akkheyyasaññino sattā akkheyyasmi patihitā akkheyya apariññāya yogam āyanti maccuno “Beings are conscious of what can be named, They are established on the nameable, By not comprehending the nameable things, They come under the yoke of death.” — Samiddhi Sutta “And what, bhikkhus, is consciousness? There are these six classes of consciousness: eye-consciousness, ear-consciousness, nose-consciousness, tongue-consciousness, body-consciousness, mind-consciousness. This is called consciousness.” “An...
May 22, 2019•20 min
yo ubhante viditvāna majjhe mantā na lippati taṁ brūmi mahāpurisoti sodha sibbanimaccagā “He who, having understood both ends with wisdom, does not get attached at the middle. I call him a Great Man. He has gone beyond the seamstress.” — Pārāyaṇa Vagga • What is the first end? • What is the second end? • What is the middle? • Who is the seamstress? Buddha: “One end is pleasant feeling, the second end is unpleasant or painful feeling and the middle is neither unpleasant nor pleasant feeling. Crav...
May 22, 2019•17 min
Mmmm-mm, uuuh-uh, oooo-oo, oooooh yeah... So everybody in this world is suffering— They don’t even know why. It starts before their birth, And continues till the day they die. I thought that this was crazy There has to be a way to get well. Otherwise this great big world Ain’t a whole lot better than Hell. I traveled all around the world Trying to get rid of the pain. I tried medications, meditations Then I went back and tried again. Got my first taste of nibbana In the winter of 1984 And it sur...
May 17, 2019•4 min
Buddha defines the links in the descending mode of paticca-samuppada in the Vibhanga Sutta. Interestingly, he does it in reverse order: “And what, bhikkhus, is aging-and-death? The aging of the various beings in the various orders of beings, their growing old, brokenness of teeth, greyness of hair, wrinkling of skin, decline of vitality, degeneration of the faculties: this is called aging. The passing away of the various beings from the various orders of beings, their perishing, breakup, disappe...
May 16, 2019•16 min
We can find examples of Dependent Arising in every action. In this video I use taking a drink from a glass of juice as an example. Note that each stage is dependent on the Arising of the previous one.
May 15, 2019•19 min
So the inability of any viewers to post a comment on Dependent Arising proves there is a psychological disorder, a learning disability, a practical mental block. It’s due to state schooling and misunderstood terms. You have to work to overcome it before you can get Right View. Kacchanagotta Sutta — Samyutta Nikaya 12.15 connected discourses on causation: “With Kacchanagotta” At Savatthī. Then the Venerable Kaccanagotta approached the Blessed One, paid homage to him, sat down to one side, and sa...
May 13, 2019•17 min
So the experiment of the last few days has brought out something very interesting: out of all the comments on this series (or any series on this channel) there are ZERO comments about Dependent Arising! ALL the comments are off-topic. I think you have a mental block that prevents you from seeing Dependent Arising here-and-now as it really is.
May 13, 2019•15 min
“From saṅkhārā as condition arises conditioned consciousness ... with the cessation of saṅkhārā, conditioned consciousness ceases.” — Bodhi Sutta The term saṅkhārā has connotations of deception or spuriousness. In Vedic culture, it was associated with costuming, makeup, staging and other preparations for a drama. Saṅkhārā can be bodily, verbal or mental. The magic show of consciousness is kept up by saṅkhāras. They also sustain the vortex between consciousness and name-and-form. Not understandin...
May 07, 2019•21 min
“Conditioned by ignorance, O monks, are saṅkhāras. That suchness therein, that invariability, that not-otherwiseness, that specific conditionality–that, O monks, is called Dependent Arising.” — Paccaya Sutta All these declarations make it clear that specific conditionality, paticca-samuppada, is an invariable law true for all times, whether Tathāgathas arise or not. This is a Lion’s Roar proclaiming the greatness of this timeless law known by the Buddhas. “From ignorance as a condition, saṅkhāra...
May 06, 2019•19 min
Previously we went through Dependent Arising descending phase in the reverse and forward modes. In this episode we continue the forward mode in the ascending phase. This is the Buddha’s Path, and it begins from the cessation of ignorance. This occurs when one meets a realized being and learns the science of Self-realization. The rest of the stages of the Path follow in sequence.
May 05, 2019•17 min
Dependent Arising was discovered by Buddha Vipassī, many aeons ago. It can be parsed into the descending mode, ascending mode, forward direction reverse direction, becoming and cessation. Any of these can be a powerful seed for meditation and observation of the process of becoming in your own experience.
May 03, 2019•16 min
The Buddha taught Dependent Arising as the Middle Way between the extremes of eternalism and nihilism. Dependent Arising is a vortex of becoming, established by the ego against the prevailing movement of Nature. The world is impermanent, suffering and not-self; the ego tries to establish a permanent existence, enjoyment and self. Because of this movement against the flow of Nature, a vortex is formed: the body and mind. Naturally this gives rise to so many problems. To give relief from these pro...
May 02, 2019•15 min
The assertions of Eternalism can’t be validated. But the observations of the Buddha concerning Timelessness can be confirmed by anyone.
Apr 29, 2019•16 min
Buddha’s teaching includes both arising and cessation, avoiding both eternalist and nihilist extremes. This is idappaccayatā, the insight that illuminates the Middle Way: “Thus: This being—this comes to be; with the arising of this—this arises. This not being—this does not come to be; with the cessation of this—this ceases.” — Udāna 1, the Bodhisuttas Because Nibbāna is sometimes called sabbasaṅkhārāsamatha—the stilling of all saṅkhārā—some prematurely conclude that the attainment of cessation o...
Apr 29, 2019•21 min
Some of the consequences of Vedic Eternalism (Sanātana-dharma): Dogmatic, authoritarian organizations, Eternal identity (soul), Personality view, Eternal consciousness, Positivism, Objectivism, Rebirth & suffering. Some of the consequences of Buddha’s Timelessness (Akāliko-dhamma) are Nondogmatic inquiry, Detachment, Cessation of self, Dependently arisen consciousness, Apophasis, Subjectivism, Moksha in the here-and-now.
Apr 27, 2019•20 min
A detailed analysis of the structure of time in the Vedic tradition and the Buddha’s teaching, and their consequences on the process of Self-realization.
Apr 26, 2019•20 min
One friend asked, “So you’re trying to convert Hindus into Buddhists?” Another wrote, “I still don’t see the difference between cessation and being in a deep coma.” How people get these misconceptions, I don’t know. But, it’s job security I guess, haha.
Apr 25, 2019•19 min
Sanātana-Dharma vs. Akāliko-Dhamma: Vedic Eternality-view versus Buddha’s Timelessness-view “Know that whoever meditates on that Supreme Void, and becomes established in it by virtue of constant practice, will definitely attain the great state which is beyond birth and death.” — Lord Śiva, Śrī Devī-kālottara 42 “Look upon the world as void, Mogharāja, being mindful at all times. Uprooting the lingering view of self, get well beyond the range of death. The king of death gets no chance to see ...
Apr 25, 2019•16 min
