Dhamma Wheel

Equiminity basically, one is to activate annicca, and maintain and develop in this. A monk has the advantage of practice 24/7 with minimal distraction. A layperson has multitudes of distraction, but is expected to work at this to best of ability. Once stream entry this activation process is irrever...

Ven Samahita made a video about his father. I found it very useful for contemplation of old age

In Buddha’s time there were no graphic tv shows showing internal body parts like today. It’s quite reasonable that in Buddha’s time people were in a Beaty is skin deep type attitude. Most people today know the body is made up of blood guts etc.. As I said this is s prelude to meditation practice to...

I think of the four Brhamavihara as the emotional side of wisdom, while the precepts to be the minimum moral requirements for the practice.

Today i was in for two nice surprises. On Sutta Central forum, Ven. Brahmali shared two videos presenting Dr. Bernardo Kastrup of which one was an interview with Dr. Jeffery Mishlove on "new thinking allowed" series. The two surprises were: 1- Coming across a new intellectual who is interested in sc...

Think about it like this, if you've never had cause to think otherwise, the repetition would only serve to reinforce the notion that it is the ground. And not being known any other way, you just keep taking it up for what it is. So you are absolutely correct - because when there is no awareness of ...

In terms of infinity, there is no limit to how far the assumption of time can go, and the only assurance to be taken from that infinity is that you can always add to it - and if you can always add to it, there is no permanent ground to be found. It doesn't have a starting point. The issue is in the...

I've heard that the human state is the best for practicing for nibbana -- the right mix of violence and non-violence (it is not only violence), unpleasant and pleasant. Higher realms can be too pleasant to motivate; lower realms too painful to know or practice the path. Sorry, no sutta reference ri...

What might be related to the signless is nibbida because disenchantment fosters "not attending to" anything at all, not even to an object of concentration Who is not attending to an object of concentration? I am not disputing what you are saying, but i am showing the mess we get into when we use la...

Clearly thanissaro is indicating the the word "theme" is to be taken as "object of awareness." Do you dispute this? No, what i am disputing is that the meaning conveyed differs from the way i used the term "theme". Please note that we have: 1- Nothingness 2- Emptiness 3- Theme-less In one of your p...

It is not a natural end to human existence because if we don’t make it happen, it won’t. It is in accord with the ways of nature or how things really are because if we make it happen, it will. In other words, it is possible. Thanks Jeff for the explanation :anjali: I think the way we use the term "...

While it is conceivable that an enlightened being transcends sexual desire and identity, i find this kind of speculation to be rooted in the obsession of our modern age in both sexuality and identity.

I would always refer to the Buddha as per his psychical appearance. A male.

I think you have changed the point of discussion.....we were discussing the difference between thanisarro's use of the word "theme" and your use of it. Now it seems that you are discussing what you see as an advantage of using your idea which I will call "social narrative" or "social scenario" (to ...

It seems it does that only in some cultures, not in all. In some cultures, killing oneself is the honorable thing to do. Killing oneself to protect the group is usually seen an honorable thing, but killing oneself for individual reasons is what i am talking about. "If we can grit our teeth and bear...

Apart from breaking the first precept, i don't understand why suicide stirs a lot of emotions among people?

One theory says that whatever causes aversion in us indicates an aspect in ourselves that we don't like and therefore suppress.