We must practice putting the mind back into shape. Before we do anything, while we’re doing it, and after it’s done, we have to practice keeping the mind cheerful and bright, with a constant sense of well-being.
A concise overview of the teachings of Chao Khun Nararatana Rajamanit, a respected yet lesser-known teacher of the Thai City tradition.
]]>Householders, if wife and husband want to see each other in both this life and the next, they should be equals in faith, ethics, generosity, and wisdom.
]]>Having flown across the sky,
the birds resort to this delightful base
Other kings have victories; he has dhamma victories. Other kings go on hunting expeditions; he gets much more pleasure out of dhamma expeditions, on which he makes gifts to brahmins and renouncers and senior citizens, tours the country and finds instruction in the dhamma. Other kings have officials; he has dhamma officials…
The Aśoka of his inscriptions and of the Theravāda texts compared.
]]>The pain & distress dependent on sensuality do not exist at that time.
The Buddha encourages Anāthapiṇḍika to not rest short with generosity, but to practice meditation too.
]]>Mendicants, there are these five drawbacks for a family who takes their meals late in the day.
And five benefits of eating at a reasonable hour.
]]>Accomplishment in initiative, protection, good friendship, and balanced finances.
The brahmin Ujjaya is going abroad, and asks the Buddha to teach him. The Buddha teaches four practical ways to ensure success in this life, and another four ways to ensure success in the next.
]]>I myself believe there is strong evidence in the Nikāyas that the jhānas become an essential factor for those intent on advancing from the stage of once-returning to that of non-returner.
Addressing the deabate of the jhānas’ role in attaining nibbāna, Bhikku Bodhi argues that, while not critical for attaining stream-entry, the jhānas are vital to further attainments.
]]>I had an only son called Nanda who I loved dearly. The rulers forcibly abducted him on some pretext and had him executed. But I can’t recall getting upset …
Sāriputta and Moggallāna are on tour in the southern hills. A deity informs the laywoman Veḷukaṇṭakī that they are approaching. When Sāriputta expresses his amazement that she speaks with the gods, she goes on to list her other amazing qualities.
]]>I do not recall any mental exultation arising because deities come to me
Ugga the Householder roars his lion’s roar and the Buddha confirms him as a non-returner.
]]>… when Sakka, lord of the devas, was a human being, he adopted and undertook seven vows
]]>Having these six qualities the householder Tapussa is certain
]]>They make themselves happy and pleased. This is the second ground for praise.
The Buddha explains—and ranks!—the ten ways of seeking wealth.
]]>There is only one kind of success that really matters: the success of transforming ourselves
]]>I had unshakable faith in the Triple Gem. I practiced the precepts and delighted in giving and sharing.
A deva explains how they came to be reborn in heaven.
]]>Visiting a family with nine factors is worthwhile
Nine factors in how a family should relate to the Saṅgha.
]]>In what way, Bhante, is one a lay follower?
Questioned by his relative Mahānāma, the Buddha explains what makes someone a Buddhist lay follower, a virtuous lay follower, and a lay follower practicing for the welfare of all.
]]>The lay life is like farming in that it’s work with many requirements and when it fails it’s not very fruitful; but when it succeeds it is very fruitful.
Working hard is not valuable in and of itself; what matters is the outcome. And just as in lay life, spiritual practice may or may not lead to fruitful results.
]]>… social interaction is more complex and frequent than before
A few sage words on “playing around.”
]]>on the eighth and full and new moon days,
I shall abandon killing, stealing, sexual misconduct,
Lying, intoxicants; singing, dancing and wearing jewellery;
Sitting on high seats and eating after midday—
These eight branches I shall maintain.
May the enemies, destructive emotions, be destroyed!
… figuring out what to do with your life and making it happen against all odds
A very American take on Zen.
]]>A man remembering this, a person established in Nobility,
Is praised right here and now, and later rejoices in heaven.
The legitimate purposes of wealth.
]]>The Noble Disciple, householder, with the wealth he has attained through industry and effort, accumulated through the strength of his arms, through the sweat of his brow, righteously, in accordance with the Dhamma, performs four suitable deeds.
Four things that are desirable, but hard to get; and how to get them.
]]>Feeling comfortable with one’s balance of harmful and helpful actions is qualitatively different from reducing harm in the first place.
]]>Mahānāma, why do you say that they will make it as Vajjis?
How to cimb the social ladder the Buddhist way.
]]>The blind person, the one-eyed person, and the two-eyed person.
In which the Buddha dismisses the possibility that one could be ethically wise but materially foolish.
]]>The householder who is fully engaged in working and supporting his or her family may have to concentrate on dāna and sīla, […] but teachings on the Four Noble Truths, or on various aspects of meditation, may also be included if the hearers are seen as ready to understand more of the Dhamma.
]]>The way that we express our feelings is probably the major work of translation that we all do in our life.
How to translate Buddhist ideas into practice.
]]>In contrast to the monastic emphasis at Ajanta, Aurangabad seems to have been more open to laity, emerging as a religious sanctuary serving primarily the nonordained
The fascinating archeology and proposed history of the Aurangabad caves: a tourist site for lay Buddhists even in ancient times.
]]>Master Gotama, are there any laypeople who, without giving up the fetter of lay life, make an end of suffering when the body breaks up?
On the limits of the lay life… and the Buddha’s omniscience.
]]>But the Bodhisattva, unwilling to ask anyone for help, plucks up his courage, and goes out with his basket and cutting tool and cuts grass. He sells the grass and ekes out a meager living, giving what he can to those in need.
]]>That tree doesn’t need to be more than the tree. A tree just needs to be a tree. But our society always asks us to be more, right? Can’t we just be a human? Can we just be who we are?
]]>If we have learned one thing from the #MeToo campaign, apart from just how pervasive sexual violence is, it is that we as a society do not have a clear, uncontested idea of what sexual consent looks like, and that we do not all universally and equally value it.
A lucid treatment of an important and difficult subject, this book should be considered required reading for anyone who wishes to navigate their sexual relations more skillfully or who wishes to understand the contemporary discourse about sex.
]]>The worst thing, worse than the physical danger, is the emotional toll.
]]>… how a wise lay follower should advise another wise lay follower who is sick
Ending with a rather unusual description of the path as turning the mind progressively higher.
]]>A lay follower living at home with these five qualities is self-assured.
Confidence or lack thereof in layfolk is due to their precepts.
]]>… although I have long waited upon the Teacher and bhikkhus worthy of esteem, never before have I heard such a talk on the Dhamma
A beautiful reading of this wonderful and profound sutta.
]]>It is not always easy to look into one’s own mind. Man generally fights shy of looking too closely into his own mind since the awareness of his own silent evil thinking upsets his good opinion of himself. Continued practice of mindfulness of thoughts will help the disciple to understand that his thoughts are not himself.
An excellent overview of the various kinds of mindfulness meditation practices and why everyone should engage in them.
]]>The young people of today are not usually impressed by the wisdom of their elders.
A surprisingly humble and nondogmatic essay on sex.
]]>The ghosts who lust for our dedication [of merits] are like beggars. Only a tiny fraction of the merits we have accumulated can be shared with them
]]>If we are satisfied, then we will not want more. Wanting more is delusion. We think that it will be better if we can just have this person. But instead of getting better, many problems follow.
A short talk on the ten kinds of unwholesome action from MN41.
]]>“The person” has to be killed before one can be an arahant. If what we call “the person” has not been killed, there is no way one can be an arahant.
Transcribed from talks delivered to the students of Thammasat University in Bangkok in 1966, this short and readable series of question-and-answers gives a lucid corrective to many popular misconceptions and questions about Buddhism.
]]>Mendicants, there are these seven kinds of wealth. What seven? The wealth of faith, ethical conduct, conscience, prudence, learning, generosity, and wisdom.
]]>Householder, there are these four kinds of happiness that may be achieved by a layperson
The happiness of ownership, using wealth, debtlessness, and blamelessness.
]]>Meditation may seem disappointing and even almost useless for quite a long time, but if you persevere in it, results are bound to come. But these results may not be at all the sort of thing you expect. And you may not even be the person who first becomes aware of them. So press on regardless, and don’t look for results. If you can see the point of this piece of advice you have already in fact made useful progress.
A collection of four rather different but equally warm essays dedicated to the memory of S.F. de Silva.
]]>This essay will help the Buddhist lay follower to understand, from a practical angle, the main points of the Buddha’s teachings as they bear on the conduct of daily life. Constant practice of these principles will ensure that they are built into his character, enabling him to develop into a well-rounded human being, a centre of sanity in a confused world adrift in fashionable philosophies full of empty promises.
You can also listen to this book on YouTube.
]]>The suttas featured are:
]]>The assumption of a rigid division between monastics as recipients of liberating teachings and laity instructed in the gaining of merit and the way to a good rebirth does not accurately reflect early Buddhist thought.
]]>As for the question of suffering in the future—in this life or the next—don’t overlook your heart that’s suffering right now.
A collection of Luangta’s talks delivered to lay people. A beautiful collection of sermons from one of the great modern masters.
]]>What lies behind this insistence on love is a worry: without a deep-seated fear that one day love would no longer exist (or exist in the same way) why would anyone feel that they have to insist upon it so much?
Applying Buddhist wisdom to an area of our life we all care about deeply — our relationship with our loved ones — Ajahn Jayasaro makes the teachings relatable and applicable. An excellent sermon and well worth a read.
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