Cullavagga V.6 This less-well-known mettā verse has its origins in an ancient, probably pre-Buddhist, snake charm. It is taught by the Buddha in the Vinaya in response to his hearing of a monk who perished after being bitten by a snake. The first stanza, not translated here, extends loving kindness to the four main groups of snake deities. The Buddha tells the monks that if they adequately develop loving kindness to these snake deities, they will be free of harm from snake … [Read more...]
Seeing the Truth of Freedom
Sharda Rogell has been teaching retreats at IMS for more than ten years. After living in England for the last three years, she will soon be moving back to the US. People have come to the practice by many different paths. What brought you to meditation, Sharda? When I was about 27 I was going through a very difficult time in my life and was experiencing an extreme amount of dukkha [suffering]. I was living in North Carolina at the time and was at a point where I really didn't have any … [Read more...]
Sharing a Vision of Practice
Kamala Masters has been practicing insight meditation for two decades with Munindra-ji, Sayadaw U Pandita and others, and has been mentored in her native Hawaii by Steven Smith and Michele McDonald-Smith. She has been leading retreats at IMS and elsewhere with Steve Armstrong and others for several years. She and Steve make their home on Maui, where they are raising a daughter. Steve Armstrong first came to IMS in 1977, served on the staff for more than two years and on the IMS board of … [Read more...]
The Pāramis: Heart of Buddha’s Teachings and Our Own Practice
This article is adapted from a one- day workshop offered by Sylvia Boorstein at the Bane Center for Buddhist Studies on April 5, 1997. Since that time, Sylvia has also taught a ten-week course on Paramis at the Spirit Rock Meditation Center in California. We begin this day of practice in the traditional way of honoring the Buddha and all those others who have awakened to the possibility of living a fully wise and compassionate life. We take refuge in the Buddha, the Dharma, and the … [Read more...]
A Classical Future: Interview with Insight Journal Editor
It was about three years ago that the Barre Center for Buddhist Studies (BCBS) first started distributing Dharma teachings by email on the full moon of each month, and about eighteen months ago the printed version of the Insight Journal became the electronically distributed full moon Insight Journal. Chris Talbott, who had been managing the production of these publications for several years, became the editor of the new offering, taking over the role from Andrew Olendzki, the BCBS senior … [Read more...]
No Hatred for Anyone
Itivuttaka 3:7d One who neither kills nor makes others kill, Neither steals nor makes others steal, Is one who has love for all living beings, And no hatred for anyone at all. yo na hanti na ghāteti na jināti na jāpaye mettaṃso sabbabhūtesu veraṃ tassa na kenacī ti. One who neither kills nor makes others kill Buddhist teachings place the greatest emphasis upon the moment-to-moment construction of experience in one’s own mind and body. This is where the rubber meets the … [Read more...]
The Moon Among Stars
Itivuttaka 3:7c Those who conquer the earth, teeming with beings, —Kings and priests who scurry around sacrificing— They surely do not partake in even a sixteenth part Of the heart well developed in loving kindness —Shining like the moon among all the crowd of stars. ye sattasaṇḍaṃ pathaviṃ vijitvā rājīsayo yajamānānupariyagā... mettassa cittassa subhāvitassa kalam-pi te nānubhavanti soḷasiṃ candappabhā tāragaṇā va sabbe. The full moon shining brightly against a background … [Read more...]
Even Once!
Itivuttaka 3:7b If one shows kindness with a clear mind— Even once!—for living creatures, By that one becomes wholesome. Having mercy in his or her heart for all creatures, A noble person brings forth abundant goodness. ekam-pi ce pāṇam-aduṭṭhacitto mettāyati kusalo tena-hoti sabbe ca pāṇe manasānukampaṃ pahūtam-ariyo pakaroti puññaṃ. If one shows kindness with a clear mind Here we see a rare case of the word mettā being used as a verb (mettāyati). This emphasizes the … [Read more...]
The Removal of Grudges
Anguttara Nikaya 5:161 If you give birth to a grudge towards any person, cultivate loving kindness towards that person… Thus the grudge towards that person can be removed. yasmiṃ puggale āghāto jāyetha, mettā tasmiṃ puggale bhāvetabbā. evaṃ tasmiṃ puggale āghāto paṭivinetabbo. This passage demonstrates one of the practical applications of loving kindness. We may be used to thinking of it in a rather abstract way, as a generalized care for the well-being of all sentient beings, … [Read more...]
Itivuttaka 3:7
One who actively develops loving kindness, Mindfully and without limit, Sees their attachments wane; Their bonds become worn thin. yo ca mettaṃ bhāvayati appamāṇaṃ paṭissato tanū saṃyojanā honti passato upādhikkhayaṃ One who actively develops loving kindness As gentle and natural as loving kindness can feel experientially, it is generally not something that “just happens” on its own except under particular circumstances (as when a mother gazes upon her slumbering child, for … [Read more...]