at any time and hinder the spiritual development. These defilements like anger, hatred, greed, pride, illusion, wrong views must be completely rooted out from the mind through the development of Metta (goodwill), Karuna (compassion), Mudita (sympathetic joy), Uppekkha (equanimity) before one begins to tread the path towards emancipation.
Free download available:
https://ia802700.us.archive.org/9/items/meditation-the-only-way-new/Meditation%20The%20Only%20Way%20New.pdf
https://ftp.budaedu.org/ebooks/pdf/EN158.pdf
===
Meditation is The Only Way
By Venerable Sri K Dhammananda
Since earliest times men have recognized the vast benefits that can be gained through mind control. While meditation was practised in Europe over the last two thousand years, it was in India and later in China that the techniques of mind control were fully recognized and developed. Over a period of more than four thousand years, religious and spiritual disciplines were centred around meditational practices, but it was the Buddha who gave meditation a central place for gaining Enlightenment, and final salvation. All other religious systems use meditation to direct the mind towards external powers, but the Buddha taught us to use meditation to look within ourselves, to gain INSIGHT and thus develop ourselves without depending on external powers.
The primary purpose of meditation is to help the individual to control the mind and train it to bring inner peace to the individual who practises it. In this way a great deal of mental energy can be concentrated and thus make the mind capable of harnessing great power. Examples of the kind of power that mind control can give are the miracles performed by saints and religious leaders, e.g. walking on water, being in two places at the same time, going through solid walls, light emanating from the body etc. However, the Buddha taught that such mental power was not the final goal of his teaching. Mind control through meditation brings calmness but the Buddha has taught that such control is merely superficial. The suppression of the mental defilements is temporary. They can come to the surface of the mind at any time and hinder the spiritual development. These defilements like anger, hatred, greed, pride, illusion, wrong views must be completely rooted out from the mind through the development of Metta (goodwill), Karuna (compassion), Mudita (sympathetic joy), Uppekkha (equanimity) before one begins to tread the path towards emancipation.
Free download available:
https://ia802700.us.archive.org/9/items/meditation-the-only-way-new/Meditation%20The%20Only%20Way%20New.pdf
https://ftp.budaedu.org/ebooks/pdf/EN158.pdf
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Free Buddha Dharma ebook
Meditation is The Only Way
By Venerable Sri K Dhammananda
Free download available:
https://ia802700.us.archive.org/9/items/meditation-the-only-way-new/Meditation%20The%20Only%20Way%20New.pdf
https://ftp.budaedu.org/ebooks/pdf/EN158.pdf
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Meditation is The Only Way
By Venerable Sri K Dhammananda
Free download available:
https://ia802700.us.archive.org/9/items/meditation-the-only-way-new/Meditation%20The%20Only%20Way%20New.pdf
https://ftp.budaedu.org/ebooks/pdf/EN158.pdf
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Dhammapada Verse 212
Annatarakutumbika Vatthu
Piyato jayati soko
piyato jayati bhayam
piyato vippamuttassa
natthi soko kuto bhayam.
Verse 212: Affection begets sorrow, affection begets fear. For him who is free from affection there is no sorrow; how can there be fear for him?
The Story of a Rich Householder
While residing at the Jetavana monastery, the Buddha uttered Verse (212) of this book, with reference to a rich householder who had lost his son.
Once, a householder was feeling very distressed over the death of his son. He often went to the cemetery and wept there. Early one morning, the Buddha saw the rich householder in his vision. So, taking a bhikkhu along with him, the Buddha went to the house of that man. There, he asked the man why he was feeling so unhappy. Then, the man related to the Buddha about the death of his son and about the pain and sorrow he was suffering. To him the Buddha said, "My disciple, death does not occur only in one place. All beings that are born must die one day; indeed, life ends in death. You must ever be mindful of the fact that life ends in death. Do not imagine that only your beloved son is subject to death. Do not be so distressed or be so shaken. Sorrow and fear arise out of affection."
Then the Buddha spoke in verse as follows:
Verse 212: Affection begets sorrow, affection begets fear. For him who is free from affection there is no sorrow; how can there be fear for him?
At the end of the discourse, the rich householder attained Sotapatti Fruition.
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Free Buddhism books, teachings, podcasts and videos from Theravada, Mahayana and Vajrayana traditions:
https://news.1rj.ru/str/buddha_ebooks
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Annatarakutumbika Vatthu
Piyato jayati soko
piyato jayati bhayam
piyato vippamuttassa
natthi soko kuto bhayam.
Verse 212: Affection begets sorrow, affection begets fear. For him who is free from affection there is no sorrow; how can there be fear for him?
The Story of a Rich Householder
While residing at the Jetavana monastery, the Buddha uttered Verse (212) of this book, with reference to a rich householder who had lost his son.
Once, a householder was feeling very distressed over the death of his son. He often went to the cemetery and wept there. Early one morning, the Buddha saw the rich householder in his vision. So, taking a bhikkhu along with him, the Buddha went to the house of that man. There, he asked the man why he was feeling so unhappy. Then, the man related to the Buddha about the death of his son and about the pain and sorrow he was suffering. To him the Buddha said, "My disciple, death does not occur only in one place. All beings that are born must die one day; indeed, life ends in death. You must ever be mindful of the fact that life ends in death. Do not imagine that only your beloved son is subject to death. Do not be so distressed or be so shaken. Sorrow and fear arise out of affection."
Then the Buddha spoke in verse as follows:
Verse 212: Affection begets sorrow, affection begets fear. For him who is free from affection there is no sorrow; how can there be fear for him?
At the end of the discourse, the rich householder attained Sotapatti Fruition.
====================
Free Buddhism books, teachings, podcasts and videos from Theravada, Mahayana and Vajrayana traditions:
https://news.1rj.ru/str/buddha_ebooks
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Forwarded from Ajahn Chah - Theravada Thailand Buddhism
Free Buddha Dharma ebook
A Taste of Freedom
By Ajahn Chah
Venerable Ajahn Chah always gave his talks in simple, everyday language. His objective was to clarify the Dhamma, not to confuse his listeners with an overload of information. Consequently the talks presented here have been rendered into correspondingly simple English. The aim of the translators has been to present Ajahn Chah’s teaching in both the spirit and the letter.
Free download available:
https://static.sariputta.com/pdf/tipitaka/265/a_taste_of_freedom_pdf.pdf
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A Taste of Freedom
By Ajahn Chah
Venerable Ajahn Chah always gave his talks in simple, everyday language. His objective was to clarify the Dhamma, not to confuse his listeners with an overload of information. Consequently the talks presented here have been rendered into correspondingly simple English. The aim of the translators has been to present Ajahn Chah’s teaching in both the spirit and the letter.
Free download available:
https://static.sariputta.com/pdf/tipitaka/265/a_taste_of_freedom_pdf.pdf
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