Sutra series (SN 25:1-10) abbreviated

Ven. Thanissaro (orig. mistranslation from the Pali canon, SN 25:1-10, dhammatalks.org); Dhr. Seven, Amber Larson (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

The Eye: Cakkhu Sutta

The eye that see, the third eye that knows?

(SN 25:1) Thus have I heard. When the Buddha was staying near Sāvatthī, he said: “Meditators, the eye is inconstant, changeable, impermanent. The ear… The nose… The tongue… The body… The mind is inconstant, changeable, impermanent.

“One who has confidence and conviction that these phenomena are this way is called a faith-follower: one who has entered the right path, entered the plane of the noble ones, transcended the plane of the ordinary uninstructed worldlings.

“Such a person is now incapable of doing any deed (karma) by which one might be reborn in hell, in an animal womb, or in the realm of hungry ghosts. One is incapable of passing away until one has realized the fruit of stream-entry (the first stage of enlightenment).

“One who, after contemplating with even a small amount of wisdom (discernment), has accepted that these phenomena are this way is called a Dharma-follower: one who has entered the right path, entered the plane of the noble ones, transcended the plane of ordinary uninstructed worldlings. One is incapable of doing any deed by which one might be reborn in hell, in an animal womb, or in the realm of hungry ghosts. One is incapable of passing away until one has realized the fruit of stream-entry.

“One who knows-and-sees that these phenomena are this way is called a stream-enterer, steadfast, never again destined for [subhuman] states of woe, headed for full awakening.”

• See also: MN 70, SN 55:25

Forms: Rūpa Sutta

(SN 25:2) Near Sāvatthī. “Meditators, forms are inconstant, changeable, impermanent. Sounds.… Fragrances.… Flavors.… Tactile sensations.… Ideas [mind objects] are inconstant, changeable, impermanent.… 

Consciousness: Viññāṇa Sutta

(SN 25:3) Near Sāvatthī. “Meditators, eye-consciousness is inconstant, changeable, impermanent. Ear-consciousness.… Nose-consciousness.… Tongue-consciousness.… Body-consciousness.… Mind-consciousness is inconstant, changeable, impermanent.…

Contact: Phassa Sutta

(SN 25:4) Near Sāvatthī. “Meditators, eye-contact is inconstant, changeable, impermanent. Ear-contact.… Nose-contact.… Tongue-contact.… Body-contact.… Mind-contact is inconstant, changeable, impermanent… 

Feeling: Vedanā Sutta

(SN 25:5) Near Sāvatthī. “Meditators, feeling born of eye-contact is inconstant, changeable, impermanent. Feeling born of ear-contact.… Feeling born of nose-contact.… Feeling born of tongue-contact.… Feeling born of body-contact.… Feeling born of mind-contact is inconstant, changeable, impermanent…

Perception: Saññā Sutta

(SN 25:6) Near Sāvatthī. “Meditators, perception of forms is inconstant, changeable, impermanent. Perception of sounds.… Perception of fragrances.… Perception of tastes.… Perception of tactile sensations.… Perception of ideas [mind objects] is inconstant, changeable, impermanent.…

Intention: Cetanā Sutta

(SN 25:7) Near Sāvatthī. “Meditators, intention [motivation] for forms is inconstant, changeable, impermanent. Intention for sounds.… Intention for fragrances.… Intention for tastes.… Intention for tactile sensations.… Intention for ideas [mind objects] is inconstant, changeable, impermanent.…

Craving: Taṇhā Sutta

(SN 25:8) Near Sāvatthī. “Meditators, craving for forms is inconstant, changeable, impermanent. Craving for sounds.… Craving for fragrances.… Craving for tastes.… Craving for tactile sensations.… Craving for ideas [mind objects] is inconstant, changeable, impermanent.…

Elements: Dhātu Sutta

(SN 25:9) Near Sāvatthī. “Meditators, the earth element [quality, characteristic of materiality] is inconstant, changeable, impermanent. The water element.… The fire element.… The wind element.… The space [delineating solid objects] element.… The consciousness element is inconstant, changeable, impermanent.…

Aggregates: Khandha Sutta

(SN 25.10) Near Sāvatthī. “Meditators, form is inconstant, changeable, impermanent. Feeling.… Perception.… Mental formations (fabrications).… Consciousness is inconstant, changeable, impermanent. More

Meditation on ultimate objects (Beth Upton)

Beth Upton (bethupton.com); Dhr. Seven (ed.), Wisdom Quarterly

Discerning materiality near and far

(Beth Upton) July 17, 2023. Here Beth Upton (formerly the British Buddhist nun in Burma Sayalay Anutara) speaks about discerning ultimate-materiality (rupa) near and far. This means seeing kalapas (the "particles of perception") directly. To do so, jhanas ("meditative absorptions") are necessary because these states of stillness and calm purify and intensify the mind, enabling it to see what was never previously possible to see.

The final stage of the discernment of materiality to check for completeness

These videos are only made possible by generous donations. Please consider supporting Upton's work: bethupton.com/support-my-work. Become a patron: patreon.com/bethupton. Find out more about her work at bethupton.com.

Shot by Alexis P.N. @GuavaFunk: laffcotchtv Contact: alexispn777@gmail.com.

The masculine and feminine (sex) kalapas

What about transgender people, what kind of sex kalapas do they have, masculine or feminine? Is it the same as XY and XX chromosomes? Since they are born of karma (deeds in past lives), why is it someone is born one sex but uncomfortable or unhappy in it? Such unhappiness with encouragement leads to transitioning and de-transitioning, so did Nature make a mistake in assigning or designating us one sex at birth? Contact Beth Upton via Zoom interview, her monthly full moon uposatha gatherings open to all, or group Q&A to find out as others discuss their practice.

Scientists discover universe's missing matter

Jaskiran Kaur (ibtimes.co.uk, 5/28/20); Pat Macpherson, CC Liu (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

Scientists discover universe's "missing matter"

Soon we will reveal ourselves and explain.

Astronomers have discovered the normal missing matter of the universe they have been looking for for 30 years.

Our universe harbors several mysteries that scientists have been trying to resolve for centuries. Cosmic matter and its activities are still beyond our understanding.

However, in the latest development, astronomers may have solved one of the biggest puzzles of the universe found the universe's "missing matter."

Where has the "matter" (rupa) been hiding?

For decades, astronomers have been aware of the existence of "missing matter" of the universe.

However, the origin and source of the strange aspect of the universe remained still undetected until now. The international team of researchers has now discovered from where the missing baryonic matter is located.

Now, the researchers used mysterious fast radio bursts also known as FRBs — powerful millisecond bursts of radio pulse caused by mysteriously occurring high-energy astrophysical process — to find the matter, what causes them and where it can be traced back to.

Square pegs: if only we could box space bubbles

The scientists have now discovered all of the missing "normal" matter in the vast space between stars and galaxies. The results of the study were published in a journal named Nature.

According to the report, the astronomers have been aware of the missing material for 30 years.

"We know from measurements of the Big Bang how much matter there was at the beginning of the Universe," Lead author Associate Professor Jean-Pierre Macquart, from the Curtin University node of the International Centre for Radio Astronomy Research (ICRAR) said in a news release statement.

But when we looked out into the present Universe, we couldn't find half of what should be there. It was a bit of an embarrassment. More

Upagupta: "Worship" the Buddha?

Tenzin Youdon (OneIndia via Buddhist Channel, Sept. 3, 2008) corrected, expanded, and interpreted by Dhr. Seven, Ashley Wells, Amber Larson (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly Wiki edit

Mara is more Lucifer than Satan

NEW DELHI, India - This story will help us understand why the Buddha image is important to inspire and to recollect the Buddha, but not as a form of "worship."

This story is found in the Buddhist literature but not in the Pali language texts.

 

A few hundred years after the final passing into nirvana of the Buddha, there was a devout monk in India named Ven. Upagupta. He was the most popular preacher of the time. Whenever he gave a sermon on the Buddha's Dharma, the Teachings of the Buddha, thousands of people would flock to listen to his preaching.

• 

  Who is Upagupta? Ven. Upagupta (circa 3rd century BCE) was an Indian Buddhist monk. According to stories in the Sanskrit text Ashokavadana, he was the spiritual teacher of the Mauryan Buddhist, the Emperor of India Ashoka. Ven. Upagupta's teacher was Ven. Sanavasi, who was a disciple of Ven. Ānanda, the Buddha's cousin and personal attendant. Due to the absence of his name from Theravada Pali literature, it is assumed that Ven. Upagupta was a Sarvāstivāda (an extinct Buddhist school) monk. In Southeast Asian countries and Bangladesh, Ven. Upagupta is a great cult figure (Relics of the Buddha, John S. Strong, 2007, p. 145). In Burma he is known as Shin Upagutta. In the Lokapannatti Ven. Upagupta is sent by King Ashoka to tame Mara during an enshrinement ceremony festival. Afterwards, he asks Mara to take the material form (rupakaya, physical shape) of the historical Buddha so that everyone at the festival can see what the Buddha looked like (John S. Strong, The Legend of King Aśoka: A Study and Translation of the Aśokāvadāna, 1989). In literature: Rabindranath Tagore in his poem "Abhisar" collected in Katha relates a story of Ven. Upagupta. In the story, in the month of Sraban, the monk was sleeping in Mathura when Vasavdatta, the city's diva or courtesan, trips over and notices the monk. Enchanted by his handsome appearance, Vasavdatta invites him to go with her to her house. But Ven. Upagupta tells her that he cannot go with her at this point. But when the time comes, he will go. After seven months, in the month of Chaitra, the city folks go to a festival in the forest. Alone in the city, Ven. Upagupta goes beyond the precincts and finds Vasavdatta severely deformed by a disease with pustules covering her body. The city people had cast her out of the city's wall in disgust. The monk nurses her with care -- telling her that the time for their togetherness has come (Rabindranath Tagore, অভিসার). Tagore adopted the story with some changes from the Vodhisattwavadanakalpalata by Kshemendra (translated by Nobin Chandra Das, 1895, Calcutta), the 10th-11th century Kashmiri poet.

Mara as Kamadeva (Eros, Cupid)

One day Mara, the tempter, became jealous of Ven. Upagupta's popularity. Mara knew that Upagupta's popularity was helping spread the Teachings of the Buddha. He was unhappy to see the words of Buddha filling the minds and hearts of the people.

So he used a cunning method to influence the people. He made a plan to stop the people from listening to Ven. Upagupta's sermons.

 

One day, as Ven. Upagupta began his sermon, Mara organized an alluring drama next to the place where Ven. Upagupta was teaching.

 
A beautiful stage show suddenly appeared. It had pretty dancing girls and lively musicians. The people soon forgot about the sermon and crossed over to see Mara's show and enjoy the performances.

Ven. Upagupta watched the people slowly drift away then he decided to join them. After sitting with the crowd, he decided to teach Mara a lesson.

When the performance ended, Ven. Upagupta presented Mara with a garland of flowers.

 

"You have organized a wonderful performance," Ven. Upagupta said.

 

Mara was, of course, happy and proud of his achievement. He gladly accepted the flower garland from Ven. Upagupta and held his head up high. Suddenly it happened that the garland changed into a snake-like coil. Slowly the coil tightened until it choked Mara's neck.
 

So painful was the coil gripping his neck that Mara tried to pull it off. But no matter how hard he pulled, he could not take the coil off his neck. He decided to ask help from Sakka, King of the Devas (minor gods) to remove the coil. But Sakka could not remove it.

"I cannot remove this coil," admitted Sakka. "Go see Maha Brahma [Great God/Great Supreme]," he advised, "who is the powerful one."  So Mara went to see Maha Brahma and asked his help, but he also could not do anything. "I cannot remove this coil," admitted Maha Brahma. "The only one who can remove this coil is the person who put it on you." So Mara had to go back to Ven. Upagupta.
 

"Please remove this coil; it is so painful!" he begged.
 

"Yes, I can do that but only under two conditions," said Ven. Upagupta. "The first is that you must promise to no more disturb Buddhist devotees in the future.

"The second is that you show me the real image of the Buddha. For I know that you have seen him on many occasions, but I have never seen him. I would like to see the real Buddha image exactly like him, with the special 32 characteristics of his physical body."
 

Mara was overjoyed. He agreed to Ven. Upagupta's conditions. "But one stipulation," pleaded Mara. "If I change myself into the image of the Buddha, you must promise that you will not worship me, for I am not a holy person like you."
 

"I will not worship you," promised Ven. Upagupta.

One of the earliest depictions (Gandhara)

Suddenly Mara transformed [shape shifted] himself into an image that looked exactly like the Buddha. When Ven. Upagupta saw the image, his mind was filled with great inspiration. Profound devotion arose in his heart. With folded hands, he at once paid homage to the Buddha figure.
 

"You're breaking your promise!" shouted Mara. "You promised you would not worship me! Now why do you pay homage to me?"
 

"I am not worshiping you. You have to understand. I am paying homage to the Buddha," explained Ven. Upagupta.

Explanation

The next Buddha's physical form

From this story we can understand why the Buddha image is important. It inspires us and helps us  recall (buddha-anussati) the many sublime qualities of the Buddha, bringing them and him to mind so that we can venerate that ideal, which is our own potential and possibility for enlightenment and complete liberation, bodhi and nirvana. Buddhists do not "worship" the material symbol or forms that only represent the Buddha. We express confidence (saddha) and joyfully pay our respects to the Buddha, who alone in the world made known the Middle Way, the path to complete freedom, to going beyond all suffering. More

Would the Buddha carry an iPad? (Yes, if...)

Xochitl, Wisdom Quarterly; Bangkok Post via John Brownlee (cultofmac.com), Nov. 9, 2012

What is it with Thailand, the Apple Corporation, and Buddhist temples lately? First, abbot of the Dhammakaya temple said that former Apple CEO Steve Jobs is kickin’ it in the afterlife as a mid-level deva with his own celestial palace in space. Now a temple in Thailand’s Chom Phra district has decided that the Buddha carries around an iPad with him wherever he goes.

  

Ban Jabok-Ban Nong Leg temple in Thailand’s northeastern Surin province is now trying to send a message by making the Buddha hold an iPad in their next statue, says The Bangkok Post:

Traditionally, Phra Sivali, a pose of the Buddha, carries a walking stick, an umbrella, and a bowl, and is worshipped for those seeking love, luck, and prosperity.

But the one to be built by the temple will have one hand carrying the umbrella -- and the other one clutches one of the innovative bestsellers launched by the late Steve Jobs instead of the stick.

[WQ: This is quite incorrect. Venerable (Phra) Sivali is not "a pose"; he was a famous enlightened Buddhist monk, now a popular and powerful source of veneration because of his incredibly good karma and resultant good luck. He easily obtained all he wanted. Many Thai good luck charms and amulets are based on him as a well known arahant. Theravada Buddhism does not have many such prosperity figures, so Southeast Asia loves Great Sivali. Therefore, this entire Bangkok Post story is misleading: It will not be "the Buddha" holding a posh iPad, a modern symbol of abundance and cool, but Sivali.]

This might seem like an attention-grabbing gimmick, and maybe it kind of is. But the message the temple wants to send is good and forward-facing. They want to stress that monks need to embrace the technology of the modern world in getting their message across:
  

“Monks have to catch up with the changes and use those gadgets, such as the iPad, to lure the [younger] generation to the temple. Monks can use them to teach Dhamma to those who live their life with new communication technologies,” a temple spokesman said.

Apple CEO reborn in space?
Seven Dharmachari and Amber Dorrian, Wisdom Quarterly (COMMENTARY)

Bright golden complexion of the Buddha entering nirvana, Thailand (Luped/flickr.com)

  
Would a Buddha statue carry an iPad? Yes, if... it were in Thailand. The Buddha himself, not so much. In his day he delighted in letting go of those things which are powerful sources of grasping and clinging in the world.

In his day he instructed his disciples in pursuing the joy and liberation that comes from letting go of impermanent, unsatisfactory, impersonal things and, moreover, the personal phenomena we cling to as ourselves. That can only be let go of through wisdom, as insight uproots what is otherwise impossible to drop.

But Thailand's massive lay meditation movement, known as Dhammakaya ("body of the Dharma"), is kidding about Steve Jobs in "heaven," right?

Buddhism is atheistic? No There is no all-producing creator God; there are many gods (brahmas), many of whom are creative and powerful. Buddhism is scientific? Maybe. It is certainly the spiritual tradition most consistent and amenable to science. Buddhism is nihilistic? No.
  
Unlike modern nerds who think or hope or fear everything ends at death, that's not what happens. Conventionally speaking, life carries on like nothing happened. Ultimately speaking, "we" are dying from moment to moment and do not need to wait for bodily collapse/death to start crying about it or feeling relieved.

"Everything (all conditioned phenomena) is hurtling towards destruction; work out your liberation with diligence," the historical Buddha is reputed to have said (Mahaparinibbana Sutra, DN 16). These were his last words before passing into final nirvana. The fully enlightened do not die, because "death" entails being reborn (as well as currently existing in some ultimate sense). But we do die, conventionally speaking. And Steve Jobs has. With the coming together of the aggregates, there is renewed-becoming an instant later.
  
And there are many worlds in space to be reborn in. "Space" (akasha) to the ancients was called "sky." That "celestial" world above is the endless blue that goes to black nightly. There are many levels superior to the human plane. It is not too difficult to be reborn into these worlds of devas ("shining ones"), which are increasingly more subtle and refined, brilliant and long-lived. The first two "heavens" are far more advanced technologically and closely related to this world. The proof, the scientific evidence?

They can be seen now before dying. Because the knowledge is filtered and kept from us does not mean it is concealed form all scientists. And when they become whistleblowers telling us what they've seen and worked on, the knowledge-filterers tell us they're bonkers and not to be listened to. There are two ways to see, internally and externally. The first is harder but more convincing; the second is tough but will leave one feeling bonkers.
  
(What is it? Get a job in a scientific field in academia or the private sector then get recruited to work on black budget project, top secret stuff. Go to Washington through underground highspeed trains through tunnels beneath this country and scattered around the planet, or to Area 51, or Dreamland, or the Skunkworks, or any other secret site).

The first is developing insight (vipassana) and wisdom (prajna). This does not come from studying and thinking, but from intensive serenity-concentration and mindfulness-contemplation. Good luck. It takes effort. So for everyone who would rather study, the texts are there. Drink deep, for a little knowledge is a dangerous thing.

We won't like the answer we see; it's too much like the Christianity we laugh at as moronic and senseless. The truth is more mystic than systematic. But Buddhist practice is great for being systematic resulting in mysticism, rather than mysticism resulting in confusion.

(Dhammakaya International)

All religious traditions teach something worthwhile. It is not their fault if we do not understand what they are trying to say. The shamans were right, the mystics were onto something. But how do we get from here to there? There's an eightfold path that lays out the basics. And there is a very detailed 37 Requisites of Enlightenment that lays bare all the Buddha taught as necessary for seeing and experiencing enlightenment in this very life.

Steve Jobs in a heaven (akasha deva world)? It could be, but we doubt it. After selling millions of human beings out to the monsters on the planet who would spy on everyone, control us, damage our DNA, entrance us, lull us into sleep, enslave us, wipe us out? If he was a man caught up in his work, obsessed with innovation, okay. Great.

But if he was a man who sold the world for earthly success and fame, then... It doesn't look good for him. A "bad" person can go to a heaven. Christianity understands this, but Christians don't. It is not by being forgiven or absolved for our karma. It is by being fortunate at the moment of passing from this life to the next, by having a skillful, useful, lovely act (deed, karma, intention, will, fruition, impulsion) come up for us.

That will be a lot easier to do if we begin to calm our minds/hearts now and store up many more beneficial acts than detrimental ones. Why do harm when it only comes back around to us to harm us? What did Jobs do? What else did he do? He surely did terrible things (just ask the FBI and CIA and NSA). But all his hands toting iProducts love him, too. Look, there's a Buddha statue holding one!

So if he did acts motivated by nongreed, nonhatred/fear, nondelusion, then he is quite possibly in a better place. These heavens are not permanent, but they are much longer-lived than this human realm. There are other human and human-like realms, too. Here is a simplification that sounds an awful lot like Christianity and even Islam, like what shamans see and rabbis teach. Rather than laugh, ask: In what way is this true, too? More (with insert photos explained for those activating Google Translate)

Elusive "Antimatter" trapped in Lab

LiveScience.com (June 6, 2011) According to the laws of physics, the world should not exist. To explain why we're here, scientists are re-creating the universe's fiery beginnings by pitting matter against antimatter and watching them annihilate (popsci.com).

Antimatter, an elusive type of matter [Buddhist, rupa] that's rare in the universe, has now been trapped for more than 16 minutes -- an eternity in particle physics.

In fact, scientists who've been trapping antihydrogen atoms at the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) in Geneva say isolating the exotic particles has become so routine that they expect to soon begin experiments on this rare substance.

Antimatter is like a mirror image of matter. For every matter particle (a hydrogen atom, for example), a matching antimatter particle is thought to exist (in this case, an antihydrogen atom) with the same mass, but the opposite charge.

"We've trapped antihydrogen atoms for as long as 1,000 seconds, which is forever" in the world of high-energy particle physics, said Joel Fajans, a University of California, Berkeley professor of physics who is a faculty scientist at California's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and a member of the ALPHA (Antihydrogen Laser Physics Apparatus) experiment at CERN.

All matter (gross and fine, sensual and supersensual) is subordinate to mind; yet, mind and matter are interdependent everywhere except the four immaterial (arupa) planes, which are mind only. See Buddhist cosmology's 31 Planes of Existence.

Trapping antimatter is difficult, because when it comes into contact with matter, the two annihilate each other. So a container for antimatter can't be made of regular matter, but is usually formed with magnetic fields. More

Strange Quarks and Muons, Oh my! Nature's tiniest particles dissected
Wacky Physics: The coolest little particles in nature
Twisted Physics: 7 mind-blowing findings

Miracle Hearts and Bodies

• VIDEO: Animation illustrates situs inversus

• Rare heart transplant for man with reversed organs

• Bodies built backward

• Medical mystery: born with heart outside body

Seismic wave disturbing whales

PARIS (AFP) – Seismic surveys used for oil and gas prospecting on the sea floor are a disturbance for the world's largest animal and one of its rarest species, the blue whale, biologists reported on Wednesday. More>>

• Ohio couple giving up baby after embryo clinic mix-up

Is Time Real?

Yes. Therefore, there is no time to delay. Enlightenment (the realization of the Truth that sets one free) is easy. It can be accomplished in three steps:

• Freedom from remorse (blamelessness, ahimsa, sila)
• Concentration (samadhi in terms of jhana) based on a clear conscience
• Insight (examining rupa-nama: ultimate materiality and mentality)

This path to freedom from suffering -- nirvana, liberation, emancipation, salvation -- is possible because the Dharma still exists in the world. It is extremely rare that the Dharma is present here at all. How much time does anyone have?

Time

(Pink Floyd)

.

Ticking away the moments that make up a dull day

You fritter and waste the hours in an offhand way.

Kicking around on a piece of ground in your home town

Waiting for someone or something to show you the way.

.

Tired of lying in the sunshine staying home to watch the rain.

You are young and life is long and there is time to kill today.

And then one day you find ten years have got behind you.

No one told you when to run, you missed the starting gun.

.

So you run and you run to catch up with the sun but it's sinking

Racing around to come up behind you again.

The sun is the same in a relative way but you're older,

Shorter of breath and one day closer to death.

.

Every year is getting shorter never seem to find the time.

Plans that either come to naught or half a page of scribbled lines

Hanging on in quiet desperation is the English way

The time is gone, the song is over,

.

Thought I'd something more to say.

"Scientists prolong 2008 with 'leap second'"

AT THE GREENWICH PRIME MERIDIAN, England – Eager to say goodbye to the worst economic year since the Great Depression? You'll have to wait a second.

That's because the custodians of time are preparing to tack a "leap second" onto the clock on Wednesday to account for the minute slowing of the Earth's rotation — meaning champagne toasts and Auld Lang Synes will have to come a second late.

The leap second has been used sporadically at the Royal Observatory at Greenwich since 1972, an adjustment that has kept Greenwich Mean Time the internationally agreed time standard. More>>

VIDEO: 2008 will be an extra-long year (AP)