Abstract
From a purely theoretical perspective, the non-dual teachings of Advaita Vedanta are seen as irreconcilable with the teachings of Theravada Buddhism. However, the teachings of the Masters of the Thai forest tradition, based entirely on their own practice of the Buddha’s path which culminated in their liberation, seem to be quite in consonance with those of the Advaita Vedanta. In this paper, an attempt has also been made to show how some of the so-called ‘enigmatic and obscure’ Suttas of the tipiṭaka also point in the same direction. The points of difference between the two traditions are also brought out.
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Notes
Brahma sūtra aphorism II.ii.32.
Bhikkhu Bodhi [1998],’Dhamma and Non-duality’: https://www.accesstoinsight.org/lib/authors/bodhi/bps-essay_27.html.
Body, feelings, perception, volitional formations and sensory-consciousness (rūpa, vedanā, saññā, sankhāra, viññāṇa).
Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad, 1.4.10.
Chāndogya Upaniṣad, 6.9.4.
Māṇḍūkya Upaniṣad, 2.
Adi Sankara: Brahma Jnānavali Māla, verse 20.
Swami Tejomayananda (2018), Meditation verses: Nirvana Shatakam, Central Chinmaya Mission Trust, Mumbai.
Ācariya Mahā Boowa Ñāņasampanno, [2005], Venerable Ācariya Mun Bhūridatta thera—a Spiritual Biography, a Forest Dhamma Publication of Baan Taad Forest Monastery.
Ajahn Maha Boowa equates it with sa-upãdisesa-nibbãna.
Phra Rājavaraguṇa [2016], Phra Ajaan Dune Atulo, Translated from the Thai by Ṭhānissaro Bhikkhu Metta Forest Monastery, CA, U.S.A.
Abott, Wat Nong Pah Pong [2001], The Teachings of Ajahn Chah, p137, Ubon, Thailand.
Ajahn Sumedho [2004], Intuitive awareness, p 136, Amaravati Buddhist Monastery Publications, UK.
Ajahn Amaro [2016], The Breakthrough, p49, Amaravati Buddhist Monastery Publications, UK.
This point is also brought out by David Loy in his paper “Enlightenment in Buddhism and Advaita Vedanta: Are Nirvana and Moksha the Same?" Available at: http://ccbs.ntu.edu.tw/FULLTEXT/JR-AN/26715.htm.
Ajahn Amaro in Introduction to the book “The Sound of Silence” by Ajahn Sumedho [2007], Wisdom Publications, Boston.
MN 18: Madhupiṇḍika Sutta.
In commentaries the heart-base (hadaya vatthu) is sometimes mentioned as the ‘physical support’ of mana, but it is only a way of speaking since thoughts seem to emerge from there. Mana is basically formless.
MN 10 Satipaṭṭhāna Sutta.
P.L.Dhar [2017] Meditation Manual based on the Buddha’s Satipaṭṭhāna Sutta, Embassy Books, Mumbai.
Ajahn Sumedho [2004], Intuitive Awareness, p 154, Amaravati Buddhist Monastery Publications, UK.
Nisargadatta Maharaj [1981], I am That, p29, Chetana Press, Mumbai.
Translation of the section from DN 11: Kevatta (Kevaddha) Sutta; In Ajahn Amaro, “The Breakthrough” p. 235.
sabbassa sabbattena ananubhūtaṃ.
Ajahn Amaro [2016], The Breakthrough, p102, Amaravati Buddhist Monastery Publications, UK.
Rupert Spira [2017], The Nature of Consciousness, p10-11, Sahaja Publications, Oxford.
Ajahn Sumedho [2004], Intuitive awareness, p 135–136, Amaravati Buddhist Monastery Publications, UK.
Ajahn Passano & Ajahn Amaro [2009], The Island, Abhayagiri monastic foundation, CA, USA.
better termed as ‘pure knowing’ or awareness.
Ud 1.10: Ajahn Pasanno & Ajahn Amaro[2009], The Island, pp. 62–63.
SN 35.95.
AN 4.24: Ajahn Pasanno & Ajahn Amaro[2009], The Island, pp. 119–120.
He also received the same instructions from the Buddha; translation by Bhikkhu Bodhi[2000], Connected Discourses of the Buddha, Wisdom publications, MA, USA.
Ajahn Amaro talk [2018]: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=br57LUCpOoE.
Ajahn Amaro.
In Kaṭhopaniṣad (Part 1 Canto ii verse 18) we find a similar description of the “Self”:
It is neither born nor does it die. It did not originate from anything, nor did anything originate from it. It is birth-less, eternal, un-decaying and ancient. It is not injured even when the body is killed.
Ajahn Sumedho [2010], Don’t take your life personally, p367-371, Buddhist Publishing Group, UK.
MN 26.19.
Ud 1.10: Bāhiya Sutta,,from The Udāna and Itivuttaka, translated by John D Ireland, Buddhist Publication Society, Kandy[1997].
Kaṭhopaniṣad, Part 2, Canto II, verse 15, translation adapted from “Eight Upanişads” translated by Swāmī Gambhīrānanda [1957], Advaita Ashram Publications, Kolkata.
Muṇḍaka Upanişad, Part 2, Canto II, verse 8.
Dhammapada, verse 154.
Leesa S. Davis [2010], Advaita Vedānta and Zen Buddhism, Continuum International Publishing Group, London.
Muṇḍaka Upaniṣad, Part 3, Canto 1, verse 5.
Kaṭhopaniṣad, Part 1 Canto 2 verse 24.
Moha: delusion, Mudgara: hammer, so literally this title means hammer to shatter delusion.
Sri Ramana Maharshi, Upadesa Saram, Ramanasramam, Tiruvannamalai, 1970; and also https://sriramanamaharishi.com/my_keywords/sadhana-chatushtaya/.
David Frawley [2004], No2, Misconceptions about Advaita, 'The Mountain Path', the journal of Sri Ramanasramam, Tiruvannamalai.
Who Am I? The Teachings of Bhagavan Sri Ramana Maharshi, Translation by Dr. T. M. P. Mahadevan, Sri Ramanasramam, Tiruvannamalai.
SN 35.116: Loka Sutta.
Modern science also points out that our sensory faculties are limited and can capture only a part of the “Reality”—for example, the human eye, ear and nose have limited ability to see, hear, and smell; birds and animals have different abilities. The color of a flower as seen by us will be considerably different from what a bird or snake sees; thus, no specific color “belongs” to the flower. The same applies to all other sense objects—sounds, smells, taste, and tactile objects.
Rupert Spira [2017] The Nature of Consciousness, p98, Sahaja Publications, Oxford.
AN 4.36: Doṇa Sutta; “Buddhosmi” could be translated as “I am a Buddha” or “I am awake”.
Timothy Conway, Nondual Spirituality or Mystical Advaita at: https://www.enlightened-spirituality.org/nondual-spirituality.html.
Sunyata is the Sanskrit word for emptiness by which the Buddha implies “empty of self”.
Or pure consciousness.
Acknowledgements
I would like to acknowledge with deep gratitude the valuable suggestions received from respected Ajahn Sumedho, Ajahn Amaro, Ajahn Asoko, and many friends who went through various editions of the draft. The final responsibility for the contents of this paper, of course, rests with the author.
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Dhar, P.L. Thai Forest Tradition and Advaita-Vedanta. J. Indian Counc. Philos. Res. 40, 337–362 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40961-023-00315-y
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40961-023-00315-y