✨ New Video on the Paṭṭhāna ✨ The Paṭṭhāna is the great book of conditional relations in the Abhidhamma—sometimes called the “crown jewel” of Buddhist philosophy. It explains in detail how everything in existence is connected and conditioned.
Buddhist Abhidhamma Philosophy divides all of reality into four ultimate constituents—known as the Four Paramatthas: Matter (Rūpa), Mind (Cetasika), Consciousness (Citta), and Nibbāna. In this short video, I offer a…
The idea of having a system that can help to comprehend the entirety of existence has intrigued mankind for millennia. This very idea was, in fact, what in ancient times…
From Greece, to Native America, from Egypt to India, the idea of four fundamental elements which form the foundation for understanding the natural world, is so universal, that a study of them might be an not unrewarding pursuit.
Throughout the ages, periodically wise men arose in the world with the mission to enlighten unenlightened man. These were the great initiators who brought the light whenever the world was…
A collection of Dhamma poems, for upliftment of spirit. For what went deep into the heart, when it surfaces should bring with it some of its depth.
'The Paṭṭhāna', traditionally regarded as the quintessence of the Buddha's wisdom and as the surest proof of his omniscience; is a system which, in mathematical order, seeks to expand the comprehension of matter, mind and consciousness to cover the entirety of existence.
Five laws that move the way of thingsFive laws from which all wisdom springsFive laws, the quintessence of allFive laws to Cosmic view us callThe law of matter is the…
If we learn to understand our meditation in a grander context, and ideally in relation to the whole cosmos, the task of changing ourselves becomes a matter of universal importance.
This blog is an outline of the Buddhist Abhidhamma. Its aim is to show a method of contemplation, giving those who are inclined to meditate on the Abhidhamma, subjects or headings for meditation, all of which point in a definite direction, one subject providing a basis for the next.
Most people never have enough time, rarely have a good time and in general time seems be something that works usually against them. A person working on a spiritual path can not get around the problem of time. Because acquiring more control over ones life means also acquiring more control over time...
In the ancient world, the wise man was often called the knower of the gods. The gods signifying hidden entities which were believed to be the controlling agents of the…
Matter If you but seek’st enlightenment; first it's opposite must comprehend. But what is the opposite of spirit? Tis matter whose coarseness is most vivid. But what is matter?, we…
A condition of meditation, is a condition wherein the mind seeks an escape from matter. Meditation is about finding the middle path. And this applies also to our familiar consideration…
Many a one would like to increase his own power of attraction, that is, his own capacity to attract whatever he may happen to like. Yet, he does not know…
Nature is cyclical and moody. Sometimes she gives, sometimes she takes…Man’s inner nature too is cyclical and moody. Yet, to some degree man has proven a capacity to move beyond certain cycles, into a direction not indicated by nature
Now let’s talk about practical matters. The Abhidhamma system may indeed be used for an almost infinite amount of things. Principally should the study of this system give a person…
In Buddhism there is a bit of a quarrel amongst different schools in regards to the question of rebirth. The question being as to whether there is a gap between…
Here an example of the relevance of understanding the proper foundations upon which the mind may function. Besides, this example also illustrates the meaning of the Jhāna factors in actual…
This is just a small overview, to give some basic understanding about consciousness for the purpose of easier study of the mind. For the broader picture in which the information…
Paticca Samuppāda, often translated as the Law of Dependent Origination1, is perhaps the most famous of Buddhist Laws. Discovered by the Buddha and prescribed by him as one of the…
For a Buddhist practitioner, gaining a comprehensive understanding of the law of kamma, is one of the essential things to aim at. So, here a small elucidation of this very…
Sometimes people studying Buddhism, especially in relation to the vipassanā schools, end up with some conclusion that there is no continuity in mental and material phenomena…So here we want to…
One essential thing for a meditator who starts out on the meditators path, is to keep (or create) a meditation diary. This website, but more so my book (can be…
Kamma as a Paṭṭhāna condition, refers to the condition wherein actions, but more specifically mental acts of will or intention are acting as a cause to produce some particular result…
Whenever we give something, whenever we sacrifice something from whatever material goods we possess, or from our time, …we are going against the stream of the world. We are going…
How to know the Truth? If your only sphere of knowledge is the sensory world,...It does not make much sense to concern yourself with as to whether something is ultimately…
Here an example of how some understanding of the physiological processes and mental sequences described throughout this website, may be used to describe a meditative process of overcoming some personal…
"When I the starry courses know, And Nature's wise instruction seek, With light of power my soul shall glow, As when with spirits spirits speak." Since ancient times, there have…
The Buddha time and again urged his followers to try to attain the Jhānas (Stages of Meditation), but nowadays few people know how to attain them. This animation describes step…
Every person who through proficiency in some skill rises himself up above his fellow human beings, does so through having found some way of cultivating a dynamic interaction of these…
Anger Anger is life resisting life. It is when life is identified with what it is not, that it resists its own flow. But as lives vision of life becomes…
The Mental Body is one key concept of some of the esoteric tradition brought to the west*, which will prove very valuable an idea for anyone who wants to study…
Bhavanga (that wherein one's existence is rooted), includes, so we believe, also blind (unconscious) emotions...wandering thoughts and dreams. All those we take to be the vibrating bhavanga ...which have to…
Bīja Niyama is the law of organic life. Bīja literally means 'seed', in the sense of 'germ of life'. Thus, Bīja Niyama, is essentially the law that governs the growth…
Very often people find it difficult to find a point of contact in their own experience with certain ideas that they yet consider to be somewhat important to know about.…
The practice of meditation is very central to Buddhism. However without an understanding of the mind, there are many pitfalls. The idea of Bhavanga, an idea central to the Abhidhamma,…
As a person grows in purity, slowly an understanding of the difference between body and mind begins to develop. Hence, the mind becoming purified, perceives itself as an entity apart…
Good begets good, bad begets bad. Most people, at the very least have heard such saying. Yet, although there may be situations in life where it is quite obvious what…
A concept is a synthesis of mind-objects (bits of information) arrived at through mental processing. Through processing the objects of the 5 senses, as well as through learning, the mind…
Citta Niyāma is the law of mind. It is the law that governs the appearance and sequence in regard to mental phenomena. Even as the coarsest and deadest of matter,…
With every mental impulse, your body throws off particles of energy. Strong mental impulses produce a larger quantity of these particles. And how far these spread is largely dependent on…
It is in the mind's thought Where earth’s fate is wroughtIn the war between light and darkThere seek to understand each sides mark Where gods and demons seek become the…
Kamma Niyāma - The Law of Kamma Kamma Niyāma is the law of will or intention. Whenever the mind based on previous investigation and classification (of some sense-sphere phenomena) is…
Should a person desire to practice Four Elements meditation as a subject for establishing mindfulness, he should frequently recite to himself the names of the primary elements and further on,…
An Example of developing the Spiritual Faculties Then, we of course also want to use the Abhidhamma system to develop our spiritual powers. There are countless ways to apply it…
Conceiving of a past and a future and a good and a bad, the mind seeks to make more often decisions that assure a greater 'good' in the vaster space…
Perhaps you might have heard from someone, that killing other living beings, is bad. Yet, your reason tells you, that if you catch yourself a chicken from the forest, chop…
Now, our body needs nutriment. When we eat our food, that food gets digested in the stomach and then send further downward to the lower intestines. Along our spine, there…
Here I want to show, higher meditation experiences usually will only occur, when at least part of some higher Dhamma knowledge has become intuitive. Below I give one example of…
Nowadays, what is now often termed ‘mindfulness meditation’ is becoming quite popular. Oftentimes people are advised to do things, like walking, very slowly, while paying attention to what they experience,…
As choices become more consistent and as the mind becomes more capable of making intelligent kammical calculations that are in alignment with those choices, individuality reaches its peak. Ultimately the…
Bīja literally means ‘seed’, in the sense of ‘germ of life’. Thus this law of Bīja Niyāma, is essentially the law that governs the growth of organic life…from the smallest…
The Buddha declared, that an absolute beginning of things can not be found,…yet in regard to the phenomenal world, whether on a grand scale or in the very tiny things,…
The Paṭṭhāna, in traditional Buddhist countries often thought of as the quintessence of the Buddha’s wisdom, is on the other hand amongst Buddhists of the non-traditional type more often rather…
