Mindful Nation: Buddhist practice for US (video)

Wisdom Quarterly; InsightLA; Terrence McNally (aworldthatjustmightwork.org); Hay House
Inspiring and pragmatic, A Mindful Nation shows how the benefits of mindfulness apply to current American challenges.

Congressman Tim Ryan took a break after an election cycle. He went in search of peace: He signed up for a five-day silent Buddhist mindfulness meditation retreat with Jon Kabat-Zinn.
  
He found in the profound silence of mindfulness and clear comprehension (sati sampajanna) more peace than he could have imagined, peace akin to the "centering" prayer modality of his youth.
  
It occurred to him that mindfulness -- with modern scientific studies to back it and an ancient mystical tradition built around it -- could help turn around the entire nation.

 
A Mindful Nation paints a picture of emerging solutions that benefit both the reader and American  society as a whole, showing us that there is something we can do right here and right now.

With a hard-nosed understanding of politics, government budgets, and what it takes to get something done, Congressman Ryan combines a practical approach with a hopeful vision for how mindfulness can help reinvigorate the American Dream.
 
(Hayhouse.com)
In A Mindful Nation, Ryan connects the dots between what's happening in the classrooms, hospitals, boardrooms, research labs, and military bases across the country. He explores the scientific findings that support the beneficial effects of mindfulness and shares powerful stories from the field. He shows how this simple practice is:
  • helping schoolchildren improve their ability to learn
  • veterans heal from trauma
  • and CEOs become more effective leaders
Ryan also provides practical tips for how to incorporate mindfulness into our lives today and includes instructions from a qualified teacher for simple mindfulness and kindness practices we can all do.
 
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Sutra: States of Consciousness (DN 9)

Wisdom Quarterly based on Maurice Walshe translation (Long Discourses of the Buddha 9)
Buddha eyes of wisdom, Swayambhunath Temple, Kathmandu, Nepal (whirledapart.com)
 
1. Thus have I heard. Once the Buddha was staying at Sāvatthi, in Jeta's Grove, in Anāthapiṇḍika’s Park. At that time the wanderer Potthapāda was in the debating-hall near the Tinduka tree, in the single-halled park of Queen Mallikā, with a large crowd of about 300 wanderers.

2. Then the Buddha, rising early, took his robe and bowl and went to Sāvatthi for alms. But it occurred to him: 'It is too early to go to Sāvatthi for alms. Suppose I were to go to the debating-hall to see the wanderer Pothapāda?' And he did so.
  
3. There Potthapāda was sitting with his wanderer-disciples, all shouting and making a great commotion, indulging in various kinds of unedifying conversation [animal talk], such as about: kings, robbers, ministers, armies, dangers, wars, food, drink, clothes, beds, garlands, perfumes, relatives, carriages, villages, towns and cities, countries, women, heroes, street- and well-gossip, talk of the departed, desultory chat, speculations about [the origins of] land and sea, talk of being and non-being.
  
4. But Potthapāda saw him coming from a distance. So he called his followers to order, saying: "Be quiet, gentlemen! Don't make a noise, gentlemen! That ascetic Gotama is coming, and he likes quiet and speaks in praise of quiet. If he sees that this company is quiet, he will most likely want to come and visit us." At this the wanderers fell silent.
 
(Pranavbhasin.com)
  
5. The Buddha came to Potthapāda, who said: "Come, reverend sir, welcome, reverend sir! At last the reverend has gone out of his way to come here. Be seated, reverend. A seat is prepared."
  
The Buddha sat down on the prepared seat, and Potthapāda took a low stool and sat down to one side. The Buddha said:
  
"Potthapāda, what were you all talking about? What conversation have I interrupted?"
  
6. Potthapāda replied: "Reverend, never mind the conversation we were having just now. It will not be difficult for the Venerable One to hear about that later. In the past few days, reverend sir, the discussion among the ascetics and brahmins of various schools, sitting together and meeting in the debating-hall, has concerned the higher extinction of consciousness and how this takes place.
  
"Some said: 'One's perceptions arise and cease without cause or condition. When they arise, one is conscious. When they cease, one is unconscious.' That is how they explained it."
  
"But somebody else said: 'No, that is not how it is. Perceptions are a person's self, which comes and goes. When it comes, one is conscious. When it goes, one is unconscious.'
   
"Another said: 'That is not how it is. There are ascetics and brahmin priests of great power, of great influence. They draw down consciousness into a person and withdraw it. When they draw it down in, one is conscious. When they withdraw it, one is unconscious.'
  
"And another said: 'No, that is not how it is. There are deities [devas] of great powers, of great influence. They draw down consciousness into a person and withdraw it. When they draw it down, one is conscious. When they withdraw it, one is unconscious.'
  
"It was in this connection that I thought of the Blessed One: 'Ah, surely, the Blessed One, the Well-Farer is supremely knowledgeable about these matters! The Blessed One well understands the higher extinction of consciousness.' What then, venerable sir, is this higher extinction of consciousness?"
  
7. "In this matter, Potthapāda, those ascetics and brahmins who say one's perceptions arise and cease without cause or condition are totally wrong.
  
"Why is that? One's perceptions arise and cease owing to a cause and conditions. Some perceptions arise through training, and some pass away through training.

"What is this training? Potthapāda, a Tathāgata [Wayfarer] arises in this world -- an arhat, fully-enlightened buddha, endowed with wisdom and conduct, Well-Farer, Knower of the worlds, incomparable Trainer of humans to be tamed, Teacher of devas and humans, enlightened and blessed.
  
"One, having realized it by one's own super-knowledge, proclaims this world with its devas [shining ones], māras [destroyers], brahmās [creators], its princes, and people. One teaches the Dharma which is lovely in its beginning, middle, ending, in the spirit and in the letter, and displays the fully- perfected and purified supreme life. A disciple goes forth and practices the virtues...
  
8. "And then, Potthapāda, that meditator who is perfected in virtue sees no danger from any side..."
  
The 8 Meditative Absorptions
Meditate, alone or together, to know and see.
9-10. One guards the sense-doors... Having reached the first meditative absorption (jhāna), one remains in it. And whatever sensations of lust that one previously had disappear. At that time there is present a true but subtle perception of delight and happiness, born of detachment, and one is conscious of this delight and happiness. In this way some perceptions arise through training, and some pass away through training. And this is that training," said the Buddha.
    
11. "Again, a meditator, with the subsiding of applied and sustained attention, by gaining inner tranquility and unity of mind, reaches and remains in the second absorption, which is free from applied and sustained attention, born of concentration, filled with delight and happiness. One's former true but subtle perception of delight and happiness born of detachment vanishes. At that time there arises a true but subtle perception of delight and happiness born of concentration, and one becomes conscious of this delight and happiness. In this way some perceptions arise through training, and some pass away through training.
  
12. "Again, after the fading away of delight one dwells in equanimity, mindful and clearly aware, one experiences in one's body that pleasant feeling of which the Noble Ones say:

'Happy dwells the person of equanimity and mindfulness.' 
  
"And one reaches and remains in the third absorption. One's former true but subtle sense of delight and happiness born of concentration vanishes. There arises at that time a true but subtle sense of equanimity and happiness. And one becomes conscious of this true but subtle sense of equanimity and happiness. In this way some perceptions arise through training, and some pass away through training.
  
13. "Again, with the abandonment of pleasure and pain, and with the disappearance of previous joy and grief, one reaches and remains in the fourth absorption, a state beyond pleasure and pain, purified by equanimity and mindfulness. One's former true but subtle sense of equanimity and happiness vanishes. There arises a true but subtle sense of neither happiness nor unhappiness, and one is conscious of this true but subtle sense of neither happiness nor unhappiness. In this way some perceptions arise through training, and some pass away through training.
 
The 4 Immaterial Absorptions
14. "Again, by passing entirely beyond bodily sensations, by the disappearance of all sense of resistance and by non-attraction to the perception of diversity [called mental proliferation (papañca), the opposite of which (nippapañca) is a synonym for nirvana], seeing that space is unbounded, one reaches and remains in [the fifth absorption called] the Sphere of Unbounded Space. In this way some perceptions arise through training, and some pass away through training.
  
15. "Again, by passing entirely beyond the Sphere of Unbounded Space, seeing that consciousness is unbounded, one reaches and remains in [the sixth absorption called] the Sphere of Unbounded Consciousness. In this way some perceptions arise through training, and some pass away through training.
  
16. "Again, by passing entirely beyond the Sphere of Unbounded Consciousness, seeing that there is no thing, one reaches and remains in [the seventh absorption called] the Sphere of No-Thingness. And one becomes conscious of this true but subtle perception of the Sphere of No-Thingness. In this way some perceptions arise through training, and some pass away through training. And this is that training," said the Buddha.
   
17. "Potthapāda, from the moment when a meditator has gained this controlled perception, that person proceeds from stage to stage until reaching the limit of perception [the eighth absorption, which is called the Sphere of Neither-Perception-Nor-Non-Perception]. When one has reached the limit of perception it occurs to the successful meditator: 'Mental activity is worse for me; lack of mental activity is better. If I were to think and imagine, these perceptions [that I have attained] would cease, and coarser perceptions would arise in me. Suppose I were not to think or imagine?'
  
"So one neither thinks nor imagines. And then, in this person, just these [fine] perceptions arise. But other, coarser perceptions do not arise. One attains cessation. And that, Potthapāda, is the way in which the cessation of perception is brought about by successive steps.
  
18. "What do you think, Potthapāda? Have you heard of this before?"
  
"No, venerable sir. As I understand it, the Venerable One has said: 'Potthapāda, from the moment when a meditator has gained this controlled perception, one proceeds from stage to stage until reaching the limit of perception... One attains cessation. And that is the way in which the cessation of perception is brought about by successive steps.'"
 
"That is right, Potthapāda."
   
19. "Venerable sir, do you teach that the summit of perception is just one or that it is many?"
  
"I teach it as both one and many."
  
"Venerable sir, how is it one, and how is it many?"
   
"According as one attains successively to the cessation of each perception, so I teach the summit of that perception: Thus I teach both one summit of perception, and I also teach many."
  
20. "Venerable sir, does perception arise before knowledge, or does knowledge arise before perception, or do both arise simultaneously?"
  
"Perception arises first, Potthapāda, then knowledge, and from the arising of perception comes the arising of knowledge. And one knows: 'Thus conditioned, knowledge arises.' In this way one can see how perception arises first, and then knowledge, and that from the arising of perception comes the arising of knowledge."

The sublime, peaceful Dharma is often represented by an eight-spoke wheel of the path (BPS)
  
The "Self"
21. "Venerable sir, is perception a person's self, or is perception one thing and self another?"
   
"Well, Potthapāda, do you postulate a self?"

"Venerable sir, I postulate a gross self, material, composed of the four [great] elements [solidity, cohesion, support, temperature] and feeding on solid food."
   
"But with such a gross self, Potthapāda, perception would be one thing, and the self another. One can see that in this way. Given such a gross self, certain perceptions would arise in a person, and others pass away. In this way one can see that perception must be one thing, the self another."
  
22. "Venerable sir, I postulate a mind-made self complete with all its parts, not defective in [or not lacking] any sense-organ."
   
"But with such a mind-made self, perception would be one thing, and the self another…
  
23. "Venerable sir, I assume a formless self, made up of perception."
   
"But with such a formless self, perception would be one thing, and self another...'
   
24. "But venerable sir, is it possible for me to know whether perception is a person's self, or whether perception is one thing and self another?"
   
"Potthapāda, it is difficult for one of different views, a different doctrine, under different influences, with different pursuits and a different training to know whether these are two different things or not."
 
Fruitless Philosophical Speculations
Tibetan monks from different sects (wn.com)
25. "Well, venerable sir, if this question of self and perceptions is difficult for one like me --  tell me: Is the world eternal? Is only this [view] true and the opposite false?"
  
"Potthapāda, I have not declared that the world is eternal and that the opposite view is false."

"Well, venerable sir, is the world not eternal?"
  
"I have not declared that the world is not eternal..."

"Well, venerable sir, is the world infinite...not infinite?..."

"I have not declared that the world is not infinite and that the opposite view is false.'
  
26. "Well, venerable sir, is the soul the same as the body... is the soul one thing and the body another?"
   
"I have not declared that the soul is one thing and the body another."
   
27. "Well, venerable sir, does the Tathāgata [a fully perfected and liberated person] exist after death? Is only this true and all else false?"
  
"I have not declared that the Tathāgata exists after death."

"Well, venerable sir, does the Tathāgata not exist after death... both exist and not exist after death? ...neither exist nor not exist after death?" [These are the four exhaustive logical categories in which teachers were placed.]
   
"I have not declared that the Tathāgata neither exists nor does not exist after death, and that all else is false."
  
Monks ritually dispute and argue (wn.com)
28. "But, venerable sir, why has the Venerable One not declared these things?"
   
Potthapāda, that is not conducive to the purpose [liberation], not conducive to Dharma [liberating truth], not the way to embark on the supreme life; it does not lead to disenchantment, to dispassion, to cessation, to calm, to higher knowledge, to enlightenment, to nirvana. That is why I have not declared it."
  
29. "But, venerable sir, what has the Venerable One declared?"
   
"Potthapāda, I have declared: 'This is suffering, this is the origin of suffering, this is the cessation of suffering, and this is the path leading to the cessation of suffering.'" [These are the Four Ennobling Truths that summarize Buddhism in a nutshell since the Buddha teaches only suffering or disappointment and the complete end of suffering.]
 
30. "But, venerable sir, why has the Venerable One declared this?"
  
"Because, Potthapāda, this is conducive to the purpose [liberation], conducive to Dharma, the way to embark on the supreme life; it leads to disenchantment, to dispassion, to cessation, to calm, to higher knowledge, to enlightenment, to nirvana. That is why I have declared it."
  
"So it is, venerable sir. So it is, Well-Farer. And now is the time for the Blessed One to do as he sees fit." [Potthapada's reply was actually a more neutral expression that might be translated as: "That may be, venerable sir, that may be..."]
   
Then the Buddha rose from his seat and went away.
   
31. Then the wanderers, as soon as the Buddha had left, reproached, sneered, and jeered at Potthapāda from all sides, saying: 'Whatever the ascetic Gotama says, Potthapāda agrees with him: "So it is, venerable sir. So it is, Well-Farer!' We don't understand a word of the ascetic Gotama's whole discourse: 'Is the world eternal or not? -- Is it finite or infinite? -- Is the soul the same as the body or different? -- Does the Tathāgata exist after death or not, or both, or neither?'"
  
Potthapāda replied: "I don't understand either about whether the world is eternal or not... or whether the Tathāgata exists after death or not, or both, or neither. But the ascetic Gotama teaches a true and real way of practice which is consonant with Dharma and grounded in Dharma. And why should not a person like me express approval of such a true and real practice, so well taught by the ascetic Gotama?"
   
32. Two or three days later, Citta, the son of the elephant-trainer, went with Potthapāda to see the Buddha. Citta prostrated himself before the Buddha and sat down to one side. Potthapāda exchanged courtesies with the Buddha, sat down to one side, and told him what had happened.
   
33. "Potthapāda, all those wanderers are blind and sightless. You alone among them are sighted. Some things I have taught and pointed out, Potthapāda, as being certain and others as being uncertain. Which are the things I have pointed out as uncertain? 'The world is eternal'... 'The Tathāgata exists after death...'  I have declared to be uncertain. Why? Because they are not conducive [to the purpose, to Dharma, no way to embark on the supreme life; they do not lead to disenchantment, to dispassion, to cessation, to calm, to higher knowledge, to enlightenment,] to nirvana. That is why I have declared them as uncertain.
  
"But what things have I pointed out as certain? 'This is suffering, this is the origin of suffering, this is the cessation of suffering, this is the path leading to the cessation of suffering.' Why? Because they are conducive to the purpose, conducive to Dharma, the way to embark on the supreme life; they lead to disenchantment, to dispassion, to cessation, to calm, to higher knowledge, to enlightenment, to nirvana. That is why I have declared them as certain.
   
34. "Potthapāda, there are some [wandering] ascetics and brahmin [priests] who declare and believe that after death the self is entirely happy and free from ill. I approached them and asked if this was indeed what they declared and believed.
  
"And they replied: 'Yes.' Then I said: 'Do you, friends, living in the world, know and see it as an entirely happy place?' and they replied: 'No.' I said: 'Have you ever experienced a single night or day, or half a night or day, that was entirely happy?' and they replied: 'No.'
  
"I said: 'Do you know a path or a practice whereby an entirely happy world might be brought about?' and they replied: 'No.' I said: 'Have you heard the voices of devas who have been reborn in an entirely happy world, saying: "The attainment of an entirely happy world has been well and rightly gained, and we, gentlemen, have been reborn in such a realm?"' and they replied: 'No.'
 
"What do you think, Potthapāda? Such being the case, does not the talk of those ascetics and brahmins turn out to be foolish?
   
The Most Beautiful Girl
35. "It is just as if a man were to say: 'I am going to seek out and love the most beautiful girl in the country.' They might say to him: 'Well, as to this most beautiful girl in the country, do you know whether she belongs to the warrior caste, the brahmin, the merchant, or the artisan caste?' and he would say: 'No.' Then they might say: 'Well, do you know her name, her clan, whether she is tall or short or of medium height, whether she is dark or light-complexioned or sallow-skinned, or what village or town or city she comes from?' and he would say: 'No.' And they might say: 'Well then, you don't know or see the one you seek for and desire?' and he would say: 'No.' Does not the talk of that man turn out to be foolish?"
  
"Certainly, venerable sir."
  
36. "And so it is with those ascetics and brahmins who declare and believe that after death the self is entirely happy and free from ill... Does not their talk turn out to be foolish?"
  
"Certainly, venerable sir."
  
37. "It is just as if a man were to build a staircase for a palace at a crossroads. People might say to him: 'Well now, this staircase for a palace that you are building -- do you know whether the palace will face east, or west, or north, or south, or whether it will be high, low, or of medium height?' and he would say: 'No.' And they might say: 'Well then, you don't know or see what kind of a palace you are building the staircase for?' and he would say: 'No.' Don't you think that man's talk would turn out to be foolish?"
  
"Certainly, venerable sir."
  
38. (as Verse 34)
  
39. "Potthapāda, there are three kinds of 'acquired self':
  1. the gross acquired self
  2. the mind-made acquired self
  3. the formless acquired self. 
"What is the gross acquired self? It has form, is composed of the four great elements, nourished by material food. What is the mind-made self? It has form, complete with all its parts, not [lacking] any sense-organ. What is the formless acquired self? It is without form, and made up of perception.
   
40. "But I teach a doctrine for getting rid of the gross acquired self, whereby defiling mental states disappear and states tending to purification grow strong. And one gains and remains in the purity and perfection of wisdom here and now, having realized and attained it by one's own super-knowledge.
   
The Cause of Unhappiness
(Stephen the Photofan/Flickr.com)
"Now, Potthapāda, you might think: 'Perhaps these defiling mental states might disappear... and one might still be unhappy.' 
   
"That is NOT how it should be regarded. If defiling states disappear... nothing but happiness and delight develops, tranquility, mindfulness and clear awareness -- and that is a happy state.

41. "I also teach a doctrine [a dharma] for getting rid of the mind-made acquired self... (as Verse 40).
  
42. "I also teach a doctrine for getting rid of the formless acquired self... (as Verse 40).
   
43. "Potthapāda, if others ask us: 'What, friend, is this gross acquired self whose abandonment you preach...?' being so asked, we should reply: 'This is that gross acquired self for the getting rid of which we teach a doctrine..."
  
44. "If others ask us: 'What is this mind-made acquired self...?" (as Verse 43).
  
45. "If others ask us: 'What is this formless acquired self...?' (as Verse 43). What do you think, Potthapāda? Does not that statement turn out to be well-founded?"

"Certainly, venerable sir."
  
46. "It is just as if a man were to build a staircase for a palace, which was below that palace. They might say to him: 'Well now, this staircase for a palace that you are building, do you know whether the palace will face east or west, or north or south, or whether it will be high, low or of medium height?' and he would say: 'This staircase is right under the palace.' Don't you think that man's statement would be well-founded?"

"Certainly, venerable sir."
  
47. "In just the same way, Potthapāda, if others ask us:
  • 'What is this gross acquired self...?'
  • 'What is this mind-made acquired self...?'
  • 'What is this formless acquired self...?'
"[In such cases] we reply: 'This is this [gross, mind-made, formless] acquired self for the getting rid of which we teach a doctrine, whereby defiling mental states disappear and states tending to purification grow strong. And one gains and remains in the purity and perfection of wisdom here and now, having realized and attained it by one's own super-knowledge.' Don't you think that statement is well-founded?"
  
"Certainly, venerable sir."
  
48. At this, Citta, son of the elephant-trainer, said to the Buddha: "Venerable sir, whenever the gross acquired self is present, would it be wrong to assume the existence of the mind-made acquired self or of the formless acquired self? Does only the gross acquired self truly exist then? And similarly with the mind-made acquired self and the formless acquired self?"
  
49. "Citta, whenever the gross acquired self is present, we do not at that time speak of a mind-made acquired self, we do not speak of a formless acquired self. We speak only of a gross acquired self. Whenever the mind-made acquired self is present, we speak only of a mind-made acquired self. And whenever the formless acquired self is present, we speak only of a formless acquired self.
  
"Citta, suppose they were to ask you: 'Did you exist in the past or didn't you? Will you exist in the future or won't you? Do you exist now or don't you?' how would you answer?"
  
"Venerable sir, if I were asked such a question, I would say: 'I did exist in the past; I did not not exist. I shall exist in the future; I shall not not exist. I do exist now; I do not not exist.' That, venerable sir, would be my answer."
  
50. "But, Citta, if they asked: 'The past acquired self that you had, is that your only true acquired self, and are the future and present ones false? Or is the one you will have in the future the only true one, and are the past and present ones false? Or is your present acquired self the only true one, and are the past and future ones false?' how would you reply?"
   
"Venerable sir, if they asked me these things, I would reply: 'My past acquired self was at the time my only true one, whereas the future and present ones were false. My future acquired self will then be the only true one, whereas the past and present ones will be false. My present acquired self is now the only true one, whereas the past and future ones are false.' That is how I would reply."
  
51. "In just the same way, Citta, whenever the gross acquired self is present, we do not at that time speak of a mind-made acquired self... [or] of a formless acquired self.
 
52. "In just the same way, Citta, from the cow we get milk, from the milk curds, from the curds butter, from the butter ghee [clarified butter], and from the ghee cream of ghee [creme de la creme]. And when there is milk we don't speak of curds, of butter, of ghee, or of cream of ghee. We speak of milk. When there are curds we don't speak of butter... When there is cream of ghee... we speak of cream of ghee.
   
53. "So too, whenever the gross acquired self is present, we do not speak of the mind-made or formless acquired self; whenever the mind-made acquired self is present, we do not speak of the gross or formless acquired self; whenever the formless acquired self is present, we do not speak of the gross acquired self or the mind-made acquired self. We speak of the formless acquired self.
  
But, Citta, these are merely names [conventional speech], expressions, turns of speech, designations in common use in the world, which the Tathāgata uses without misapprehending them."
  
And at these words Potthapāda the wanderer said to the Buddha: "Excellent, venerable sir, excellent! It is as if someone were to set up what had been knocked down, or to point out the way to one who had gotten lost, or to bring a lamp into a dark place, so that those with eyes could see what was there.
 
"Just so has the Blessed One expounded the Dharma in various ways. Venerable sir, I go for refuge to the Venerable One, the Dharma, and the [Noble] Sangha. May the Venerable One accept me as a lay-follower who has gone for guidance to him from this day forth as long as life shall last!"
  
55. But Citta, son of the elephant-trainer, said to the Buddha: "Excellent, venerable sir, excellent! It is as if someone were to set up what had been knocked down, or to point out the way to one who had gotten lost, or to bring a lamp into a dark place, so that those with eyes could see what was there. Just so has the Blessed One expounded the Dharma in various ways. Venerable sir, I go for guidance to the Venerable One, the Dharma, and the [Noble] Sangha. May I, venerable sir, receive the going-forth at the Venerable One's hands. May I receive [monastic] ordination!"
  
Enlightenment is the arising of insight-wisdom.
56. And Citta, son of the elephant-trainer, received the going-forth at the Buddha's hands and was ordained. And the newly-ordained Venerable Citta, withdrawn, secluded, unwearying, zealous [with balanced effort], and resolute, in a short time attained to that for the sake of which young people of good birth go forth from the household life into homelessness, that unexcelled culmination of the supreme life, having realized it here and now by his own super-knowledge and dwelled therein, knowing: "Birth is destroyed, the supreme life has been lived, what had to be done has been done, there is nothing further here."
  
And Venerable Citta, son of the elephant-trainer, became another of the arhats [enlightened ones].

PHOTOS

The Connected Discourses of the Buddha

Samyutta Nikaya translated by Bhikkhu Bodhi (Wisdompubs.org)
The Connected Discourses of the Buddha, now available in a single volume, is a complete translation of the Samyutta Nikaya. It contains all of the important sutras on such major topics as:
  • Four Noble Truths
  • Dependent Origination
  • Seven Factors of Enlightenment
  • Noble Eightfold Path...
It ranks as one of the most inspiring compilations in the Buddhist canon. Bhikkhu Bodhi's distinguished and precise English translation, his insightful introductory materials, and his extensive notes guide the reader through this vast collection of the Buddha's original teachings.
This is the third title in Wisdom Publications' award-winning Teachings of the Buddha Series, following The Long Discourses of the Buddha (Digha Nikaya) and The Middle Length Discourses of the Buddha (Majjhima Nikaya).
  
Like its two predecessors The Connected Discourses is sure to merit a place of honor in the library of every English student of Buddhism.
  
Wisdom Publications has Bhikkhu Bodhi's new translation of The Numerical Discourses of the Buddha (Anguttara Nikaya). So view all of the available Teachings of the Buddha Series volumes.
  
Praise and Reviews
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The Buddha with devas (Htetg/Flickr.com)
"This new translation of The Connected Discourses of the Buddha has been well worth the wait. With painstaking care, the eminent [American] Buddhist scholar-monk, Bhikkhu Bodhi, has translated the 2,889 discourses of the Buddha. No one is better qualified. Collected into their different themes, The Connected Discourses point the way to enlightenment. This book serves as one of the finest resources available for insight into the human condition. The Buddha addresses issues such as body/mind, daily life realities, suffering and joy, awareness and meditation. This book is rich in spiritual teachings, suitable for daily reflection, study, a manual for psychologists, a teaching guide at universities, and offering a wealth of benefits to anyone interested in the true heart of the Buddha's teachings. I regard it as an indispensable guide to an awakened life. With 2,080 pages it is an extraordinary publishing initiative. This book is worth every penny. Buy it. It is money well spent." —Christopher Titmuss, author of Light on Enlightenment and An Awakened Life 
  
"[Bhikkhu Bodhi's] brilliant, scholarly, and eminently readable version of The Middle Length Discourses set a benchmark for translations of the Buddha's words into English. This new work will make accessible even more of the original teachings, offering guidance, instruction, and inspiration on the path of awakening. It is a priceless gift." —Joseph Goldstein, author of Insight Meditation: The Practice of Freedom 
  
"It is extremely good news to have Bhikkhu Bodhi -- a brilliant translator -- bring out a new edition of the Samyutta Nikaya, one of the richest and most important of all Buddhist texts." —Jack Kornfield, author of A Path with Heart 
  
Bhikkhu Bodhi
Bhikkhu Bodhi is an American Buddhist monk from New York City. As a student of Balangoda Ananda Maitreya, Ven. Nyanaponika, Ven. Nyanatiloka, and other eminent scholars, he is -- in the estimation of Wisdom Quarterly: American Buddhist Journal -- the greatest living scholar-monk alongside the Ven. Pa Auk Sayadaw, whose growing extremely learned and practical body of translations are, sadly, much less accessible to English readers. After completing his university studies in California he traveled to Sri Lanka, where he received became a Buddhist monk in 1973. He returned to the USA in 2002 and currently resides at Chuang Yen Monastery (BAUS.org) in upstate New York and Bodhi Monastery in New Jersey. He is in demand worldwide as a speaker, scholar, and Buddhist teacher. Renowned for his systematic and elegant translations of Buddhist scriptures, Ven. Bodhi has many important publications to his credit, including A Comprehensive Manual of Abhidhamma, The Middle Length Discourses of the Buddha, The Connected Discourses of the Buddha, and an excellent and very accessible anthology In the Buddha’s Words.

Clinically proven herbs?

Kalyana Mitta, Wisdom Quarterly
What is Protandim?
Protandim, to the best of our knowledge, is the only supplement in the world clinically proven (in a peer-reviewed, human clinical study) to reduce aging factors by an average of 40 percent. 
  
Protandim has been granted four patents and is at present the subject of more than 20 independent clinical studies.
  
This patented antioxidant therapy is many times more powerful than red wine, oranges, blueberries, juices, or other popular supplements. 
  
Protandim works by increasing the body’s natural antioxidant protection at the cellular level, triggering cells to produce naturally occurring protective antioxidant enzymes such as superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase, and the enzymes involved in glutathione synthesis and metabolism.

"Food should be our medicine; medicine should be our food."
- Hippocrates
Eat more whole, green, unprocessed foods.
Drink filtered water.
Breathe deeply.
Smile.
  
Is Protandim a Nrf2 Activator?
Protandim’s actions result from its ability to activate the transcription factor known as Nrf2.
  
Protandim contains five ingredients that are known to scientists as Nrf2 activators:
  1. turmeric (curcumin)
  2. ashwagandha (Indian winter cherry)
  3. bacopa (brahmi)
  4. milk thistle (everything interacts)
  5. green tea (leaf)
  • QUESTION: How hard would it be to make a smoothie? Combine powder form of each (from bulk and supplement sections of any good health food store) in equal parts. Thank the plants for working their synergistic magic. Take a teaspoon or two as food with purified water, juice, or almond milk.
Nrf2 is a protein messenger contained in every cell of the body that sends information to the cell’s DNA. That DNA consists of about 25,000 genes and the products of those genes make us who and what we are [physically]. They are unique for each person. DNA is what makes us human beings, what gives us [the physical manifestations of] our personality, what gives us our physical traits. More

Spirit Rock retreat with Buddhist nuns

Ayya Anandabodhi, Ayya Santacitta, Aloka Vihara; Spirit Rock (Code 366R12)
The Buddha always planned to ordain nuns.
This retreat is an opportunity to deepen one's practice using the Four Foundations of Mindfulness as a basis for contemplation. Buddhist insight meditation is a direct tool: It is the moment to moment investigation of the mind-body process through calm and focused awareness. By seeing and letting go of our habitual attachments and reactions, we find a place of peace with life as it is. Joy, inner contentment, and confidence are the fruits of such release. Dana for teachers, retreat staff, and Spirit Rock can be offered at the end. An optional daily period of yoga will be offered by Cator Shachoy. Participants must attend entire retreat. Click here for waitlist form
  • Into the Depths Retreat, Spirit Rock, No. California
  • Tuesday June 5, 3:00 pm - Sunday, June 10, 12:00 pm
  • Upper Retreat Hall, $125 registration deposit
PHOTOS: Vienna Peace Pagoda

The REAL "Men in Black" (video)

Wisdom Quarterly; Nick Redfern interview with George Noory on CoasttoCoastAM.com
NOTE: This post is a facsimile. It has been reconstructed after the original was mysteriously erased as it was being updated to include Redfern's appearance on C2C today (May 26, 2012). If any reader has a copy of the original, please send it in via the comments section.

Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones continue the popular series with MIB 3. This movie is obvious comedic fiction, but it is based on fact. If Hollywood makes movies and claims that they are nonfiction, simply shouting "Conspiracy theory!" is enough for people to dismiss them out of hand. But if they are made as fiction, whether comedic or dramatic, we allow ourselves to "suspend disbelief" and thereby see the big picture with the details changed. Film writers have to derive their inspiration from somewhere. Why not from defectors, whistle blowers, and truth tellers involved in the military-industrial complex (MIB)? Unfortunately, doing so opens us up to the very real possibility of being fed disinformation and PsyOps. But this only means we must keep our minds open rather than our eyes and ears closed.
  
() Nick Redfern June 2011 on C2C

The MIC is not the main source of MIB
The mistake promoted by the series is the view that MIB are simply government agents working for a secret agency. The MIC impersonates MIB to intimidate witnesses. Those attempting to expose UFO phenomena, the paranormal, free energy physics, forbidden archeology, ancient technology, cryptid bipedal apes (Sasquatch, Yeti, Bigfoot), or medical discoveries that threaten pharmaceutical industry profits.  For instance, anyone who discloses being in possession of physical evidence is likely to be visited. Under duress they are made to recant or participate in being discredited. Material evidence is often confiscated ("borrowed for analysis") never to be returned. Where did they go? "I gave them to government agents who promised they'd give them back." In this way claimants are undermined. They are without evidence to confirm their claims. But that is a fraction of what is going on. The REAL MIB are thought to be extraterrestrials, time travelers, and/or "adjusters" (as depicted in the "The Adjustment Bureau" and the recent A Princess of Mars remake "John Carter") with very creepy, otherworldly, or unmistakably superhuman powers.

Original: The REAL Men in Black (trailer)

Wisdom Quarterly; Nick Redfern interview with George Noory on CoasttoCoastAM.com
THIS IS THE ORIGINAL RECAPTURED VERSION OF THE MYSTERIOUSLY ERASED POST.
 
Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones continue the series with MIB III. A great deal of truth is blended with comedic fiction. Film writers have to take their inspiration from somewhere: Why not the military-industrial complex (MIC) and its defectors, whistle blowers, and first hand witnesses? If the story is told as nonfiction, we scream "Conspiracy theory!" and dismiss the claims out of hand. But when presented as fiction, whether comedic or dramatic, we suspend disbelief long enough to begin to understand the larger picture. Unfortunately, this allows for the introduction of disinformation and PsyOps. But that is why the mind needs to remain open rather than the eyes and ears closed.
  

() Nick Redfern on MIB phenomena June 22, 2011 (C2C)

MIB: more than the Military-Industrial Complex
Investigator and author Nick Redfern (blog) explains the complexity, pointing out that the movie only plays up one angle: MIB are secretive government agents. There are no doubt such agents who conceal the truth about UFOs, the occult, paranormal and supernatural events, forbidden archeology, Bigfoot, ghosts, technology, time travel, psychic anomalies, and advanced weaponry (particularly in space, in the Earth, and war crime activities on the surface. But that in no way begins to account for the entire mystery that encompasses extraterrestrial and time traveling elements.

Journey behind Mt. Everest (video)

Amber Dorrian, Seven, CC, Anand, Darius, Lindsey, Wisdom Quarterly 
() The road to Buddhist India on the "rooftop of the world" is mystical and cold.
 
The Goddess Tara (Jamyang190)
The Western Buddhist world needs an adventure. Come on a fantastic voyage. Travel writing takes us there -- until we gather the gumption and go.
From the plains of the Ganges, in the remnants of the Indus River Civilization, rise the great Himalayas. What is behind them?

There, a disputed Indian state called J+K is replete with summer wonders. The K is for Kashmir, a lush valley sung into legend by Led Zeppelin.

Dal Lake and ornate wooden houseboat hotels, surrounded by war and spiritual pilgrims, neo-hippie backpackers and Muslims menaced by India's military, all overwhelm the senses. Jesus (St. Issa) is buried nearby. Giant weeds grow nine feet all, and it's weed (Cannabis sativa). No one cares. Addicts sell their passports and drift along in miserable underworlds for worse substances.
 
But overland and faraway awaits the real wonder -- Leh, Ladakh, and the marvel that is the Shanti Stupa. It is very hard to find authentic "Tibet." It may no longer exist in Tibet. China has undermined it and set up a Han Disneyland in its place, with noodle stands all around Lhasa.
 

() Ladakh is India's northernmost state between the Kunlun and main
Himalayan range. It is a sparsely populated area in Kashmir and one of
the few remaining Buddhist regions. Video by Ananda S. Nadadur.
  
(Maybe Mustang, Mt. Kailash, or Shangri la and Shangri-La have traces, but the Potala Palace was ransacked and never reconstituted). "Tibet" substitutes can be found in Ladakh, Dharamsala, Bhutan, and Nepal in micro-cultures so influenced by the once great Himalayan imperial seat that it's like being there again.

The road to Leh, Ladakh, Buddhist India (PiotrHalka/Flickr.com)
 
Leh is the capital of Ladakh, a region of Jammu+Kashmir state in Himalayan India. Ladakh is the home of Hemis Gompa, where Notovitch found written records of Jesus Christ's sojourn as a Jewish-Buddhist bodhisattva-style teacher. Kashmir, according to historians Elmar Gruber and Holger Kersten, was a Jewish trading post along the Silk Route linked to Egypt and Jerusalem in those days.
 
Leh, Ladakh, India (Piotr Halka)
But the road to Leh is almost as amazing. It is the highest passable highway in the world. Ladakh is the rooftop of the world. It is a desert since very little moisture can hurdle Mt. Everest and the Himalayan range. There is snow melt in green rivulets where hamlets spring up. And below in the gully there is  a grand emerald "Colorado River" feeding the great rivers of India.
 
The fume soaked bus lurches at a yak's pace. It's impossible to sleep bouncing on old springs. Honking is constant as vehicles meet on the precipice of a one-lane sky way constantly subject to landslides and being washed out. It is maintained by hand poured tar and gravel. "Speed up," "slow down," what to shout?

 
Look to the right, out the window, and see the vehicles that didn't make it. The only rules of the road in this lawless land are honk and get out of the way. Did anyone survive; are the bodies still inside? 
  • ADVICE: Take a cab, hitch on a truck, book a plane, or meditate and astral travel; anything is better than the bus, which grinds on for two days.
The strangest difference traveling from Indo-Muslim Kashmir to Indo-Buddhist Leh is how much quieter, gentler, and kinder it gets. It is awe inspiring. There are no "FREE TIBET" stickers seen; they have been replaced by "SAVE LADAKH FROM KASHMIR." Many brash, culturally Middle Eastern businessmen come to Leh to set up shop, drive hard bargains, and ruin the local culture. TO BE CONTINUED

"World Goth Day" (video)

Wisdom Quarterly; Patt Morrison (SCPR.org)
WARNING: Mildly offensive language and sidesplitting humor.
 
May 22nd is WORLD GOTH DAY -- a time to wear true black, torn lace, toxic face powder, and smeared lipstick. 

It turns out the metaphorical human heart is liable to profound melancholy and infinite sadness, particularly if forced to listen to Willy Organ's Smashed Squashes
  
Trench coats on, sexuality out, cue the fog machine, and get pessimistic about everything. Nothing is too petty, such as the price of nail polish at Sephora. Nothing is too scandalous, such as having been molested. Only Dr. Gabor Mate both understands and sympathizes.
   

Are these Princes and Princesses of Darkness witches, Wiccans, Pagans, or pretas imperiled by their practices? Death comes soon enough and often lasts a long time. Why act dead now?

The ones at the Mall seem to be none of the above. But it is a worldwide phenomenon far beyond American shores. William Hughes, a Gothic Studies professor at England's Bath Spa University, explains it all to radio host Patt Morrison:
  
"Gothic in the middle ages, the architectural Gothic, was based upon the play of light and shade -- the alternation of darkness and light. And of course to some extent, Goth music today plays with that too."

SpaceX: Dragon docks with Space Station

Patt Morrison, KPCC 89.3 FM, Southern California Public Radio (SCPR.org)
A NASA rendering of SpaceX's Dragon capsule as it prepares to berth with the ISS (SpaceX)
    
SpaceX’s Dragon capsule, which was scheduled to launch last weekend and berth with the ISS (International Space Station), had a minor malfunction. But the spacecraft is okay now according to the company: “Today’s launch was aborted when the flight computer detected slightly high pressure in the engine 5 combustion chamber,” the company said in a brief statement on Saturday. “We have discovered root cause and repairs are underway.” More
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