Category Archives: suttas

Illustrated: The Buddha’s Five Themes For Addressing Unskillful Thoughts

In the Vitakkasaṇṭhāna Sutta — The Relaxation of Thoughts (MN 20) the Buddha provides five themes to attend to at the appropriate times for those intent on heightening the mind. (The full post includes images and passages with explanations)

1) Small Peg Knocking Out Larger One (to attend to another theme)

2) Disgusted By Wearing Carcass (to know certain thoughts are unskillful, blameworthy, and resulting in stress)

3) Looking Away (to pay no mind to unskillful thoughts)

4) From Running To Walking To Standing To Sitting To Lying Down (to relax thought fabrications)

5) Clenching Teeth (to crush unskillful/evil mind with awareness)

Form And Formless | (6/29/2021 — “Ask Us Anything – LIVE” With Denny K Miu)

For this month’s regular open-audience, open-discussion “Ask Us Anything LIVE” — continuing discussions about meditation and related topics — Denny draws from, and summarizes the teaching of Shifu Ji Ru to link together the Four Great Elements, Four “Mighty” Postures, Four Right Knowings, Four Foundations of Mindfulness, Three (or Four) Dharma Seals, and Three Gates of Liberation.

June 2021 Full Moon Dhamma Gathering: Truth

Due to a major interest in truth, I answered the call to read a Sutta at Beth Upton’s June 2021 full moon gathering. Each of these monthly online get-togethers explores a different topic and offers “a chance to deepen our connections with each other through group meditation and Dhamma discussion.”

Amongst other things, this blog post includes the text I read along with a passage from another text I considered reading; relevant quotes about truth; the main questions we explored and some we did not

Practicing in the Desire Realm | (5/25/2021 — “Ask Us Anything – LIVE” With Denny K Miu)

For this month’s regular open-audience, open-discussion “Ask Us Anything” — continuing discussions about meditation and related topics — (despite some technical snafus) Denny and I pick one topic each we’ve yet to discuss much publicly — the Eight “Touches”, and wholesome sexuality(/sexual energy), respectively.

Types Of Samadhi (From Early Buddhist Texts)

“Monks, these are the four developments of concentration. Which four? There is the development of concentration that, when developed & pursued, leads to a pleasant abiding in the here & now. There is the development of concentration that, when developed & pursued, leads to the attainment of knowledge & vision. There is the development ofContinue reading “Types Of Samadhi (From Early Buddhist Texts)”

The Buddha’s Images For The Five Clinging Aggregates

“What is your definition of self,” is often one of the first questions I ask someone once it is clear they are serious about seeking, and/or clear about their spiritual path, or even someone heavily seeped in philosophy. From what I innerstand, while the historical Buddha never simply denied that there’s a “self” directly andContinue reading “The Buddha’s Images For The Five Clinging Aggregates”

Wisdom Snippets: 33 synonyms for Nibbana

Thirty-three synonyms for Nibbana from Unfabricated-ConnectedAsaṅkhata Saṁyutta  (SN 43): 1. The Unconditioned2. The destruction of lust, hate, delusion3. The Uninclined4. The taintless5. The truth6. The other shore7. The subtle8. The very difficult to see9. The unaging10. The stable11. The undisintegrating12. The unmanifest13. The unproliferated14. The peaceful15. The deathless16. The sublime17. The auspicious18. The secure19. The destructionContinue reading “Wisdom Snippets: 33 synonyms for Nibbana”

Corona-19, Hypertension And Qi | (2/23/2021 — “Ask Us Anything – LIVE” With Denny K Miu)

For this month’s regular open-audience, open-discussion “Ask Us Anything” — continuing discussions about meditation and related topics — Denny and I address present day popular topics of interest related to, and expanding upon, last month’s AUA on Qigong and Daoyin. First and foremost, as our presentation states, this is not medical advice. We share informationContinue reading “Corona-19, Hypertension And Qi | (2/23/2021 — “Ask Us Anything – LIVE” With Denny K Miu)”

An Integrating Presence Meditation: Foundations of Mindfulness — February 10, 2021 At Fat Cat Longevity

This recorded live guided meditation goes through the first three foundations of mindfulness — body; hedonic or feeling tone of pleasant, unpleasant, or neither of these; and mind. (Apologies for the heating system and water feature sounds.) Join meditation 7:00-7:45pm Wednesday, February 10th at http://FatCatLongevity.com downstairs next to Peace Love Coffee at Mary’s House ofContinue reading “An Integrating Presence Meditation: Foundations of Mindfulness — February 10, 2021 At Fat Cat Longevity”

Wisdom Snippets: Truth

Shortcut to this blog post: https://tinyurl.com/truthsnippets Definition of veracity noun — ve·​rac·​i·​ty | \ və-ˈra-sə-tē 1 : conformity with truth or fact : accuracy 2 : devotion to the truth : truthfulness 3 : power of conveying or perceiving truth 4 : something true makes lies sound like veracities Truth. Solipsism? 2 + 2 =Continue reading “Wisdom Snippets: Truth”