The present article explores the term “early Buddhism,” in an attempt to clarify its meaning and explore the significance of what it designates for both scholars and practitioners. Download PDF Version Common Ground The expression “early Buddhism” refers to the earliest period in the development Buddhist thought and practice, spanning from its inception to about the time of the reign of Aśoka in the third century BCE. The time of inception—in other words, the time when the Buddha … [Read more...]
Bhikkhu Anālayo
Life of a Meditator (Part 2) An Interview with Bhikkhu Anālayo (February 2023)
Q: Bhante, in the first part of our interview you described your first encounters with meditation and how you went to Asia and took temporary ordination, until you had to go back to Germany to settle things. What happened next and how did you get ordained again? A: Back in Germany I settled what needed to be done and also worked a bit to replenish my travel funds. Then I went to China, in accordance with my original plan. I studied Chen-style Taijiquan and also spent time at a Chan monastery in … [Read more...]
Life of a Meditator (Part 1) An Interview with Bhikkhu Anālayo (February 2023)
Q: Bhante, you spend much of your time in solitary retreat; perhaps you could tell us more about how you came to develop such a strong interest in meditation in the course of your life and also how that relates to your scholarly activities. It would be interesting to know more about your personal history. Maybe we can get started with the question: How did you come into contact with meditation? A: When I was about eight years old, I started practicing Judo, a Japanese martial art. At the … [Read more...]
The Interplay Between Meditation Theory and Practice
The present article briefly surveys four developments in Buddhist meditation traditions from the viewpoint of an apparently ongoing interaction between theory and practice: a gradual reduction of the sixteen steps of mindfulness of breathing to just focusing on the breath; an apparent fascination with light and fire imagery leading to investing the mind with intrinsic luminosity and purity; a tendency to grant increasing importance to absorption as indispensable for progress to awakening or even … [Read more...]
The Idea of Dhammadāna
The present article explores the meaning of dhammadāna, “the gift of Dhamma,” as evident in relevant Pāli texts and in relation to the meritorious deed of publishing Buddhist books for free distribution. A pdf version can be downloaded here. Introduction A very meritorious and praiseworthy way of disseminating the Dhamma takes the form of book publications that are strictly for free distribution. The indubitably wholesome intentions that underpin such activities can at times be associated … [Read more...]
Consciousness and Dependent Arising
Based on an exploration of the five factors of ‘name’ in the previous issue of the Insight Journal, the present article proceeds to take a closer look at consciousness in the same context of dependent arising. A pdf version can be downloaded here. Reciprocal Conditioning In the context of dependent arising, the relationship between consciousness and name-and-form differs from other links, as these two are shown to condition each other reciprocally. According to the standard depiction of … [Read more...]
The Five ‘Fingers’ of Name
Based on an exploration of the principle of dependent arising in the previous issue of the Insight Journal, the present article proceeds to take a closer look at an aspect of one of its links: the five mental factors that make up “name” in name-and-form. Name in Dependent Arising “Name-and-form” as a link in dependent arising combines “form,” as the experience of matter by way of the four elements, with “name.” The implications of this term can best be appreciated with the help of a … [Read more...]
Dependent Arising
This article explores the basic import of the doctrine of dependent arising, based on relevant discourses and in the light of an apparent antecedent in a Vedic creation myth. The principle of dependent arising in the form of specific conditionality (and its ceasing) can be distinguished from applications of this principle in a series of dependently arising links, the most common instance of which covers twelve links leading from ignorance to old age and death. Discerning the … [Read more...]
Mindfully Facing Climate Change – Part 4: Walking the Path
This is the last of four installments to accompany a freely available online course aimed at offering a practical approach to the challenges of climate change that is grounded in the teachings of early Buddhism. Walking the Path What is reckoned to be the truth of [the path] leading out of dukkha? That is, it is the noble eightfold path, namely right view, right thought, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, and right concentration. The teaching of the … [Read more...]
Mindfully Facing Climate Change – Part 3: Liberation of the Mind
This is the third of four installments to accompany a freely available online course aimed at offering a practical approach to the challenges of climate change that is grounded in the teachings of early Buddhism. Liberation of the Mind What is the truth of the cessation of dukkha? It is being able to bring about the eradication and cessation without remainder of that craving, so that it will not arise again. This is reckoned to be the truth of the cessation of dukkha. The third truth … [Read more...]
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