Traditional Dharma
Summer 1989 Vol. 6 #1
Summer 1989 Vol. 6 #1
Features
Possibilities of the Path: An Interview With Joseph Goldstein
By Barbara Gates, Jack Kornfield, Wes Nisker
Joseph Goldstein shares his passion for the “undiluted dhamma” of classical Theravada Buddhism.
Reflecting on death, AIDS activist and vipassana practitioner John Hobbie brings to life the legend of Siddhartha’s life-altering encounters with reality. An End Note by Debra Horowitz follows.
Barbara Gates explains how the Pali suttas, and the following collection of essays about vipassana teachers’ favorite passages, came to be.
Larry Rosenberg tells us how “encouragement to doubt and inquire freely” allowed him to engage in a spiritual life—including a body-oriented practice that he initially resisted.
To Christina Feldman, the Kalama Sutta “is not an encouragement to doubt, but an encouragement to wise faith.”
After sharing scholarly appreciation and a history of the suttas, Christopher Titmuss confesses that if forced to choose just one, it would be the Sutta Nipata: “None of the various truths of the world can be separated from conception.”
Michele McDonald reminds us of the Buddha’s final teaching: that we develop inner wisdom by practicing the Four Foundations of Mindfulness, paying close attention to our own life experience.
This is one of Sharon Salzberg’s favorite passages, partly because it inspires self-confidence: it CAN be done. As the Buddha said, “If it were not feasible, I would not ask you to do it.”
Steven Smith says that the Buddha’s final utterance to the sangha, his “death poem,” expresses the essence of his entire teaching in a single phrase.
James Baraz writes about clinging to viewpoints, and then takes a step further with a story about coming to grips with Buddhist approaches to joy.
Joseph Goldstein describes how, when he was in the Peace Corps, the Satipatthana Sutta helped him begin doing mindfulness practice and seeing for himself.
Jack Kornfield draws inspiration from these two passages that speak “of the sure heart’s release—finding freedom in all realms, fearless and full freedom of being.”
There are many translations of the suttas in English. This reading list includes some of the earliest and most influential.
Sharon Salzberg explains the relationship between intentions and actions: What we do and care about makes a difference in the quality of our lives—and the quality of the world.
Susan Moon contemplates commitment as a way to let go of doubt and make room for wholeheartedness and leaps of faith.
Members of the Amaravati Sangha describe how Theravada Buddhism is lived and practiced at their monasteries in England.
Poems & Not Poems
Nina Wise describes going on a pilgrimage with Thich Nhat Hanh to Northern India, where she wrote the poems “Vulture Peak” and “Lumbini.”
The Dharma & the Drama
Wes Nisker ponders the unanswerable questions of the cosmos, even though crazy wisdom says, “your guess is as good as mine.”