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Old News Archive
September-October 2005
© 2005

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2005-10-26 — New translations from the Majjhima Nikaya

- MN 9: Sammaditthi Sutta — Right View {M i 46} [Thanissaro]. A discussion of right view demonstrating how the four noble truths, dependent co-arising, and the knowledge that ends mental fermentation all build on the basic dichotomy between skillful and unskillful action.
- MN 39: Maha-Assapura Sutta — The Greater Discourse at Assapura {M i 271} [Thanissaro]. With characteristic clarity and concision the Buddha outlines the full course of training by which a meditator may earn the right to call him- or herself a true contemplative. As presented here, the training begins with conscience and concern for the results of one's actions, and leads progressively onward through the cultivation of virtue, sense-restraint, moderation, wakefulness, mindfulness, alertness, the four jhanas, finally culminating in the realization of the insight knowledges.

2005-10-18 — Detachment and Compassion in Early Buddhism

Detachment and Compassion in Early Buddhism, by Elizabeth J. Harris (Buddhist Publication Society Bodhi Leaves Publication No. 141; 1997; 42k/12pp.)
  The development of these twin emotions plays a central role in Buddhist practice. But are they truly compatible? How can one feel genuine compassion toward others while simultaneously remaining detached and "aloof" from the world? Citing examples from the Pali canon and its commentaries, the author demonstrates how the two are, in fact, mutually supportive.

2005-10-17 — New transcription of a book by Bhikkhu Nyanasobhano

Two Dialogues on Dhamma
by Bhikkhu Nyanasobhano (Buddhist Publication Society Wheel Publication No. 363/364; 1989; 99k/40pp.)
  Two more enjoyable dialogues between the fictional wise monk Tissa and newcomers to Buddhism. In the first story, Bhikkhu Tissa helps a well-to-do and carefree young man discover that there may be more to life than chasing after short-lived pleasures. In the second, Bhikkhu Tissa helps a couple sort out a thorny ethical dilemma concerning their livelihood. Like many of this author's other writings, this book serves as both a welcoming invitation to the Dhamma for newcomers and a refreshing pick-me-up to seasoned practitioners.

2005-10-17 — Two new translations from the Majjhima Nikaya

- MN 13: Maha-dukkhakkhandha Sutta — The Great Mass of Stress {M i 83} [Thanissaro]. In deliciously graphic terms, the Buddha describes the allures and drawbacks of sensuality, physical form, and feeling. What better incentive could there be to escape samsara once and for all?
- MN 14: Cula-dukkhakkhandha Sutta — The Lesser Mass of Stress {M i 91} [Thanissaro]. What mental qualities must be abandoned in order to free oneself of greed, aversion, and delusion? Can painful austerities be used to purify oneself and burn away the karmic fruit of past misdeeds? Through skillful question-and-answer dialogues with the lay follower Mahanama and with a group of Jain ascetics, the Buddha lays these questions to rest.

2005-10-16 — New translation from the Anguttara Nikaya

- AN 8.25: Mahanama Sutta — Being a Lay Buddhist {A iv 219} [Kumara]. What is a lay follower? A virtuous lay follower? A lay follower engaged in his own welfare? His own and others'?

2005-10-07 — New translations from the Anguttara Nikaya

- AN 3.62: Bhaya Sutta — Danger {A i 173} [Thanissaro]. Although fire, flood, and war may threaten to divide families, the world is fraught with even greater dangers. Here is a surefire way to overcome them all.
- AN 3.69: Mula Sutta — Roots {A i 201} [Thanissaro]. What motivates a person to wrongly imprison people and subject them to beatings? The answer lies right here, in your own heart.
- AN 3.67: Kathavatthu Sutta — Topics for Discussion {A i 196} [Thanissaro]. This short discourse contains detailed practical instructions on how to answer questions skillfully. A valuable teaching for politicians, debaters, and the rest of us.
- AN 3.68: Titthiya Sutta — Sectarians {A i 198} [Thanissaro]. How appropriate attention (yoniso manasikara) lies at the heart of any effort to abandon the roots of greed, hatred, and delusion.

2005-09-30 — New transcription

Radical Therapy: Buddhist Precepts in the Modern World
by Lily de Silva (BPS Bodhi Leaf Publication No. 123; 1991; 27k/8pp.)
  The Five Precepts are universally regarded in Buddhism as the bedrock on which the personal practice of sila (morality, virtue) is built. In this short essay, the author argues that these same Five Precepts, when practiced by citizens, leaders, and societies at large, can also serve as an urgently needed remedy to a host of global social ills.

2005-09-25 — New transcription

A Treatise on the Paramis
by Acariya Dhammapala (6th c.), translated by Bhikkhu Bodhi (BPS Wheel Publication No. 409/411; 1996; 172k/57pp.)
  Although Theravada Buddhism explicitly advocates the attainment of arahantship as the ultimate goal, in the course of its historical evolution the Theravada tradition gave birth to a rich body of teachings on the practices of a bodhisatta, an aspirant to Supreme Buddhahood. In about the sixth century CE the great commentator Acariya Dhammapala collected and systematized these diverse teachings on the bodhisatta into a single treatise, which he included in his commentary on the late canonical work, the Cariyapitaka. This treatise, which draws freely from a Mahayana work entitled the Bodhisattvabhumi, provides a detailed examination of the ten paramis, the sublime virtues that a bodhisatta must practice over innumerable lives in order to reach the plane of supreme Supreme Buddhahood. This booklet contains a lucid and inspiring translation of this treatise, slightly abridged, which should throw a valuable sidelight on an aspect of the Theravada Buddhist often overlooked in popular accounts. [From the back cover.]

2005-09-03 — New transcription

The Self-made Private Prison
by Lily de Silva (BPS Bodhi Leaves No. 120; 1990; 33k/9pp.)
  An introduction to the five aggregates (khandha) — body, feeling, perception, volition, and consciousness — five aspects of experience to which we tend to cling. The author paints a compelling portrait of how we create for ourselves the illusory sense of "I," by which we trap ourselves in a prison of our own design.