Click to download a PDF of the Path of Purification (2.80 Mbytes). Bhikkhu Ñānamoli's translation of Bhadantācariya Buddhaghosa's Visuddhimagga, was published by the Buddhist Publication Society, and made available as a free PDF by volunteers for the Access to Insight web site.
It is a valuable reference work for the serious student of Buddhist Meditation. Printed copies are available from Wisdom Books. It
The book describes the path to mental purity in three parts — Morality (sīla), Concentration (samādhi), and Wisdom (paññā), expanding on this verse from the Samyuttanikāya quoted at the beginning:
“When a wise man, established well in virtue, Develops consciousness and understanding, Then as a bhikkhu ardent and sagacious He succeeds in disentangling this tangle.” (S.i.13)
Click to download a PDF calendar for 2011 (1.52 Mbytes). Some of the images of Burmese Pagodas can be found on my Photos Page
The calendar shows the full-moon and new-moon (uposatha) days for next year. Links by each picture in the calendar provide further information about the illustrations.
The Buddhist year is currently 2554. The Buddhist Year of 2,545 begins on the Full-moon day of Vesākha in May 2011.
The calendar was designed for printing on A4 paper. If you have a colour printer you can make yourself a copy. I used Serif™ PagePlus X5 to make the calendar, and IrfanView to resize the pictures.
The DPPN is a valuable reference with information collated from the Tipitaka and its Commentaries. Place names, people, and disourses are included. Following up some of the cross-references in the DPPN is a great way to broaden your knowledge of the Buddha’s teachings.
You can find this excellent discourse in English by Ajahn Jayasāro on the life of Ajahn Cha on the DhammaTube Channel. This is the first of 31 videos (total 3 hours). Ajahn Jayasāro is an English bhikkhu from the Isle of Wight. Until 1982 he was the abbot of Wat Pah Nanachat — Ajahn Cha's branch forest monastery for his western disciples near Bung Wai village, in NE Thailand.
Edited: Previous video was marked as "No longer available." Some of the series of talks still seems to be available. Search YouTube for "Ajahn Chah Biography."
This important discourse by the late Venerable Mahāsī Sayādaw was delivered over a period of several weeks. It was patiently transcribed from tape, then the Burmese edition was translated into English and published in Burma. I edited that edition over a period of eight years, until it was finally ready for publication.
This latest edition is simply a reformatting of my edition for easier reading as a PDF document. The previous PDF was formatted for printing as an A6 book, but this is formatted with a single A5 page to a sheet for reading on a computer.
One who understands Dependent Origination, understands the Buddha's teaching. One who does not, cannot understand the Buddha's teaching. Mostly, the misinformed students of Buddhism fall into one of two extreme views — eternalism or annihilationism. The self continues after death, or the self is annihilated at death.
After reading this book carefully, you should not need to ask again, “If there is no self, how is rebirth possible? Who or what is reborn?”
They seem to be working well now in the programs that I need. I never had any problem typing Pāli in Opera because the keyboard is fully customisable, but in other programs like Serif Page Plus it is not possible. If you need to type European accents as well as Pāli, such as ãèîöú then that is also easy with the standard Pali UK or Pali US keyboards. If you need more, try the Pali Extended keyboard.
I recently added to my website a new edition of the Mahāsi Sayādaw's Discourse on the Sallekha Sutta.
A true follower of the Buddha should have few desires. He should be content with what he has and he should try to lessen his defilements. He should have little desire for material possessions or attendants. He should not want to speak of his accomplishments in the study of scriptures or in the practice of meditation. He should keep the depth of his learning or his spiritual attainments to himself. A true noble one does not reveal his spiritual insight although he wants to share it with other people. It is only the religious impostor who calls himself a noble one or an Arahant.
Contentment is also essential to spiritual development. One should be satisfied with whatever one has, whether it is good or bad. Equally essential is the effort to lessen one’s defilements. The self-training leading to this goal forms the subject of the Sallekha Sutta. The sutta is beneficial to meditators and non-meditators alike; it is helpful to all those who wish to overcome immoral desires and cultivate skilful, wholesome desires.
Western Buddhists may be unfamiliar with the practise of chanting Suttas unless they have regular contact with a monastic community. In Asia, almost every formal occasion such as alms giving in the monastery or in one's own home is concluded by the recitation of the Protection Discourses — most often the Metta Sutta and/or Mangala and Ratana Suttas.
This has become a ritual, but like all rituals, if you make the effort to understand the meaning of the ritual and of the Discourses recited, it takes on an entirely new, and deeper meaning. The Pāli text and translations can be found on my webpages, and I have written a few booklets explaining the meaning of two suttas in more detail. See An Exposition of the Mangala Sutta and An Exposition of the Metta Sutta
You can find two versions of each of the Protection Discourses on my website. One, in MP3 audio format is recited by Tipitakadhāra Sayādaw U Vicittasāra, while the other version is in Video form, and is recited by a younger Sayādaw. The links on my web pages will take you to the videos on YouTube.
I thought, “Why not set up a meditation group at Opera?” There must be at least a few people who are interested. Any posts about religion in the Discussion and Debates forums don't seem to lead anywhere.
I call it the "Diatribes and Disputes" forum.
Hopefully, this group will only attract those who are genuinely interested in meditation or Buddhism. Please don't think you have to be a Buddhist to join in. The main focus will be on meditation practice, but I will try to answer questions about other Buddhist topics too if people want to learn more.
My Opera
Click to download a PDF of the Path of Purification (2.80 Mbytes). Bhikkhu Ñānamoli's translation of Bhadantācariya Buddhaghosa's Visuddhimagga, was published by the Buddhist Publication Society, and made available as a free PDF by volunteers for the Access to Insight web site. 
