Back again

After all these years, coming back to writing on this blog makes me feel strange. I want to write, to express my thoughts and feelings just like before.

จิตคือพุทธะ หลวงปู่ดูลย์ อตุโล (Full)

เข้าใจบ่? ถ้าไม่รู้เองที่จิต ก็ฟังแล้วคิด แล้วก็ฟังแล้วคิด 

"คิดเท่าไหร่ก็ไม่รู้ หยุดคิดจึงรู้ แต่ต้องอาศัยคิดนั่นแหละจึงรู้......." 

หลายคนชอบวัดภูมิธรรมคนอื่น มั่ว มัวแต่วัดศีลเท่ากันศีลไม่เท่ากัน เถียงกันแข่งกัน ทำตัวเป็นผู้วิเศษฟังคำสอน"จิตคือพุทธะ"นี้น่าจะมีประโยชกว่า ธรรมจริงรู้ที่ใจ รู้แบบนี้

Restart writing again

The last time I wrote on this blog was 5 years ago, quite a long time. During the time since 2010, my life have changed unexpectedly again and again and again, my mind went into an amazing ride I never knew possible.

I saw changes in everything - changes in people; changes in my own mind; changes in other's minds; changes in how people treated others who they considered those others fallen and risen.I have always been taught and believed that samsara is annica, but my experiences over these past two years make the believe sink deep into the bottom of my heart.

All mind-made knowledges (from the brain) , all words written in books around the world, all things people say - no matter how convincing or romantic, are not worth clinging to, depending on, or believing in entirely. There is no point to cling to things that always change, and everything in our lives - in samsara - always change - anicca. Nothing lasts. No need to cling to them.

"4 Noble Truths that the Buddha taught" -" Dukkha", "Cause of Dukkha", "Cessation of Dukkha", "Noble Eightfold Path" are the only things that I truly believe now - the truths about life that is directly known.

Just using simplybuddhist.blogspot.com

I have been using www.simplybuddhist.com for this blog, simply pointing the domain to this blogger account. It worked fine for a couple of years until recently when the domain name without "www" in front just stop pointing to this blog.

Now, I will just use this simplybuddhist.blogspot.com ... easier. Getting too old to play around with websites, blogs and domains.... :)

Map to Baan Rai Thawsi (Ajahn Jayasaro) in Pak Chong, Thailand

Map to Baan Rai Thorsri in Pak Chong

Huangpo and Thai Masters

I am listening to Ajahn Buddhadasa's teachings of Hung-po, which was frequently quoted by LP Dune Atulo of the Thai forest tradition. It's amazing that the both Ajahn Buddhadasa and LP Dune liked Hung-po's piece, which they called "Puttha" (Buddha).

The truth is always the truth wherever and whenever it is. Buddhadhamma is really timeless and is not confined to certain traditions or territories.

Site on Huang-po

Neither here, nor there, nor in between

"When in the seen will be only what is seen, in the heard only what is heard, in the sensed only what is sensed, in the known only what is known, you will not be by that; when you are not by that, you will not be therein; when you are not therein, you will be neither here, nor there, nor in between. This is the end of dukkha."

(The Buddha's instruction to Bahiya of the Berk-Garment)

Mind Moments and Practice

Though I don't practice using Abhidhamma for meditation but using simple method in the Thai Forest Tradition, one thing that I completely agree with Abhidhamma in practice is that one citta does indeed arise one at a time. However, in term of practice, to try have sati to see citta arising and falling may not be the way, perhaps not possible to force one to develop sati in such a way. It comes when it comes (and it goes when it goes, can't hold on to that state, ... unless one can develop bhavana to such a high stage), i.e. one sees one citta arise and fall one at a time when the time is right, naturally. And seeing that, one also knows that it is simply impossible for more than one citta to arise at a given mind moment.

Citta arising and falling away ...on and on...is not just a mere concept. It can be observed in practice, and is fundamental as it directly demonstrates the Trai Lak nature of samsara.

But is it really important to consider individual citta in our experience/ practice? Like is it a "must"? Perhaps not.

When I'm 64

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

Tweeting Dhamma...or not?

Over the past couple of weeks I have been quite busy playing with twitter, posting some short messages, thoughts, replies, etc, under the user name "simplybuddhist". So far I must have posted about 60 tweets.

Using Twitter is fun, but too much can be a distraction even though the tweets are all about dhamma...

Dependant Origination....

Mobile posting made easy

Blogger.com has made mobile blogging very easy now. This is the first post from my bb.

Ajahn Baen a long time ago...

This photo was probably taken even before I Knew Ajahn Baen, which I did more than 20 years ago...

Still not dead

Didn't realize that I have not posted for months. This is just to update that the body is still moving around in this world, the "physical world of samsara", whether there really is one or not ;). Don't know for how much longer though, as "death is certain, but the time of death is uncertain."

Ajahn Sumedho at Dhammaram

Previous weekend