Reflections

The following transcript of the afternoon session of the Bhava daylong was prepared by LR: Bhava, Part Two (Afternoon Session) Namo tassa Bhagavato Arahato sammāsambuddhassa Namo tassa Bhagavato Arahato sammāsambuddhassa Namo tassa Bhagavato Arahato sammāsambuddhassa For those who might recognize that phrase, it says “Homage to the Blessed One, The Fully Enlightened One, the Fully […]

There are many ways we try to set ourselves up for success. We try to eat well, exercise, get enough sleep and avoid stressful situations. When we get up in the morning we’re often taking a mental inventory of what we have to work with. We ask ourselves, “How do we feel?”, and then prepare

LR has generously transcribed a talk by Tahn Pamutto given during the recent Bhava Daylong.  You can see it in comic form here: https://upavana.org/comic/bha-va/ “BHA-VA ! BHA-VA!” So, at one point I was up in the Pacific Northwest. I was at a hermitage called the Pacific Hermitage near Portland. It was very early on, and

The Adittapariyaya Sutta, or Fire Sermon, is one of the three cardinal suttas of Theravada buddhism.  This sutta concisely lays out some of the most important concepts underlying the Buddha’s 45 years of teaching. This came just as the Buddha, freshly enlightened, set out on said teaching career to find those with ‘little dust in

The theme of the daylong yesterday was Clear Comprehension, or Sampajañña in Pali. This is a basic and important function of becoming aware, and is intrinsically linked to Sati, or Mindfulness. Returning to Massachusetts after a month away, an amazing change has taken place. Before, the hillsides were lush and green with foliage spilling out

There are many possible reasons to get involved with the lifestyle and practice of the Buddha’s teachings. For some it is something they are born into and gives a sense of cultural identity. For others it’s something they stumble on partway through life and seems to provide answers to questions they didn’t know they had.

A visual walkthrough of sutta MN 38 – the Conditionality of Consciousness! MN 38 – Part One Consciousness – Upavana.org MN 38 – Part Two Nutriments – Upavana.org MN 38 – Part 3 – Upavana.org

Life is full of traps. In order for a trap to be effective, it has to be appealing.  So it is with life.  The things that trap us tend to be attractive things – romantic love, wealth, fame, travel, excitement … These are the obvious baits.  There are less obvious ones too, like patriotism, responsibility,

Blessedly, in this modern day fewer and fewer get severed limb from limb by bandits. We deal with more mundane severing, the the piecemeal flaying of taxes or the slow attrition of our car breaking down. But even if we were cornered and knew it was our last breaths, would we be able to accept

During the last of the September Daylongs, Tahn Pamutto opens by reflecting on the theme of the day: Vipassana. This word has become ubiquitous in meditation circles but was not always so. While it’s an easy way to explain the process of freeing the mind, it was not a common or deeply expounded theme in