Topic: four noble truths

Kumarajiva’s Meditation Manual

Online lecture series: Kumarajiva’s Meditation Manual
Place: Somaiya Vidyavihar University (somaiya.edu), Mumbai, India
Date: 02.03. 2021 – 10.20. 2021

Audio: Download or Archive.org
Bhante’s working version of English translation: here
KJ Somaiya Institute of Dharma Studies YouTube Channel

We thank Somaiya University for their kindness and for sharing these great lectures.

This is the series of lectures by Ven. Dhammadipa, starting from 3rd Feb 2021, organized by KJ Somaiya Institute of Dharma Studies, Somaiya Vidyavihar University. These teachings are based on one of the three meditation manuals ascribed to Kumarajiva in Chinese catalogues: the Chanfa yaojie, which Ven. Dhammadipa has translated into English. The special features of the text are the incorporation of bodhisattva ideas into classical Buddhist meditation. He will use selections from the text to explicate the meditation method in comparative light, drawing extensively upon his study of the Abhidharmakosa and his long years of study and practice guided by his teachers of the forest tradition in Sri Lanka and Burma.

The Six Dharma Gates to the Sublime

“The Six Gates to the Sublime” is a classic Buddhist meditation instruction manual explaining the six practices crucial to success in traditional Indian Buddhist breath-focused (anapana) meditation and calming-and-insight (samatha-vipasyana) meditation. Correctly implemented, these six “gates” lead the meditator to realization of the fourth of the four truths (cessation), of which the “sublimity” referenced in the title is one of the four canonically-described practice aspects. This classic was written by the sixth-century monk and meditation master, Shramana Zhiyi (Chih-i), one of the most illustrious figures in the history of Chinese Buddhism. Master Zhiyi is famous for his role in the founding of the Tiantai teachings lineage and for his authorship of a quartet of meditation manuals of which this is one. The translator of this volume is the American monk, Bhikshu Dharmamitra, a translator of numerous classic works from the Indian and Chinese Buddhist traditions.

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Six-Dharma-Gates-Sublime/dp/1935413015