Yellow Page Teachings - Ajahn Jayasāro

A discussion on all aspects of Theravāda Buddhism
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Mumfie
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Re: Yellow Page Teachings - Ajahn Jayasāro

Post by Mumfie »

Sam Vara wrote: Thu Apr 27, 2023 8:06 am I'm assuming Ajahn Jayasaro has split ehipassiko into two aspects, here.
I think he's using "invites verification" for ehipassiko and "verifiable" for sandiṭṭhiko. The latter is based on the commentarial gloss, sāmaṃ daṭṭhabboti sandiṭṭhiko, "It is to be seen for oneself, thus it is called sandiṭṭhiko."
Last edited by Mumfie on Thu Apr 27, 2023 2:57 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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ssasny
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Re: Yellow Page Teachings - Ajahn Jayasāro

Post by ssasny »

Yes, and related to the verb sandissati:

PED:
Sandissati [saŋ+dissati] to be seen together with, to be engaged in, or to tally, agree with

i.e. ‘I saw it for myself, with my very own eyes!’
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Sam Vara
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Re: Yellow Page Teachings - Ajahn Jayasāro

Post by Sam Vara »

Thank you to Mumfie and ssasny. :anjali: :heart:

Any ideas as to why he would change the ordering which we find in AN 6.47 and the Pali chanting in the itipi so?
ssasny
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Re: Yellow Page Teachings - Ajahn Jayasāro

Post by ssasny »

I have really no idea why the Venerable chose to present them in this order.

If I had to speculate, perhaps he thought that svākkhāto and akāliko could be grouped first as they don't involve a disciple's participation?
But this is just my idea.
In any case, all of the terms are worthy of deep contemplation, and can be very helpful in guiding our practice.
Joe.c
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Re: Yellow Page Teachings - Ajahn Jayasāro

Post by Joe.c »

Should have just look at these Sutta, instead someone just come up with more confusion :)

SN 35.70, AN 3.55, AN 6.47, AN 6.48, AN 5.34.

sandiṭṭhiko = Can be experienced/seen through your senses

Future Danger:
AN 5.79 wrote:..Furthermore, in a future time there will be mendicants who have not developed their physical endurance, ethics, mind, and wisdom. When discourses spoken by the Realized One—deep, profound, transcendent, dealing with emptiness—are being recited they won’t want to listen. They won’t pay attention or apply their minds to understand them, nor will they think those teachings are worth learning and memorizing.

But when discourses composed by poets—poetry, with fancy words and phrases, composed by outsiders or spoken by disciples—are being recited they will want to listen. They’ll pay attention and apply their minds to understand them, and they’ll think those teachings are worth learning and memorizing. And that is how corrupt training comes from corrupt teachings, and corrupt teachings come from corrupt training. This is the fourth future peril that has not currently arisen, but will arise in the future …
May you be relax, happy, comfortable and free of dukkhas from hearing true dhamma.
May you gain unshakable confidence in Buddha, Dhamma and (Ariya) Sangha.
Learn about Buddha/Dhamma Characters.
ssasny
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Re: Yellow Page Teachings - Ajahn Jayasāro

Post by ssasny »

I'm not sure if you're advocating for abstaining from Ven. Jayasāro's teachings and to only read the suttas,
but it should be said that many derive great benefit from listening to dhamma talks and the like.

Also note that by providing your own definitions you are actually producing your own commentary.
sequeller
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Re: Yellow Page Teachings - Ajahn Jayasāro

Post by sequeller »

It's hard to appreciate life without the recollection of death.
It's hard to use time wisely without the recollection of death.
It's hard to abandon indulgence in sensual pleasures without the recollection of death.
It's hard to prioritize wisely without the recollection of death.
It's hard to forgive others without the recollection of death.
It'a hard to maintain a consistent Dhamma practice without the recollection of death.
So let us recollect:
"Every single person ever born has already either died or will die in the years ahead. I, too, am surely going to die."
"My life is slipping away, little by little, without the slighest pause, like sand in a timer."
"My death may come at any time. I could die today. I have absolutely no guarantees that i will see tomorrow. Or even my next inhalation"
"So many illnesses could cause my death. This body is so fragile. Death is never far away."
Wealth, power, fame, respect and love - no wordly achievement can prevent my coming death.
Only Dhamma practice can be a refuge to me inthe face of my inevitable death.
Only by realizing liberation through practice of the Eightfold Path may i transcend death, and expirience the Deathless.

Ajahn Jayasāro
29/4/23
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sequeller
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Re: Yellow Page Teachings - Ajahn Jayasāro

Post by sequeller »

Hedonistic philosophies exalt sensual pleasure. Ascetic philosophies condemn it. Sensual pleasure tends to be seen as either a divine gift or a lure from the devil. Buddhism takes a middle path. It says that sensual pleasure - it's charm, it's limitations and drawbacks - should be understood.

In seeking to understand sensual pleasure, here are a few questions that we may ask:

What needs of the human heart can be satisfied by sensual pleasure ? Are there any needs that it cannot ? Why ?
How should we address the needs that sensual pleasure cannot satisfy ?
To what extent are our sensual pleasures addictive ? How mush power over us do they have ?
Have we ever acted unethically out of desire for sensual pleasure ?
Have we ever hurt others out of desire for sensual pleasure ?
How often have we found ourselves disappointed by sensual pleasure ?
How is sensual pleasure affected by expectation ? By repetition and familiarity ?
How do we feel when we are unable to experience a sensual pleasure that we desire ?
Is there a relationship between sensual pleasure and depression ? Or anxiety ?
How do we feel about future separation from sensual pleasure due to sickness, old age and death ?
What does being separated from sensual pleasure feel like ?

So many question. So many more. The principle is: The more clearly you see the wiser and more at peace you will be.

Ajahn Jayasāro
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sequeller
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Re: Yellow Page Teachings - Ajahn Jayasāro

Post by sequeller »

It may seem as if there is a continual flow of thought in our minds throughout the day, but is that really the case ? Are there no gaps at all ? Have a look. It's my contention that, in fact, there are many gaps, but we habitually overlook them. Why ? These small mundane silences of the mind are not interesting enough to draw our attention: they're always the same, they relate to nothing outside of themselves. And so we tend to rush on to the next memory, plan, judgement, fantasy, daydream.

But if these small gaps in the inner noise are made an object of mindfulness, they start to increase and lengthen. The awareness of all the stuff in the mind - all the content, useful and junk - changes. We see more clearly how mental phenomena are simply events. They arise and pass away. We don't identify with them so much because we see them in a new context. We become more free.

In one of my favourite Ajahn Chah teachings, he said that it's not necessary to fight with thoughts. That would be like walking in a straight line down a busy street and trying to push aside everyone in your way. He said it makes more sense to walk between oncoming pedestrians. In the same way we navigate our way between the thoughts in our mind by moving through the gaps between them.

Ajahn Jayasāro
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sequeller
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Re: Yellow Page Teachings - Ajahn Jayasāro

Post by sequeller »

In Buddhism we talk about two kinds of truth. The first kind is the truth that Ajahn Chah liked to call "liberation truth". It is the truth known as a direct non-verbal experience by the mind that is liberated - temporarily or permanently - from defilement. It is timeless, universal truth.

The second kind of truth is called "truth through agreement". This kind of truth is time-bound, contingent. Statements of truths through agreement might include: "My name is Ajahn Jayasaro. I am a Buddhist monk. I live in Thailand."

Agreed truths are flimsy and without essence. Nevertheless, much of the incredible material progress humanity has achieved is due to our ability to create "truths through agreement". The financial system is an obvious example. At the same time, though, certain dangers have appeared:

1. Attaching to conditional truths as if they were ultimately true has often led humans into dark and destructive paths.

2. Seeking to destroy agreed truths out of a blind belief that doing so will lead to freedom or authenticity, has often led to anarchy and ceding power to defilement.

In the Buddha's Middle Way we seek to understand "truths through agreement" as simply that. No more, no less. Wherever and whenever appropriate we uphold agreed truths that do not conflict with liberation truths. We use them as tools for living.

Ajahn Jayasāro
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sequeller
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Re: Yellow Page Teachings - Ajahn Jayasāro

Post by sequeller »

To "humblebrag", i learned recently, is to speak in a modest or self-deprecating manner with the intention to boast. For example: "trekking through remote mountain ranges to raise funds for charity gets harder every year. I must be getting old."

Humility has always been one of the easiest virtues to fake: it's not very difficult at all to cloak feelings of superiority with actions and words signalling inferiority. It is far harder, for example, to conceal anger in loving words, hatred in expressions of compassion or confusion in wise words. It can be done - you are perhaps thinking of a certain family member right now - but not convincingly to anyone with discernment.

So, extracted from the actions and words that a culture agrees to be indicative of a humble mind, what exactly is humility ? To me, it is caring for the truth: never being dogmatic about anything you don't know as a direct experience. It means taking nothing and nobody - especially yourself - for granted.

Ajahn Jayasāro
13/5/23
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sequeller
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Re: Yellow Page Teachings - Ajahn Jayasāro

Post by sequeller »

Nimittas are mind-made phenomena that meditators perceive as forms, sounds, odours, tastes or touches. They often appear in meditation as the five hindrances are abandoned. Unsurprisingly, given how the visual and auditory senses dominate human consciousness, visual nimittas are by far the most common, followed by auditory. In almost all cases, the wisest practice with regard to this phenomena is equanimity. The meditator recognizes the nimitta as simply a nimitta, puts it down, and returns to the meditation object.

On encountering a nimitta meditators must avoid the traps of fascination, doubt and fear. Fascination can be a strong temptation. It must be borne in mind that fascination with a vision of a heaven realm is every bit of an obstruction to progress in meditation as fascination with a vision of ice cream and chocolate. It's the fascination itself that is the problem.

Some nimittas can be useful, particularly those featuring the human body. These can be employed as a vehicle for developing asubha meditation, or else for investigating the three characteristics.

The most important nimitta is the "samadhi nimitta": a characteristic sign - most often composed of light - that precedes entry into deep samādhi. Focusing on this nimitta can make it a door into samādhi. For advanced practitioners it may even become a short-cut.

Ajahn Jayasāro
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sequeller
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Re: Yellow Page Teachings - Ajahn Jayasāro

Post by sequeller »

During the Tang Dynasty, a certain court official asked the Zen master, Niao Ke Dao Lin, to summarise the Dhamma. The master replied by quoting the famous Ovāda Pātimokkha verse: "Abandon all that is unwholesome. Cultivate all that is wholesome. Purify your mind. This is the teaching of all the Buddhas." The court official was unimpressed. it seemed to him a disappointingly mundane answer. The master responded by saying that although a small child might be familiar with this summary, even an old man of great experience finds it difficult to practise.

The most profound teaching is not the most complex. The most profound teaching is the one that has the most transformative effect on our lives. It is for this reason that Niao Ke Dao Lin chose these three practices for his summary. To use a modern idiom, they are not rocket science. They are far more than that. Nothing in this human realm could be more challenging than abandoning the unwholesome, cultivating the wholesome and purifying the mind. Nothing could be more fulfilling. It seems highly likely that, before too long, human involvement in rocket science will be usurped by AI. But the practise and realization of Dhamma will only ever be possible for this mysterious human mind.

Ajahn Jayasāro
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sequeller
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Re: Yellow Page Teachings - Ajahn Jayasāro

Post by sequeller »

In Dhamma practice it is vital to learn how to recognize kilesa as kilesa. But what exactly is "kilesa" ? The most common English translation is 'defilement'. The Merriam Webster website explains that synonyms of the verb "defile" include "contaminate, pollute and taint". While all these words mean "to make impure or unclean" defile implies befouling of what could or should have been kept clean and pure or held sacred and commonly suggest violation or desecration".

Other accepted translations of kilesa are negative, afflictive or toxic mental states.

Recognizing kilesa as kilesa does not just mean recognizing a mental state as being included in the list of kilesas. An intellectual understanding is a good start, but nothing more. We have to feel how the mental state is defiling the mind, how it is sullying it, afflicting it, turning it toxic.

It is here that meditation is so important. Through stabilizing mindfulness to the level of samadhi, we gain access to a mind temporarily released from kilesas. Doing so gives us a new perspective. Without samadhi, trying to understand kilesa is like trying to understand what "dirty" means without ever having seen anything truly clean.

Ajahn Jayasāro
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sequeller
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Re: Yellow Page Teachings - Ajahn Jayasāro

Post by sequeller »

In the "Four Paths to Success" the Buddha made clear that the indispensable first step in any endeavour, worldly or spiritual, is establishing and sustaining correct motivation. Often, when its time for formal meditation, our interest and enthusiasm is there from the start. But that's not always the case. Sometimes, even though meditation means a lot to us, and we're deeply committed to it, we can feel a deep resistance to practice. There is an almost physical reluctance, a compelling urge to do something - anything at all - rather than sit down and meditate. The meditation object seems insipid and unappealing. Meditation suddenly appears as a dull, dreary and frustrating waste of time. Without mindfulness, we dwell an these perceptions until we feel justified in doing something else.

Defilements don't wait until we're ready for them before appearing. If they can stop us from meditating altogether, so much the better. We need to be vigilant.

So, be patient. Sit down in a relaxed posture for a few minutes and reflect on your values, goals and aspirations. Consider the integral role meditation plays in allowing you to realize those goals. Think about all the drawbacks of an untrained mind. With wise reflections like these, chanda, correct motivation, will arise in the mind, and the meditation may begin.

Please don't begrudge spending a few minutes on setting your mind up correctly at the beginning of a meditation. It will bear much fruit further down the line.

Ajahn Jayasāro
27/5/23
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