The Living Word of the Buddha

The Buddha’s Teachings in the Earliest Texts

The Sutta Discovery series by Piya Tan, beginning in 2002, and still going on.

The most direct way to learn Buddhism is to read and live the Pali suttas which contains some of the oldest records we have of the Buddha’s teachings.  As we search these scriptures, we will discover our­selves amidst their stories, teach­ings and practices, and even take a first step towards spiritual awakening.

This series will also help you learn how to learn and master the Pali Canon: to locate suttas, teach­ings and stories, and have an idea of how Suttas are trans­mitted and translated.  Wherever feasible, comparative studies will be made between the Pali, Sanskrit and Chinese (?gama) versions of the suttas. If you can read this message, you are ready to study the Sutta translations. No deep knowledge of Buddhism is needed. [Read on for.... 20 reasons for the SD series.]

USB Flash Drive with TMC logo (33 mm x 16 mm x 4 mm / 5.8 g)

The drive contains Sutta Discovery vols 1-38 & 40b (pdf), sutta teach­ings (MP3 recordings) & books by Piya Tan.

To make an order (by donation), please email: themindingcentre@gmail.com, or call Ratna Lim at hp 8211 0879.

Here is a beautiful way of really living life right now. You need nothing at all except simply sit quietly by yourself wher­ever you are or wherever you like. Let us use the word “now” for our focus.

First, carefully lift the now out from this screen or page. You do this by atten­tive­­ly letting your eye flow through the surface of these words into what lies behind them. (Or, simply recalling what you have read here.)

Next, place the now between your palms gently, and feel how your finger-tips touch each other, and the precious warmth within your palms.

Don’t be afraid of the now. It has nothing to do with religion. It is about us here and now. This is best done with eyes closed, so that you can see what eyes hide.

Now try to feel the now: is it heavy or light? hard or soft? rough or smooth?

Open your palms: does the now float up or away? No need for answers: just ask. The answer will come in their time.

Breathe in the now: feel the peace. Smile at the thought-free spaces.

Breathe out the now: feel the stress and darkness dispersing. Smile at the light feeling.

Do it once again: breathe in…peaceful…breathe out…free.

Put the now at your tongue-tip: how does it taste? A wet cool taste, perhaps. It does­n’t matter: it tastes just the way you want it.

Next carefully listen to the now for any sound. So many sounds around us, but in between, such deep silence. Flow with the silence for as long as you like.

Now try whispering the now to yourself. It is pronounced as P-E-A-C-E. Gently smile at it to keep it still. P-E-A-C-E.

Now whisper it to the kindest person you know, someone who accepts you uncondi­tion­ally, just as you are. Picture this person if you like, and whisper: P-E-A-C-E.

Sit with the now. Feel how still, safe and light your body feels.

Stand with the now, like a mountain, unshaken by the winds. Notice how your weight presses down on the ground. How the earth supports you without ever complaining.

Lie down with the now, if you like; and feel how restful you are. Nothing to do but peacefully rest, restfully peaceful.

Walk with the now: notice how meaningful each step becomes, walking towards peace with every step.

Run with the now if you like, and feel the wind in your face, brushing your arms. Smile at your feet touching the earth as you go.

Swim and stretch the now. Feel the now rhythm in your movements. Notice how your heart beats now.

Sweat with the now: notice how watery you are; you are mostly water. Water in your body; the water all around you: they are the same water. They are flowing, changing. We are part of a water cycle.

Feel the heat in your body: that’s the now fire. Even as we breathe, the air fires up our body. We are that fire, body heat: it is another name for impermanence and decay. We start to decay from the moment we are born.

We burn with the fire of greed, the fire of hate, the fire of delusion. We are all burn­ing: our eye is burning, our ear is burning, our nose is burning, our tongue is burning, our body is burning, our mind is burning. Burning with greed, with hate, with delu­sion. But not right now: you are at peace. The fire is out for the moment. Enjoy it.

Breathe in mindfully: the air is full of now. Feel the wind in your belly, then your chest. Hold it for now. Then give the wind back to nature, plus all your tired­ness, your pains, your tears, your fears, your desires, your sadness, your ignorance: the now will cleanse and heal you.

The now is always there with you, even in the toilet. Empty yourself of all waste and wash yourself. Cleanse and refresh yourself with the now. Don’t forget to flush away all your unwanted waste of greed, hate, delusion and fear.

Now for a healthy meal. Thank all the people who brought us the food. There are so many: the cooks, the vendors, the servers, the cleaners. Thank the trees, the plants, the earth, the weather and the sun, too, for making this food healthy and possible.

Chew every morsel till it is one with our sweet saliva. Every mouthful, every mind­ful sip. Smile at it, it’s becoming you. This is how we take food with the now: it is the richest spice, the best food supplement. This is how we breathe life now into every cell in our body.

As you rest, visualize the now as a beautiful white lotus, in the centre of your heart, shining radiant like the sun or the full moon. The now is radiant with lovingkindness: it lights up your body and mind, cleansing it, purifying it, healing it.

Now shine the light of lovingkindness to everyone nearby, the whole building, the neighbourhood, the whole country, the world, the universe; then to your loved ones, your pets, your plants, and finally back to yourself.

The now is a bright light, always there in our hearts, wherever we are. Just before sleeping, look into this now light. As soon as you wake up, smile at this now light. When you wake up in the middle of the night, look into this bright now light. No matter what happens, always look into this now light inside us. We will find our way around in the darkest of places or times. We are peace now.

Copyright by Piya Tan ©2012

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(1) Simple Joys by Piya Tan, 2009, 2nd rev 2011.

Simple Joys: a collections of weekly reflections by Piya Tan, 2nd rev 2011.

[download: Simple Joys by Piya Tan 2nd rev 2011 (ebook, low resolution, size 783 KB)]

[download: Simple Joys by Piya Tan 2nd rev 2011 (high resolution, size 1553 KB)]

(2) Revisioning Buddhism by Piya Tan, 2011.

Revisioning Buddhism: an inspired re-look at the Buddha’s example and teachings by Piya Tan, 2011.

Download Revisioning Buddhism Piya Tan, 2011

(3) Simple Joys 2: Healing Words by Piya Tan, 2011.

FOREWORD to the book: This is a book of readings for thinking people, for those who value self-understanding. We might see this as self-help servings of heal­ing words from early Buddhist recipes for emot­ion­al health, a full life and spiritual liberation. Read more…

Bhante Sujato — Piya Tan is “a rare teacher in the Buddhist world. Based on his own extensive experience, his authentic, intelligent inquiry in­to the Buddha’s words is applied to the urgent task of discover­ing how to best live in a changing and challenging world.”

I have often used his detailed studies of Buddhist scriptures as guides for my own classes.

In Simple Joys, however, he speaks not as a scholar, but as a practitioner. In this he shows the paradoxical truth of a genuine spiritual path: as complex and demanding as it may be, the deepest truths are always simple.

Bhante Sujato

Abbot of Santi Forest Monastery

Australia

 

Free copies of Simple Joys 2 is available at The Minding Centre and Buddhist Fellowship. Please call 8211 0879 (Ratna) or email us at: themindingcentre@gmail.com if you are interested.

Download soft copy here.

Smartphones make religion mobile (2nd Sep 2011): Link

Dharma Talks at Buddhist Fellowship, Singapore:

1. Little Dust in Their Eyes (1 Nov 2009).
2. Happiest Moments in My Life (3 Jan 2010).
3. What is Vipassana Meditation? (4 Apr 2010).

Others recommended videos:

1. Stroke of Insight: Brain researcher Jill Bolte Taylor studied her own stroke as it happened — and has become a powerful voice for brain recovery.
2. Buddhism in A Global Age of Technology by Prof Lewis Lancaster at UC Berkley
3. Life of the Buddha from BBC.