Ven. Subhuti (Jeremy Glick), Pa Auk Monastery, Burma; Dhr. Seven (ed.), Wisdom Quarterly
This begets more of this, as we sow so we reap, what comes around goes around, do unto others |
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What is the Pa Auk training? |
Ven. Subhuti is a long-time American Theravada Buddhist monk and student of the famous enlightened Burmese Meditation Master Pa Auk Sayadaw. Here he gives a cursory review of a significant sutra with the astounding tale from the Commentary on the rebirth story of Todeyya and Subha, a rich stingy man reborn as a pet dog in his former house, who becomes a close companion of his son.
Todeyya: I was a millionaire, but I was stingy. |
- Meditation - Pa-Auk Tawya (paaukforestmonastery.org)
- Pa-Auk Meditation Centre, Singapore (pamc.org.sg)
Can I meditate in the forest, too?
PaAukForestMonastery.org, edited by Dhr. Seven, Wisdom Quarterly
He is named after the monastery |
The system taught is called the Threefold Training:
- strict observance of precepts (sīla),
- developing stillness (samādhi), and
- as a basis for attaining wisdom (paññā).
It is further subdivided into the Seven Stages of Purification, which provide a step-by-step formula for systematically purifying one’s karma (deeds) of body (physical actions), speech (verbal actions), and mind (mental actions) of defilements in order to realize nirvana in this very lifetime.
Use the breath or Four Elements |
A yogi (Buddhist meditator) is free to choose any of the 40 serenity-meditation subjects as taught by the Buddha. At Pa-Auk Tawya, most yogis develop the absorptions or jhānas using mindfulness-of-breathing (ānāpānassati).
Having developed stillness (samma-samadhi or samatha), a yogi may proceed to practice insight (vipassanā) meditation.
There's also Pa Auk in Georgia |
One will be taught instead to develop the less powerful "access concentration" with the serenity-meditation subject of Four Elements Meditation, prior to the practice of insight meditation.
In either case, the stillness/concentration attained by a yogi produces the "light of wisdom" or "sign" (nimitta) of progress in practice. More
- Like cures like is the homeopathic saying. Is it true for our actions and their results? Giving little begets getting little. Having chosen an action in response to a situation, I can expect that kind of result from the world for a long time. Just one act of stealing, because it occurred over so many mind-moments (which are laid down like seeds in consciousness), will result in exponentially more of that. A good choice -- giving, being friendly, being possessed of right view -- will result in reaping exponentially more happiness than we've sown. It may seem unfair, but it's "lawful," that is, working out in some rule-bound way, according to universal law, in accordance with the nature of the world. Or else all that we did would come to nothing, mean nothing, and be merely random events happening to us with no rhyme or reason, nothing to learn, nothing to improve, no aha moments when it all makes sense and everything is just as it is supposed to be (given what we chose and did previously). The hope is that we can NOW do something different and begin, eventually, to get pleasant, welcome, wished-for results.
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