Hello Rene,

I was very happy that you mentioned bhikkhu ~Naa.naananda. Last July, while
on a retreat at the Dhammapaala forest monastery in Kandersteg,
Switzerland, I came across “Concept and Reality in Early Buddhist Thought:
An essay on papa~nca and papa~nca-sa~n~na-sankhaa" (BPS). It was indeed
difficult but fascinating reading, alas I was unable to finish it during my
short stay - there's really something worth coming back too in this text.

On the other hand, I have more knowledge of the opus "The Magic of the
Mind: An exposition of the Kalaakaaraama Sutta" (from the Ang.-Nik.), and
this is an advisable reading to seekers on the Way - easier than the
above-mentioned, but stil it is NOT an easy reading...

So thank you for letting us know of
http://www.beyondthenet.net/calm/clm_main1.htm
we can learn more from this wise and knowledgeable bhikkhu.

Mettaa-cittena.

Dr Gabriel Jivasattha Bittar

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Date: Mon, 24 Mar 2003 15:09:10 -0700
From: Rene Salm <rsalm@...>
Subject: Ven. Nanananda

Dear Pali friends,

It is a pleasure to see Ven. ~Naanananda’s name appear in recent
discussion on this list. I met him on my one visit to Sri Lanka two
years ago, and we talked for an hour. Ven. N. lives in a cave in a
remote hermitage near Meetirigala. For the serious student of the
Theravada tradition he has much to offer. His writings range from
difficult to easy to follow. I haven’t read all of them yet--
but hope to.

Ven. N. is a Sri Lankan Buddhist monk who is not afraid to confront some

inconsistencies in the tradition. He knows the tradition like few
others, but is aware of the historical process by which the tradition
was formed over centuries. Thus, he walks a fine line between orthodoxy
and independent thinking.

One of the things he said to me (I took notes) was:
“The root of the illusion in ‘I am’
is not the ‘I’. It is the ‘am’.
It is being that gives the ‘I’ meaning.”

At the end of our meeting Ven. N. gave me several copies of his
writings (which he does with all visitors). So, I have a few extra
copies of two of his works that I don’t believe are widely available:

“Seeing Through: A guide to insight meditation” (32 pp.);
“Towards Calm and Insight: Some practical hints” (52 pp).

Parts of these are on the web.
If someone wants a copy of either/both of these in payment of postage,
let me know-- off list please <rsalm@...>.
For residents outside the US it’s more difficult, but I’m happy to send
material if you can pay the expense.

Thank you, Lars for apparently helping to put Ven. N’s valuable thought
on the web!
(http://www.beyondthenet.net/calm/clm_main1.htm) etc.
The page has obviously been done with love and care.

The Nibbana lectures are a good introduction to Ven. N’s thought.
Pali knowledge will help. Don’t be in a hurry when you read Nanananda!

Ven. N’s most ambitious work is the book “Concept and Reality in Early
Buddhist Thought: An essay on papa~nca and papa~nca-Sa~n~na- Sankhaa”
(BPS, 160 pp.)

Slightly more approachable is “The Magic of the Mind: An exposition of

>the Kalakarama Sutta” (BPS, 92 pp. Also on the web?) Here he develops

the thesis that samsaara is like a magic show in which we, as the
“audience,” are all fooled. (Unfortunately, I don’t have extra copies of

these two BPS books.)

Ven. N has much to say about naama and ruupa, which Lars has been
discussing. Here is a little snippet which I found without difficulty
(from “Towards Calm and Insight,” p.11):

Ruupa in naamaruupa is ‘nominal’ form
(= pa.thavii, aapo, tejo, vaayo;
i.e. earth, water, fire, air)

Naama in naamaruupa is ‘formal’ name
(= vedanaa, sa~n~naa, cetanaa, phasso, manasikaaro;
i.e. feeling, perception, intention, contact, attention)

For ‘form’ is such that it calls forth a ‘name,’
and ‘name’ is such that it conjures up a ‘form.’

Metta,

Rene


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Jacqueline "Gotamî Jîvarakkhî" Bittar
Dr Gabriel "Ananda Jîvasattha" Bittar,
PhD University of Geneva
phone +61 8 8553 7442 , fax +61 8 8553 7444
mob. ph. +61 4 2743 5148

Institut Suisse de Bioinformatique
Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics
http://www.isb-sib.ch/DEA/plan_etudes.html
email: bittar@...

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a'niccâ vata san'khârâ
( a'niccaa vata san'khaaraa )
"impermanent are structural processes"
"instables sont les flux structurels"
Siddhârtha (Siddhaartha) Gautama Buddha
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