#thervada

[makapatag]

upaya-kaushalya is one of my favorite pieces of buddhist thought. so much so that i find myself inherently following down the mahayana path (or as i like to call it, the vehicle of the masses) instead of the theravadin path because of it (aside from my own leftist inclinations of course).

essentially, upaya-kaushalya, or just really upaya when i'm talking abt it with fellow mahayana friends, is expedient means. upaya-kaushalya means "skillful mean" or "clever mean." when i've heard my lama talk about upaya it almost always means skillful means.

essentially, upaya emphasizes multiple roads to enlightenment. something is upaya if it is done out of ignorance but out of conscious effort to achieve enlightenment. this means you can have multiple different ways or ideologies for reaching enlightenment, and each of them have differing levels of efficacy, but they're all moving you toward enlightenment anyway.

my favorite part about this is that it acknowledges something that a lot of reformed/institutional religions don't really want to in fear of losing power through relinquishing of hegemony, which is context. this is why buddhism managed to flourish in southeast and east asia despite those regions being famously riddled with local faith and superstition because buddhism straight up was just layered on top of it and they didn't say whatever they were doing was wrong. they said that whatever they were doing were more means potentially leading to enlightenment anyway.

kinda like "we want you out of suffering, but we can only help you if you want to help yourself. you'll get out of it though." (though of course in mahayana everyone is working directly for the liberation of all sentient beings and not just themselves)

of course a caveat with upaya then is that it can lead to dangerous situations where anything can be justified as leading to enlightenment, even harmful practices. this can be counteracted through rigorous ethical rhetoric and debate (which buddhists are not strangers to!)

more importantly it can also be counteracted by saying that upaya can only really be done if you have bodhicitta, or otherwise you are doing it out of wisdom and compassion. i think that's a good enough qualifier to root out harmful practices, while still keeping mahayana super contextual!

mahayana is a really non-invasive faith when following the precepts (have the followers been able to keep it that way? well, they're still in samsara and not in dharmakaya...)

[fotonvr]

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[alienbuddhism]

[staylitmusic]

TOP RACK (Prod. THERVADA) by ANKHLEJOHN

[zen-garden-gnome]

The Turning of the Wheel of Dharma

There are practically infinite ways to approach the practice of Buddhism. It’s said that since the moment of his enlightenment, the Buddha simultaneously understood everything he would then continue to teach throughout his life and presented it differently where appropriate--with 84,000 different teachings, in fact. (It could also be said that he continued to learn and change as he came upon new circumstances. For example, the Buddha originally taught that women could/should not be monks, but later changed this aspect of his teachings within his own lifetime--after some convincing. It’s been argued that he taught what was culturally appropriate when that was most effective, and presented this differently when it became possible to do so.)

While all Buddhist traditions arise from the same basic precepts, there are many “versions” of Buddhism. Some versions are called by their location/culture of practice, such as Zen Buddhism (Japanese), Chan Buddhism (Chinese), and Thien Buddhism (Vietnamese), but all three of these “versions” are of the same main Mahayana tradition. The greater changes and geological/territorial movements of early Buddhism are described as The Turnings of the Wheel of Dharma (Dharma Chakra, an established wheel of law or maintenance). The three primary traditions or branches of Buddhism correspond with the Three Turnings of the Dharma Wheel, and they are the Thervada, Mahayana, and Vajrayana traditions...

Theravada is the only remaining school from the early Buddhist period. Theravada texts are in the Buddha’s original Pali language and mainly focus on the Buddha’s life and early teachings. This “version” of Buddhism is the “first turning of the wheel,” which is said to have begun with the Buddha’s first teaching of the Four Noble Truths at Deer Park in northern India around the 5th century B.C. These early teachings are said to offer a conceptual, logical, actionable approach to the nature of reality intended to help people unfamiliar with these concepts obtain a preliminary path to liberation. In this way, Theravada can be described as being part of/contained within all other schools. To my understanding, many people enter Buddhism in response to their own great suffering, and so personal liberation is often the first stepping stone for their development. The focus on renunciation, personal liberation, and strict adherence to early monastic lifestyles, while clear and actionable and closest to the earliest traditions, can also be inaccessible and unreasonable. For example, some Theravada sutras state it’s impossible for women to become enlightened, and most Theravada temples in Thailand refuse to fully ordain their nuns. For these and other reasons, some practitioners and scholars to consider Theravada Buddhism “incomplete.” In fact, the earlier name Hinayana (“smaller vehicle”) is often considered a derogatory synonym for Theravada, and should probably be avoided.

Mahayana is the largest major tradition of Buddhism, is presented originally in Sanskrit, and is said to have appeared about 500 years after Theravada. It’s said that the basic elements of this second turning exist in the Buddha’s original teachings given on Vulture Peak Mountain in Rajagriha, India, but took around another 500 years to be appropriate and/or accessible for humanity. While the first turning focused on personal enlightenment, the second turning focuses on the perfection of wisdom teachings--that is, the teachings on emptiness and compassion, which together form the essence of Mahayana Buddhism: a spontaneous wish to attain enlightenment, motivated by great compassion for all beings. This state of mind is called bodhicitta, and while Theravada certainly contained aspects of these teachings, Mahayana goes further in order to deepen the understanding of the true nature of existence: no inherent existence (no self), i.e. the interdependent arising of all things (compassion),  i.e. the inherent emptiness of all things (emptiness). Theravada uses conceptual knowledge (people, selfhood, being one’s own refuge, planes of existence like heaven or hell, etc) in order to introduce people to the process of personal liberation, while Mahayana more directly discusses things in terms of the physical and the mental in order to guide people to knowledge of the ultimate reality (emptiness). Furthermore, Mahayana traditions include the concept of wilfully remaining in Samsara in order to help guide others to liberation.

Vajrayana draws its roots from the Noble Sutra of the Explanation of the Profound Secrets, so-called because it’s said to clear up confusion and even incomplete aspects of earlier teachings. The oral pieces of this sutra were likely assembled somewhere between the 1st and 3rd century CE for “official” dissemination (missionaries brought it to Tibet in the 5th century), but the third turning itself occurred closer to the 7th century, when Tibetan king Songtsan Gampo married two buddhist princesses and converted to Buddhism. The blend of Tibetan cultural animism and Mahayana Buddhism resulted in Vajrayana Buddhism, which focuses on Buddha Nature as a fundamental nature of mind and the idea that all beings may realize enlightenment, specifically within one lifetime. While Theravada uses conceptual thinking and Mahayana refutes conceptual thinking in search of the ultimate reality, Vajrayana uses a logical approach by exploring and refuting lines of logic. It accepts the usefulness of conceptualization and the usefulness of the subjective experience as learning tools and compass-builders--as tools, not truths. This so-called Tibetan Buddhism has been heavily influenced by dynasties in India, Central Asia, China, and Mongolia, and this collection of philosophies and traditions has resulted in a version of Buddhism that many find more “whole” than previous versions. For example, the teachings of Tantra--a core aspect and sometimes secondary name for Vajrayana--utilize the subjective experience as a way of recognizing the emptiness of phenomena. To understand the emptiness of pleasure, seek pleasure until it feels empty. To understand the emptiness of pain, seek pain until it feels empty. It’s worth noting that the sensual/sensory rituals of Tantra have been vastly misunderstood by observing cultures, especially in the colonized world. Furthermore, the animist (Pagan) aspects of Vajrayana (Tibetan) Buddhism play a large role in China’s rejection of this form of Buddhism, and its efforts to forcefully replace it with Chan (Chinese Mahayana) Buddhism.

Many schools and teachings overlap and differ. There may be redundancy across seemingly different concepts, lists, teachings, etc, or a seemingly unnecessary amount of fragmentation. In truth, there are multiple ways of observing or describing Dharma concepts. The more we learn, the more content our subconscious mind is able to work with. While at first these redundancies and differences may be confusing, eventually it becomes clear how they relate, and perhaps more importantly, becomes clear that the individual must come to their own personal understanding, anyway. Perhaps adhering fully to one particular school of Buddhism can make it easier, especially since the possible gaps or limitations of a single school/path ultimately don’t matter?

(These are the synthesized notes based on my Dharma study. They are by no means complete and are only intended to help me make sense of the texts, articles, and lectures I’m consuming. Now that they exist and I know how their understanding has positively affected my life, they ought to be shared. It’s said that acting on an incomplete understanding of Buddhism and other wisdom teachings can be dangerous, or at least lead one astray, so please don’t take my assembled notes too seriously. Please feel free to share corrections and expansions!)

[ankhlejohn]

https://soundcloud.com/ankhlejohn/top-rack-prod-thervada

[theouijagirl]

Does western paganism, wiccan, and Western demonology have a concept similar to chi from Asian spirituality as seen in Feng Shui, Thervada Buddhism, local oriental paganism and shamanism, Daoism, and martial arts? I mean Hinduism does have Chakra and even Judaism and certain sects of Islam (specifically Sufism) have a similar energy concept (forgot what they call it). surprisingly even mystic Christianity and Christian witchcraft have a concept too (which they often call the "Holy Spirit").

In Druidry we have the Awen, which is the source of all inspirational energy and light, and we pray to it and chant its name during spells and ceremonies.

I honestly don’t know if there’s anything similar in Wicca. I know there’s the power of the universe that we call to during spells and invocations, but every Wiccan is different with their interpretations and incantations, so it’s really up to each individual. But that’s the closest I can get to it, I think. I do remember my Mom, who was very much into Wicca, describing it as being like the Force in Star Wars, that once you’re in tune with the universe you can use it. But I don’t know if there’s a word for it.

[etthawitthi]

Theravada Tripitaka: Unique national heritage

Theravada Tripitaka: Unique national heritage

The most important gift Sri Lanka ever received from overseas, the message of the Gauthama Buddha has introduced a unique religious philosophy together with a new culture and a way of life to the people of this country.

The teachings of the Buddha or the Thervada Tripitaka was introduced by Arahath Mahinda in Pali language and it was brought forward by word of mouth for generations until it was…

[aeepo]

The Foundations of Buddhism (OPUS)

The Foundations of Buddhism (OPUS)

Buddhism is a vast and complex religious and philosophical tradition with a history that stretches over 2,500 years, and which is now followed by around 115 million people. In this introduction to the foundations of Buddhism, Rupert Gethin concentrates on the ideas and practices which constitute the common heritage of the different traditions of Buddhism (Thervada, Tibetan, and Eastern) that…

[alienbuddhism]

[obedmanwatkar]

" I am The Buddha now, But after me Cometh the 'Maitreya Buddha', He will preach to you His righteousness, glorious in its origin, glorious at the climax and glorious at the goal, in spirit and in the letter. He will proclaim LIFE, wholly perfect and pure, such as I now proclaim. His disciples will number many thousands, while Mine number many hundreds." ---Siddhartha Gautama The Buddha. What an amazing coincidence, On 127th Anniversary of 'BABASAHEB' Dr. B.R. Ambedkar (The architect of Constitution of India, The Modern Moses, The pioneer of World's Largest Massive Religious conversion) had a Blessed evening having Visiting Thai Buddhist Temple fellowship and dialogue with Thervada Buddhist Monk, With Prof.Dr. Paul De Neui and other North Park seminary classmates in Chicago, Illinois, USA. LONG LIVE MISSION RECONCILIATION #LetTheKingdomCome (at Wat Dhammaram - Thai Temple)

[peter-lola]

Budismo en Tailandia: Tierra de los hábitos amarillos

En el “país de las sonrisas”, apodado también “tierra de los hábitos amarillos” (en referencia a las vestiduras de los monjes) predomina el budismo theravada con un 93% de la población, seguido por un 5% de musulmanes principalmente en el sur profundo, un 1% de católicos, y finalmente un 1% de animistas. El budismo como religión resulta más pintoresco y atractivo que la mayoría de las religiones en el mundo. En Tailandia, esta receta espiritual se aliña con infinidad de ídolos, supersticiones y flores. En su blog viajaenmimochila.com, Christina Lozano resume muy bien lo que significa el budismo theravada, sus principales fundamentos y algunos actos derivados de su aplicación (prácticas en los templos, liberación de animales, ofrendas a los monjes, etc.):

BUDA. Un buda es por definición una “persona que ha alcanzado la sabiduría en el conocimiento perfecto”. Aunque el término Buda se utiliza casi siempre como nombre propio para designar a Sidharta Gautama, el príncipe indio que dio origen a la religión como tal, él no es el único buda. Sidharta era un gran maestro, sabio hasta el extremo, pero no era un dios con atributos de divinidad al estilo de otras religiones, y así siempre lo remarcaba él mismo. Lo correcto es presentar respetos a Buda, pero no adorarle ni rezarle - aunque muchos budistas adoren y recen a Buda como si fuera un dios.

En los templos los fieles entran descalzos, dejando sus zapatos en las escaleras de acceso, y se arrodillan de forma que las plantas de sus pies no señalan a Buda o a ningún maestro ya que es una parte sucia. Al entrar se  postran arrodillados ante las estatuas haciendo tres reverencias; con las manos juntadas delante del pecho las alzan a continuación hacia la cabeza y después se inclinan hasta tocar el suelo con las manos y la cabeza. La primera reverencia es para mostrar respeto a Buda como maestro, la segunda para mostrar respeto a su dhamma o dharma  (doctrina o enseñanza de Buda), y la tercera para mostrar respeto al shanga (la comunidad espiritual). En teoría, en el budismo nadie idolatra a nadie. En teoría. Buda, el dhamma y el shangha son considerados los tres tesoros o joyas en el budismo. Las ofrendas a Buda se justifican en señal de respeto al maestro, y en apoyo al shanga que guarda y enseña su dhamma.

SHANGA: El shanga es el nombre que recibe la comunidad de monjes y creyentes budistas en su conjunto, algo así como el clero budista. En el caso de Tailandia, el shanga está integrado solamente por hombres, aunque algunas mujeres se han propuesto revocar esta situación. El Sangharaja es el líder de todos los monjes (algo así como su Papa), y lo elige el rey y el ejecutivo nacional de entre los miembros más mayores del mismo shanga. El Sangharaja preside el Mahathera Samagama, que es un consejo formado por entre cuatro y ocho monjes que gobiernan el shanga entero en colaboración con el Departamento de Asuntos Religiosos de Tailandia.

DHAMMA: El dhamma es la doctrina o enseñanza de Buda. De forma resumida diríamos que el dhamma enseña qué es el dukkha y cómo librarse de él (se explica a continuación con más detalle). El dhamma se construye sobre CUATRO NOBLES VERDADES (dukkha, samudaya, nirhoda y magga), éstas concluyen que toda existencia es sufrimiento y que uno puede dejar de sufrir si erradica el deseo que causa ese sufrimiento. Uno llega al NIRVANA (algo así como el cielo de los budistas, aunque no exactamente pues en el budismo no existe el concepto de resurrección entendido como en el cristianismo) tras alcanzar la ILUMINACIÓN, y para alcanzar la iluminación hay que seguir un CAMINO DE OCHO PASOS.

DUKKHA. El concepto dukkha es central en el budismo como religión pues, su fin último, es liberar al individuo que lo practica de su dukkha. Generalmente, dukkha se traduce como ‘sufrimiento’, pero el dukkha es una idea más amplia, no equivale a lo que entendemos los hispanohablantes por sufrimiento. Es un concepto mucho más complejo.

Gerald Roscoe, autor del libro “The Triple Gem: An Introduction to Thervada Buddhism“ lo ilustra con ejemplos: “Nacer es dukkha, una experiencia traumática. Enfermar es dukkha, con su dolor, su fiebre, su incomodidad, su angustia. Envejecer es dukkha, la disminución de la fuerza de los órganos vitales, el tener que depender de otros. Morir es dukkha, igual que lo es el miedo a la muerte. No tener lo que uno quiere es dukkha.

KARMA: Hablar de karma es hablar de voluntad, de teoría causa – efecto. Para un budista, toda acción en ésta o en sus vidas pasadas tiene consecuencias. Si haces el bien, te pasarán cosas buenas; si haces el mal, te pasarán cosas malas. Recordemos, de lo que se trata aquí es de terminar con el dichoso dukkha inherente  en el vivir, alcanzar la iluminación y poder salir del círculo de rencarnaciones (samsara) al que está avocado todo ser vivo hasta que llegue al Nirvana (si es que llega alguna vez). Uno puede reencarnarse prácticamente infinitas veces y, lo afortunado que sea al nacer, se considera indicativo de lo bien que lo hizo en anteriores vidas.

Para ganar ‘puntos de karma’ y tener cada vez mejor reencarnación, incluso llegar a librarse de reencarnarse, uno tiene que hacer méritos. Aquí es donde empieza lo bueno. Uno hace méritos si da ofrendas a los templos y al shanga, tanto en metálico como en especia. Por eso verás tantos paquetitos en celofán con cosas útiles para los monjes (un hábito, jabón, comida, etc.), para que los compres y hagas méritos; y por eso la gente se levanta a primera hora del día para dar de comer a los monjes que hacen su ronda de almas. No te pienses que se les dan las sobras de la cena. No, no. Se madruga, se compra todo fresco, y prácticamente se le cocina su plato favorito al monje de turno.

[ethn2-blog]

notebook 2

Buddhism background: Indian missionaries introduced Buddhism into China in the 1st century CE during the Han Dynasty. At first, Buddhism conflicted with so many Chinese traditions that it was declared as harmful to the state, but appealed to the court through its slight similarities to Daoism and Confucianism. Buddhism has played a huge part in Chinese culture, influencing art, politics, etc. A revival of Buddhism was seen in the 70s where new temples were being created and old temples were being restored. Buddhism traveled to the United States via Chinese immigrants. Because the Chinese immigrants were hired as cheap labor, their religion and temples spread as well. In the 50s Buddhism was rediscovered during the “hippie generation” and it served as an alternative to the capitalism Western life. Seen as a sort of hippie religion, Buddhism is like an “alternative” religion, with the emphasis of peace representative of a “utopian” spiritual belief. In the West, the Buddhism practiced is usually Mahayana, Thervada, or an East Asian mix, and some accept teachings from multiple sects, which is much less common in Asia. 

Quotes: “You will not be punished for your anger, you will be punished by your anger.”  “Peace comes from within. Do not seek it without.” –Guatama Buddha 

Buddhism differs in the context of geographical location and ethnicity. In Asia it is one of the most widely practiced religions and is seen more often in popular culture but in the West Buddhism is seen as “foreign”. Regardless of being a widely practiced religion, in the United States, Buddhism is still an oriental religion and is what is essentially an immigrant religion because it isn’t a “traditionally Western” religion like i.e. Christianity. The talisman card has also traveled from Asia to the United States, parallel to the journey of Buddhism from China to the United States. In the context of gender, in the Lotus Sutra it is forbidden to create distinctions between class, gender, birth, or whatever practice of religion. However outside of Buddhism within a more general context, believers of Buddhism may be treated differently due to their gender. For example, a male monk may be treated differently than a female monk because men who don’t marry may be considered as “desirable bachelors” while single women might be seen as “lonely”. There are different connotations and societal expectations associated with being a male or female. 

Sources: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buddhism_in_the_West#Western_Buddhism_today https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_Buddhism#Chinese_Buddhism_in_the_West http://www.sgi.org/about-us/president-ikedas-writings/a-grand-declaration-of-gender-equality.html

[thecompassionateone]

A very interesting article that features an interview between Kittisaro and Thanissara, two former monastics (well, a bhikkhu and a siladhara, respectively) from the Ajahn Chah lineage who have been married for 22 years. It’s inspiring to see how they balance marriage with Dhamma, and have learned to incorporate what they learned as monastics into their lay life. 

[snowfoxbc]

There is a path of practice that puts an end to suffering

There is suffering, there is a cause for suffering, there is an end of suffering, and there is a path of practice that puts an end to suffering.

These truths are a practical, problem-solving approach — the way a doctor approaches an illness, or a mechanic a faulty engine. You identify a problem and look for its cause. You then put an end to the problem by eliminating the cause.

It's hard to imagine what you could accomplish by saying that life is suffering. You'd have to spend your time arguing with people who see more than just suffering in life. The Buddha himself says as much in one of his discourses. A brahman named Long-nails (Dighanakha) comes to him and announces that he doesn't approve of anything. This would have been a perfect time for the Buddha, if he had wanted, to chime in with the truth that life is suffering. Instead, he attacks the whole notion of taking a stand on whether life is worthy of approval. There are three possible answers to this question: (1) nothing is worthy of approval, (2) everything is, and (3) some things are and some things aren't. If you take any of these three positions, you end up arguing with the people who take either of the other two positions. And where does that get you?

The Buddha then teaches Long-nails to look at his body and feelings as instances of the first noble truth: they're stressful, inconstant, and don't deserve to be clung to as self. Long-nails follows the Buddha's instructions and, in letting go of his attachment to body and feelings, gains his first glimpse of the Deathless, of what it's like to be totally free from suffering.

The point of this story is that trying to answer God's question, passing judgment on the world, is a waste of time. And it offers a better use for the first noble truth: looking at things, not in terms of "world" or "life," but simply identifying suffering so that you can comprehend it, let it go, and attain release. Rather than asking us to make a blanket judgment — which, in effect, would be asking us to be blind partisans — the first noble truth asks us to look and see precisely where the problem of suffering lies.

Other discourses make the point that the problem isn't with body and feelings in and of themselves. They themselves aren't suffering. The suffering lies in clinging to them. In his definition of the first noble truth, the Buddha summarizes all types of suffering under the phrase, "the five aggregates of clinging": clinging to physical form (including the body), feelings, perceptions, thought constructs, and consciousness. However, when the five aggregates are free from clinging, he tells us, they lead to long-term benefit and happiness. Of course, by "happiness" he isn't here referring to the arts, food, travel, sports, family life, or any of the other sections of the Sunday newspaper. He's talking about the solid well-being that comes when we treat the aggregates as factors in the path to the Deathless. The aggregates in themselves are neutral. The role they play in leading to true happiness or suffering lies in whether or not we cling.

So the first noble truth, simply put, is that clinging is suffering. It's because of clinging that physical pain becomes mental pain. It's because of clinging that aging, illness, and death cause mental distress. How do we cling? The texts list four ways: the clinging of sensual passion, the clinging of views, the clinging of precepts and practices, and the clinging of doctrines of the self. It's rare that a moment passes in the ordinary mind without some form of clinging. Even when we abandon a particular form of clinging, it's usually because it gets in the way of another form. We may abandon a puritanical view because it interferes with sensual pleasure; or a sensual pleasure because it conflicts with a view about what we should do to stay healthy. Our views of who we are may expand and contract depending on which of our many senses of "I" is feeling the most pain, expanding into a sense of cosmic oneness when we feel confined by the limitations of our small mind-body complex, shrinking into a small shell when we feel wounded from identifying with a cosmos so filled with cruelty, thoughtlessness, and waste. When the insignificance of our finite self becomes oppressive again, we may jump at the idea that we have no self, but then that becomes oppressive.

So our minds jump from clinging to clinging like a bird trapped in a cage. And when we realize we're captive, we naturally search for a way out. This is where it's so important that the first noble truth not say that "Life is suffering," for if life were suffering, where would we look for an end to suffering? We'd be left with nothing but death and annihilation. But when the actual truth is that clinging is suffering, we simply have to look to see precisely where clinging is and learn not to cling.

This is where we encounter the Buddha's great skill as a strategist: He tells us to take the clingings we'll have to abandon and transform them into the path to their abandoning. We'll need a certain amount of sensory pleasure — in terms of adequate food, clothing, and shelter — to find the strength to go beyond sensual passion. We'll need right view — seeing all things, including views, in terms of the four noble truths — to undermine our clinging to views. And we'll need a regimen of the five ethical precepts and the practice of meditation to put the mind in a solid position where it can drop its clinging to precepts and practices. Underlying all this, we'll need a strong sense of self-responsibility and self-discipline to master the practices leading to the insight that cuts through our clinging to doctrines of the self.

So we start the path to the end of suffering, not by trying to drop our clingings immediately, but by learning to cling more strategically. In other words, we start where we are and make the best use of the habits we've already got. We progress along the path by finding better and better things to cling to, and more skilful ways to cling, in the same way you climb a ladder to the top of a roof: grab hold of a higher rung so that you can let go of a lower rung, and then grab onto a rung still higher. As the rungs get further off the ground, you find that the mind grows clearer and can see precisely where its clingings are. It gets a sharper sense of which parts of experience belong to which noble truth and what should be done with them: the parts that are suffering should be comprehended, the parts that cause of suffering — craving and ignorance — should be abandoned; the parts that form the path to the end of suffering should be developed; and the parts that belong to the end of suffering should be verified. This helps you get higher and higher on the ladder until you find yourself securely on the roof. That's when you can finally let go of the ladder and be totally free.

So the real question we face isn't God's question, passing judgment on how skilfully he created life or the world. It's our question: how skilfully are we handling the raw stuff of life? Are we clinging in ways that serve only to continue the round of suffering, or are we learning to cling in ways that will reduce suffering so that ultimately we can grow up and won't have to cling. If we negotiate life armed with all four noble truths, realizing that life contains both suffering and an end to suffering, there's hope: hope that we'll be able to sort out which parts of life belong to which truth; hope that someday, in this life, we'll come to the point where we agree with the Buddha, "Oh. Yes. This is the end of suffering and stress."

[bmdhistory79]

Vassa Day

Today marks the beginning of Vassa, a three-month annual retreat observed by Thervada Buddhists. During Vassa, monks and nuns remain inside monasteries and temple grounds, devoting their time to intensive meditation and study. Laypeople support the monastic sangha by bringing food, candles and other offerings to temples or by giving up something, such as smoking or eating meat. For this reason, westerners sometimes call Vassa the "Buddhist Lent."

The tradition of Vassa began during the life of the Buddha. Most of the time, the first Buddhist monks who followed the Buddha did not stay in one place, but walked from village to village to teach. They begged for their food and often slept outdoors, sheltered only by trees. During India’s summer rainy season, groups of monks would find a place to stay together until the rain stopped, forming a temporary community. Wealthy laypeople sometimes sheltered monks on their estates. Eventually a few of these patrons built permanent houses for monks, which amounted to an early form of monastery.