Fear arising during meditation, particularly shamatha-vipassana meditation, is a subject that comes up often. When meditation is practiced within the framework of the Eightfold Path the context of the Four Noble Truths brings understanding and guidance…
It is remarkable how often the Buddha’s original teachings as preserved in the Pali Canon are simple and practical advice on staying focused within the framework …
In the Maha-Assapura Sutta the Buddha teaches the assembled monks and nuns that being known as “contemplatives” and identifying as contemplatives does not fully describe the qualities of one following the Eightfold Path…
The Buddha did not make a definitive declaration or left unanswered, questions that could not be answered as the declaration or direct answer would likely develop additional confusion or distraction…
All of human life is anicca, impermanent and uncertain. Life in the phenomenal world is ultimately unsatisfactory, dukkha, due to life’s inescapable qualities of impermanence and uncertainty. Arising from a wrong view of life in the phenomenal world, an impermanent and insubstantial “self” is formed…
The Sankhitta Sutta – A Monk’s Concise Teaching recounts the teaching given to a monk who was eager to develop the Buddha’s teaching in seclusion….
In the Akankha Sutta the Buddha addresses the assembled sangha on the wish to be helpful to others. He teaches that having a mind inclined to compassion and wisdom is noble…
Eightfold Path – Wisdom, Virtue, Concentration is an article and Dhamma talk on the Eightfold Path of developing wisdom, virtue, and concentration…
Anicca, Anatta, Dukkha The Three Marks Of Existence is an article on the importance of understanding the interplay of impermanence, Not-Self, and the underlying unsatisfactory life experience…
There are three governing principles of awakening. The self, the cosmos, and the Dhamma are the governing principles of awakening…
The Buddha called himself the “Tathagata” which means “one who has gone forth and” and has through his own efforts awakened to the truth of reality…
In the Upajjhatthana Sutta the Buddha teaches that there are five subjects that should be mindfully considered as part of developing release from clinging…
These are the pictures and Dhamma talks from our 2017 Becoming Buddha Spring Retreat at Won Dharma Center…
In the Chavalata Sutta the Buddha teaches that Right Intention and the Paramita of Dana are fundamental aspects of the highest form of Dhamma practice…
Throughout the Buddha’s teaching he emphasized mindfulness. Mindfulness is the quality of mind that brings insight to the Buddha’s teaching…
The Buddha taught that conditioned states of mind have definite and direct causes. This is often referred as the law of conditionality or the law of “if this occurs then that results”…
In the Alagaddupama Sutta – The Water Snake Sutta, the Buddha uses the simile of a water snake to teach the nature of clinging maintained by a mind conditioned by confused and deluded views…
What I have found through my own direct experience and inquiry is that the attempt to protect a particular modern lineage or to insist on a one-size-fits-all reconciliation of all the modern Buddhist “Dharmas” leads to a confusing and, again in my experience, an ineffective “thicket of views.” The term thicket of views are the words the Buddha used 2600 years ago to describe what would occur by craving for an adapted form of Dharma practice…
Post Election Mindfulness is an excerpt from our Saturday morning Dhamma class at Cross River Meditation Center in Frenchtown, New Jersey, on February 4, 2017. A question was asked regarding the turbulence following the recent presidential election about maintaining a calm and well-concentrated mind during these quickly changing times…
This is a Dhamma talk on the twelve observable causative links of Dependent Origination. This talk was recorded on January 31, 2017. Dependent origination is what the Buddha awakened to and shows that from ignorance of Four Noble Truths, all manner of confusion, delusion, and suffering arises…
Right Intention is being mindful, holding in mind, the intention to recognize and abandon clinging to objects, events, views, and ideas. The Buddha’s original and direct teachings show that the common problem of dukkha, the unsatisfactory nature of life that gives rise to all manner of confusion and suffering, originates in clinging rooted in ignorance…
The Kaccayanagotta Sutta – Right View is a teaching on Right View and also a clear explanation of the common misunderstandings of “emptiness” and non-duality…
This is a recording of Metta Intentional Meditation. Metta means Goodwill or Lovingkindness. Metta is both an aspiration of those developing the Eightfold Path and the ongoing expression of an awakened, fully mature human being….
In the Kalama Sutta the Buddha addresses greed, hatred and deluded thinking directly as a way of pointing out how other teachings fail to directly address the defilements…
A Complete Practice was originally presented as a three-part series of dhamma articles and talks. I have combined these articles and talks into one coherent post. The Buddha taught and Eightfold Path that is often diminished in effectiveness through adaptations and accommodations made to allow for individually and culturally influenced views of what “Buddhism” should be…