Jataka. III,38

If good people quarrel they should quickly be reconciled and form a bond that long endures.
Like useless cracked or broken pots, only fools do not seek reconciliation.
One who understands this, who considers this teaching, does what’s hard to do and is a worthy brother.
He who bears the abuse of others is fit to be a conciliator.

“Everything in the body is made up of earth, water, wind, and fire”

Questioner : When my meditation is going well I’m aware of the ‘one who knows’, but when I get involved in work such as washing the dishes, I lose that awareness.

Tan Ajaan: It is alright; you don’t have to be too concerned about it. Just pay attention to the work at hand.

Question and answers. (Goenkaji in Sri Lanka-10 -19 May 2006)

1) Is Satipatthana and Vipassana the same?

Guruji : Exactly the same.

2) Is it possible to attain nibbana in this lifetime?

Guruji : Yes, it is possible.

3) What is the role of Sri Lanka in preserving Buddha Dhamma?

Guruji : A wonderful role.

Samyutta Nikaya. I 42

Let one control speech and mind 
And do no wrong deed with the body
If one’s home is well stocked with goods,
Let one have faith, be gentle,
Share his goods with others and speak kindly.

~ Dhammapada 227, translated by Gil Fronsdal

Ancient is this [saying], O Atula,
It is not just of today:
They find fault in one sitting silently,
They find fault in one speaking much,
They find fault in one speaking moderately,
No one is this world is not found at fault.

“Our mind is prone to forgetfulness” By Ajaan Suchart Abhijāto

“…We might be renting a place to live and the landlord does not mention that we’ll be required to pay certain additional costs, so when we actually receive the bill, we are shocked. “Hey! When I first came you didn’t tell me about any additional costs!” For this reason, we should carefully inquire before we move in, “So what are the various bills and expenses I will be responsible for?” so that we are mentally and financially prepared.

Udana 54

Just as the great ocean slopes away gradually, tends downwards gradually, without any abrupt precipice, even so this Dhamma and discipline is a gradual doing, a gradual training, a gradual practice. 

There is no sudden penetration of knowledge.

Ma Ba Tha monks a “divisive” minority, other clergymen say

By Myanmar Now July 20, 2016 By Htet Khaung Linn

Ma Ba Tha monks gathered during a major convention in Yangon's Insein township in 2015. Photo: Swe Win/Myanmar Now 

YANGON (Myanmar Now) - Several revered Buddhist monks from across Myanmar have spoken out against the nationalist Ma Ba Tha movement, describing it as a minority group, and its actions as divisive and politicised.

The monks joined a growing chorus of criticism of the movement, which was recently disowned by the State Sangha, hit with legal complaints and warned by the National League for Democracy (NLD) government.

Dhammapada 246-247, 127,116

The Dhammapada. 378 Verses and Stories

The Story of Thera Santakaya.

What Is A BUDDHIST?

A Buddhist is someone who follows the teachings of the Buddha and tries to incorporate them into their daily lives. Buddhists are everyday people. They work, have families and experience the same ups and downs of everyday life as anyone else. Like many people, they have good qualities and bad qualities. They may not be perfect, but what they have decided to do, however, is to strive to do better. This means they try to bring more compassion and loving-kindness into their relationships with others. They try to eradicate tendencies towards greed and hatred in their lives. They also try to follow the moral guidelines laid down by the Buddha. 

Some Buddhists become monks and nuns, devoting every aspect of their lives to following the Buddha’s teachings. Those who have decided upon this path lead celibate lives and usually join a monastic community. The majority of Buddhists, however, are lay Buddhists.

Dhammapada 125

Myanmar Minister Asks Mainstream Buddhists to Stop Hate Speech by Controversial Monk Group

2016-07-13 Radio Free Asia

Myanmar monk Wirathu (C) attends a Ma Ba Tha ceremony celebrating the passage of controversial race and religious protection laws by Myanmar's parliament in Mandalay, Sept. 21, 2015.

Myanmar’s minister of religious affairs and culture has asked the council that oversees the country’s Buddhist clergy to take action against hate speech by monks belonging to an ultranationalist religious group that routinely attacks Muslims in the predominantly Buddhist country.

Minister Aung Ko made the comment during a two-day meeting of the State Sangha Maha Nayaka Committee (Mahana)—the government-appointed council that oversees and regulates the country’s Buddhist clergy.

Anguttara Nikaya III.207

These five trades ought not to be practised by a layman. What five? Trade in weapons, trade in human beings, trade in flesh, trade in alcohol and trade in poisons.

How Buddhist is Boulder?

By Aimee Heckel, The Daily Camera, June 12, 2016 Reputation is supported in some ways, not in others Boulder, CO (USA) -- Boulder is so Buddhist. It's hard to deny Boulder's  reputation as a Buddhist hot spot. It has a Buddhist-influenced (but secular)  university, Naropa. In February, it celebrates Shambhala Day, in coordination  with the Tibetan lunar calendar. The Huffington Post included Boulder's Buddhism  in a 2009 "10 Pithy Observations About Boulder" story. Caleb Cassel, of Boulder, walks pasta postal box with a Dalai Lama mural painted on it outside of the Shambala Center on Tuesday in Boulder . For more photos of the Shambala Center go to www.dailycamera.com Jeremy Papasso/Staff Photographer June 8, 2016 It is home to the first Shambhala city center in the world founded by influential Buddhist Chogyam Trungpa. Today, there are about 225 of his centers around the world. The Boulder Shambhala Center celebrates its 40th anniversary in its current location this year.

Meanwhile In Canada, Peel Regional Officers Meditate In A Temple

Mohamed Omar Huff Post Updated: 04/14/2016 

Here's something you don't see every day.

Officers from Ontario's Peel Regional Police attended a temple last week for a lecture on mindfulness meditation and Buddhist philosophy.

China's Panchen Lama carries out religious rite in Tibet, first in 50 years

PUBLISHED: 4:20 PM, JULY 21, 2016 TODAY

BEIJING - A youth named by China as the second-highest figure in Tibetan Buddhism, but reviled as a fake by many Tibetans, began an important Buddhist rite on Thursday, the first time in 50 years it has happened in Tibet, state media said.

Although officially atheist, China selected Gyaltsen Norbu as the 11th Panchen Lama in 1995 in a drive to win the hearts and minds of Tibetans.

Dhammapada v 13 & 14

"Just as rain breaks through an ill-thatched house, so passion penetrates an undeveloped mind.

Just as rain does not break through a well-thatched house, so passion never penetrates a well-developed mind."

Joyce Wrice's Buddhist Faith Informs Her Sad Yet Uplifting R&B

WEDNESDAY, JULY 6, 2016.

BY JEFF WEISS

EXPAND

Joyce Wrice

A Buddhist R&B singer seems almost as antithetical as a Scientologist psychiatrist or a Mormon beer baron. One tradition is rooted in emotional volatility and the other is a serene religion seeking enlightenment. Bodhisattvas posses wisdom, but Bobby Brown made “Don’t Be Cruel.” It’s a toss-up.

If her stellar debut EP, Stay Around, is any harbinger, Joyce Wricemay be the first to bridge the gap between satori and soul since Tina Turner converted in 1974. After all, the initial precept of Buddhism is that all life is suffering, and few circumstances cause greater pain than heartache.

Killing the Buddha

"Death of the Buddha," by Gandharan, c. 2nd century, in the Walters Art Museum.

BY SAM HARRIS| MARCH 1, 2006

“Kill the Buddha,” says the old koan. “Kill Buddhism,” says Sam Harris, author of The End of Faith, who argues that Buddhism’s philosophy, insight, and practices would benefit more people if they were not presented as a religion.

The ninth-century Buddhist master Lin Chi is supposed to have said, “If you meet the Buddha on the road, kill him.” Like much of Zen teaching, this seems too cute by half, but it makes a valuable point: to turn the Buddha into a religious fetish is to miss the essence of what he taught. In considering what Buddhism can offer the world in the twenty-first century, I propose that we take Lin Chi’s admonishment rather seriously. As students of the Buddha, we should dispense with Buddhism.

Dhammapada 354, translated by Gil Fronsdal

The gift of Dharma surpasses all gifts.
The taste of Dharma surpasses all tastes.
The delight in Dharma surpasses all delights.
The destruction of craving conquers all suffering.

Death of the Mekong, River of Buddhism

by Khanh T. Tran, The Buddhist Channel, June 20, 2016 Hanoi, Vietnam -- From its origin in the high plateau of Tibet, the Mekong river is 4500 km long and the 12th longest river in the world, flowing through six countries that include China, Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam. Through its long course, the river is known as Lancang in China, Mekong in Myanmar, Laos and Thailand, and finally as River of Nine Dragons because it flows out to sea through nine estuaries in south Vietnam. True to its name (Mekong means Mother River in Laotian), the Mekong river is the lifeline to more than 65 million inhabitants, mainly in downstream countries of Laos, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam. The majority of these inhabitants are Buddhists and all three major Buddhist traditions are practiced: Theravada  in Myanmar, Thailand, Laos and Cambodia; Mahayana in China and Vietnam; and Vajrayana in Tibet.  Hence, the Mekong is called the “River of Buddhism”.

Nalanda