The doctrinal list known as the 10 Perfections, or pāramī, has only a small place in the earliest layer of the Buddhist teachings, but by the time the Pāli Canon was being fully assembled and the Mahāyāna revolution was well-underway, the list became one of the central frameworks for describing the qualities that aspiring Buddhas, or “Bodhisattvas” should cultivate. The Jataka Tales […]
10 Perfections (pāramī) to Cultivate on the Path Read More »
How self-judgment is interwoven with the unfolding of Action and its Results, or kamma/karma, and the implications for our sense of self, leading to the subtle and difficult teaching of Selflessness, or anattā.
Self-judgment, karma and Selflessness (anattā) Read More »
Here’s some background on this terrible fire that shocked our community. I knew someone who died in it, and people in the Satsang community also lost friends. The talk touches on grief and mourning, and the room was really heavy. I’m glad we had the space to gather.
Grief and Mourning, after the Oakland Ghost Ship fire Read More »
The 3 Characteristics or Marks (tilakkhaṇa) of all conditioned things. These three comprise the core insights that begin the path of Liberation from Suffering in the Theravāda tradition. 1. Impermanence, the constancy of Change (anicca) 2. Unsatisfactoriness, the first Noble Truth, Suffering (dukkha) 3. Selflessness, Emptiness of Independent Essence (anattā)
The 3 Characteristics (tilakkhaṇa) Read More »
Buddhism as a liberation path is a gradual purification of the heart that takes root as we see more clearly, stop clinging so much, and grow out of confusion about who we are into the maturity called wisdom. Wisdom is expressed partly as understanding: everything changes, and many things hurt, but there’s an openness, a clear space, at the heart
The 5 Ethical Precepts (sīla) Read More »
The Buddhist cosmological framework of the “6 Realms” can be read both as a map of where beings go from lifetime to lifetime, and/or a map of the psychological-emotional-relational states we pass through in the course of this life. Both are valuable. Here’s a discussion of the map in relation to the social justice work around privilege.
The teaching of the 6 Realms as a metaphor for privilege Read More »
A classical teaching on why it’s so hard to let go, but why we must, if we want to find freedom from suffering.Talk given at Insight Meditation Satsang, Yoga Tree Telegraph.
The gratification, the danger, and the escape Read More »
Talk: Responding to the tragedy in Orlando. (6.16.16)
After the Orlando nightclub attack Read More »
Every week at Satsang, we do a short chanting ceremony called a pūjā, or devotional ritual. We chant a few ancient verses in Pāli, the language of the early Buddhist texts. These verses are excerpts from a longer sequence of chants done daily in Theravāda monasteries, emphasizing the basic lay (non-monastic) practices of going for refuge and the five ethical precepts.
Theravada Refuge & Precepts Pūjā Read More »
We do this chant at the end of the Satsang meditation period. It’s an ancient mantra beloved in both the Buddhist and Hindu Yoga traditions, and translates roughly as: May all beings be at ease.OM, Peace, peace, peace. If you want to use it as a mantra to repeat, you could omit the “oṃ śāntiḥ” part and just let the
Chants: lokāḥ samastāḥ sukhino bhavantu Read More »
May the forces of delusion
not take hold, nor
weaken my resolve.
(Sharing of Merit)