Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Tikkhapaññā☁

@tikkhapanna.bsky.social

The Pali word sīla originally meant simply conduct. But in the context of the Buddhist spiritual training, the term is used to...

#Buddhism #Dhamma #virtue #morality #moralintegrity #Theravada #Dharma

October 19, 2025 at 11:16 AM Everybody can reply

1 reposts 1 likes

1 1

Ang Way Chuang 洪伟壮

@wcang79.bsky.social

It's the initiative of Theravada Buddhist Council of Malaysia and Vihara Buddha Gotama. It's nicely done and I can't help but sniff at the books. Good quality paper as well.

October 17, 2025 at 8:19 AM Everybody can reply

1 likes

1

MizKitty&Spencer 🦆🐈

@mizkitty.bsky.social

I didn't think I had any opulence in my photo files, but last night something reminded me of this. In 2013 I spent a week at Sitigu Buddha Vihara monastery near Austin, TX. Opulence everywhere! #AlphabetChallenge #WeekOforOpulent .

Sitigu is a residence/monastery in the Burmese tradition of Theravada Buddhism. It has a golden Burmese style pagoda and lush interiors. This golden Buddha sits in the lavish meditation hall. It's an exquisite place and the monks who were there at the time were delightful. I've been to my share of monastic residences/viharas/monasteries in this country, but most are basic. Sitigu was as close to Burma/Myanmar as I will get in this lifetime, and quite an experience.

Pagoda detail at Sitigu. It's a scaled-down exact replica of a famous pagoda in Burma, painted with a gold paint not available in this country.

October 10, 2025 at 12:13 PM Everybody can reply

3 reposts 35 likes

2 3 35

Buddhistdoor Global (BDG)

@buddhistdoor.bsky.social

BDG news: At least 32 Killed, 50 Injured During Myanmar Military Strike on Buddhist Festival

🔗 Read more: tinyurl.com/43zcsmhz

#Buddhism #Theravada #Myanmar #China #Russia #Junta #Coup #BuddhistFestival #CivilWar #Sagaing #ChaungU #HumanitarianCrisis

At least 32 Killed, 50 Injured During Myanmar Military Strike on Buddhist Festival - Buddhistdoor Global

At least 32 people were killed—including several children—and more than 50 injured on Monday during an attack on a Buddhist festival by government forces.

tinyurl.com

October 9, 2025 at 6:09 PM Everybody can reply

2 reposts 1 likes

2 1

rubot

@rubot.ie

theravada, vajrayana, mahayana

Jess Calarco @jessicacalarco.com · 19d

quantitative methods, qualitative methods, mixed methods

October 8, 2025 at 8:28 AM Everybody can reply

1 reposts 5 likes

1 5

Buddhistdoor Global (BDG)

@buddhistdoor.bsky.social

BDG news: Buddhist Leaders Meet Bangladesh’s Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus on Probarona Purnima

🔗 Read more: tinyurl.com/yn9r5vdv

#Buddhism #Theravada #Bangladesh #Interfaith #Dhaka #Dialogue #Cremation #BuddhistNews

Buddhist Leaders Meet Bangladesh’s Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus on Probarona Purnima - Buddhistdoor Global

Buddhist leaders in Bangladesh met Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus on Probarona Purnima to express gratitude and discuss community needs

tinyurl.com

October 8, 2025 at 12:03 PM Everybody can reply

1 reposts 2 likes

1 2

John Douglas

@johndouglasart.com

Theravāda Buddhist Vihara, Blue Mountains
gouache
#ColorADay #GreenSat #art #pleinair #painting #BlueSkyArtShow #relax #peaceful #art

October 4, 2025 at 10:32 AM Everybody can reply

5 reposts 54 likes

1 5 54

Andrew Perfors

@perfors.net

Nice essay! This bit in particular was really interesting to me (as someone who neither meditates nor knows much about Buddhism). It makes a lot of sense.

The Three-Legged Stool We Broke
Within Buddhism, mindfulness meditation is one of several integrated practices. For example there’s a concepual trilogy in Theravada Buddhism called dana sila bhavana—a three-legged stool where all legs are necessary for stability.

Dana means generosity and action directed toward others—social engagement, service, addressing collective suffering.

Sila means ethics—following precepts, moral guidelines for how to live in community.

Bhavana means mental development—meditation and mindfulness practice.

Popular mainstream mindfulness practice focuses almost exclusively on bhavana. It strips away the social obligation (dana) and ethical framework (sila), leaving only the technique for training your individual mind. When I attended a meditation retreat at a Buddhist monastery (more on that in a post later this fall), one of the senior monks warned explicitly that practicing meditation without the other two legs was “dangerous.”

But secular mindfulness doesn’t want the other two legs. It doesn’t want ethical precepts that might constrain individual freedom. It doesn’t want social obligations that might demand action beyond personal practice. It just wants the meditation technique—extracted, medicalized, and marketed as a tool for individual optimization.

The result? A technique for individual stress management and performance optimization, completely divorced from Buddhism’s social and ethical dimensions.

October 4, 2025 at 12:46 AM Everybody can reply

14 reposts 2 quotes 42 likes 7 saves

2 14 42

'What the Buddha Taught'

@buddhist.cafe

"Ye dhammā hetuppabhavā, tesaṃ hetuṃ tathāgato āha,
tesañca yo nirodho, evaṃvādī mahāsamaṇo’ti."

(Sāriputtattheraapadāna)

Of those states that have arisen from a cause, their cause is explained by the Tathāgata,
and the cessation of those; this is what the great Sramana teaches.

#TheraWheel

September 26, 2025 at 10:38 PM Everybody can reply

2 reposts 3 likes

2 3

Tricycle: The Buddhist Review

@tricyclemag.bsky.social

“When you’re acting, you have to come from a position of strength. Stillness provides that strength.” —Theravada monk Thanissaro Bhikkhu

A Position of Strength

A Theravada monk imparts a timeless lesson on the relationship between stillness and action

tricycle.org

September 26, 2025 at 2:03 PM Everybody can reply

5 likes 1 saves

5

'What the Buddha Taught'

@buddhist.cafe

"Natthi ragasamo aggi
natthi dosasamo kali
natthi khandhasama dukkha
natthi santiparam sukham."

( #Dhammapada )

There is no fire like passion; there is no evil like hatred; there is no ill like (the burden of) khandhas; there is no bliss that surpasses the Perfect Peace (Nibbana).

##TheraWheel

September 25, 2025 at 4:01 PM Everybody can reply

2 reposts 3 likes

2 3

The Rap Music Plug Podcast

@rapmusicplugpod.bsky.social

🚨 THERAVADA will be joining The Rap Music Plug Podcast for an interview 🚨

We’ll discuss the making of his impressive new album, working with Earl on LLL, and much more!

Tune in Oct 8 🎙️

For RMPP Patrons - check your feeds to submit questions!!

September 25, 2025 at 4:08 PM Everybody can reply

2 likes

2

Patrick Kapty

@patrickkapty.bsky.social

Seated Buddha
bronze with traces of gilding
Lan Na Kingdom
Northern Thailand
16th century

#buddha #buddhism #buddhistsculpture #thailand #siam #lanna #lannabuddha #bronzebuddha #seatedbuddha #circa16thcentury #antique #antiquebuddha #thaibuddha #thaiantiques

Lan Na, One of the first major Tai (Siamese) kingdoms in Thai history. It was founded by Mangrai (r. c. 1259–1317) in the northern region of present-day Thailand; its capital was the city of Chiang Mai. Lan Na was a powerful state and a centre for the spread of Theravada Buddhism. Under Tilokaracha (r. 1441–87) it was famous for its Buddhist scholarship and literature. It remained independent until it was conquered by Myanmar (Burma) in the 16th century. The Siamese did not reassert control over the area until the 19th century.

September 23, 2025 at 1:54 PM Everybody can reply

4 reposts 17 likes

4 17

'What the Buddha Taught'

@buddhist.cafe

"Asāre sāramatino
sāre casāradassino
Te sāram nadhigacchanti
micchā sankappagocarā"

( #Dhammapada Yamaka Vagga)

The unessential they imagine as essential,
In the essential, they see as unessential,
they never realise the essence,
who entertain such wrong thoughts.

#TheraWheel #Theravada #Buddhism

September 22, 2025 at 2:50 PM Everybody can reply

2 reposts 5 likes

2 5

'What the Buddha Taught'

@buddhist.cafe

Manujassa pamattacārino
taṇhā vaḍḍhati māluvā viya,
so palavatī hurāhuraṁ
phalam-icchaṁ va vanasmi’ vānaro.

( #Dhammapada )

For a human who lives life heedlessly
craving increases like a clinging creeper,
He rushes from one place to another
like a monkey desiring fruit in the forest.

#TheraWheel

September 21, 2025 at 8:31 PM Everybody can reply

2 reposts 5 likes

2 5

'What the Buddha Taught'

@buddhist.cafe

"Piyato jāyatī soko, piyato jāyatī bhayaṁ,
piyato vippamuttassa natthi soko, kuto bhayaṁ?"

( #Dhammapada, Piyavaggo )

From love there arises grief, from love there arises fear,
For one who is free from love, there is no grief; how can there be fear?

#TheraWheel #Theravada #Buddhism #Buddha

September 21, 2025 at 9:55 AM Everybody can reply

2 reposts 4 likes

1 2 4

'What the Buddha Taught'

@buddhist.cafe

"Idha tappati pecca tappati
pāpakārī ubhayattha tappati
Pāpam me kataŋ’ti tappati
bhiyyo tappati duggatim gato"

Agony now, agony hereafter,
the wrongdoer suffers agony in both worlds.
Agonised now by the knowledge that he has done wrong,
he suffers more agony, gone to a state of woe.

#Dhammapada

September 20, 2025 at 4:48 PM Everybody can reply

2 reposts 3 likes

1 2 3

'What the Buddha Taught'

@buddhist.cafe

Yathā agāraṁ succhannaṁ vuṭṭhī na samativijjhati,
evaṁ subhāvitaṁ cittaṁ rāgo na samativijjhati.

Just as rain cannot penetrate
a well-roofed house,
So also, passion (raga) cannot penetrate a mind well-cultivated
in Tranquillity and Insight Development (Samatha and Vipassana).
#TheraWheel #Theravada

September 20, 2025 at 8:28 AM Everybody can reply

2 reposts 5 likes

2 5

Lichchhavi

@lichchhavi.bsky.social

#TheraWheel #Theravada #Buddhism #Dhammapada #Dhamma #Darma #PaliCanon #BuddhistCafe #Positivethinking #Motivational ##Positiveness

September 19, 2025 at 3:41 PM Everybody can reply

1 reposts 4 likes

1 1 4

'What the Buddha Taught'

@buddhist.cafe

"uṭṭhāna vato sati mato
sucikammassa nisammakārinō
saññatassaca dhamma jīvino
appamattassa yasōbhi vaḍhḍati"

The good repute of someone energetic, mindful, of pure deeds, acting considerately, self-controlled, living righteously, and conscientious increases.

#TheraWheel #Theravada #Buddhism

September 18, 2025 at 7:03 AM Everybody can reply

2 reposts 5 likes

2 5

'What the Buddha Taught'

@buddhist.cafe

"Yo ca pubbe pamajjitvà
pacchà so nappamajjati
So imam lokam pabhàseti
abbhà mutto' va candimà."

Whoever was heedless before and afterwards is not; such a one illumines this world like the moon freed from clouds.

#TheraWheel #Theravada #Buddhism #Dhammapada #Dhamma #Darma #PaliCanon #Buddha

#TheraWheel #Theravada #Buddhism #Dhammapada #Dhamma #Darma #PaliCanon #Buddha

September 17, 2025 at 3:17 PM Everybody can reply

2 reposts 1 quotes 4 likes

2 4

Lichchhavi

@lichchhavi.bsky.social

💐

#TheraWheel #Theravada #Buddhism #Dhammapada #Dhamma #Darma #PaliCanon #Motivational #Positiveness

September 16, 2025 at 8:15 PM Everybody can reply

6 likes

1 6

Buddhistdoor Global (BDG)

@buddhistdoor.bsky.social

✨ What We Needs is to Understand the Cosmic Nature of the Universe

🪷 Profound wisdom from Ven. Dr. K. Sri Dhammananda (1919–2006)

🔗 youtube.com/shorts/5MAi0...

#Buddhism #Buddha #Dharma #Dhamma #Theravada #Compassion #Mindfulness #Meditation #Liberation #Wisdom #Awakening #Spirituality

Buddhistdoor Quote for Today: Ven. Dr. K. Sri Dhammananda (1919–2006)

YouTube video by BDG: Buddhistdoor Global

youtube.com

September 16, 2025 at 11:05 AM Everybody can reply

1 reposts 4 likes

1 4

Buddhistdoor Global (BDG)

@buddhistdoor.bsky.social

Buddhistdoor Quote for Today: Ven. Dr. K. Sri Dhammananda (1919–2006)

🔗 Explore more at BDG: buddhistdoor.net

#Buddhism #Buddha #Dharma #Dhamma #Theravada #SriLanka #Malaysia #Compassion #Mindfulness #Meditation #Liberation #Wisdom #Awakening #Spirituality

Buddhistdoor Quote for Today:

The Buddha taught that what man needs for his happiness is not a religion or a mass of theories but an understanding of the cosmic nature of the universe and its complete operation according to the laws of cause and effect. Until this fact is fully understood, man's understanding of life and existence will remain imperfect and faulty. — Ven. Dr. K. Sri Dhammananda (1919–2006)

September 16, 2025 at 7:42 AM Everybody can reply

1 reposts 5 likes

1 5

MizKitty&Spencer 🦆🐈

@mizkitty.bsky.social

Happier days. April 2014 I drove the two bhikkhunis to West Virginia from Charlotte, NC so they could visit their home monastery and teacher. This photo has been popping up on my screensaver lately and always catches my eye. 🙏 #buddhism

At Bhavana Society, a Theravada Buddhist monastery in West Virginia. On the left, yours truly (a rare, rare allowed photo!), Bhante Gunaratana (aka Bhante G), Ayya Sudhamma, and Ayya Sobhana. Bhante G is in his 90s now and still teaching as far as I know. He's been a monk since childhood, has written countless books helping lay people understand the teachings in plain language, is famed and respected worldwide. He was also the first monastic I had contact with, at my first retreat at Bhavana c2011. Ayya Sobhana is a dear friend who has taught me so much in the years I've known her.

September 12, 2025 at 4:17 PM Everybody can reply

20 likes

1 20