Tipitaka Online

Bhikkhu Dhammaraja.

Majjhima Nikaya

  • MN 1: Mulapariyaya Sutta — The Root Sequence {M i 1} [Thanissaro].
    In this difficult but important sutta the Buddha reviews in depth one of the most fundamental principles of Buddhist thought and practice: namely, that there is no thing — not even Nibbana itself — that can rightly be regarded as the source from which all phenomena and experience emerge.
  • MN 14: Cula-dukkhakkhandha Sutta — The Lesser Mass of Stress {M i 91} [Thanissaro].
    What mental qualities must be abandoned in order to free oneself of greed, aversion, and delusion? Can painful austerities be used to purify oneself and burn away the karmic fruit of past misdeeds? Through question-and-answer dialogues with the lay follower Mahanama and with a group of Jain ascetics, the Buddha lays these questions to rest.
  • MN 18: Madhupindika Sutta — The Ball of Honey {M i 108} [Thanissaro].
    A man looking to pick a fight asks the Buddha to explain his doctrine. The Buddha’s answer mystifies not only the man, but also a number of monks. Ven. Maha Kaccana finally provides an explanation, and in the course of doing so explains what is needed to bring the psychological sources of conflict to an end.
  • MN 19: Dvedhavitakka Sutta — Two Sorts of Thinking {M i 114} [Thanissaro].
    The Buddha recounts the events leading up to his Awakening, and describes his discovery that thoughts connected with sensuality, ill-will, and harmfulness do not lead one to Awakening, while those connected with their opposites (renunciation, non ill-will, and harmlessness) do.
  • MN 36: Maha-Saccaka Sutta — The Longer Discourse to Saccaka {M i 237} [Thanissaro].
    In response to an insinuating remark — that his ability not to be overcome by pleasure and pain is due simply to the fact that he never experienced any intense pleasures or pains — the Buddha recounts the pains he endured in his austerities, and the pleasures that attended the path to and his attainment of Awakening.
  • MN 39: Maha-Assapura Sutta — The Greater Discourse at Assapura {M i 271} [Thanissaro].
    he Buddha outlines the full course of training by which a meditator may earn the right to call him- or herself a true contemplative. As presented here, the training begins with conscience and concern for the results of one’s actions, and leads progressively through the cultivation of virtue, sense-restraint, moderation, wakefulness, mindfulness, alertness, the four jhanas, finally culminating in the realization of the insight knowledges.
  • MN 58: Abhaya Sutta — To Prince Abhaya {M i 392} [Thanissaro].
    The Buddha explains the criteria for determining whether or not something is worth saying. This discourse is a beautiful example of the Buddha’s skill as teacher: not only does he talk about right speech, but he also demonstrates right speech in action.
  • MN 70: Kitagiri Sutta — At Kitagiri {M i 473} [Thanissaro].
    A discourse on the importance of conviction in the Buddhist path. Not only is conviction a prerequisite for listening to the Buddha’s teachings with respect, but — as is shown by the unusual discussion here categorizing the types of noble disciples — it can underlie the practice all the way to the Deathless.
  • MN 82: Ratthapala Sutta — About Ratthapala {M ii 54} [Thanissaro].
    A two-part story about the monk who, the Buddha said, was foremost among his disciples in ordaining on the power of pure conviction. In the first part of the story, Ratthapala deals with his parents’ opposition to his ordaining, and their attempts, after ordination, to lure him back to lay life. In the second part, he recalls the four observations about the world that inspired him, as a healthy and wealthy young man, to ordain in the first place.
  • MN 90: Kannakatthala Sutta — At Kannakatthala {M ii 125} [Thanissaro].
    A case study in how social advantages can be a spiritual liability. The discussion focuses on the factors needed for release — attainable by all people, regardless of caste or race — while the gently satirical frame story shows how the life of a king, or any highly placed person, presents obstacles to developing those factors.
  • MN 93: Assalayana Sutta — With Assalayana {M ii 147} [Thanissaro].
    The Buddha enters into a debate with a brahman on whether one’s worth as a person is determined by birth or by behavior. Although some of the arguments he presents here deal with the specifics of brahman caste pride, many of them are applicable to issues of racism and nationalism in general.
  • MN 97: Dhanañjani Sutta — To Dhanañjani {M ii 184} [Thanissaro].
    A poignant story of a lay person whose welfare was of special concern to Ven. Sariputta, this discourse teaches two lessons in heedfulness. (1) If you’re engaging in wrong livelihood, don’t expect to escape the karmic consequences even if you’re doing it to fulfil your duties to your family, parents, or friends. (2) Don’t be satisfied with mundane levels of attainment in meditation when there is still more to be done.
  • MN 101: Devadaha Sutta — At Devadaha {M ii 214} [Thanissaro].
    The Buddha refutes a Jain theory of kamma, which claims that one’s present experience is determined solely by one’s actions in past lives, and that the effects of past unskillful actions can be “burned away” through austerity practices. The Buddha here outlines one of his most important teachings on kamma: that it is both the results of past deeds and present actions that shape one’s experience of the present. It is precisely this interaction of present and past that opens up the very possibility of Awakening.
  • MN 105: Sunakkhatta Sutta — To Sunakkhatta {M ii 252} [Thanissaro].
    The Buddha addresses the problem of meditators who overestimate their progress in meditation. The sutta ends with a warning: anyone who claims enlightenment as license for unrestrained behavior is like someone who fails to follow the doctor’s orders after surgery, who knowingly drinks a cup of poison, or who deliberately extends a hand toward a deadly snake.
  • MN 108: Gopaka Moggallana Sutta — Moggallana the Guardsman {M iii 7} [Thanissaro].
    Ven. Ananda explains how the Sangha maintains its unity and internal discipline after the passing away of the Buddha [BB]. Interestingly, this sutta also shows that early Buddhist practice had no room for many practices that developed in later Buddhist traditions, such as appointed lineage holders, elected ecclesiastical heads, or the use of mental defilements as a basis for concentration practice.
  • MN 109: Maha-punnama Sutta — The Great Full-moon Night Discourse {M iii 15} [Thanissaro].
    A thorough discussion of issues related to the five aggregates. Toward the end of the discussion, a monk thinks that he has found a loophole in the teaching. The way the Buddha handles this incident shows the proper use of the teachings on the aggregates: not as a metaphysical theory, but as a tool for questioning clinging and so gaining release.
  • MN 118: Anapanasati Sutta — Mindfulness of Breathing {M iii 78} [Thanissaro].
    One of the most important texts for beginning and veteran meditators alike, this sutta is the Buddha’s roadmap to the entire course of meditation practice, using the vehicle of breath meditation. The simple practice of mindfulness of breathing leads the practitioner gradually through 16 successive phases of development, culminating in full Awakening.
  • MN 126: Bhumija Sutta — To Bhumija {M iii 138} [Thanissaro].
    Does the desire for Awakening get in the way of Awakening? According to this discourse, the question of desiring or not desiring is irrelevant as long as one develops the appropriate qualities that constitute the path to Awakening. The discourse is also very clear on the point that there are right and wrong paths of practice: as a geographer might say, not every river flows to the sea.
  • MN 140: Dhatu-vibhanga Sutta — An Analysis of the Properties {M iii 237} [Thanissaro].
    A poignant story in which a wanderer, searching for the Buddha, meets the Buddha without realizing it. He recognizes his mistake only after the Buddha teaches him a profound discourse on four determinations and the six properties of experience. An excellent illustration of the Buddha’s statement, “Whoever sees the Dhamma sees me.”

 

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