Old News Archive
March 2005

Obsolete and unsupported links have been disabled and are highlighted like this.

(2005-03-30) From the Therigatha Commentary...

...and from the Samyutta Nikaya

(2005-03-29) An essay on Jhana

  • Jhana Not by the Numbers, by Thanissaro Bhikkhu (2005; 13k/4pp.)
    The author recalls how Ajaan Fuang taught meditation to his students: he would give them just enough instruction to stay on-track, but would rarely "certify" them as having attained this or that level of jhana, thereby motivating them to develop self-reliance and ingenuity in their meditation. In the words of Ajaan Fuang: "If I have to explain everything, you'll get used to having things handed to you on a platter. And then what will you do when problems come up in your meditation and you don't have any experience in figuring things out on your own?"

(2005-03-26) From the Theragatha

(2005-03-24) New translations from the Theragatha...

...and some reflections on pindapat by a Theravada nun
  • The Food of Kindness [pdf icon]
    by Ayya Medhanandi (2005; 84k/4pp., illustrated)
    A senior ten-precept Theravada nun eloquently reflects on the hardships and joys of the daily pindapat (alms-round). By this ancient monastic tradition the spritual mendicant — the "true beggar" — both receives nourishment from the tangible generosity of others, while at the same time offering others the rare opportunity to practice giving with an open heart. In the words of the author: "I receive and I give back."

(2005-03-23) Biography of Anathapindika

  • Anathapindika: The Great Benefactor, by Hellmuth Hecker (Buddhist Publication Society "Wheel" Publication No. 334; 1986). Anathapindika was one of the Buddha's chief lay disciples and a generous patron of the monastic Sangha. A wealthy householder, Anathapindika discovered an even richer inner treasure when he attained stream-entry during his first encounter with the Buddha. He lived out his life freely sharing both kinds of wealth: he provided the Buddha and countless other monks with food and shelter, and he taught the Dhamma to others. Drawing on passages from the suttas, this engaging biography — another in the BPS's "Lives of the Disciples" series — tells the inspiring story of an exemplary lay Buddhist.

(2005-03-13) From the Samyutta Nikaya

(2005-03-08) New translations from the Theragatha

(2005-03-02) Two poems from the Therigatha