It seems that I’m generally speaking always craving something that will give me a burst of pleasure...eg. caffeine, junk food and of course online porn and masturbating. Hi juancha, That's called the human condition and everyone is addicted to the objects of the senses in one way or another and in ...

To talk of the "emptiness of phenomena" "outside a person or outside senses" is to mentally conceive of dhammas, which is to render them far less empty than they ought to be. "Outside a person or outside senses" is outside experience, and therefore outside the relevanc...

It's not about nihilism, I view the Buddha as a nihilist as well, and an absurdist , ie; sabbe dhammā anattā, sabbe saṅkhāra anicca etc. So, nothing means anything, and all is dukkha, except that unbinding is the peak of all. And I accept it , but how do we go about doing that? What are you actuall...

For about a year, I've been lost in this anattā issue. It's easy to post theories and ideas online, but in real life, it's painful, at least in my experience. I'm guessing it's painful because the alternative smells a lot like nihilism. In the end I think it's pragmatic to have no opinion either wa...

His A&E dead-on-arrival anecdote hardly leaves room for much experience within his definition of jhana. I don't see how one can make such a judgment, given that the ajahn's anecdote reports only the meditator's alleged unresponsiveness to external stimuli, while relating nothing at all about hi...

In this thread I have only being referring to the op post about hearing in jhana. If AB is saying eleswhere that in jhana there is no awareness at all- like deep sleep or something- then that is possibly even worse than the idea that there can be hearing or conceptual thinking in jhana. I have no d...

Did you read any of the two links I posted before? Like I said, vitakka and vicara does not mean "directed thought & evaluation", even though it is sometimes translated as such. Evaluation is not limited to coarse verbalised thoughts. Awareness is also not predicated on them, so I don...

Patthana: (Faultless Triplet, Kusala-ttika, VII, Investigation Chapter, pañha-våra, Object, § 404): Faultless state (kusala dhamma) is related to faultless state by object-condition. Having emerged from jhåna, (one) reviews it. (One) reviews (such acts) formerly well done. Having emerged from jhåna...

Perhaps in your extensive study of the suttas you somehow overlooked ones like this: An irrelevant and sarcastic comment, as you quote an arupa jhana. We were looking at factors of the 1st Jhana. Your quote only serves to highlight the difference between them - the arupa are different. What AB is d...

the part of the sutta you quoted does not say that this insight happened during the first jhana. Known to him they arose , known to him they remained , known to him they subsided There's a dynamic process of investigation and relinquishment going on which would be impossible in an unconscious or un...

perhaps someone can explain why it is important to not hear anything. Or conversely, why hearing something would be an obstacle to liberating insight. Good question. Somewhere AB provides an anecdote of one of his followers being pronounced dead on arrival at A&E. Left on a stretcher the chap f...

It is not very recent news, but I felt it deserves more attention. It certainly does, as it places current events in more context. The story explains: The monk is a Buddhist nationalist who spent almost a decade in jail for inciting anti-Muslim violence. Anyone who incites others to commit acts of ...

After doing some research, it would appear that the idea of NO-self is a misinterpretation of the Buddha's teachings, with the more accurate interpretation being NOT-self. Hi Vince, You raise some very good points. The above is often used synonymously but both are very different. No-self is an onto...

Thugs in robes - nothing to do with dhamma at all. I think this is telling: Moderate Buddhists have also been targeted by hard-line ones. Last year Rev Wathareka Vijitha Thero was abducted, rendered unconscious, tied up and forcibly circumcised - he says this was meant as a gesture of ridicule becau...

Currently in draft form, but now available to read... The Law of Dependent Arising: The Secret of Bondage and Release - Bhikkhu Katukurunde Ñāṇananda Thanks for the link. One of the finest interpreters of Buddha Dhamma alive today. He nails it again: Worldlings are involved in an inter-relation bet...