☸️ Theravada Dhamma พระธรรมเถรวาท
Essential teachings from the Pali Canon: Key Suttas, Abhidhamma concepts, and Vinaya rules for practitioners and monastics.
📜 Key Suttas (พระสูตร)
The Sutta Pitaka contains the Buddha's discourses. These are among the most important for practice:
Dhammacakkappavattana Sutta
ธัมมจักกัปปวัตตนสูตร
Setting the Wheel of Dhamma in Motion
The Buddha's first sermon containing the Four Noble Truths and Middle Way.
Avoid extremes. Follow the Middle Way to wisdom and Nibbana.
Satipatthana Sutta
สติปัฏฐานสูตร
Foundations of Mindfulness
The most important discourse on meditation practice.
Mindfulness of body, feelings, mind, and mental objects is the direct path.
Anapanasati Sutta
อานาปานสติสูตร
Mindfulness of Breathing
Detailed instructions on breath meditation.
Through mindful breathing, develop both calm and insight.
Metta Sutta
เมตตสูตร
Discourse on Loving-Kindness
Instructions on developing universal loving-kindness.
May all beings be happy, free from enmity and anxiety.
Mangala Sutta
มงคลสูตร
Discourse on Blessings
The Buddha describes 38 highest blessings.
True blessings: not associating with fools, honoring the wise.
Karaniya Metta Sutta
กรณียเมตตสูตร
Hymn of Universal Love
Beautiful verses on cultivating boundless loving-kindness.
As a mother protects her child, cultivate boundless love.
🧠 Key Abhidhamma Concepts (อภิธรรม)
The Abhidhamma Pitaka provides detailed analysis of mind and matter. These concepts support deeper meditation practice:
Citta (Consciousness)
จิต
89 or 121 types of consciousness classified by ethical quality.
Understanding moment-to-moment arising develops insight into impermanence.
Cetasika (Mental Factors)
เจตสิก
52 mental factors including feeling, perception, and volition.
Recognizing mental factors helps identify wholesome and unwholesome states.
Rupa (Matter)
รูป
28 types of material phenomena including the four elements.
Contemplating elements reduces attachment to physical form.
Nibbana
นิพพาน
The unconditioned element, cessation of suffering.
Nibbana is realized through developing the Noble Eightfold Path.
📿 Key Vinaya Rules (พระวินัย)
The Vinaya Pitaka contains the monastic discipline. Understanding these supports proper conduct and lay-monastic relations:
Patimokkha
ปาฏิโมกข์
Monastic Code
227 rules for bhikkhus, 311 for bhikkhunis.
Recited fortnightly. Foundation of monastic discipline.
Four Parajikas
ปาราชิก
Defeats (Expulsion Offenses)
Sexual intercourse, theft, killing, false claims.
Breaking these results in automatic expulsion.
Kathina
กฐิน
Robe-Offering Ceremony
Annual ceremony where lay supporters offer cloth.
Important merit-making opportunity.
✍️ Pra Kru Bob's Writings
Thoughtful essays on Buddhism, meditation, and applying the Dhamma to modern life
Buddhism: An Overview for Children
Understanding the Path to Peace and Wisdom
Buddhism is a religion and a way of life that began over 2,500 years ago in India. It is based on the teachings of a wise man named Siddhartha Gautama, who is known as the Buddha. The word "Buddha" means "the Enlightened One" or "the Awakened One".
This comprehensive overview explores the Buddha's life journey—from his birth as a prince to his enlightenment under the Bodhi tree—and presents the core teachings including the Four Noble Truths, the Noble Eightfold Path, and practical meditation techniques. Perfect for introducing Buddhism to young learners or anyone new to the Dhamma.
Fear as Guardian and Tyrant
Buddhist Wisdom on Fear and Social Control
The Buddha taught that fear is built into life itself. From birth to death, humans face fear in countless ways. But the Buddha didn't just diagnose fear—he showed us how to transform it. He saw fear both as a natural response to life's uncertainty and as a doorway to wisdom.
This profound essay explores what the Buddha taught about fear, how meditation helps us understand fear's roots, the role of moral conscience (hiri and ottappa), and how societies have learned to use fear as a tool of social control. Includes specific meditation practices for working with fear and developing discernment between protective concern and manufactured anxiety.
📚 Study the Dhamma Vocabulary
Learn the Thai pronunciation of Buddhist terms used in temples and teachings:
🙏 For Monastics
This section is designed to help foreign monks learn the Thai vocabulary used in daily monastic life. Common terms for the Patimokkha, alms round, ceremonies, and interactions with lay supporters are included in the vocabulary sections.