A short Talk on Ānāpānasati (mindfulness of breathing) and five factors of Jhāna. This time with my face. Whether you are a beginner or have been practicing meditation for some…
The practice of relating spiritual teachings to the body — of locating spiritual ideas within the body — is exceedingly old. It has been practiced in mystical traditions throughout the…
In spirituality as well as in Buddhism in general, we often find a strong emphasis on the present moment. Statements such as “The present moment is the only thing real” or “The past…
In this Dhamma Talk, I explore the ‘Universality of Sequences,’ showing how sequences are a phenomenon that exists throughout existence (broken down into matter, mind, consciousness, and Nibbāna) and are…
A talk on Repetition as a universal fact of existence. Part of my Patthana series, in this talk I explore the Paṭṭhāna condition of Repetition, Āsevana Paccaya. As usual I…
These are two short talks on the basics of Abhidhamma. I hope you find them insightful and helpful in understanding these fundamental concepts. The first talk, “The Vocabulary of Insight,”…
The wisdom of the elements And their almost sacred dance Their nature, danger, usefulness, The need for them for truthfulness This all here is seeked to get explored And to…
Matter Since time immemorial, or at least since the arising of the first traces of mind, what the mind pays attention to, is what we now call matter. Thus, since…
The Four Elements as Sense-objects Usually, these four elements first will have to be apprehended through any one of the 5 senses. And through each sense, they are apprehended somewhat…
'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.
Oh Death Oh death please be my guiding light through lives bewildering maze. And show me where it ends at last, that I shall'nt be surprised. Please warn me at…
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…
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…
Wherever two (or more) phenomena possess similar characteristics, a correspondence between these two phenomena can be seen. And whatever is known about one of them may also hold true for…
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…
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…
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…
A sequence is a chain of things or events, following one after another. Thus, the crux of this condition is to describe, that there is a certain progression as to…
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…
Intention is the minds direction. As the mind has learned to give meanings to the objects surrounding it, and based on that made evaluations along the line of 'good' and…
Based on knowledge, there may arise a certain faculty, that can perceive a myriad things at one singular glance. This faculty may be termed intuition. It is, when a mind…
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…
These are the mental activities of Life left to itself They constitute the first stirrings of a latent mind seeking manifestation. Their essential characteristic is that mental activity and thought…
Once a person has acquired an understanding of the Niyāma, he may order each item of importance under the functionings of those natural laws. That is, how anything that he…
For gaining a clearer understanding about the mental process, we might consider about it in the light of human development and its relation to the higher faculties. Example: A person…
It is usually the lack of capacity of an organism and the higher faculties to respond to higher ideas and positive (or attractive) sense-impressions, that will lead a person to…
Our Body transforms food into energy,... that energy travels through the body along certain channels (the bloodvessels for the most part). Apart from that, there are certain centres in the…
Ārammana, usually translated as objects, may more accurately be thought of as supports of the mind (and the senses). Thus, this condition is describing any relation between mind or matter…
The Abhidhamma too may be useful when encountering physical problems. For example: Learning to recognise the four elements, may help a person to make a start in balancing out coarse…
Adhipati paccaya, reigning or governing condition, describes the condition of one thing, that is either an outer object or condition, or internal mental factors, such as desire, exertion, investigation or…
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…
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…
A nimitta is a sign, that indicates, that the meditator has gained some amount of concentration. Principally is any sign of concentration a nimitta. Hence, there may be just a…
Presence Condition (or condition of being) is referring to the existence of mental and material phenomena in the limited space of the "Now". While the condition of absence is referring…
Just a small pictorial analysis of the effect of Will on consciousness. Please read my blog “Consciousness and Conscious Experience” for explanation. Will is conditioned by introspection and knowledge of…
This is just a brief sketch of how our mind and attitude is conditioning the reality that we are experiencing. Showing the connection between two very fundamental laws of existence,…
Inter-human relationships, although we derive pleasure from them, are very often the greatest sources of suffering for human beings. Antagonism, animosities and conflict situations play a smaller or larger part…
Whenever you say something, and later, whenever you think something,...you have to feel into the body, as to whether it is true or not...the body is closely connected with the…
I don't see what the future holdsThe past gives me no guidanceToday, tomorrow, any day, seem pointless, useless, anywaySo what then can I say...If the Reaper were to comeThe last…
In normal conditions regarding good ideas,... a good idea arises at your mind-door, and then the mind immediately lapses into the life-continuum, which afterwards vibrates, stirring you to action. Even…
All external events count as objects, first of the 5 sense‐bases, than of the mind, therefore without mastering the environment first (for a bhikkhu, the bhikkhus training and way of…
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…
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…
Although systems like the Abhidhamma might have had infinitely more relevance...were infinitely more valuable and important before the advent of the commonality of books...still even today many people find them…
