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SarathW
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Re: I am back

Post by SarathW »

Also starting a massive undertaking to read the whole Pāli Canon.
I never felt that you left us, Stephen. We always have you in our hart.
By the way, I suggest you listen to MN while you doing meditation.
Start playing one Sutta at the beginning of your meditation and this will help you to bring your mind to a wholesome state.After few minutes recording will automatically stop and you enter the Jhana.

http://audtip.dx.am/tipitaka/mn/mn-eng.html
“As the lamp consumes oil, the path realises Nibbana”
Lombardi4
Posts: 1551
Joined: Sat Jan 10, 2009 2:53 pm

Re: I am back

Post by Lombardi4 »

Thanks, Sarath, that's very kind of you!

Good suggestion to listen to the MN. I prefer Bhikkhu Bodhi's translations over Ṭhanissāro Bhikkhus' ones. Just personal preference. If I have the time, it would be good to listen to his talks on the MN suttas. But about listening to the suttas themselves, well, I prefer to read them - silently or out loud in my own voice - and read the footnotes. I sometimes go back and reread certain passages when I don't understand them quite well. It's not just to read or to listen to the discourse - the most important thing is to understand it in line with the Dhamma, i.e. in your own experience of life and the world, and also to retain the information in mind.

About jhāna being entered after the recording stops... I wish! I think it's fair to say it takes quite a bit more than that. ;)

Thank you, friend and be well.
SarathW
Posts: 21238
Joined: Mon Sep 10, 2012 2:49 am

Re: I am back

Post by SarathW »

It's not just to read or to listen to the discourse - the most important thing is to understand it
Agree.
But there is a subliminal effect when you listen to Sutta.
Your inner mind is smarter than your critical mind.

Yes in regards to Jhana, I just exaggerated a bit. ;)
“As the lamp consumes oil, the path realises Nibbana”
Lombardi4
Posts: 1551
Joined: Sat Jan 10, 2009 2:53 pm

Re: I am back

Post by Lombardi4 »

SarathW wrote: Fri Dec 08, 2017 10:38 pm
It's not just to read or to listen to the discourse - the most important thing is to understand it
Agree.
But there is a subliminal effect when you listen to Sutta.
Your inner mind is smarter than your critical mind.

Yes in regards to Jhana, I just exaggerated a bit. ;)
What is "inner mind"?
SarathW
Posts: 21238
Joined: Mon Sep 10, 2012 2:49 am

Re: I am back

Post by SarathW »

What is "inner mind"?
I used this term from modern psychology
But we can understand in terms of seventeen thought moments in Abhidhamma.
I know you are not a fan of Abhidhamma.
In Abhidhamma there are certain Citta does not complete the whole thought process.
So they perhaps vanish even before they have a major impact on you.
But they still will be recorded in your mind.
“As the lamp consumes oil, the path realises Nibbana”
Lombardi4
Posts: 1551
Joined: Sat Jan 10, 2009 2:53 pm

Re: I am back

Post by Lombardi4 »

SarathW wrote: Sat Dec 09, 2017 5:35 am
What is "inner mind"?
I used this term from modern psychology
But we can understand in terms of seventeen thought moments in Abhidhamma.
I know you are not a fan of Abhidhamma.
In Abhidhamma there are certain Citta does not complete the whole thought process.
So they perhaps vanish even before they have a major impact on you.
But they still will be recorded in your mind.
I just haven't studied it yet. Doesn't mean I'm not its fan!
SarathW
Posts: 21238
Joined: Mon Sep 10, 2012 2:49 am

Re: I am back

Post by SarathW »

Stiphan wrote: Wed Dec 13, 2017 2:24 pm
SarathW wrote: Sat Dec 09, 2017 5:35 am
What is "inner mind"?
I used this term from modern psychology
But we can understand in terms of seventeen thought moments in Abhidhamma.
I know you are not a fan of Abhidhamma.
In Abhidhamma there are certain Citta does not complete the whole thought process.
So they perhaps vanish even before they have a major impact on you.
But they still will be recorded in your mind.
I just haven't studied it yet. Doesn't mean I'm not its fan!
Because you are a very technical (computer) oriented person, you will love Abhidhamma.
Read Bikkhu Bodhi's book.
:D
“As the lamp consumes oil, the path realises Nibbana”
Lombardi4
Posts: 1551
Joined: Sat Jan 10, 2009 2:53 pm

Re: I am back

Post by Lombardi4 »

SarathW wrote: Wed Dec 13, 2017 7:36 pm
Stiphan wrote: Wed Dec 13, 2017 2:24 pm
SarathW wrote: Sat Dec 09, 2017 5:35 am
I used this term from modern psychology
But we can understand in terms of seventeen thought moments in Abhidhamma.
I know you are not a fan of Abhidhamma.
In Abhidhamma there are certain Citta does not complete the whole thought process.
So they perhaps vanish even before they have a major impact on you.
But they still will be recorded in your mind.
I just haven't studied it yet. Doesn't mean I'm not its fan!
Because you are a very technical (computer) oriented person, you will love Abhidhamma.
Read Bikkhu Bodhi's book.
:D
I have the book (Comprehensive Manual of Abhidhamma/Abhidhammaṭṭha Saṅgaha) on my Kindle.

I plan to first read all the suttas, then the Vinaya Piṭaka and Thanissaro Bhikkhu's Buddhist Monastic Code, and only then delve into the Abhidhamma Piṭaka and the above-mentioned book, along with other Abhidhamma studies.

I.e., I am doing everything one by one, and the Abhidhamma is for later :) Whether I'll love it, I don't know - I don't have an opinion on it of my own because I haven't studied it yet.
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Cittasanto
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Re: I am back

Post by Cittasanto »

:anjali:
Good to see you back
Blog, Suttas, Aj Chah, Facebook.

He who knows only his own side of the case knows little of that. His reasons may be good, and no one may have been able to refute them.
But if he is equally unable to refute the reasons on the opposite side, if he does not so much as know what they are, he has no ground for preferring either opinion …
...
He must be able to hear them from persons who actually believe them … he must know them in their most plausible and persuasive form.
John Stuart Mill
Lombardi4
Posts: 1551
Joined: Sat Jan 10, 2009 2:53 pm

Re: I am back

Post by Lombardi4 »

Cittasanto wrote: Thu Dec 14, 2017 5:37 am :anjali:
Good to see you back
Thanks, Cittasanto! :anjali:
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