Buddha-Sasana: Recent Episodes
Bhikkhu Cintita
This podcast consists of Dharma talks given by Bhikkhu Cintita of the Sitagu Monastery in Austin, TX. Each talk illuminates some aspect of the Buddha's teachings. Bhikkhu Cintita (or "BC") is an American-born, Burmese-ordained monk in the Theravada tradition and a former Zen priest. Before that he was a professor and corporate researcher in cognitive science and artificial intelligence. He has written five books on Buddhism and is always working on another.
This is the fifth talk delivered by Bhikkhu Cintita at the Satipatthana Rethought retreat held at the American Bodhi Center in Hemstead, Texas, May 24-27.
This is the fourth talk delivered by Bhikkhu Cintita at the Satipatthana Rethought retreat held at the American Bodhi Center in Hemstead, Texas, May 24-27.
This is the third talk delivered by Bhikkhu Cintita at the Satipatthana Rethought retreat held at the American Bodhi Center in Hemstead, Texas, May 24-27.
This is the second talk delivered by Bhikkhu Cintita at the Satipatthana Rethought retreat held at the American Bodhi Center in Hemstead, Texas, May 24-27.
This is the first talk delivered by Bhikkhu Cintita at the Satipatthana Rethought retreat held at the American Bodhi Center in Hemstead, Texas, May 24-27.
Non-self is a practice more than it is a philosophical viewpoint. However, this practice begins with a conceptual investigation of the presumed experiential manifestations of the constructed self. (February 16, 2024)
This talk reviews what the early texts say about samādhi 'concentration', much of which may surprise you. This talk was originally presented on July 2, 2023 broadcast from Minnesota via Zoom to the English Dharma Group at Jade Temple in Houston Texas. (February 2, 2024)
“If consciousness were not to descend into the mother's womb, would name-and-form take shape in the womb?”
"No."
The most common traditional interpretation of this famous passage (from DN 15) is that consciousness travels into the womb to unify with the fetus of name-and-form at conception. I argue that this interpretation is untenable. (Rebroadcast 1/26/2024, originally broadcast 9/25/2020)
The Buddha-Sāsana is Buddhism as a living tradition, something that evolves, spreads to new lands, dies out in old lands, rather than Buddhism as the Dharma, which is much more static. A key question for the Buddha seems to be is how well the Buddha-Sāsana would retain the authenticity of the Buddha-Dharma.
The teaching of emptiness is often considered to be an innovation of Nagarjuna or of the Prajnaparamita Sutras. However this important teaching had been expounded by the Buddha many centuries before, but has become obscured. But how? (Rebroadcast 1/12/2024, originally podcast 7/16/2021)
The Buddha clarifies an explicit methodology which is nonetheless often overlooked by students of the Dharma. Much of this has to do with the practical and experiential orientation of the Dharma. The Buddha's methodology furthermore involves regarding the world as both insubstantial and conditional. (Repodcast 1/5/2024, originally podcast 7/30/2021).
The Buddha clarifies an explicit methodology which is nonetheless often overlooked by students of the Dharma. Much of this has to do with the practical and experiential orientation of the Dharma. (Repodcast 12/29/2023, originally podcast 7/23/2021).
Last week's talk demonstrated the exemplary support the Buddha provided to women's practice. This week we will look at a controversial text, describing with the origin of the nun's sangha, that at first sight seems to paint a starkly contrasting picture of the Buddha. (repodcast 12/22/2023, originally podcast 6/5/2020)
Buddhism is not widely known as a religion of gender-equality. But the early the discourses show repeatedly that the Buddha had the deepest kindness and respect for women, as particularly evident in his treatment of the nun's Sangha. (repodcast 12/15/2023, originally podcast 5/29/2020)
The wide-ranging teaching of the four noble truths can come under satipaṭṭhāna investigation if we look for its observables in those texts that are more nuts-and-bolts in style, although the fourth noble truth, when equated with the path itself, is more difficult to accommodate.. (Satipaṭṭhāna Exercise Instructions 12, 12/8/2023)
The awakening factors describe the growth of samādhi that is readily experienced within satipaṭṭhāna practice per se. This exercise should be assimilated as in routine monitoring of the constellation of satipatthana factors alive in other exercises. (Satipaṭṭhāna Exercise Instructions 11, 12/1/2023)
We look at the dhamma and the observables involved in comprehending the six senses of eye, ear, nose, tongue, body and mind. (Satipaṭṭhāna Exercise Instructions 11, 11/24/2023)
The appropriation-aggregates (form, feeling, perception, fabrication and cognizance) represent one of the most fruitful themes of satipatthana contemplation. (Satipaṭṭhāna Exercise Instructions 10, 11/17/2023)
The five hindrances fall under the fourth (dhamma) satipaṭṭhāna. Verifying and internalizing their understanding is an aid in general Buddhist practice, and only secondarily in quelling the presumption of self. (Satipaṭṭhāna Exercise Instructions 9, 11/10/2023)
The observables in the mind contemplation are states of mind. Once again the observables reveal non-self, but the chosen observables also collaterally support the understanding of important Dhammic concepts. (Satipaṭṭhāna Exercise Instructions 8, 11/3/2023)
Feeling (pain, pleasure and neither) is the basis of the second satipatthana contemplation, which seeks to demonstrate that there is no witness/self behind witnessing the world. (Satipaṭṭhāna Exercise Instructions 7, 10/27/2023)
The charnel ground contemplations give a means of observing the shift in our presumption of body/self with the progressive natural decay of a corpse. (Satipaṭṭhāna Exercise Instructions 6, 10/20/2023)
The elements (earth, water, fire and air) give an alternative was of deconstructing the body/self. I also discuss the the practical need sometimes to favor samādhi over analysis and vice versa. (Satipaṭṭhāna Exercise Instructions 5, 10/13/2023)
We review the contemplation of body parts, which we talked about some weeks ago, then discuss the varying modes of context and conceptuality in practice. (Satipaṭṭhāna Exercise Instructions 4, 10/6/2023)
Contemplation of bodily actions takes us off the cushion potentially into everyday life. It can be used independently of satipatthana to cultivate mental development. (Satipaṭṭhāna Exercise Instructions 3, 9/29/2023)
Contemplation of posture tends to take us off the cushion and, like the breath, is relatively discussion. We end with some discussion of intergrating samādhi into these exercises. (Satipaṭṭhāna Exercise Instructions 2, 9/22/2023)
Breath provides weak internal evidence, fragmentary and transitory, for presuming an external body/self. (Satipaṭṭhāna Instructions 1, 9/15/2023)
Why do we need scholarship at all? Why not just teach how to meditate? (In the series Rethinking the Satipaṭṭhāna, 9/8/2023)
Extending the primary analysis of the satipaṭṭhāna refrain to the fourth satipaṭṭhāna raises some issues. (Body in body internally and externally 4, 9/1/2023)
We take up the contribution of the refrain of the Satipaṭṭhāna Sutta to the contemplation of the individual exercises, focusing on “internal analysis.” (Body in the body internally and externally 3, 8/25/2023)
External analysis is to seek the external body in the observable evidence in which one is absorbed. (Body in body internally and externally 2, 8/18/2023)
We take up the contribution of the refrain of the Satipaṭṭhāna Sutta to the contemplation of the individual exercises, focusing on “internal analysis.” (Body in body internally and externally 1, 8/11/2023)
I describe how to practice the body parts exercise of the first satipaṭṭhāna, as a practical example of the systematic way I have been explaining satipaṭṭhāna in the last series of talks. (8/4/2023)
The practice of the first three satipaṭṭhānas aims at the deconstruction self in its facets of body, feelings and mind. (A back-roads tour of the Satipaṭṭhāna Sutta 4, 7/28/2023)
The correspondence of the fourth satipaṭṭhāna with both the five stages of liberation and the seven factors of awakening make the role of satipaṭṭhāna in developing right view clear, as well as the open-endedness of the Dhamma teachings examined in the fourth satipaṭṭhāna. (A back-roads tour of the Satipaṭṭhāna Sutta 3, 7/21/2023)
We continue by looking at two more representative exercises, reviewing the conclusion of the sutta and reviewing the corresponding texts in the Pali and Chinese traditions. (A back-roads tour of the Satipaṭṭhāna Sutta 2, 7/14/2023)
We begin a first pass of this important tutorial, identifying the satipaṭṭhāna method that supports the satipaṭṭhāna contemplative practice and see how the exercises are structured. (A back-roads tour of the Satipaṭṭhāna Sutta 1, 7/7/2023)
We look at the oft overlooked qualities of silent cognition (effortless attention) in explaining how samādhi leads to gnosis and vision. (The Miracle of Samādhi 4, 6/30/2023)
The absence of discursive thought in the second jhana is characteristic of effortless attention in cognitive science, which in turn is characteristic (perhaps counter-intuitively) of expert-level skill or virtuosity. This seem to be why samadhi produces the fruits attributed to it. (The Miracle of Samādhi 3, 6/23/2023)
Entering the jhānas involves a mind that lets go of hindrances, becomes one-centered and finally stills discursive thought. (The Miracle of Samādhi 2, 6/16/2023)
Samādhi brings joy and leads to knowledge and vision. It also arises spontaneously without effort. (The Miracle of Samādhi 1, 6/9/2023)
We will see that sammāsati (what others call “right mindfulness”) is the application of the satipatthana method for achieving and acquiring virtuosity in the other path practices. (The Satipatthana Method 4, 6/2/2023)
We look at how the application to everyday, non-Dhammic practices are utilized for training in the Buddhist art of skillfulness itself. (The Satipatthana Method 3, 5/26/2023)
Proficiency-comprehension (satisampajañña) is a ubiquitous human cognitive faculty that is developed and cultivated to become the satipaṭṭhāna method. (The Satipatthana Method 2, 5/19/2023)
The satipatthana method is the art of skillfulness enumerated in the Satipatthana Sutta, but applicable in many diverse practice contexts. (The Satipatthana Method 1, 5/12/2023)
If not sati, what is it we think we experience when we practice “mindfulness”? (How “Mindfulness” got Mislabeled 3, 5/5/2023)
The development of vipassanā as a mass meditation movement beginning in Burma resulted in some serious Dhammic shortcuts that marginalized the original meaning of sati. (Mislabeled 2, 4/28/2023)
There is a huge disconnect between our modern understanding of "minfulness" and the Pali word sati that 'mindfulness' was supposed to translate. (How "Mindulness got Mislabeled 1, 4/21/2023)
A monk is an anomaly in the Wild West of Buddhism, and so ends this narrative. (Through the Looking Glass 12, 4/14/2023)
Cloth management and alms for the new bhikkhu. (Through the Looking Glass 11, 4/7/2023)
I ordain as a bhikkhu, March 10, 2009, with unexpected pomp in Central Burma. (Through the Looking Glass 10, 3/31/2023)
I travel to the land of the golden pagodas to ordain as a bhikkhu. (Through the Looking Glass 9, 3/24/2023)
I seek out and am inspired by Western monks in Texas and California, and resolve to ordain as a bhikkhu. (Through the Looking Glass 8, 3/17/2023)
A brief history of Zen priesthood and how it felt to be a priest in the USA. (Through the Looking Glass 7, 3/10/2023)
I visit Japanese, Burmese, Chinese and Vietnamese temples and talk to monks. (Through the Looking Glass 6, 3/03/2023)
I ordain as a Zen priest at the Austin Zen Center. (Through the Looking Glass 5, 2/24/2023)
I decide to dedicate my life to Buddhist practice and move to a Zen monastery in California. (Through the Looking Glass 4, 2/17/2023)
I discover why forms and rituals are important and officially take refuge. (Through the Looking Glass 3, 2/10/2023)
I begin Zen meditation retreats and raise some curious questions about myself. (Through the Looking Glass 2, 2/3/2023)
I begin to tell my own “way seeking mind” story of how I first came to Buddhist practice. (Through the Looking Glass 1, 1/27/2023)
We review Buddhism’s unique roles in the symbolic/transcendent world. (Buddhism as Self-Help 18, 1/20/2023)
We look at how Buddhism fits into the symbolic structures of social cognition: the sacred, myth, ritual and community, and how meaning, motivation and supramundane experience are rooted there. (Buddhism as Self-Help 17, 1/13/2023)
Social cognition works symbolically. We continue our understanding of the constructed symbolic world in terms of myth and the sacred and their influence on human behavior. (Buddhism as Self-Help 16, 1/6/2022)
Symbolism provides the workings of social, cooperative life. We discuss the ubiquity and importance of ritual and then the ethic of living by vow, with examples from the Zen tradition. (Buddhism as Self-Help 15, 12/30/2022)
Lasting well-being is possible within the selfless, pro-social, cooperative world. We discuss moral communities, when they go wrong and the Buddhist resources that make them work. (Buddhism as Self-Help 14, 12/23/2022)
The Buddha divides thoughts into wholesome and unwholesome. The mundane unwholesome search for hedonic pleasure necessarily fails to produce lasting well-being for modern psychological and evolutionary reasons. (Buddhism as Self-Help 13, 12/16/2022)
The monastic Sangha provides a context in which social conditions that presuppose a self are excluded. (Buddhism as Self-Help 12, 12/9/2022)
A quick tour of various societal structures gives us an idea of where a non-self might be able to live and thrive. (Buddhism as Self-Help 12, 12/2/2022)
Contrary to being the ideology of global capitalism, Buddhism is only marginally about self-help under adverse social conditions, but intrinsically concerned with improving social conditions. (Buddhism as Self-Help 10, 11/25/2022)
The Buddha made clear that the success of our practice depends critically on an appropriate social context for practice. Self-help focuses on practice in inappropriate contexts. (Buddhism as Self-Help 9, 11/18/2022)
We look at the social psychology of managing our self-image in social contexts as a source for the ego-self and the authentic self, and how individualism is nonsensical. (Buddhism as Self-Help 8, 11/11/2022)
We discuss self-presentation as an individual adaptation to survival in the sociocultural matrix. (Buddhism as Self-Help 7, 11/4/2022)
Humans are fundamentally cooperative and social creatures. We show that most significant individual cognition serves social cognition, drawing significant differences between humans and other apes in this regard. (Buddhism as Self-Help 6, 10/28/2022)
We discuss Buddhist practices for deconstructing the thing-self, and then how modern Buddhism is interpreted in terms of the modern authentic self. (Buddhism as Self-Help 5, 10/21/2022)
We discuss how the ego-self is produced through appropriating assets as “me” and “mine” in Buddhist thought, and then how the historically evolved self in the west became the authentic self. (Buddhism as Self-Help 4, 10/14/2022)
We discuss the thing-self in Buddhist thought, and the evolution of the self in European history. (Buddhism as Self-Help 3, 10/7/2022)
The Buddha analyzed the self at two levels: the thing-self and the ego-self. We use the ego-self, produced in becoming, to begin the analysis of the evolving western sense of self and its shadow sense of lack. (Buddhism as Self-Help 2, 9/30/2022)
Has Buddhism become “the hegemonic ideology of global capitalism"? (Self-Help 1, 9/23/2022)
I argue that modern “mindfulness” corresponds pretty closely to ‘samādhi’ in the early Buddhist texts. (9/16/2022)
How did the meaning of sati evolve from early Buddhist times to give us our modern understanding of “mindfulness”? (9/9/2022)
‘Mindfulness’ misses the mark as a translation of Pali sati. Preferable is ‘recollection.’ (9/2/2022)
‘Mindfulness’ misses the mark as a translation of Pali sati. Preferable is ‘recollection.’ (9/2/2022)
More tips for the student confused by Buddhist technical terms. (Buddhist Terminology, talk 2, 8/26/2022)
More tips for the student confused by Buddhist technical terms. (Buddhist Terminology, talk 2, 8/26/2022)
Tips for the student confused by Buddhist technical terms. (Buddhist Terminology, talk 1, 8/19/2022)
Tips for the student confused by Buddhist technical terms. (Buddhist Terminology, talk 1, 8/19/2022)
What can we expect to result from the practice of Satipatthana? (Rethinking Satipatthana, talk 22, 8/12/2022)
What can we expect to result from the practice of Satipatthana? (Rethinking Satipatthana, talk 22, 8/12/2022)
Inclusion of the for noble truths under phenomena greatly extends the scope of the satipatthana. (Rethinking Satipatthana, talk 21, 8/5/2022)
We discuss how the practice of satipatthana helps us to perceive the world directly in terms of Dharma, to gain knowledge and vision of how things are. (Rethinking Satipatthana, talk 20, 7/29/2022)
We discuss how the practice of satipatthana helps us to perceive the world directly in terms of Dharma, to gain knowledge and vision of how things are. (Rethinking Satipatthana, talk 20, 7/29/2022)
The factors of awakening arise from satipatthana practice to produce concentration. Concentration in turn influences or rather interferes with the process of constructing the world. (Rethinking Satipatthana, talk 19, 7/22/2022)
The key exercises of the contemplation of phenomena are closely connected to the links of dependent coarising. We discuss what we can learn from this critical teaching. (Rethinking Satipatthana, talk 18, 7/15/2022)
We discuss the an alternative model of cognition in the Buddha’s teachings that accounts for the arising of the experiential world from the basis of the six senses. (Rethinking Satipatthana, talk 17, 7/8/2022)
We discuss the five aggregates of appropriation, a hugely important model of cognition in the Buddha’s teachings that accounts for the internal constructedness of the world. (Rethinking Satipatthana, talk 16, 7/1/2022)
We discuss the five sources of distraction in meditative and contempletive practice. (Rethinking Satipatthana, talk 15, 6/24/2022)
We introduce the fourth broad subject of contemplation, phenomena or experiences as described in the Dharma, a set of six exercises to be discussed in the following weeks. (Rethinking Satipatthana, talk 14, 6/17/2022)
We talk about the third broad subject of contemplation, states of mind. (Rethinking Satipatthana, talk 13, 6/10/2022)
We move past the body contemplations to contemplating our likes and dislikes. (Rethinking Satipatthana, talk 12, 6/3/2022)
We use the analogy of understanding clouds to illustrate the logic of internal analysis, then consider the contemplation of decaying corpses, which are much like clouds. (Rethinking Satipatthana, talk 11, 5/27/2022)
We take a closer look at internal analyis described in the satipatthana refrain, its logic and its function. Find supplementary materials at sitagu.org/shortlinks/satipatthana/ (Rethinking Satipatthana, talk 10, 5/20/2022)
We take up contemplation of elements, and consider to what extent we are examining something imagined as opposed to something imagined in the body contemplations. Find supplementary materials at sitagu.org/shortlinks/satipatthana/ (Rethinking Satipatthana, talk 9, 5/13/2022)
We take up contemplation of body parts and contemplation of elements. Find supplementary materials at sitagu.org/shortlinks/satipatthana/ (Rethinking Satipatthana, talk 8, 5/6/2022)
We investigate impermanence with respect to actions of the body. Find supplementary materials at sitagu.org/shortlinks/satipatthana/ (Rethinking Satipatthana, talk 7, 4/29/2022)
We take up the second satipatthana exercise, also among the body contemplations, and deepen our understanding of internal analysis. Find supplementary materials at sitagu.org/shortlinks/satipatthana/ (Rethinking Satipatthana, talk 6, 4/22/2022)
We take up the first of about twenty satipatthana exercises, and the first of the body contemplations: contemplation of breath. Find supplementary materials at sitagu.org/shortlinks/satipatthana/ (Rethinking Satipatthana, talk 5, 4/15/2022)
We begin reading the Satipatthana Sutta and introduce toolbox of mental faculties we are asked to maintain in the practice of Satipatthana. Find supplementary materials at sitagu.org/shortlinks/satipatthana/ (Rethinking Satipatthana, talk 4, 4/8/2022)
We discuss the role of right effort and right mindfulness in the Satipatthana. Find supplementary materials at sitagu.org/shortlinks/satipatthana/ (Rethinking Satipatthana, talk 3, 4/1/2022)
We discuss the role of right understanding and right samadhi in the Satipatthana. Find supplementary materials at sitagu.org/shortlinks/satipatthana/ (Rethinking Satipatthana, talk 2, 3/18/2022)
We introduce the art of mindful observation and discuss the place of satipatthana in the noble eightfold path. Find supplementary materials at sitagu.org/shortlinks/satipatthana/ (Rethinking Satipatthana, talk 1, 3/18/2022)
How close are we to developing a strong and healthy Sasana in the west? (A culture of awakening, talk 14, 3/11/2022)
We look at how western Buddhism was shaped in 19th century colonial Asia. (A culture of awakening, talk 13, 3/4/2022)
Folk Buddhism is tethered to adept Buddhist through refuge and plays a healthy role in the sasana. We look at Pure Land as an example. (A culture of awakening, talk 12, 2/25/2022)
Folk Buddhism is the common understanding of what constitutes the Buddha’s teachings in a particular culture. (A culture of awakening, talk 11, 2/18/2022)
The Buddha once stated, “One dwells in suffering if one is without reverence and deference.” (A culture of awakening, talk 10, 2/11/2022)
Buddhist faith is centered on the triple Gem: we gain faith in the Buddha, we gain faith in the Dharma and we gain faith in the Sangha, the three discernible sources of Buddhist wisdom. (A culture of awakening, talk 9, 2/4/2022)
We discuss how the lay community organizes itself around the Sangha in its midst.(A culture of awakening, talk 8, 1/28/2022)
We discuss the responsibility assigned by the Buddha to the Sangha to adhere to the monastic code (Vinaya). (A culture of awakening, talk 7, 1/21/2022)
We discuss the responsibility assigned by the Buddha to the Sangha to maintain the integrity of the Dharma. (A culture of awakening, talk 6, 1/14/2022)
We discuss the responsibility assigned by the Buddha to the Sangha to inspire faith in the wider community.(A culture of awakening, talk 5, 1/7/2022)
We discuss the Buddha’s mission statement with respect to the monastic communal and practice life. (A culture of awakening, talk 4, 12/31/2021)
We discuss the role of the monastic community in upholding adept (in contrast to folk) Buddhism.(A culture of awakening, talk 3, 12/24/2021)
We discuss how the Dharma influences society but particularly how it is carried and shaped by society.(A culture of awakening, talk 2, 12/17/2021)
This is the first talk of a series on Buddhism in society, focuing on the structure of the Sasana.(A culture of awakening, talk 1, 12/10/2021)
We finish looking at the fetters, in particular those that are lost only by the awakened and summarize the practice toward awakening. These talks on the Buddhist Path supplement a text available as a pdf at: sitagu.org/shortlinks/lifepath/ (Buddhist Path, talk 18, 12/03/2021)
We get an idea of the psychology of spritual attainment in terms of the collapse of the chain of dependent coarising and the loss of the ten fetters. These talks on the Buddhist Path supplement a text available as a pdf at: sitagu.org/shortlinks/lifepath/ (Buddhist Path, talk 17, 11/26/2021)
Awakening is generally regarded as ineffable, beyond words, like describing sight to the blind. Nonetheless, there are a number of perspectives that help us to gain some conceptual understanding, and also to track our progress toward awakening.. These talks on the Buddhist Path supplement a text available as a pdf at: sitagu.org/shortlinks/lifepath/ (Buddhist Path, talk 16, 11/19/2021)
What we presume gets us into trouble, particularly we get attached to the things we presume. These talks on the Buddhist Path supplement a text available as a pdf at: sitagu.org/shortlinks/lifepath/ (Buddhist Path, talk 15, 11/12/2021)
We talk about the other conceptual factors that work with consciousness to produce the way we misconceptualize the world. These talks on the Buddhist Path supplement a text available as a pdf at: sitagu.org/shortlinks/lifepath/ (Buddhist Path, talk 14, 11/5/2021)
We take a quick tour of the twelve factors of dependent coarising, which the Buddha equated with the Dhamma itself, and look at the critical role of consciousness. These talks on the Buddhist Path supplement a text available as a pdf at: sitagu.org/shortlinks/lifepath/ (Buddhist Path, talk 13, 10/29/2021)
We will discuss how the cultivation factors work to deepen wisdom, which is both the beginning and end of Buddhist practice on the path. These talks on the Buddhist Path supplement a text available as a pdf at: sitagu.org/shortlinks/lifepath/ (Buddhist Path, talk 12, 10/22/2021)
We talk about the final factor on the noble eightfold path: right concentration. These talks on the Buddhist Path supplement a text available as a pdf at: sitagu.org/shortlinks/lifepath/ (Buddhist Path, talk 11, 10/15/2021)
We talk about the path factors of right effort and right mindfulness. These talks on the Buddhist Path supplement a text available as a pdf at: sitagu.org/shortlinks/lifepath/ (Buddhist Path, talk 10, 10/8/2021)
We talk about a subtle aspect of karma: with full awakening there is activity in the world, but no karma! Then we will say some things about practicing virtue in our lives. These talks on the Buddhist Path supplement a text available as a pdf at: sitagu.org/shortlinks/lifepath/ (Buddhist Path, talk 9, 10/1/2021)
We look at the fifth factor on the noble eightfold path, and then look at virtue in therms of karma. These talks on the Buddhist Path supplement a text available as a pdf at: sitagu.org/shortlinks/lifepath/ (Buddhist Path, talk 8, 9/24/2021)
We look at the third and fourth factors on the noble eightfold path. These talks on the Buddhist Path supplement a text available as a pdf at: sitagu.org/shortlinks/lifepath/ (Buddhist Path, talk 7, 9/17/2021)
We see how the human condition is disentabled by dispelling the conditions of suffering. These talks on the Buddhist Path supplement a text available as a pdf at: sitagu.org/shortlinks/lifepath/ (Buddhist Path, talk 6, 09/10/2021)
Suffering comes to characterize the world as we experience it by arising from conditions. These talks on the Buddhist Path supplement a text available as a pdf at: sitagu.org/shortlinks/lifepath/ (Buddhist Path, talk 5, 09/03/2021)
Wisdom is what we need to know for practice. Both wisdom and practice concern the world as we experience it. These talks on the Buddhist Path supplement a text available as a pdf at: sitagu.org/shortlinks/lifepath/ (talk 4, 08/27/2021)
We talk about how one becomes a stream enterer and summarize the path of higher training. These talks on the Buddhist Path supplement a text available as a pdf at: sitagu.org/shortlinks/lifepath/ (talk 3)
We continue our first-pass overview of the higher training as we consider how the noble eightfold path is primarily a path of ethics, and we will introduce the concept of the stream enterer, the trainee, who possesses the ideal qualities to embark on the noble eightfold path. These talks on the Buddhist Path supplement a text available as a pdf at: sitagu.org/shortlinks/lifepath/ (talk 2)
In this series of talks we want to look at the noble eightfold path in detail, the eight bullet points of advanced Buddhist practice. This first talk provides a quick overview. These talks on the Buddhist Path supplement a text available as a pdf at: sitagu.org/shortlinks/lifepath/ (talk 1)
The Buddha's methodology furthermore involves regarding the world as both insubstantial and conditional. (1/2)
The Buddha clarifies an explicit methodology which is nonetheless often overlooked by students of the Dharma. Much of this has to do with the practical and experiential orientation of the Dharma. (1 of 2)
The teaching of emptiness is often considered to be an innovation of Nagarjuna or of the Prajnaparamita Sutras. However this important teaching had been expounded by the Buddha many centuries before, but has become obscured. But how?
In this last talk on our long series on Dependent Coarising, we look at how we live without presumptions: without views and without existing objects. These talks on Dependent Co-Arising supplement a text available as a pdf at: sitagu.org/shortlinks/coarising/ (DC 25)
Ignorance is the source of presumption, from which the rest of the links flow. These talks on Dependent Co-Arising supplement a text available as a pdf at: sitagu.org/shortlinks/coarising/ (DC 24)
The formations are the site of karma (volition) and the dispositions that give rise to our ethical choices. These talks on Dependent Co-Arising supplement a text available as a pdf at: sitagu.org/shortlinks/coarising/ (DC 23)
Formations are dispositionally conditioned conceptual choices that form the basis of all cognition. These talks on Dependent Co-Arising supplement a text available as a pdf at: sitagu.org/shortlinks/coarising/ (DC 22)
We explore the enormous depth and imagination of cognizance, and how it manages to convince us that this is real. These talks on Dependent Co-Arising supplement a text available as a pdf at: sitagu.org/shortlinks/coarising/ (DC 21)
Cognizance is the creative aspect of cognition, always in conversation with name and form, our cumulative understanding of the world. These talks on Dependent Co-Arising supplement a text available as a pdf at: sitagu.org/shortlinks/coarising/ (DC 20)
This talk discusses how the factors of form, feeling, perception, intention, contact and attention determine how the world appears to us. These talks on Dependent Co-Arising supplement a text available as a pdf at: sitagu.org/shortlinks/coarising/ (DC 19)
Name and form provides an interactive model of cognition for mapping sensual data to cognizance. These talks on Dependent Co-Arising supplement a text available as a pdf at: sitagu.org/shortlinks/coarising/ (DC 18)
The sixfold sphere is the process of presuming. Once we understand the process, we can presume otherwise. These talks on Dependent Co-Arising supplement a text available as a pdf at: sitagu.org/shortlinks/coarising/ (DC 17)
The sixfold sphere turns the issue of "out there," into how do we think we know what is going on "out there." These talks on Dependent Co-Arising supplement a text available as a pdf at: sitagu.org/shortlinks/coarising/ (DC 15)
There is a basis for questioning how accurately what we contact reflects what is really "out there." These talks on Dependent Co-Arising supplement a text available as a pdf at: sitagu.org/shortlinks/coarising/ (DC 15)
Contact is the relation of subject ('me") to object (something substantial "out there"). Unquestioned, it leasds to suffering. These talks on Dependent Co-Arising supplement a text available as a pdf at: sitagu.org/shortlinks/coarising/ (DC 14)
Feeling easily spins out int mental proliferation. However, neutral feelings are cultivated bring about meditative states These talks on Dependent Co-Arising supplement a text available as a pdf at: sitagu.org/shortlinks/coarising/ (DC 13)
Feelings are our immediate evaluation of the world, thumbs up or thumbs down. They have a rickety relation to human motivation. These talks on Dependent Co-Arising supplement a text available as a pdf at: sitagu.org/shortlinks/coarising/
We discuss seeking behavior, craving for becoming and how we limit or even eliminate our impluse to crave. These talks on Dependent Co-Arising supplement a text available as a pdf at: sitagu.org/shortlinks/coarising/ (DC 11)
Craving plays a central role among the twelve links, directly implicated in craving, in how we fashion our experiental world and in human action. These talks on Dependent Co-Arising supplement a text available as a pdf at: sitagu.org/shortlinks/coarising/ (DC 10)
We talk about contemplations that help us release what we have attached to as me and mine, in order to limit and ultimate eliminate appropriatio. These talks on Dependent Co-Arising supplement a text available as a pdf at: sitagu.org/shortlinks/coarising/ (DC 9)
Appropriating things as me and mine is how we develop a personality within the experiential world. These talks on Dependent Co-Arising supplement a text available as a pdf at: sitagu.org/shortlinks/coarising/. (DC 6)
Last week we looked at developing a personality in the world. Today we look at the mechanics of growing our world of experience and see how our personality shapes a self-centered world. These talks on Dependent Co-Arising supplement a text available as a pdf at: sitagu.org/shortlinks/coarising/ (DC 7)
Becoming is a twofold process: (1) growing our phenomenal world, our world of experience, and (2) developing a personality within that world, becoming someone. Today we learn what it means to be someone. These talks on Dependent Co-Arising supplement a text available as a pdf at: sitagu.org/shortlinks/coarising/ (DC 6)
Rebirth in Buddhism is a middle way between annihilation at death and eternal life, presuming there is nothing to be reborn. These talks on Dependent Co-Arising supplement a text available as a pdf at: sitagu.org/shortlinks/coarising/ (DC 5)
Birth after birth keeps us spinning around in this mass of suffering. Although rebirth is rather obscure, framing our practice in this way gives urgency and depth to our practice. These talks on Dependent Co-Arising supplement a text available as a pdf at: sitagu.org/shortlinks/coarising/ (DC 4)
Conditionality relates craving to suffering and each of the twelve links of dependent co-arising to its neighbors. We also provide a quick description of each of twelve links. These talks supplement a text available as a pdf at: sitagu.org/shortlinks/coarising/ (DCA 3)
Dependent co-arising accounts for our pervasive dissatisfaction and sense of lack. We would not come to Buddhism if we lived in perpetual bliss. Here we review the many forms of human suffering and introduce the four noble truths. These talks supplement a text available as a pdf at: sitagu.org/shortlinks/coarising/ (DCA 2)
The human pathology is that we presume a world that is impossible to live in in any satisfactory way. In the twelve links of dependent co-arising are the Buddha's most comprehensive teaching, in which he explores from a cognitive perspective: our presumptions, how they arise, how they afflict us, and what happens when we let go of them. This is the first in a long series of talks about which the Buddha said, "Whoever sees dependent co-arising sees the Dhamma." These talks supplement a text available as a pdf at: sitagu.org/shortlinks/coarising/ (DCA 1)
We finish looking at what the earliest texts tell us about the the practice of refuge in Buddhism. This continues a series of talks on "Buddhist Life," Information about this series can be found at sitagu.org/shortlinks/lifepath/. (BL12)
We begin looking at what the earliest texts tell us about the the practice of refuge in Buddhism. This continues a series of talks on "Buddhist Life," Information about this series can be found at sitagu.org/shortlinks/lifepath/. (BL11)
We finish looking at what the earliest texts tell us about the the practice of harmony in Buddhism. This continues a series of talks on "Buddhist Life," Information about this series can be found at sitagu.org/shortlinks/lifepath/. (BL10)
We begin looking at what the earliest texts tell us about the the practice of harmony in Buddhism. This continues a series of talks on "Buddhist Life," Information about this series can be found at sitagu.org/shortlinks/lifepath/. (BL9)
We finish looking at what the earliest texts tell us about the development of purity of mind in Buddhism. This continues a series of talks on "Buddhist Life," Information about this series can be found at sitagu.org/shortlinks/lifepath/. (BL8)
We begin looking at what the earliest texts tell us about the development of purity of mind in Buddhism. This continues a series of talks on "Buddhist Life," Information about this series can be found at sitagu.org/shortlinks/lifepath/. (BL7)
We finish looking at what the earliest texts tell us about the practice of precepts (sila) in Buddhism. This continues a series of talks on "Buddhist Life," Information about this series can be found at sitagu.org/shortlinks/lifepath/. (BL6)
.We begin looking at what the earliest texts tell us about the practice of precepts (sila) in Buddhism. This continues a series of talks on "Buddhist Life," Information about this series can be found at sitagu.org/shortlinks/lifepath/. (BL5)
We finish looking at what the earliest texts tell us about the practice of generosity (dana) in Buddhism. This continues a series of talks on "Buddhist Life," Information about this series can be found at sitagu.org/shortlinks/lifepath/. (BL4)
We look at what the earliest texts tell us about the practice of generosity (dana) in Buddhism. This continues a series of talks on "Buddhist Life," Information about this series can be found at sitagu.org/shortlinks/lifepath/. (BL3)
We look at what the earliest texts tell us about the life of the Buddha from his awakening and through his teaching career. This continues a series of talks on "Buddhist Life," Information about this series can be found at sitagu.org/shortlinks/lifepath/. (BL2)
We look at what the earliest texts tell us about the life of the Buddha through his awakening under the Bodhi tree. This begins a series of talks on "Buddhist Life" (BL1). Information about this series can be found at sitagu.org/shortlinks/lifepath/ .
How is it possible to develop knowledge and wisdom based on right view from within samadhi? This is the art of balancing vipassana with jhana.
The attainment of wisdom attributed to samādhi is generally called knowledge and vision. However, the question remains controversial how knowledge and vision are related to right view, i.e., to Dharma, for how can understanding of something cognitively complex be brought into the stillness of samadhi?
Pleasurable abiding in the progressively unfolding factors of delight, tranquility and samadhi is a karmic fruit that we enjoy when we are engaged in wholesome practice of all kinds. It has the important function of informing our practice of the difference between worldly and supramundane pleasure.
Far from the common characterization of samadhi (concentration) as a difficult and specialized practice of samatha, what we find in the Suttas is that samadhi arises quite spontaneously in a wide variety of practice contexts. It is a rather bread-and-butter factor in Buddhist practice.
“If consciousness were not to descend into the mother's womb, would name-and-form take shape in the womb?” "No." The most common traditional interpretation of this famous passage (from DN 15) is that consciousnessis travels into the womb to unify with the fetus of name-and-form at conception. I argue that this interpretation is untenable.
The same principles by which Buddhism understands interpersonal conflict and how to resolve it, apply also to social issues such as criminal justice, ethnic and racial tensions, our consumption of media and news, and even political views.
This talk discusses Early Buddhist antidotes to the judgmental mind, and to the anger that often accompanies it.
How conflicts - from tiff to shootout - typically arise, with particular emphasis on the violent nature of judgmental thinking.
In this eleventh and final talk in the "Mindfulness, where Dharma meets Practice" series, we look at the virtues of simplicity and devotion and the importance of community in framing a Buddhist life.
In this tenth talk in the "Mindfulness, where Dharma meets Practice" series, we look at the challenges to integrating practice into everyday life, the need to practice mindfully throughout the day, and the importance of choosing an appropriate livelihood.
In this ninth talk in the "Mindfulness, where Dharma meets Practice" series, we look at the art of investigation and the role of mindful observation and mental composure in the process that leads to insight into how things are.
In this eighth talk in the "Mindfulness, where Dharma meets Practice" series, we look at the main logic of the wisdom teachings, that have to do with the contingency and unsubstantiality of our experiential world.
In this seventh talk in the "Mindfulness, where Dharma meets Practice" series, we see how wisdom begins with study of the Dharma and how, mindful of the Dharma, we investigate our own experience.
In this sixth talk in the "Mindfulness, where Dharma meets Practice" series, we look more carefully at the nature of Dharma as working assumptions that, only by putting aside blind faith, we seek to understand in terms of our own experience.
In this fifth talk in the "Mindfulness, where Dharma meets Practice" series, we see how devotion based in the mindfulness of the three refuges becomes a powerful motivator for practice. We look at the role of admirable friends and the Sangha.
In this fourth talk in the "Mindfulness, where Dharma meets Practice" series, we look at the development of purity, the kind of character that cannot help but be harmless and of benefit, and the role of mindful observing of our intentions in developing such quality.
In this third talk in the "Mindfulness, where Dharma meets Practice" series, we look at the mindful practices of precepts and generosity, as means of becoming harmless and of benefit in a Buddhist life.
In this second talk in the "Mindfulness, where Dharma meets Practice" series, we look at the noble eightfold path, the basic instructions to keep in mind in our practice, and look more deeply at the role of Right Mindfulness and mindful observation (satipatthana).
In this first talk in the "Mindfulness, where Dharma meets Practice" series (MDP), we consider Buddhism as a skill. Dharma is the instructions, practice is living according to those instructions. Mindfulness is keeping those instructions in mind, remembering them.
Smart but not wise, I took up Buddhism as a rather step-by-step process of rational exploration. That is, until it swept me up to reveal things rather unanticipated.
Last week's talk demonstrated the exemplary support the Buddha provided to women's practice. This week we will look at a controversial text, describing with the origin of the nun's sangha, that at first sight seems to paint a starkly contrasting picture of the Buddha.
Buddhism is not widely known as a religion of gender-equality. But the early the discourses show repeatedly that the Buddha had the deepest kindness and respect for women, as particularly evident in his treatment of the nun's Sangha. (In part two we will look at the most controversial text in this regard.)
The aggregates are a foundational teaching of the Buddha, but they are rarely properly understood. This talk shows how to identify all the aggregates in your own experience and explains their role in contemplative practice.
The Buddha-Sasana is Buddhism as a living tradition, something that evolves, spreads to new lands, dies out in old lands, rather than Buddhism as the Dharma, which is much more static. A key question for the Buddha seems to be is how well the Buddha-Sasana would retain the authenticity of the Buddha-Dharma.
A narrative account of BC's 2009 bhikkhu ordination in Burma. This story appears in his 2012 book, Through the Looking Glass, which can be found on-line.
'Trinsic motivation sermon 4. Our practice has a social foundation, as taught by the Buddha. Social conditions are the primary way we are oppressed by extrinsic motivatons. This talk discusses how we get out from under these conditions.
'Trinsic motivation sermon 3. This deals with how to encourage intrinsic motivators in our live, how to "follow your bliss," to make our projects more satisfying and meaningful. Projects include hobbies, career, education marriage and religion. The importance of faith and devotion in all of these is discussed.
'Trinsic motivation part 2. We show how Buddhism predicts the mental and spiritual downside of extrinsic motivation (striving toward personal advantage) in terms of its ethical quality. The antidote is the development of virtue.
This talk is on the importance of doing things for no particular purpose, in life and in Buddhist practice. It is largely based on evidence from modern experimental psychology, which closely resonates with traditional Buddhist teachings, and which demonstrates that increased well-being, satisfaction, proficiency, understanding and creativity results when we let go of goals.
This talk examines three similes for mindfulness, two of the Buddha's and one of my own, and discusses how our meditation needs to venture beyond the breath. This talk was recorded at Sitagu Buddha Vihara, Austin, TX, October 13, 2018
The seven factors of awakening are an oft neglected causal chain of factors described by the Buddha that arise one by one in meditation practice and link mindfulness and concentration.