UnbornMind Zen

Archive for the ‘The Udāna’ Category

In these unprecedented times I shall remember these days as my Udāna period here at Unborn Mind Zen. With this new rendition of the suttas written in Light of the Unborn and accompanied with exegesis the ever-present and dominant backdrop has been the lingering presence of Covid 19. I live in upstate NY, pretty close to ground zero in NYC. The death tallies just keep adding up and up, hopefully there will be a peak shortly. But returning to anything resembling normalcy just isn’t in the cards Read more [...]

8.3 (73) Parinibbāna (Nibbāna Sutta) Thus has it been made known. On one occasion the Blessed One was residing near Sāvatthī, at the Jeta Grove in Anāthapiṇḍika’s Park. On that auspicious occasion the Blessed One was instructing and arousing and inspiring the monks with a discourse centered on Nibbāna. The monks opened their Dharma-ear and responded wholeheartedly to the Dhamma being displayed before them. Then, upon realizing the great significance that was unfolding, the Blessed Read more [...]

5:3 (43) The Leper (Suppabuddhakuṭṭhisuttaṁ) Thus has it been made known. At another time the Blessed One was staying near Rājagaha, at the Bamboo Grove, the Squirrels’ Feeding Sanctuary. On that occasion there lived a poor and wretched leper, Suppabuddha, who saw a large gathering of people and thought to himself, “Surely, there are some distributions of food being offered, let me go there and receive some staples of nourishment.” Coming closer, he beheld that the Blessed One Read more [...]

4.8 (38) Sundarī (Sundarī Sutta) Thus has it been made known. At one time the Blessed One was residing near Sāvatthī, at the Jeta Grove in Anāthapiṇḍika’s Park. Throughout this time the Blessed One was highly honored and revered and much was deferred to him in supplies of robes and alms-food and medicinal prerequisites for the sick and disabled. But the wanderers of other sects detested wholeheartedly the attention shown to the Dharma Lord and his disciples. And so out of spite Read more [...]

4:5 (35) The Nāga Elephant (Nāga Sutta) Thus has it been made known. At one time the Blessed One was dwelling near Kosambī, in Ghosita's Resort. During this interval the Blessed-One was living in over-crowded conditions, with monks and nuns, both men and women lay followers, by royal ministers and sectarians and their followers. Living under such harried circumstances, the Dharma Lord spoke thusly to himself: “Here I am being hemmed-in from all sides, by people of sundry walks of life, Read more [...]

 4:4 (34) Moonlit (Juñha Sutta) Thus has it been made known. Once the Blessed One was staying near Rājagaha, at the Bamboo Grove, the Squirrels’ Feeding Sanctuary. At about that time the Venerable Sāriputta and Venerable Mahāmoggallāna were staying in the Pidgeon’s Grotto. Upon one moonlit night, the Venerable Sāriputta with his head newly shaven, was sitting in the open air while undergoing a certain profound concentration. It was during this junction that two yakkhas who were Read more [...]

4: Meghiya 4:1 (31) Meghiya (Meghiya Sutta) Thus it was made known. On one occasion the Blessed One was staying near Cālikā, on Cālikā mountain. It was during this time that Venerable Meghiya was his sole attendant. Venerable Medhiya approached the Dharma Lord and asked for permission to go into Jantu Village for alms-gathering. “If you feel it’s the time to do so,” responded the Blessed One, “then proceed.” Early in the morning Venerable Meghiya entered Jantu Village Read more [...]

3:10 (30) The World (Loka Sutta) Thus it was made known. On one blissful occasion the Blessed One was contemplating near Uruvelā, on the bank of the river Nerañjarā which nearby stood the Bodhi-Tree with its unsullied-roots, having just realized Anuttara Samyak Sambodhi. Throughout that most auspicious occasion the Blessed One remained seated in a singular position for seven days and came to experience the meritorious bliss of Final Release. Upon emerging from that supernal-concentration, Read more [...]

3.6 (26) Pilindavaccha (Pilindavaccha Sutta) Thus has it been made known. At another time the Blessed One was staying near Rājagaha, at the Bamboo Grove, the Squirrels’ Feeding Sanctuary. Around this time the Venerable Pilindavaccha was wont to accuse his neighboring monks as being social misfits. As a reaction to this, a great number of monks came to the Blessed One saying, “O’ Lord, the Venerable Pilindavaccha is calling us social misfits”. So the Blessed one invited one of the Read more [...]

3:3 (23) Yasoja (Yasoja Sutta) Thus has it been made known. At one time the Blessed One was residing near Sāvatthī, at the Jeta Grove in Anāthapiṇḍika’s Park. It was during this time that 500 monks, supervised by Yasoja, had arrived in Sāvatthī with the purpose of seeing the Blessed One. The new arrivals greeted the resident monks, set-up their bedding and arranging their bowls and robes, while creating a great commotion as they engaged in these actions. Upon hearing this disconcerting Read more [...]