Devadatta was driven by the need to be acknowledged as an enlightened being rather than actually develop the Dhamma. He wanted to introduce his own “dhamma” and gain recognition with his peers material wealth, and power. Devadatta plotted to have the Buddha killed so that he could take over the Sangha…
There are four exalted states of mind taught by the Buddha. These are perfected mind-states that reflect an enlightened view of humanity…
In this poem Kotthita describes the quality of an awakened mind directly and attainable – calm…
In this poem, the awakened monk Sumangala’s mother concisely describes the quality of an awakened mind through Right Meditation practiced as part of the Eightfold Path…
In this poem, The awakened monk Sumangala concisely describes the quality of an awakened mind through Right Meditation practiced as part of the Eightfold Path…
A Swift Pair of Messengers Jhana in the Pali Canon. The Buddha’s teachings on Jhana are found throughout the Pali Canon…
In this poem, the awakened monk Dhammika shows the importance of a well-practiced and authentic Dhamma practice and the protection from worldly entanglements provided….
The Samadhanga Sutta is another sutta on the proper use of the singular method of meditation as an awakened human being teaches – to engage with Jhana meditation to increase concentration…
Upacala teaches how she has overcome suffering by establishing refined mindfulness and gaining insight into impermanence, not-self, and suffering through developing to its culmination the Eightfold Path…
The Buddha taught Jhana meditation as one factor of the Eightfold Path for the purpose of developing the concentration necessary to support the refined mindfulness of the other seven factors of the path…
In the Yuganaddha Sutta [1] Ananda teaches that that those that achieve lasting peace and happiness do so by developing shamatha & vipassana (tranquility & insight) in tandem…
These seven qualities or factors of enlightenment are taught by the Buddha to remain free of the distraction of craving, aversion and further deluded thinking…
In this poem, Yasadatta shows the foolishness of debating the Dhamma rather than actually practicing a Buddha’s teachings…
The Yasa Sutta – Freedom From Entanglements teaches importance to avoid creating a “Dhamma” practice that depends on external entanglements as its theme…
Seeing the “five clinging aggregates as they really are” is understanding Anatta, not-self, or a self-referential ego-personality in relation to Anicca, Dukkha and The Four Noble Truths…
Sujata, enamored with the world and her position of wealth and privilege encounters the Buddha. She hears from him a simple, pure, and direct Dhamma and her mind clears…
This poem is from the Theragatha. The Theragatha preserves 264 poems of elder monks and is the eighth section in the Khuddaka Nikāya.
Here, the monk Subhuti describes in concise and profoundly sublime detail the quality of an awakened mind…
The Vitakkasanthana Sutta — the sutta on the relaxation of thoughts — the Buddha teaches that the refined mindfulness developed through the Eightfold Path brings a relaxed and peaceful quality of mind…
In this poem, Sona comes to the Dhamma late in life and quickly develops a profound understanding of key elements of the Dhamma including Five Clinging Aggregates, Three Marks Of Existence, restraint at the Six-Sense-Base, meditative absorption, and a penetrative understanding of Four Noble Truths..
The Nagara Sutta is remarkable in its simplicity in describing Dependent Origination in a practically applied way. In this sutta the Buddha clearly shows how ignorance of Four Noble Truths and of The Three Marks of existence “originates” the process that all manner of disappointment, unsatisfactoriness, distraction, and suffering – in a word Dukkha – is “dependent” on…
These short sutta shows the importance of restraint in the Dhamma. The Four Noble Truths show that all manner of disappointment and suffering arises from craving and clinging. ..
This poem describes the nun Vimala’s awakening, gaining full human maturity. Through developing the Eightfold Path, [2] Vimala, abandoned all self-referential views rooted in ignorance of Four Noble Truths [3] and gained release from self-imposed suffering…
In the Bhikkhuvaga Sutta, the Buddha teaches the importance to develop the virtuous factors of the Eightfold Path of Right Speech, Right Action, and Right Livelihood to recognize and abandon unskillful thoughts, words, and deeds…
The Sundari Sutta, the liberation of restraint, teaches the unending peace gained through developing the Eightfold Path…
“Having developed four qualities a Dhamma practitioner cannot lose the way and is free of clinging to views. When one has fully integrated the Eightfold Path they are…