Buddha-Sasana

This is the fifth talk delivered by Bhikkhu Cintita at the Satipatthana Rethought retreat held at the American Bodhi Center in Hemstead, Texas, May 24-27.

This is the fourth talk delivered by Bhikkhu Cintita at the Satipatthana Rethought retreat held at the American Bodhi Center in Hemstead, Texas, May 24-27.

This is the third talk delivered by Bhikkhu Cintita at the Satipatthana Rethought retreat held at the American Bodhi Center in Hemstead, Texas, May 24-27.

This is the second talk delivered by Bhikkhu Cintita at the Satipatthana Rethought retreat held at the American Bodhi Center in Hemstead, Texas, May 24-27.

This is the first talk delivered by Bhikkhu Cintita at the Satipatthana Rethought retreat held at the American Bodhi Center in Hemstead, Texas, May 24-27.

Non-self is a practice more than it is a philosophical viewpoint. However, this practice begins with a conceptual investigation of the presumed experiential manifestations of the constructed self. (February 16, 2024)

On Buddhist ethics. The primary principle of Buddhist ethics is the development and cultivation of virtue as a quality of character. Virtuosity in virtue is a quality of the awakened ones. This is contrasted with modern understandings of ethics, but is arguably a basic human drive and definitive of a meaningful or well-lived life. (February 9, 2024)

This talk reviews what the early texts say about samādhi 'concentration', much of which may surprise you. This talk was originally presented on July 2, 2023 broadcast from Minnesota via Zoom to the English Dharma Group at Jade Temple in Houston Texas. (February 2, 2024)

“If consciousness were not to descend into the mother's womb, would name-and-form take shape in the womb?” "No." The most common traditional interpretation of this famous passage (from DN 15) is that consciousness travels into the womb to unify with the fetus of name-and-form at con­ception. I argue that this interpretation is untenable. (Rebroadcast 1/26/2024, originally broadcast 9/25/2020)

The Buddha-Sāsana is Buddhism as a living tradition, something that evolves, spreads to new lands, dies out in old lands, rather than Buddhism as the Dharma, which is much more static. A key question for the Buddha seems to be is how well the Buddha-Sāsana would retain the authenticity of the Buddha-Dharma.

The teaching of emptiness is often considered to be an innovation of Nagarjuna or of the Prajnaparamita Sutras. However this important teaching had been expounded by the Buddha many centuries before, but has become obscured. But how? (Rebroadcast 1/12/2024, originally podcast 7/16/2021)

The Buddha clarifies an explicit methodology which is nonetheless often overlooked by students of the Dharma. Much of this has to do with the practical and experiential orientation of the Dharma. The Buddha's methodology furthermore involves regarding the world as both insubstantial and conditional. (Repodcast 1/5/2024, originally podcast 7/30/2021).

The Buddha clarifies an explicit methodology which is nonetheless often overlooked by students of the Dharma. Much of this has to do with the practical and experiential orientation of the Dharma. (Repodcast 12/29/2023, originally podcast 7/23/2021).

Last week's talk demonstrated the exemplary support the Buddha provided to women's practice. This week we will look at a controversial text, describing with the origin of the nun's sangha, that at first sight seems to paint a starkly contrasting picture of the Buddha. (repodcast 12/22/2023, originally podcast 6/5/2020)

Buddhism is not widely known as a religion of gender-equality. But the early the discourses show repeatedly that the Buddha had the deepest kindness and respect for women, as particularly evident in his treatment of the nun's Sangha. (repodcast 12/15/2023, originally podcast 5/29/2020)

The wide-ranging teaching of the four noble truths can come under satipaṭṭhāna investigation if we look for its observables in those texts that are more nuts-and-bolts in style, although the fourth noble truth, when equated with the path itself, is more difficult to accommodate.. (Satipaṭṭhāna Exercise Instructions 12, 12/8/2023)

The awakening factors describe the growth of samādhi that is readily experienced within satipaṭṭhāna practice per se. This exercise should be assimilated as in routine monitoring of the constellation of satipatthana factors alive in other exercises. (Satipaṭṭhāna Exercise Instructions 11, 12/1/2023)

We look at the dhamma and the observables involved in comprehending the six senses of eye, ear, nose, tongue, body and mind. (Satipaṭṭhāna Exercise Instructions 11, 11/24/2023)

The appropriation-aggregates (form, feeling, perception, fabrication and cognizance) represent one of the most fruitful themes of satipatthana contemplation. (Satipaṭṭhāna Exercise Instructions 10, 11/17/2023)

The five hindrances fall under the fourth (dhamma) satipaṭṭhāna. Verifying and internalizing their understanding is an aid in general Buddhist practice, and only secondarily in quelling the presumption of self. (Satipaṭṭhāna Exercise Instructions 9, 11/10/2023)

The observables in the mind contemplation are states of mind. Once again the observables reveal non-self, but the chosen observables also collaterally support the understanding of important Dhammic concepts. (Satipaṭṭhāna Exercise Instructions 8, 11/3/2023)

Feeling (pain, pleasure and neither) is the basis of the second satipatthana contemplation, which seeks to demonstrate that there is no witness/self behind witnessing the world. (Satipaṭṭhāna Exercise Instructions 7, 10/27/2023)

The charnel ground contemplations give a means of observing the shift in our presumption of body/self with the progressive natural decay of a corpse. (Satipaṭṭhāna Exercise Instructions 6, 10/20/2023)

The elements (earth, water, fire and air) give an alternative was of deconstructing the body/self. I also discuss the the practical need sometimes to favor samādhi over analysis and vice versa. (Satipaṭṭhāna Exercise Instructions 5, 10/13/2023)

We review the contemplation of body parts, which we talked about some weeks ago, then discuss the varying modes of context and conceptuality in practice. (Satipaṭṭhāna Exercise Instructions 4, 10/6/2023)

Contemplation of bodily actions takes us off the cushion potentially into everyday life. It can be used independently of satipatthana to cultivate mental development. (Satipaṭṭhāna Exercise Instructions 3, 9/29/2023)

Contemplation of posture tends to take us off the cushion and, like the breath, is relatively discussion. We end with some discussion of intergrating samādhi into these exercises. (Satipaṭṭhāna Exercise Instructions 2, 9/22/2023)

Breath provides weak internal evidence, fragmentary and transitory, for presuming an external body/self. (Satipaṭṭhāna Instructions 1, 9/15/2023)

Why do we need scholarship at all? Why not just teach how to meditate? (In the series Rethinking the Satipaṭṭhāna, 9/8/2023)

Extending the primary analysis of the satipaṭṭhāna refrain to the fourth satipaṭṭhāna raises some issues. (Body in body internally and externally 4, 9/1/2023)

We take up the contribution of the refrain of the Satipaṭṭhāna Sutta to the contemplation of the individual exercises, focusing on “internal analysis.” (Body in the body internally and externally 3, 8/25/2023)

External analysis is to seek the external body in the observable evidence in which one is absorbed. (Body in body internally and externally 2, 8/18/2023)

We take up the contribution of the refrain of the Satipaṭṭhāna Sutta to the contemplation of the individual exercises, focusing on “internal analysis.” (Body in body internally and externally 1, 8/11/2023)

I describe how to practice the body parts exercise of the first satipaṭṭhāna, as a practical example of the systematic way I have been explaining satipaṭṭhāna in the last series of talks. (8/4/2023)

The practice of the first three satipaṭṭhānas aims at the deconstruction self in its facets of body, feelings and mind. (A back-roads tour of the Satipaṭṭhāna Sutta 4, 7/28/2023)

The correspondence of the fourth satipaṭṭhāna with both the five stages of liberation and the seven factors of awakening make the role of satipaṭṭhāna in developing right view clear, as well as the open-endedness of the Dhamma teachings examined in the fourth satipaṭṭhāna. (A back-roads tour of the Satipaṭṭhāna Sutta 3, 7/21/2023)

We continue by looking at two more representative exercises, reviewing the conclusion of the sutta and reviewing the corresponding texts in the Pali and Chinese traditions. (A back-roads tour of the Satipaṭṭhāna Sutta 2, 7/14/2023)

We begin a first pass of this important tutorial, identifying the satipaṭṭhāna method that supports the satipaṭṭhāna contemplative practice and see how the exercises are structured. (A back-roads tour of the Satipaṭṭhāna Sutta 1, 7/7/2023)

We look at the oft overlooked qualities of silent cognition (effortless attention) in explaining how samādhi leads to gnosis and vision. (The Miracle of Samādhi 4, 6/30/2023)

The absence of discursive thought in the second jhana is characteristic of effortless attention in cognitive science, which in turn is characteristic (perhaps counter-intuitively) of expert-level skill or virtuosity. This seem to be why samadhi produces the fruits attributed to it. (The Miracle of Samādhi 3, 6/23/2023)

Entering the jhānas involves a mind that lets go of hindrances, becomes one-centered and finally stills discursive thought. (The Miracle of Samādhi 2, 6/16/2023)

Samādhi brings joy and leads to knowledge and vision. It also arises spontaneously without effort. (The Miracle of Samādhi 1, 6/9/2023)

We will see that sammāsati (what others call “right mindfulness”) is the application of the satipatthana method for achieving and acquiring virtuosity in the other path practices. (The Satipatthana Method 4, 6/2/2023)

We look at how the application to everyday, non-Dhammic practices are utilized for training in the Buddhist art of skillfulness itself. (The Satipatthana Method 3, 5/26/2023)

Proficiency-comprehension (satisampajañña) is a ubiquitous human cognitive faculty that is developed and cultivated to become the satipaṭṭhāna method. (The Satipatthana Method 2, 5/19/2023)

The satipatthana method is the art of skillfulness enumerated in the Satipatthana Sutta, but applicable in many diverse practice contexts. (The Satipatthana Method 1, 5/12/2023)

If not sati, what is it we think we experience when we practice “mindfulness”? (How “Mindfulness” got Mislabeled 3, 5/5/2023)

The development of vipassanā as a mass meditation movement beginning in Burma resulted in some serious Dhammic shortcuts that marginalized the original meaning of sati. (Mislabeled 2, 4/28/2023)

There is a huge disconnect between our modern understanding of "minfulness" and the Pali word sati that 'mindfulness' was supposed to translate. (How "Mindulness got Mislabeled 1, 4/21/2023)

A monk is an anomaly in the Wild West of Buddhism, and so ends this narrative. (Through the Looking Glass 12, 4/14/2023)