Darling, do I understand you enough?

From time to time, sit close to the one you love, hold his or her hand, and ask, “Darling, do I understand you enough? Or am I making you suffer? Please tell me so that I can learn to love you properly. I don’t want to make you suffer, and if I do so because of my ignorance, please tell me so that I can love you better, so that you can be happy.” If you say this in a voice that communicates your real openness to understand, the other person may cry. That is a good sign, because it means the door of understanding is opening and everything will be possible again.

Thich Nhat Hanh, in "Peace Is Every Step"

Enlightenment - The Story

https://www.facebook.com/TrueBuddhistTeachings/videos/1840607702857341/

One day, seated beneath the Bodhi tree (the tree of awakening) Siddhartha became deeply absorbed in meditation, and reflected on his experience of life, determined to penetrate its truth. He finally achieved Enlightenment and became the Buddha.

10 things science (and Buddhism) says will make you happy

February 19, 2012 

 Bodhipaksa

I’m a science geek as well as a Buddhist geek, and recently when I was leading a retreat on how to bring more joy into our lives I found myself making a lot of references to an article published in Yes magazine, which touched on ten things that have been shown by science to make us happier. It seemed natural to draw upon the article because so much of the research that was described resonated with Buddhist teachings.

So I thought it would be interesting to take the main points of the article and flesh them out with a little Buddhism.

1. Be generous
“Make altruism and giving part of your life, and be purposeful about it,” Yes magazine says. “Researcher Elizabeth Dunn found that those who spend money on others reported much greater happiness than those who spend it on themselves.”

Ven. Henepola Gunaratana - Mindfulness in plain English

From the Buddhist point of view, we human beings live in a very peculiar fashion. We view impermanent things as permanent, though everything is changing all around us. The process of change is constant and eternal.

Dare to practise

HAPPINESS FOR THE LAY PERSON

By Venerable Balacitta

The Buddha once described (in AN 4:62) 4 different kinds of happiness that can be attained by a lay person. These are based on:

1. Wealth obtained by righteous means
2. Enjoyment of such wealth
3. Freedom from debt
4. Blamelessness 

Piers Morgan meets his Holiness the Dalai Lama on 26 APRIL 2017

on 26 APRIL 2017 • 

In September 2016 Piers Morgan met his Holiness the Dalai Lama — and the pair talked about everything, from Mr Trump, to IS, to love and marriage and even celebrity culture.

Watch the full (40-minute, uncut), fascinating discussion.

It was the interview that got the internet buzzing and now we [itv.com/goodmorningbritain] bring you the full 40-minute, uncut version.

AN 3.109

The Buddha said to Anathapindika the householder: 

"Householder, when the mind is unprotected, bodily actions are unprotected as well, verbal actions are unprotected as well, mental actions are unprotected as well. When one’s bodily actions, verbal actions, & mental actions are unprotected, one’s bodily actions get soggy, one’s verbal actions get soggy, one’s mental actions get soggy. When one’s bodily actions, verbal actions, & mental actions are soggy, one’s bodily actions… verbal actions… mental actions rot. When one’s bodily actions, verbal actions, & mental actions rot, one’s death is not auspicious, the mode of one’s dying not good."

If you use samādhi to resist your desire without knowing the purpose of doing so, you will not be able to get rid of your desire entirely

Question:  I can see my desire but I feel so weak and am unable to resist and resolve it. How can I lessen my desire and eventually uproot it?

Than Ajahn:  First of all you need to develop mindfulness. If you have mindfulness you can disregard your desire when it arises. When you have desire, you just concentrate on your meditation subject, like reciting a mantra: Buddho, Buddho. If you can keep repeating Buddho, Buddho, eventually your desire will disappear temporarily. This is the first step of engaging with your desire.

When and where was the Tipitaka first written?

May 1, 2017

In an article I wrote for The Island and which was published on 21st April 2017, I highlighted several well-known details about the life of the Buddha, which most Buddhists assume come from the Tipitaka, but which in fact cannot be found there. I went on to suggest that some of these stories may well have been created centuries after the Buddha. Several people have responded to this article, including Dr. Chandre Dharmawardene of Canada. In his response he mentions that the Tipitaka was first committed to writing in the 1st century BCE at Aluvihara in Sri Lanka. In saying this Dr. Dharamawardene is of course in accordance with generally accepted and oft repeated ‘fact.’ However, it is a ‘fact’ that I would like to reassess.

Don't ignore your suffering

If you have experienced hunger, you know that having food is a miracle. If you have suffered from the cold, you know the preciousness of warmth. When you have suffered, you know how to appreciate the elements of paradise that are present. If you dwell only in your suffering, you will miss paradise. Don't ignore your suffering, but don't forget to enjoy the wonders of life, for your sake and for the benefit of many beings.

- Thich Nhat Hanh, in “The Heart of the Buddha's Teaching”.  Photo: Noel CasajeKevin Ooi

You have to know that you are breathing in now, or you are breathing out now

Question: In breath meditation, there are different points of focusing ie focusing on different parts of the body like at the tip of the nose, or in the diaphragm or in the throat. How do I chose which point of focusing is suitable for me?

His Holiness the 103rd Gaden Tripa, Head of the Gelug School, Passes Away

By Craig Lewis Buddhistdoor Global 2017-04-24 

His Holiness the 103rd Gaden Tripa. From tibet.net

The 103rd Gaden Tripa, His Holiness Jetsun Lobsang Tenzin, the spiritual head of the Gelug school of Tibetan Buddhism, has passed away at the age of 80, the Central Tibetan Administration announced. Rinpoche had recently been admitted to the intensive care unit of Max Hospital in New Delhi after several months of illness. 

Children Becoming Buddhist Monks

https://www.facebook.com/todayonline/videos/10154717044117572/

WATCH: Children get their heads shaved by Buddhist monks during a ceremony called 'Children Becoming Buddhist Monks' at the Jogye Temple in South Korea. Following the ceremony, the children will stay at the temple where they are taught about Buddhism until Buddha's birthday on May 3.

The Buddha’s Victory Over A God & Demon

Posted by random reader on March 20, 2012

If your inner Mara already subdues you, you are subdued by the outer Mara too. - Stonepeace

As summarised from the Brahma-Nimantanika Sutta, the Buddha spoke of an occasion, when a wrong view arose in the mind of Baka Brahma, a god residing in Maha Brahma Heaven. He had assumed that his existence and world was constant, permanent, eternal and total (‘salvation’), not subject to ageing, death and rebirth. The Buddha thus swiftly manifested in his world to instruct him. Welcomed by Baka Brahma, who repeated his thoughts to him, the Buddha exclaimed that he was actually being ignorant by mistaking so. Just then, Mara, the most evil god (a heavenly ‘demon’ from the Paranimmita-Vasavatti Heaven) possessed an attendant of Baka Brahma and told the Buddha not to rebuke him, for he is ‘the Maha (Great) Brahma, the Conqueror, Unconquered, Omniscient, Omnipotent, Creator, Most High Providence, Father of All That Have Been and Shall Be.’

While walking in the woods with a group of children last year, I noticed one of the little girls thinking for a long time. Finally, she asked me, "Grandfather monk, what color is that tree's bark?" "It is the color that you see," I told her. I wanted her to enter the wonderful world that was right in front of her. I did not want to add another concept.

Thich Nhat Hanh Photo: Béatrice Lechtanski

In South Korea, pretty much everything is a little bit Buddhist. Including politics

By Matthew Bell, WVXU, Apr 26, 2017

South Korean Buddhists gather every year to recite the Diamond Sutra with monks from the Jogye Temple in Seoul. This year was special, with a presidential election coming up on May 9th.

Seoul, South Korea -- The weather was simply awful. But the cold, wind and rain didn’t deter thousands of people from attending an annual ritual in downtown Seoul on a recent weekday afternoon.

People came to chant the words of the Diamond Sutra from Buddhist scripture with senior monks from the Jogye Order, the most prominent sect in Korean Buddhism, who presided over the event.

Also on hand were officials from most of South Korea’s major political parties.

What would you do if someone said, "I am the perfectly enlightened one"?

As Ajahn Sumedho noted:

"Within the Buddhist world, there are not many Buddhists who use the Four Noble Truths anymore, even in Thailand. People say, ‘Oh yes, the Four Noble Truths - beginner’s stuff.’ Then they might use all kinds of vipassana techniques and become really obsessed with the sixteen stages before they get to the Noble Truths. I find it quite boggling that in the Buddhist world the really profound teaching has been dismissed as primitive Buddhism: ‘That’s for the little kids, the beginners. The advanced course is....’ They go into complicated theories and ideas - forgetting the most profound teaching.

The Four Noble Truths are a lifetime’s reflection. It is not just a matter of realising the Four Noble Truths, the three aspects, and twelve stages and becoming an arahant on one retreat - and then going onto something advanced. The Four Noble Truths are not easy like that. They require an ongoing attitude of vigilance and they provide the context for a lifetime of examination"

New Buddhist temple in St. Louis Park hopes to become center of Thai culture

By Miguel Otárola, Star Tribune, April 11, 2017 A Thai Buddhist center is moving into an old church in St. Louis Park.  St. Louis, MN (USA) -- The monks, draped in orange robes, sat side-by-side in  the gathering hall of the Thai Buddhist Center of Minnesota, an arrangement of  flowers displayed in front of each one. Buddhist monks prayed and blessed attendees during the Thai New Year Celebration. Visitors, each holding a bowl of water, slowly moved toward the monks. They poured water on their palms, and it dribbled onto the flowers below. For the Thai, the water ceremony is a symbolic  acceptance of the monks’ blessings. It was one of many traditions celebrated Sunday at the center’s Thai New Year festival, the first event held in the community’s new temple, a former Lutheran church in the Birchwood neighborhood of St. Louis Park.

Dare to do it

This body is just a composition of the four elements. There is no person in that body – no father, no mother, no brother, no sister

Question: I am practicing the meditation on the 32 parts. May you give me some advice about how to practice it, in order to get the most benefits possible?

Than Ajahn:  You can use it for samatha or vipassanā. Samatha is to make your mind peaceful and calm. Instead of repeating Buddho, you can repeat the 32 parts: hair of the head, hair of the body, nails, teeth, skin, flesh, bones, heart, lungs, liver, kidneys, etc. You memorise it and repeat it. If you keep reciting this 32 parts, your mind can become peaceful and calm and you will have samādhi. This is one method.

Thousands of Japanese Buddhist temples left 'priestless'

by ALEXANDER MARTIN, Nikkei Asian Review, April 26, 2017

Nearly 13,000 lack resident leaders as depopulation gnaws at community pillars

TOKYO, Japan -- Japan is home to more Buddhist temples than convenience stores, but many are struggling to find the parishioners they need to stay afloat. As congregations shrink, thousands of temples are going without resident priests.

<< Japan's Buddhist temples rely on ceremonial fees and collections from local supporters. 

A survey released by the Kyoto Shimbun newspaper this week shows that nearly 13,000 of the approximately 75,000 Buddhist temples in the country do not have resident priests or are co-managed by chief priests from other temples.

We are here to awaken from the illusion of our separateness

Illusion of our separateness

~ Thich Nhat Hanh http://justdharma.com/s/ic7j2

quoted in the book "A Buddhist Response to the Climate Emergency"
ISBN: 978-0861716050 - http://amzn.to/1o0fiQQ

Thich Nhat Hanh on the web:  http://plumvillage.org

Thich Nhat Hanh biography:  http://plumvillage.org/about/thich-nhat-hanh/biography/

I will advise that if you are born as a human being now, you should practise now. There is a Buddha’s teaching now. So now is the best time to practise

Question:  Ajahn Suwat said that in the future it is not worthwhile to wish to be reborn as human being as conditions are going to be very hard to a point where it will be difficult to practice the Dhamma and it will be better to be reborn in the deva realms to practise from there. Will you advice the same?

Than Ajahn:  I will advise that if you are born as a human being now, you should practise now. Don’t worry about your future lives because you cannot guarantee where you are going to be reborn. You are a human being now and there is a Buddha’s teaching now. So now is the best time to practise.

Vatican calls on Catholics and Buddhists to work together to promote nonviolence

by Joshua J. McElwee, NCR Today, Apr. 24, 2017 Vatican City -- The Vatican has called on Catholics and Buddhists to work together to teach wider society the value of a nonviolent lifestyle, saying in a letter for an upcoming Buddhist holiday that the founders of the two faiths were alike in their promotion of peacemaking. “Jesus Christ and the Buddha were promoters of nonviolence as well as peacemakers,” the Pontifical Council for Inter-religious Dialogue writes in a letter issued Saturday for the upcoming Buddhist holiday of Vesakh. “Though we recognize the uniqueness of our two religions, to which we remain committed, we agree that violence comes forth from the human heart, and that personal evils lead to structural evils,” the letter continues. “We are therefore called to a common enterprise.”

Study constantly

On the Nothingness of God: A Zen Meditation

April 21, 2017 by James Ford 

Back in 2008 I read a review of the book Merton & Buddhism: Wisdom, Emptiness & Everyday Mind edited by Bonnie Bowman Thurston. The reviewer cited a particular line that I’ve not been able to shake. “(W)hen the Dalai Lama was asked if he believed in God, he replied ‘It depends on what you mean by ‘God’: if you mean by ‘God’ What Thomas Merton means, then yes, I do.’”

This very much caught my imagination. And, I wrote on the subject, on the yes, and the implied no, and within that the power of nothingness. I find myself think of this again. And, thought I’d take another run at that mystery.

Beginning Anew

The Buddhist teaching on Beginning Anew is very clear: 

"The un-skillfulness comes from our mind, and the un-skillfulness can be transformed by our mind…” 

If there is light, there is enlightenment in your consciousness; there is a strong determination, the awareness that "This is something negative, this is something harmful… and I am determined not to allow it to happen again," and then the mind is transformed… And now, with your enlightenment, with your determination, you will never allow these conditions to come together again in order to repeat the same thing.

Thich Nhat Hanh, in ”Beginning Anew” Dharma Talk. Photo: Brigitta Moser

The Zen of Weight Loss: Further Reflections on my Consciousness Diet

April 27, 2017 by James Ford 

Today I officially became a life time member of Weight Watchers.

What that means is that I achieved my official “goal” weight, and now six weeks from that weigh in I’ve been able to stay within four pound range of my achieved goal weight (two tenths of a pound over the mid-point, thank you for asking). And now as long as I keep within some parameters, mainly not exceeding that goal weight by more than two pounds and weighing in at least once a month, there are no continuing fees for my participation at Weight Watchers.

Student unlocks mysteries of Norlin’s Tibetan Buddhist texts

By Kenna Bruner, AS Magazine, Colorado U, April 17, 2017

Boulder, CO (USA) -- How did a fruit farmer’s son in New York’s Hudson Valley come to be a graduate student in University of Colorado Boulder’s Religious Studies Department, studying Tibetan Buddhist texts?

<< Eben Yonnetti, a master’s student in religious studies, focuses on the contemporary transmission and translation of Tibetan Buddhism. His primary research interests include the contemporary trans-national and trans-linguistic dissemination of Tibetan Buddhism, as well as translation and ritual studies more broadly. CU Boulder photo by Patrick Campbell.

As an undergraduate at Siena College, Eben Yonnetti, on a whim, went on a study abroad trip to Nepal to study in the Tibetan and Himalayan Peoples program. Yonnetti lived with a Tibetan exile family who helped him assimilate among the people and learn about their religious community.

The Bodhisattva

April 18, 2017 by Daniel Scharpenburg 

geraldford, flickr cc

The Bodhisattva is willing to be authentic, willing to get hurt and be sensitive and have a fully exposed heart. A Bodhisattva cooperates with the world instead of making enemies with everything all the time. Bodhisattvas are sometimes called spiritual warriors, described as daring and fearless. On the Bodhisattva path you have to let go of the lies that you tell yourself all the time. You have to put all of your egocentric bullshit aside and face things as they really are.

That’s why it’s fearless.

When we put that aside we are free to be more genuine and authentic. This path isn’t so much about manifesting Enlightenment as it is about expanding our openness, gentleness, and compassion. But, I suppose when you get down to it that, in itself, is Enlightenment.

Kyoto-based Buddhist group struggles with decline in temples and priests

The Japan Times, Apr 24, 2017 KYOTO, Japan -- A Kyoto-based Buddhist group with the largest number of followers in Japan is boosting its support to its member temples in other prefectures amid a shortage of incoming chief priests and a decline in danka (financial supporters). The main building of a Buddhist temple in the city of Toyama has been pulled down after its organization was dissolved. The Honganji group started offering support to member temples suffering from a shortage of priests and local supporters. In Toyama Prefecture, a temple of the Honganji sect of Jodo Shinshu, also known in English as “Shin Buddhism,” has been unattended for a long time, with weeds and bamboo growing around the grounds and tiles falling off from the eaves of the main hall.

Good actions will lead you to be able to meditate

Question:  If I do good actions, I gain kusala karma and if I do bad actions, I acquire akusala karma. Both ways, I am going to be reborn again and again. If I don’t do anything, I won’t accumulate any karma. Why should I do good actions because if I accumulate a lot of kusala karma, I may be reborn in the Rūpa or Arūpa realms whose lifespan is in maha-kappa. I will be wasting my time there since my goal as a Buddhist is to attain Nibbāna. So why should I do good kamma?

Buddhist museum has seen better days

by P. Samuel Jonathan, The Hindu, Apr 25, 2017 Lack of maintenance over a period of time hits footfalls Guntur, India --  A rickety and dusty signboard guides one to the oldest State  archaeological museums. A narrow cement road leads to the open courtyard of  the Baudhasri Archaeological Museum. Crying for attention: The stone sculptures at the Baudhasree Archaeological Museum, Guntur, are in need of a facelift. Photo Credit: T VIJAYA KUMAR Several rock-cut sculptures and  stone inscriptions statues  perched on the manicured  lawnstake one back to ages and inside, a treasure trove of Buddhist artefacts  beckons the visitors.

The taste of Dhamma surpasses all other tastes

Homage To The Buddha By Dr. Rina Sircar

https://soundcloud.com/integraleducation/homage-to-the-buddha-by-dr-rina-sircar?utm_source=soundcloud&utm_campaign=share&utm_medium=facebook



Dr. Rina Sircar is professor emerita at California Institute of Integral Studies (CIIS) in San Francisco, California where she taught as a professor in the Philosophy and Religion Department for nearly four decades from 1974 to 2013. From 1988-1992 she was named the distinguished Haridas Chaudhuri Professor of South Asian and Comparative Philosophy and later held the World Peace Buddhist Chair at CIIS.  In addition, she received the honorary title of Vidasanachariya from Calcutta in 1982, and Dhammaratna from Bangladesh.

Rina earned an MA (1957) from University of Rangoon and a doctoral degree (1974) in Indian Philosophy from Gujarat University in India as well as a second PhD (1976) in South Asian Studies from the California Institute of Asian Studies. She also received degrees in Law, Oriental Philosophy, and the Abhidhamma  and Sutta Pitakas from Rangoon University in Burma.

WHAT THE BUDDHA SAY ABOUT EATING MEAT

by Ajahn Brahmavamso

Since the very beginning of Buddhism over 2500 years ago, Buddhist monks and nuns have depended on almsfood. They were, and still are, prohibited from growing their own food, storing their own provisions or cooking their own meals. Instead, every morning they would make their day's meal out of whatever was freely given to them by lay supporters. Whether it was rich food or coarse food, delicious or awful tasting it was to be accepted with gratitude and eaten regarding it as medicine. The Buddha laid down several rules forbidding monks from asking for the food that they liked. As a result, they would receive just the sort of meals that ordinary people ate - and that was often meat.

Puppha sutta, SN 22:94

"Bhikkhus, just as a blue, red, or white lotus is born in the water and grows up in the water, but having risen up above the water, it stands unsullied by the water, so too the Tathagata was born in the world and grew up in the world, but having overcome the world, he dwells unsullied by the world.” 

Science and Buddhism Agree: There Is No "You" There

by Lori Chandler

Evan Thompson of the University of British Columbia has verified the Buddhist belief of anatta, or not-self. Neuroscience has been interested in Buddhism since the late 1980s, when the Mind and Life Institute was created by HH Dalai Lama and a team of scientists. The science that came out of those first studies gave validation to what monks have known for years — if you train your mind, you can change your brain. As neuroscience has begun studying the mind, they have looked to those who have mastered the mind.

This is how Buddhist monks live without money

by Tree Watson, Economy, 15 April 2017

Laypeople and the monastic community have a relationship of mutual dependence. It's called 'gift economics'

"Take money, for example. In the past there wasn’t any paper money. Paper was just paper, without any value. Then people decided that silver money was hard to store, so they turned paper into money. And so it serves as money."

"Maybe someday in the future a new king will arise who doesn’t like paper money. He’ll have us use wax droppings instead—take sealing wax, melt it, stamp it into lumps, and suppose it to be money. We’ll be using wax droppings all over the country, getting into debt all because of wax droppings. Let alone wax droppings, we could take chicken droppings and turn them into money! It could happen. All our chicken droppings would be cash. We’d be fighting and killing one another over chicken droppings."

-- Ajahn Chah, monk, founder of two major monasteries in the Thai Forest Tradition, & instrumental  figure in the establishment of Theravada Buddhism in the West

Buddhism in Slovenia

Dear friends,
Today it was published in a national newspaper in Slovenia. Now whole Slovenia knows about Samanadipa, about Ajahn Hiriko and also knows that there is place and a teacher to practice and learn The Buddha's teaching (Dhamma) even in Slovenia.

Anumodana to all the supporters for realizing Samanadipa in Slovenia. By this merits, may you all be healthy and happy. Finally may this merits help us to attain Nibbana.

Sadhu Sadhu Sadhu.

Now, what, friend Sāriputta, is the pleasant, and what is the painful?

"Rebirth, friend, is painful; non-rebirth is pleasant. When, friend, there is rebirth, this pain is to be expected: cold and heat, hunger and thirst, excrement and urine, contact with fire, contact with punishment, contact with weapons, and anger caused by meeting and associating with relatives and friends. When, friend, there is rebirth, this pain is to be expected.

"When, friend, there is no rebirth, this pleasantness is to be expected: neither cold nor heat, neither hunger nor thirst, neither excrement nor urine, neither contact with fire, nor contact with punishment, nor contact with weapons, and no anger caused by meeting and associating with relatives and friends. When, friend, there is no rebirth, this pleasantness is to be expected."

~ Pathama Sukha Sutta, AN 10:65