In our practice it isn’t necessary to talk of samatha or vipassanā; just call it the practice of Dhamma, that’s enough.
Theravada
Switching on the Light of Awareness, by Ajahn Sumedho
Question: Would you call awareness ‘enlightenment’?
Tittha Sutta: Buddhist Parable of the Blind Men and the Elephant
An allegory on truth and interpretation. A group of six blind men endeavour to describe an elephant.
Two: Questions of monks to their teacher Ajahn Chah
Practice is separate from any posture. It is a matter of directly looking at the mind.
Questions of monks to their teacher Ajahn Chah
Greed and hatred are the same in an Eastern or a Western mind. Suffering and the cessation of suffering are the same for all people.
Vipallasa Sutta: Distortions of the Mind
Sensing no change in the changing, Sensing pleasure in suffering, Assuming “self” where there’s no self…
The teaching grates against our desires, by Ajahn Chah
So, if there’s friction in your practice, then it’s right. If there’s no friction it’s not right, you just eat and sleep as much as you want. When you want to go anywhere or say anything, you just follow your desires. The teaching of the Buddha grates.
People Want the World to be Safe, by Ajahn Sumedho
The Buddha, on the other hand, takes down all the barriers and leaves an empty space. As you let go of your emotional habits you find it is very peaceful, it’s universal, it’s what you really are; you’re not the limitations that you identify with. You are not the human body. What does that mean?
