Ambapali

By Christine Joly | 11/21/2021

Christine Joly

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Dependent Arising

By Bhikkhu Anālayo | 11/21/2021

The principle of “dependent arising”, or paṭicca samuppāda, stands at the heart of the Dhamma, the Buddha’s teaching. According to a well-known saying, one who sees dependent arising sees the Dhamma, and conversely one who sees the Dhamma sees dependent arising.[1] What such seeing requires, however, is perhaps not necessarily obvious. In order to unpack this statement and relate it to the meditative contemplation of vedanās, first of all it could be noted that a chief principle behind expositions of dependent arising is the principle of specific conditionality.[2] Simply said, this means that there are specific conditions required for something to arise. In the absence of the relevant specific condition(s), that which depends on them will cease, or not even arise in the first place.

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Winds of Change

By Nicolas | 11/21/2021

Not much time had passed after we started classes again in college when the crisis started. Large masses of students, workers and other segments of the population had decided they had enough of what they perceived to be a tyrannical government. People took over the streets chanting, yelling, and demanding their voices to be heard. The government reacted with violence. Some protesters did also. Soon afterwards, the cities became war zones. Nobody, no matter what neighborhood you lived in, could walk to the park safely. In my city, events proceeded relatively normal in comparison to the rest of the country. We heard news of burnt town halls, of mysterious civilians shooting unarmed protesters in the street, missing relatives all over the place, dead protesters and dead cops, and overall chaos for everyone.

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Hard Reboot - Day 3

By Manish Chopra | 11/12/2021

Having rested well in a deep sleep with a cleansed body and mind, I woke up recharged and ready for the long day of meditation ahead. I was beginning to like the feeling of a refreshing cold shower early in the morning. My wake-up routine was down to a science by now—every minute was counted out for each activity so I would be ready in 30 minutes flat and seated on my meditation cushion in the Dhamma Hall by 4:30 am. The fact that I wasn’t shaving helped knock off a good 10-15 minutes from the morning rituals.

Today’s exercise was to persist with observing the breathing process and learn to recognize the sensations in and around the nasal area. As I tried to focus my mind towards acknowledging sensations like itching, warmth and moisture, more self-observations began to surface effortlessly...

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Send Mettā

By Luke Matthews | 11/8/2021

In the spring of 1979, construction of the Dhamma Giri pagoda was in full swing. A combined crew of Indian engineers and labourers, and Western volunteers—some experienced in construction, some not—bustled daily over the rising concrete bell, or dome. Student numbers continued to swell on courses, so there was a push to make the pagoda fully functional as soon as possible.

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