At the Vedana Symposium organized by Martine Batchelor and held at BCBS from 13 to 16 July 2017, the nature of neutral feeling was one of several topics discussed. See Mu Soeng's overview of all the presentations here. In this article, I follow up the discussion, in particular the question of whether the early discourses recognize neutral feelings as a distinct category on their own. “Feeling” has become the standard rendering of the Pali term vedana. In spite of what the English term … [Read more...]
Bhikkhu Anālayo
Death Contemplation
Insight Journal: Bhante, what is contemplation of death, and how do we practice with it? Bhikkhu Anālayo: In the Anguttura-nikāya and the Ekottarika-āgama (the Chinese parallel), the Buddha checks to see how some monks are doing recollection of death, and he finds that they are doing it in a way that he does not consider to be sufficiently diligent. These monks say things like they might pass away in a couple of days, and before that they should really practice. The Buddha tells them that is … [Read more...]
The Nibbāna Interview
Register and learn more about Bhikkhu Anālayo's upcoming online lecture series on The Nibbāna Sermons. Insight Journal: Bhante, you’ve done a number of online programs over the years. How have you chosen what topics to cover, and why now choose to work with Ven. Ñāṇananda’s Nibbāna Sermons? Bhikkhu Anālayo: My primary consideration is trying to make an academic understanding of Buddhism available to a wider audience. I realized that my own writings were rather academic and inaccessible. So I … [Read more...]
Vedanā Part 2: Addressing Views and Clinging at the Source
This is Part 2 of a two-part interview on Vedanā with Bhikkhu Anālayo. Read Part 1 of the Vedanā interview here. IJ: How does the craving that arises in dependence on vedanā lead to the view-forming process? And how can that process be worked with or transcended? BhA: Psychologists call it the Myside Bias, which means that I always assume that my views are correct and others’ are wrong. Any information that comes in I manipulate in such a way that it confirms that my views are right and … [Read more...]
Vedanā Part 1: Addressing Views and Clinging at the Source
Read Part 2 of this Interview. IJ: Bhante, thanks so much for being with us again to talk about the second satipaṭṭhāna. Maybe we can start with how to begin incorporating contemplation of vedanā into one's overall practice. Should time be set aside to work just with vedanā, or should it be slowly brought into one's primary practice? BhA: The way I usually teach is to first work through all the four satipaṭṭhānas, and then come to an undirected type of awareness. In this way one gradually … [Read more...]
Mindfulness in Different Buddhist Traditions
In modern day meditation circles, different understandings of mindfulness frequently exist side by side. Finding a meaningful way of relating one form of mindfulness to another can provide a model for coming to terms with the variety of Buddhist teachings nowadays available in the West. Different Constructs of Mindfulness The theoretical construct of mindfulness and the practices informed by this notion have gone through considerable development over two and a half thousand years of … [Read more...]
Vipassanā, the Three Characteristics, and the First Satipatthāna
Insight Journal: Thank you for taking the time to talk with us, Bhante. Perhaps we could start by talking about what vipassanā really means. Bhikkhu Anālayo: The term vipassanā means “insight.” I think the important point to keep in mind is that this is not a technique. It is actually a quality. That is quite different from the understanding that many nowadays have. When we say, “vipassanā,” we often feel that this is a particular technique, a particular form of meditation that you have to … [Read more...]
Cultivating the Brahmavihāras
An Interview with Bhikkhu Anālayo on his new book, Compassion and Emptiness in Early Buddhist Meditation Insight Journal: Bhante, most people know you for your work with the satipaṭṭhānas. Why now this book on the brahmavihāras? Bhikkhu Anālayo: For one, it reflects my own practice. For me, satipatthāna is the very foundation. But this foundation does not stand on its own. It also has its complement in the brahmavihāra practice, in particular as it fulfills samatha—tranquility—meditation. … [Read more...]
The Dynamics of Theravāda Insight Meditation
Abstract With the present paper, I intend to bring out key aspects of the practical dynamics that underlies insight meditation in the Theravāda tradition. I start with a brief survey of three modern day insight meditation traditions (I), followed by examining their common roots in the medieval scheme of insight knowledges (II), which in turn I trace back to the early discourses in the Pāli Nikāyas (III). (I) Three Insight Meditation Traditions In modern days, the three probably most popular … [Read more...]
The Four Assemblies and Theravāda Buddhism
Introduction In this paper I examine two significant developments in the Theravāda tradition from the viewpoint of the Pāli canonical teaching that the four assemblies—bhikkhus, bhikkhunīs, male lay disciples, and female lay disciples—are the necessary foundation for the Buddha’s teaching to thrive. These two developments are the revival of lay meditation and the revival of bhikkhunī ordination. The Four Assemblies According to the Mahāparinibbāna-sutta of the Dīgha-nikāya, the Buddha … [Read more...]
