Simple|Suttas Podcast

A final set of short verses from the Theragatha. Each of these tiny poems is just a little inspiring gem. Consider printing them out and posting them around the house or office as just a reminder of how beautiful deep practice can be. My body is light! Filled with intense bliss and happiness, Like cotton … Continue reading More Verses from the Theragatha

These verses give an all too human side to monks that learn at the foot of the Buddha. One cautions against laziness, another deals with the biggest hindrance to anyone meditating outside in the jungle (mosquitoes!), still another are the words of a monk speaking to a disappointed mother. One who is a lazy glutton, … Continue reading Verses from the Theragatha

Another collection of short poems from the Theragatha. Each of these little poems is in a series and all are connected to rain. As spring approaches, it seemed like the right image to have in mind. My little hut is safe and homey, Protected from the storm. So rain all you want, sky. Mind mind … Continue reading Rain

What Liberation is NOT (podcast)

The Buddha looked on suicide as he looked on as doing harm to any living being. The living being just happens to be yourself! But the Buddha had great compassion for people who were in such suffering that they contemplated suicide. There are several stories where monks contemplate ending their life, and here is one. The … Continue reading Suicide

Fear and Anxiety

A Socialist Critique of Buddhism

There is a near universal human urge to confess to someone when we have done something wrong. And confession rarely fails to provide some solace. It is an altogether laudably feature of human nature. Not growing up Catholic, I always envied their practice of confession. What a potentially beautiful way to share you foibles and … Continue reading Confession Is Good for the Not-Soul

The Meghiya Sutta is one of my favorite little teachings. For one thing, it is an excellent introduction to Buddhist meditation straight from the lips of the Buddha himself. But it is also a very human portrait of a teaching and student. Once when the Buddha was living on the Calika Mountain, Meghiya was his … Continue reading Meghiya Sutta

Have you ever sat through a dhamma talk that just felt like it would not end. I remember for me many years ago I went to see a dhamma talk at a Sri Lankan monastery for a dhamma talk from a visiting monk. It turned out to be a very long, dry talk in Sinhalese. … Continue reading Boring Dhamma Talks

Smolins, Sarvastivadans, and the Space Time Loaf

When I started seriously reading the suttas, it was immediately clear that while individual suttas are perfect little pristine gems, the collections as a whole were a disorganized mess. After all, this was just a collection of people’s memorized put together in a fairly arbitrary order. There is no single place to learn about, say … Continue reading Vinyl Buddha

The Ninth Step of the Eightfold Path

Belief in Buddhism is a confusing thing. On the one hand, there are dozens of suttas saying that having fixed beliefs is a huge problem that the sage avoids by having no fixed views. Here is a quote form the Attavagga translated by Thanissaro Bhikkhu: Because entrenchments in views aren’t easily overcome when considering what’s … Continue reading Beliefs

Do you know the Buddha’s last words? Seems like something important for a Buddhist to know. The Buddha’s last words as recorded in the Mahāparinibbāna Sutta (DN 16) go like this: “Anda dāni, bhikkhave, āmantayāmi vo, vayadhammā saṅkhārā appamādena sampādethā.” Or according to Ānandajoti Bhikkhu: “Come now, monks, for I tell you all conditioned things … Continue reading The Buddha’s Last Words