Suvannakaratthera Vatthu
Ucchinda sinehamattano
kumudam saradikamva panina
santimaggameva1 bruhaya
Nibbanam sugatena desitam.
santimaggameva1 bruhaya
Nibbanam sugatena desitam.
Saturday, December 17, 2016
The Buddha's Advice to Meghiya
'"Meghiya, in one whose awareness-release is still immature, these are the five qualities that bring it to maturity.
Na Tumhaka Sutta, SN35:101
"Whatever is not yours: let go of it. Your letting go of it will be for your long-term happiness & benefit. And what is not yours?
The eye is not yours: let go of it. Your letting go of it will be for your long-term happiness & benefit. Forms are not yours... Eye-consciousness is not yours... Eye-contact is not yours... Whatever arises in dependence on eye-contact, experienced either as pleasure, as pain, or as neither-pleasure-nor-pain, that too is not yours: let go of it. Your letting go of it will be for your long-term happiness & benefit.
The ear is not yours: let go of it...
The nose is not yours: let go of it...
The tongue is not yours: let go of it...
The body is not yours: let go of it...
The intellect is not yours: let go of it. Your letting go of it will be for your long-term happiness & benefit. Ideas are not yours... Intellect-consciousness is not yours... Intellect-contact is not yours... Whatever arises in dependence on intellect-contact, experienced either as pleasure, as pain, or as neither-pleasure-nor-pain, that too is not yours: let go of it. Your letting go of it will be for your long-term happiness & benefit."
Friday, December 16, 2016
Metta— Ajahn Sundara & Ajahn Candasiri, Friends on the Path
During his lifetime, the Buddha established the Fourfold Assembly (the community of monks, nuns, laymen and laywomen) as a social structure that would facilitate the cultivation and maintenance of the qualities of mindfulness and consideration of others. However whether we go forth as monks or nuns or live as householders one thing is clear: it’s likely to take time. This practice has to be developed and worked at over a lifetime.
Samyutta Nikaya. I,220
When in the forest amongst the roots of the trees
Or in the empty places,
Just call to mind the Buddha
And no fear of trembling will arise.
Just call to mind the Buddha
And no fear of trembling will arise.
If you cannot think of the Buddha,
This best, this highest, this finest of beings,
Then call to mind the Dhamma,
The well taught guide.
This best, this highest, this finest of beings,
Then call to mind the Dhamma,
The well taught guide.
If you cannot think of the Dhamma,
The well taught guide,
Then think of the Sangha,
That incomparable source of goodness in the world.
The well taught guide,
Then think of the Sangha,
That incomparable source of goodness in the world.
THE NOBLE TRUTH OF THE CESSATION OF SUFFERING NEEDS TO BE REALIZED 苦灭圣谛应证悟
The Noble Truth of Cessation of Suffering is Nibbāna, non-arising and cessation of the five clinging-aggregates: it needs to be realized by direct knowledge. It requires that one first realizes Arahanthship. That is why, in the ‘Mahā∙Saḷ∙Āyatanika Sutta’ that we just quoted from, The Buddha explains that knowledge and liberation need to be realized by direct knowledge: they correspond to the Arahant Path and Fruition Knowledges. As we just explained, when those two knowledges have been realized, one will have made a complete end of ignorance and craving, and after death there is no further rebirth.
Thursday, December 15, 2016
The Last Object for Insight Meditation Before Full Enlightenment 《圓滿證悟前觀禪的最後所緣》
Now, let me share with all of you what the last object was that immediately preceded the bodhisatta’s Enlightenment. The commentary to the Upakkilesa Sutta explains as follows:
Wednesday, December 14, 2016
Nalanda U's second chance for a "true" revival
by Kooi F Lim, The Buddhist Channel, Dec 8, 2016Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia -- In Nalanda University's website, it introduces the institution as thus: The University is inspired by and aspires to match the ancient Nalanda which was an undisputed seat of learning for 800 years till the twelfth century, CE.  But not all is well with the reincarnation of this famous ancient university.On November 23rd, Nobel laureate Prof Amartya Sen resigned from the governing board. He was the inaugural chairman of the Nalanda Mentor Group (NMG) which governed the establishment of Nalanda U. |
A moment of realisation
by Diana St Ruth Posted on 5 March 2016 by Buddhism Now
Part of the Buddhist path may be to come to terms with our own immaturity, having to realise that maybe we’re not always right and we’re not always kind. Sometimes in fact we’re downright foolish and unkind. Maybe we don’t mean to be, but we are. In the past we have justified our actions, perhaps, but through awareness we can notice this justification process going on. And even though it might be rather disturbing we face this reality because we want to know the nature of existence and the nature of ourselves. That wish for truth overrides our petty motives and we’re willing to look.
Tuesday, December 13, 2016
Feelings come and go
Thich Nhat Hanh gems
Feelings come and go like clouds in a windy sky.
Conscious breathing is my anchor
Thich Nhat Hanh (Artwork: Susa Talan)
Rajadhammas
"There are listed in the Pali Canon, the scriptures of Theravada Buddhism, what are called the rajadhammas, the virtues and duties of a wise ruler. The first one is the virtue of dana, which means generosity, giving. In almost all Buddhist lists of virtues, dana is always the first one. Isn't that significant? Why do they always list dana first? In a Buddhist sense, any kind of ruler - a universal monarch, a prime minister, a president, a chairman - needs to have this sense of generosity because this is what opens the heart of a human being. Just reflect on the act of giving without selfish demand in return, without expecting a reward. When we give something we like or want, to somebody else, that opens the heart and that always engenders a sense of nobility. Humanity is at its best when it gives what it loves, what it values, to others.
Monday, December 12, 2016
Monks' titles are honorific
29 January 2014 The Star online Letters
I have often read in the media, The Star included, press statements or comments made by Buddhist monks with their titles such as Chief High Priest of Malaysia and Singapore, Chief Sangha Nayaka of Malaysia and Singapore, and Buddhist Chief Monk of Malaysia and Singapore.
After the Buddha is gone
Na kho panetaṁ Ānanda evaṁ daṭṭhabbaṁ,
But it should not be seen like that, Ānanda,
yo vo Ānanda mayā Dhammo ca Vinayo ca desito paññatto
whatever Teaching and Discipline has been taught by me or laid down, Ānanda,
so vo mamaccayena Satthā.
that is your Teacher after my passing away.
Caregiving and the Buddha’s Way
Susan Stone Fall 2005 Barre Center for Budhhist Studies
When seen with clarity, any non-harmful activity can be a field for spiritual practice—be it hair dressing, astrophysics or feeding the cat. But caregiving would seem to have special status; spiritual qualities are part of the job description. Caregivers know well the challenges of trying to manifest compassion and selflessness on the job, while those who are practitioners of Buddhist teachings are led into even more complex challenges. These include struggling with the seeming contradictions of reconciling compassionate and selfless action with proper self-care while trying to live in alignment with the teaching of no-self; embracing the lessons of impermanence that are intrinsic to death and dying; and noticing how even the subtle odor of a personal agenda can foul efforts to make appropriate caregiving decisions.
When seen with clarity, any non-harmful activity can be a field for spiritual practice—be it hair dressing, astrophysics or feeding the cat. But caregiving would seem to have special status; spiritual qualities are part of the job description. Caregivers know well the challenges of trying to manifest compassion and selflessness on the job, while those who are practitioners of Buddhist teachings are led into even more complex challenges. These include struggling with the seeming contradictions of reconciling compassionate and selfless action with proper self-care while trying to live in alignment with the teaching of no-self; embracing the lessons of impermanence that are intrinsic to death and dying; and noticing how even the subtle odor of a personal agenda can foul efforts to make appropriate caregiving decisions.
Sunday, December 11, 2016
Thich Nhat Hanh travels to Thailand “to be near his homeland”
December 9, 2016 by
Thich Nhat Hanh’s adoptive home of France is in early winter now and his monastery, Plum Village, is entering its fourth week of a three-month winter retreat. These days the retreats, once led by the 90 year-old Zen master himself, are taught by his senior disciples.
It has been nearly a year since Thay (as he’s known to disciples) returned to France after treatment in the U.S. for a stroke.
According to the monastics at Plum Village, Thich Nhat Hanh has requested to visit Thailand, where an affiliate Thai Plum Village, is home to over 150 monastics. And visit he shall, planning to arrive Dec. 10 in Thailand.
There, they will be greeted by hundreds of monastics and lay practitioners, including many venerable elders from Thailand and Vietnam, who over the last few days have been making the journey by land and air to greet him and pay their respects. We are very happy that Thay is still able to make such a journey, to offer his presence in Asia and be closer to his homeland at this time.
The monks at Plum Village conclude:
We are profoundly grateful to Thay’s friends who have pledged contributions to enable him to realize his wish. If you would like to participate in this historic journey, and make your own contribution to support Thay, you are warmly welcome to do so, via the Thich Nhat Hanh Foundation ($) or the Plum Village Website (€), with the label: “TNH Thailand 2016”.
'JUST RIGHT’ CONCENTRATION
When you meditate, you have to think. If you don’t think, you can’t meditate, because thinking forms a necessary part of meditation. Take jhana, for instance. Use your powers of directed thought to bring the mind to the object, and your powers of evaluation to be discriminating in your choice of an object. Examine the object of your meditation until you see that it’s just right for you. You can choose slow breathing, fast breathing, short breathing, long breathing, narrow breathing, broad breathing; hot, cool, or warm breathing; a breath that goes only as far as the nose, a breath that goes only as far as the base of the throat, a breath that goes all the way down to the heart. When you’ve found an object that suits your taste, catch hold of it and make the mind one, focused on a single object. Once you’ve done this, evaluate your object. Direct your thoughts to making it stand out. Don’t let the mind leave the object. Don’t let the object leave the mind. Tell yourself that it’s like eating: Put the food in line with your mouth, put your mouth in line with the food. Don’t miss. If you miss and go sticking the food in your ear, under your chin, in your eye, or on your forehead, you’ll never get anywhere in your eating.
Buddhism in Malaysia 1000 years ago
Buddhism was the main religion in Malaysia for more than 1,000 years, and has left some wonderful art works behind, not all of which are now on show. This is a statue of the Bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara, found at Bidor in Perak, and now kept in the Muzium Negara, Kuala Lumpur 8-9th century, 79cm (31") tall. Photo is by Gryffindor.
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