Taking the Buddha as our Kalyanamitta leads to the wise, skilful understanding that guides the path of liberation. At Liberation Park we encourage active study of Buddha-Dhamma and endeavour to support Dhamma friends in exploring it's earliest record. The key resource for such study is the Pali Suttanta (collection of discourses). How to go about sorting through this vast, rich material is a question we regularly hear. Thus, we offer these talks on study methodology in addition to the other study aids on this site.
Using the Suttas to read the Suttas is the approach advocated by Ajahn Buddhadasa. He also spoke of it as 'digging diamonds from the Tipitaka'.
Part 1 (9.6 mb, 42 min)
Part 2 (9.0 mb, 39 min)
Guide for reading the Suttas: similar material to the above talks with somewhat different details.
Part 1 (7.7 mb, 34 min)
- Introduction
- Influence of Commentaries
- The Great Standards
- In the past, as well as now, I teach ...
- To see the Dhamma is to see the Buddha
Part 2 (9.6 mb, 42 min)
- The Summoner Drum & Emptiness
- Elevator speech for busy lay people
- Criteria for what is is not Dhamma
Part 3 (3.8 mb, 17 min)
- Two Kinds of Languages
- To understand teachers, live like they did
Entire talk (14.7 mb, 1:01 min)
- Perspectives of The Great Forty Sutta (MN 117)
- Perspectives of The Sutta on Right Understanding (MN 9)
- Other Perspectives on Samma-Ditthi
Please take note: "Study" in the sense we use it here is never separate from "practice," nor is it just an intellectual or bookish activity. In fact, both study & practice are contained in the Pali terms sikkha (training) and bhavana (cultivation), akin to the original meaning of "education." In other words, "meditation" is a crucial aspect of study-training and meditation without intellectual training is often confused. Wise, mindful study is an important dimension of well-rounded cultivation of The Way