Description
Description
This is an audiobook of Bodhi Leaves No. 123 by Lily de Silva, Radical Therapy: Buddhist Precepts in the Modern World narrated by Jim Swift. The print edition can be found in the Pariyatti Edition of Collected Bodhi Leaves Vol. V. The eBook of the individual booklet is available from the Buddhist Publication Society (BPS) website.
Excerpts:
"The Five Precepts are designed to discipline and purify the three avenues of human action-body, speech, and mind. Abstention from killing, stealing, and sexual misconduct disciplines bodily action. Abstention from false speech disciplines verbal action. It is also expected under this fourth precept that one should refrain from slander, abusive speech and frivolous talk. The dual discipline of body and speech has a salutary effect on the purity of mind, though complete mental purity can be brought about effectively only through bhavana, mental culture or meditation. The fifth precept against the use of intoxicants attempts to safeguard the mental faculty from degenerating through a bad habit. A man under the influence of intoxicants has no control over himself, and thus is easily tempted to transgress the four other precepts as well. ..."
"Conflicts, terrorism and wars have to be understood as the external manifestations of the internal disharmony of man. Man thinks violent thoughts, therefore there is violence in society. The corrupt mind brings suffering in its wake. This is an eternal truth. If happiness is what we yearn for, we have to entertain wholesome thoughts and act with wholesome thoughts; then happiness will follow effortlessly like a shadow. To train the mind for wholesome thoughts and healthy attitudes, our physical and verbal activities must be disciplined, and this is exactly what the Five Precepts do. They control our destructive potentials and humanise the predatory animal in us."
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We are grateful to the volunteers who offered their time and skills creating this product so that we can offer it freely. If you wish to help us record more audiobooks, please email us at volunteer@pariyatti.org.

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.
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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.
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