Buddhism 104

By Willy Thorn

A simple & clear collection of reflections on basic Buddhist philosophy.

The Path to Self includes: a reflection on how all things rise & fade; the nature & permanence of change; breath vs. thought; larger mental phenomenon; the path from awareness, thru freedom to self & more.

The book is divided into seven sections with 34 concise pieces. Individual pieces include: all things rise & fade; everyday change; on breath vs. thought; on owning rising states; on fading larger things; on time as acid; awareness as self-defense; the path to truth; cutting strings for freedom; the fundamental core belief of self; being trapped inside the self; accepting difficult paths; self effort, self reliance, self confidence, self control & more.

Includes quotes from the Buddha, Edwin Arlington Robinson, Godwin Samararatne & Thich Nhat Hanh.

Also: photos of Buddha statues from temples in Bangkok’s Dusit & Old Town districts — at Wat Inthara Wiharn, Wat Makut Kasatriyaram, Wat Sam Phraya, Wat Noranart Sunthirikaram, Wat Raja Thiwat & Wat Benjamabophit.

Willy Thorn is an artist, copywriter & meditation instructor in Bangkok; trained thru the renowned Willpower Institute of Wat Dhamma Mongkoln.

- end –

• Language: English
• Publisher: Willy Thorn
• Release date: May 2, 2021
• ISBN: 9781005180881

Willy Thorn

Willy Thorn is a communications expert & artistic renaissance man. He is a journalist & copywriter, teacher, author & artist.He has lived many places, beginning with Milwaukee & Rome & Minnesota & central Wisconsin. Among his other homes are Washington DC & Baltimore, Chicago & the Twin Cities, St. Francis South Dakota, the Bay Area & Shanghai. He currently lives & works in Bangkok.Thorn has a Masters Degree in Journalism & has spent time as a Capitol Hill reporter & wire editor, sports writer, political columnist & arts critic. Other media endeavors include public relations campaigns, magazine feature writing, ghostwritten biographies & time on the radio – as a DJ & on-air host, play-by-play sports announcer & music promoter.He has spent nearly a decade as a language specialist for Craft Worldwide & as a copywriter & creative for McCann Worldgroup. He currently works as senior copywriter at Quo Global branding agency in Bangkok.He has won awards at Cannes Lions & been recognized for sports writing & political columns, magazine features, theatre scripts, religious publications & photography.Thorn is also a photographer & classical oil painter, trained thru the Corcoran Gallery in Washington DC. His artistic c.v. includes photography gallery shows; sculpting in Mamallapuram, India; concrete statuary at Wat Xieng Mouane, in Luang Prabang, Laos; and flower petal mosaics in Cagli, Italy.He is a Buddhist meditation instructor; trained thru Thailand’s renowned Willpower Institute. And he was even the rare foreigner to complete the entire six month course in spoken & written Thai. He currently sits as an advisor on the institute’s English Foreign Language subcommittee – where he translates books, helps develop outreach programs & occasionally lectures.He is the author of more than 3o full-length books & plays & proudly notes a Master’s Degree from Marquette University & books in both Washington's Library of Congress & the Vatican Archives in Rome.His catalog is varied & he has written extensively about a number of subjects — including sports, politics, religion, Buddhist philosophy & Asian history & art. One of his largest endeavors was documenting & cataloguing several hundred temples in Bangkok, Ayutthaya, Yangon, Vientiane & Kuala Lumpur.His catalog is available thru the following distributors: Amazon // Apple iBooks // Android Aldiko // Barnes & Noble // Sony // & Smashwords.His Milwaukee-centric column of sports poetry & prose — 'Run of tha Mil' — can be found at Milticket.blogspot.com

Book preview

Rise & Fade

All things originate

& end.

This is the nature

of all things.

— the Buddha

all things rise

& fade

all things

begin

maintain

& fade

originate

exist

& end

are

born

& blossom

flower

& wither

come

& stay

& go

again

gather

coalesce

& dissipate

unite

come

unglued

& drop apart

assemble

preserve

& crumble

rise

& shine

set

& depart

take shape

innovate

go obsolete

develop

inspire

& have

their day

stimulate

expand

& expire

prepare

play roles

& exit the stage

fill

& flow

& crest

& ebb

commence

proceed

& cease

ignite

& blaze

& fall

to ash

incite

battle

& succumb

to peace

conquer

decline

fall

& collapse

gleam

corrode

rust

rot

& waste

big

boom

& expand

gloriously

& then

disappear

without

a trace

- to be continued -

Bangkok’s Wat Inthara Wiharn [temple] is home to one enormous Buddha.

[Note the person putting flowers on the Buddha’s feet, in the photo below.]

Phra Siari Yametri – aka Hluang Pau Tho – is Thailand’s largest standing Buddha.

It is over 1oo feet tall, 4o feet wide & nearly 1oo years old.

A set of Buddha relics rest inside the statue’s head; a gift from the people of Sri Lanka.

The Buddha’s topknot is covered in gold leaf & its skin is plated in gold, too. The latter was a gift from the people of Italy.

It took nearly 6o years to complete the statue & three different monks led the project.

Somdej Phra Buddhachan began in 1867, but died in 1872.

Hluang Pau Phu Chantha Kesaro carried construction into the 2oth century.

Hluang Pau Ngeon completed the statue in 1927.

on Change

At last, when we had all forgot

that all is here to change.

— Edwin Arlington Robinson

Everyday Change

like a new dawn rising

the universe

is reborn

anew

each day

& from moment

to moment

the whole

planet

swirls

with change

nations

thrive

& struggle

cities

shift

& groan

entire

environments

manifest

& nature

cycles

around

her home

…

friends change

family expands

everyone

develops

in kind

& every day

billions

of lives

all shift

together

at the same

time

we grow

mature

decompose

& age

each new breath

brings

new life

old ways

die

& disappear

& fresh

new

thoughts

arrive

some parts heal

others break down

& new memories

are written

while the archive

of forgotten

things

grows

a little larger

& thicker

new words

& songs

grace

the ear

old slang

& tongues

melt

the same

new face

after

new face

appears

& we lose

a few more

great

names

new skills develop

one muscle

at a time

old reflexes

are rendered

useless

we never breathe

the same way

twice

all of our

beings

are purely

fluid

each cell

changes

every

instant

nothing

remains

permanently

& in the eye

of that turmoil

we all call

that change

me

…

a Reflection on Change

I don’t want to change

is a dangerous

& destructive

sentiment

& it is also a form

of self deception

you don’t really have a choice

you can