book or sutta club??

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jcsuperstar
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book or sutta club??

Post by jcsuperstar »

would you guys be interested in doing one? we could read a book or maybe work on suttas together?

i'm not sure how it would work.

its just an idea... but i could be fun and helpful...
สัพเพ สัตตา สุขีตา โหนตุ

the mountain may be heavy in and of itself, but if you're not trying to carry it it's not heavy to you- Ajaan Suwat
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bodom
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Re: book or sutta club??

Post by bodom »

jcsuperstar wrote:would you guys be interested in doing one? we could read a book or maybe work on suttas together?

i'm not sure how it would work.

its just an idea... but i could be fun and helpful...
Im down.

:namaste:
Liberation is the inevitable fruit of the path and is bound to blossom forth when there is steady and persistent practice. The only requirements for reaching the final goal are two: to start and to continue. If these requirements are met there is no doubt the goal will be attained. This is the Dhamma, the undeviating law.

- BB
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jcsuperstar
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Re: book or sutta club??

Post by jcsuperstar »

you know what we could do is like a sutta week or two weeks, and since everyone here is obviously on the internet, that means we all have access to A2I at least.

we could ask Dhammanando to lead it. maybe he knows some sutta learning scheme or what not so we'd have an order to do them in. also he could help with pali terms.

also we could come up with some blank questions for each sutta such as "how does this discourse relate to meditation practice?" or "how does this discourse offer us guidence in our modern lives?" or whatever.. i dont know i've never done something like this before...

but i think a study group like this would be something different from other web boards.
สัพเพ สัตตา สุขีตา โหนตุ

the mountain may be heavy in and of itself, but if you're not trying to carry it it's not heavy to you- Ajaan Suwat
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bodom
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Re: book or sutta club??

Post by bodom »

The Path to Freedom
A Self-guided Tour of the Buddha's Teachings

http://www.accesstoinsight.org/ptf/index.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Maybe we could go through something like this for starters? Or maybe if enough people own In the Buddhas Words by Bhikkhu Bodhi we could do that? Any and all ideas welcome. The possibilities are endless lol.

:namaste:
Liberation is the inevitable fruit of the path and is bound to blossom forth when there is steady and persistent practice. The only requirements for reaching the final goal are two: to start and to continue. If these requirements are met there is no doubt the goal will be attained. This is the Dhamma, the undeviating law.

- BB
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Nicholas Weeks
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Re: book or sutta club??

Post by Nicholas Weeks »

One is already going on here:

http://www.dhammawheel.com/viewtopic.ph ... p=153#p153" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Good and evil have no fixed form. It's as easy to turn from doing bad to doing good as it is to flip over the hand from the back to the palm. It's simply up to us to do it. Master Hsuan Hua.
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Ceisiwr
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Re: book or sutta club??

Post by Ceisiwr »

Id be up for that, really gd idea :twothumbsup:
“The teacher willed that this world appear to me
as impermanent, unstable, insubstantial.
Mind, let me leap into the victor’s teaching,
carry me over the great flood, so hard to pass.”
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Cittasanto
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Re: book or sutta club??

Post by Cittasanto »

I'm in!

Maybe a new section on the General board for different threads
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He who knows only his own side of the case knows little of that. His reasons may be good, and no one may have been able to refute them.
But if he is equally unable to refute the reasons on the opposite side, if he does not so much as know what they are, he has no ground for preferring either opinion …
...
He must be able to hear them from persons who actually believe them … he must know them in their most plausible and persuasive form.
John Stuart Mill
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Ben
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Re: book or sutta club??

Post by Ben »

Hi all
Another suggestion would be Bhikkhu Bodhi's lecture series which is available at the Bodhi Monastery site. The lectures are available as free downloads (mp3) and most of the suttas are in 'In the Buddha's Words' and all are in Bodhi's translation of the Majjhima Nikaya.
Metta

Ben
“No lists of things to be done. The day providential to itself. The hour. There is no later. This is later. All things of grace and beauty such that one holds them to one's heart have a common provenance in pain. Their birth in grief and ashes.”
- Cormac McCarthy, The Road

Learn this from the waters:
in mountain clefts and chasms,
loud gush the streamlets,
but great rivers flow silently.
- Sutta Nipata 3.725

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jcsuperstar
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Re: book or sutta club??

Post by jcsuperstar »

it can be our own little dhamma discussion group.
สัพเพ สัตตา สุขีตา โหนตุ

the mountain may be heavy in and of itself, but if you're not trying to carry it it's not heavy to you- Ajaan Suwat
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Ceisiwr
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Re: book or sutta club??

Post by Ceisiwr »

I think it would be good to study the suttas and also study different teachers interpretations of those suttas.

When should we start this up?
“The teacher willed that this world appear to me
as impermanent, unstable, insubstantial.
Mind, let me leap into the victor’s teaching,
carry me over the great flood, so hard to pass.”
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retrofuturist
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Re: book or sutta club??

Post by retrofuturist »

Greetings,

If there's anything I can do from an admin perspective to help facilitate this, please let me know.

Metta,
Retro. :)
"Whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things."
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Cittasanto
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Re: book or sutta club??

Post by Cittasanto »

Hi Retro I think a section for threads on Books may help with that one but not for the Suttas as it already has one sort of!
retrofuturist wrote:Greetings,

If there's anything I can do from an admin perspective to help facilitate this, please let me know.

Metta,
Retro. :)
Blog, Suttas, Aj Chah, Facebook.

He who knows only his own side of the case knows little of that. His reasons may be good, and no one may have been able to refute them.
But if he is equally unable to refute the reasons on the opposite side, if he does not so much as know what they are, he has no ground for preferring either opinion …
...
He must be able to hear them from persons who actually believe them … he must know them in their most plausible and persuasive form.
John Stuart Mill
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Cittasanto
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Re: book or sutta club??

Post by Cittasanto »

actually just had a look at the board how about in the clasical section having a sutta discussion link and in the modern having a book discussion link? as I think the other sections are more general discussion related to a wider ranging field than book reviews, or Sutta discussions
Blog, Suttas, Aj Chah, Facebook.

He who knows only his own side of the case knows little of that. His reasons may be good, and no one may have been able to refute them.
But if he is equally unable to refute the reasons on the opposite side, if he does not so much as know what they are, he has no ground for preferring either opinion …
...
He must be able to hear them from persons who actually believe them … he must know them in their most plausible and persuasive form.
John Stuart Mill
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retrofuturist
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Re: book or sutta club??

Post by retrofuturist »

Greetings Manapa, all,

If you have a look through the General and Classical folders, you'll see quite a few of the topics are already focused around a single sutta or a single text.

What would need to be worked out then, is how is this proposition different to that which exists already throughout the forum? I get the impression that it would need to have an established "Program of Study" in the form of schedule or timetable and that topics should be closed once we move onto the next topic, in order to keep the group focused on the current topic.

Therefore it seems like a "Study Group" forum would be required, with a couple of pinned threads... one with the schedule and the guidelines for the study group, and another where people can suggest texts for study.

The Study Group would also require a 'leader' to determine the study program and kick off discussions.

Just some thoughts to help get you started. Once you've worked out an approprach, we can build you an appropriately structured electro-vihara to match. :reading:

Metta,
Retro. :)
"Whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things."
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Cittasanto
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Re: book or sutta club??

Post by Cittasanto »

OK my idea sucks in comparison Retro but I have a couple of links to study of MN and another more general study course sylabus if those would be useful, but maybe Dhammanando knows of a more all encompassing syllabus or the use of in the buddhas words as a guide?
retrofuturist wrote:Greetings Manapa, all,

If you have a look through the General and Classical folders, you'll see quite a few of the topics are already focused around a single sutta or a single text.

What would need to be worked out then, is how is this proposition different to that which exists already throughout the forum? I get the impression that it would need to have an established "Program of Study" in the form of schedule or timetable and that topics should be closed once we move onto the next topic, in order to keep the group focused on the current topic.

Therefore it seems like a "Study Group" forum would be required, with a couple of pinned threads... one with the schedule and the guidelines for the study group, and another where people can suggest texts for study.

The Study Group would also require a 'leader' to determine the study program and kick off discussions.

Just some thoughts to help get you started. Once you've worked out an approprach, we can build you an appropriately structured electro-vihara to match. :reading:

Metta,
Retro. :)
Blog, Suttas, Aj Chah, Facebook.

He who knows only his own side of the case knows little of that. His reasons may be good, and no one may have been able to refute them.
But if he is equally unable to refute the reasons on the opposite side, if he does not so much as know what they are, he has no ground for preferring either opinion …
...
He must be able to hear them from persons who actually believe them … he must know them in their most plausible and persuasive form.
John Stuart Mill
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