Budhist centre opened in Uganda, the first on the African continent

Published on Apr 23, 2017

A renowned Buddhist Monk from Myanmar visited the country this morning to officially open the first Buddhist Centre on the continent. Dr Ashin Nyanissara opened the centre in Garuga, off Entebbe Road and ordained an Egyptian and Ugandan monk to a senior level. The two monks received the title of “Upasampada’ which refers to the rite of ordination by which one undertakes the Buddhist life.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uShTM01UaLw

Who is the real thief?

Buddhist New Year: Celebrating by Temporary Ordination in Myanmar

By BD Dipananda Buddhistdoor Global | 2017-04-21 

Buddhist women and girls of all ages and backgrounds can become nuns during the seven-day Thingyan festival. From dvb.com

While many people in South and Southeast Asia last week welcomed the Buddhist New Year by spraying copious amounts of water over each other, for Buddhists in Myanmar the festival is also a time for spiritual enrichment as many women spend the week-long holiday as temporarily ordained nuns.

The traditional celebration is known as Thingyan in Myanmar, which means “change;” moving from the past year into the next. This change is celebrated by people across the country by sprinkling water over each other to wash away ill health and bad luck, and to shower one another in blessings of peace, health, happiness, and prosperity. The festival is not only about merrymaking; many make time to pay tribute to the Triple Gem—the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Sangha—to chant from the Tipitaka, to listen to a Dhamma talk, to bathe images of the Buddha, and to pay respect to community elders. In addition, an increasing number of girls and women take the week long holiday as an opportunity to temporarily ordain as nuns and experience a devout and monastic life.

How can I trust myself? By Thich Nhat Hanh

Short film about 9 minutes.

on 14 APRIL 2017 

Cultivating trust in yourself and your Buddhist practice.

Monk walks into a bar... His own

Published  8:55 PM, APRIL 21, 2017  Today Weekend

TOKYO — Drinking at your neighbourhood bar would appear to be inconsistent with a Buddhist’s quest for clarity of mind and enlightenment.

Intoxicants, after all, have the effect of clouding the senses, not to mention one’s judgement.

But for Buddhist monk Yoshinobu Fujioka, who operates a bar in central Tokyo with other clergy of his faith, nirvana — it appears — is just a sip away.

The Vowz Bar, which has found its niche among Japanese professionals, students and foreign tourists, is already in its 17th year of business. Add a rock band to the mix, and this group of Buddhist monks is taking unorthodoxy to new heights.

If you can attain the first level of enlightenment, it should give you a lot of encouragement to pursue a higher level of enlightenment

Question: Does a layperson who attains Stream Entry still have desire to earn money? To love his/her partner? Or be bothered by mundane worldly life?

Than Ajahn: He will not be bothered by mundane worldly life such as aging, sickness or death or separation from the loved ones because he has seen the truth of aniccā, that everything rises and ceases. Everything doesn’t belong to anybody, it belongs to this earth. Everything comes from the four elements. However a Sotāpanna has not gotten rid of his sexual desire, he still has sexual desire, so s/he still wants to have a wife or a husband. That’s because he has yet to develop asubha. That’s the next step.

Sangarava sutta, AN 10:117

Becoming homeless, they delight in seclusion, difficult to delight,
They delight in it, giving up all traces of sensuality
The wise clean themselves, throwing out their defilements.
And thoroughly develop the enlightenment factors.
Giving up their seizings, are not attached.
The bright ones without desires for this world, are extinguished.