Recognizing the Dhamma: A Study Guide

The Buddha taught eight principles for recognizing what qualifies as Dhamma and Vinaya, and what does not.

They form the standards against which the validity of any interpretation of the Dhamma or Vinaya must be judged. They are an indispensible guide in solitary practice and illustrate the application of his teachings in the well-known Kalama Sutta.

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About Thānissaro Bhikkhu

Thānissaro Bhikkhu (Geoffrey DeGraff) is an American Buddhist monk in the kammaṭṭhāna (Thai forest) Tradition. After graduating from Oberlin College in 1971 with a degree in European Intellectual History, he traveled to Thailand where he studied meditation with Ajahn Fuang Jotiko, who was himself a disciple of the late Ajahn Lee.

He joined the order of monks in Wat Dhammasathit in 1976, where he remained after the death of his teacher in 1986. In 1991, he traveled to the San Diego County hills of the US, where he helped Ajahn Suwat Suwaco establish Metta Forest Monastery (Wat Mettavanaram). He has been abbot of that monastery since 1993.

Ṭhānissaro Bhikkhu is perhaps best known for his translations of the Dhammapada and the Sutta Pitaka - more than 1000 suttas - and so the main share for the sutta translations for the website Accesstoinsight, and his translations of 'Dhamma-talks' from the Thai forest Ajahns. He has also written several of his own works on the Dhamma and study guides for his Pali translations.

All posts by Thānissaro Bhikkhu

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You yourselves must strive, the Buddhas only point the way
Buddha, Dhp 276

Nyanaponika Thera

The Abhidhamma, the third great division of early Buddhist teaching, expounds a revolutionary system of philosophical psychology rooted in the twin Buddhist…