Barre Center for Buddhist Studies

Barre Center for Buddhist Studies

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A Ripple in a Pond

Ajahn Sucitto

I know how reticent monks are to talk about themselves, but I cannot help but begin by asking about your own Jātaka story. How did you wind up as a Buddhist monk living in England? Well, where does it all begin? I suppose around the age of six or seven I started to rec­ognize something of what death was about: that we all die. I remember talking to my brother about it and he said, “Oh, don’t think about it, it will be all right.” Now he is a busi­nessman and I’m a monk. (Laughs.) I re­member … [Read more...]

Taking Responsibility for Our Thoughts: Reflections on the Vitakkasaṇṭhāna Sutta

Mark Muesse

One of the first insights of vipassanā practice is the recognition that the mind has a mind of its own. When we finally begin to attend to the dynamics of our thinking pro­cesses, we realize that thoughts often seem to arise of their own accord, with little or no apparent prompting or direction. Where do these thoughts come from after all? It might seem that our thoughts are thoroughly be­yond our control, that we have no choice about the kinds of things that drift across our minds. Are we … [Read more...]

The Wings of the Bodhisattva

Joanna Macy

These words are extracted from a course offered by Joanna at BCBS in October, 2000. In every tradition, the spiritual jour­ney seems to be presented in two ways. One is like a journey out of this messy, broken, imperfect world of suffering, into a sacred realm of eternal light. At the same time, within the same tradition, the spiritual jour­ney is also experienced and expressed as go­ing right into the heart of the world—into this world of suffering and brokenness and imperfection—to discover … [Read more...]

The Distortions of the Mind: Aṅguttara Nikāya 4:49

Andrew Olendzki

These verses from the Numerical Discourses give the traditional list of the vipallāsas. This Pali word is sometimes trans­lated as “perversions” of the mind; but I find this language too strong and prefer the expression “distortions” of the mind. The term is composed of a prefix (vi-) which carries the sense of division, separation or removal; another prefix (pari-) meaning around, or complete (as in our related word peri-meter); and a verb (-as) which can be taken as meaning “to throw.” … [Read more...]

Body People, Mind People

Larry Rosenberg

One of my early teachers was Shivananda Saraswati, who was about 85 years old when I first met him. He was traveling on the Grey­hound bus, and I was so impressed that I be­came his traveling companion. He was a Vedandin monk, and told me that Vedantins were often great scholars who practiced a kind of awareness called ‘witnessing,’ but who could also be condescending about bodily care, seeing it as a burden and obstacle to lib­eration. However, Shivananda observed that his fellow monks were … [Read more...]

Stealing the Scent (Saṃyutta Nikāya 9:14)

Andrew Olendzki

This lively exchange between a forest-dwelling monk and a benevolent deity is filled with poetic movement and gives us a glimpse of the care with which some people practiced in the time of the Buddha. Since the working definition of stealing was “taking what has not been given,” the Devata is correct—in a very strict sense. Notice that the monk at first reacts defensively, denying that he is doing anything wrong, and then tries to shift the blame to others who do even worse. After recognizing a … [Read more...]

Insight Journal

Spring 2001

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  • Home
  • About Us
    • New and Notable
    • Mission and Values
    • Staff
    • Board of Directors
    • IMS
    • Job Openings
    • Getting to BCBS
    • Mailing List
    • Contact Us
  • Residential Courses
    • Residential Course Calendar
    • Yearlong Programs
      • Dharma and Art: A Practice of Investigating Perception
      • Nalanda Program
    • Everything You Need to Know
    • Typical Course Schedule
    • Self-Study
    • Continuing Education Credits
    • Financial Assistance
    • Teacher Dāna
  • Online Programs
    • Foundations of a Soulmaking Dharma
    • Satipaṭṭhāna Meditation
    • Entering The Path: An Online Foundations Course in Early Buddhist Study and Practice
    • Dharma and Art: A Practice of Investigating Perception
    • Cancellation Policy
  • Teaching Faculty
  • Resources
    • Insight Journal
    • Bhikkhu Anālayo Lectures
    •  Publications by Bhikkhu Anālayo
    • Books
    • Access to Insight
  • Generosity
    • Donate
    • Volunteer
    • Teacher Dāna
    • Planned Giving
    • Stock Transfers