Make a Sutta Reading Practice Plan
By writing down our intentions to engage daily with the words of the Buddha, we increase our chances of success.
motivation
Sutta Art Journaling: Deep Engagement
Over the last few years there has been an emerging practice in the Christian community called Bible Art Journaling. It has probably been helped along by the adult coloring craze, scrapbooking, bullet journaling, and of course social media. The idea is that by embellish the extra large margins of a text designed for this purpose … Read more
Troubleshooting Your Personal Anthology
Creating a Personal Anthology is extremely simple, but there are still some places we can go wrong. If this happens our Anthology may be less effective. Below are some common problems and suggestions for solving them. As a reminder, this is the basic method: Read the suttas on a regular basis taking them to heart … Read more
Make a wish: Closing our Sutta Practice Session
As we read the suttas, we are always trying to see the truth of the teachings in our own lives. When we finish our practice, we can do a quick reflection to help solidify this intention. Begin by making a quick summary in your head of the teaching you just read. It doesn’t have to … Read more
Benefits of Having a Backup Text for Sutta Reading Practice
Be prepared for times when reading your regular book of suttas is difficult.
Sutta Reading Practice Life List
A sutta reading practice life list is a record of all the complete sutta collections you have read, either canonical collections or anthologies, including the dates of each cycle. There are several benefits of doing this. It acts as an incentive to read a book completely. It only goes on the list if you read … Read more
Almost Personal Anthology
One of the easiest ways to make a deep connection with the suttas is by creating a personal anthology. If you haven’t read the main article, this involves noticing when sutta passages are particularly meaningful to you and then copying them into a blank book. Then when the hindrances arise, you can quickly turn to … Read more
Motivate with Links of Dhamma
Use this easy technique to motivate yourself to stick with your reading practice even when it is difficult or inconvenient.
Walking Sutta Reading Practice
You’ve probably heard of walking meditation. And we know reading the suttas is meditative. So why not do the two together? If you have a safe place to walk unobstructed, try doing your sutta reading practice while walking. It has lots of benefits: Helps to overcome drowsiness. Can keep you focused on the text. It … Read more
Living with the Sallekha Sutta: Effacement, Majjhima Nikāya 8
One by one, little by little,moment by moment,a wise man should remove his own impuritiesas a smith removes the dross from silver. Dhammapada verse 239Translated by Acharya Buddharakkhita One of the ways the suttas come alive is by working to overcome specific unwholesome character traits. For example, when we make a wholehearted commitment to examine … Read more