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Foundational Wisdom

Module 10 of An Introduction to Buddhist Practice

Photo by Joi Ito, CC BY 2.0

Homework

Chapter 8 from Buddhist Life, Buddhist Path – Bhikkhu Cintita (.pdf) (.epub) (.pdf)

  • Of all the spiritual powers, wisdom is chief because it guides the others.
  • For the four other spiritual powers listed here, what would it look like if one of them were chief?
  • Ajahn Brahm reassures us that Buddhism is scientific and rational, containing things that we can discover and prove in ourselves.
  • The Buddha explains what fuels ignorance and what fuels the path to liberation.
  • Liberation is for one who knows and sees the origin and passing away of the aggregates. It happens as the natural result of cultivating the Noble Eightfold Path.
  • Interestingly, right intention is not the desire to attain liberation; the desire for liberation doesn’t lead to it. Rather, cultivating renunciation, goodwill, and harmlessness, and developing the mind accordingly, is the motivation that leads to Nibbāna.
  • While it’s impossible to know “today I’ve made this much progress,” it is possible over larger time spans to reflect and see how our practice has changed our character.
  • A short series of talks and Q-and-As on Buddhist wisdom by a modern Tibetan master.

Lecture