Saturday, January 14, 2017

Jaya-maṅgala Gāthā Verse 5 on the Blessings of Triumph 胜利吉祥偈第五偈颂

Katvāna kaṭṭham•udaraṁ iva gabbhinīyā,
Ciñcāya duṭṭha-vacanaṁ jana-kāya-majjhe,
Santena soma-vidhinā jitavā Munindo,
taṁ tejasā bhavatu te jaya-maṅgalāni!

Meet Burma’s Feminist Buddhist Nun

How Ketu Mala is working to change opinions about gender in a highly traditional Buddhist country By Jennifer Rigby JAN 08, 2017

Ketu Mala

Burma is home to around 60,000 Buddhist nuns. They have taken monastic vows, shaved their heads, and donned robes. Yet these bhikkhunis are not equal to their Theravadan Buddhist male counterparts.

The conference theme, “Contemporary Buddhist Women: Contemplation, Cultural Exchang e & Social Action,” highlights the diversity of contemporary Buddhist women throughout the world.

Two Worlds make One, by Diana St Ruth

Posted on 4 May 2013 by Buddhism Now

People sometimes say that the world is progressing towards being wiser, fairer, more civilised. But I do wonder about that. There’s a lot of unrest and disorder in our world at the moment—politically, economically, socially, and not much regard for individual suffering. Is this new or is it just more of the same since time began—just the old world going round and round?

Temple cum old folks home in China.

BBC 中文網（繁體）December 21, 2015

There is a "Home Free Buddhist nursing home" in the significant temple in fujian. How do monks walk into the world and contribute to the government of China? The BBC journalists journalists (Celia Celia) to the auspicious temple to visit the elderly and the elderly people in the temple.
位於福建沙縣的顯密吉祥寺有「中國首家免費佛教養老院」之稱。出家人如何走進俗世，為中國養老問題獻策？ BBC駐北京記者杉麗雅（Celia Hatton）到吉祥寺走訪住持與寺內老人。

https://www.facebook.com/bbctrad/videos/1217995761550425/

Suffering and anatta

Two kinds of desire

"The Buddha spoke of two kinds of desire: desire that arises from ignorance and delusion, which is called tanha, craving, and desire that arises from wisdom and intelligence, which is called kusala-chanda, or dhamma-chanda, or most simply chanda. Chanda has a range of meanings, but in this case I’m using it to mean wise and intelligent desire and motivation, which the Buddha stressed as being absolutely fundamental to any progress on the eightfold path.

In the presence of chanda, effort, or viriya, arises. Effort is in many ways the characteristic dhamma of this whole school of buddhism. In fact, the Buddha referred to his teachings not as Theravada but as viriya-vada. It is a teaching of effort, a teaching that there is such a thing as effort, that effort can be put forth, effort should be put forth, and that effort is what is needed for progress on the path."
~ Ajahn Jayasaro

Thursday, January 12, 2017

SAMATHA AND VIPASSANĀ NEED TO BE DEVELOPED 止和观应修习

佛陀教导通过修习止和观来了知四圣谛。然而，经典并没有记载佛陀解释说“这是止”、“这是观”、“为了修止，需要如何如何”、“为了修观，需要如何如何”。所以，为了了解佛陀所指的培育止观的意思，我们需要参考义注和复注，特别是《清净之道》(Visuddhi-magga)。

例如，佛陀在《增支部·证智经》(Abhiññā sutta) 中说：
“诸比库，哪些法应以证智修习呢？止和观 (samatho ca vipassanà ca)。诸比库，这些法称为应以证智修习。”(A.4.254)

《增支部》的义注解释以证智修习止的意思是培育心一境性(cittekaggatà)，相当于定(samàdhi)，也即是《清净之道》所说的心清净(cittavisuddhi)，包括称为八定(aññha samàpattiyo)的四种色界禅那和四无色定，即所有的安止定(appanàsamàdhi)。心清净也包括近行定 (upacàrasamàdhi)，是与即将达到禅那的定力相似的深度定力。(Vm.662)

《增支部》的义注也解释了以证智修习观的意思是培育对诸行的观智，即通过亲证之智来了知究竟色法、究竟名法及其因。随后，他需要了知这些行法的无常(aniccà)、苦(dukkhà)、无我(anattà)相6。如果我们把禅修次第分为七清净，修观则是戒清净和心清净之后的五种清净：始于见清净(diññhivisuddhi)并终于智见清净(¤àõadassanavisuddhi)。(Vm.662)

所以，唯有参考这些权威的经典，我们才有可能了解佛陀在许多经典中所说的修定、禅那、修慈，或者修遍等等，其实都是在谈论修止。同样地，我们才有可能了解佛陀在许多经典中所说的观照五蕴及其生起与灭尽，所说的亲证并遍知五蕴，所说的观照五蕴无常、苦、无我相等，都是在谈论修观。

The Buddha explains that the practice by which the four Noble Truths are understood is samatha and vipassanā. But there is no sutta where The Buddha explains, ‘This is samatha’, or ‘This is vipassanā’, or ‘To practise samatha, one needs to do such and such’, or ‘To practise vipassanā, one needs to do such and such’. So to understand what The Buddha means by development of samatha and vipassanā, we need to refer to the commentaries and subcommentaries, especially the Visuddhi ∙Magga.

Elyane Youssef on May 19, 2016

I get plenty of comments when I say that I’m not a religious person, but I am a practicing Buddhist.

The Buddha's Enlightenment & Brahma (God)

[ There have been misconceptions by certain quarters that Buddhas were (and will be) sent by or that a Buddha's Enlightenment was 'given' by Brahma (God) (as taught in some popular philosophies). This error in understanding the Dhamma-Vinaya is often the result of 'wanting to seeing a deity behind everything' resulting in 'cherry picking' (while ignoring the large body of teachings that provide the complete understanding of the subject), 'seeing things where there is nothing there' and 'blind to things which are in front of them' (quoted in their writings).

Scientists say your “mind” isn’t confined to your brain, or even your body

The mind is more than just the brain. (The Regents of the University of California)

WRITTEN BY Olivia Goldhill Quartz December 24, 2016

You might wonder, at some point today, what’s going on in another person’s mind. You may compliment someone’s great mind, or say they are out of their mind. You may even try to expand or free your own mind.

Image may contain: 3 people, people smiling, people standing

Every human being falls under the same conditions. In the beginning we’re born, then in the middle we change, and in the end we fall apart and die. Death is something no one aspires to, and yet no one can escape it. We all have death at the end of our path.

”You should go back and forth between samādhi and paññā”

Sometimes your mind is too slow so you have to push it, and sometimes it goes too fast and you have to pull it back. The Buddha said you have to stay in the middle path, just like the string of a lute. If you tighten it too much, it can break, but if you don't string it tight enough, you cannot play it to make a sound.

A Burmese Monk’s Lifelong Obsession with Books

Why Ashin Dhamma Nanda began collecting—and nearly lost—his library that has grown to 10,000 titles.

By Joe Freeman

JAN 02, 2017

Photo by Aung Naing Soe

Ashin Dhamma Nanda, 41, lives in Mandalay and has been collecting books since he was 16 years old. It’s his passion and his main activity outside of the monkhood. Yangon-based journalist Joe Freeman interviewed him at his monastery with the help of Aung Naing Soe, a Burmese journalist and translator. This is his story, in his own words, edited for length and clarity.

I have around 10,000 books.

Good Will or Loving Kindness (Mettā) Mettā Sutta SN 46.54

'On one occasion the Blessed One was staying among the Koliyans. Now there is a Koliyan town named Haliddavasa. Then, early in the morning, a large number of monks adjusted their under robes and — carrying their bowls & robes — went into Haliddavasana for alms. Then the thought occurred to them, "It's still too early to go for alms in Haliddavasana. Why don't we go to the park of the wanderers of other sects?"

If a child smiles, if an adult smiles, that is very important. If in our daily lives we can smile, if we can be peaceful and happy, not only we, but everyone will profit from it. If we really know how to live, what better way to start the day than with a smile? Our smile affirms our awareness and determination to live in peace and joy. The source of a true smile is an awakened mind. - Thich Nhat Hanh

Monday, January 9, 2017

"Monks should standstill at a spot and wait patiently for alms. After a short while (depend on places) the monks will move to other spot as not to create any uneasiness. Do not give money during alms as this will encourage bogus monks to appear."

Where Buddhism’s Eight-Fold Path Can Be Followed With a Six-Figure Salary

By SETH MYDANS DEC. 20, 2016 Pathum Thani Journal

White-clad devotees at Dhammakaya Wat, Thailand’s largest temple, in February. The number of adherents has grown into the hundreds of thousands both in Thailand and abroad. Credit Nicolas Asfouri/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

PATHUM THANI, Thailand — It is a temple for a changing Thailand: clean, unadorned, high-tech and unashamed of praying for wealth.

“Sit here and get rich,” read small medallions embedded in the floor under each white plastic chair in a vast, open-sided meditation center. In his sermons, the temple’s charismatic 72-year-old leader, Phra Dhammachayo, often exhorts his adherents, “Be rich, be rich, be rich!”

AN 9.20

“Even more fruitful, householder, than the great alms offering that the brahmin Velāma gave,

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The soil of our mind contains many seeds, positive and negative. We are the gardeners who identify, water, and cultivate the best seeds. - Thich Nhat Hanh

The Role of Devas in the Buddha's Career

Susan Elbaum Jootla

At pivotal moments in the Buddha's career, deities often played supporting roles. We read of devas showing respect at these turning points, helping him to overcome obstacles, and frequently proclaiming his feats far and wide.

How does peace come looking for you

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The Two Types of Insight Practitioners 《兩種觀禪行者》

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Another thing that meditation teachers in many countries teach nowadays is that it is possible to make an end of suffering without having developed concentration. Do you agree with this idea? Even in Myanmar, where the Dhamma seems to be flourishing, there are many who hold this point of view and who teach that there is no need to develop concentration.
當今，許多國家的禪修老師認為不經由禪定的修行，也能止息煩惱與痛苦。諸位是否認同這個觀點？即便在佛法興盛的緬甸，也有許多人認為可以不必培育定力。

by Kalinga Seneviratne, The Buddhist Channel, Jan 2, 2017

Myanmar State Counsellor and Foreign Affairs Minister Aung San Suu Kyi (centre) and foreign ministers from member states of the ASEAN pose for a group photo in Yangon, December 19, 2016. Photo courtesy of Indonesia's Ministry of Foreign Affairs

BANGKOK, Thailand -- With mounting demonstrations in support of Rohingyas in fellow ASEAN (Association of South East Asian Nations) Muslim majority countries Malaysia and Indonesia, Myanmar’s de-facto leader and Foreign Minister Aung San Suu Kyi made an astute move to summon Foreign Ministers of ASEAN for a one-day “retreat” to Yangoon on December 19 to brief them on the situation in Myanmar’s Rakhine State where most Rohingyas live.

Saturday, January 14, 2017

The conference theme, “Contemporary Buddhist Women: Contemplation, Cultural Exchang e & Social Action,” highlights the diversity of contemporary Buddhist women throughout the world.

Friday, January 13, 2017