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The third in a major new series of talks by Vishvapani to mark the launch of his new book: 'Gautama Buddha: …
Vishvapani
2011
01.
Launching a book; getting ordained and meditation in that context; Going for Refuge and the Enlightened Mind; opening up to an expansive space; the blinking open of the Dharma Eye (the experience of Upali); reflections of the Buddha in archetypal forms (6:28)
02.
Reflecting on the Buddha who is time-bound and distinct as individual; Wagner’s failed attempt to write an opera about the Buddha; Nikos Kazantzakis, Zorba The Greek and the Buddha; Nietzsche on the Buddha; seeing the Buddha as against life itself (3:26)
03.
Why the Buddha can appear an abstract figure; the 32 marks of an Enlightened being; what might a Buddha look like? The Dhatu-vibhanga Sutta and Pukkusati; hagiography; the Buddha with Ananda – subject to old age (4:30)
04.
What kind of person was he? How we learn about what the Buddha was like; the Buddha’s decision to teach as a psychological process; bother and hassle; love of solitude and the welfare of beings; the Buddha and the bull elephant in the forest (6:16)
05.
The Buddha as a kind man; force-field of loving kindness (metta); the Buddha’s parody of the sramana community - unwillingness to engage in debates; how the Buddha chose to teach, skilful communication based on what’s of value to people (6:40)
06.
The Buddha as funny; dung beetles and monks greedy for food; a bizarre ritual for a king; a distinctive humorous voice – a whiny verse from the Dhammapada and the Buddha as an old man (3:38)
07.
The Buddha as intensely creative; relative dullness of Abhidharma; similes and metaphors for the mind; the Buddha remaking contemporary ways of thinking, myth and language; Vepacitti, King of the Asuras, mind-forged manacles; intricate intelligence (4:19)
08.
‘Knowing’ the Buddha as very familiar and a close friend; the Buddha as most himself in moments of inspired utterance; the Buddha of negation; a vivid presence we cannot fully comprehend (2:34)