4th April, 2022
“To share loving-kindness, one should not harm and cause trouble for others or hold grudges against others. One should consider others as close relatives, just as siblings and friends—wishing for their happiness and prosperity. This is called 'mettā pāramı', or the cultivation of loving-kindness.”
By Ajahn Suchart Abhijāto
Latest Dhamma talks on Youtube:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCi_BnRZmNgECsJGS31F495g
"The qualities that really see you through the practice are often very unassuming. The flashy things that can happen in the meditation are not necessarily things you can rely on.
Your real friends are the ones that stay in the background.
~
Take patience and endurance, for example.
These qualities are not emphasized in our society. In fact we are probably one of the few societies that encourages children to be impatient, one that actually provokes their desires, provokes their anger, provokes their delusion. All those advertisements that are aimed at kids to make them want things right away, right now. So we end up with qualities that should be strong friends in the mind but instead are very weak.
~
So we consciously have to work on them to make them strong. When meditation goes well, you stick with it.
When it doesn't go well, you still stick with it. When strong emotions are screaming in your ears, you just stick there with the breath. It may not seem to be accomplishing much, but the patience you're developing is actually a very important weapon in your arsenal, an important ally to have in your battle with the defilements.
Because many times when the defilements come on strong, the strong part is the initial impact. If you can withstand that and sit through it for a while, you get to the point where it weakens. That's when you can deliver a blow.
~
This is how patience and endurance are your friends. They help you last through the difficult periods so that when things are more propitious, when things will work, when you can finally think of a way of dealing with the problem, or suddenly see something that you haven't seen for a long time, the patience and endurance are what get you there. These are mild unassuming qualities. If you had a color for them, it would probably be gray, but they're the ones you have to depend on. So learn to have an appreciation for them and learn to work with them.
~
Patience doesn't mean that you just sit there and don't do anything. It means that you're willing to be in this over the long haul. If something is not working in the mind, you keep trying various approaches. You don't get discouraged. You don't give up..."
❀❀❀
Thanissaro Bhikkhu
Excerpt from "Dying Friends"
~
Read the complete essay here:
Uncle Sit can still remember a factual account that Luang Phor Phut Thaniyo told him many years ago. Once a young man came to the Wat to pay his respects. After doing so, this man revealed to Luang Phor that he could remember his past life as a temple dog.
The man said that as a dog, he could understand the human language and listened to whatever the temple goers or monks said.
However, whenever he wanted to reply them and join in the conversation, only dog sounds came out of his mouth.
He remembered that on Buddhist holy days, the monks would be preaching the Dhamma at the Sala Hall. He wanted to go up to the hall to sit and listen to the Dhamma too, however he was a dog. Not only a dog, but one suffering from mange as well. So most times the devotees there would just chase him away.
So he had no choice but to lie down below the hall and listen to the Dhamma from under the Sala.
This man also remembered his final day as a dog. One afternoon he was lying in the bushes taking a rest not far from the temple hall. At that time, the temple was undergoing some construction and a newly ordained monk was helping out.
This monk was carrying a heavy log and through some slip of mindfulness he threw the log into the bushes without first checking if there was anything there. Unfortunately, the dog was resting taking a nap and got struck by the log. So he died from his injuries.
When the dog was reborn as a human, he could still remember his past life memories as a dog.
So when he grew up, he asked his parents to take him back to the same temple so that he could meet the young monk.
Actually, he was very grateful to the young monk for killing him because he saved him from having to live as a dog and was now back to being a human again. But sadly he was not able to meet the monk because he found out that the monk had disrobed. The monk had originally ordained to make merit but ended up killing a dog and felt very bad about it, so he left the monkhood.
This reminded Uncle Sit of what Luang Pu Doo often said, which was that every animal or creature had the chance to become human again so we should treat them with equal respect and not disturb them.
Temple dogs at Samnak Song Tham Sai
22 January 2024
As a child, I played childhood games just like the other kids. I would swim in the river. At first, I didnʼt know how to swim, but after training I learned how.
At that time, the kids would like to wait for a tow boat to come and then they would cling on to it as it passed.
The tow boats were loaded with rice; they didnʼt sail very fast then. I would swim out and grab onto a rope.
When there came a train of barges going back, Iʼd cling to that to come back.
Some of my friends liked to fish and shoot at birds, which I never participated in because I always felt bad about killing. However, I did play card games, though not with money.
Weʼd use cigarette packs as fake money—“Gold City Cigarettes,” “Gold Leaf,” “The Moon.” Weʼd grab them out of the trash, fold them up neatly, decide on their value, and then gamble together.
Another favorite game was “Lor Tokʼs House”—a game where coins were rolled down a sloped piece of wood to see whose would roll down the farthest. The person who rolled the farthest coin would then throw his coin on the othersʼ and collect the coins if he hit them.
As far as I can recall, when I was a kid, playing or doing whatever, I was never the one calling the shots. I would just join others. I didnʼt play in large groups—usually just two or three neighbors.
My education started in Samakkee Suksa School, a Thai private school near our house and the market in Suphanburi. In the first grade, I remember that we used to go to the temple because every observance day the teacher would take us to listen to a Dhamma talk and we would observe the precepts.
Nowadays this type of activity no longer exists due to the influence of materialism and the delusion of finding happiness from worldly possessions.
I started first grade again at a Chinese school which taught both Chinese and Thai. The teacher taught us to write Chinese with brushes and, at that time, I could write as well as speak Chinese. Nowadays I can no longer speak Chinese, though I can still understand something when I hear it spoken.
When I moved to this new school, I no longer went to the temple because our family did not really participate in any religion. My father did not believe in religion, though he did make merit.
He gave alms to the monks who came by and would always help those in need if they asked for it. My father appeared as if he had no religion, because he never went to the temple nor did he ever take his family there.
Later on, my parents moved from the south of Thailand to work in North Pattaya because my motherʼs older brother was a contractor for the water system in Pattaya and had convinced my parents to move there too. My father learned the construction business from carpentry to cement work and ended up building resort homes for people from Bangkok. Once in Pattaya, they brought me back from Suphanburi to live with them.
My younger sister, Kalaya Reungtanasarn, was born nine years after me in 1956 at Hua Chiao Hospital, delivered by the doctor with whom my mother used to work. My sister grew up in Pattaya with my parents, going to St. Paul Convent School, then later attending Assumption School in Sriracha. She entered Chulalongkorn University the same year as HRH Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn.
I had just completed third grade at the Suphanburi Chinese School when I moved to Pattaya. Fortunately, this was during a school break. At that time, my father had yet to decide where I should study next. As luck would have it, he got to know a teacher from Bangkok who was then staying at the rental house that my father had built for vacationers. The teacher suggested that I study at the school in which he was teaching, where lessons were taught in English.
My father, who generally had a clear vision of what might be beneficial for my future, thought that it would provide me with better opportunities in the future, so he decided to send me to the Seventh Day Adventist Ekamai School at Soi Ekamai in Bangkok.
“Beyond Birth.”
By Ajahn Suchart Abhijāto
YouTube: Dhamma in English.
The Buddha was like a doctor, treating the spiritual ills of the human race. The path of practice he taught was like a course of therapy for suffering hearts and minds. This way of understanding the Buddha and his teachings dates back to the earliest texts, and yet is also very current. Buddhist meditation practice is often advertised as a form of healing, and quite a few psychotherapists now recommend that their patients try meditation as part of their treatment.
~
After several years of teaching and practicing meditation as therapy, however, many of us have found that meditation on its own is not enough. In my own experience, I have found that Western meditators tend to be afflicted more with a certain grimness and lack of self-esteem than any Asians I have ever taught. Their psyches are so wounded by modern civilization that they lack the resilience and persistence needed before concentration and insight practices can be genuinely therapeutic. Other teachers have noted this problem as well and, as a result, many of them have decided that the Buddhist path is insufficient for our particular needs. To make up for this insufficiency they have experimented with ways of supplementing meditation practice, combining it with such things as myth, poetry, psychotherapy, social activism, sweat lodges, mourning rituals, and even drumming. The problem, though, may not be that there is anything lacking in the Buddhist path, but that we simply haven't been following the Buddha's full course of therapy.
~
The Buddha's path consisted not only of mindfulness, concentration, and insight practices, but also of virtue, beginning with the five precepts. In fact, the precepts constitute the first step in the path. There is a tendency in the West to dismiss the five precepts as Sunday-school rules bound to old cultural norms that no longer apply to our modern society, but this misses the role that the Buddha intended for them: They are part of a course of therapy for wounded minds. In particular, they are aimed at curing two ailments that underlie low self-esteem: regret and denial.
When our actions don't measure up to certain standards of behavior, we either
1) regret the actions or
2) engage in one of two kinds of denial, either
a) denying that our actions did in fact happen or
b) denying that the standards of measurement are really valid.
~
These reactions are like wounds in the mind. Regret is an open wound, tender to the touch, while denial is like hardened, twisted scar tissue around a tender spot. When the mind is wounded in these ways, it can't settle down comfortably in the present, for it finds itself resting on raw, exposed flesh or calcified knots.
Even when it's forced to stay in the present, it's there only in a tensed, contorted and partial way, and so the insights it gains tend to be contorted and partial as well. Only if the mind is free of wounds and scars can it be expected to settle down comfortably and freely in the present, and to give rise to undistorted discernment.
~
This is where the five precepts come in: They are designed to heal these wounds and scars. Healthy self-esteem comes from living up to a set of standards that are practical, clear-cut, humane, and worthy of respect; the five precepts are formulated in such a way that they provide just such a set of standards…"
❀❀❀
~ Thanissaro Bhikkhu
Excerpt from:
The Healing Power of the Precepts
~
Full essay here:
http://www.accesstoinsight.org/lib/authors/thanissaro/noblestrategy.html
~
and here:
Noble Strategy: Essays on the Buddhist Path
https://www.dhammatalks.org/books/NobleStrategy/Section0007.html
or here:
http://www.accesstoinsight.org/lib/authors/thanissaro/noblestrategy.pdf
Who is the monk next to Mae Chee Kaew? How did the Western world learn of Mae Chee Kaew's story?
The answer to the two questions is none other than the renowned Geiji Ajaan Luang Phor Inthawai, an important disciple of the lineage of the great Luang Ta Maha Bua.
For Buddhists, we know that the gods, even though they are radiant and resplendent, are not immortal and will die one day. It may interest you to know that not all devas are Buddhists, but it is true that there are a large proportion of devout Buddhist devas. This is the story of one such deva.
Before the deva was to die, he was ready to look for a good family for himself to be reborn to, so that he may continue to practice Buddhism. As the Buddhist devas tended to move together as a group, their luminous aura caused the Phu Kao area to light up very brightly. They were led by the Leader of the Devas in the Heaven of Thirty Three, Phra Indra Devaraj. However, they were only perceptible by those who had the Divine Eye, so only Mae Chee Kaew and Mae Daeng (Mae Chee Ma Ngae Piw Kam) were aware of their presence.
The deva spoke to them and said, "I would like to be born as a son of Khun Mae Chee." Mae Chee replied that "Mae Chee bùat láew" (ordained already), and that if you really want, you should enter the womb of a farmer woman that I know of, and you can be ordained as a monk when you grow up. This couple is not a rich couple, but are farmers, but can afford to send you to school to learn to read and write.
And it is good to be born to them, because if you are born to them now, you will be one of the middle children. The people in this area love the first, and the last child the most, and they wont be too upset if you were to go forth in the yellow robe. They are also a good Buddhist family with right views."
The deva replied, "How can you guarantee that I will ordain as a monk when after I grow up, as desired?"
Mae Chee Kaew replied, "It depends on your own bùp-pá-gam (merit, deeds, previous actions, kamma) alone."
The devas then discussed this matter with one another, which also included the Deva King Phra Indra, and then decided to return to heaven, except for the deva who was to be born to the farmer couple.
Some time later, Khun Mae Chee Kaew invited the couple for a chat, and told them about her discussions with the devas. The husband and wife both agreed to offer to be the parents of the deva. When the wife delivered the baby, the deva was born as a baby boy with all his complete faculties intact. This is actually important as those who are physically challenged are usually considered unsuitable for ordination.
The father came to see Mae Chee Kaew to inform her of his son's birth. Mae Chee Kaew told him to name his son "Inthawai", meaning "An offering to Phra Inn (Indra)".
At present, Luang Phor Inthawai is now very famous and has become a great Geiji Ajaan that many people respect. I think he should be known to those Singaporeans and Malaysians who like to follow monks of the Thammayut tradition.
Admin Note:
All beings fare in accordance with their kamma. Many devout Buddhists I know found that they had affinity with Buddhism since young. Personally, I too was Buddhist in my past life, except unlike LP Inthawai, I was not a Buddhist god (deva) but a Buddhist child spirit (kumantong).
Therefore my spiritual faculties and parami are not as developed and I can only do my part by sharing Dhamma as a layperson.
29th April, 2022
Question (from Malaysia): How to send mettā to our spouse/children who always have mood swing and are quick tempered?
Than Ajahn: Mettā is to be applied when you are with them. When you see them, instead of making them sad, you should try to make them happy, like giving them something – foods, drinks or gifts. Making people happy is the giving of mettā. Caring for people, loving people, being kind to people, these are mettā.
You can only do this when you are with them, not when you are alone. When you are alone, you cannot send mettā to them because there is no delivery system to send mettā, in which you can sit here and then send mettā to your spouse in another place. You have to meet him or her, so you can give him or her mettā. See your wife, give her a kiss, say, ‘Hello’ or ‘How are you? I love you.’ This is mettā.
*******-
Question (from Singapore): What should I chant to have a better relationship with my wife?
Than Ajahn: Metta bhāvanā, you should give her love and kindness. Then, you will have a better relationship. You should forgive her transgression or mistake. You should give her whatever she wants.
Then, you will always be happy with her. You cannot use chanting.
Chanting is not the solution. The solution is to treat her nice. Treat her like when it’s the first time you met her. Go back and reset your relationship to the first day when you met her.
Then, you will have good relationship with her.
By Ajahn Suchart Abhijāto
Latest Dhamma talks on Youtube:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCi_BnRZmNgECsJGS31F495g
Today’s talk is not from the suttas but based on a poem sent to me via e-mail. The title and author of the poem were not mentioned. However, I'd like to name today's talk “Happiness In and Out”. Let me read out the poem and comment on it.
By being unselfish
we develop the sense of sympathy in ourselves.
We cannot truly enjoy happiness
without being in sympathy with our fellow men.
The best way to be happy, therefore, is to make others happy.
Every kind act is twice blessed:
blessing him who gives and him who takes.
If we are to promote the spirit of fellowship,
we should forget our “I” in the service for all.
We should do everything we can for the sake of others.
This is an important poem to bear in mind especially in a religious community like ours comprising many volunteers and semi-volunteers from different walks of life. Each individual has to interact closely with others to ensure that community service and dissemination of the Dhamma are smoothly carried out in an uninterrupted, peaceful and harmonious manner.
To be selfish means to care only for oneself and not others. In the context of the Dhamma, selfishness is related to our desire for objects of the six senses. When people’s desires are thwarted in any way and expectations are not fulfilled, they can get all riled up and agitated.
They respond by sulking or getting angry. This kind of behaviour not only hurts them but also affects those they associate with and is therefore a form of selfishness. They have not yet learnt to forgive and forget—to let go.
During my younger days as a university student, I was searching for spiritual fulfilment and came across the Four Noble Truths.
The first one is the Noble Truth of Suffering. The Buddha taught us that birth, old age, sickness and death are suffering.
To associate with those we dislike is suffering.
To be separated from those we love is suffering.
Not to get what one wants is also suffering.
The Second Noble Truth tells us about the cause of suffering, which is craving or greed; the
Third Truth says that suffering can cease through the utter cessation of craving;
and the Fourth Truth describes the Noble Eightfold Path as the way leading to the cessation of suffering.
Even though I was quite new to Buddhism at that time, and had not yet started to learn meditation, I tried to verify these Truths in my daily life by frequently reflecting on my thoughts and feelings. By watching my expectations, which are subtle forms of craving, I noticed that whenever they were unfulfilled, suffering ensued. For example, during my first year at Universiti Sains Malaysia, Penang, in 1974, I was put in charge of a construction project as I was in the School of Housing, Building and Planning. As project manager, I had to coordinate the entire job, delegating tasks where appropriate and ensuring that each and every member of the team kept the deadline for their respective assignments. My expectations were high and I required the others to perform in the same manner. However, not everyone was as diligent or as responsible. Needless to say, I was disappointed on many occasions, and in many ways. The suffering I endured resulted in insomnia, loss of appetite and pure misery. Eventually, I couldn’t take the stress any more and resigned from the post.
It was only in my third year that my interest in spirituality intensified, bringing me to seriously investigate the practicality and relevance of the Four Noble Truths in daily life. When I reflected on the fiasco in my first year, I realised that it was my expectations that brought me my entire misery. After going through innumerable repetitions of such scenarios, I learnt to ‘programme’ my life in such a way that expectations, while still essential, must be well managed and not allowed to run riot. In other words, I had to learn to let go of attachment to expected results. I try to understand and see the other party’s point of view and difficulties. There's an English adage: To understand is to forgive. Sometimes, people cannot fulfil their promises and duties not just out of spite, but because the necessary supportive conditions are not there. By getting riled up, we only succeed in hurting, firstly ourselves, and then the people around us. There is pain everywhere.
When I learnt to meditate, it became even easier as I could now watch my unwholesome thoughts and feelings as they arose. By being mindful and aware when displeasure arises, the anger and ill-will will actually abate and we learn to let go of the thoughts that are making us angry. We are no longer selfish because now, we stop to think about others too. That is why during meditation sessions, yogis are taught to practise the four establishments of mindfulness (Satipatthana), i.e. being aware of
1. Body (Kaya) – bodily sensations, e.g. heat, tension, hardness, movement, rise and fall of the abdomen, breathing process.
2. Feelings (Vedana) – pain, displeasure, comfort, pleasure, indifference.
3. Mind (Citta) – mental states, e.g. anger, sadness, disappointment, lust, greed, attachment, delusion, distractedness, concentration, lethargy.
4. Dhamma – senses and objects of the senses, defilements that arise due to sense perceptions, how our thoughts and emotions arise due to various causes and conditions.
It is relatively easy to watch bodily sensations as they are coarse and physical in nature. For example, when we are angry, we can feel the tightening of our chest, increased sensation of heat and we breathe harder as our heart beats faster. Feelings, however, are more tricky because they are closely related to thoughts. There is anger and ill will towards the perceived offending party. If the meditator is experienced, he is then taught to observe the mind as it begins to rationalize his anger. For those not so well trained however, they are advised to be vigilantly aware of the emotion of anger felt as uncomfortable bodily sensations. Bodily sensations are easier to be aware of because they exist in the present whereas feelings and mind tend to get caught up in reflections of the past or worries about the future. By directing one's attention to bodily sensations, one stops feeding the negative thoughts that produce these uncomfortable feelings.
While I was seeking spiritual fulfilment, I read a lot of other religious texts besides Buddhist ones, among them, the Bhagavad Gita. There I learnt that whatever one does, one should not hope for returns. Just do it with a full heart and soul. Every moment that passes by should be in the present. Do not live in the past or the future for life is unpredictable. Every situation that we meet can be turned to our advantage if we know how to make use of it. This knowledge changed my view of life. For example, when I plan to do certain things but am unable to do so due to unforeseen circumstances, I learn to turn a potentially negative situation into a positive one. I try not to get all worked up when things don’t go my way but instead use the opportunity to learn to reduce my greed, hatred and delusion by practising understanding, forgiveness and metta. This is a form of meditation. My mind gets calmer and not so easily agitated.
It will be extremely beneficial if a meditator can continue to apply the peaceful mindfulness developed during formal meditation sessions in the handling of his day-to-day life crises. It is just like charging a hand-phone battery and using it daily instead of letting the energy fizzle out in storage. He will live a happier, stress-free life. Such a person is healthy and at peace with himself.
This poem also tells us that the best way to be happy is to make others happy. At the start of our recent Closer-to-Reality DhammaVinaya Seminar held in November 2006, I was rather stressed out due to last-minute preparations. A participant who could ‘sense’ peoples’ auras told me that my aura looked dull and unhealthy then. However, as I was giving my presentation, he commented that my aura started getting brighter. It is true that once I start to share the Dhamma, my spirits soar and fatigue is left behind.
Buddhist devotees often extend their help readily whenever there is any function. There is an excellent spirit of give and take. Even when the duty is not theirs, they still do what they can. Indeed every kind act is twice blessed, "blessing him who gives and him who receives” – a win-win situation.
When we forget our ‘self’ in the course of extending whatever help we can render, the egoistic “I” disappears. It is really wonderful for we are then able to promote the spirit of fellowship and do everything we can for the sake of others.
Sadhu ..... Sadhu ...... Sadhu .........
Paritta chanting is the recital of some of the Sutras uttered by the Buddha in the Pali language for the blessing and protection of the devotees.
Paritta Chanting or Sutra Chanting is a well-known Buddhist practice conducted all over the world, especially in Theravada Buddhist countries where the Pali language is used for recitals. Many of these are important sutras from the basic teachings of the Buddha which were selected by His disciples. Originally, these sutras were recorded on ola leaves about two thousand years ago.
Later, they were compiled into a book known as the 'Paritta Chanting Book'.
The names of the original books from which these sutras were selected are the Anguttara Nikaya, Majjhima Nikaya, Digha Nikaya, Samyutta Nikaya and Kuddaka Nikaya in the Sutra Pitaka.
The sutras that Buddhists recite for protection are known as Paritta Chanting. Here 'protection' means shielding ourselves from various forms of evil spirits, misfortune, sickness and influence of the planetary systems as well as instilling confidence in the mind.
The vibrant sound of the chanting creates a very pleasing atmosphere in the vicinity.
The rhythm of the chanting is also important.
One might have noticed that when monks recite these sutras, different intonations are adopted to harmonize with different sutras intended for different quarters. It was found very early during man's spiritual development that certain rhythms of the human voice could produce significant psychological states of peacefulness and serenity in the minds of ardent listeners.
Furthermore, intonation at certain levels would appeal to devas, whilst certain rhythms would created a good influence over lower beings like animals, snakes, or even spirits or ghosts.
Therefore, a soothing and correct rhythm is an important aspect of Paritta Chanting.
The use of these rhythms is not confined to Buddhism alone. In every religion, when the followers recite their prayers by using the holy books, they follow certain rhythms. We can observe this when we listen to Quran reading by Muslims and the Veda Mantra Chanting by Hindu priests in the Sanskrit language. Some lovely chanting is also carried out by certain Christian groups, especially the Roman Catholic and Greek orthodox sects.
When the sutras are chanted, three great and powerful forces are activated. These are the forces of the Buddha, Dhamma and the Sangha.
Buddhism is the combination of these 'Three Jewels' and when invoked together they can bring great blessing to mankind:
The Buddha. He had cultivated all the great virtues, wisdom and enlightenment, developed His spiritual power and gave us His noble Teachings. Even though the physical presence of the Teacher is no more with us, His Teachings have remained for the benefit of mankind. Similarly, the man who discovered electricity is no more with us, yet by using his knowledge, the effect of his wisdom still remains. The illumination that we enjoy today is the result of his wisdom. The scientists who discovered atomic energy are no longer living, but the knowledge to use it remains with us.
Likewise the Noble Teachings given us through the Buddha's wisdom and enlightenment, are a most effective power for people to draw inspiration from. When you remember Him and respect Him, you develop confidence in Him. When you recite or listen to the words uttered by Him, you invoke the power of His blessings.
The Dhamma. It is the power of truth, justice and peace discovered by the Buddha which provides spiritual solace for devotees to maintain peace and happiness. When you develop your compassion, devotion and understanding, this power of the Dhamma protects you and helps you to develop more confidence and strength in your mind. Then your mind itself becomes a very powerful force for your own protection. When it is known that you uphold the Dhamma, people and other beings will respect you. The power of the Dhamma protects you from various kinds of bad influence and evil forces. Those who cannot understand the power of the Dhamma and how to live in accordance with the Dhamma, invariably surrender themselves to all forms of superstitious beliefs and subject themselves to the influence of many kinds of gods, spirits and mystical powers which require them to perform odd rites and rituals.
By so doing, they only develop more fear and suspicion born out of ignorance.
Large sums of money are spent on such practices and this could be easily avoided if people were to develop their confidence in the Dhamma. Dhamma is also described as 'nature' or 'natural phenomena' and 'cosmic law'. Those who have learnt the nature of these forces can protect themselves through the Dhamma.
When the mind is calmed through perfect knowledge disturbances cannot create fear in the mind.
The Sangha. It refers to the holy order of monks who have renounced their worldly life for their spiritual development. They are considered as disciples of the Buddha, who have cultivated great virtues to attain sainthood or Arahantahood. We pay respect to the Sangha community as the custodians of the Buddha Sasana or those who had protected and introduced the Dhamma to the world over the last 2,500 years. The services rendered by the Sangha community has guided mankind to lead a righteous and noble life. They are the living link with the Enlightened One who bring His message to us through the recital of the words uttered by Him.
The chanting of sutras for blessing was started during the Buddha's time.
Later, in certain Buddhist countries such as Sri Lanka, Thailand and Burma, this practice was developed further by organizing prolonged chanting for one whole night or for several days. With great devotion, devotees participated in the chanting sessions by listening attentively and intelligently. There were some occasions when the Buddha and His disciples chanted sutras to bring spiritual solace to people suffering from epidemics, famines, sickness and other natural disasters.
On once occasion, when a child was reported to be affected by some evil influence, the Buddha instructed His monks to recite sutras to give protection to the child from the evil forces.
The blessing service, by way of chanting, was effective. Of course, there were instances when the sutra chanting could not be effective if the victims had committed some strong bad kamma. Nevertheless, certain minor bad kammic effects can be overcome by the vibrant power combined with the great virtues and compassion of those holy people who chant these sutras. Here, the overcoming of a bad kammic effect does not mean the complete eradication of the effect, but only a temporary suspension of such an effect.
Devotees who were tired fatigued have experienced relief and calmness after listening to the chanting of sutras. Such an experience is different from that provided by music because music can create excitement in our mind and pander to our emotions but does not create spiritual devotion and confidence.
For the last 2,500 years, Buddhist devotees have experienced the good effects of sutra chanting. We should try to understand how and why the words uttered by the Buddha for blessing purposes could be so effective even after His passing away.
It is mentioned in the Buddha's teaching that ever since he had the aspiration to become a Buddha during His previous births, He had strongly upheld one particular principle, namely, to abstain from 'telling lies'.
Without abusing or misusing His words, He spoke gently without hurting the feelings of others. The power of Truth has become a source of strength in the words uttered by the Buddha with great compassion.
However, the power of the Buddha's word alone is not enough to secure blessing without the devotion and understanding of the devotees.
The miraculous effect experienced by many people in ridding themselves of their sickness and many other mental disturbances through the medium of the Buddhist sutras, enabled them to develop their faith and confidence in this form of religious service.
- Source : www.budsas.org/ebud/whatbudbeliev/205.htm
---
The 5 precepts are the primary rules
That causes one to be reborn as human
Because if anyone infringes on the precepts
Its resultant unwholesome kamma
Will pull people downwards to become
Hungry ghosts, Asuras, Animals or Hell Beings
Therefore most animals will sink into the lower realms
To be reborn as a human is very difficult
If you are born as a human
You therefore must have at least some merit
Therefore not oppressing other beings
Is to keep the 5 precepts
Maintaining the precepts will ensure
Apart from not declining
It will become a cause for us to reborn
In a heavenly realm
Precepts are born in our own hearts
They are not born in the Ubosot or the Wat
It is our own hearts that want to behave purely
Our own hearts which want to practice
Want to discipline and train ourselves
The results of the practice
Can scrub away the defilements in our minds
And also to perfect our parami
It will become the cause for our path to rise higher
Until we are finally able to rise above all suffering
Phra Mahaworaphat Kittiwaro
Wat Mahayong
"Whether you are an artist, a doctor, a photographer or on the dole, that is your monastery, that is where you practise."
In Buddhism we speak of two levels of consideration. The first is the conventional level of "me", as a person, and "you", as a person. For example, there is "Viradhammo": fifty-ish, quickly getting out of shape, has duties, is a senior monk at Amaravati; his Mom is in Canada - and he has a little scar on his head with three stitches. That is "me", as a person. There is the sense here of a person, of social responsibility, of a position in society; of the age of the body, of its genetic and cultural make-up. This is the packaged sense of self that a typical person works with, which is quite valid.
At this level, the considerations are morality, right livelihood, responsibility for the environment, social action, expression and creativity. This is one level we operate on, where we can find all kinds of fulfilment; it is a very rewarding thing to be able to work to express and create something. However, it is not liberating - because things change. We really notice that it is not liberating when someone criticises what we are doing. You might think you are doing a great job but when someone pokes a few holes in it, then you see how un-liberating it is - how bound one can be to it. If all we are trying to do is to find fulfilment on the level of family, social action and creativity, then of course our hearts are never fully appeased, because those conditions are always changing and they depend on so many other factors which are beyond our control.
If my whole sense of fulfilment is my family, but then my kids leave home, or someone dies, or my child comes home with a red Mohican - what do I do if my whole life is dependent on that?!
So we would say that fulfilment on this level is not where liberation lies, it is not a refuge - although that is not to put it down.
The second level is the Dhamma level, the level of liberation of the heart. When we develop a Buddhist lifestyle, we can see how our families and our social positions can actually be our `monasteries'. They are the place where we practise inner vigilance and contemplation.
Whether you are an artist, a doctor, a photographer or on the dole, that is your monastery, that is where you practise.
"So without denying the necessity and the challenge of living in the world, you also recognise the inner world."
I was in New Zealand for nine years and was involved with a very beautiful monastery project.
During that time there was the necessity to function on the social level - I had to work and to organise things - but, through all that, the most important things to consider were suffering and non-suffering: the inner world. We built this lovely meditation hall (half my monastic life has been spent on building sites!).
One whole side of it was open, and we had doors that were ten feet by ten feet - pretty big doors!
However, the joiner who was making the doors up was not very efficient. He would always tell us that the doors were coming next week - and this went on for four months! On the worldly level, we had to say to him, "Hey, listen! We have a contract, you are not meeting your responsibilities." But on the inner level, we all had to take responsibility for our annoyance at this joiner. So both levels were operating.
This meditation hall is convertible. There is a cloister at the front, onto which these huge doors open. On top of the cloister we had a marquee custom - made, so we could double the size of the hall on big occasions. We got the best tentmaker in New Zealand to make this marquee - but it was faulty. We had to take tough steps to ensure he didn't rip us off, but we still could not hate him. Sometimes we wanted to; the mind was saying, "What a rip-off! What are we paying this man all this money for?"
Our practice was right there; the tentmaker was our monastery. So without denying the necessity and the challenge of living in the world, we also recognise the inner world. If we view those two worlds skilfully we find a balance between conventional reality and the inner work.
Then the tentmaker becomes a person with whom I learn to stand up for what is right, rather than putting my tail between my legs and running away. He helps me learn to be patient.
This inner world is what we work with on a retreat. Although we should not forget the conventional world - Buddhism is not just a weird experience called retreat! We cannot spend our life on a retreat, we have to live in the world. The gift of a retreat, of course, is that we don't have to do so much social re-organising.
If the toast is burned, it's burned; we don't sue the cooks. So we work with whatever we have, and we have the freedom to observe. A retreat offers the opportunity to look at suffering and non-suffering.
"The hub of the wheel is the centre of knowing and being; this can take it all. This is where the unconditioned lies."
Maybe in your own lives you have difficulties to deal with - mortgages or recalcitrant teenagers? Don't try to solve those problems now! Instead, I suggest you work with that very feeling of anxiety or worry as a present condition. This is the skill of moving from the conventional, social level of "me", as a person, to the impersonal level of basic Dhamma elements. This level of the teaching then breaks down our conscious experience to fundamentals which we can look at, no matter what our social situation is. For example, thought - mental activity - is one of the fundamental things we have been looking at. If this activity is always kept on the personal level, it's, "Well, what am I going to do tomorrow? I don't know...
We need to do this; but what if we do that? Yes, let's try this, then we'll do that... " All that is on the personal level - but on the Dhamma level, this is simply planning, worry, thought.
If we remain on the personal level, there will always be this to-ing and fro-ing - struggling. It is only on that impersonal level of consciousness that we can understand not-self ‘anatta’. It's not that life itself is impersonal - we still have our individual kamma, but it is on this level that we can penetrate to a liberating understanding, by passing beyond ignorance. We are not going to avoid the tentmakers and the joiners altogether; life is always going to be that way.
There are many teachings that can help us; for example the Four Noble Truths or Dependent Origination ‘paticca-samuppada’. Sometimes, we might feel over-whelmed if we try to figure these out, but in time we come to see that it's a really beautiful package, intellectually very lovely. More than that, these teachings encourage us to look in the right place, and show us the path to freedom. They take us away from the personal situation with the joiner or the tentmaker, directly to a fundamental sense of stress. So we develop the ability to examine on this level all the time. If I can look at the "aggro" I feel towards the joiner and take it out of the personal realm by simply looking at it as stress, then I will be able to understand any "aggro" I may have for the rest of my life and know how to deal with it.
Last night we talked about craving ‘tanha’, the sense of wanting: wanting to become, wanting to get rid of, or simply wanting something essentially nice. Craving is a fundamental human characteristic, neither right nor wrong, just part of the package. The three kinds of ‘tanha’ - ‘bhava tanha’, ‘vibhava tanha’ and ‘kama tanha’ - should be understood.
‘Bhava tanha’ is the craving for being. Notice how much on retreat we are being something or someone?
Sometimes there is a feeling of being kidnapped by the memory; we find ourselves back in time. Or maybe it is a future possibility; in thought, there is the sense of being a person - of becoming - through anticipation and expectation. If we are not aware of that, then our attention will be pre-occupied, kidnapped by a constant level of stress in the mind. Then there is ‘vibhava tanha’, which is a repression.
We have a lot of ideals about what we should not be and what we should not have. ‘Vibhava tanha’ is the desire to get rid of those things.
‘Kama tanha’ is the craving for sense pleasure. Around the body there is a lot of ‘kama tanha’.
We like comfort in this body, we don't like arthritis or pain; yet one of the lessons in this life, for some seemingly cruel reason, is that we need to witness to bodily pain. That is part of life. So, on the social level, we deal with the pain. We find some Chinese herbs or get the acupuncturist to poke us, whatever we have faith in; we work on that level. But, on the Dhamma level, we reflect: there is sickness. Why is there sickness? Because there is birth. That is just the way it is - like it or not. So sickness is something which needs to be learned about, as is pain.
On a retreat you get pain; I hope you don't get too sick or painful, but you will probably feel some pain in the knees or the back, or somewhere. So there is pain, and there is craving for comfort; that is a basic, fundamental instinct which needs to be understood. Now if one can understand the craving for non-pain and be at peace with pain, then one obviously has done oneself a great service. So try to use the feeling of pain to examine craving, to understand the wanting and see the end of wanting. The same holds true for the emotions and the way sense-consciousness works.
The Buddha encouraged us to consider how human consciousness and the human body are involved with pleasant, unpleasant and neutral feelings and sensations; to use feeling (vedana) as a framework for contemplation. When you are thirsty, you drink a glass of orange juice; it is pleasant. When you are sitting here and your knees hurt, that is unpleasant. That is very obvious. So no matter what you are finding pleasant or unpleasant - the body, the weather, a person, or your own mind - notice the feeling of pleasant-unpleasant-neutral; consider attraction-repulsion-neutrality.
When we are not in touch with Dhamma we often don't consider these fundamental states of mind. We just enjoy the pleasant and try to minimise the unpleasant - which seems like a logical thing to do. But then that keeps us very restless, because no matter how hard we try to do this, there will always be pleasant, unpleasant and neutral. Sense-consciousness is this way.
Seeking the pleasant, trying to be rid of the unpleasant is samsara. The more we do this, the more we want to do it, and the more we have to do it. We become addicted to this way of operating. We get into this very restless phenomenon called rebirth – becoming, doing, all the time. And this takes us away from our real home. This takes us away from the unconditioned, because pleasure and pain are always conditioned. As they change, we feel the need to change. As we grasp pleasure and pain, we find ourselves being spun around the samsaric wheel.
The wheel is one of our traditional images. The rim of the wheel represents sense experience - the contacts we experience, pleasant and unpleasant - all of it spinning around. Grasping the rim of a wheel simply wrings us around with the general momentum. So grasping the pleasant, then trying to hold onto it and afraid of losing it, we make tremendous effort to keep it going; or getting angry at the unpleasant - in both cases we continue to spin around endlessly. But the hub of the wheel is the centre of knowing and being, and this can take it all. This is where the unconditioned lies. If we can summon awareness and be that still centre of knowing, there are still comings and goings - but we have a refuge. This is what Ajahn Chah called, "our real home."
This is the basic structure that the Buddha asks us to look at. Our sensitive body contacts objects. That contact produces pleasant, unpleasant, neutral feelings - ‘vedana’. From there comes craving ‘tanha’ the grasping of craving upadana, and the whole process of becoming ‘bhava’ and rebirth ‘jati’. If one carries on like this over time, it becomes a habit. It is then very difficult to return to the still centre of being, because one is so restlessly engaged with that which moves, with the emotions and the thoughts.
Why are we kidnapped so much? Even though we sit here determining, "I will not get kidnapped!" - it's very hard, isn't it? Don't think you are alone in this, we are all in the same boat! It is very difficult because of our habits, our kamma. Even though we might have really good intentions, situations arise where we feel anger or fear. That is kamma.
What we are trying to do is to break up all these kammic patterns. The way we can do this is by beginning to look at Dhamma, rather than remaining stuck on the level of personality. The contemplation of feelings ‘vedanupassana’ is one of the Four Foundations of Mindfulness. It requires careful attention to notice this basic structure of the way that some things attract our attention, while others repel. We can try it with an emotion, with a bodily feeling, with a thought; or with people. On this retreat maybe you find difficulty with someone, or maybe you fall in love with them. Notice how some people are physically very attractive, while some are not. Some people have a lot of charisma, and others don't. Notice how you are attracted or repelled; look at that very simple movement of the heart. This is where our habitual emotions are really arising from.
If you can know that movement and learn to not follow or react to it, then you begin not to suffer. For example, your own psyche, the things you don't like about yourself, the emotions you think should not be there; all these come up as very unpleasant. So ask, "What does an unpleasant emotion feel like?" Or in meditation you might sometimes experience tranquillity, bliss or bright lights, or notice how beautiful silence is, how really attractive that is... but then comes the coarseness of the sound of the JCB! So we attach to the pleasant and the refined, and we try to get rid of the ugly. But what is it that knows pleasant and unpleasant?
Sometimes when you are sitting, the mind is bored, the eyes look around, and you find yourself attracted to someone... ah!... and then you start to create. Romance. There is the creation of "me" and "that person", and what "we" are going to do, what is going to happen to "us" - sometimes it's called a "vipassana marriage" - and then suddenly the bell rings! It can happen with hatred too, for example when there is something unappealing about someone. Rather than just noticing our desire to pull away from them, sitting with that until it reaches neutrality - we become very critical, caught in aversion, and try to push them away. But in contemplation of feelings, we can simply bring up an image of a person, and be mindful of the attraction or aversion. That takes us to peace of the mind - to neutrality, rarther than identification with the feeling itself.
Quite often we are so caught up with the craving for pleasure that we don't even notice neutrality, which we find boring. As Luang Por Chah said, the neutral, the ordinary is like the space between the end of the out-breath and the beginning of the in-breath. It is very calming but we don't tend to notice it, because we want excitement – we seek to react to difficult or frightening things.
The practice of ‘vedanupassana’ requires refined attention; taking this theme for contemplation to break down the whole self-structure. So no matter what you may be as a self, as a person, suggest to yourself that today you are going to simply try to notice attraction and repulsion in the mind. That way you are contemplating Dhamma, instead of just being a person. Then ask, "What is it that knows that which you are noticing?" That knowing is where we find our freedom. This structure is very analytical, but in Buddhism we need a certain amount of analysis.
You have a body with senses; you live in an environment with which you have contact; that contact produces pleasant, unpleasant and neutral feelings. Right there is where you work.
Then you have tanha: wanting the pleasant, not wanting the unpleasant, and the sleepiness and delusion around the neutrality. When that wanting arises, there might be grasping of it, believing in it; you really think that if you follow it you will be truly happy, or that to get rid of it will be the right thing to do. So there is belief in the wanting, and the grasping upadana. From the grasping comes the sense of becoming; one gets involved in this whole process and is reborn into the new situation. From there emerges the sense of dissatisfaction, and you get lost in that: "Oh, here I go again!"
Notice how birth and death work. You are bored with meditation, your knees are hurting, you want to get up and do something interesting. Then we get a pleasant beautiful, creative idea that is really going to help the world. Rather than simply noticing this as a pleasant idea, craving develops to keep it going. We start to think, we grasp the craving and them we create something. This is where we seek rebirth; we go on from one to the next to another. It is important to notice this, because at that point we have a choice. If we can see craving clearly and not grasp it, we save ourselves a rebirth, and experience the silence of the mind. If, on the other hand we choose to be reborn then out next option will be a death. Death is when the dancing will not stop; it continues on and on in the mind. That is the decline the kamma of attachment; rather that face that decline into despair and boredom, we seek an alternative rebirth. That is why boredom and disillusionment are so very important. If we can simply bear to be with the ending of a cycle, that acceptance can take us beyond rebirth.
So we choose. Sometimes we will be able to notice that movement towards the pleasant, and we will say, "No, I don't really need that". At other times we will get caught up with the pleasure.
Then we will experience its decline, and have to bear with that. Remember that if you are reborn, you will need to die again!
Nibbana, liberation, is that which is not born and does not die, it carries us beyond the cycle - not in terms of whether we will be a rabbit in the next life - but right now. If you get that principle right, it will always work for us in this way."
Source: http://www.dhammatalks.net/Books5/Ajahn_Viradhammo_The_End_of_Rebirth.htm
An elderly woman got on a bus and sat down. At the next stop, a strong, grumpy young woman climbed up and sat down beside the old woman, hitting her with her numerous bags.
When she saw that the elderly woman remained silent, the young woman asked her why she had not complained when she hit her with her bags?
The elderly woman replied with a Smile: "There is no need to be rude or discuss something so insignificant, as my trip next to you is so short, because I am going to get off at the next stop."
This answer deserves to be written in gold letters: "There is no need to discuss something so insignificant, because our journey together is too short."
Each of us must understand that our time in this world is so short, that darkening it with useless arguments, jealousy, not forgiving others, discontentment and bad attitudes are a ridiculous waste of time and energy.
Did someone break your heart? Stay calm.
The trip is too short.❤️
Did someone betray you, intimidate, cheat or humiliate you? Relax - Don't be Stressed
The trip is too short.❤️
Did someone insult you without reason? Stay calm. Ignore it.
The trip is too short.❤️
Did a neighbor make a comment that you didn't like? Stay calm. Ignore him. Forgive that.
The trip is too short.❤️
Whatever the problem someone has brought us, remember that our journey together is too short.❤️❤️
No one knows the length of our trip. Nobody knows when it will arrive at its stop.
Our trip together is too short.❤️❤️
Let us appreciate friends and family.
Let us be respectful, kind and forgiving.🙌🏻
Because we will be filled with gratitude and joy, after all
Our trip together is very short.❤️
Share your smile to everyone....
Our trip is Very Short!❤️
Once there was a luksit of Luang Pu Doo who was just sitting by his kuti and chatting with him.
The devotee told Luang Pu that he would like to share a story, and Luang Pu was all ears. The story went like this.
It is commonly known that the great forest monk, Luang Ta Maha Bua was a strict monk who expected no less of his disciples. There was a time when Luang Ta noticed one of his disciples slacking off instead of putting full effort into the practice. Luang Ta questioned him as to why he was being so lazy and heedless.
The disciple replied, "I am waiting for the dispensation of Phra Sri Ariya Metteya (Maitreya Buddha) so that I can be enlightened then."
Luang Ta replied back in a loud voice, "If you are good-for-nothing in this life, in a future life you won't achieve anything either! Even if you are born in the dispensation of a future Buddha, useless people have no chance of attaining the true Dhamma!"
Luang Pu Doo listened to this story and laughed in agreement. He said that it is indeed true.
People who made a vow and received a prophecy from a Buddha to be enlightened during a future Buddha's dispensation must continue to work hard and accumulate their parami. It is not a matter of sitting around and waiting for the next Buddha to appear some time in the distant future.
And for those who are practising to escape samsara immediately, Luang Pu often encouraged his disciples to practice hard so that they may attain, at the bare minimum, the fruit of stream entry (Sotapatti Fruition), because only then will the roads to the four unfortunate realms be shut off permanently.
For the rest who made a wish or vow to follow Phra Sri Ariya Metteya, please continue to work hard and perfect your spiritual parami! Always keep Phra Jakkapat, Luang Pu Thuad or Luang Pu Doo in mind.
1. Dāna pāramī: generosity, giving of oneself
2. Sīla pāramī: virtue, morality, proper conduct
3. Nekkhamma pāramī: renunciation
4. Paññā pāramī: wisdom, discernment
5. Viriya pāramī: energy, diligence, vigour, effort
6. Khanti pāramī: patience, tolerance, forbearance, endurance
7. Sacca pāramī: truthfulness, honesty
8. Adhiṭṭhāna pāramī : determination, resolution
9. Mettā pāramī: goodwill, friendliness, loving-kindness
10. Upekkhā pāramī: equanimity, serenity
Teaching of Luangta Maha Boowa
Being a Buddhist does not mean that you must be quiet or look solemn. If friends try to get you to go in a way which is unwholesome and you are observing the moral precepts, you should not follow them. You might lose your friends but you will not lose yourself. If you are satisfied that you have gone the way of wholesomeness, you should consider the Buddha as an example. He was a prince who had a large retinue and many friends. He renounced the world, gave up those friends, and went to dwell alone for many years.
After he had attained Enlightenment, he was surrounded by friends and had many disciples who were Arahants (Pure Ones), monks as well as nuns, lay men and lay women, until the number of
Buddhists was more than the population of the world. We all believe in the teachings of the Buddha, which unites the hearts and minds of all Buddhists. We therefore should not be afraid of having no friends.
We should think, first of all, that our friends do not yet understand us, and so they drift away and no longer associate with us. Our way of practice in the way of wholesomeness still remains, however. We should see that there are still good people in the world!
Good people eventually meet and become friends with other good people, and these good people will be our friends. If there are no good people in the world, and if there is nobody interested in associating with us, then we should associate with the Dhamma (supreme truth) – Buddho (A Parikamma “Preparatory practice, meditation” for the recollection of the Buddha) in our hearts, which is better than friends who are not interested in goodness at all.
Ordinarily, those good friends of yours will come back to you. You should therefore rest assured that if your heart is satisfied that you are going in a wholesome direction, then that is enough.
You should not be concerned with or worry about others more than yourself. You should be responsible for yourself in the present and in the future, for there is nobody but yourself who can raise you up to a higher level.
“Just as the rivers full of water fill the ocean full, even so does that there given benefit the dead. Whatever by you wished or wanted may it quickly be; May all your wishes be fulfilled as the moon upon the fifteenth day, Or as the wish-fulfilling gem.
May all distress be averted, may all diseases be destroyed, may no dangers be for you, may you be happy, living long, he of respectful nature whoever the elders honouring, four qualities for him increase: long life and beauty, happiness and strength.
May there be for you all blessings, may all the Devas guard you well, by the power of all Buddhas, by the power of all Dhammas, by the power of all Saṇghas, ever safety may you be.”
~ Luangta Maha Boowa
Once there was a woman from Lopburi who brought her child along to pay respects to Luang Phor Jaran. She asked Luang Phor to blow on her child’s head and bless him so that he will become a good person.
The devotee informed Luang Phor that her child is very naughty and doesn’t like to return home, rowdy, likes to go out with his friends and doesn’t like to go to school, doesn’t help with housework and is a good for nothing.
Luang Phor told the devotee to calm down and turned to the boy, asking him “How are you at home? Why don’t you like to go home?”
The boy replied, “At home, my mother is always complaining all the time. When I leave the house she complains and when I come home she is still complaining. She never looks at me in a good way.”
Luang Phor turned to the lady and commented, “You don’t have to ask Luang Phor to blow on his head. You shouldn’t come to ask for blessings from Luang Phor for your children. If you say bad things about your children every day, Luang Phor’s blessings won’t work.
Because you are his mother. Therefore your words are more sacred than that of mine. From now on, you should talk to him nicely and bless him every day, bless him to study well and maybe even finish his doctorate. Bless your child to become a good person. This will be a great benediction for him.”
After some time, the woman returned and informed Luang Phor she did as he suggested and the family is now harmonious and happy.
Story compiled by
Phra Khru Ladsitthiworawat
Abbot of Wat Amphawan, Singburi Province
and Mr. Narin Jarimophas
The mind has a habit of feeding on things. And for the most part its feeding habits are pretty bad. It feeds on all the wrong things and it suffers as a result. Like a person who just takes anything at all and stuffs it in his mouth: He’s sure to damage his digestive system and his body as a whole.
~
But the feeding of the mind is much more complex than the feeding of the body. The mind tries to feed on sensual things, but they don’t give any satisfaction. It tries to feed on becoming this or becoming that, and whatever it becomes doesn’t last very long. Then it gets all disgusted with the whole thing and wants to destroy everything, so it feeds on the idea of destruction.
When it doesn’t have anything left, it has to start all over from scratch because it still needs to feed. It hasn’t gotten over the need to fill the big gaping hole it feels inside. Part of the Buddha’s genius was to realize that there are other ways of feeding the mind, skillful ways that bring it to the point where it doesn’t need to feed anymore. That’s what the path is all about: It’s a different way to feed.
~
The word for feeding and clinging are actually the same in the Pali: upadana, the things you cling to as sustenance for the mind. And basically what the Buddha has us do in the path is to take our old habits of feeding and apply them in new ways. We still hold on for a while, we still cling for a while, but it’s not quite the same as the clinging that causes us to suffer. In other words, we don’t hold on to these things as ends in and of themselves. We hold on to them as a path, as tools.
~
The Buddha allows for a certain amount of sensual pleasure on the path. He tells you look at your practice: If you see that when you indulge in certain pleasures it doesn’t harm the mind, then they’re okay. Some sensual pleasures, he says, are out of bounds. They can’t be skillful by any stretch of the imagination. But in other cases, it really depends on the individual: Some people find that they can meditate perfectly well in busy surroundings, whereas other people have to go off and live in the forest. Some people find that they can eat a nice moderate diet without any problem, while other people practically have to starve themselves. It’s really an individual matter. But even when you starve yourself, the Buddha doesn’t have you totally starve yourself. It simply means that you eat less than you normally might like—for, after all, the body does need food to keep going.
~
The same with the other forms of clinging, such as attachment to views: As the Buddha points out, there’s right view. Right view starts as an understanding about kamma. And it’s interesting to note that when the Buddha talks about kamma, the first two things he focuses on are gratitude and generosity. If you don’t see the virtue, the value of gratitude, if you don’t see the value of generosity, it’s hard to do anything else on the path. You have to appreciate the good that other people have done for you, and see that something really good does come from being generous.
~
Generosity is not a sham. It’s one of the things that makes life worth living. If you don’t appreciate the good that other people have done for you, the ways they’ve been generous, how are you going to be generous yourself?
How are you going to be a good person? This is why the Buddha has you reflect on generosity and gratitude as the very basis for any kind of practice…"
❀❀❀
Thanissaro Bhikkhu
Excerpt from "Chew Your Food Well"
~
You can read the full talk here:
https://www.dhammatalks.org/books/ePubDhammaTalks_v2/Section0010.html
Today’s dana is held for 2 auspicious reasons—the installing of a new Buddha image and the full moon celebration of Mr and Mrs Teh’s newborn grandson.
As usual, before any dana or Dhamma talk, we chant the Tisarana and the Pañca Sila. This is be-cause when we chant the Tisarana, we are seeking refuge and protection in the Buddha, Dhamma and Sangha.
All of us are lucky enough to be born in a world cycle where there is a Buddha. In our tradi-tion we believe that in this present kappa (a kappa is the length of time it takes for a person to wear down a solid block of granite 1000 cu. km. in size if he were to take a silk cloth and wipe it once every 100 years), there are only 5 Buddhas. Gotama Buddha is the 4th Buddha and Metteyya (Maitreya), the last Buddha in this present kappa, will only appear in the extremely far future after our death. So if any one comes and tell you that so and so is a Buddha you should understand that our tradition will not accept it. We Buddhists, besides taking refuge in the Buddha, Dhamma and Sangha, should try our very best to do dana, guard our sila and practise bhavana everyday for our growth in happiness.
There are 3 types of dana: -
1. Material – in the form of food, money and other tangible items.
2. Service – such as doing charitable work. One of the best kinds of service is to renounce to learn, practise and eventually teach the Dhamma.
3. Body – this is one of the highest forms of dana and involves giving a part of our physical self such as donating blood or pledging our organs after death.
A dana that is well offered has the following qualities:
1. Personally offered instead of delegated.
2. Respectfully offered.
3. Of a suitable nature.
4. Offered to the correct recipient.
5. The merit of the dana increases manifold with the sila and spiritual attainment of each recipient, such as starting from a layman, a practising yogi/monk, an ariya (through all the 4 stages), a Pacceka Buddha and culminating in the highest of them all, a Sammasambuddha.
If a person is very charitable but has no sila, it is highly likely that he will be reborn in a lower plane of existence but will not be short of material comforts; such as being reborn as the beloved pet of a rich householder. On the other hand, a person who has sila but is not charitable finds it hard to have material comforts even though he might be born in a higher plane of existence. A person who is both charitable and virtuous has it all. If he is reborn in heaven, he will appear extremely luminous and ra-diant.
The basis of sila is the Pañca Sila, (Five Precepts) which entails abstention from
1. killing
2. stealing
3. sexual misconduct
4. lying
5. indulging in intoxicants which dull the mind and makes one behave stupidly.
Whenever possible, we should also strive to observe the 8 precepts. The additional 3 precepts are to abstain from:
1. food after noon
2. entertainment (which blurs our mental acuities) and adornments (that increase our vanity)
3. sleeping on a high, luxurious bed.
It is especially virtuous to keep the 8 precepts on Uposatha days. According to traditional beliefs, on such occasions Sakka Devaraja will come down to witness and bless us for our efforts. A person is encouraged to seek the blessing of a monk when he wishes to observe these extra precepts for 2 reasons:
He will have to make good his promise and make sure he observes the precepts properly. It will act as a deterrent for him and prevent him from straying from what he has pledged to observe.
After giving his blessings, a monk will normally transfer merits for such a meritorious act.
This is the development of wisdom. There are three levels of wisdom:
1. wisdom gained through hearing
2. wisdom gained through thinking or pondering like those of philosophers
3. wisdom gained through meditation.
Nowadays there are many types of teachings and to listen to all of them without an intelligent, inquiring mind will cause the listener to be confused. Therefore it is important for everybody to listen to good Dhamma. In our tradition, we believe that good Dhamma can be found in the 4 Nikayas.
As for the wisdom gained through thinking or pondering, it is good if one bases one’s thinking on right view by listening to good Dhamma first. Otherwise if it is based on wrong view, one could be a dangerous person to oneself or others.
When one gains the right view of anicca, dukkha and anatta through meditation, that moment can be equivalent to the mental attitude of one who has attained the fruit of liberation. Every Saturday evening in SBS, Bhante Aggacitta will give instruction to those who want to cultivate wisdom through meditation. If you are interested you are all welcome to participate. There are volunteers who will drive you up to SBS starting at about 8.00 pm from the Tiger General Shrine at the foothill.
Before I conclude, I would like to introduce you to a particular sutta, which I first read in 2001 when I was still a layman. This is the “Mangala Sutta Vannana” by the late Venerable K. Gunaratana, first published in 1956 by Mahindarama Buddhist temple. I can still recall the joy that arose in me as I read all 36 verses of it. So great is the virtue of this sutta that in Myanmar, children are taught it in school. This is the sutta that was uttered by the Buddha in Jetavana, Anathapindika’s monastery, when a radiant heavenly being sought his advice on what is auspicious and good.
In conclusion, it is my hope that after listening to this Dhamma talk, all devotees will go home, memorise the important points, reflect on them and put them into practice.
Sadhu ........ Sadhu ........ Sadhu ..........
19th April, 2022
Question: Is chanting considered as rites and rituals?
Than Ajahn: No. Chanting is the practice of developing mindfulness. Rites and rituals are the activities that you perform because you expect to get something out of it. Like when you are sick, and then you perform some rituals and expect that the rituals you’ve done can cure your sickness.
Chanting in order to develop mindfulness is the practice of noble eightfold path, sammā-sati (right mindfulness).
Question: A group of friends from the Buddhist Society has started to chant Ratana Sutta on every Sunday, and one of them was saying that what we were doing was a kind of rites and rituals.
Than Ajahn: It depends on what you want from your chanting. If you chant and you expect to get rich, or you want to get well from your illness, then this is rites and rituals. But if you chant because you want to calm your mind, then this is the practice of noble eightfold path, sammā-sati (right mindfulness).
So it depends on what you expect to get from doing chanting. If you chant and you expect to get rich from your chanting, then this is rites and rituals because it can’t happen.
Question: Our Sunday meeting started last year during the pandemic and one of the Buddhist Society members suggested that we chant Ratana Sutta as a kind of protection from the pandemic. Is this considered as rites and rituals?
Than Ajahn: When you chant, you protect your mind, you can’t protect your body. Even the Buddha couldn’t protect his body. When his body was sick, and was going to die, he couldn’t protect it. But he could protect his mind from experiencing any suffering caused by the illness of the body.
So, when you chant, you want to protect your mind, to make your mind have equanimity.
Question: So, as long as our intention when we chant the Ratana Sutta is to protect our mind, it is a form of mindfulness training, it isn’t considered as rites and rituals.
Than Ajahn: Right. It’s okay to chant if you want to develop Buddhaṁ saraṇaṁ gacchāmi, Dhammaṁ saraṇaṁ gacchāmi (Dhamma as your refuge). This Dhamma is mindfulness (sati).
Layperson: Thank you, Ajahn.
“Dhamma in English, Dec 28, 2021.”
By Ajahn Suchart Abhijāto
YouTube: Dhamma in English.
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCi_BnRZmNgECsJGS31F495g
Question: I am tired of failing. Failing to maintain mindfulness, failing to remain centered and at ease in the face of irritation, anger, sensual desire, and laziness. I am starting to think that my Theravada practice is not compatible with living the householder's life. Can anyone offer some insight, readings, dhamma talks, etc. that might strengthen my resolve to stay on the path?
Metta to all.
“There’s a passage in the Dhammapada where the Buddha says that life as a householder is difficult, life as a monk gone forth is difficult. Then he ends by saying, “So be neither.” Of course, what he means by that is to find a way of not having to be anything at all. That requires practice. It’s a skill — the skill we’re working on right here, the skill that takes you out of having to live the household life or have to live the life of a monk. Without this skill, those are the only choices you have. Derived from them are lots of other little choices, but they’re all trapped inside those two categories.
What we’re looking for is a path of practice that leads to freedom from any kind of category at all. As the Buddha said, what you are is limited, measured by what you cling to. So the path beyond categories has to be a path that gets rid of clinging. When you hold onto the body, that’s what you are. When you hold onto any of the other aggregates, you’re classified as a feeling-clinger, a perception-clinger, a mental-fabrication-, or consciousness-clinger. You create your identity by what you cling to. This is why the Buddha never answered questions about what a human being is, because a human being can be almost anything.
So this noble eightfold path that we’re following here is a path that gets us out of having to be identified with anything, of having to be limited to anything. That’s the skill we’re working on.
It’s not an easy skill, but when you realize that all of the alternatives out there are difficult, then you realize that it doesn’t make much sense to focus on the difficulties of the path, for at the very least this is a path that leads to a way out."
~ Thanissaro Bhikkhu "Freedom Undefined" (Meditations3)
https://www.dhammatalks.org/books/Meditations3/Section0049.html
I see everything that in my life as training, training to be mindful, training to be equanimity. I listened to dhamma talk by different bhikku. I started with 62 wrong views, then the law of kamma, then abdhidhamma. I converted the dhamma talks to mp3, so I can listened while I’m driving or hiking. As I understood more about dhamma, I have more peace with my surroundings. Whenever I got irritated by something, I noted it in my mind, and meditated and contemplated on it, as why I felt that way. Lots of time I found my answers, when I couldn’t find the answers, I just let myself rest, and remind myself, there are work or practice to be done here. I think do everything in daily life with mindfulness and meditation routinely really help. As I listened more to abhidhamma (one of them about the purification of ourselves), I deleted all the games and entertainment apps, except YouTube where I watched the dhamma talk. It’s hard first for me, as I was really fond of Korean drama and C-drama. But now, I’m glad I left that behind.
Leaving the games was easy for me.
My journey was how I found this group, and enjoy reading the dhamma posts.
Hope my experiences can help you find your way.
This topic was addressed by some dharma teachers and I will try my best to convey the gist of the message:
Try letting go of the idea that you must always succeed, let go of the idea that you need to maintain mindfulness, let go of trying to remain centered and at ease in the face of irritation, anger, sensual desire, and laziness.
Let go of all these concepts of what you should be and how you should react. Let go of trying to be a certain way. LET GO.
And just observe the mind - observe all its 'flaws' and imperfections. Just let go and observe.
What you are experiencing IS (a big IS) natural and merely a part of the process.
It's normal to feel this way after you are familiar with the Buddha Dharma. So cut yourself some slack here. There are similar and different mode of cultivation for both monks and nuns and lay ppl even though the training and teachings are the same. The different conditions facing both means different mode of transport but they do get to the same destination eventually. One can't rush it. Buddha spoke of the ease of practise more favourable in a recluse setup as the household life is crowded and dusty with many responsibilities. Yet there r many lay ppl who attained to paths and fruits. The teachings lead to the same results, though with varying speed.. AJ Chah said the right way to practise is steady practice. To progress and not regress.
If this is visible and clearly discerned in your life as a lay follower, it shd be something to be gladdened.
Be it a monk or nun or lay person, the practise is the steady progression of increasing wholesome states and decreasing unwholesome states, each in their own time.
Patience - listen to more Dhamma talks
Patience - practice more all postures
Patience and more Patience
If it was easy everybody will be enlightened .
If it was easy there will be less anger , hatred, aversion, greed and delusion in the world.
Patience , trust and more patience .
Everyday listen to Dhamma talks , everyday practice , when I fail - I’m gentle and kid towards myself - because I cultivated Patience and trust in the path.
🙏🏽🙏🏽🙏🏽
#fromexperience
Sorry to hear about the difficulties. Many have been there, I would think. Do you like reading?
"Awareness alone is not enough" is a compilation of snippets from the talks and Q&As of the Burmese monk Sayadaw U Tejaniya. The way he teaches, with a focus on awareness of mind states/minds (citanupassana) in various situations, is highly compatible with the life of a householder. He was a businessman on the busy market in Yangon (then Rangoon) before becoming a monastic and later having been asked to teach. He practiced mid-business, mid-market, mid-stress, mid-depression. The Shwe Oo Min monastery is sometimes also called the Meditators' Hospital - people who get stuck with efforting through various structured ways of approaching practice are sometimes like to end up there for decompression and unlearning. I don't know if input from other Theravadin teachers is welcome here, apologies if not, but just putting it out there, as he has helped many a practitioner to reframe their practice.
A lot of focus on Right view and Right effort.
https://ashintejaniya.org/books-awareness-is-not-enough
The four foundations of achievement (iddhipada):
Chanda — feeling an affinity for one's meditation theme.
Viriya — persistence.
Citta — intentness on one's goal.
Vimangsa — circumspection in one's activities and interests.
~ Ajahn Lee
I think the fact that you realize that keeping mindfulness is difficult and identifying yourself as scattered, in itself is mindfulness, that you are travelling the right path as you are.
Metta 🙏
ps - I cannot keep my mind centered and get carried away with emotions too 😊
