About the Thammajaree notebook

Thammajaree is a Dhamma notebook: dated notes on Theravada practice, written in English for lay practitioners, kept in public in the hope that a well kept note saves someone else an evening of confusion. The word thammajaree means a companion of the Dhamma, and the site takes the companionship literally. It does not teach monasticism, it does not recruit for any tradition, and it does not publish from authority; the standing instruction of the notebook is the one the Kalama Sutta gives, test teachings by what they do in a life.

What the notebook covers

Six doors, all inside one practice. The core instructions of breath and mindfulness in Meditation Practice; the early discourses read whole in Suttas Made Accessible; the public retreat institutions of Retreats in Thailand; the canon’s weather report in The Five Hindrances; the other twenty three hours in Daily Life Practice; and the vocabulary that holds it together in the Pali Glossary.

How the desk works

Every canonical claim carries its reference, nikaya and number, so it can be checked against any printed collection or an online reader in seconds. Where a statement rests on commentary rather than sutta, the notebook says so. Where an institution’s arrangements could change, as with temple retreats, the notebook describes only what is publicly established and tells the reader to confirm with the source. The desk publishes no teachings of its own, takes no students, and performs no rites. The rules in full live on the editorial policy page, and the door is open through the contact page. Every article on the site is written and signed by this desk alone, which is why the desk page is the author page of the notebook.