08/03/17 “In the Buddha’s Words: Approaching the Dhamma – Part 2” with Rich Howard

In the Buddha’s Words: Approaching the Dhamma – Part 2

(You can listen to a recording of Part 1 here: July 13th Audio Dharma post)

“It is fitting for you to be perplexed, O Kalamas.” These words spoken by the Buddha to the citizens of Kesaputta ring true for us today. How do we approach the teachings of the Buddha, when there are so many competing spiritual, philosophical, and secular teachings, so many schools of Buddhism, and so many interpretations and teachers even within our own Insight (vipassana) tradition?

This evening, we will continue our exploration of Chapter III, Approaching the Dhamma, from In the Buddha’s Words, edited by Bhikkhu Bodhi. On July 13, we discussed the most familiar part of the Buddha’s teaching to the Kalamas (AN 3:65), a list of the 10 things one should not rely on to decide which teachings to follow. This time, we will look at Bhikkhu Bodhi’s point of view on the context for this first part of the Kalama Sutta. We will then move on to lesser known aspects of the sutta, including how to practice and what benefits result from the practice. If there is time, we will explore when, if ever, we might arrive at a place in our practice where we might accept teachings beyond the range of our personal experience. We will also look at the brief two paragraphs presented as the first text in this section. To prepare for this evening, please read the Introduction to Chapter III starting on page 81 through the first incomplete paragraph at the top of page 86, and texts III,1 and III,2 (pages 88-91). If you do not have the book yet, here are some alternative citations from accesstoinsight.org:

• Kalama Sutta: To the Kalamas — translation of the Kalama Sutta by Thanissaro Bhikkhu
• A Look at the Kalama Sutta — commentary by Bhikkhu Bodhi ( very similar to what is in the book)

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