 Image search results - "reading" |
01_how_can_we_read.pdfReading the Suttas: How Can We Read?5628 viewsIntroduction. What is a sutta?
How would we read the Nikayas if we were academics?
How would we read the Nikayas if we were practitioners?
A study of the Kalama Sutta. This sutta is one of the most quoted in Western Buddhism, and the most quoted part of it is the section beginning:
“Kà là mas, for you to doubt, to be uncertain; uncertainty has arisen in a doubtful matter. Do not rely upon what has been acquired by repeated tradition; nor upon lineage; nor upon rumour; nor upon what is handed down in the teachings; nor upon logic; nor upon inference; nor upon a consideration of reasons; nor upon a delight in speculation; nor upon appearances; nor upon respect for your teacher. Kà là mas, when you know for yourselves: These things are unskilful; these things are blameable; these things are censured by the wise; undertaken and observed, these things lead to harm and suffering,’ then abandon themâ€.
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03_texts_and_practices.pdfTexts and Practices3493 views
The Suttas are chants, and are full of repetitions. When we look at the patterns of repetitions we discover something quite familiar to us: verses and chorus. Let us take some path text and use it to illustrate the problem we are talking about, and suggest another way of reading these texts that takes into account their oral structure as outlined above: Atthakanagara Sutta (M52) and Culasunnata Sutta: Smaller discourse on emptiness (M121)
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04_anapanasati_sutta.pdfThe Anapanasati Sutta4582 viewsThe Anapanasati Sutta is not an easy read, although the language itself is quite simple. But its structure is complex and dense, and this complexity raises serious questions about interpretation. The complexity of the structure creates ambiguity. Even the orthodox commentary sees certain passages as capable of different but simultaneous readings, referring to either serenity or insight practice depending on what approach to the practice the practitioner is taking.
We can see how Thich Nhat Hanh can take liberties with the text, but he does so to make the practice explained within it more accessible to ordinary lay people. Are we to assume that this was not the intention of the original compilers? Or can we see the complexity of the sutta as evidence of an attempt to create a discourse that different communities of practitioners could, quite legitimately, read in different ways? In any event, if we are to make sense of this sutta, and extract from it what it has to offer in terms of guidance on the practice, we need to read the structure of the text. It is not just the surface words that convey meaning, but the underlying networks that link the words.
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06_satipatthana_sutta_02.pdf02 Satipatthana Sutta3014 viewsDuring this course we have looked at how different interpretative communities read the Nikayas. Among these are contemporary communities formed by the experience of modernity, practitioners who are attempting to apply the teachings found in the Nikayas to their daily lives in the contemporary world. Locating ourselves within such a community, we can see that our reading is a form of practitioner criticism. We have sought to make sense of this alien literature firstly by acknowledging that it is not a literature at all, but a collection of oral performances. We have examined how these performances are both made up of and linked by patterns of repetition lists of lists within lists. The lists function like tables in individual databases, and the teaching as a whole - the dhamma - functions as a relational database which exists, not within any given sutta, but as a network of relationships which underlies and unites all the suttas.
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73_knowledges.pdfSeventy-Three Kinds of Knowledge3666 viewsVen. Nyanadassana, Bhikkhu
Since these knowledges are, as a Summary, very briefly stated,the present translation has explanatory notes in order to facilitate the reader understand them, at least intellectually, more easily. These explanations are based on the Pañisambhid -magga, the Visuddhi-magga and their corresponding Commentaries, and their references are clearly distinguished. The translation of each knowledge
is repeated in the Notes, in bold, for convenient reading.
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advice.pdfAdvice for Monks and Nuns2981 viewsThe continued existence of the Buddha Dharma depends upon the continued existence of the Sangha - the community of ordained practitioners, monks and nuns - one of the three Buddhist Refuges. In these talks, Lama Yeshe and Lama Zopa Rinpoche explain the great benefits of practicing Dharma as an ordained person, how to keep the ordination pure, the purpose of the monastic community, how to live together as monks and nuns, and much more. The necessity for the lay community to support the Sangha is also made clear, and not only monks and nuns but lay practitioners, too, will gain much by reading this book.
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brahmavihara.pdfBrahmavihara Dhamma5185 viewsVen. Mahasi Sayadaw
This Brahmavihara Dhamma (Divine Abidings) expounded by the late Venerable Mahasi Sayadaw, reveals the systematic method of developing Metta, loving-kindness towards all beings and the way to lead a life of holiness. The style of presentation and the informative materials contained therein stand witness to the depth and wealth of spiritual and scriptural knowledge of the eminent author. A careful reading of this Dhamma or teachings, followed by an unfailing practice of meditation that has been clearly presented in this text will, I believe, amount to storing a fortune in the shape of happiness in the present lifetime as well as higher spiritual attainment.
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ctp_book-2up_v1.pdfClearing the Path3220 viewsNOTE: The primary book version was made for printing as a book so it was not optimised for onscreen viewing or personal printout. This version 2upbookctpv1.PDF has been reprinted (Distilled) via Acrobat so that there are now 2 pages per A4 page in Landscape orientation (rather than usual Portrait orientation) so as to make personal printouts for reading much easier. The same effect could be obtained by using the original CtPbookv1.pdf and printing that via your desktop printer driver so as to have 2 pages per page (if possible).
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honourfathers.pdfHonor Our Fathers1622 viewsThis book is intended primarily as a tribute to the late Venerable Kapilavaddho Bhikkhu (William August Purfurst, known later as Richard Randall) for whom the English Sangha Trust was formed. He stands out as a man who started and developed the founding of the first English Theravada Sangha in the Western world. For the sake of context it includes a very brief history of the development of Theravada Buddhism in the UK. Only the major steps of this development have been recorded here, though many other groups have contributed to the spreading of Buddhism in the UK.
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jataka_t.pdfBuddhist Tales for Young & Old (Vol. 2)5613 viewsThis is the second volume of fifty stories from the Jataka Tales - Buddhist Tales for Young and Old, interpreted by Ven. Kurunegoda Piyatissa, Maha Thera and told by Todd Anderson. These stories are not scholarly word-for-word translations as have been done by others. Rather these tales have been rewritten in modern English understandable by western readers. By reading these stories, children and adults can develop their knowledge and learn how to face the difficulties of modern life.
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