Forum Replies Created
-
Posts
-
You can also try interleaving with content outside of this website, especially desanas where you listen to what’s being said rather than simply read.
This Zoom series is given by a monk very closely related to Waharaka Thero- it teaches you the core parts of Dhamma but ALSO what to meditate on.
Yes I’ll need to get around to listening to this series thank you. I need to compile a collection of english discourses and maybe subtitle them
I understand your frustration.
- The issue is that the audience has a wide range of understanding. Some are just starting, some others could be at the Sotapanna stage, and many are in between. So, it is difficult, if not impossible, to write a post that satisfies the whole audience.
- The current series of posts (“Satipaṭṭhāna Sutta – New Series”) is the hardest, since it tackles the deepest aspects of Buddha’s teachings. At that level, one cannot teach without using Pali words, because many Pali words do not have a single corresponding word in English.
- You can look at posts in the following sections. They address fundamental aspects: “Moral Living and Fundamentals” and “Living Dhamma.”
- Also, look at Bhikkhu Bodhi’s YouTube videos. They are not fully compatible with this website, but one can get a good idea of the fundamentals, as I recall (I have not watched one in recent years). See, for example, “Bhikkhu Bodhi: Introduction to Buddhism Series.”
Thank you 🙏 Yes this makes sense because even the Buddha himself didn’t teach everybody the same way because everyone is at different levels. Instead the Buddha explained the Dhamma from multiple angles which makes most sense.
I may have to make a pali pop up dictionary based on defintions provided in the glossary section so I can better comprehend posts because maybe the other dictionary is outdated it seems this is my main issue
I totally understand though that this can be just a me problem. All the information is there, but as ven.Lal said before, one has to take the time to seriously dig through the posts and contemplate in quiet time and it’s not some trivial read.
this could just be a form of avija trying to make my mind sleepy when trying to learn Buddha Dhamma with much effort. Serious study is needed but a part of me wished that this profound information was presented in an easier to digest way. But I can only get stronger and keep diligently trying
Keep in my abid that the first “shot” of Dhamma is really life changing for many people, my couple of weeks when I found pure Dhamma and discourses, I was like Anagami (no desire, can not get mad, can not get sad, just clarity and wisdom that got even people interested in that change) but after a while a lot of things will come back, as this is just start of the way. To get this stage permanently, there is a whole process that may take a lifetime or a couple of lifetimes before you can achieve it. So do not worry if that happens, do not panic and do not think “there is something wrong with me” etc. it is good to be aware of it. You will need to find new ways to develop insight, new terms, new wisdom that will step by step dissolve ignorance
Yes you described my experience well I am kind of disappointed in myself for slipping back to old ways after experiencing and feeling the blissful clarity Buddha Dhamma gave me. I just need to move forward on the path now somehow. Once I’ve learnt all the foundational knowledge from reading + desanas, i begin serious formal meditations and contemplation work
I just need to take consistent, patient action every day.
1 user thanked author for this post.
Now, try to watch discourses and audio/videos related to that topic to solidify this state permanently
Yes I am planning to listen but it’s hard to find english discourses. I kinda wish there was a desana subforum where users can find and post desanas in english (and perhaps other languages)
If you may, can you please send me some desanas to certainly make me attain sotapanna stage and beyond please 🙏 send which ones were most helpful to you when starting out
Contemplating to have a deeper grasp on the tilakkhanna has helped me a lot. I feel like my perception is also changing and now I’m starting to develop an aversion or even disgust for it. Contemplating the parts of sexuality and sexual activity in the context of tilakkhanna really sobers up my perception of sense pleasures and shows me the true nature of what it is the corrupted mind seeks so much of.
The fundamental intention and desire is weakening. Reading ven. Lal’s analogies helped me a lot. Like a dog chewing on an empty bone. Like a fish biting a worm and suffering from the bait. Like a fly that tries to land on a light bulb and gets zapped. Pleasure and pain being apart of the same coin.
there are many more analogies but this is from the top of my head1 user thanked author for this post.
I listened to this desana yesterday, and I felt a moderate sensation of joy, as if I just realized that no sense pleasure, be it of the mind or the senses, would ever make me lastingly happy.
I thought that maybe this sensation would go away, but at work today, I was just told that my Ph.D contract, what I thought Id be working with for the next three or so years, would be terminated. But I wasn’t angry. I didn’t feel any resentment towards anybody. I don’t know if this is even makes me Sotapanna Anugami, but I’d say it’s a step closer.
That’s what I’m saying, you need to have a real Ariya who can explain Dhamma in audio form, as I saw plenty of examples of this in my group, that people reading will not get them that far, as listening to discourses. The same experience for other people who went from reading to listening.
It makes sense because from what I understand, SOTA means hearing roughly and PANNA means wisdom and insight roughly. I will start listening and downloading mp3s now then
Hello Abid you talks about Psalms
Also I felt it after doing long psalm readings (trying to read psalms from 1-150)
You were a catholic before right ? Are you the person who asked on Reddit what other buddhists think about Puredhamma website ??
I didn’t really identify as Christian or catholic or any other denomination but I was raised in a Moslem environment. Although I didn’t follow much of these rituals associated with religion, I did try to make prayer to the Creator in my own little ways. Some people recommended reading psalms 1-150 on reddit so i followed that to an extent
But no sir I’m not involved with reddit these days and I haven’t talked about puredhamma on there
The crucial realisation for me was:
“if life is anicca nature, what makes you think death will be of nicca nature? Isn’t that a delusion? One will be helpless in the suffering filled rebirth process”
1 user thanked author for this post.
I believe I now have direct experience of these teachings so now I have purpose and a direction of where to go and continue. Whereas I was previously suicidal because of my anhedonia and PSSD which made me think I have no future left. But now I can move forward and make as much progress towards Nibbana in this life while making it my goal to live blamelessly and for the benefit of others by working and giving charity.
1 user thanked author for this post.
Sorry. I have not had much time to think about it as I am traveling. I just did a search to find more about it.
- Dementia typically begins with subtle symptoms that develop slowly and gradually worsen over several years, progressing through stages from mild cognitive impairment to severe decline. Early signs often include memory lapses, difficulty concentrating, or challenges with familiar tasks, which may go unnoticed at first.
- Have you done any medical screening to confirm? It could be due to memory loss or to other factors affecting attention.
- I will think about it a bit more and post some comments later.
Yes, dementia progresses to the point where one is totally unable to function. Which means forgetting everything, struggling to eat, use bathroom, failing to recognise and remember people even close family, being unable to talk etc.
It is hard to identify in the early stages like you said because those symptoms can be due to many causes, and not only dementia.The interesting part is that when dementia patients are close to dying at late stage dementia, they experience “terminal lucidity” where they suddenly regain their abilities they lost even after the massive brain damage that has occurred. For example, They can go from previously non verbal to speaking again and also recollect all the memories they lost briefly.
This phenomena must have an explanation rooted in the Buddha Dhamma and I think it’s related to the gandhabba but there must be a deeper explanation. It has a little similarity to NDEs and OBEs I think
1 user thanked author for this post.
By the way, this phenomena is called “terminal lucidity” for anyone who wants to look deeper into it. Search for “dementia terminal lucidity”
1 user thanked author for this post.
