Bhikkhu Bodhi: Reconciling Theravada-Mahayana

Bhikkhu Bodhi, Clear Mountain Monastery, 8/13/23; Dhr. Seven (ed.), Wisdom Quarterly

Reconciliation and Liberation: Theravāda-Mahāyāna; Gradual or Sudden Awakening; Early Buddhist Texts

(Clear Mountain Monastery) Aug. 13, 2023: Clear Mountain Monastery Podcast In this session, Ajahn Kovilo and Ajahn Nisabho Q&A interview with Venerable Bodhi.

Topics touched upon include Theravāda Buddhism and Early Buddhist texts; the drawbacks of attaching to either; reconciling Theravāda and Mahāyāna traditions; practicing with Noble Beings; and more.

Timestamps

• 0:00 - Intro
• 0:22 - Bio of Bhikkhu Bodhi
• 1:20 - Learnings and insights from the Commentaries
• 8:25 - The Early Buddhist Text movement, and what it might lose in the absence of the Commentaries
• 11:42 - Bhikkhu Sujato’s checklist of differences between the EBT and Theravada, specifically the spirit of enquiry in EBT
• 15:27 - Bhikkhu Bodhi’s definition of the EBT
• 19:00 - Benefits and risks of EBT labeling, and risks of EBT “conceit”
• 20:38 - The “layering” of Mahayana, and Bhikkhu Bodhi’s view of these two schools of thought
• 26:00 - The two models of the Bodhisattva path - deferring enlightenment vs. achieving a state that transcends samsara
• 33:19 - How to reconcile the seeming differences between Orthodox Theravada and Orthodox Mahayana
• 40:54 - Translating the “Don’t Know” mind into Pāḷi
• 41:30 - Living and teaching in a Mahayana monastery
• 43:16 - Interactions with beings who have influenced Bhikkhu Bodhi the most, and the one quality that keeps monastics in robes
• 52:43 - An anecdote about Western scholar Nyanaponika Thera
• 53:00 - Advice to young monastics
• 56:21 - The Gradual Path vs. Instantaneous Awakening, and does Theravada support more than the first?
• 1:01:11 - The importance of meeting and studying with a noble one (ariya-puggala)
• 1:03:45 - Gratitude and thanks
• 1:04:20 - Outro

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Tune in with fellow practitioners every Wednesday evening from 6:00-6:45 pm or Saturday morning from 9:30 am - 11:00 am for a Dhamma Talk and Q&A with Ajahn Kovilo or Ajahn Nisabho. Saturday mornings begin with a 30-minute meditation.

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