8 Precepts

A bit lazy...copied from one of my posts in the Buddhist forum...

I think it's ok to observe precepts to gain merits in order to free all defilement. But practice requires sila, samadhi and panna.

Also, the reason for observing 8 precepts instead of 5 is more than just making more merits, or providing better state of mind to develop samadhi and panna. It's to get rid of attachments to sensory pleasures altogether - no longer desire to be born in sensory realms (if not all realms). Practicing with 8 sila, with required samadhi and panna, should lead one to let go of attachments to sensory pleasures for good.

One forest tradition Ajahn said to an assembly of monks; "some people are too busy observing the 227 precepts they forget to observe even the 5 precepts."

Meditation on the "Now"

Meditation on the "Now" has been one of my favorite meditation themes over the past 20 years or so.

What is "Now" exactly? What happens to the future, and what happens to the past? What happens to the moment that has just gone? Has it really happened? Perhaps it is only a mirage in the mind. An imprint due to kamma....

What if I die right now? What happens to the "Now" of this life if the moment that I will experience will be "Now" of the next life? It is almost like this live has never existed...

"Now" always changes - samsara dhamma anicca.

Can we get rid of "Now"?

Rigpa ?

There is something similar to (if not the same as) "Rigpa" in the Thai Forest Tradition...perhaps there is no word for it, just IMO>

Using Twitter

Over the past few weeks I have tweeted a lot (in my standard), something like 100 in a month. This is much more often than what I have written in the blog so far over the past couple of years or so. It seems that I like to write "post-it" type of notes rather than typing longer memos. Just my temperament at the moment I guess.

Regarding practice, I come to believe that practicing without properly observing precepts (not 5, but 8) is essential for spiritual progression. At one point or another, we have to de-tach ourselves from attachment to the worldly senses - even as a layman.

Regarding sila, precepts.... if I remember correctly, one Forest Tradition Ajahn once said that the only sila we need to watch for is "the heart". Make sure that our thoughts, speeches and actions are wholesome. Sati is important, and we do need 24/7 sati to observe this one sila of the heart! With just this sila, we can keep 5, 8, 10, and more precepts pure. And that will benefit our meditation and enable us to get rid of kilasas easier...bit by bit...until all is gone for good.

Painting of King Rama V as a bhikku at Wat Rajabopit in Bangkok