A difficulty with the word ‘nibbāna’ is that its meaning is beyond the power of words to describe. It is, essentially, undefinable.

Another difficulty is that many Buddhists see Nibbāna as something unobtainable – as so high and so remote that we’re not worthy enough to try for it. Or we see Nibbāna as a goal, as an unknown, undefined something that we should somehow try to attain.

Most of us are conditioned in this way. We want to achieve or attain something that we don’t have now. So Nibbāna is looked at as something that, if you work hard, keep the sīla, meditate diligently, become a monastic, devote your life to practice, then your reward might be that eventually you attain Nibbāna – even though we’re not sure what it is.

Todd’s life was like a river that flows gently to make all who came to know him happy. He always cared about others without expecting anything in return. He shared his favorite toys, lunch money and allowances with friends in need, not to mention the many sweet smiles to encourage people to be happy. He taught us to be generous, kind, caring and forgiving. As one of his buddies, Stephen, put it, “Todd was one of a kind, like finding a needle in the haystack. I will miss him.” Adopting Todd is the best decision that we made in our lives, and we continue to be thankful to have had him as our child.

A Dhamma Compass is a collection of three dhamma talks that Phra Ajahn gave in the three winter retreats during 2003-2005 at Abhayagiri. Debbie Stamp was most helpful and instrumental in ensuring that the manuscripts were ready and arrived in time. Ronna Kabatznick was the editor of the talks, and Dee Cope helped transcribe the talks, to whom all of us would like to record our thanks. Ajahn Amaro and Ajahn Jayasaro were so kind as to look over the final version of the texts.

“The Ways of the Peaceful” is one of the many possible renderings of the term “Samana-Dhamma”, an expression that summarizes the whole lifestyle of a Buddhist monk. “Samana” means somebody who is peaceful. Generally in the time of the Buddha all kinds of recluses, ascetics, contemplatives, and members of ordained communities living the life of a homeless practitioner (anagarika) were referred to as “Samanas”. The Buddhas disciples were often called the “Samanas of Gotama” or the “Samanas of the Sakyan clan”, using the Buddhas family and clan names. Whenever the aspect of celibacy of these religious practitioners is stressed, the term “brahmacariya” is used, which translates in short as “Holy Life”. The Buddha himself called his monks “Bhikkhus”. This literally means beggars, but especially in the Thai Forest Tradition a second translation is popular: “Those who see the danger in the round of rebirth”. Besides the specific monastic code that the Buddha established for his monks (the “Vinaya”, with its 227 major training rules and countless minor rules), that spells out the conduct of a Buddhist monk in great detail, there was a general understanding of the etiquette, the virtues and qualities of a Samana, a peaceful ascetic. This is the “Samana-Dhamma”

Az a szándék hívta életre ezt a könyvecskét, hogy általános útmutatóként szolgáljon a buddhista meditáció gyakorlásához. Az anyag egy része könnyen érthető lesz a kezdők számára is, ám vannak olyan részletei, melyek csak idővel, a gyakorlás előrehaladtával válnak világossá. Munkánk részletesebben tárgyalja az alapokat, kiterjeszti a gyakorlás területét, és bevezeti az olvasót a buddhista meditáció gyakorlata mögött meghúzódó elméleti rendszerbe.

Számos olyan mentális vagy spirituális gyakorlat létezik, melyet „meditációnak” nevezhetünk, ám annak előfeltétele, hogy a tudat működését átlássuk, nem más, mint hogy fenntartsunk egy objektív tudatosságot. A tudatossághoz rendszerre van szükség, amely világos hivatkozásokkal tud szolgálni. A théraváda buddhizmusban az „éberség alapjai” (ez a szentiratok szatipatthána kifejezésének fordítása, mely szó szerint „az éberség közel helyezése”) azok a hivatkozási pontok, melyre a tudatosságot vonatkoztatjuk.

In this discourse, I want to focus on the nuts and bolts of walking meditation. I shall address the how, when, where and why of this form of meditation. I intend this dis- course to include both practical instructions of the technical aspects of walking med- itation and instructions for creating the quality of mind that leads to concentration, insight and wisdom through the physical activity of walking meditation.