Confusing monastic prefixes

By Lee Yu Ban on Friday, July 26, 2013

Sangha and Bhante (Ayya)
There is some confusion on how to refer to monks. For example if referring to 5 monks, some people say there are 5 sangha in the temple; some say there are 5 bhantes in the temple. Both are incorrect.

Dalai Lama on Inner Peace

Dalai Lama’s 1 minute video explaining Inner Peace, Happiness, God and Money - BBN News

Trying to find inner peace can be difficult with various distractions we face in life. We have routine obligation sand among them is our worries, stresses, jealousness, and too many desires play in to our mind. Life is far from that. Happiness is far from that. We are lost in this world trying to catch a fast moving train. Often we end up failing catch and being a victim of the tide.

Learning life and how our mind play can help you come out of illusions we live in. Happiness is not a feeling. It’s a choice. You need to choose to find inner peace to be happy.

bbncommunity.com

The Present

The Mindfulness Business

Western capitalism is looking for inspiration in eastern mysticism 
Schumpeter Nov 16th 2013

IN HIS 1905 book, “The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism”, Max Weber credited the Protestant ethic with giving rise to capitalism. Now it sometimes seems as if it is the Buddhist ethic that is keeping capitalism going. The Protestants stressed rational calculation and self-restraint. The Buddhists stress the importance of “mindfulness”—taking time out from the hurly-burly of daily activities to relax and meditate. In today’s corporate world you are more likely to hear about mindfulness than self-restraint.

Bodhisattvas

Social media guidelines for so-called Vajrayana Students

 by Ven Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche, The Buddhist Channel, Jan 20, 2012
Timphu, Bhutan -- If you think or believe that you are a student of Vajrayana - whether or not that’s true is another matter - but as long as you think you are a Vajrayana practitioner, it becomes your responsibility to protect this profound tradition.

It’s important to maintain secrecy in the Vajrayana. The Vajrayana is called ‘the secret mantra yana’ because it is intended to be practiced in secrecy. It is not secret because there is something to hide, but in order to protect the practitioner from the pitfalls and downfalls that ego can bring to the practice.

In particular, practitioners tend to fall prey to “spiritual materialism,” where their practice becomes just another fashion statement intended to adorn their egos and make them feel important, or have them feel that they’re part of a ‘cool’ social tribe, rather than to tame and transform their minds.

Common Sense

The Meaning of Prayer

excerpt from ‘ What Buddhists Believe

by the late Ven. Dr. K. Sri Dhammananda Nayaka Mahathero

Ven. Dr. K. Sri Dhammananda Nayaka Mahathero

 
Nature is impartial; it cannot be flattered by prayers. It does not grant any special favours on request.
 
Man is not a fallen creature who begs for his needs as he awaits mercy. According to Buddhism, man is a potential master of himself. Only because of his deep ignorance does man fail to realize his full potential. Since the Buddha has shown this hidden power, man must cultivate his mind and try to develop it by realizing his innate ability.

Broken Objects

YVK: Fourth letter from death row - a missed Mother's Day

Sabahan Yong Vui Kong, 21, is on death row in Singapore for drug trafficking. Malaysiakini is publishing Yong's final letters to Yetian, a member of the Save Vui Kong Campaign, in the next few weeks as he faces death.

May 12, 11 9:38am

Yetian, without even noticing it, we have already exchanged four letters. Please let me express my gratitude to you, a kind-hearted stranger, for granting my wish. I may not have much more time to write, but I shall continue writing until my very last moment.