Andrew olendzki keep it simple
- Andrew olendzki: books
- Andrew olendzki lesley university
- Andrew Olendzki, PhD, was trained in Buddhist Studies at Lancaster University in England, as well as at Harvard and the University of Sri Lanka.
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About
Using the teachings of the sage as a luminous mirror,
in which to see one’s own mind reflected.
Using one’s own mind as a lamp of wisdom,
with which to illumine the profound meaning of the teachings.
–Zongmi
History
Siddhartha Gotama Buddha lived in India about 480-400 BCE, making him almost exactly contemporary with Socrates. Siddhartha the prince became Gotama the wanderer after leaving home and 'going forth' into a contemplative lifestyle at age 29, and then became the Buddha after 'waking up' by gaining wisdom under the Bodhi tree at age 36 . For the remaining 45 years of his life he wandered across the Ganges valley of north India, sharing and explaining what was known as 'dharma-vinaya', an integrated program of conceptual and experiential knowledge.
The dharma is conveyed in a large body of texts, preserved in the Pali language of ancient India, that were composed (orally) by the historical Buddha and his first generations of followers. They contain detailed explanations, based on empirical observation and investigation, of how the human mind a
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A Tough But Not Impossible Act to Follow
I believe that awakening is possible in this very lifetime. I know this is one of the ideas we, as modern secular Buddhists, are invited to discard, along with belief in rebirth, heavenly beings, and miraculous powers. I prefer to suspend judgment and remain agnostic regarding the latter three, saying neither “If the Buddha said so, it must be so” nor “It can’t be, therefore it isn’t.” But awakening is another story. I think it can be possible for a person, even a rather ordinary person, to awaken. Furthermore, I think it is a goal to which we can all aspire.
Awakening (aka enlightenment, but this latter term is not a good translation of bodhi) is understood in the early discourses as a process of gradual mental purification culminating in a profound psychological transformation. This happened to the Buddha while he was seated under the Bodhi tree in Uruvela (now Bodhgaya), and it is important to distinguish this event from what happened to him 45 years later as he lay on his right side between two sal trees in Kusinara.
Related: A Mo Dharma Teachers of Common Ground Meditation Center After practicing intensive meditation in various monasteries in Thailand and traveling extensively in Tibet, Nepal and India, he eventually settled at Wat Pah Nanachat, The International Forest Monastery, in the North-east of Thailand. Ajahn Chah established this branch monastery specifically for his English-speaking disciples. For the first five years after his full ordination as a bhikkhu, Ajahn Chandako was based at Wat Pah Nanachat. Copyright ©bandtide.pages.dev 2025•
Ajahn Chandako Ajahn was ordained as a Buddhist monk in 1990 in the lineage of Venerable Ajahn Chah of the Thai Forest Tradition. Born in 1962 in Minneapolis, Minnesota, U.S.A., his interest in the teachings of the Buddha grew as he studied towards a BA degree in Religious Studies from Carleton College (1984). Following graduation, he began applying himself to training in meditation and subsequently went to Asia to find a monastery suitable for fully devoting himself to the Dhamma. Ajahn Jotipalo Ajahn Jotipālo was born in 1965 in Indiana. He received a B.A. fro