Here is a short story that illustrates the sheer power of the realization of non-selfness. Non-selfness is so powerful it can result even in full enlightenment. This famously happened to a man called Bāhiya, who was not even a disciple of the Buddha at the...
(Context: Stream-Entry is Breaking Three Fetters.) The total abandonment of the first three fetters is only one definition of a stream-enterer. There is a complementary definition, perhaps a more important one: a stream-enterer is one who has clearly seen...
The most technical definition of stream-entry is the total abandonment of the first three lower fetters: identity view, doubt, and the distorted grasp of rules and vows. The first fetter, identity view[1], means identifying the self with any of the five aggregates...
We learned earlier that the Buddhist path to enlightenment is defined in four stages. It is no accident that the first stage is called stream-entry. Ancient Buddhist texts poetically compare the journey towards full enlightenment as a gentle flow from the...
Once upon a time, a god dropped a dragon pearl into a pond deep inland by accident. The pearl later transformed into a little baby dragon. As he got older, he learned that he was actually a sea dragon, so the only way he could grow into a full adult was to...
Karma is power. You have power because your actions have consequences. You have the power to change the world, and you have the power to change your life. You use this power at all times. Even if you decide not to use it, that very decision is an exercise of your...
