Dhamma Wheel Buddhist Forum

convivium wrote:it seems like the one artform left open to monks is poetry. it has a rich history in the visudhimagga, ajahn mun, and now i'm seeing ledi sayadaw (not to mention the mahayana).

And the art of teaching the dhamma!

Translator's note: This poem, which is attributed to King Asoka's younger brother, falls into three parts: the first expresses his initial desire to leave the life of the palace and go into the forest; the second depicts his going forth; and the third announces his Awakening. Some scholars have suggested that many of the poems dealing with events in the lives of the early Buddhist monks and nuns may have originally been intended for dramatic performance, and this poem could easily have been written with that intent. The language of the original, with its heavy use of poetic terms, certainly indicates that the author had a literate background and was writing for a sophisticated audience.

If, in front or behind,
there is no one else,
it's extremely pleasant
for one staying alone
in the forest.

Come then! Alone
I will go to the wilderness
praised by the Awakened One
pleasant for a resolute monk
dwelling alone.

Alone,
astute in my goal,
I'll quickly enter the grove
— refreshing,
giving rapture to meditators —
the haunt
of elephants in rut.

When the Cool Forest's in full flower,
in a cool mountain gorge,
having bathed my limbs
I'll walk back & forth,
alone.

Ah, when will I dwell,
alone and free from companions,
in the refreshing great forest —
my task done,
fermentation-free?

As I desire to do this,
may my purpose succeed.
I myself
will bring it about.
No one can do it
for anyone else.

I myself
bind on my armor.
I will enter the grove
and will not emerge
without having attained
fermentations' end.

While soft breezes blow —
cool,
heavily,
fragrantly scented —
I'll make ignorance burst,
as I sit on a mountaintop.

In the forest covered with blossoms
or perhaps on a cool hillside,
blessed with the bliss of release,
on Giribbaja I'll delight. [1]

I am now he
whose resolves are fulfilled
like the moon on a full-moon night.
With all fermentations
totally ended,
here is now no further becoming.

Note 1. Giribbaja is the ring of mountains surrounding Vulture's Peak.

Sam Vara wrote:Ajahn Sucitto produced a beautiful set of paintings to accompany his book Dawn of the Dhamma

http://www.cittaviveka.org/files/books/dawn/index.htm

Sam Vara wrote:Why, thank you, Tilt. I looked, but couldn't find anything on line as I didn't realise that the version on Cittaviveka's site had the pictures. I have a copy of the book, and in addition I have the benefit of Sucitto's presence at the local monastery.

Sam Vara wrote:
Ajahn Sucitto produced a beautiful set of paintings to accompany his book Dawn of the Dhamma

http://www.cittaviveka.org/files/books/dawn/index.htm

convivium wrote:

Sam Vara wrote:
Ajahn Sucitto produced a beautiful set of paintings to accompany his book Dawn of the Dhamma

http://www.cittaviveka.org/files/books/dawn/index.htm

that's pretty amazing stuff for a thai forest monk to publish (it reminds me of songs of innocence and experience). sakyant tattoos can be pretty amazing i guess (but that's a dhammayut-exclusive thing i think). i was actually listening to his talks last night for the first time http://forestsanghapublications.org/dow ... n.php?id=4 then saw this posted in the morning. another thing is ajahn amaro publishes sorts of novels http://www.abhayagiri.org/books/the-pilgrim-kamanita or if you'd rather have it read to you http://archive.org/stream/ThePilgrimKam ... 5/mode/2up