Description
Description
It is now twenty-five years since the publication, in 1961, of Joseph Heller's astonishing novel, Catch-22; yet so far, it seems, there has been no public comment on certain striking parallels between the Buddha's Teaching and some of the content of that novel.
The most immediately obvious similarity between the Teaching and the novel is that both are deeply concerned with man's mortality. "Old age, sickness, and death" is a phrase that occurs repeatedly in the Buddha's Teaching. The fact of man's mortality -- a constant peril in an inconstant world -- is a perception absolutely fundamental to the perspective of life presented by the Buddha's Teaching.
And in Catch-22 the protagonist, Yossarian, is no less deeply concerned about old age, sickness, and death. The spectre of their imminence is his constant dread. As his friend Dunbar puts it,
"Do you know how long a year takes when it's going away? This long." He snapped his fingers. "A second ago you were stepping into college with your lungs full of fresh air. Today you're an old man."
VIPASSANA PRODUCTS
Vipassana, which means to see things as they really are, is one of India's most ancient techniques of meditation. More information about Vipassana as taught by S.N. Goenka is available at www.dhamma.org.
The tag Vipassana identifies products that are directly related to this tradition and differentiates them from other Theravada resources available on our site. While the main emphasis in Vipassana meditation as taught by S.N. Goenka is on actual practice, this product may provide inspiration and guidance to a Vipassana meditator.
We also carry titles from the Theravada tradition, as we feel that by exploring the wider world of the Theravada texts, which include the Buddha’s discourses, commentaries, and scholarly articles and treatises, meditators have an opportunity to deepen their understanding of the Dhamma and thereby enrich their meditation practice. This kind of intellectual exploration also helps a meditator to gain an understanding of the evolution and historical context of their meditation tradition. This understanding in turn deepens their practice and understanding of the Dhamma.
Disclosure: Pariyatti is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.
Q: Why have you decided to partner with Amazon for the printing and distribution of your books?
A: Pariyatti is a non-profit organization whose purpose is to help disseminate the words of the Buddha.
The generosity of our customers and donors (donations make up ~25% of our revenue) is what has allowed Pariyatti to cover our annual shortfall, and permitted us to continue operations. We strive to continue to find ways to make best use of this hard-earned money, generously donated by so many to Pariyatti. One of these is to explore ways to optimize our operations.
Our goal is to disseminate Dhamma content. The choice of working with a given distribution partner is solely based on whether they can provide you, our customer (no matter where you live) with the item(s) you ordered in an accurate, timely, and reliable manner.
With the advent of eBooks and the internet, the entire book publishing and distribution industry has faced significant challenges. With these industry changes, and Pariyatti's additional challenges in serving a niche market with low sales volumes, it has been financially difficult to staff our own warehouse and operations. Year after year, the costs of maintaining our own warehouse has far exceeded the income.
By focusing on what we do best (such as make Dhamma content available at low or no cost), and partnering with others who have already built robust printing, packing, and delivery systems, we free up resources that can be redirected towards expanding Pariyatti's offerings for you.
We are always on the lookout for creative ways to make Dhamma content as widely and freely available as possible. If you have any ideas along these lines, please feel free to be in touch via director@pariyatti.org .