Three Types of Actions ~ S N Goenka

There are three types of actions: physical, vocal and mental.

Normally we attach most importance to physical actions, less to vocal actions, and least to mental actions. Beating a person appears to us a graver action than speaking to him insultingly, and both seem more serious than an unexpressed ill will toward the person. Certainly this would be the view according to the man made laws of each country. But according to Dhamma, the law of nature, mental action is most important. A physical or vocal assumes totally different significance according to the intention with which it is done.

Happy Lunar New Year, 2015

Mummified 200-year-old remains of Buddhist monk who is still in the LOTUS POSITION are discovered in Mongolia

VERY deep meditation: 

• Remains of a man found in the Songinokhairkhan province of Mongolia
• The 200-year-old human relic was preserved in animal skin, experts say
• Mummified remains found sitting in lotus position 'as if still meditating'
• Experts have started a forensic examination in the capital Ulaanbataar

By WILL STEWART FOR MAILONLINE

PUBLISHED: 08:24 GMT, 28 January 2015 | UPDATED: 28 January 2015

S N Goenka retells the Tamonata sutta (AN 4:85)

The Buddha said: “I see four types of people in this world. The first type is running from darkness towards darkness. The second is running from brightness towards darkness. The third is running from darkness towards brightness. And the fourth is running from brightness towards brightness.”

The Buddha did not speak in riddles. His teaching is clear and well-explained. Svākkhāto bhagavatā dhammo. Whenever he said something that people might not understand properly, he explained it immediately. What is darkness? What is brightness? How does one keep on running from one to the other?

How to deal with insults: Buddha teaches you!

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One day Buddha was walking through a village teaching Dhamma. A very angry and rude young man belong to another group of believers came up and began insulting him. “You have no right teaching others,” he shouted. “You are as stupid as everyone else. You are nothing but a fake.”

Buddha was not upset by these insults. Instead he asked the young man,

“Tell me, if you buy a gift for someone, and that person does not take it, to whom does the gift belong?”

The man was surprised to be asked such a strange question and answered,

“It would belong to me, because I bought the gift.”

The Buddha smiled and said,

“That is correct. And it is exactly the same with your anger. If you become angry with me and I do not get insulted, then the anger falls back on you. You are then the only one who becomes unhappy, not me. All you have done is hurt yourself.” …. …”If you want to stop hurting yourself, you must get rid of your anger and become loving instead. When you hate others, you yourself become unhappy. But when you love others, everyone is happy.”

The young man listened closely to these wise words of the Buddha.

“You are right, o Enlightened One, “he said. “Please teach me the path of love. I wish to become your follower.” The Buddha answered kindly,

“Of course. I teach anyone who truly wants to learn. Come with me.”

So he began to walk the path of Buddhism.

WHY DO BURMESE MONKS WEAR MAROON COLORED ROBES?

Posted by “Fifty Viss” or Peiktha Ngaze    Here’s a question. What’s the easiest way to distinguish Burmese monks from their counterparts in other countries? Typically, it’s from the color of the robes. Burma is unique among Theravada Buddhist countries in one respect: the color of monk robes. While Cambodia, Thailand, Laos and Sri Lankan monks don robes dyed in bright saffron hues, Burmese monks typically dress in drab maroon or burgundy-colored robes (aside from a few outliers).

Tibetan monks in maroon robes. Via Flickr (@wonderlane).

At first, I thought perhaps this was a vestige of Ari Buddhism, a form of Tantric Buddhism practiced in Burma a thousand years ago, a religion that has largely been superseded by Theravada Buddhism, since Tibetan monks, also from a Tantric sect (Vajrayana Buddhism), wear similarly colored maroon robes. In Folk Elements in Burmese Buddhism, Maung Htin Aung describes the form of Buddhism practiced before the dawn of Theravada Buddhism in 1000s Pagan, which is reminiscent of some Tibetan Buddhist practices today: