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Is there a way that's according to the Suttas whereby a lay person can actually practice successfully towards the stream-entry or higher? ___________________________________ The books mentioned in the video discuss the historical differences between the Suttas and the later Commentaries and Abhidhammas, the original jhana practice taught by the Buddha, and later yogic-style concentration practices: "Early Buddhist Meditation: The Four Jhanas as the Actualization of Insight" by Keren Arbel "Reexamining Jhana: Towards a Critical Reconstruction of Early Buddhist Soteriology" by Grzegorz Polak (https://www.academia.edu/34093551/Reexamining_Jhana_Towards_a_Critical_Reconstruction_of_Early_Buddhist_Soteriology) "Nikaya Buddhism and Early Chan: A Different Meditative Paradigm" by Grzegorz Polak ___________________________________ @14:48 - A mistake, it wasn't Mahasi's teacher, but the teacher of Ledi Sayadaw called Hpo Hlaing. For further reading of some works that unintentionally reveal implicit esoteric, yogic, and Abhidhammic views that underlie modern Theravada, see: "Kate Crosby - Esoteric Theravada: The Story of the Forgotten Meditation Tradition of Southeast Asia" "Kamala Tiyavanich - Forest Recollections: Wandering Monks in Twentieth Century Thailand" "P.L. Dhar - Thai Forest Tradition and Advaita-Vedanta" ____________________________________ If you wish to support the Hillside Hermitage Sangha and this channel you are very welcome to do so via: https://www.hillsidehermitage.org/support-us/
Since the podcast published earlier this year, Madison's inbox has been filled with emails. Some were from former volunteers at the Goenka network who wished to speak out. In this bonus episode of The Retreat, they pull back the curtain on why they believe some people are not being supported when they come on retreats and find themselves psychologically unraveling.Translations of Sayagyi U Ba Khin's discourses from Daniel M Stuart and Swe Swe Mon can be found in the paper: Local Cure, Global Chant: Perfomring Theravedic Awakening in the Footsteps of Ledi Sayadaw. For support or more information about adverse meditation experiences, take a look at the Cheetah House website.If you are in need of urgent mental health support, please contact your local emergency services or reach out to a mental health helpline, such as the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline in the US, or Samaritans in the UK.Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Rev. Dhammabodhi presents and overview of the Mahasi Sayadaw vipassana lineage, the Buddhist Publication Society, the Ledi Sayadaw vipassana lineage, and the Thai Forest Ajahn Mun monastic lineage. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/downwiththedharma/message
Episode #204: Ashin Kovida, a prominent pro-democracy Buddhist monk, shares his remarkable journey from a remote village with no electricity to becoming a fervent advocate for democracy and human rights. His story is one of growth and transformation. He initially questioned foreign political concepts like democracy, and was against Aung San Suu Kyi, but later embraced the ideal of democracy and came to greatly admire her, especially after secretly reading her book Freedom From Fear. He continued to educate himself by listening to BBC and VOA, and engaging in discussions with visiting tourists.Ashin Kovida's deep-rooted belief in the teachings of the Buddha has also led him to challenge the oppressive military regime in Myanmar. He emphasizes the importance of democratic principles and the need for governments to respect the will of the people—and reinforces this argument by referencing stories from the Buddha's life and the core of his spiritual teachings. Ashin Kovida's forward thinking extends to education as well, advocating for a broader curriculum in monastic education, one that includes subjects like math and English as well as Western philosophy and psychology, in order to make Buddhist teachings more relevant to a modern and diverse audience.Ashin Kovida is not shy in offering his criticisms of Burmese monks who align with the regime. He also calls out the role of Western media for focusing on extremist Buddhist messaging while not reporting on the more progressive elements of the Saṅgha.At a time when some wonder where the faith is heading while caught in the current strife, his answer is very clear. “Buddhism doesn't need to go anywhere! Ledi Sayadaw, was a revolutionist,” he asserts, referring to the famous 19th century monk, adding that many at the time accused him of being Communist, so radical were his ideas. “We worry about losing Buddhism, which is against the Buddhist teaching, but we don't need to worry,” he asserts. “Worrying about losing the Buddha's teaching is not the way to the Buddha's teaching! If you want to follow the Buddha's teaching, just practice, that's it!
John compares the theory and practice of Vipassana Meditation as taught by S. N. Goenka from the Ledi Sayadaw lineage to Somatic Experiencing developed by Peter Levine. He talks about them as the process of acceptance in ACT (Acceptance and Commitment Therapy). --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/downwiththedharma/message
"A Brief History of Secular Buddhism For 2,500 years: Buddhist meditation was practiced by monks—these practices are older than Christianity and Islam. Meditation was not generally taught to lay people. 19th century: Buddhism came to the attention of Western intellectuals 1890's-1950's: Buddhist meditation was first taught to laypeople en-mass: Burmese monks: Ledi Sayadaw, Webu Sayadaw and Saya Thetgyi taught meditation to lay meditation teachers such as Sayaguyi U Ba Khin. 1960's: Sayagyi U Ba Khin teaches S.N. Goenka and after 1976 Goenka creates hundreds of secular meditation centers that teach Vipassana a form of mindfulness meditation and proto-Secular Buddhism. 1979: Jon Kabat-Zin founded the Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) program at the University of Massachusetts to treat the chronically ill. 2011: Stephen Batchelor published the book “Buddhist Atheist.” Small local and online Secular Buddhist groups form around the world 2015: Mark W. Gura co-founded the Association of Mindfulness Meditation and Secular Buddhism (AMMSB.org), the first national nonprofit dedicated to Secular Buddhism in the U.S. and he published “Atheist Meditation.” 2016: The Atheist Alliance of America started to inform the atheist community about Secular Buddhism. 2016: With the help of Peter Boghossian and Anthony Magnabosco, the AMMSB adopted the use of Street Epistemology to introduce Secular Buddhism to traditional Buddhists. 2017: With the help of Rebecca Hale and Roy Speckhardt the American Humanist Association and the AMMSB collaborated to further inform the secular humanist and atheist community about Secular Buddhism." --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/antonio-myers4/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/antonio-myers4/support
While those outside of Myanmar following news of the protests have often heard updates about the importance of the Civil Disobedience Movement (CDM), some may still not be clear about its inception and role in the wider protest movement. This episode's guest, a trainer in public sector reform, educates us accordingly. Initially optimistic about the direction of the democratically elected government, her hopes came to a crashing halt on February 1st when the military illegally seized power. Right away, hundreds of civil servants stopped going to work, which ultimately led to the wider protest movement known as “CDM.” Our guest soon found herself thrust into an advisory role, with many of her former trainees asking for advice on what to do. She sought the help of several international lawyers, and passed that information on so those workers could make a more informed decision. At the same time, she also began getting a fund together from friends and supporters that could be used to support any civil servants who decided to join the movement. The movement's success has put our guest in danger because of her involvement. After her home was broken into and searched, she went into hiding. To deal with the enormous her level of stress has been overwhelming, and her refuge in part has been a daily meditation practice according to the teachings of Ledi Sayadaw and Mogok Sayadaw. Although she didn't have a meditation practice before the pandemic, she now finds that this provides much-needed stability to the mind. For those who are inspired to hear about the work our guest is leading, https://insightmyanmar.org/donation (please make a donation) on our site, and indicate you would like these funds to go towards her CDM effort. Support this podcast
The second in a two-part interview, educator and amateur historian Zaw Win Htet continues his stories that weave together his own life, his local region, and some of the most revered Dhamma teachers of 20th century Burma. In this segment, he covers the life and monastery of Mohnyin Sayadaw, the most important monastic disciple of Ledi Sayadaw. He also relays the ancient history of the monkey-run Hpo Win Daung Caves, where ascetics have long come to practice alchemy and where Saya Thet Gyi first applied the vipassana instructions given by Ledi Sayadaw. Finally, Zaw closes the talk on a personal note, discussing his family's involvement in the Ledi Mu organization, which preserves Ledi Sayadaw's teachings across the country. He goes on to describe his own work in establishing the Nat Taing Monastic School, which provides a free education to the village's youth, and his family's long history of caring for foreigners in a country that until only recently had been closed to them. If you would like to support our mission, we welcome your contribution. You may give via Patreon at https://bit.ly/2XDPQJo (https://bit.ly/2XDPQJo), via PayPal at https://bit.ly/2TPPRIV (https://bit.ly/2TPPRIV), by credit card at https://bit.ly/3gBbqGT (https://bit.ly/3gBbqGT), at Go Fund Me at https://bit.ly/2XEjw9c (https://bit.ly/2XEjw9c), or via CashApp or Venmo by searching "Insight Myanmar." Support this podcast
“My grandmother is the main character of this story,” Zaw Win Htet informs us as he begins the interview. An educator and amateur historian, Zaw shares how the bedtime stories she told him every night animated his life's journey of discovery. Combining academic study with oral history, lived experience and a family lore steeped in deep Buddhist faith, Zaw weaves together his own life, his local region, and some of the most revered Dhamma teachers of 20th century Burma. The first of a two-part interview, this one covers such topics as the ancient origins of the Chaung Oo and A Myint villages, the intimate relationship between Zaw's family and the revered Maha Bodhi Ta Htaung Sayadaw, and his grandmother's personal encounters with Ledi Sayadaw. *** If you would like to support our mission, we welcome your contribution. You may give via Patreon, PayPal, Go Fund Me, CashApp, or Venmo; in all cases, simply search “Insight Myanmar.” You may also give by credit card by going to our website, http://www.insightmyanmar.org/donation (www.insightmyanmar.org/donation). Support this podcast
"When Saya Thet was born and growing up few would have dreamt that this small boy from a poor, rural village—who had little education and knew a little Pali—would become the first householder teacher in this tradition since the time of the Buddha." In this video, Patrick Given-Wilson explores the life of Saya Thetgyi who became a critical link between the monk Ven. Ledi Sayadaw and Sayagyi U Ba Khin in helping to establish a tradition of vipassana householder teachers. Download Video (596 MB) Copyright 2018 Dhamma Bhumi, Australia For more information about Vipassana meditation please visit Dhamma.org. Books and audio resources are available for purchase from the Pariyatti bookstore. May all beings be happy!
"Ven. Ledi Sayadaw was the first vipassana teacher that we know of in this tradition in modern times with such detail. His great innovation was to start spreading the actual practice widely and to householders." In this video, Patrick Given-Wilson explores the life of this meditation master and magnificent pariyatti scholar who authored over a hundred expositions on the Dhamma. He was perhaps the most outstanding Buddhist figure of his age. All who have come in contact with the path of Dhamma in recent years owe a great debt of gratitude to this scholarly, saintly monk who was instrumental in reviving the traditional practice of vipassana, making it more available for renunciates and lay people alike. Download Video (690 MB) Copyright 2017 Dhamma Bhumi, Australia For more information about Vipassana meditation please visit Dhamma.org. Books and audio resources are available for purchase from the Pariyatti bookstore. May all beings be happy!
Erik Braun is an Assistant Professor of Religious Studies at University of Oklahoma. He is the author of The Birth of Insight: Meditation, Modern Buddhism, and the Burmese Monk Ledi Sayadaw. In this episode, Erik joins host Vincent Horn to discuss his book and the legacy of Burmese monk Ledi Sayadaw. By connecting the dots between changes in Burmese Buddhism with the political disruption caused by the British takeover of Burma in the late 19th Century, Erik describes Ledi’s role in bringing insight meditation practice to the modern world. This is part one of a two part series. Listen to part two: The Making of a Mass Meditation Movement. Episode Links: The Birth of Insight: Meditation, Modern Buddhism, and the Burmese Monk Ledi Sayadaw ( http://amzn.to/1JMLYFM ) Erik Braun on Twitter ( https://twitter.com/erkbraun )
Erik Braun‘s recent book, The Birth of Insight: Meditation, Modern Buddhism, and the Burmese Monk Ledi Sayadaw (University of Chicago Press, 2013), examines the spread of Burmese Buddhist meditation practices during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries and the social, political, and intellectual historical contexts that gave rise to this development. Braun accomplishes this by focusing on the role that the Burmese monk Ledi Sayadaw (1846-1923) played in this movement, drawing primarily on Ledi Sayadaw’s own writings, three biographies, polemical responses to Ledi Sayadaw’s writings, and contemporaneous periodicals. Central to the book is the importance of the Abhidhamma (Buddhist metaphysics or psychology) in Burmese Buddhist monasticism and, more specifically, the way in which Ledi Sayadaw spread the study of the Abhidhamma among the laity and used it as the foundation for insight meditation. In contrast to many recent proponents of insight meditation (both Asian and not), who emphasize technique at the expense of study and theory, Ledi Sayadaw saw insight meditation and study of the Abhidhamma as an inseparable pair, with the latter serving as a basis for the former. Braun places Ledi Sayadaw’s approach in the larger context of Buddhist and Burmese theories about meditation, exploring the different views on the relationships among samatha (concentration meditation), the jhanas (stages of meditative absorption), insight meditation as direct awareness of sensory and mental experience, and insight meditation as discursive thinking informed by Abhidhammic categories. Exploring the cultural milieu of late nineteenth and early twentieth-century Burma, Braun demonstrates that Ledi Sayadaw exhibits characteristics that we would regard as traditional (e.g., the importance he grants to literary competence, his belief in Buddhist cosmology) as well as those we might think of as modern (e.g., his charismatic style of preaching, his focus on the laity). In addition, as opposed to Buddhist reformers who argued that Buddhism was in fact applicable to and accorded with modernity (being synonymous with the West, in most such cases), Ledi Sayadaw flipped this relationship on its head by asserting that modernity (e.g., Western science) was in agreement with Buddhism. In so doing he avoided the usual contradictions between Buddhism and modernity but without apparently compromising the Buddhist worldview in the process. Braun places Ledi Sayadaw’s thoughts on these matters in the larger historical context of colonialism: Burma was annexed by the British (in three stages: 1826, 1852, 1886) and many Burmese believed that Buddhism’s final days were nigh. Ledi Sayadaw’s theories, then, were in part a response to a new environment in which Buddhist monks were losing their traditional position as educators, and in which the age-old relationship between the sa Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Erik Braun‘s recent book, The Birth of Insight: Meditation, Modern Buddhism, and the Burmese Monk Ledi Sayadaw (University of Chicago Press, 2013), examines the spread of Burmese Buddhist meditation practices during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries and the social, political, and intellectual historical contexts that gave rise to this development. Braun accomplishes this by focusing on the role that the Burmese monk Ledi Sayadaw (1846-1923) played in this movement, drawing primarily on Ledi Sayadaw’s own writings, three biographies, polemical responses to Ledi Sayadaw’s writings, and contemporaneous periodicals. Central to the book is the importance of the Abhidhamma (Buddhist metaphysics or psychology) in Burmese Buddhist monasticism and, more specifically, the way in which Ledi Sayadaw spread the study of the Abhidhamma among the laity and used it as the foundation for insight meditation. In contrast to many recent proponents of insight meditation (both Asian and not), who emphasize technique at the expense of study and theory, Ledi Sayadaw saw insight meditation and study of the Abhidhamma as an inseparable pair, with the latter serving as a basis for the former. Braun places Ledi Sayadaw’s approach in the larger context of Buddhist and Burmese theories about meditation, exploring the different views on the relationships among samatha (concentration meditation), the jhanas (stages of meditative absorption), insight meditation as direct awareness of sensory and mental experience, and insight meditation as discursive thinking informed by Abhidhammic categories. Exploring the cultural milieu of late nineteenth and early twentieth-century Burma, Braun demonstrates that Ledi Sayadaw exhibits characteristics that we would regard as traditional (e.g., the importance he grants to literary competence, his belief in Buddhist cosmology) as well as those we might think of as modern (e.g., his charismatic style of preaching, his focus on the laity). In addition, as opposed to Buddhist reformers who argued that Buddhism was in fact applicable to and accorded with modernity (being synonymous with the West, in most such cases), Ledi Sayadaw flipped this relationship on its head by asserting that modernity (e.g., Western science) was in agreement with Buddhism. In so doing he avoided the usual contradictions between Buddhism and modernity but without apparently compromising the Buddhist worldview in the process. Braun places Ledi Sayadaw’s thoughts on these matters in the larger historical context of colonialism: Burma was annexed by the British (in three stages: 1826, 1852, 1886) and many Burmese believed that Buddhism’s final days were nigh. Ledi Sayadaw’s theories, then, were in part a response to a new environment in which Buddhist monks were losing their traditional position as educators, and in which the age-old relationship between the sa Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Erik Braun‘s recent book, The Birth of Insight: Meditation, Modern Buddhism, and the Burmese Monk Ledi Sayadaw (University of Chicago Press, 2013), examines the spread of Burmese Buddhist meditation practices during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries and the social, political, and intellectual historical contexts that gave rise to this development. Braun accomplishes this by focusing on the role that the Burmese monk Ledi Sayadaw (1846-1923) played in this movement, drawing primarily on Ledi Sayadaw’s own writings, three biographies, polemical responses to Ledi Sayadaw’s writings, and contemporaneous periodicals. Central to the book is the importance of the Abhidhamma (Buddhist metaphysics or psychology) in Burmese Buddhist monasticism and, more specifically, the way in which Ledi Sayadaw spread the study of the Abhidhamma among the laity and used it as the foundation for insight meditation. In contrast to many recent proponents of insight meditation (both Asian and not), who emphasize technique at the expense of study and theory, Ledi Sayadaw saw insight meditation and study of the Abhidhamma as an inseparable pair, with the latter serving as a basis for the former. Braun places Ledi Sayadaw’s approach in the larger context of Buddhist and Burmese theories about meditation, exploring the different views on the relationships among samatha (concentration meditation), the jhanas (stages of meditative absorption), insight meditation as direct awareness of sensory and mental experience, and insight meditation as discursive thinking informed by Abhidhammic categories. Exploring the cultural milieu of late nineteenth and early twentieth-century Burma, Braun demonstrates that Ledi Sayadaw exhibits characteristics that we would regard as traditional (e.g., the importance he grants to literary competence, his belief in Buddhist cosmology) as well as those we might think of as modern (e.g., his charismatic style of preaching, his focus on the laity). In addition, as opposed to Buddhist reformers who argued that Buddhism was in fact applicable to and accorded with modernity (being synonymous with the West, in most such cases), Ledi Sayadaw flipped this relationship on its head by asserting that modernity (e.g., Western science) was in agreement with Buddhism. In so doing he avoided the usual contradictions between Buddhism and modernity but without apparently compromising the Buddhist worldview in the process. Braun places Ledi Sayadaw’s thoughts on these matters in the larger historical context of colonialism: Burma was annexed by the British (in three stages: 1826, 1852, 1886) and many Burmese believed that Buddhism’s final days were nigh. Ledi Sayadaw’s theories, then, were in part a response to a new environment in which Buddhist monks were losing their traditional position as educators, and in which the age-old relationship between the sa Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Erik Braun‘s recent book, The Birth of Insight: Meditation, Modern Buddhism, and the Burmese Monk Ledi Sayadaw (University of Chicago Press, 2013), examines the spread of Burmese Buddhist meditation practices during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries and the social, political, and intellectual historical contexts that gave rise to this development. Braun accomplishes this by focusing on the role that the Burmese monk Ledi Sayadaw (1846-1923) played in this movement, drawing primarily on Ledi Sayadaw’s own writings, three biographies, polemical responses to Ledi Sayadaw’s writings, and contemporaneous periodicals. Central to the book is the importance of the Abhidhamma (Buddhist metaphysics or psychology) in Burmese Buddhist monasticism and, more specifically, the way in which Ledi Sayadaw spread the study of the Abhidhamma among the laity and used it as the foundation for insight meditation. In contrast to many recent proponents of insight meditation (both Asian and not), who emphasize technique at the expense of study and theory, Ledi Sayadaw saw insight meditation and study of the Abhidhamma as an inseparable pair, with the latter serving as a basis for the former. Braun places Ledi Sayadaw’s approach in the larger context of Buddhist and Burmese theories about meditation, exploring the different views on the relationships among samatha (concentration meditation), the jhanas (stages of meditative absorption), insight meditation as direct awareness of sensory and mental experience, and insight meditation as discursive thinking informed by Abhidhammic categories. Exploring the cultural milieu of late nineteenth and early twentieth-century Burma, Braun demonstrates that Ledi Sayadaw exhibits characteristics that we would regard as traditional (e.g., the importance he grants to literary competence, his belief in Buddhist cosmology) as well as those we might think of as modern (e.g., his charismatic style of preaching, his focus on the laity). In addition, as opposed to Buddhist reformers who argued that Buddhism was in fact applicable to and accorded with modernity (being synonymous with the West, in most such cases), Ledi Sayadaw flipped this relationship on its head by asserting that modernity (e.g., Western science) was in agreement with Buddhism. In so doing he avoided the usual contradictions between Buddhism and modernity but without apparently compromising the Buddhist worldview in the process. Braun places Ledi Sayadaw’s thoughts on these matters in the larger historical context of colonialism: Burma was annexed by the British (in three stages: 1826, 1852, 1886) and many Burmese believed that Buddhism’s final days were nigh. Ledi Sayadaw’s theories, then, were in part a response to a new environment in which Buddhist monks were losing their traditional position as educators, and in which the age-old relationship between the sa Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Erik Braun‘s recent book, The Birth of Insight: Meditation, Modern Buddhism, and the Burmese Monk Ledi Sayadaw (University of Chicago Press, 2013), examines the spread of Burmese Buddhist meditation practices during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries and the social, political, and intellectual historical contexts that gave rise to this development. Braun accomplishes this by focusing on the role that the Burmese monk Ledi Sayadaw (1846-1923) played in this movement, drawing primarily on Ledi Sayadaw’s own writings, three biographies, polemical responses to Ledi Sayadaw’s writings, and contemporaneous periodicals. Central to the book is the importance of the Abhidhamma (Buddhist metaphysics or psychology) in Burmese Buddhist monasticism and, more specifically, the way in which Ledi Sayadaw spread the study of the Abhidhamma among the laity and used it as the foundation for insight meditation. In contrast to many recent proponents of insight meditation (both Asian and not), who emphasize technique at the expense of study and theory, Ledi Sayadaw saw insight meditation and study of the Abhidhamma as an inseparable pair, with the latter serving as a basis for the former. Braun places Ledi Sayadaw’s approach in the larger context of Buddhist and Burmese theories about meditation, exploring the different views on the relationships among samatha (concentration meditation), the jhanas (stages of meditative absorption), insight meditation as direct awareness of sensory and mental experience, and insight meditation as discursive thinking informed by Abhidhammic categories. Exploring the cultural milieu of late nineteenth and early twentieth-century Burma, Braun demonstrates that Ledi Sayadaw exhibits characteristics that we would regard as traditional (e.g., the importance he grants to literary competence, his belief in Buddhist cosmology) as well as those we might think of as modern (e.g., his charismatic style of preaching, his focus on the laity). In addition, as opposed to Buddhist reformers who argued that Buddhism was in fact applicable to and accorded with modernity (being synonymous with the West, in most such cases), Ledi Sayadaw flipped this relationship on its head by asserting that modernity (e.g., Western science) was in agreement with Buddhism. In so doing he avoided the usual contradictions between Buddhism and modernity but without apparently compromising the Buddhist worldview in the process. Braun places Ledi Sayadaw’s thoughts on these matters in the larger historical context of colonialism: Burma was annexed by the British (in three stages: 1826, 1852, 1886) and many Burmese believed that Buddhism’s final days were nigh. Ledi Sayadaw’s theories, then, were in part a response to a new environment in which Buddhist monks were losing their traditional position as educators, and in which the age-old relationship between the sa Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices