Satipatthana as defined by Thanissaro Bhikkhu, an abbot in the Thai Forest Tradition. Satipatthana (Pali) is often translated as “foundation of mindfulness,” which gives the impression that it refers to an object of meditation. This impression is reinforced when you see the four satipatthanas listed as body, feelings, mind and mental qualities. But if you look at the [...]
About Thanissaro Bhikkhu
Building Your Mental Muscles
Meditators and musclemen don’t seem to have much in common, but Thanissaro Bhikkhu says meditators can learn a lot from the techniques of strength training. Meditation is the most useful skill you can master. It can bring the mind to the end of suffering, something no other skill can do. But it’s also the subtlest and most demanding skill there is. It requires all the mental [...]
Creating a Good Ground for Meditation
Meditation isn’t a one-way street—it's not like you can just meditate and your life will automatically get better. You have to change the way you live to improve your meditation. Thanissaro Bhikkhu outlines five principles of the ethical, restrained life conducive to meditation practice. Often we like to think that simply by adding meditation to our daily schedule, the [...]
Wisdom Over Justice
Justice is of course a noble goal. But, says monk-scholar Thanissaro Bhikkhu, the Buddha emphasized a different approach to the achievement of harmony in the world. A few years ago, The Onion “reported” on a video released by a Buddhist fundamentalist sect that threatened to unleash waves of peace and harmony across the world, waves that no one could stop or resist. As with [...]
7 Things the Buddha Never Said
The historical Buddha said many things in his long lifetime of teaching. But have you ever heard a supposed Buddha quote and wondered, Did he really say that? Monk Thanissaro Bhikkhu, a trained translator of the Buddha's words, certainly has. Here he reveals seven of many he's found. See if you're not surprised. 1. "Life is suffering." This is one of the Big Lies of [...]
On Thailand’s Late King and the Power of Goodness
Monk-scholar Thanissaro Bhikkhu recalls the life and example of King Bhumibol Adulyadej of Thailand, who died at the age of 88 earlier this month. The Buddha set forth the ideal of a righteous king — a Dhamma-raja — who rules generously for the benefit of his people, in line with the Dhamma, and in return is widely loved by the people he rules. Interestingly, the Buddha never [...]
See Things Clear Through
In this practical and pointed meditation instruction, Upasika Kee Nanayon, the foremost woman dhamma teacher in twentieth-century Thailand, shows us how to combine concentration and clear-seeing to penetrate the "mass of deceit" that is the mind. It’s important that we discuss the steps of the practice in training the mind, for the mind has all sorts of deceptions by which [...]
I Want To Be… Loving
We all want to be loved, yes, but our most heartfelt wish is to love, deeply and universally. If this seems like an unreachable ideal, says Thanissaro Bhikkhu, the place to start—and often the most skillful response—is the simple attitude of goodwill. Love is a word that contains multitudes. It covers some of the finest qualities of the heart—such as the care and attention [...]
Protecting Others by Protecting Goodwill
“You can’t,” says Buddhist monk and teacher Thanissaro Bhikkhu, “let your desire for warm feelings of love and intimacy render you insensitive to what would actually be the most skillful way to promote true happiness for all.” Here he continues his look at what the Buddha actually said about metta – the phrase so often rendered and understood as “lovingkindness” – and why [...]
When Goodwill is Better than Love: The Meaning of “Metta.”
You’ve likely heard of the concept of practicing lovingkindness, a common translation of the word metta. But what if metta and lovingkindness are not quite the same? How could that affect you? Buddhist monk Thanissaro Bhikkhu gets to the original meaning of metta. Ajaan Fuang, my meditation teacher, once discovered that a snake had moved into his room. Every time he came [...]
