Can you tell us, Judy, in essence, what Dharma Seed is? Dharma Seed makes a connection between contemporary teachers of vipassanā practice and those who want to share in the teachings that have been inspired by the Buddha. Dharma Seed helps continue the oral tradition by preserving and distributing the talks given by a wide range of teachers at retreat centers around the country. We organize the recording, archiving, publishing and sharing of oral instruction and commentary by vipassanā … [Read more...]
Teaching and Confusing the Dharma
Andrew Olendzki
This brief anthology of excerpts from the Pali texts on the subject of teaching the dhamma are offered as a modest contribution to the contemporary debate on how the teachings of the Buddha are transmitted. As we can see, the word "dhamma" in these passages seems to refer to a very carefully crafted curriculum of teachings, and that there was a great concern that this body of material be accurately and precisely communicated from teacher to student. The realization in personal experience … [Read more...]
Waking Up In Relationships
Michael Liebenson Grady
One of the primary challenges that most meditators face is how to bring their meditation practice into the world of everyday relationships. On retreats, conditions are specifically created that support our mindfulness practice. As difficult as retreat life may be at times, the environment of silence with lots of sitting and walking practice helps us develop continuity of attention in order to see things as they are. On retreat, we hear over and over again the importance of being in the present, … [Read more...]
Finding Our Place
Myoshin Kelley
Myoshin, you have been teaching at IMS and other retreat centers quite a bit these past few years. How did you first get involved with Buddhist meditation? I grew up in Western Canada, and from a very early age was drawn to nature. I found a sense of belonging there, a refuge from a chaotic and often painful world. It was in high school that I first read the book Siddhartha [by Herman Hesse]. This book touched a sense of possibility in me that I'd also felt from being in nature. Something was … [Read more...]
Looking in the Mirror
Kevin Berrill
After several years away, I returned to IMS not long ago for a midsummer retreat. As I strolled through ferns and fragrant pine trees, I felt happy to be back and wondered how my retreat would unfold. The quiet and peace of the place seemed to promise serenity, and as the retreat progressed there were definitely serene moments. But there were also plenty of moments when my mind was like a noisy theme park. At those times, I felt as if I was lost in a funhouse, wandering through a gallery of … [Read more...]
The Investigation of What Is Important: The Second Factor of Awakening
Santikaro Bhikkhu
Santikaro Bhikkhu is an American-born monk who has been living in Thailand at the Suan Mokh monastery for twenty years. His teacher was Ajahn Buddhadasā, a well-known scholar and practitioner who contributed greatly to the development of Engaged Buddhism through his writing and teaching. These pages are extracted from a seven-day Bhāvana Program at the Barre Center for Buddhist Studies that took place in March 2000. The Seven Factors The Pali word bojjhaṅgā is usually translated as "factors … [Read more...]
Mindfulness
Susan O'Brien
In any moment of mindfulness, we have the beginning, middle and end of the path. From the Bhavana Program, BCBS March 2000 I want to speak a little tonight about mindfulness, perhaps from a slightly different angle than your discussions today with Than Santikaro, but hopefully in a way that is complementary. The word “mindfulness” can have a passive sound to it. It may feel to us at certain points like it's some kind of state that will arise—or not—and there’s really nothing much for us to … [Read more...]
The Aṭṭhaka-vagga of the Sutta Nipata
Issho Fujita
Issho Fujita is a Japanese zen monk who has been the resident teacher at Valley Zendo in Chariemont, Western Massachusetts since 1987. This article is extracted from a weekend workshop offered at the Barre Center for Buddhist Studies in March 2000. My interest in studying this Pali text is an attempt to go back to the Buddha himself. Of course, we don't know exactly what he said. But according to most scholars the Pali texts are the earliest available teachings of the Buddha. And the Sutta … [Read more...]
Cutting the Stream: The Shorter Discourse on the Cowherd (Majjhima 34)
Andrew Olendzki
This verse comes at the end of the Shorter Discourse on the Cowherd (Majjhima Nikāya 34), where the Buddha develops the simile of a herd of cows getting safely across the ford of a raging river. The strong old bulls plunge straight in and show the way to the others—these are likened to the arahants who make their way across the flood of death to the safety of the further shore. The other members of the herd also make their way across according to their capabilities, from the heifers and young … [Read more...]
The Blooming Lotus (Theragāthā 700 & 701)
Andrew Olendzki
This poem by the Elder Udāyin evokes one of the most famous of Buddhist images, and is laced with meaning on many levels. In one sense—emerging from the psychological ethos of early Buddhist teaching—it can be taken to describe the ability of the awakened person to thrive in the world of sensory experience without clinging or attachment. Though the human condition is rooted in the desires that give rise to all life and selfhood, one can learn to live in this world without being bound by the … [Read more...]
