#sutta

[restorativeluciferian]

The true irony of hearing the Devil say over and over again, "Just be a better person."

I have had someone I've known who was part of one of the larger world religions. In this person's religion, there were rituals that can be done in order to eliminate the effects of bad deeds. Think of it as like Catholic confession except this person was not Christian.

Lucifer was very frustrated to witness this person say something wrong about a friend of his and then in their defensiveness claim that if they had, in fact, committed gossip or slander that they would then proceed upon this ritual.

"The point of that ritual isn't even in the way she is using it," Lucifer said. "If you do something wrong, just don't do it again or try not to. If it has caused visible damage, own up and apologize for it. There is no ritual that erases the effect of your hurtful actions moreso than your willingness and commitment to healing the other party and improving oneself. That ritual is only an addition to your taking of responsibility."

Today he nudged me into reading the Maha-mangala Sutta from the original Pali canon of Buddhism, which is basically a ton of intellectual texts that try to teach Buddhists how to follow the Noble Eightfold Path that leads to Enlightenment. To summarize, it's a sutta that teaches the "highest protection" for a layperson. It lines up with what Lucifer has been teaching me: "Avoiding, abstaining from evil;

refraining from intoxicants,

being heedful of the qualities of the mind:

This is the highest protection.

Respect, humility,

contentment, gratitude,

hearing the Dhamma on timely occasions:

This is the highest protection."

[dailysutta]

Monks, you have friends, relatives and family members who you have sympathy for.

[nondualcafe]

“[A deva:]

With what is the world tied down?

With the subduing of what is it freed?

With the abandoning

of what are all bonds cut through?

[The Buddha:]

With desire the world is tied down.

With the subduing of desire it's freed.

With the abandoning

of desire all bonds are cut through.”

— Sutta Nipatta 1.69

[iamabuddha]

A mind that, when touched by the ways of the world is unshaken, sorrowless, dustless, secure: this is the highest protection.

- SN 2.4

[philosohappy]

Saṁyutta Nikāya: Ananda Sutta

SN 22.83

Thus, friend Ananda, any form whatsoever that is past, future, or present; internal or external; blatant or subtle; common or sublime; far or near: every form is to be seen as it actually is with right discernment as: "This is not mine. This is not my self. This is not what I am.”

Any feeling whatsoever...

Any perception whatsoever...

Any fabrications whatsoever...

Any consciousness whatsoever that is past, future, or present; internal or external; blatant or subtle; common or sublime; far or near: every consciousness is to be seen as it actually is with right discernment as: "This is not mine. This is not my self. This is not what I am."

Translated from the Pali by Thanissaro Bhikkhu

[raffaellopalandri]

Book of the Day - The Art of Listening

Book of the Day – The Art of Listening

Today’s Book of the Day is The Art of Listening, written by Sarah Shaw and published in 2021 by Shambhala Publications. Sarah Shaw is a faculty member and lecturer at the University of Oxford. She has published numerous works on the history and practices of Buddhism. The Art of Listening by Sarah Shaw The Art of Listening is an amazing description and research on the Dīghanikāya or Long…

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[theinwardlight]

Painting: Walk of the monks to Mount Athos, by Hermann David Salomon Corrodi, 1875. 

[modernmonkeymind]

SN 56.11 Dhamma Cakkappavattana Sutta: Setting In Motion the Wheel of Dhamma

Monks, this is the Middle Path realized by the Tathāgata which gives vision, gives knowledge; and leads to calm, to insight, to enlightenment, and to Nibbāna.

Thus have I heard: On one occasion the Blessed One was living in the Deer Park at Isipatana near Bārānasi. Then the Blessed One addressed the group of five monks:

Monks, these two extremes ought not to be practised by one who has gone forth from the household life. There is addiction to indulgence in sense-pleasures, which is low, coarse, and the way of ordinary people, not practised by noble ones, and is unbeneficial;

and there is addiction to self-mortification, which is painful, not practised by noble ones, and unbeneficial.

Avoiding both these extremes, monks, the Tathāgata has realized the Middle Path which gives vision, gives knowledge; and leads to calm, to insight, to enlightenment, and to Nibbāna.

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