Journey on the Middle Path

Former abbot of Wat Sampran, Phra Pawana Puttho, stays jailed for rape

2009-05-08T12:59:00.004+07:00

The wheels of justice grind slow, especially here in Thailand, and even more so when the case is uncomfortable for the Thai Sangha and the government.

The famous abbot Phra Pawana Puttho was arrested in 1995 under charges theat he molested nine girls living on the premises of Nakhon Pathom's Wat Sampran.
Now the Thai Supreme Court upheld a previous ruling that the monk will have to sit through a 50 year prison term.

At least the Thai Sangha has reacted much faster and the abbot was defrocked according to the Vinaya and Patimokkha rules.
The Patimokkha is the basic Theravada code of monastic discipline, consisting of 227 rules for fully ordained monks (bhikkhus) and 311 for nuns (bhikkhunis). They are contained in the Suttavibhanga, a division of the Vinaya Pitaka.
In this case the abbott clearly suffered a Parajika (defeat) for sexual intercourse with another living being, which means that is automatically 'defeated' in the holy life and falls from monkhood immediately. He is not allowed to become a monk again in his lifetime.

From The Nation:

"The Supreme Court Thursday upheld the lower court's ruling handing a 50year imprisonment term to a former Buddhist abbot of Nakhon Pathom's Wat Sampran, on charges of raping and molesting nine hilltribe girls under the age of 15.
Chamlong Polseu, 65, once a popular spiritual leader known by his clerical name Phra Pawana Phuttho, was sentenced to 160 years in prison for raping and molesting underage girls, reduced to 50 years due to Thai legal limits.
Charged with the crimes dating back to 1988, the meditation guru was arrested in 1995 after hilltribe girls housed in a dormitory he had built in the temple came forward with the accusations, which led to him to being defrocked. Six female followers were given prison sentences from three to 10 years for conspiring with Chamlong."

Wat Sampran is located between Nakhon Pathom and Bankok:
T. Sampran, A. Sampran. Ch. Nakornpathom 73110, Thailand

Sources:
- The Nation
- The Irrawaddy
- Description of Patimokkha

The Buddha's sermons on Google Maps

2009-05-07T11:04:00.004+07:00

I have started researching important places the Buddha visited in his lifetime to spread the Dhamma. I will post results as soon as this work is completed.

For now, sources I am using:

Buddhism by Numbers

2009-05-05T09:01:00.002+07:00

The Group of Ones
The Group of Twos
The Group of Threes
The Group of Fours
The Group of Fives
The Group of Six
The Group of Sevens
The Group of Eights
The Group of Nine
The Group of Ten

The Group of Ones
1. The uncultivated mind conduces to great loss.
2. The cultivated mind conduces to great profit.
3. Carelessness conduces to great loss.
4. Carefulness conduces to great benefit.
5. Improper consideration conduces to great loss.
6. Proper consideration conduces to great benefit.

The Group of Twos
1. The Two Virtues being of much help
1. Mindfulness (Sati)
2. Self-possession (Sampajanna)
2. The Two Virtues protecting the world
1. Moral shame (Hiri)
2. Moral fear (Ottapa)
3. The Two Virtues making resplendent
1. Patience (Khanti)
2. Gentleness (Soracca)
4. The Two Virtues conducive to excellence
1. Good (Appropriate) knowledge (Vijja)
2. Good (Appropriate) conduct (Carana)
5. The Virtues leading to the cessation of suffering
1. Mental tranquillity (Samatha)
2. Spiritual insight (Vipassana)
6. The Two Virtues are reckoned as the cessation of suffering
1. Knowledge (Vijja)
2. Release (Vimutti)
7. The Two Virtues for a good person
1. Gratitude (Kalannuta)
2. Reciprocating the benefit rendered (Katavedita)

The Group of Threes
1. The Triple Gem
1. The Enlightened One (Buddha)
2. The Law or Truth realized and taught by the Buddha. (Dhamma)
3. The Community of the noble disciples (Sangha)
2. The Threefold Buddhist Principle
1. Abstinence from all evil
2. Fulfillment of good
3. Purification of one's own mind
3. The Triple Training in
1. Morality (Silasikkha)
2. Mind (Cittasikkha)
3. Wisdom (Pannasikkha)
4. The Triple Base of Merit Making
1. Generosity (Dana)
2. Morality (Sila)
3. Development of meditation (Bhavana)
5. The Triple Right Conduct
1. Physical Right Conduct (Kaya sucarita)
2. Verbal Right Conduct (Vaca sucarita)
3. Mental Right Conduct (Mano sucarita)
(See Ten Kinds of the Path of Meritorious Action)

The Group of Fours
1. The Four Noble Truths
1. Suffering
2. The Cause of Suffering
3. The Cessation of Suffering
4. The Way Leading to the Cessation of Suffering
2. The Four Mental Principles
1. Wisdom (Panna)
2. Truthfulness (Sacca)
3. Abandonment of evil and selfishness (Caga)
4. Appeasement (Upasama)
3. The Four Bases of Success
1. Appreciation (Chanda)
2. Effort (Viriya)
3. Attention (Citta)
4. Investigation (Vimamsa)
4. The Four Divine States of Mind
1. Loving-kindness (Metta)
2. Compassion (Karuna)
3. Sympathetic joy over others' achievement (Mudita)
4. Equanimity (Upekkha)
5. The Four Virtues Conducive to Social Welfare
1. Generosity (Dana)
2. Kind Speech (Piyavaca)
3. Benevolence (Atthacaritya)
4. Adaptability (Samanattata)
6. The Fourfold Right Effort
1. Effort to restrain from evil
2. Effort to abandon evil
3. Effort to develop good
4. Effort to maintain good

The Group of Fives
1. The Fivefold Virtue for self-confidence
1. Faith
2. Morality
3. Knowledge
4. Perseverance
5. Wisdom
2. The Fivefold Power
1. Faith
2. Effort
3. Mindfulness
4. Concentration
5. Wisdom
3. The Fivefold Noble Prosperity
1. Faith
2. Morality
3. Knowledge
4. Generosity
5. Wisdom
4. The Five Precepts (in pair with the Five Virtues)
1. To refrain from killing
2. To refrain from stealing
3. To refrain from sexual misconduct
4. To refrain from lying
5. To refrain from intoxicants
5. The Five Virtues (in pair with the Five Precepts)
1. Loving-kindness and compassion
2. Right means of livelihood
3. Sensual restraint
4. Right speech
5. Mindfulness or self-control

The Group of Six
The Sixfold Virtue for harmony and concord
1. Extending loving-kindness through physical action
2. Extending loving-kindness through words
3. Cultivating thoughts of loving-kindness
4. Having generosity
5. Maintaining discipline in common with others
6. Sharing right view with others

The Group of Sevens
1. The Seven Sublime Virtues
1. To know cause
2. To know result
3. To know oneself
4. To know moderation
5. To know appropriate time
6. To know society
7. To know individuals
2. Another set of Seven Sublime Virtues
1. Faith
2. Moral shame
3. Moral fear
4. Knowledge
5. Effort
6. Mindfulness
7. Wisdom
3. The Sevenfold Noble Wealth
1. Faith
2. Morality
3. Moral shame
4. Moral fear
5. Knowledge
6. Generosity
7. Wisdom
4. The Sevenfold Mode of Regular Practice (appropriate for the leaders)
1. Taking care of parents
2. Being respectful to elders in the family
3. Speaking kind and friendly words
4. Refraining from divisive speech
5. Doing away with niggardliness
6. Being truthful
7. Controlling anger

The Group of Eights
1. The Eight Worldly Phenomena to be aware of
1. Gain
2. Loss
3. Fame
4. Ignominy
5. Praise
6. Slander
7. Happiness
8. Suffering
2. The Noble Eightfold Path
1. Right View
2. Right Motives
3. Right Speech
4. Right Action
5. Right Means of Livelihood
6. Right Effort
7. Right Mindfulness
8. Right Concentration
These virtues can be summarized into three headings, otherwise known as the Threefold training, that is to say, Right View and Right Motives into Wisdom, Right Speech, Right Action and Right Means of Livelihood into Morality, while Right Effort, Right Mindfulness and Right Concentration into Meditation.

The Group of Nine
The Ninefold Excellence of the Buddha
1. Being far from defilement
2. Being fully Enlightened
3. Being fully endowed with knowledge and conduct
4. Faring forth for the benefit of the world
5. Being the knower of the world
6. Being the peerless trainer of those to be trained
7. Being the instructor of gods and human beings
8. Being the Enlightened One
9. Being the Fortunate One

The Group of Ten
The Ten Wholesome Actions
1. Refraining from killing
2. Refraining from stealing
3. Refraining from sexual misconduct
4. Refraining from lying
5. Refraining from divisive speech
6. Refraining from harsh words
7. Refraining from frivolous talk
8. Subduing greed
9. Subduing hatred
10. Subduing delusion
Out of the Ten Wholesome Actions, items no. 1 - 2 - 3 are classified as Physical Good Conduct, no. 4 - 5 - 6 - 7 as Verbal Good Conduct, and no. 8 - 9 - 10 as Mental Good Conduct. The Ten Wholesome Actions are, therefore, the Triple Good Conduct: Physical, Verbal, and Mental.

The original of this list can be found here.

How to bow correctly: Patitthitapanca

2009-05-03T20:47:00.006+07:00

In the Theravadan tradition of Buddhism, there is typically a form of prostration used that is known as five-point veneration (Pali: patitthitapanca) or five-limbed prostration (Pali: pañc'anga-vandana) where the two palms and elbows, two sets of toes and knees, and the forehead are placed on the floor.
In contrast to prostrations in the Tibetan tradition, the prostration does not start while standing, but from an already kneeling position.

The complete movement is done as fluidly and gracefully as possible. As an act of humility it is an offering which is made as beautiful as one can. When bending forward this is done from the hips, not the knees, to avoid the tendency for the backside to stick up in the air - not very elegant.

Begin by kneeling, facing towards what you are bowing to.
The usual posture is to rest on the heels with the toes 'pointing' - as opposed to laying flat on the floor.

Raise the hands in the gesture of the Wai.
The hands form the shape of a lotus bud - a potent image in itself, rich with symbolism. The interlocking ten fingers represent the ten Paramittas - the virtues.

The hands can then be raised to the forehead - either directly or in three stages: first to the heart center, then the lips then the forehead.
This three-fold gesture can be seen as bowing with body, speech and mind, the three 'doors' of action in the world.
The hands and head are then lowered toward the floor. There should be a clear awareness of what one is bowing to.
When bowing before a sacred object such as a Buddha statue, one usually bows three times, recalling with the first bow the Buddha, then the Dhamma and then the Sangha. As part of ones daily practice, one typically prostrates before and after chanting and meditation.

The final position has five-points of the body in contact with the ground - the toes, knees, elbows, hands and fore-head.

In Thailand, traditionally, each of the three aforementioned prostrations are accompanied by the following Pali verses:

First Prostration:
Araham samma-sambuddho bhagava Buddham bhagavantam abhivademi.
The Noble One, the fully Enlightened One, the Exalted One, I bow low before the Exalted Buddha.

Second Prostration:
Svakkhato bhagavata dhammo Dhammam namassami.
The Exalted One's well-expounded Dhamma I bow low before the Dhamma.

Third Prostration:
Supatipanno bhagavato savakasangho sangham namami.
The Exalted One's Sangha of well-practiced disciples I bow low before the Sangha.

Understanding Impermanence (Anicca)

2009-05-02T08:51:00.001+07:00

My readings on Anicca and death have led me to the following very concise paragraph, found here:

The word Anicca means impermanence. Another word often jointly used by the Buddha is "viparinamadhammo "-- meaning "the nature of change." Impermanence or change is a fundamental concept in Buddhism. Without a realization of it there can never be any rather true insight through which we can see things as they really are.

The Buddha teaches that we can only understand Dukkha and Anatta through an understanding of Anicca. The Buddha however has chosen Dukkha as the central point of a realization of the truth. This choice is a very skillful method of explaining the realities of life.

It is the knowledge of Anicca, impermanence, that heals Dukkha, suffering. By understanding Anicca, we come to understand that there is no permanent entity underlying our life (Anatta).

A lack of this right understanding will certainly result in finding oneself in the wild jungle of perverted perception, polluted thought and tainted view (Sanna, citta, ditthivipallasa). A failure to comprehend this truth, Anicca, will also leave one unprotected from the false notion of self or soul which dangerously underlies any wrong view.

Right Death and Dying

2009-05-01T09:39:00.004+07:00

In keeping with the spirit of the Buddha's Noble Eightfold Path, I would like to respectfully consider the principle of "Right Dying".
In recent years a great deal has been written about what might be called "the ecology of death and dying": numerous articles and books are available to inform us about the physical, psychological and social care of people facing death from terminal disease. All of this is surely welcomed.
But what the Western world has lost, and now so desperately needs, is a spiritual guidebook on the art of dying. It is time to re-discover the principle of "Right Dying".
more...

This is how an article about Right Death starts on Know Buddhism, which works to investigate and apply eastern thoughts into our modern lives. I gives interesting reading for those who are sick, worry to die one day or had a recent loss like me.

Correct Pali fonts display and Firefox 3.5?

2009-04-30T09:54:00.009+07:00

There are a good number of Pali font resources out there allowing Pali to displayed with diacritics and all -- but the problem for online resources always has been that the user must have the specific font that was used installed on his computer.

All this might be about to change, at least for Firefox users: the upcoming Firefox 3.5 has functionality with which websites can make fonts automatically downloadable and so display text correctly even if the font is unknown to the user. Firefox 3.5 is currently in beta.

More on downloadable fonts from mozilla.org with coding examples:

@font-face provides an @rule to specify a web font that needs to be downloaded to render the web page as expected by the page author.
[...]
When rendering a page using downloaded fonts, Firefox first renders using available fonts, then updates the display as downloadable fonts are retrieved. This allows the content to render quickly and refresh to match the intended look over time.

There is a long list of Pali fonts at the Association for Insight Meditation. and a longer resource with keyboard layouts at SanskritWeb.

URW Palladio SKT (Font for Sanskrit, Vedic, Pali, Tamil) includes all diacritics for Classical and Vedic Sanskrit in both lowercase and uppercase. In addition, it includes all intonational accented vowels for Vedic Sanskrit in lowercase and additional vowel diacritics for Pali.

So far I have not been successful in making it actually work, as the changed unicode characters seem to display still wrongly. The example below is in URW Palladio SKT (the font is about 50kb):

pāõÀtipÀtÀ veramaõÁ sikkÀ-padaÉ samÀdiyÀmi.
itihidaÚ Àyasmato koõçaððassa,
anna-koõçaððo'tveva nÀmaÚ, ahosÁti

The result should look like this -- and comments how to achieve this will be very welcome!):

Example without downloadable fonts (but the correct font installed on the computer):

pÀõÀtipÀtÀ veramaõÁ sikkÀ-padaÉ samÀdiyÀmi.
itihidaÚ Àyasmato koõçaððassa,
anna-koõçaððo'tveva nÀmaÚ, ahosÁti

Further discussion on The Pali Collective here.

The 3rd Precept and 'mia nois'

2009-04-29T22:30:00.004+07:00

I have a question about the 5 precepts, especially the third. As this situation can be seen often here in Thailand it would be interesting to understand which of the below cases actually breaks the third precept (my interest is theoretical, I am not in this actual situation myself).

A man has a girlfriend or wife and cheats secretly on her with another woman; lets just assume his mia noi is actually satisfied and happy in her role. Still, clearly he breaks the 4. precept (false speech and lying). But does he break the third precept?
Now lets assume he does not cheat on his wife but tells her the truth; he might assume that his wife is emotionally hurt, even though she does not say so. Now he is not even breaking the 4. precept.

I am aware that the Buddha warns against this behavior as immoral in the Sutta Nitaka ("Not to be contented with one's own wife, and to be seen with harlots and the wives of others — this is a cause of one's downfall."), but none of the precepts seems to be broken.

Discussion here on the Thai Visa Buddhist Forum and on e-Sangha.

Ajahn Brahm throws the fox between the hens: Bikkhuni ordination

2009-04-28T17:19:00.005+07:00

Ajahn Brahmavamso (or known as Ajahn Brahm) is abbot of the Bodhinyana Forest Monastery near Perth in Western Australia. He is also the Spiritual Director of the Buddhist Society of W.A, the Spiritual Advisor to the Buddhist Society of Victoria, and the Spiritual Director of the Cittabhavana Buddhist Hermitage in Bundanoon, N.S.W.
However, Ahajn Brahm has his Buddhist roots in Thailand: he was ordained in Bangkok at the age of 23 by the Abbot of Wat Saket and spent subsequently 9 years studying and training in the forest meditation tradition of the revered Venerable Ajahn Chah.
As such, Ajahn Brahm is very well respected not only in western Buddhist circles, but also here in Thailand.

Now, in a page-long interview in todays Bangkok Post, Ajahn Brahm has thrown the fox between the hens -- at least here in Thailand. The interview was about Bikkhuni ordination.
Not only did Ajahn Brahm state that the Vinaya does allow for the ordination of Buddhist full nuns, but as there are existing and valid Mahayana lineages tracing back to their Theravadan origins, the Bikkhuni lines never really died completely out.
Reading between the lines he makes an even stronger point: that the Buddha himself created a lineage of nuns must mean that he intended women to have the full support of the Sangha -- and that it would be the compassionate thing to ordain women who wish to spread the Dhamma and spiritual enlightenment.

As especially the Thai Sangha has been vehemently against women's ordination (and enacted a law against it in 1924) they come out of this argument as outdated and uncompassionate.

The full interview on bikkhuni.net.
Discussion in the Thai Visa Buddhism Forum.

Ajahn Brahm on the Bhikkhuni Question (Excerpt)

Q.: It is widely believed that in the Theravada tradition, there is no longer any way to perform valid bhikkhuni ordinations according to the Vinaya. It is said that ordinations need to be performed by a “dual-sangha” of both bhikkhus and bhikkhunis, and as the Theravada bhikkhuni sangha had “died out” in Sri Lanka many centuries ago, this is no longer possible. Hundreds of bhikkhunis, including many Thais, have been ordained since the Theravada bhikkhuni order was restored [in Sri Lanka in the late 1990’s using Mahayana bhikkhunis], but they are mostly seen in Thailand as not being legitimate Theravada bhikkhunis. What do you think of this view?

Ajahn Brahm: That is a myth. In Thailand , we spend too much of our time believing in our teachers, believing in accepted wisdom rather than investigating and challenging. So sometimes it takes Western monks outside of Asia to question and investigate. Even with wisdom that has been accepted for years, to challenge it if there is reason to do so.
I thought too when I was a young monk in Thailand that the problem was a legal problem, that the bhikkhuni order couldn’t be revived. But having investigated and studied, I’ve found out that many of the obstacles we thought were there aren’t there at all. Someone like [a respected Theravada scholar-monk] has researched the Bhikkhu BodhiPali Vinaya and his paper is one of the most eloquent I’ve seen – fair, balanced, comes out on the side of “It’s possible, why don’t we do this?”
One of the biggest myths is that bhikkhunis under the Mahayana tradition is somehow separated from the Theravada. But the truth of the matter is, there is no such thing as a Mahayana Vinaya. In all the Mahayana schools whether in Tibet , China , Korea , or Vietnam , they follow mostly a Dharmagupta Vinaya. Dharmagupta is one of the Theravada sects. They follow a Theravada Vinaya. If you actually studied that Vinaya and read it, you’d find out how similar it is to the Vinaya that’s practiced – or should be practiced – here in Thailand.

Thinking about Anicca (Impermanence)

2009-04-27T23:00:00.003+07:00

Yesterday night grandma died.

To be more precise, the grandmother of my girlfriend. Having been diagnosed with advanced liver cancer the doctor gave her three months -- she made it less than six weeks and was happy for it to end then.

I wish her farewell; it cannot be said better as in the death bed poem by Basho:

Stricken on a journey,
My dreams go wandering round
Withered fields.

A beautiful Vajimukha (Vishnu) Statue from Chenla

2009-04-26T22:32:00.001+07:00

The statue shown is Vajimukha and it was found indeed in Chenla (nowadays Sambor Prei Kuk). It is located nowadays in the Guimet Museum in Paris, who actually also have a current exposition about Dvaravati art until May 29, 2009. More here: http://www.guimet.fr/

Vajimukha may portray two aspects of Vishnu: Hayagriva or Kalkin. He is represented here with a horses head and a human body, continuing the traditional appearance of the deity formulated centuries early in ancient India. His head is adorned by a diadem held in place by his two upright ears and tied with a square knot in the back.

Chenla was a pre-Angkorian Khmer capital from the 7th century, located in central Cambodia around 120 kms from Siem Reap; the location is nowadays called Sambor Prei Kuk. A complete reconnaissance survey was completed in 2005, but the ruins are well known since the last hundred years. A plan of the temple ruins can be found here.

Tisarana (3 Refuges)

2009-04-26T00:33:00.006+07:00

The Tisarana (Three Refuges or Triple Gem) are the base on which the teachings of Buddha and the whole Buddhist community are built. These are the Buddha, Dhamma, and Sangha, or the Awakened One, his teachings, and his community of monks and enlightened disciples.

The Tisarana is sung at every morning chant and all other religious ceremonies.

The Tisarana in Theravadan Buddhism

In Theravadan Buddhism, the Tisarana is very simple:

Buddham saranam gacchami (I go to the Buddha for refuge)
Dhammam saranam gacchami (I go to the Dhamma for refuge)
Sangham saranam gacchami (I go to the Sangha for refuge)

The Three Refuges in Tibetan Buddhism

At the Meditation Center where I currently practice, the Three Refuges are more complicated, adding a call for personal enlightenment. This version is normally used in Tibetan Buddhism:

I take refuge in the Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha
Until I attain enlightenment.
By the merit I have accumulated from practising generosity and the other perfections.
May I attain enlightenment, for the benefit of all migrators.

I must confess that I am personally a little bit at unease with this version, mixing the whole of Buddhism with private and personal achievements (or the wish for these).

Ajahn Sumedho about the Three Refuges

According to Ajahn Sumedho, the Buddha is called upon as personification of wisdom, a focus for people to concentrate on as an un-personified and bodiless wisdom might be too abstract to conceive of.

On the second refuge, the Buddhist teachings, Ajahn Sumedho has taught that this is not meant to be taking refuge in philosophy, concepts, doctrines or beliefs, nor is it taking refuge in a belief in Dhamma, a god, or some kind of cosmic force. Ajahn Sumedho directs us to see Dhamma as something to keep us in the present moment, unbounded by ideas of time.

Ajahn Sumedho has described the third refuge of the Sangha succinctly as well: he states that it may be understood as the Bhikkhu-Sangha (the order of monks), or as the Ariya-Sangha (those noble ones who live virtuously, free from any thought, word, or action that could be seen as evil. He states that taking refuge in the Sangha by chanting “Sangham saranam gacchami” means that we take refuge in virtue, in goodness, kindness, and compassion.

More on Ajahn Sumedho and the Three Refuges here at Forest Wisdom.

e-Tipitaka Hall

2009-04-23T11:44:00.003+07:00

The Tipitaka Hall is a great resource to see the Tipitaka in various scripts, eg Pali in Burmese or Thai; there is an online resource that leads to a Flicks Photo Stream of photocopies of the original pages (which is frankly a bit of a nuisance to use).

In 2000, the M.L. Maniratana Bunnag Dhamma Society Fund under the Patronage of the His Holiness the Supreme Patriarch of Thailand presented the International Tipiṭaka Collection as a Gift of Dhamma to the Faculty of Arts, Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok. This special donation, including the historic 39-volume Chulachomklao of Siam Tipiṭaka (1893) and very rare palm-leave manuscripts, is part of the Tipiṭaka Project in Roman Script to publish "the World Tipiṭaka Edition", a Romanized script of the Pāḷi-language scripture, based on the Chaṭṭhasaṅgῑti Tipiṭaka Edition B.E. 2500 (1957).

Example page:

Support of Parents (as demanded by the Buddha)

2009-04-22T21:48:00.004+07:00

It is a refreshing difference to witness people here in Thailand taking care of their parents, sometimes taking great hardship upon themselves to provide them with funds. This is in stark contrast to the West, where 'senior citizens' often have to fight for themselves, being pushed in the impersonal hands of the state and the social net.

Why is this so? Is it really just the tradition of a (still) agrarian society or does taking care of their own parents goes much deeper here in Thailand?
The answer lies in the Sutta Nipata, a sutta collection in the Khuddaka Nikaya, part of the Pali Canon of Theravada Buddhism. The excerpt below comes from the Parabhava Sutta (Reasons for Downfall), part of the Sutta Nipata (Sn 1.6):

Though being well-to-do,
not to support father and mother
who are old and past their youth
-- this is a cause of one's downfall.
Sutta Nipata Sn 98

More discussion on Buddhism and Respect for Parents.

The Cicadas of Basho

2009-04-19T19:03:00.002+07:00

I walked with my son in the mountains over Patong Beach today; the sound of cicadas was overpowering.

Basho thinks about this:

Nothing in the cry
of cicadas suggests they
are about to die.

Glossary of Pali terms

2009-04-09T11:30:00.002+07:00

Below is a quick glossary on common Pali terms encountered when beginning to study Theravada Buddhism. A much more comprehensive Pali Dictionary, completely with literary quotes for some of the terms, can be found at Urban Dharma. And a Pali forum is located at Yahoo Groups, called The Pali Collective.

Acariya - a teacher; regular instructor
Anagami - non-returner; one who has attained the third stage of holiness
Anatta - adj. no soul; soulless; not-self.
Anicca - impermanent; transient
Arahant - worthy one; perfected one; one who has attained Nirvana/Nibbana arammana
Sense-objects - an object of consciousness; preoccupation
Ariyasacca - noble Truth
Arupajhana - the ( four ) Absorptions of the Formless Sphere
Atta - self; soul; ego; personal entity
Bhava - becoming; existence; process of becoming;state of existence
Bhavatanha - craving for existence; craving for rebirth
Brahma - a divine being of the Form Sphere or of the Formless Sphere
Cankama - walking up and down as a method of concentration development
Citta- thought; mind; a state of consciousness
Dhamma - 1. the Doctrine; the teachings of the Lord Buddha the Norm; the Law; nature the Truth; Ultimate Reality the supermundane, esp. Nirvana/Nibbana righteousness; virtue; morality; good conduct; right behavior tradition; practice; principle; rule; dutyjustice; impartiality thing; phenomenon
9. a cognisable object; mind-object; idea 10. mental state; mental factor; mental activities 11. condition; cause; causal antecedent
Dhatu - an element; natural condition; that which carries its own characteristic mark
Dukkha - 1. suffering; misery; woe; pain; ill; sorrow; trouble; discomfort; unsatisfactoriness; problematic situation; stress; conflict 2. physical or bodily pain ekaggata one-pointedness of mind
Jhana - meditation; absorption; a state of serene contemplation attained by meditation
Karma/Kama - sense-desire; desire; sensuality; an object of sensual enjoyment; sensual pleasures. Kamatanha - sensual craving; craving for sensual pleasures
Kamavacara - belonging to the Sense Sphere aggregate; category defilements; impurities; impairments the Path; the Way; the Noble Path; the Noble Eightfold Path; the Path leading to the Cessation of Suffering wrong
Khandha - aggregate; category
Micchoditthi - view; false view knowledge; real knowledge; wisdom; insight Nirvana; the extinction of the fires of greed, hatred and ignorance; the Unconditioned;
Kilesa - defilements; impurities; impairements
Magga - the path; the way; the Noble Path; the Noble Eightfold Path; the Path leading to the Cessation of Suffering
Michaditthi - wrong view; false view
Nana - knowledge; real knowledge; wisdom; insight
Nibbana/Nirvana - Nirvana; extinction of the fires of greed, hatred and ignorance, the unconditioned; the Final Goal; the supreme goal of Buddhism
Nirodha - the Cessation or Extinction of suffering
Panna - wisdom; knowledge; intelligence; insight; discernment; reason
Parikamma - recitation; mental repetion
Pariyatti - the Scriptures; study of the Scriptures; the Teachings to be studied
Peta - the ghost of the departed
Rupajhana - absorption of the Fine-Material Sphere
Sikkapada - 1. morality; moral code 2. a precept; rule of morality; training rule
Sacca - the Truth; truth
Sakadagami - a Once-Returner; one who has attained the second stage of the Path and will be reborn on the earth only once before attaining final emancipationsamadhi
Samadhi - concentration; one-pointedness of mind
Samatha - calm; tranquility; quietude of heart
Sammati - convention; agreement; supposition; conventional truth
Samsara - lit. faring on; the Round of Rebirth; the Round of Existence; the Wheel of Rebirth; the Wheel of Life
Samudaya - the Cause of Suffering; the Origin of Suffering
Sangho/Sangha - Buddhist monks; Noble Disciples
Sankhara - 1. compounded things; component things; conditioned things; the world of phenomena; all things which have been made up by pre-existing causes 2. volitional activities; mental formations;
mental predispositions; volitional impulses; impulses and emotions; volition; all the mental factors except feeling and perception having volition as theconstant factor
Sati - mindfulness; attentiveness; detached watching;
Sotapana - a Stream-Enterer, one who attained the first stage of holiness
Tanha - craving; desire; thirst
Tilakkhana - the Three Characteristics; the Three Signs of Being; also called the Common Characteristics
Tipitaka - lit. the Three baskets; the Three Divisions of the Buddhist Canon, viz., Vinaya, Sutta and Abhidhamma ( generally known as the Pali Canon )
Vatta - the round of rebirth; the round of existences; the cycle of rebirth
Vibhavatanha - craving for non-existence
Vipassana - insight; contemplation; insight development
Yogavacara - one who practises spiritual exercise; meditator

A compendious Pali grammar

2009-04-07T09:17:00.002+07:00

Quite a while back I toyed with the idea to learn Pali, mainly to better my understanding of the Pali suttas.
The hurdle proved quickly to be pretty high, after I seemingly had learned Thai without much difficulty Pali confused me with endless grammatical rules; and not having anybody to speak to in daily life is another obstacle that was very detrimental on progress.

However, there are many resources online that can be utilized to learn Pali (especially for those who have no access to large libraries or an university campus like me currently); one of them, maybe more of historical interest, is A compendious Pali grammar by Benjamin Clough and William Tolfrey. It was published in 1824 which goes to show that interest in Buddhism and the Far East was already far developed in the West even then.

The books is available in 'Full View', eg completely free, at Google Books: here.