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Seng Kiat Ng has created a free website with the “Pure Dhamma ebook published as web pages”:
“Pure Dhamma: A Quest to Recover Buddha’s True Teachings”
As you may know, Seng Kiat maintains an eBook in pdf format, which is updated regularly as posts are updated:
“Pure Dhamma Essays in Book Format”
– It can be read with eBook readers like the Kindle.Much merits to Seng Kiat and his family for all his efforts!
Ayubowan…Tobi
(“Ayubowan” in the Sinhala language means “long life to you.”)Thank you for all your suggestions.
Regarding the technical stuff, we know them and have done our best. But thanks for pointing them out. The need to use plugins is good and bad.
“I was wondering: How do you think the Buddha would have created a website?”
– I don’t think he would get involved in such tasks. There would be many lay people doing such tasks in the time of a Buddha.“After starting the website, a cookie query with the option to set it to Beginners, Sōtapanna, Anāgāmi and Monks maybe.”
– Yes. That would be equivalent to displaying a few appropriate sub-menus on the home page.“1. A classification as is customary in
Home // Forum // Members Area // Video………………………………Search function
The Practice of the Dhamma // Abhidhamma // Dhamma and Science // Meditation // Tables and Summaries
Something like that, that’s just an example of a directory structure/folder structure.”– I think each post page has breadcrumbs showing exactly that.
If breadcrumbs do not show up on pages, please let me know.
For example, “Home » Historical Background » Key Problems with Mahāyāna Teachings” should show up on top of the post “Key Problems with Mahāyāna Teachings.”
– Breadcrumbs indicate the root sections and subsections for a given post.
– P.S. Thanks to Dosakkhayo for the suggestion to revise that post. I have re-written that old post.P.S. I have been making some adjustments to the menu bar. While doing a few other changes, I also included a “slider” to adjust the level of “Dark Mode.” But I think the “on/off Half Moon” at the bottom of the page may be better. The slider would not show up on Mobile.
Thank you, LayDhammaFollower.
We can keep the main menu if the website loading is acceptable/fast enough.
– But we will keep thinking/working on other possible improvements (two websites, arranging menus in order of difficulty, etc).If anyone finds loading too slow, please comment here or email me at [email protected].
– Please mention the device (desktop or mobile).Occasionally, the website could be slow due to a temporary issue (normally lasting less than 30 minutes). Please disregard those.
Thank you for the suggestions, LayDhammaFollower.
Yes. Some kind of classification could be helpful.
We have been using CDN for a long time. It is just that when a website has over 700 posts, it takes time to load the menu.
– Another possibility is to have only the main sections listed on the menu on the home page. Then the reader can select a section of interest.I believe the load time is still not too bad. It would be useful to get input from you all on whether it is too slow, acceptable, or fast enough. Usually, mobile devices are slower than desktop or laptop computers.
Thank you for your suggestions, Dosakkhayo.
“I am trying to be able to speak English like a native speaker. But it is likely to take quite a long time. I hope there is someone who could help me with polishing my writing.”
Your writing is good and getting better. I see worse writing from some English speakers.
– There are mainly two ways to improve writing skills: (i) write frequently, (ii) read English texts (books, websites, etc.)
– If you have English-speaking friends, conversing in English with them frequently will help with speaking.Looking forward to reading your essay.
Thank you, Lang. You are doing a great service to that person.
I worry about this issue. Someone who may not have much exposure to Buddha Dhamma/Buddhism may be confused when first clicking on this website. Many posts are on advanced concepts.
– Furthermore, the website is getting big and taking time to load. Seng Kiat and I have been looking for ways to speed up the site.
– Another idea that came to my mind yesterday is whether we should start another website for beginners. I own the puredhamma.info registration.
– Some posts, including the “Moral Living and Fundamentals” section, can be moved to that new website.
– Furthermore, WordPress websites are a bit difficult to manage. It could be a good idea to start the new website on the new platform, Ghost CMS. I did some research yesterday (YouTube is a great resource for that), and the Ghost platform seems simple and easy to manage.
– Comments/suggestions are appreciated.We have to be very careful about initiating “new” approaches. The Mahayanists tried that 2000 years ago, leading to disastrous outcomes. That led to the disappearance of all types of Buddhism in India. The effects are still felt in many other countries.
– Of course, you are not talking about changing foundational aspects. But still, we need to be careful that “new approaches” do not lead to unexpected consequences.
– I would be happy to look at your drawings.
– I also like to hear from others in the forum. I can also be contacted at: [email protected].I listened to the discourse. Let me summarize.
1. There are many things in this world that average humans cannot perceive. There are unseen beings living among us (gandhbbas and some petas) that we cannot see, but those with iddhi powers can see.
2. @29 minutes, the Thero discusses the following account:
“The Siberian Hell Sounds”
– The Thero says he has heard similar “hellish sounds,” while being in samadhi a couple of times, but he did not want to hear them again.3. @35 minutes, reference is made to the following video (I believe):
– There is a book, “23 Minutes In Hell: One Man’s Story About What He Saw, Heard, and Felt in that Place of Torment” by that person, Bill Wiese.
4. I have discussed some of these in the post “Does the Hell (Niraya) Exist?”
– I need to include Waharaka Thero’s experience (in #2 above) in #4 of that post. I was skeptical about that sound record when I wrote that post.5. Many suttas describe the propensity to be born in an apaya. There is a series of about 30 suttas starting with the “Manussacutiniraya Sutta (SN 56.102).”
– According to those suttas, most of those at the end of their human or Deva bhava are reborn in an apaya.I think the title you selected is good.
Top-down and bottom-up approaches can mean different things in different situations. So let me explain what I had in mind regarding learning/practicing Buddha Dhamma.
1. Top-down approach is to start with Abhidhammic analysis, the theoretical framework. One could learn about the world in terms of its building blocks: citta, cetasika, and rupa.
– One would learn about 81 (121) types of citta, 54 types of cetasika, and 28 types of rupa.
– How the fundamental units of rupa (suddhatthaka) arise in javana citta, and how some incorporate kammic energy to create the basis of life: hadaya vatthu and a set of pasada rupa (version of namarupa).
– When a purified mind stops making such “life-creating” namarupa, one attains Arahanthood.
– One may be able to grasp that lobha, dosa, and moha (and the mundane versions of alobha, adosa, and amoha) are the main defilements that can give rise to such namarupa.2. Bottom-up approach is to start with learning about dasa akusala, kamma, kamma vipaka, rebirth, etc. I started learning those even before starting school. In Sri Lanka, those concepts are taught from primary school through high school. In addition, we used to go temple often and listen to discourses by bhikkhus, making offerings to them regularly (the local community sustains temples).
– That approach is a combination of learning and practice. We were taught to obey the five precepts and took the eight precepts on “Poya days.”
– One could proceed to Arahanthood that way. The “Abhidhamma analysis” (as we call Abhidhamma today) was not there during the time of the Buddha. As I have explained, Buddha taught Ven. Sariputta the framework of that analysis, and Ven. Sariputta only got started on it with his students. That analysis was finalized only by the Second Buddhist Council held 200 years after the Parinibbana of the Buddha.
– See “Abhidhamma – Introduction” for details.3. I don’t think one can proceed to Arahanthood strictly by approach #1. That is what I was trying to say.
– Of course, one is likely to start “practicing” (i.e., living by five/eight precepts first and then making that a deeper practice via comprehending the Noble Truths/Paticca Samuppada/Tilakkhana) when it becomes clear of the importance of “living by Dhamma” as one learns Abhidhamma.4. I think a combination of #1 and #2 would be the best if one can tackle it. That may be Dosakkhayo’s approach.
– It is impossible for me or anyone else (unless it is Buddha) to recommend a specific way. Each person needs to find their way.
– Furthermore, I have no idea about anyone’s state of understanding. I can see that some people are likely to have made progress, and I am delighted. When I started the website, I was unsure whether there would be much interest. I thought that my efforts would not have gone to waste even if one person attained the Sotapanna stage. So, it makes me happy to see many people are making progress.5. I think hojanyun (Ja-nyun Kim) and Tobias Große are doing a great service through their Korean and German puredhamma websites. Seng Kiat has been involved from the beginning and has done much work to maintain the English website. Many people contribute by commenting on the forum. I hope we all can try our best to spread the correct teachings of the Buddha. Of course, we should give priority to making progress ourselves.
P.S.
6. There is another angle to this. We all have been exposed to Buddha Dhamma (by many previous Buddhas) in this rebirth process with no discernible beginning. Thus, some people have practiced in previous lives and have achieved a significant level of progress. It could be easier for them to “catch up” without much effort.
– A similar situation is there in the cultivation of jhanas. It is relatively easy for some people to attain anariya jhanas. I have discussed that.P.P.S.
7. Dosakkhayo wrote: “I would like to deliver to everyone else what I got. From now, I’m starting to write a column that I planned before. I’ll write it down in Korean for now, but I plan on drawing it into comics.”
– That sentence didn’t register in my mind while reading your comment earlier.
– That is an extremely bad idea. Buddha Dhamma is to be treated with respect. I don’t want to have any association with this kind of stuff.No problem. I was testing some settings; I try to do that when website traffic is slow. That is why the text editor was not available. So, it may not work for brief periods.
I will listen to the sermon and comment later.
“2. So can the context of this phrase be used as evidence that Buddha said samadhi, not jhana, to someone who is a layperson?”
I have explained the difference between jhana and (Samma)samadhi. Let me try to summarize.
– There can be pannavimutti Arahants who have completed Samma Samadhi without cultivating jhana. King Suddhodana is probably a good example. He is said to have attained Arahanthood close to the moment of death.
– There can be cetovimutti Arahants who get to the Arahant stage via Ariya jhana. Ven. Moggalana is an example.
– Also, there can be ubhatovimutti Arahants who had not cultivated jhana, get to the Arahant stage by pannavimutti, and simultaneously receive all jhanas and iddhi powers. Culapanthaka Thero is a good example here.
– There can be anariyas who had cultivated all four rupavacara jhanas AND the four arupavacara samapatti. They are NOT released from the apayas in future lives. However, they will be born in a Brahma realm at death. Alara Kalama and Uddaka Ramaputta are two good examples.Samadhi and jhana are two different things.
– There can be miccha samadhi, too, as I explained above.
– In that particular sutta (Potaliya Sutta), the Buddha refers to those who attained Ariya jhana. We can say that they have both Samma Samadhi and Ariya jhana.
– But there can be Arahants who completed Samma samadhi but have not cultivated the four jhanas. But they may get to at least the first jhana at the moment of Arahanthood.
– Magga phala do not necessarily involve jhana. The sequence of getting to magga phala: Parikamma (P), Upacāra (U), Anuloma (A), Gotrabu (G), Path (magga) (Pa), and Fruit (phala) (Fr). Those are different stages of samadhi getting to the Gotrabu (change of lineage). See #14 of “Citta Vīthi – Processing of Sense Inputs”1. Yes. You are correct. I had the two terms reversed. I corrected them above. Thank you.
2. “My question is whether this phrase is referring to samadhi.”
– Yes. It is.
– Samadhi can be at different levels. Samadhi comes from “sama” + “adhi” to towards a certain status.
– For example, Sotapanna has “Sotapanna samadhi.” An Arahant’s samadhi is different (higher level.)
– There are different types of miccha samadhi too. A master thief (while committing a theft) has the mindset of a thief. A murderer’s mindset is in “killer’s samadhi” during the killing, etc.P.S.
3. It helps if the sutta number is also given, i.e., SN 1.2, etc.
– I have a sutta in the right format (with tab numbers and side-by-side English translation). For example, when there is a question on SN 1.2, I just change the sutta number in the link.
For example, the link for the Sekha Sutta (MN 53) is:
https://suttacentral.net/mn53/en/sujato?layout=sidebyside&reference=main¬es=asterisk&highlight=false&script=latin
– If I need the link for SN 1.2, I just replace “mn53” with “sn1.2”.
– You should also use that method. It saves time.
– So, please give BOTH the sutta name and the number. That way, there is no ambiguity.P.S. In my first response, I had the definitions of sekha, and asekha reversed. The following is correct.
1. Question on the Sekha Sutta (MN53):Verse 1 describes an asekha ariyasāvaka and verse2 describes a sekha ariyasāvaka.
– Sekha means “one who is on training,” i.e., someone who is on the Noble Path (i.e., above Sotapanna Anugami).
– Asekha means “one who has completed training,” i.e., an Arahant.The verse “Yato kho, mahānāma, ariyasāvako evaṁ sīlasampanno hoti, evaṁ indriyesu guttadvāro hoti, evaṁ bhojane mattaññū hoti, evaṁ jāgariyaṁ anuyutto hoti, evaṁ sattahi saddhammehi samannāgato hoti” is explained in the “Apaṇṇaka Sutta (AN 3.16)”
2. The verses quoted from the second sutta, “Potaliya Sutta (MN 54)” compare our efforts pursuing sensual pleasures to a dog chewing on a meatless bone.
– “aṭṭhi” is a bone.
– Many suttas discuss this analogy. A dog thinks highly of a bone. It will fight other dogs to take possession of one and spends hours chewing it. It does not benefit from it and only gets tired at the end. Humans seeking sensual pleasures are no different. Such efforts only lengthen the rebirth process, where every birth ends with old age, disease, and death.
– I have discussed this in several posts: “Search Results for: aṭṭhiyati bone”
– Now, you can read the English translation in the link and get a better idea.3. Please try to point to the place of the sutta using the format I have used (which breaks the sutta into sections/tabs). When you click on tab #, you will get the option to open the sutta at that verse in a different tab on the browser. Then use that link. I revised your links using that method.
– Also, provide the name of the sutta instead of just quoting the sutta number and make Pali verses in italics (select the Pali verse and click “i” on the Text Editor bar.)
– Spend the extra time for the benefit of others. (If the above instructions are unclear on how to open a sutta at a specific place, I can take care of it.)
