Essays and Commentary on the Buddha’s Dhamma, Modern Dharmas, and a World Aflame

Introduction

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These are essays and commentary on the timelessness of the Buddha’s Dhamma and the appropriate application of this Dhamma amidst the fabrications, contradictions, and distortions of modern Buddhism, New-Age philosophies, and ever-changing and often chaotic worldly events.

The necessity of clearly describing and understanding the contradictions between what an awakened human being actually taught and the adaptations, accommodations, and embellishments attached to a Buddha’s pure Dhamma is the central theme for teachers and practitioners of his Dhamma.

Recognizing and abandoning the compulsion for following fabricated views of self in relation to the people and events of life is the true vipassana or true and useful introspective insight into Three Marks Of Existence. It is the fabricated relationship between wrong views of self and the people and events of ordinary human life that is to be recognized and abandoned as Wise DShamma Practitioners. For most of human history, the establishment of non-physical, non-human realms as the resolution for the confusion and suffering internet in human life has been the primary strategy minds rooted in ignorance of Four Noble Truths cling to maintain ignorance.

Siddartha Gotama awakened to the profound understanding that it is individual and institutionalized views of self and the people and events of the world are rooted in ignorance of Four Noble Truths. He described the results of human ignorance in the Loka Sutta as ” a world aflame with the fires of passion (for continued self-establishment).”

Awakening or developing full human maturity by recognizing and abandoning all foolish and immature views rooted in this specific ignorance while developing a profound understanding of Four Noble Truths is the sole purpose of a Buddha’s Dhamma. Any religious, spiritual, or philosophical belief that resolves in a speculative, magical, and non-human self-existence is contrary to what the Buddha taught.

It is through clinging to these fabricated views that continue this specific ignorance. Powerful and subtle strategies are continually fabricated and established as “spiritual practcie.” Now, this “practcie” itself becomes the distortion from understanding these Four Noble Truths. This is practicing ignorance. This practice continues to perfectly entrench one in fabricated wrong views of self.

It should not surprise or distress the well-informed Dhamma practitioner that it is individually held and collectively-supported fabricated views that is at the root of stress and suffering.

Siddhartha Gotama awakened to the profound understanding that it is ignorance of Four Noble truths that results in all manner of confusion, greed, aversion, and ongoing deluded thinking. This manifestation of ignorance in the world is known as Dukkha, or stress and suffering. Recognizing and abandoning the individual fabricated views resulting in Dukkha is the Dhamma.

Fabricated views used to legitimize religions, Buddhist “lineages,” and spiritual or philosophical concepts are as common and widespread now as they were during the Buddha’s time, perhaps even more so.

Developing the Buddha’s Dhamma as originally presented abandons all magical views and establishes an awakened human being in this present life.

For a complete understanding of what the Buddha actually taught, please read “Foundations Of The Buddha’s Dhamma” further below.