Greek, Persian influences on Early Buddhism

Monks of the Mines (National Geographic) in ancient Afghanistan/Gandhara, Central Asia

Greek and Persian influence on Early Buddhism

Non-Jonesian Indology, Alexander (Ranajit Pal)

(Ajahn Sona) Premiered June 22, 2025: This video essay explores the influence of Western culture -- particularly those of ancient Persia (Aryan Iran) and Greece -- on Indian Buddhism in the first 500 years after the Buddha's passing [into final nirvana].

Focusing on the region of Gandhara (in present-day Afghanistan/Pakistan, Central Asia), this video traces how early encounters between these civilizations shaped the development of [Greco-] Buddhist art, writing, and the transmission of ideas [particularly along the Silk Road].

Through reflections on script, statuary, and cultural exchange, this documentary sheds light on the oft-overlooked role that Western thought played in shaping early Buddhism -- a legacy that still echoes to this day.

• 0:00:00 - Title
• 0:00:15 - Chapter 1: Two empires arrive in India
• 0:24:11 - Chapter 2: Roots of writing the Dhamma
• 0:52:23 - Chapter 3: Buddha statues and monasteries
• 1:22:48 - Photo/video credits
• 1:24:00 - About Ajahn Sona

Greco-Buddhist Relations in the Hellenistic Far East (Olga Kubica)

Gray schist seated Buddha, Gandhara, 2nd/3rd century (Christie's)

Early Buddhism = Gandhari

Other videos with Ajahn Sona on Greeks in Early Buddhism:

• June 25th Interview
• Earliest Western Buddhist Monks
• Hercules and the Buddha: The Legend...

Ajahn Sona's Podcast:

• AppleAjSona, SpotifyAjSona, PodbeanAjSona
• Who were the nomadic Scythians?
• The Buddhas of Bamiyan, Afghanistan
• Pillars of Ashoka: borrowing ideas to build empire
• Ajahn Sona, June 22, 2025; Dhr. Seven, Amber Larson (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

Dhamma Q&A live from Birken (Ajahn Sona)

Live from Birken: Dhamma Q&A with Ajahn Sona

(Ajahn Sona) Streamed live on June 15, 2025: Dhamma Questions & Answers. Join Birken Monastery on Sunday as Ajahn Sona answers Dhamma questions from listeners around the world. Questions may be submitted during the live chat (opens around 8:00 am on the day of streaming) or in advance, here: bit.ly/LivestreamQnA. Ajahn Sona Podcast: AppleAjSona, SpotifyAjSona, PodbeanAjSona. Question & Answer Archive: birken.ca/qaa/qaa.php.

• Not self (anattā) makes no sense. Can you explain?

What comes before mindfulness? Right effort

What is the meaning of Right Effort in Buddhism? (LotusBuddhas)

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What Comes Before Mindfulness? Right Effort and the Buddhist Path to Enlightenment

Effective Effort: How to Inner Garden

Western Theravada Buddhist monk Ajahn Sona (the abbot of Birken Forest Buddhist Monastery, British Columbia) published a paperback late in 2023. It has 5 out of 5 stars with 8 ratings, asking: What comes before the practice of mindfulness?

It's not a trick question, even though mindfulness is always in season, always of benefit [if done correctly and not practiced incorrectly while thinking it's mindfulness, which is where people get in trouble.]

Ajahn Sona answers just as one might think the Buddha would. Right Effort comes before mindfulness.

• 

  Noble (Aryan) = "Enlightening"

  [Only this isn't exactly true. The Noble or Ennobling (Enlightening) Eightfold Path, in spite of its name, is not a step-by-step guide to practice. One does not one day wake up, develop Right View, and then carry on through the remaining seven factors. It's nothing like that. Every factor supports every other factor. They co-arise, to a greater or lesser degree, simultaneously. They interdepend. They mutually support. So just as one is practicing fourfold Right Effort -- one is carrying on mindfully and boosting all of the other factors right at that moment.

1. the effort to prevent the arising of unwholesome states (eliminating harmful and unwholesome mental states that have already arisen);
2. the effort to generate wholesome states (like the Seven Factors of Enlightenment, guarding the sense doors, restraining the sense faculties);
3. the effort to maintain wholesome mental states that have already arisen;
4. the effort to keep these states free of delusion, to develop, increase, cultivate, and perfect them.]

Back cover of book

Right Effort is a sadly neglected factor of the Noble Eightfold Path. There are endless retreats about "mindfulness," but the sixth factor of the path, Right Effort, is woefully underappreciated and not talked about enough in Buddhist circles.

It's one of the most inspiring and beautiful of the path factors, full of so many clear instructions about how to navigate in the inner world and in the outer world.

Ajahn Sona teaching at Birken Forest

This Dharma book is an attempt to bring Right Effort out of the shadows of its glamorous sister, beautiful Right Mindfulness, by going back to the basic sutras of the Pali language canon and examining the language of the Buddha around this essential training.

[Remember, if one were practicing Right Effort correctly, one would be practicing mindfulness. and the practice of Right Mindfulness is essential to the Buddha's practice as a whole.]

• BOOK: What Comes Before Mindfulness? Right Effort and the Buddhist Path to Enlightenment
• Who is Ajahn Sona? Books, biography, latest update
• Ajahn Sona (Birken); Amber Larson and Dhr. Seven (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

What’s happening at Pacific Hermitage

Linda (pacifichermitage.org, July 13, 2020); Amber Larson (ed.), Wisdom Quarterly

"It's like this" (Ajahn Sumedho).

Things have shifted a bit at Pacific Buddhist Hermitage in the past few weeks. Weekend meal offerings or danas have resumed on a limited basis and a special schedule. The Western Buddhist monks are enjoying being able to spend some socially-distanced time with members of the community. Suzy and Casey have begun their roles as meal dana coordinators. Anyone with questions may reach out to dana@pacifichermitage.org. More

• Blackout Tuesday for Black Lives Matter
• US Supreme Court says most of Oklahoma is an Indian reservation with consequences for the legal system there. Oops, US forgot to break this treaty like it did all the others
• Utah in state of emergency over corrupt police protests
• Racist Lena "Karen" Hernandez arrested for assault
• PHOTOS: Celebrities' ugly and gorgeous kids (constative.com)

What is our world? Buddhist cosmology (1)

Ajahn Punnadhammo (Birken Forest, 4/19/18); Dhr. Seven, Pat Macpherson, Wisdom Quarterly

Buddhist Cosmology (1): Space, Time, and Being

The Buddhist Cosmos (Ajahn)

This is Part 1 in a continuing series on ancient Buddhist cosmology, the shape and inhabitants of our environment on the surface of the earth -- our planet or island Jambudvipa (the "Rose apple Land") and around it. It is a dialogue between two long-time Western monks from the Theravada Thai forest tradition, Ajahn Punnadhammo and interviewer Ajahn Sona. Ven Sona is from Birken Forest Monastery in British Columbia, Canada, which is affiliated with Pacific Monastery in Washington, USA. For a free download on Buddhist cosmology, go to arrowriver.ca/book/cosmoBook.php.

• Ajahn Sona podcast: anchor.fm/ajahn-sona
• This episode: anchor.fm/ajahn-sona/episodes...

Free 10-day mindfulness meditation retreat

Ajahn Sona, May 1-10, 2020, Birken Forest, BC; Dhr. Seven, Ananda (DBM), Wisdom Quarterly

Virtual Mindfulness Retreat (1): More than Just Awareness

Scythian/Shakyian Buddha (Gandhara)

(May 1, 2020) What is Buddhist "right mindfulness" or samma-sati? It differs from what psychology and the world in general are now taking the term to mean. It has two main components of attention and acceptance, attending to what is and allowing it to be. We dispassionately watch and observe without getting involved or entangled in the contents. This is right understanding and right effort, parts of the Noble Eightfold Path, of which "right mindfulness" is crucial.

Talk 1 (of 9) in the 10-Day Virtual Retreat given by Ajahn Sona at Birken Forest Monastery, May 2020. The audio-only version is streamed on Ajahn Sona's podcast: anchor.fm/ajahn-sona.

About the retreat

The Four Foundations of Mindfulness (Satipatthana): a virtual retreat with Ajahn Sona and Ajahn Sudanto. All events (schedule below) stream on Ajahn Sona's YouTube channel (youtube.com/ajahnsona).

May 1-10, 2020
(all times PDT, subject to change)

• 5:30 - 6:40 AM - morning puja and meditation
• 2:30 - 4:00 PM - sitting and walking meditation
• 4:00 - 5:00 PM - teatime Dhamma Q&A
• 7:00 - 8:00 PM - evening puja and meditation
• 8:15 - 9:00 PM - Dharma talk by Ajahn Sona

Organized by Birken Forest Buddhist Monastery, British Columbia, Canada, and Pacific Hermitage, Washington, Pacific Northwest, USA for the benefit of meditators worldwide. It's FREE. There is no cost to join. Participate in all or some activities, as your schedule permits.

• Visit Birken's website for the most up-to-date information
• Creating a retreat environment at home: retreat website
• Submit teatime Dharma questions with Ajahn Sudanto

Teatime Q&A with Ajahn Sudanto (video)

Ajahn Sudanto (Pacific Hermitage, Washington, USA) via Ajahn Sona (Birken Forest Monastery, BC, Canada), May 3, 2020; Ananda (Dharma Buddhist Meditation), Dhr. Seven, Wisdom Quarterly

Teatime Q&A with Ajahn Sudanto

Submit questions to Ajahn Sudanto for retreat teatime Dhamma Q&A, 4:00-5:00 pm PDT.

Questions submitted by 9:00 am PDT daily were considered for that evening’s teatime. They were submitted using this form: docs.google.com...

May 2-9: Ajahn Sudanto is from Pacific Hermitage in Washington state hosted these teatime sessions and answered a few questions submitted online.

May 10: Ajahn Sona hosted the final teatime with pre-submitted questions from Pacific Hermitage virtual online retreat participants.

Theravada Buddhism

Images of the Buddha's life (courtesy of the Scotland Theravada Buddhist Monastery)

Two excellent texts from a Theravadan perspective were compiled by Bhikkhu Bodhi, an American-born scholar-monk and former editor of the Buddhist Publication Society (Kandy, Sri Lanka). These texts are anthologies of prominent Buddhist discourses arranged by theme with helpful commentary.

• In the Buddha's Words: An Anthology of Discourses from the Pali Canon
• Numerical Discourses of the Buddha: An Anthology of Suttas from the Anguttara Nikaya

2008 Bodhi tree visitor, the edifice at the site of the Great Enlightenment, Bodh Gaya, India

Ven. Sona answers a question about salient distinctions between modern Theravada and Mahayana schools of Buddhism in a Dharma talk at Birken Forest Buddhist Monastery, Canada.

As seen in this Burmese footage, ordination in the Theravada school is voluntary, often temporary, and reputed to be very meritorious since it is extremely rare over the course of Samsaric existences.