Samadhi and Absorptions (English Monk)

• The right honorable Venerable has perhaps misunderstood the meaning of "momentary" concentration, which is not so-called because it comes and goes (vacillates) but for its continuity on a moving object: Khanika samadhi - Meditation - Classical Theravāda. See also Bhikkhu Bodhi, "Meditation"
• What is samādhi? Three kinds of mindfulness | Pure Dhamma
• What are khanika, upacara, and appana samadhi? (Q&A)

Samādhi: "concentration," literally "the (mental) state of being firmly fixed" (sam+ā+√ hā). It is fixing the mind (attention) on a single object.

"One-pointedness of mind (cittass' ekaggatā), Ven. Visakha, this is called concentration" (MN 44).

Concentration -- though often very weak -- is one of the seven mental concomitants (cetasikas) inseparably associated with all consciousness. Compare with nāma, cetanā.

"Right concentration" (sammā-samādhi), as the last link of the Ennobling Eightfold Path (magga), is defined as the four meditative absorptions (jhānas).

In a wider sense, comprising also much weaker states of concentration, it is associated with all karmically wholesome (kusala) consciousness(es). "Wrong concentration" (micchā-samādhi) is concentration associated with all karmically unwholesome (akusala) consciousness(es).

Wherever in the texts this term is not distinguished by "right" or "wrong," there "right concentration" is meant.

In concentration one may distinguish three grades of intensity:

• (1) "Preparatory concentration" (parikamma-samādhi) existing at the beginning of the mental exercise.
• (2) "Neighborhood concentration" (upacāra-samādhi), that is, concentration "approaching" but not yet attaining the first absorption (jhāna), which in certain mental exercises is marked by the appearance of the so-called "counter-image" (patibhāga-nimitta).
• (3) "Attainment concentration" (appanā-samādhi), that is, concentration present during the absorptions.

(Appendix) For further details, see bhāvana, Path of Purification (Vis.M. III and Fund. IV.)

Concentration connected with the four noble path-moments (magga), and fruition-moments (phala) [which results in awakening/enlightenment], is called supermundane (lokuttara), having Nirvana (Nibbāna) as object.

xxx

Any other concentration, even that of the sublimest absorptions (jhanas) is merely mundane (lokiya). 

According to DN 33, the cultivation of stillness (development of concentration, samādhi-bhāvanā) may bring about a fourfold blessing:

1. present happiness through the four (material) absorptions;
2. (2) knowledge and vision (knowing and seeing, ñāna-dassana), here probably identical with the "divine eye" (see abhiññā) through perception of light (kasina);
3. mindfulness and clear comprehension (sati-sampajana) through the clear knowledge of the arising, persisting and vanishing of feelings, perceptions and thoughts;
4. extinction of all cankers (āsava-kkhaya) through understanding the arising and passing away of the Five Aggregates clung to as self (khandha).

Concentration is one of the Seven Factors of Enlightenment (bojjhanga), one of the Five Spiritual Faculties and Five Powers (bala), and the last link of the Noble (Ennobling/Enlightening) Eightfold Path.

In the threefold division (virtue, concentration, and wisdom) of the Noble Eightfold Path, concentration is a collective name for the three last factors of the path (sikkhā).

• Ven. Nyanatiloka, Buddhist Dictionary Manual of Buddhist Terms and Doctrines, samādhi, English Buddhist Monk (video); Dhr. Seven (ed.), Wisdom Quarterly

Will Buddhist monk be king of Thailand?

Thailand king’s disowned son returns as a Buddhist monk, sparking speculation about royal comeback

As a lawyer, I mean a monk...

(TOI Trending Desk) May 27, 2025: Vacharaesorn Vivacharawongse (called Than Oun), King of Thailand Maha Vajiralongkorn's son [living as a lawyer in the USA], becomes a Theravada Buddhist monk, signaling a return to the politics of the royal family.

This event has sparked discussions about his possible return to the royal family. Once estranged, his monastic ordination on Vesak Day 2025 has garnered a great deal of attention. For it raises questions about succession.

Temporary ordination in Thailand is a rite of passage, not a lifelong commitment

Vacharaesorn Vivacharawongse, second son of Thai King Rama X (Getty Images)

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The King and I (Yul Brynner, 1954)

Vacharaesorn Vivacharawongse is one of the disowned sons of Thailand’s King Maha Vajiralongkorn (Rama X), has been ordained as a Theravada Buddhist monk in Bangkok, Thailand, marking a significant and symbolic return to public life.

His ordination took place on Vesak Day — a major Buddhist holiday celebrating the birth, enlightenment, and passing of the historical Buddha.

The event was widely shared on Than Oun’s official Instagram, drawing public attention and sparking speculation about his potential reintegration into royal circles.

Though once stripped of royal status, Vacharaesorn’s visible spiritual gesture has led many to question whether this could signal a path back to royal favor.

More: Thailand King’s disowned son makes surprising return as Buddhist monk, sparking speculation about royal comeback (Times of India), etimes.in

• 8 stunning animals found only in the Himalayas
• Times of India (TOI), May 27, 2025; Eds., Wisdom Quarterly

The Halloween Buddhist monk

The majority of Buddhist monastics opt for cremation, not sitting up. Some may be in meditating.

This skeleton will do best for contemplation.

(Lion's Roar) It was this Burmese Buddhist monk’s first visit to America, and it was my first real visit with a monk. He was staying at a house in the Chicago suburbs, teaching anapanasati meditation — “watching the breath” — to anyone interested enough to stop by.

I was eager to learn how to meditate (without bursting out laughing, like the first time I tried it), so he invited me to come and hang out for a few days.

The Dharma of Star Wars

Those five days in late October were a cultural exchange. The monk taught me how to watch my breath: in-out, in-out, breathing in, breathing out. And if I remember correctly, I got him to watch Star Wars.

On the morning of October 31st, somewhat disconnected from the world, I suddenly remembered it was Halloween. I explained that children might be coming by that night trick-or-treating and that we should be ready. He’d never heard of Halloween and asked me to tell him about it. So I did.

I gave him the lowdown on the holiday: ghosts, goblins, costumes, skeletons…

.

Bag of Bones (Ven. Khantipalo)

“Skeletons!” he exclaimed suddenly. “That is wonderful, wonderful! In Burma we do skeleton meditation [charnel ground contemplations on repulsiveness]. Very good, very good. We must get a skeleton! Continue.”

Then I explained trick-or-treating.

“Oh, that is wonderful. So much opportunity for giving. We must have lots of candy for the children and tell them all to come here. Wonderful, wonderful!”

• VIDEO: Day of the Dead: Buddhist Hungry Ghost Stories
• Can a Buddhist celebrate Halloween? – (Bodhi-Bowi) Hell no! Who the f do u think u r? Stick 2 ur own rice bowl and don't touch our candy! But Samhain is OK, u can celebrate that

"Train yourself to let go of everything you fear to lose" is wise advice either way.

.

Why are you always so cheerful, R2D2?

So we hopped in the car, and I drove him to a big discount store. Or at least tried to — it was raining hard, and my windshield wipers were stuck, so I couldn’t see anything. We got lost, ending up on a highway I never meant to take.

“No matter,” he said, reassuring me with a serene smile. “This is wonderful. Now I am seeing more of this city. Very good.”

Behold the repulsive aspects of this body

When we finally found the store, I took him to the Halloween aisle, where he carefully scrutinized the skeletons to find one that would serve our purpose best. And what would that purpose be, exactly? I wasn’t sure whether we were going to hang the skeleton on the outside of the front door or sit facing it with legs crossed, contemplating our mortality.

In the end he settled on the biggest one he could find, a four-foot hanging skeleton made of black-and-white cardboard bones strung together that glowed in the dark. I grabbed as many bags of candy as I could afford with the cash I had on hand (my favorite brands, of course).

• Favorite Halloween Candies (pretty-poison for metabolic diseases):
• (1) Reese's Peanut Butter Cups, (2) M&Ms, (3) Snickers, (4) Peanut M&M's, (5) Twix, (6) Kit Kat, (7) Hershey's Milk Chocolate, (8) Milky Way, (9) Sour Patch Kids, (10) Skittles.

The Zen of R2-D2 (Bortolin)

There were already a few people in costume out and about, buying last-minute supplies. My monk friend was wearing the same [Buddhist saffron, purplish, ochre, pumpkin-colored] rusty-brown robe he wore every day, wrapped around him like a pleated toga and rubber flip-flops totally unsuited to the fall weather.

In the checkout line, we received lots of puzzled looks and raised eyebrows as people tried to figure out what exactly this guy was supposed to be dressed up as.

When we got back to the house, my monk friend started shoving the one-pound bags of bite-size candy bars, unopened, up against the windows.

Being bald, he could be Uncle Fester

“What are you doing?” I asked, surprised.

“This is so the children will know we have candy for them,” he said, beaming with pride.

“They will see the candy and they will come here.”

I explained that having the lights on would probably be a good enough sign and that hanging the skeleton on the door would also be, um, a dead giveaway. I suggested we put the candy on a tray, but he insisted we leave at least one bag where the kids would be most likely to see it [and know where to put the rock to grab it]. He put the rest into a big salad bowl.

Finally, shortly after dark, the first kids arrived.

I'm U Fester, Buddhist monk, this year!

“TRICK OR TREAT!” the little voices shouted as the monk opened the door, then their eyes went wide. “What are you supposed to be?” they asked, looking up, amazed and befuddled by his costume.

“I am Buddhist monk!” he said, grinning. That didn’t quite register with the kids, who quickly shifted their attention to the candy on offer.

“Take more, take more!” he insisted. “We must give if we want to receive.”

Dharma Punx' Noah Levine (Against the Stream)

After closing the door, he turned to me with a radiant smile.

“All my life I have begging bowl. But this is not begging bowl. Today I have giving bowl! Wonderful, wonderful. I like Halloween!”

The next day, my monk friend sat and stared serenely at the glow-in-the-dark skeleton, contemplating [the repulsive aspects of this body and] his own mortality, while I munched on leftover bite-size candy bars, contemplating my unusual Buddhist Halloween.

AUTHOR: Peter Aronson is a freelance journalist and former NPR contributor currently living in Dharamsala, India. In addition to his writing, he is attending courses in Buddhism at the Library of Tibetan Works and Archives.

• Peter Aronson (lionsroar.com); edited and expanded by Team Halloween and Sayalay Scary, Wisdom Quarterly

Jesus ordained as a Buddhist monk: BBC

Jesus of Nazareth: Historical figure or Jewish-Roman imperial myth?
What Christians get wrong about Jesus Christ and their own faith

Jesus was a Buddhist monk | BBC documentary

Jesus' seamless robe (Christian Faith Guide)

(Brian Oblivion) From Minute 38 on comes the interesting part. This British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC 4) documentary examines the question "Did Jesus Die?"

It looks at various ideas around this question until Minute 25, where this examination of ideas takes a very logical and grounded turn with surprising conclusions that demonstrate:

The "Three Wise Men" were Tibetan Buddhist monks who (were in search of a tulku) found Jesus and came back for him about the time of puberty.

• What is a "Buddhist monk" (shaman, sramana, wandering ascetic)?
• 13 misconceptions about what it truly means to be a Christian
• Christ is NOT king to Jews, so Daily Wire's Jewish CEO fired host Candace Owens for saying so on the air
• The life of a wandering ascetic (shramana) in India
• 14 reasons some Christians don't believe the Easter story
• Seamless robe of Jesus like the wandering ascetics of India wear
• Real Story of the [Tibetan Buddhist monks who were Christianity's] Three Wise Men (White Feather | Medium)

Western Buddhist monk Dhammadipa

After being trained in a Buddhist monastery [Hemis Gompa, Ladakh] he spread the Buddhist philosophy, survived Jewish persecution in Palestine and crucifixion in the Roman Empire (Israel), and escaped to Kashmir, Afghanistan.

This part of Kashmir is near the birthplace of the Buddha, known as ancient Gandhara in Central Asia, with its capital now in Pakistan (after the 1947 Partition of India).

There he died an old man at the age of 80 [and his corpse was entombed in the Jewish-style with its distinct orientation with Buddhist-style footprints marking his burial site.

That grave is now covered by an Islamic grave it of another person, making excavation difficult without stirring up a great deal of trouble.

See the scholarship of Holger Kersten and Nicolas Notovitch for the details and written evidence.

• BBC 4 documentary via Brian Oblivion (YouTube, 12/19/11); Pfc. Sandoval, Dhr. Seven, Pat Macpherson (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

Israel, I'm setting myself on FIRE: Get out!

Jon Farina (Status Coup News, 2/27/24); Robby Soave, Briahna Joy (The Hill/Rising); Pfc. Sandoval, Ashley Wells, Shauna Schwartz, Dhr. Seven COMMENTARY, Wisdom Quarterly

VIDEO: US military veterans burn their uniforms in solidarity with Airman Aaron Bushnell

(Status Coup News) Jon Farina is on the ground at Pro-Palestine, Anti-Genocide demonstrations as they occur, keeping an eye on Zionist-Jewish Israeli genocide troops and the Americans complicit in their war crimes.

(Rising) Aaron Bushnell memorialized by #FREE PALESTINE left

Look at the face, completely calm by dispassion

It's a terrible thing to set yourself on fire to get Netanyahu and his War Cabinet to notice you.

Will it move Zionist Jews to compassion or tolerance for the neighbors they have been abusing, raping, murdering, maiming, displacing, arresting, detaining, lying about, and discriminating against as they dislocate and dispossess them of their land in a "settler colonial project."

We're exterminating them. It's a final solution.

But as bad as all those things are, made worse by U.S. complicity, military funding, and diplomatic cover, ritual suicide is not the answer. Though one makes this a hell on earth for oneself in sympathy with the human beings of Gaza, the West Bank, and all of Palestine (all the Zionist-occupied land), it won't send Bibi, Genocide Joe, or their Ashkenazi and fundamentalist Christian cheerleaders there any sooner. Self-immolation is never a solution.

How to unsafely set yourself on fire

Who's worse, Genocide Joe or lying Trump? Even RFK is pro-CIA money for genocide.

.

1. 

   Come into the present (Thich Nhat Hanh)

   Become a Buddhist monastic.
2. Practice meditation after ordination.
3. Develop "trance" (jhana, absorption).
4. Take up insight practices to let go.
5. Directly perceive ultimate body-mind.
6. Attain enlightenment (awakening) and nirvana (slaking all craving) by knowing-and-seeing things as they really are thereby becoming disenchanted and dispassionate, a Buddhist "saint."
7. Form the intention to show everyone how detached you've become: "Look, everyone, look how not attached I am to this body! And, politicians, please stop your mass killings."

It's this last one that's the problem. Will unenlightened, undetached, unabsorbed "ordinary uninstructed worldlings" see you and follow suit, ending up in a terrible rebirth for (self) murder, dying full of revulsion for the Mossad, Israel, Netanyahu, Biden, Pentagon, Shin Bet, CIA, and hypocritical genocide-defenders and apologists in the mainstream media.

Light candles, not human bodies

Instead, be safe. Protest but bring lots of water. One need not ruin oneself to rage against the machine or call the world's attention to war crimes, crimes against humanity, ethnic cleansing, and internationally-recognized genocide. Why? The slightest criticism already earns one the hateful labels "blood libel" and "antisemite," "self-hating-J," "baby beheader." Hypocrites have many kneejerk responses, reinforced by endless repetition on the TV, at their disposal.

• Jewish Voice for Peace
• US Veterans for Peace
• NOT IN OUR NAME (ifnotnowmovement.org)
• Code Pink: Women for Peace
• Israeli veterans against IDF (breakingthesilence.org.il)
• Ultra-Orthodox Israeli Jews against Israel
• Amnesty International
• ‎شرش | Shoresh | שר”ש‎ (@shoresh_us) • Anti-Zionist Jews
• VIDEO: Research suggests cognitive ability associated with more controlled emotional response

This American (comedian Jimmy Dore) rages, brings light, and stays sane with dark humor

Two Early Buddhist Christian Encounters

James Ford, Monkey Mind, Patheos, 8/14; Sheldon S., Dhr. Seven (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

Edgar Goodspeed exposed a fraudulent account of Jesus visiting Tibet.

It generated a little heat from people who weren’t particularly interested in reading the professor’s examination of a forged text, but who were exercised at the suggestion at the beginning of the post that Jesus did not spend time in India or Tibet.

• [Are we to ignore the discovery of Nicolas Notovitch, confirmed by Swami Abhedananda, and all the subsequent research by Holger Kersten and others confirming that the "lost years" of Jesus were spent in Tibet, India, Ladakh, some of that time at Hemis Gompa Himalayan Buddhist Lamasery, as the BBC confirmed in its documentary Jesus Was a Buddhist Monk?]

(BBC) Jesus Was a Buddhist Monk

One pointed to Marcus Borg’s delightful Jesus and Buddha: The Parallel Sayings as if it were proof, not necessarily of Jesus studying in Tibet, but certainly of Buddhist influence on Jesus.

Of course, the railway theory of religious thought, the assumption that if the spiritual teachings of two different religions are similar, the later teaching must in fact come from the earlier one is pretty common. But it often turns out that there is no connection. These things are examples of parallel evolution.

While it is possible that some of the gymnosophists [naked Jain ascetic philosophers] who appear to have made their way to the Roman Empire could have been Buddhist monks.

So it is not outside the realm of possibility there was some Buddhist influence on Jesus, or at least early Christianity [as with the Church Father Origen, who talked about rebirth a great deal, having the Buddha Shakyamuni (aka Ammonius Saccas) as his teacher], the rather more important point is that Jesus’ teachings were in fact not radical.

Or rather they may have been radical in the sense that they went against the grain of the day. Then as now they were also very much mainstream Jewish teachings.

Bottom line, there is no need to appeal to influence from elsewhere to come up with Jesus. So why multiply assumptions?

That said, among the things that are fascinating for me are the actual provable contacts between early Christianity and Buddhism. The connections that have documentary evidence that is true and wasn’t made up. More

Christmas cancelled in Bethlehem

Christmas canceled in Bethlehem as churches mourn 20,000+ Palestinians murdered by Zionist Jews in Gaza

(Democracy Now!) Dec. 22, 2023: Latest Shows. Support this work: democracynow.org/give.

In "mourning and honor" of Palestinians killed [by Zionist Israeli Jews, whom the pope calls "terrorists"] in Gaza, the city of Bethlehem in the illegally occupied [by Israelis] West Bank, Palestine, the birthplace of Jesus Christ, has announced the cancellation of traditional Christmas festivities.

In Bethlehem, DN! is joined by Dar al-Kalima University President Reverend Mitri Raheb. Rev. Raheb relates the story of Jesus, a refugee whose mother had no place to safely give birth, to the plight of displaced Gazans facing a dearth of medical care.

"The Christmas story actually is a Palestinian story, par excellence," he tells DN!, yet "we don't hear the Christian community actually doing much about the atrocity [being carried out by Jewish Israel] in Gaza today."

As the world turns its back on Israel's ongoing genocide, Rev. Rehab says he fears this could be "the end of the Christian presence in Gaza."

ABOUT: Democracy Now! is an independent global news hour that airs on over 1,500 TV and radio stations Monday through Friday. Watch livestream at democracynow.org Mondays to Fridays 8:00-9:00 am ET.

Bethlehem holds sombre vigil for Christmas in shadow of Gaza war | ABS-CBN News

(ABS-CBN News) Dec. 23, 2023: Palestinian Christians held a somber Christmas vigil in Bethlehem on Saturday, with candle-lit hymns and prayers for peace in Gaza instead of the usual festive celebrations at the spot where they believe Jesus the Christ was born.

Most years, Bethlehem basks in the central place it holds in the Christian story of Jesus' life, born there in a stable because there was no room for his parents at the inn, and placed in an animal's manger, the humblest of all possible beds.

Some 2,000 years later, Christian pilgrims usually flock to the reputed location of that stable in Bethlehem's Byzantine-era Church of the Nativity, where most Christmases there are joyful displays of lights and trees in Manger Square.

But with Israel's campaign in Gaza having exterminated more than 20,000 Gazans (71% of them children and women) according to health authorities in the Hamas-run enclave, the mostly Palestinian population of Bethlehem in the Occupied West Bank (illegally occupied by Israeli Jews stealing land from Palestinians) are in mourning, too.

Hamas says 200 killed in 24 hours of Israeli strikes on Gaza

This year they decided to have no large tree, the usual centerpiece of Bethlehem's Christmas celebrations because of the carnage taking place only 50 km away.

And in place of the usual nativity scene, as Christians call the traditional display of figurines representing the holy family, Bethlehem churches this year placed the models amid rubble and razor wire in solidarity with the victims in Gaza.

Christians make up about 2 percent of the population across Israel and the Palestinian territories illegally occupied by Zionist Israeli Jews, according to Protecting Holy Land Christians, a campaign organized by the Heads of Churches in Jerusalem, with a smaller proportion in Gaza.

(Production: Sinan Abu Mayzer, Mustafa Abu Ganeyeh, Lara Afghani, Hyunyoung Yi) For more latest news and analysis from ABS-CBN News videos, click the link below: youtube.com/playlist...  #Exclusive #LatestNews #ABSCBNNews

"Buddhism for Beginners (Jack Kornfield)

Jack Kornfield, Amazon, 2001; Amber Larson and Dhr. Seven (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

Buddhism for Beginners by Dr. Jack Kornfield is an Audible audiobook, an original recording Bay Area psychologist and successful Buddhist meditator Kornfield.

Dr. Kornfield is founder of Spirit Rock Meditation Center in Marin County, California (next to San Francisco), who also narrates.

Living Buddhist Masters

This Sounds True publication has 4.5 stars out of 5 with 15 ratings. It was created specifically to address the questions and needs of first-time students. (It is offered FREE with Audible trial).

Here is Buddhism's vast spiritual legacy (in the early Theravada back-to-basics tradition of the Teachings or Dhamma of the historical Buddha, Siddhattha Gotama or Sakyamuni) presented by one of America's leading meditation teachers. More + audio sample

Million-and-a-half dollar Buddha stolen in LA

Vivian Chow, Jacqueline Sarkissian, 9/22/23; CC Liu, Sheldon S. (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

$1.5 million ancient Buddha statue stolen from Los Angeles art gallery

Budai: Kano Koi Hotei, Edo Period

(KTLA) Security cameras captured the moment an ancient Buddha statue worth US $1,500,000.00 was stolen from a Los Angeles art gallery.

The bronze sculpture was stolen on Sept. 18 from the Barakat Gallery on La Cienega Blvd. in Beverly Grove, Los Angeles, around 3:45 am, officials said.

Weighing 250 pounds, the artifact dates back to Japan’s Edo Period (1603-1867), according to gallery owners. It was believed to have been commissioned for the centerpiece of a temple.

“I prize it so much,” said Fayez Barakat, the gallery's owner. “I had it in the backyard of my home and when I moved into this gallery, I put it in the backyard of the gallery for everybody to admire and enjoy.”

Security video shows the thief pulling up to the gallery in a moving truck. The driver steps out, breaks open a driveway gate, enters the gallery, and uses a dolly to move the statue into the truck.

The entire heist took around 25 minutes, the owner said. “This gentleman came and, I think, strapped a rope or a chain around that piece and pulled it to his rental van and put it in the back,” Barakat said.

Barakat said he acquired the statue more than 55 years ago and that there is no other piece in the world quite like it.

“We have 200 objects back there, but this is our prize piece,” said Paul Henderson, the gallery’s director. “I don’t think there’s another like it on the market anywhere. It’s four feet tall, it’s hollow cast bronze, and it’s a stunning piece.

“It’s really aesthetically arresting, and it’s shocking to see something like this go missing.” Barakat believes the theft was premeditated due to the sculpture’s prominent display in the gallery’s outdoor space.

There were hundreds of other valuable items that could’ve been stolen as well, but only the Buddha statue was targeted. He believes the thief seemed to have their heart set on this specific artifact.  More