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Old News Archive
May-June 2002
© 2002

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- [4 June 2002] New server installed My ISP has just upgraded to a new and more efficient web server, which required that I relocate Access to Insight onto a new computer. If you encounter any broken links or other peculiarities, please let me know.
- [24 May 2002] Essay by Thanissaro Bhikkhu: "When you know for yourselves...": The Authenticity of the Pali Suttas, by Thanissaro Bhikkhu. For centuries scholars have argued over which parts of the Pali canon — if any — contain an accurate record of the Buddha's teachings. The texts themselves state that doubts about the Dhamma can be decisively resolved only if one puts the teachings into practice to the point of attaining stream-entry, the first stage of enlightenment. In this essay the author explains the qualities that (according to the texts) one must develop in order to authenticate the Dhamma for oneself.
- [20 May 2002] In memory of the late Ajaan Suwat (1919-2002) Three new short talks on meditation practice by Ajaan Suwat Suvaco, translated from the Thai by Thanissaro Bhikkhu:
  - Straightening Out Your Views. Why a meditator's first task is to begin to bring his or her beliefs in line with right view.
  - A Home for the Mind. Before you can really let go of the five aggregates (khandha) in meditation, you must build yourself a good home for the mind.
  - To Comprehend Suffering. Meditation isn't about "getting" things; it's about letting go. We can't let go of the darkness and delusion in our minds; it has to be dispersed by light — the light of clear-seeing discernment that we cultivate through meditation.
  These three talks, plus four others by Ajaan Suwat already available here, are included in a new anthology of short talks on meditation practice that was prepared in commemoration of the life of Ajaan Suwat: The Light of Discernment: Meditation Instructions. You may download this anthology as a single zip-compressed file.
- [17 May 2002] For the benefit of Pali students:
  - PTS page numbers are now available. Those of you who enjoy comparing Access to Insight's sutta translations with other published translations or with the original Pali texts will be pleased to know that for each sutta in the first four Nikayas you can now look up the corresponding volume and page number in the Pali Text Society's romanized Pali editions. When viewing a sutta, click on the "About" link and look for the numbers in the braces {} in the brief sutta description. For suttas and passages from the Khuddaka Nikaya the braces contain alternate reference numbers to help you locate the Pali texts. For details, see "Sutta Reference Numbers" in the Abbreviations.
  - Suttas in the Anguttara Nikaya are now numbered consistently. Not all translators who provided suttas for publication on Access to Insight used the same edition of the Tipitaka as their Pali source: some used the Thai edition, some used the PTS. Since occasional differences exist between these editions in the way suttas are enumerated, some suttas on the website were numbered inconsistently. This has now been fixed. Suttas from the Anguttara Nikaya are numbered in accordance with the Pali Text Society's Book of Gradual Sayings. Adopting this standard required renumbering about 30 suttas (see "List of Suttas Renumbered to Match the Pali Text Society").
- [9 May 2002] From the Majjhima Nikaya:
  - Aneñja-sappaya Sutta (MN 106) — Conducive to the Imperturbable {M ii 261} [Thanissaro Bhikkhu, trans.]. Advanced meditation instruction: how the fourth jhana and the formless attainments can be developed and used as a basis for the realization of Nibbana.
- [8 May 2002] Three short suttas from the Anguttara Nikaya (Fours):
  - Tanha Sutta (AN 4.199) — Craving {A ii 211} [Thanissaro Bhikkhu, trans.]. The Buddha enumerates the many kinds of tangled thoughts experienced by a mind not yet free of craving. Sound familiar?
  - Pema Sutta (AN 4.200) — Affection {A ii 213} [Thanissaro Bhikkhu, trans.]. The opinions of our friends and enemies often influence our own thoughts and feelings about others. This kind of thinking is rooted in craving, and the Buddha offers a cure.
  - Ariyamagga Sutta (AN 4.235) — The Noble Path {A ii 237} [Thanissaro Bhikkhu, trans.]. Skillful actions (kamma) eventually bring good results, while unskillful ones bring bad. But best of all are the actions that lead to the ending of kamma altogether.