I’m part of a small group of lay practitioners in Arizona, USA who’ve been meeting online and in person for a few years reading Dhamma books that are practice-oriented (vs. purely scholarly). We have long realized that we need to be more systematic in our study and practice, and I’m posting here to ask for recommended books and resources.
Here’s what’s on my list so far:
“A Whole LIfe Path” by Gregory Kramer (excellent in many ways, uses the Noble Eightfold Path for its sturcture but entirely avoids discussion of rebirth).
“The Gradual Training” by Leigh Brasington. Quite short and without a lot of detail but the only book I’ve found on this sequential approach to the practice.
The trio of practice guides by Bhikkhu Anālayo (Satipaṭṭhāna, MIndfulness of Breathing, Abiding in Emptiness): wonderfully detailed and useful (especially in conjunction with their guided meditations) but they’re meditation manuals, not comprehensive guides to practice and study on and off the cushion.
To date Ajahn Sucitto’s book on the pāramīs has been the single most helpful text for us. I guess what we are looking for is a book or a selection of books that is similar in its depth and practicality that covers the entire path in a systematic way.
This is going to sound radical, but have you considered reading the suttas for yourselves now?
RF is a great resource to get into suttas:
Personally, Udana or Itivuttaka I believe are quite lovely short books that serve as great introduction to suttas. Udana has more varied stories, Iti is more straightforward in its doctrine.
Also, Dhammapada / Suttanipata are also great poetry. I keep re-reading them all the time.
If I had a dedicated group, I’d start by reading those and discussing the suttas to each other.
I’ve just listened to Ajahn Brahmali’s teaching on Cetanākaraṇīyasutta AN 11.2.
This sutta has made it clear to me about what we should do first: ethics. And ethics here does not only mean refraining from doing unwholesome things but also include doing wholesome things.
An important part of doing wholesome things is to gain Right View as Right View will lay a solid foundation for all things we do and think in our life, which include the second to the fifth eightfold factors of the Eightfold Path.
After that, we practice meditation (for me = train myself to have Right Efforts to be mindful or Right Sati, and hopefully to eventually see a glimpse of Right Samadhi).
Thank you so much for your kind and informative post, and for the link to Ajahn Brahm’s teachings. The book is beautiful. I treasure his other books but had not known about this new one, so thank you again.
I’d suggest reading Buddhadhamma by Venerable PA Payutto. It doesn’t explicitly state a householder’s gradual training, but it contains many teachings for householders that are placed in the proper context of the rest of the Teachings. I do recall some passages on the 10 courses of wholesome conduct and the 5 treasures of faith, virtue, learning, generosity, and wisdom being essentially called a householder’s code of conduct (though don’t quote me on this).
Having said that, I do think the Buddha already gave us a systematic approach in the Four Noble Truths and Noble Eightfold Path. As householders, most of us aren’t ready to fully renounce sense pleasures (Right Intention) or fully refrain from idle chatter (Right Speech). But the rest of the Path can be cultivated, so there are plenty of good things to do! There is nothing wrong with modifying things to suit our current situation as long as they remain in line with the Dhamma. Keep studying, reflecting upon, and practicing the Dhamma and the “householder path” will become more clear in a natural way. We can’t choose when this happens—so patience is important. Progress is being made, even if it may not feel that way from one day to the next.
Regarding ‘systematic’ study and practice on Early Buddhism, I would recommend the following books by Choong Mun-keat:
The Fundamental Teachings of Early Buddhism: A Comparative Study Based on the Sūtrāṅga portion of the Pāli Saṃyutta-Nikāya and the Chinese Saṃyuktāgama (Series: Beitrage zur Indologie Band 32; Harrassowitz Verlag, Wiesbaden, 2000).
The Notion of Emptiness in Early Buddhism (1995; second revised edition, Motilal Banarsidass, Delhi, 1999).
‘THE ONLY WAY TO JHANA’ by Ven. Nyanamoli
It’s not a book about meditation, but about the gradual training that leads to purification:
In the Suttas it is very clear that when jhāna is mentioned, it is within the context of the gradual training that leads from virtue, seeing danger in the slightest fault, moderation of your eating, up to complete seclusion from unwholesome states. Thus, the practice of jhāna is the practice of taming the senses, taming the mind.
Many suttas say that the jhānas are the only meditations that the Buddha approves of, and this is exactly why ‘jhāna meditation’ is to be understood in the sense of the unification of the gradual training. That is to say, through virtue, the guarding of the sense doors, moderation of your eating and being watchful, you are literally composing the mind, gathering it up.
Fortunately I have recently complied an anthology of straightforward texts ascribed to the Buddha and edited out material that doesn’t match with other main pieces of advice or instruction he has given.
Here is a link to the Google Document. So you will have the most up to date version:
I have compared many versions of the gradual Path in the way the Buddha seems to have instructed and given an example of in the Discourse of Mindfulness of Breathing. Most of the are on Academia.edu. They all fit the gradual structure of Ethics, Composure and Wisdom and as alluded to by another replier, Right View and Right Intention would be the basis of Ethics. Comparative studies of the path, show that Right View is not Right Insight, which is deeper, but it sets us on the Right Path.
best wishes
Joe
PS I have now changed to access rights for the Google Document. So, once you log in with a Google Account, you should be able to view it straight away.
Hi again Kevin
I’m glad you find it helpful. It is not so specific to gradual path studies and this other table summary is. 7_Disciple_Types_Gradual_Path_Transcende.pdf (139.0 KB)
The comparative text technique used here, was most likely given by the Buddha in DN29 and the only example I have found of the Buddha doing it, is in the Anapanasati Sutta, where he compares the 16 steps, with the Four Foundations of Mindfulness.
I have a free whole course using this technique to first clarify what key terms meant, especially Ethics (sīla), Composure (Samādhi) and Wisdom (Paññā) and then to clarify the Path, but it is a google classroom and one would need to make a google account to join.
I was a Theravada monk for nearly 20 years, then did a BA in Buddhist studies at the University of Queensland. Now I live a secular practice.
best wishes
Joe
I tried the link and it said I needed to request access, but I hit the request access button before putting in a message, so if you get a request immediately before the time stamp of this comment, that’s mine
Hi Ryan
I’m guessing you are talking about the google document link to the compilation. If so, no problem.
I have worked out how to attach pdfs to messages here. So I’ll put the direct link in my original message.
cheers
Joe
