Pure Dhamma – Reflections on 2018

January 1, 2019

1. Puredhamma.net completed full five years online. There are well over 500 posts at the site. It is getting a bit complex to browse through.

  • I am thinking about splitting it to three sites based on the complexity of the material. May be something like: Beginner, Intermediate, and Advanced.
  • Even though there are many posts, I have not been able to adequately cover certain sections, especially Abhidhamma.

2. On the other hand, last year was an eye-opener for me, in that there is a need to explain basic concepts in Buddha Dhamma. I participated in a well-known Buddhist discussion forum, and only during the past three months or so that I realized that most people there do not have a basic understanding of the key concepts of Buddha Dhamma.

  • Deep suttā are discussed there without having an understanding of key concepts like the five aggregates: rūpa, vēdana, saññā, saṅkhāra, viññāna.
  • Since only a limited number of people make comments there, I am not certain how bad this problem really is.

3. I am seriously thinking about having a “sub-site” where introductory concepts in Buddha Dhamma are explained.

  • That includes dasa akusala, Four Noble Truths, Noble Eightfold Path, and an introduction to Paṭicca Samuppāda.
  • By the way, if you are new to puredhamma.net, please read the “Moral Living and Fundamentals” and the first subsections of the “Living Dhamma” section.
  • It is absolutely necessary to learn the basics before getting into advanced concepts.

4. I am happy about the status of the discussion forum at puredhamma.net. It completed the first full year on December 17th: “Forum“.

  • Even though only a limited number of people are posting there, the quality of discussions is good. I encourage questions, and take each question seriously. Most people have not been exposed to key concepts, and are not aware of them due to no fault on their own.
  • I am glad to see that at least a limited number of people are making significant progress due to those discussions. It is hard to explain everything in a post. Therefore, the forum is a good way to bring up points that I missed, or not paid enough attention to.
  • My sincere thanks to all who are contributing to the discussions by proving their own input.

5. I am appreciative of many kind comments on the usefulness of the site, and about  personal achievements; that gives me confidence that there are people who can see the value of Pure Dhamma and can make genuine progress.

  • Special thanks to Seng Kiat Ng from Singapore for putting together all the posts in an eBook format and for updating it every week as I write new posts and update old posts. He is also helping manage the discussion forum.
  • Tobias Große in Heilbad Heiligenstadt, Germany, has now translated many pages of puredhamma to German. Here is the link: https://puredhamma/de
  • I understand that there is a Korean translation too. The person who is doing the work has written to me, but seems to want to stay anonymous.
  • Christian Schoenrock  has organized a group in Eastern Europe. He also has a forum discussing Pure Dhamma in English that is open to everyone:   https://discord.com/invite/g6UWq4b
  • Many others have contributed by pointing out errors in some posts leading to improvements. My goal is to have 100% inter-consistency as well as consistency with the Tipiṭaka. My thanks all of them.

Happy New Year!

May the Blessings of the Triple Gem (Buddha, Dhamma, Saṅgha) be with you always!

Print Friendly, PDF & Email