Much has been written about the life of Phra Ajaan Mun Bhuridatta Thera (1870-1949), the founder of the Thai Forest Tradition, but very little was recorded of his teachings during his lifetime. (Most of his teachings he left in the form of people: the students whose lives were profoundly shaped by the experience of living and practicing meditation under his guidance.) The first piece translated here, A Heart Released (Muttodaya), is a record of passages from his sermons, made during the years 1944-45 by two monks who were staying under his guidance. The second, The Ever-present Truth, is drawn from notes of Ajaan Mun’s sermons taken by two of his students during the last two years of his life, covering a wide range of topics, including some standard accounts of the Buddha’s life. And the third, the poem The Ballad of Liberation from the Khandhas, was found after his death among the few papers he left behind.
目次
Table of Contents Titlepage 2 Copyright 3 Introduction 4 A Heart Released 8 § 1. Practice is what keeps the true Dhamma pure. 8 § 2. To follow the Buddha, we must train ourselves well before training others. 8 § 3. The root inheritance, the starting capital for self-training. 9 § 4. The root foundation for the practice. 10 § 5. The root cause of everything in the universe. 10 § 6. The root instigator of the cycle of death and rebirth. 11 § 7. The supreme position: the foundation for the paths, fruitions, and nibbāna. 12 § 8. The stronghold that forms the practice area for training oneself. 13 § 9. The strategies of clear insight, techniques for uprooting defilement. 15 § 10. The primal mind is radiant and clear by nature, but is darkened because of corruptions. 18 § 11. One’s self-training as a meditator has to be in keeping with one’s temperament. 19 § 12. The Mūlatika Discourse. 20 § 13. Only a visuddhi deva is an individual truly at peace. 20 § 14. Activityless-ness is the end point of the world, beyond supposing and formulation. 21 § 15. The nine abodes of living beings. 22 § 16. The significance of the first sermon, the middle sermon, and the final sermon. 23 § 17. Arahants of every sort attain both release through concentration and release through discernment, having developed the threefold training to completion. 27 The Ever-present Truth 29 § 1. The root meditation themes 29 § 2. Virtue. 30 § 3. Potential 32 § 4. Contemplating the body 32 § 5. Purifying the mind 33 § 6. The method of practice for those who have studied a great deal 34 § 7. The principles of the practice are ever-present 35 § 8. Listening to the Dhamma at all times 36 The Ballad of Liberation from the Khandhas 37 Glossary 53
