Theravada Buddhism in a Nutshell
 

I was reading this transcript of a talk by Ajahn Amaro "Theravada Buddhism in a Nutshell" and I particularly enjoyed the section on Dependent Origination. The whole article is informative and so thought I'd post it here:


http://www.forestsangha.org/index.ph...by-ajahn-amaro


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Thanks Aloka D - the article is a great feast of information.

I particularly enjoyed reading the " lesson from the chocolate eclair ". My own teacher has told me of his experience and reactions to a similar occurence at a monastery ... with a soup which been prepared for many days, received much attention to detail, stirring and careful addition of spices and ingredients at key moments as it was simmering on a stove, the smell was very desirable and distracted many over a period of a few days - yet when it came time to finally eat the soup it tasted quite bland and disappointing .... it was a very informative teaching, also.

I was interested to read this in the section on Dependant Origination ...... “sorrow, lamentation, pain, grief and despair.” As our beloved retreat manager says, “These are a few of my favorite things.” I often hum a similar line to the same refrain, from The Sound of Music in my head during my work day.