2008-12-27     A few year-end gifts for you…

Calendar of Uposatha days for 2009

Mindfulness Defined by Thanissaro Bhikkhu (2008; 22k/6pp.)

Over the years the word sati has accumulated a host of meanings that go far beyond the Buddha's original definition of the word. Meditation practice calls for a clear understanding of what sati is and how to use it skillfully in concert with other mental qualities.

MN 36: Maha-Saccaka Sutta — The Greater Discourse to Saccaka {M i 237} [Thanissaro].

In response to an insinuating remark — that his ability not to be overcome by pleasure and pain is due simply to the fact that he never experienced any intense pleasures or pains — the Buddha recounts the pains he endured in his austerities, and the pleasures that attended the path to and his attainment of Awakening.

2008-11-13

• Ignorance — an essay by Thanissaro Bhikkhu (2008; 12k/3pp.)
  We're ignorant not for lack of information or knowledge, but because of the unskillful ways in which we handle stress and suffering. Develop the proper skills and Awakening is sure to follow.

• Access to Insight CD-ROMs are still available... I'm down to my last 200 copies of the Access to Insight CD-ROM. It's not too late to send me a postcard so you can receive your copies in time for the holidays. Please don't be shy: you're welcome to request multiple copies to share with your friends, meditation group, Dharma center, etc. That's exactly what the CDs are for!