Same, But Different
In the Study and Practice class I’ll be teaching next month on the Satipatthana Sutta, I’ll use Bhikkhu Sujato’s relatively new translation of this foundational text as well as the more familiar translations by Bhikkhu Bodhi, Bhikkhu Analayo, Thanissaro Bhikkhu, and others.
I like them all. Of course, they each have their pluses and minuses — but I do like the relative plain-spoken-ness of this new one, plus the fact that it uses of non-gendered pronouns.
Here’s Bhikkhu Bodhi’s familiar translation of the opening section of the sutta (MN10), which he titles “The Foundations of Mindfulness“:
Thus have I heard. On one occasion the Blessed One was living in the Kuru country where there was a town of the Kurus named Kammāsadhamma. There he addressed the bhikkhus thus: “Bhikkhus.”—“Venerable sir,” they replied. The Blessed One said this:
“Bhikkhus, this is the direct path for the purification of beings, for the surmounting of sorrow and lamentation, for the disappearance of pain and grief, for the attainment of the true way, for the realization of Nibbāna—namely, the four foundations of mindfulness.
“What are the four? Here, bhikkhus, a bhikkhu abides contemplating the body as a body, ardent, fully aware, and mindful, having put away covetousness and grief for the world. He abides contemplating feelings as feelings, ardent, fully aware, and mindful, having put away covetousness and grief for the world. He abides contemplating mind as mind, ardent, fully aware, and mindful, having put away covetousness and grief for the world. He abides contemplating mind-objects as mind-objects, ardent, fully aware, and mindful, having put away covetousness and grief for the world.
Here’s Bhikkhu Sujato’s translation, which he titles “Mindfulness Meditation“:
So I have heard. At one time the Buddha was staying in the land of the Kurus, near the Kuru town named Kammāsadamma. There the Buddha addressed the mendicants: “Mendicants!” “Venerable sir,” they replied. The Buddha said this:
“Mendicants, the four kinds of mindfulness meditation are the path to convergence. They are in order to purify sentient beings, to get past sorrow and crying, to make an end of pain and sadness, to complete the procedure, and to realize extinguishment.
What four? It’s when a mendicant meditates by observing an aspect of the body—keen, aware, and mindful, rid of desire and aversion for the world. They meditate observing an aspect of feelings—keen, aware, and mindful, rid of desire and aversion for the world. They meditate observing an aspect of the mind—keen, aware, and mindful, rid of desire and aversion for the world. They meditate observing an aspect of principles—keen, aware, and mindful, rid of desire and aversion for the world.
***
Click here for the full translation of MN10 by Bhikkhu Bodhi. Click here for the full translation by Bhikkhu Sujato.
Interested in taking the class? Email me here.
Introducing: Study and Practice Class
Beginning March 5, I will offer a 6-week Study and Practice class on the Buddha’s foundational instructions for meditation practice — the Satipatthana Sutta.
Although not required reading, we will use Bhikkhu Analayo’s Satipatthana Meditation: A Practice Guide as our reference text.
This is an intermediate-level class, suitable for practitioners who are interested in going beyond the basics of Mindfulness of Breathing.
The course will include instruction in:
* Mindfulness of Body (including Breathing and Four Elements contemplation)
* Mindfulness of Feeling Tone (Pleasant, Unpleasant, Neutral)
* Mindfulness of Mind States (Thoughts and Emotions)
* Mindfulness of Categories of Experience (Hindrances and Enlightenment Factors)
***
When: Tuesday evenings, 7:00 pm to 8:30 pm, March 5-April 9
Where: First Unitarian Church of St. Louis, 5007 Waterman
What: Each session will include a silent 30-minute sit as well as meditation instructions, discussion, and Q&A.
Cost: The teachings will be offered on a dana (donation) basis, but there is a $20 fee to register.
Interested? Email me here.
***
My teaching credentials: I have completed four years of training through Spirit Rock, where I am certified as a Community Dharma Leader. I’ve practiced in the Western Insight tradition for 20 years with a variety of teachers including Jack Kornfield, Joseph Goldstein, and Sharon Salzberg — and Bhikkhu Analayo. I’ve spent more than 450 days on silent retreat including several 1- and 2-month intensive retreats in the U.S., South Africa, and Burma (Myanmar). My primary teacher is Phillip Moffitt.
In Conversation
The most recent newsletter from the Barre Center for Buddhist Studies features an interview with Lila Kate Wheeler (one of my mentors) and Lama Rod Owens (co-author of Radical Dharma), who will be teaching a course together next month titled: Satipatthana in Dialogue with Suffering and Oppression. (I’ll be taking the course, so stay tuned!)
In the article, the interviewer asks about the idea of the course and what it will cover.
Lila responds:
“We will practice the Satipatthana Sutta’s four frameworks – body, feeling tones, mind and liberation – as a lens to focus and look into the roots of suffering and relief. We will also represent contemporary notions of justice, like intersectionality…. As the course title indicates we’ll put the traditional teaching and contemporary understandings into conversation with each other.
“My late Burmese meditation master, Sayadaw U Pandita, told me at the end of an intensive loving kindness (metta) retreat: Metta cannot remain as an internal meditation, it is not strong enough to be called metta until it is completed with acts of body and speech. Mindfulness and wisdom, too, are incomplete until they are practiced in visible ways…”
Lama Rod adds:
“I believe that we are desperate in our community for dharma teaching to be linked directly to how dharma should be practiced in the world. It’s nice to learn metta but what does that have to do with being called a derogatory name on the subway? How can I call on goodness and positive goodwill when I am being threatened and especially when I am pissed off?
“I am always having to practice in this way because as a black man in American society, I have a higher risk of facing unjustified violence at even given time. I need my dharma practice to meet the anxiety of what it means to be embodied in this way in this given time.”
Lila continues:
“In our contemporary context, both retreat and daily life instructions teach mindfulness as an internal practice. Its benefits are mapped by MRI and singular brains are called outstanding or abnormally wonderful or just normally messy. This leads us to feel as if the individual were the context for examination.
“But a fuller practice of sati was originally and beautifully mapped out by the Buddha in the Satipatthana Sutta — the Discourse on the Four Foundations of Mindfulness — to include being aware of the bodies, feeling tones, minds and liberation internally, externally, and both. This is very rich territory that hasn’t been explored enough.”
Lama Rod explains:
“To practice an awareness of suffering we must be willing to turn our attention to the reality that what we enjoy comes at the cost of marginalizing others. This is an insight into the nature of interrelatedness as well as karma. Compassion or karuna reminds us of the suffering of others.
“I hope in this retreat that reminding can be further directed towards helping us understand that what we take for granted as being normal often comes at a cost to others. If we can learn to soften our hearts some then we can make more room in reducing as much harm as possible and begin to share more resources and make more room for others.
***
For the full interview, click here.
Monthly Mindfulness
*** INTRODUCING: MONTHLY MINDFULNESS ***
Beginning Nov 5, I will be offering Instructions in Mindfulness Meditation on the first Sunday of every month, from 1:30 pm to 2:30 pm, at Solar Yoga, 6002 Pershing, 63112.
The class is suitable for beginners as well as anyone who’d like personalized guidance in mindfulness meditation.
This is a drop-in class. It is offered on a donation (dana) basis. No need to register.
*** My credentials: I have practiced Mindfulness/Insight meditation since 1998 with many, many teachers including Jack Kornfield, Joseph Goldstein, and Sharon Salzberg. I have sat more than 400 retreat nights, including one- and two-month retreats in the U.S., South Africa, and Burma. I am also a graduate of the Dedicated Practitioner and Community Dharma Leader training programs at Spirit Rock. My primary teacher is Phillip Moffitt. ***
For more information, email Jan at [email protected]
Buddha Comes to Dogtown
It’s a long story, but just let me say: I am thrilled to announce that this fabulous Buddha statue, which used to reside at MacroSun (on Washington Avenue), has now come to live at my house (in Dogtown). I am SO HAPPY. And now that I’ve got such an auspicious space to meet, I’m going to starting working on organizing a new dharma discussion and study group! Stay tuned.
Mindfulness 101: September Session
I am delighted to announce that I will be offering a September Session of the short course on Mindfulness Meditation that I offered in July.
The scope of this will course will be the same as the July session, but you are welcome to attend again if you’d like — which is really an excellent idea, since starting over is a big part of the practice!
This is an introductory course suitable for beginners as well as anyone who’d like personalized guidance in the basic instructions for mindfulness meditation.
Schedule:
Sunday, Sept 10: Mindfulness of Body
Sunday, Sept 17: Mindfulness of Breathing
Sunday, Sept 24: Mindfulness of Thoughts and Emotions
Place:
Solar Yoga, 6002 Pershing, 63112
Time:
2:00 to 3:00 pm
The course will be offered on a donation basis. It’s best to attend all three session, but it’s also OK to drop in for just one or two.
If you plan to attend, please email Jan here.
Go-To Guy
Guy Armstrong is one of my favorites. He was one of the teachers I met with one-on-one every week during my first long retreat (6-weeks at IMS in 2013) and also during the first half of the 2-month retreat I sat this year at Spirit Rock. He’s a member of the Spirit Rock Teachers Council and a guiding teacher at the Insight Meditation Society. (He’s also one of my “go-to” guys when I want a dharma talk I can listen to over and over again — along with Ajahn Sucitto, Phillip Moffitt, Akincano, and maybe one or two others.)
So I am delighted to announce that he’ll be teaching an 8-week online course — Emptiness: A Practical Course for Meditators — which will include live video chats with him. The course is based on his new book, Emptiness: A Practical Guide for Meditators, and will “explore the teachings on emptiness and their application in our ives in a way that makes them practical and accessible.”
It’s a production of Wisdom publications in partnership the Barre Center for Buddhist Studies. The course begins Sept 11. If you register before Aug 5, the cost is $149. ($199 after Aug 5) Click here for more info.
Mindfulness 101: Summer Session
I am delighted to announce that, due to popular demand, there will be a July Session of the short course on Mindfulness Meditation that I will be offering in September. The scope of both courses will be the same, but you are welcome to attend both if you’d like — which is actually an excellent idea, since starting over is a big part of the practice!
This is an introductory course suitable for beginners or for anyone who’d like personalized guidance in the basic instructions for mindfulness meditation.
Schedule:
Sunday, July 16: Mindfulness of Body
Sunday, July 23: Mindfulness of Breathing
Sunday, July 30: Mindfulness of Thoughts and Emotions
Place:
Solar Yoga, 6002 Pershing, 63112
Time:
2:00 to 3:00 pm
The course will be offered on a donation basis. It’s best to attend all three sessions, but it’s also OK to drop in for just one or two.
If you plan to attend, please email Jan here.