Old News Archive
August 1997

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  • [23 August 97] Suttas added and indexed: Another short sutta on the topic of samsara:
    • Mother (Mata Sutta, SN 15.14-19). It's hard to meet someone who has not been, at some time in the past, your mother, father, son, daughter, sister, or brother.
    13 suttas from the Samyutta Nikaya on the topic of the five aggregates (khandha):
    • To Nakulapita (Nakulapita Sutta, SN 22.1). The Buddha explains to the aging householder Nakulapita how one need not be sick in mind even though one may be sick in body.
    • At Devadaha (Devadaha Sutta, SN 22.2). Ven. Sariputta explains the best way to introduce the Buddha's teachings to inquisitive, intelligent people.
    • Assumptions (Samanupassana Sutta, SN 22.47). The Buddha speaks on the assumptions that underly self-view.
    • Aggregates (Khandha Sutta, SN 22.48). The Buddha gives a summary of the teaching on the five aggregates.
    • Attached (Upaya Sutta, SN 22.53). When passion for each of the five aggregates is completely abandoned, Awakening ensues.
    • The (Fourfold) Round (Parivatta Sutta, SN 22.56). Direct knowledge of the "fourfold round" with respect to the aggregates (knowledge of the aggregate, of its origination, of its cessation, and of the path leading to its cessation) leads to Awakening.
    • Seven Bases (Sattatthana Sutta, SN 22.57). The Buddha explains how one becomes an arahant through mastery of the seven-fold skill of analysing the five aggregates.
    • At Palileyyaka (Palileyyaka Sutta, SN 22.81). Despite all the teachings he has heard from the Buddha, a monk still wonders how to bring his meditation practice to a speedy conclusion. The Buddha explains that it is by understanding that each of the five aggregates is inconstant, fabricated, and dependently co-arisen.
    • To Yamaka (Yamaka Sutta, SN 22.85). Ven. Yamaka claims that when an arahant dies, he/she is utterly annihilated. Ven. Sariputta pulls him out of this wrong view, and in so doing leads him to Awakening.
    • To Anuradha (Anuradha Sutta, SN 22.86). Ven. Anuradha finds himself obsessing over questions about the fate of an arahant after death. The Buddha pulls him out of his confused thinking, and suggests that the only thing truly worth contemplating is suffering and its cessation.
    • The River (Nadi Sutta, SN 22.93). The Buddha explains that a person who incorrectly takes the five aggregates to be "self" is like a man swept away by a swift river, who grasps in vain at trees and clumps of grass as he rushes by.
    • The Ship (Nava Sutta, SN 22.101). The Buddha explains that Awakening comes about not by wishful thinking, but only through deliberate effort.
    • Clinging (Upadana Sutta, SN 22.121). What are the phenomena to which we cling? Answer: each one of the five aggregates.
  • [9 August 97] Suttas added and indexed:
    • All the Fermentations (Sabbasava Sutta, MN 2). The Buddha teaches seven methods for eliminating the most deeply-rooted defilements in the mind (sensuality, becoming, and ignorance) that obstruct the realization of Awakening.
    • Two Sorts of Thinking (Dvedhavitakka Sutta, MN 19). The Buddha recounts the events leading up to his Awakening, and describes his discovery that thoughts connected with sensuality, ill-will, and harmfulness do not lead one to Awakening, while those connected with their opposites (renunciation, non ill-will, and harmlessnes) do.
    • The Great Forty (Maha-cattarisaka Sutta, MN 117). On the nature of noble right concentration, and its interdependence with all the factors of the noble eightfold path.
    • The Roots of the Uposatha (Muluposatha Sutta, AN 3.70). The Buddha describes to Visakha, the laywoman, right and wrong ways of observing Uposatha days. Those who observe the Uposatha correctly are destined to reap heavenly rewards.
    • To the Sakyan (Sakka Sutta, AN 3.73). Mahanama the Sakyan asks the Buddha, "Which comes first: concentration or wdisom?" Ven. Ananda answers on behalf of the Buddha, who is recovering from an illness.
  • [4 August 97] Suttas added and indexed: A selection of short suttas on the theme of samsara:
    • Tears (Assu Sutta, SN 15.3). "Which is greater, the tears you have shed while transmigrating and wandering this long, long time... or the water in the four great oceans?"
    • The Stick (Danda Sutta, SN 15.9). We bounce from one birth to the next, like a thrown stick bouncing along the ground.
    • Fallen on Hard Times (Duggata Sutta, SN 15.11). When you encounter an unfortunate person, remember: you've been there, too.
    • Happy (Sukhita Sutta, SN 15.12). When you encounter a fortunate person, remember: you've been there, too.
  • [1 Aug 97] Teachings of Chao Khun Nararatana Rajamanit:
    • "An Iridescence on the Water" — A synopsis of some very basic teachings given to lay visitors at Chao Khun Nararatana Rajamanit's monastery in Thailand. These teachings are especially suitable for young people.