Search found 105 matches

by Jeff_
Tue Jan 04, 2022 8:03 am
Forum: General Theravāda discussion
Topic: Constant change
Replies: 89
Views: 2746

Re: Constant change

And the remedy might be to try to see your clinging as being based upon another mental "template". You think that sunsets are better than whatever is coming next, but that's just your view. Owls and other nocturnal creatures beg to differ! We are running programmes in our head about the f...
by Jeff_
Tue Dec 07, 2021 9:57 am
Forum: General Theravāda discussion
Topic: Question wrt the Buddha telling Potthapada "...such a life is blissful."
Replies: 3
Views: 286

Re: Question wrt the Buddha telling Potthapada "...such a life is blissful."

This is where I get confused - he mentions that, at this point, Potthapada may believe that abiding in this state is still "dukkha." In Pali: dukkho ca kho vihāro’ti Poṭṭhapāda may have difficulty imagining a happiness that doesn’t involve any of the three kinds of appropriation of a self...
by Jeff_
Wed Nov 24, 2021 2:46 am
Forum: General Theravāda discussion
Topic: How do you hold yourself accountable?
Replies: 33
Views: 1484

Re: How do you hold yourself accountable?

Just a note, and this goes for some other posters as well: don't get me wrong, please, this thread is not necessarily about me and my spiritual hurdles...It's about the lack of accountability (particularly in the lives of some rogue Buddhists, with no real life sangha and maybe no spiritual-minded ...
by Jeff_
Sun Nov 21, 2021 9:17 pm
Forum: General Theravāda discussion
Topic: How do you hold yourself accountable?
Replies: 33
Views: 1484

Re: How do you hold yourself accountable?

Accountability is perhaps not the best framework imo. Nobody hired you to practice, and kamma will hold you accountable without you having to do anything special. You are only accountable to your own desire for happiness. In pursuing that desire, which is what we are all doing, kamma is the one thin...
by Jeff_
Thu Oct 07, 2021 11:50 pm
Forum: General Theravāda discussion
Topic: Is anatta the highest attainment?
Replies: 94
Views: 3712

Re: Is anatta the highest attainment?

It is common, not uncommon that anatta is believed to be the highest attainment in the Buddha's teachings... "It’s like climbing the stairs up to our house: the first step, the second step, all the way up to the last step of the stairs. Then we step into the house. Once you’re in the house, th...
by Jeff_
Sun Sep 26, 2021 3:02 pm
Forum: General Theravāda discussion
Topic: Overindulgence in Dhamma Talks
Replies: 11
Views: 619

Re: Overindulgence in Dhamma Talks

I've found that listening to talks from pretty blunt no-nonsense teachers like Thanissaro Bhikku and Luang Por Chah helps in keeping me motivated to practice. Any other thoughts about this or personal experiences? Most of Ajahn Thanissaro's talks, as you may know, are given at the start of the even...
by Jeff_
Wed Sep 01, 2021 11:47 pm
Forum: General Theravāda discussion
Topic: Emotional/mental toughness
Replies: 16
Views: 920

Re: Emotional/mental toughness

What are some good suttas to read and contemplate that help with killing mental and emotional weakness? I am trying to get over a breakup but still have strong feelings for the person. This is more of a "broad picture" sutta than a specific antidote to what you're describing, but maybe yo...
by Jeff_
Wed Sep 01, 2021 12:03 pm
Forum: General Theravāda discussion
Topic: Buddhist insight vs ordinary experience
Replies: 119
Views: 4066

Re: Buddhist insight vs ordinary experience

In my view, the difference between attachments to worldly conditions/pursuits and the path are not structural. The path itself has its ups and downs with possibly no end game except through faith. People do have faith in their worldly pursuits where failure in certain aspects is not the end of the ...
by Jeff_
Tue Aug 31, 2021 9:38 pm
Forum: General Theravāda discussion
Topic: Is it bad Kamma if I tell a lie to a tree?
Replies: 27
Views: 1104

Re: Is it bad Kamma if I tell a lie to a tree?

SarathW wrote: Tue Aug 31, 2021 2:20 am Is it bad Kamma if I tell a lie to a tree
It wouldn't destroy your sila, but might sap it.
by Jeff_
Tue Aug 31, 2021 8:46 pm
Forum: General Theravāda discussion
Topic: Buddhist insight vs ordinary experience
Replies: 119
Views: 4066

Re: Buddhist insight vs ordinary experience

I'm having trouble understanding this. Do you mean to say, why is it OK to welcome insight and rebel against that which isn't insight, when this welcoming and rebelling are said to lead to suffering when done in other contexts (gain/loss, etc)? Yes, apart from calling it "insight", the di...
by Jeff_
Tue Aug 31, 2021 8:47 am
Forum: General Theravāda discussion
Topic: Buddhist insight vs ordinary experience
Replies: 119
Views: 4066

Re: Buddhist insight vs ordinary experience

It seems you want to know what makes Buddhist insight special, but you put aside both the content of the insight and the effect it has on the one who experiences it. I’m not sure I see the utility in that line of thinking. A verbal description of the insight and the effect it has on the one who exp...
by Jeff_
Tue Aug 31, 2021 7:25 am
Forum: General Theravāda discussion
Topic: Buddhist insight vs ordinary experience
Replies: 119
Views: 4066

Re: Buddhist insight vs ordinary experience

Insight is also described as difficult to see and goes against the grain of the world. It is difficult to see deeply enough to bring about lasting change. That’s part of what concentration is for. It does go against the grain of the world — the world “delights in attachment” and insight leads to le...
by Jeff_
Sun Aug 29, 2021 6:57 pm
Forum: General Theravāda discussion
Topic: Buddhist insight vs ordinary experience
Replies: 119
Views: 4066

Re: Buddhist insight vs ordinary experience

There is a lot of disagreement about all kinds of concepts and teachings both inside and outside of Buddhism. They are due to a many factors, but the disagreements do not invalidate the importance of some of these concepts and teachings. Perhaps they even underscore it. The disagreement does not in...
by Jeff_
Sun Aug 15, 2021 1:29 pm
Forum: General Theravāda discussion
Topic: The underlying meaning of the five precepts
Replies: 79
Views: 3169

Re: The underlying meaning of the five precepts

Have you encountered any work that approaches the precepts as the relationship between the following concepts: Life, money, sex, truth and mind? Not Theravāda, but Thich Nhat Hanh’s reformulation of the precepts as the five mindfulness trainings is the closest I can think of. There is a condensed v...
by Jeff_
Mon Aug 09, 2021 8:48 am
Forum: General Theravāda discussion
Topic: i am struggling with lust...
Replies: 49
Views: 3180

Re: i am struggling with lust...

bpallister wrote: Sat Aug 07, 2021 11:20 pm ...
It’s possible you might benefit from reading the Saññoga Sutta (Bondage - AN 7:48).