Vassa Rains Retreat

Today is the Beginning of the Observance of Vassa (Rain Retreat)

Imasmim vihare imam temasam vassam upemi. [3 times]
[I will live in this monastery for these three months of Rains Retreat]

“Imasmim Avase Imam Temasam Vassam Upema” [3 Times]

5 Reasons Why You Need to Start Meditating Daily

Posted By Expanded Consciousness on June 19, 2014

By: Jason Demakis 

Meditation has been around for thousands and thousands of years. Yet, as cultures continue to grow and science continues to evolve, this ancient practice is proving more and more valuable and valid as times become tougher (in an economic sense) and people become “tougher to love” (once again, an economic effect).

The incredible advantages of daily meditation are blatantly obvious to those who use and benefit from them, and slightly less than insane sounding to most “average folk”, who associate people sitting on the ground with their legs crossed and eyes closed with tripping on peyote, salvia, LSD, or other number of recreational drugs. The hippie culture may have stigmatized this activity for some, but I assure you there’s orders of magnitude more value in cashing in your ego for the benefits provided by this simple practice.

Here are five reasons you need to start meditating daily, and what these five things did for me on my personal path of clarity and self-evolution:

Dhammapada Verse 178

Verse 178

     Better than ruling the whole world,

         better than going to heaven,

  better than lordship over the universe,

is an irreversible commitment to the Way.

Bhojana Sutta: A Meal AN 5.37

"In giving a meal, the donor gives five things to the recipient. 

Which five? 
He/she gives life, beauty, happiness, strength, & quick-wittedness.

Having given life, he/she has a share in long life, either human or divine. 
Having given beauty, he/she has a share in beauty, either human or divine. 
Having given happiness, he/she has a share in happiness, either human or divine. 
Having given strength, he/she has a share in strength, either human or divine. 
Having given quick-wittedness, he/she has a share in quick-wittedness, either human or divine.

In giving a meal, the donor gives these five things to the recipient."

Pierce Brosnan: From Action Hero to Losing His Daughter to Cancer

The actor is the quintessence of smooth, first as Remington Steele, then James Bond. He talks about grief after his daughter Charlotte’s death, mortality, and playing the action hero. 

The Daily Beast meets the charming, extremely handsome Brosnan in a New York hotel suite. He is wearing a navy jacket, slim-fit jeans, a crisp white shirt, and a snazzy pair of blue suede shoes.

Brosnan, 61, has a close-clipped beard, and tufty salt-and-pepper hair. He was born in Ireland (his accent is a soft meeting of Californian and Irish lilts) and became famous first as ’80s TV detective Remington Steele. Global fame beckoned when he debuted as Brit master spy James Bond, for four movies, in 1995. His other films include Mrs. Doubtfire, Mamma Mia, and The Thomas Crown Affair.

With us, he talked about the critical drubbing received by A Long Way Down, as well as playing Bond, the trend of older actors in action movies, and the tragedy of losing his 41-year-old adopted daughter, Charlotte, in June last year to ovarian cancer, the same disease that killed his first wife, Charlotte’s mother, Cassandra, in 1991, when she was 43. Brosnan has seven films coming up, including The Love Punch, with Emma Thompson, The Coup, with Owen Wilson, and The Moon and the Sun, playing Louis XIV.

Buddhist countries are natural allies of Sri Lanka

 For the ADDRESS BY HIS EXCELLENCY J.R. JAYEWARDENE LEADER OF THE DELEGATION OF THE GOVERNMENT OF CEYLON (SRI LANKA) at the San Francisco Conference on the Treaty of Peace with Japan 

Sunday, Mar 02 2014  

Sri Lanka’s foreign policy must tilt towards extracting the maximum support and assistance from countries that have a shared Buddhist heritage, because these countries are natural allies of Sri Lanka. A shared past acts as a powerful reminder of a sense of duty to one another particularly in times of crisis. This is true in human affairs. It is equally true in international affairs and underlying religious ties and loyalties must be activated to gain maximum advantage. The unity and solidarity that underlies the formation and functioning of the European Union (EU) and the Organisation of Islamic Co-operation (OIC) work on this simple formula – common faith and shared religious heritage.

Are we there yet?

Then I'll Be Happy

When I was fourteen years old, I was studying for my O-level examinations in a high school in London. My parents and teachers advised me to stop playing soccer in the evenings and weekends – to stay at home instead giving the time to my homework. They explained how important the O-level exams were and that if I did well, then I’d be happy.

How to achieve Lasting Happiness?

Best Birthday Gift

Published on Jul 6, 2013

His Holiness the Dalai Lama speaking from Sera Monastery in South India about the best gift he can receive for his birthday in a short clip from his live video teleconference appearance via the internet at a celebration honoring his 78th Birthday held in Taiwan on July 6, 2013. (www.dalailama.com)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rq0Faky1rps