"A Man of Virtue and Simplicity" recounted by Goenkaji - An Anecdote

My revered teacher [Sayagyi U Ba Khin] fully lived the ideals of Dhamma. He was a senior member of the civil service, where it was commonplace to amass fortunes through fraudulent practices. But Sayagyi was ripened in Dhamma. He worked in this corrupt environment and emerged without any stain on his character.

Sayagyi refused to accept even a penny from his students. Whenever we would offer him something after a course, he would call for the centre manager to insist that the donation go to the centre and a receipt be duly issued. He was equally scrupulous about accepting loans.

Bala Sutta: Fools (AN 2.98)

"Monks, these two are fools. Which two? The one who takes up a burden that hasn't fallen to him, and the one who doesn't take up a burden that has. These two are fools."

Annatarabhikkhu Vatthu

此心隨欲轉，Cǐ xīn suí yù zhuǎn,
輕躁難捉摸。qīng zào nán zhuōmō.
善哉心調伏，Shànzāi xīn diàofú, 
心調得安樂。xīn diào dé ānlè.

Dunniggahassa lahuno
yatthakamanipatino
cittassa damatho sadhu
cittam dantam sukhavaham.

The mind is difficult to control; swiftly and lightly, it moves and lands wherever it pleases. It is good to tame the mind, for a well-tamed mind brings happiness.

On Difficulties & Regrets

Student: Yesterday and today I've been sitting and saying, "This is too hard…".

S.N.Goenka: Dhamma is very easy and Dhamma is very hard. It can be both. It is very easy when you practise properly. When you don't practise properly it becomes very hard. So don't allow it to become very hard. Smilingly, make it easy, "I am not to do anything." It is easy not to do anything don't do anything. Let things happen. It is so easy. But when you try to do something, "I must do. I must stop this aversion. I must stop this craving." Then you create difficulty. Let things happen. You are just a silent witness of things happening. And it becomes so easy. Make it easy.

Happiness is an art - Thich Nhat Hanh

Whether this moment is happy or not depends on you. 
It's you that makes the moment happy. 
It's not the moment that makes you happy. 
With mindfulness, concentration and insight, any moment can become a happy moment. 

Kumbhaghosakasetthi Vatthu

奮勉常正念，淨行能克己，如法而生活，無逸善名增。

Utthanavato satimato
sucikammassa nisammakarino
sannatassa dhammajivino
appamattassa yaso bhivaddhati.

Christmas in Java: Meditation in Klaten

Nothing could be further from the hubbub of western festive excess than a silent Vipassana retreat in Java, Johnny Langenheim, theguardian.com, Saturday 20 December 2014 07.00 GMT

It's Christmas morning and a bell is ringing. I feel a flicker of dread in my stomach. I’ve never been big on the festive season, but that’s not the issue. All I know is it’s 4am and I have to get up, take an ice-cold shower and prepare for 10 hours of cross-legged meditation, silence and hunger (our last meal is at 11am). The world of tinsel and turkey couldn’t be further away.

I’m in Klaten, an unexceptional town in central Java, the unlikely backdrop for my first Vipassana (“insight”) meditation retreat. Buddha brought this ancient Indian technique back into vogue 2,500 years ago. From the mid-1970s, Satya Goenka, an Indian-Burmese businessman-turned-meditation master, sparked another renaissance, establishing 120 retreat centres in 80 countries, all run entirely by donation.

Earth needs care

Don't struggle with Impermanence

Top 5 Common Misconceptions on Buddhism

#1. The more amulets I have, the more protection

The Buddha taught us that the best way to protect ourselves is through the usage of the five precepts. i.e: 

1. Abstain from killing 
2. Abstain from stealing or taking things that are not given. 
3. Abstain from adultery and sexual misconduct. 
4. Abstain from false speech. 
5. Abstain from any alcohol and addictive drugs that cause intoxication and heedlessness. 

These precepts are encouraged to be kept in order to cultivate wholesome qualities, free us from any harmful situations and create good conditions to develop a peaceful mind. Thus the fearless mudra (hand gesture as shown on the left) is often placed in temples to remind us of keeping the five precepts. When one were to commit harmful deeds (example: killing of another being), the number of amulets he or she wears will not free him from undesired/unfavorable results. 

Dalai Lama says his role should cease after his death

Reuters pic, December 18, 2014.

The Dalai Lama, Tibet's exiled spiritual leader, has said he thinks his traditional religious role should cease with his death rather than a "stupid" successor replace him and disgrace himself.

The Second Noble Truth – The Noble Truth of the Cause of Suffering

December 1st, 2014 Rick Hanson, Ph.D., is a neuropsychologist, Senior Fellow of the Greater Good Science Center at UC Berkeley, and New York Times best-selling author.

The Second Noble Truth describes the principal cause of suffering. It is clinging. . . to anything at all.

The bad news is that we suffer. The good news is that there is a prime cause – clinging – that we can address.

There are lots of words that get at different aspects of clinging. For example, the original Pali word is “tanha,” the root meaning of which is thirst. Here are some related words, and you might like to pause briefly after each one to get a sense of the experience of it: Desire. Attachment. Striving. Wanting. Craving. Grasping. Stuck. Righteous. Positional. Searching. Seeking. Addicted. Obsessed. Needing. Hunger.

As a general statement, clinging causes suffering by causing it to arise in the first place or to increase further, and by blocking factors that would reduce or end it.

Buddhism, Governance and Politics

Picture : Sanchi Stupa built by King Asoka

The Buddha's emphasis on the moral duty of a ruler to use public power to improve the welfare of the people had inspired Emperor Asoka in the Third Century B.C. to do likewise. ...

The 1st Theravada Buddhist Nuns’ Novitiate (Samaneri) Program at SJBA, Malaysia

4 Dec by Samaneri Sumangala

In the Nidanasamyutta (SN12.65) the Buddha spoke – “Having followed the Noble Eightfold Path and penetrated the links of dependent origination, I explained them to the bhikkhus (monks), bhikkhunis (nuns), upasaka (male followers) and upasika (female followers) so that this spiritual life has become successful, prosperous, extended, popular and wide spread, well proclaimed among gods and humans.”

Around 6th BCE, in the 6th year after the Buddha established the Bhikkhu Sangha, the Buddha established the Bhikkhuni Sangha. With the ordination of Venerable Mahapajapati Gotami and many other women, it marked the liberation of women from all kinds of taboo and beliefs and above all liberation from the cycle of samsara, the ability for enlightenment. It gave women the platform for practice, the opportunity for development and attainment. Since then Bhikkhuni Sangha continue to flourish.

Around two hundred fifty years later 3rd BCE, Venerable Sanghamitta became the 1st Bhikkhuni who travel far from her home land from Pataliputra, India to Sri Lanka to ordain and start the Bhikkhuni Sangha in Sri Lanka. Princess Anula was the 1st to be ordained and the Bhikkhuni Order flourished for more than a thousand year. In 5th CE, bhikkhuni Devasara from Sri Lanka travelled to China to give ordination for Chinese women. Today, with one mission to propagate the Buddha’s teaching and promote the Buddha’s lineage so this spiritual life is well proclaimed, the Bhikkhuni Order spread to many parts of the world – Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia, Australia, USA and etc.

Sn 450-454: Subhasita Sutta: Well-Spoken

Speak only the speech
that neither torments self
nor does harm to others.
That speech is truly well spoken.

Speak only endearing speech,
speech that is welcomed.
Speech when it brings no evil
to others
is pleasant.

Truth, indeed, is deathless speech:
This is an ancient principle.
The goal and the Dhamma
— so say the calm —
are firmly established on truth.

The speech the Awakened One speaks,
for attaining Unbinding,
rest,
for making an end
to the mass of stress:
That is the speech unexcelled.

Benefits of Building a Monastery / Temple

Building a monastery has unbelievable merit. Because it is a holy place with the Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha abiding in it, however many atoms the temple or the monastery has, that many lifetimes you are reborn as a king, in the deva or human realms, with all wealth and power. Your merits, including the number of atoms of the whole monastery, increase all the time, for eons.

What to Believe?

3 Questions That Will Put Your Finances-and Life-on the Right Track

• Tim Maurer / The BAM Alliance @TimMaurer 

Financial planning guru George Kinder has a powerful tool for helping people set priorities for their money...and their lives. Here it is.

Few things seem more diametrically opposed than managing money and spiritual enlightenment. But not everyone sees it that way. Some very influential people in the financial advisory community have dedicated their lives to helping advisers assist clients deal with the more personal elements in personal finance.

Consider George Kinder, the Harvard-trained economist-turned-philosopher-turned-CPA. He managed to evolve his tax practice into a comprehensive financial advisory offering, with supporting methodology, while on the successful path to becoming a Buddhist teacher based in Cambridge, Mass. and Hana, Hawaii.

Interfaith

Genuine Dhamma

Vipassana Meditation

Q. What are the two characteristics of genuine Dhamma?

A. One characteristic of the genuine Dhamma is that it confers benefits at every stage to those who practice it. As the Teacher said, it is ādikalyāṇaṃ, majjhekalyāṇaṃ, pariyosānakalyāṇaṃ—beneficial in the beginning, in the middle, and in the end. The first steps on the Path yield positive results at once, and these increase as one goes further. When the final goal is reached, the benefits are limitless. Thus, every step of the practice produces good. This is one important feature by which to recognize the true Dhamma.

Another is that the Dhamma is complete. Nothing need be added to it or removed from it to render it effective; it iskevalparipuṇṇaṃparisuddhaṃ. The Dhamma is like a brimming vessel; nothing more is required to fill it, and any addition will be at the sacrifice of what the vessel already contains.
~ S.N. Goenka

AN 5.36: Kaladana Sutta: Seasonable Gifts

"There are these five seasonable gifts. Which five? One gives to a newcomer. One gives to one going away. One gives to one who is ill. One gives in time of famine. One sets the first fruits of field & orchard in front of those who are virtuous. These are the five seasonable gifts."

This Burmese Nunnery Saved 200 Girls From Sex Slavery

Paula Froelich December 11, 2014

Buddhist nuns are everywhere among the streets of Myanmar — of all different ages, some as young as 5. Dressed in pink loose-fitting shirts and pants with orange scarves, they have shaved heads and rely on alms to pay for their schooling, food, housing, and other basic needs.

The nunnery is a safe place in a country where poor girls have very little hope for a safe future. (Andrew Rothschild for Yahoo) 

International Bhikkhuni Day, 2014 (Part 20)

Honouring Eminent Asian Buddhist Women in the Modern Era

E. Dharma Propagation and Activism through Talent and Creativity

1. Nepal – Ven Ani Choying Drolma (1971 - )

Ani Choying is the singing nun who fights for rights of women and children. She has produced a few albums among them are the ‘Great Compassion Mantra,’ ’AUM MANE PADME HUM’ and ‘NAMO RATNA TRAYA.’ Nepal nicknamed her the “rock star nun” after the production of her hit album where she “sees the world from a pure heart.” Her lullaby-like spiritual songs have been a hit in Nepal, America and Europe and India.

Ani believes that singing and performing with top musicians was a way to take the essence of Buddha’s teachings to the world and help people in need. Her greatest joy this year was when the famous Indian music composer A. R. Rahman invited her to perform her Nepali hymns with him in a mantra fusion. She also felt fortunate to be able to work with Sivamani, a famous percussionist in India.

She will soon come out with a new album for children. UNICEF Nepal has featured Ani in its campaign to end violence against children and had aired it over television and in cinemas around the country. She donates the proceedings of her albums to the advancement of education of women and girls in Nepal.

Ani Choying was featured in the Eastern Horizon and Star Publication, Malaysia on 12 May, 2014.  

Reflections on Buddhist practice, human rights

Published: 11 December 2014  – K.V. Soon

Yesterday was International Human Rights Day, so let me share a reflection and express my support for human rights as a Buddhist.

The Buddhists have a practice known as the undertaking of Precepts. Specifically, there is a set of Five Precepts or Panca-sila. 

As a Buddhist, the undertaking of the precepts is the most basic practice that cuts across all major Buddhist traditions.  As a ritual, Buddhists often recite the Five Precepts on a daily basis to remind themselves of their duties to self and society.

The Five Precepts constitute the basic spiritual training practice in the following aspects of life. They are the training to abstain from harming living beings, taking what is not given, indulging in sensual misconduct, speaking the untruth and substance abuse and intoxication.

International Bhikkhuni Day, 2014 (Part 19)

Honouring Eminent Asian Buddhist Women in the Modern Era

E. Leadership and Activism in Nationalism and Sangha Building 

1.     Vietnam – Ven Su Ba Thich Nu Dieu Khong (1905-1997)

Ven Dieu Khong was born Ho Thi Hanh and from a noble family, her father being a well-known high ranking official of the Nguyen Dynasty. She led a very simple, humble and respectful life and had the heart of immense compassion, generosity and tolerance to all sentient beings.

She was educated under the influence of both Eastern and Western cultures and read widely. Her father wanted her to study abroad, but she declined. Her aspiration was to strengthen the eastern tradition and to empower women in her homeland. She found family life not appropriate for herself, and had asked her parents many times without success for permission to become a nun.

AN 4.32 PTS: Sangaha Sutta: The Bonds of Fellowship

"There are these four grounds for the bonds of fellowship. Which four? Generosity, kind words, beneficial help, consistency. These are the four grounds for the bonds of fellowship."

Generosity, kind words, beneficial help,
& consistency in the face of events,
in line with what's appropriate
in each case, each case.
These bonds of fellowship [function] in the world
like the linchpin in a moving cart.

Now, if these bonds of fellowship were lacking,
a mother would not receive
the honor & respect owed by her child,
nor would a father receive
what his child owes him.
But because the wise show regard
for these bonds of fellowship,
they achieve greatness
and are praised.

International Bhikkhuni Day, 2014 (Part 18)

Honouring Eminent Asian Buddhist Women in the Modern Era
D. Courage and Resilience in Spiritual Practice in Challenging Conditions

4. Myanmar – Daw Thissawaddy, (1965 - ). A Buddhist nun who studied for a Ph.D in religious philosophy in Sri Lanka and received her higher ordination there. She was detained on 27 May, 2004 when she returned to Rangoon to attend an international conference and to see her father who was ill. He passed away soon after.

Prior to her return, she had sent a letter of appeal to the government to accept women for higher ordination in Myanmar. She was charged under Section 295 and 295(a) of Burma's criminal code. Section 295 relates to "abusing religion" while 295(a) addresses "desecration of religious buildings and property."

When news of her arrest became known to the world, the junta released her and she left the country. She is now living in America and is married to a Zen practitioner. She has an older sister who is a Sayalay and their father had been a bhikkhu before. 

Spiritual Practice

Reflection Before Meals

Patisankha Yoniso Bhojanam Patisevami
Neva Davaya Na Madaya
Na Mandanaya na Vibhusanaya
Yavadeva Imassa Kayassa Thitiya
Ya Panaya Vihimsuparatiya
Brahmacariya Nuggahaya

Wisely reflecting, I use this food not for fun, not for pleasure, not for fattening, not for beautification, but only for the maintenance and nourishment of this body, for keeping it healthy, for helping with the Spiritual Life;
Thinking thus, I will allay hunger without overeating, so that I may continue to live blamelessly and at ease.

Blessings:~ Let us feel grateful for the food prepared by generous donors and blessings with metta

Abhivadanasilisa
Niccam Vaddhapacayino
Cattaro Dhamma Vaddhanti
Ayu Vanno Sukham Balam

For One who constantly honours and respects elders,
For blessing accrue to him – long life, beauty, happiness and strength

International Bhikkhuni Day, 2014 (Part 17)

Honouring Eminent Asian Buddhist Women in the Modern Era
D. Courage and Resilience in Spiritual Practice in Challenging Conditions

 3.  China - Ven Ching Chien (292- CE) and Ven An Ling Shou (300– CE) were the first two ordained nuns in China in the face of objections from a bhikkhu. For An Ling Shou, she faced objections from her family members as well. 

AN 4.55 PTS: Samajivina Sutta: Living in Tune

[The Blessed One said:] "If both husband & wife want to see one another not only in the present life but also in the life to come, they should be in tune [with each other] in conviction, in tune in virtue, in tune in generosity, and in tune in discernment. Then they will see one another not only in the present life but also in the life to come."

International Bhikkhuni Day, 2014 (Part 16)

Honouring Eminent Asian Buddhist Women in the Modern Era
D. Courage and Resilience in Spiritual Practice in Challenging Conditions

 2.  India - Venerable Visakha (1918 - ) from Patlipur, Maharashtra State, Ven is among the renunciants who received full bhikkhuni ordination at the first Theravada bhikkhuni ordination held at Bodhgaya in 1998.  Ven was then aged 80. She was greatly moved and expressed her deep gratitude to Ven Hsing Yun of Foh Guang Shan, Taiwan for reviving the Bhikkhuni Order in India. She is committed to support equal rights and improving the status of women in Theravada societies.

In her youth, Ven Visakha did Dhamma volunteer work and was greatly inspired by Dr Ambedker. She became an anagarika in 1964 and a samaneri in 1967 under the guidance of Ven Saddhananda Samadhi who taught tranquility meditation. She then started to share with the villagers about the Dhamma and also volunteered for six years, in the publishing of Dhamma materials.

With the help of her teacher, she built a temple in Thiroda village which took them four years to complete. In 1990, they built the Mahaprajapati Bhikkhuni Vihara, also known as the All Indian Bhikkhuni Centre and completed it in 2006. She was assisted by Ven Katyayani and Ven Seelachara and other devotees. She became the President of the All Indian Bhikkhuni Sangha.

Ud 3.8 PTS: Pinda Sutta: Alms

The monk going for alms,
supporting himself and no other:
The devas adore one who is Such
if he's not intent
on fame & praise.

International Bhikkhuni Day, 2014 (Part 15)

Honouring Eminent Asian Buddhist Women in the Modern Era
D. Courage and Resilience in Spiritual Practice in Challenging Conditions

1. Mongolia – Ven Amaa (1905-2010)

Spiritual Development

Ven Amaa’s father and grandfather were accomplished lamas. She was a forest meditator since her twenties. During Stalin’s communist regime, Buddhists were persecuted and many Lamas were killed or disrobed. Ven Amaa and a group of yogis, lead by Tibetan master, Lama Zundui, had to practice secretly for two years in caves and cemeteries, hiding under the cover of darkness and dressed in lay clothing.

Buddhism and Science

International Bhikkhuni Day, 2014 (Part 14)

Honouring Eminent Asian Buddhist Women in the Modern Era

C. Buddhism Beyong Borders: Engaged Buddhism - Compassion in Action

6. Malaysia – Ven Sayalay Susīlā (1963 - ) is born in Pahang, Malaysia. Sayalay studied at the University of Science Malaysia, where she obtained a degree in mass communications in 1988. As a student there, she developed a keen interest in insight meditation. Upon graduation, Sayalay worked as a high school teacher for a year and a half. But disenchanted with worldly matters and desiring to be dedicated to the practice, she resigned from her job to take up meditation full time.

A treasure

"And what is the treasure of generosity? There is the case of a disciple of the noble ones, his awareness cleansed of the stain of stinginess, living at home, freely generous, openhanded, delighting in being magnanimous, responsive to requests, delighting in the distribution of alms. This is called the treasure of generosity." AN 7.6

Dhammapada Verses 262-263

Verses 262-263

Those who are envious, stingy and manipulative,
       remain unappealing despite good looks
                     and eloquent speech.
         But those who have freed themselves
                      from their faults
                  and arrived at wisdom
                   are attractive indeed.

International Bhikkhuni Day, 2014 (Part 13)

Honouring Eminent Asian Buddhist Women in the Modern Era

C. Buddhism Beyong Borders: Engaged Buddhism - Compassion in Action

5. Malaysia – Ven Hasapanna (1960- ) the first Theravada Malaysian woman to receive full ordination in Perth in 2009. Ven Hasapanna was born in 1960, and is from Ipoh. She was ordained as a trainee nun (Anagarika) for 2 years and a ten precept nun for 4 years following the Theravada tradition. In 2009, she took the full-pledge ordination as a Theravada Bhikkhuni (with Ayya Tathaaloka as Pavattini) for 2 years at Dhammasara Buddhist Nuns Monastery, Western Australia.

Co-Abbess of Nuns Monastery

She is currently the Co-Abbess of Dhammasara Nuns Monastery and also the Assistant Spiritual Director of Buddhist Society of Western Australia. Since then the number of bhikkhunis in Dhammasara has gradually grown, from three to seven and with four samaneris. Dhammasara is planning an expansion of their residential capacity and welcoming requests from women all over the world who would like to walk the path as nuns.

Dhamma Propagation Abroad

Bhikkhuni Hasapanna travels locally and oversea for example, Australia, Singapore, Malaysia and Hong Kong to give Dhamma talks and inspire people to walk the path. This year, with the support of some Buddhist societies she will be conducting one of the earliest Theravada temporary samaneri novitiate program in Malaysia to inspire potential candidates.     

AN 7.35: Mitta Sutta: A Friend

"Monks, a friend endowed with seven qualities is worth associating with. Which seven? He gives what is hard to give. He does what is hard to do. He endures what is hard to endure. He reveals his secrets to you. He keeps your secrets. When misfortunes strike, he doesn't abandon you. When you're down & out, he doesn't look down on you. A friend endowed with these seven qualities is worth associating with."