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2012 Buddhist Wall Calendar

2011-12-05T17:11:00.001+07:00

This 2012 calendar features photographs from a variety of contributors.
We are grateful for their generosity and skill.

Especially we wish to acknowledge the Kataññut¯a group of Malaysia, Singapore and
Australia, and the Sukhi Hotu Sdn Bhd group, for bringing it into production.
shpj@sukhihotu.com

Scriptural quotes on each page are English renderings of verses from
‘A Dhammapada from Contemplation’ - Aruna Publications.
(For full or literal translations please see other works.)

LUNAR OBSERVANCE DAYS

These days are devoted to quiet reflection at the monastery. Visitors may come
and take the Precepts for the day and join in all or part of the extended
evening meditation.

The dates for the lunar calendar are determined by traditional methods of
calculation, and are not always the same as the precise astronomical occurrences.

THE MAJOR FULL-MOON DAYS OF 2012-2555/56

Magha Puja March 7 (‘Sangha Day’)
Commemorates the spontaneous gathering of 1250 arahants, to whom the Buddha
gave the exhortation on the basis of the discipline (Ovada Patimokkha).

Vesakha Puja (Wesak) June 4 (‘Buddha Day’)
Commemorates the birth, enlightenment and passing away of the Buddha.

Asalha Puja August 2 (‘Dhamma Day’)
Commemorates the Buddha’s first discourse, given to the five samanas
in the Deer Park at Sarnath, near Varanasi. The traditional
Rainy-Season Retreat (Vassa) begins on the next day.

Pavarana Day October 30
This marks the end of the three-month Vassa-retreat. In the
following month, lay people may offer the Kathina-robe as
part of a general alms-giving ceremony.

www.forestsangha.org
www.forestsanghapublications.org

Calendar design & production by Aruna Publications,
Aruna Ratanagiri Buddhist Monastery. www.ratanagiri.org.uk
© Aruna Publications 2011

Free Download Here (A Printable PDF - 846 KB)

How to be Happy Married Life

2011-10-14T10:53:00.000+07:00

In a true marriage, a man and a woman think more of the partnership than they do of themselves. A feeling of security and contentment comes from mutual efforts. Impatience and misunderstanding are responsible for most family problems

"An archaeologist is the best husband a woman can have. The older she gets, the more interested he is in her." (Agatha Christie)

A wife is not her husband's servant. She deserves respect as an equal. Thougt a husband has the bread winner's duties, helping out with household chores does not demean a husband's masculinity. At the same time, a nagging and grumpy wife is not going to make up for shortages in the home.

Neither will her suspicion of her husband help to make a happy marriage. "If you want your wife to listen to you, talk to another woman." If her husband has shortcomings, only tolerance and kind words will get him to see light. Right understanding and moral conduct are the practical side of wisdom.

"Women fall in love through their ears and men through their eyes." (Woodrow Wyatt)

Marriage is a blessing but many people turn their married lives into a curse. Poverty is not the main cause of an unhappy married life. Both husband and wife must learn to share the pleasure and pain of everything in their daily lives

"Women are never stronger than when they arm themselves with their weakness." (Madame du Deffand)

Mutual understanding is the secret of a happy family life. The intrinsic characteristic of a person is difficult to change simply by acusing or blaming. "A poor man who marries a wealthy woman gets a ruler and not a wife." Husband and wife who have different characters, can live together through understanding their differences and acting wisely

"Marriage is neither heaven nor hell; it is simply purgatory." (Abraham Lincoln)

Get for FREE this ebook: "A Happy Married Life"

Author of "VEN. DR. K SRI DHAMMANANDA"

Buddha's Brain: The Practical Neuroscience of Happiness, Love, and Wisdom

2010-09-12T00:30:00.003+07:00

The Buddha and other great teachers were born with brains built essentially like anyone else's and then they changed their brains in ways that changed the world.

Buddha's Brain
"If you can change your brain,
you can change your life"

Science is now revealing how the flow of thoughts actually sculpts the brain. By combining breakthroughs in neuroscience with insights from thousands of years contemplative practice, you, too, can use your mind to shape your brain for greater happiness, love, and wisdom.

Buddha's Brain draws on the latest research to show how to stimulate and strengthen your brain for more fulfilling relationships, a deeper spiritual life, and a greater sense of inner confidence and worth. You'll learn how to activate the brain states of calm, joy, and compassion instead of worry, sorrow, and anger. This cear, down-to-earth book is filled with practical tools and skills that you can use in daily life to tap the unused potential of your brain and rewire it over time for greater well-being and peace of mind.

Buddha's Brain book consists of 10 Chapters divided into three sections include:
- Part One - The Causes of Suffering
- Part Two - Happiness

- Part Three - Love

“I wish I had a science teacher like Rick Hanson when I went to school. Buddha’s Brain is at once fun, fascinating, and profound. It not only shows us effective ways to develop real happiness in our lives, but also explains physiologically how and why they work. As Dr. Hanson instructs us to do with positive experiences, take in all the good information this book offers and savor it.”
James Baraz, author of Awakening Joy and cofounder of Spirit Rock Meditation Center

“With the mind of a scientist, the perspective of a psychologist, and the wise heart of a parent and devoted meditator, Rick Hanson has created a guide for all of us who want to learn about and apply the scintillating new research that embraces neurology, psychology and authentic spiritual inquiry. Up-to-date discoveries combined with state-of-the-art practices make this book an engaging read. Buddha’s Brain is at the top of my list!”
Richard A. Heckler, Ph.D., assistant professor at John F. Kennedy University, Pleasant Hill, CA

SAVOR - Mindful Eating, Mindful Life

2010-03-31T11:36:00.002+07:00

Common sense tells us that to lose weight, we must eat less and exercise more. But somehow we get stalled. We start on a weight-loss program with good intentions but cannot stay on track. Neither the countless fad diets, nor the annual spending of $50 billion on weight loss helps us feel better or lose weight.

Too many of us are in a cycle of shame and guilt. We spend countless hours worrying about what we ate or if we exercised enough, blaming ourselves for actions that we can't undo. We are stuck in the past and unable to live in the present—that moment in which we do have the power to make changes in our lives.

With Savor, world-renowned Zen master Thich Nhat Hanh and Harvard nutritionist Dr. Lilian Cheung show us how to end our struggles with weight once and for all.

Offering practical tools, including personalized goal setting, a detailed nutrition guide, and a mindful living plan, the authors help us to uncover the roots of our habits and then guide us as we transform our actions. Savor teaches us how to easily adopt the practice of mindfulness and integrate it into eating, exercise, and all facets of our daily life, so that being conscious and present becomes a core part of our being.

It is the awareness of the present moment, the realization of why we do what we do, that enables us to stop feeling bad and start changing our behavior. Savor not only helps us achieve the healthy weight and well-being we seek, but it also brings to the surface the rich abundance of life available to us in every moment.

Technorati Tags: Weight Loss, Nutrition, Mindful Eating, Mindful Life

Buddhism and Science

2009-05-21T08:34:00.004+07:00

Beginning in the nineteenth century and continuing to the present day, both Buddhists and admirers of Buddhism have proclaimed the compatibility of Buddhism and science. Their assertions have ranged from modest claims about the efficacy of meditation for mental health to grander declarations that the Buddha himself anticipated the theories of relativity, quantum physics and the big bang more than two millennia ago.

In Buddhism and Science by Donald S. Lopez Jr. is less interested in evaluating the accuracy of such claims than in exploring how and why these two seemingly disparate modes of understanding the inner and outer universe have been so persistently linked.

Lopez opens with an account of the rise and fall of Mount Meru, the great peak that stands at the center of the flat earth of Buddhist cosmography¡Xand which was interpreted anew once it proved incompatible with modern geography. From there, he analyzes the way in which Buddhist concepts of spiritual nobility were enlisted to support the notorious science of race in the nineteenth century. Bringing the story to the present, Lopez explores the Dalai Lama¡¦s interest in scientific discoveries, as well as the implications of research on meditation for neuroscience.

Lopez argues that by presenting an ancient Asian tradition as compatible with¡Xand even anticipating¡Xscientific discoveries, European enthusiasts and Asian elites have sidestepped the debates on the relevance of religion in the modern world that began in the nineteenth century and still flare today. As new discoveries continue to reshape our understanding of mind and matter, Buddhism and Science will be indispensable reading for those fascinated by religion, science, and their often vexed relation.

Author
Donald S. Lopez Jr. is the Arthur E. Link Distinguished University Professor of Buddhist and Tibetan Studies in the Department of Asian Languages and Cultures at the University of Michigan. He is the author or editor of a number of books, including Prisoners of Shangri-La, The Madman’s Middle Way, and Critical Terms for the Study of Buddhism, all published by the University of Chicago Press.

- Hardcover: 278 pages
- Publisher: University Of Chicago Press; 1 edition (November 1, 2008)
- Language: English
- Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.1 x 1.1 inches

Technorati Tags: Buddhism, Meditation, , Religion, Science, Tibet

The Search for Happiness

2009-02-21T14:57:00.001+07:00

by. K.Sri Dhammananda

Modern life is a struggle, a struggle to gain monetary rewards, comfort and luxury.
Instead of bringing happiness, this lifestyle brings anxieties and stress.
There are important moments in everyone's life when all material things are of little value when compared of the mental
or spiritual joy of detachment from worldly thing.

In living a lay life, the importance of economic welfare for leading a good life cannot be understand.
We should not pretend that people can be happy if they are starving and living under miserable conditions.
Poverty and living in slum areas can stifle human happiness. It is a wretched life in the slums if a large family has to live, eat, sleep and procreate in one small hut.

The wretchedness of the environment and the desperate lives of the residents there in can often make such areas a breeding place for vice and bitterness -
unless it comprises a community of saints who seek peace in poverty.

However, it is useful to remember that wealth and poverty, happiness and misery, are all relative terms.
One person may be rich but unhappy; another may be poor but happy.
Wealth is a blessing if rightly and wisely used. But part of the tragedy of the poor is their selfish desire for material things.
If their cravings are not fulfilled, they live with resentment.
The tragedy of the rich is their inability to rise above their wealth.
They cling to their wealth foolishly. Hence happiness is not found in either case, with the poor or the rich.

Some people think that a good and congenial life partner is a source of happiness.
It may be so to some extent. Other people think that children are another source of happiness.
But these are not stable conditions either.
A life partner can die or leave them, while some children could bring more sorrow than happiness to their parents.

We should learn to be contented and happy with what little we have which have been bestowed on us.
We should even be happy and contented with our present state of being
even though we are not fortunate enough to be blessed with the least of our humble expectations.

See this one....
HOW TO FIND REAL HAPPINESS

Technorati Tags:
happiness,happy,living,poverty,wealth

HOW TO FIND REAL HAPPINESS

2009-02-17T21:21:00.005+07:00

by. K.Sri Dhammananda

'Happiness,' said Life, 'is a wayward prize,
To be won by men with patient striving;
Half the race you have run, now please arise,
And push on, the goal is at the turning.'

Do you want happiness? This simple question will always be answered with a big 'Yes'. Yes, we all, without exception, want to have happiness, although the idea of what constitutes happiness and how it can be obtained differs from person to person.

One writer says, 'Happiness, as viewed by most people, is a much sought for destination. It is something to be. It is something to become. To this unfortune lot, happiness is the end of the rainbow, the pot of gold. They spend a lifetime chasing rainbows. They might as well chase their own shadows for they shall never find in the external that which only resides within.'

Happiness is in the journey, not in the destination.
Happy is he who has lofty and noble aspirations.
Happy is he who is enriching the lives of all those about him.
Happy is he who allows others to live peacefully without disturbing them.
Happy is he who is contributing something to make this world a better place in which to live.
Happy is he whose work, whose chores, whoes daily tasks are labors of love.
Happy is he who loves love.
Happy is he who is happy.

All men crave for happiness. They work hard day and night to gain happiness, even if it is known to be fleeting.
Yet, despite their striving, they are often further rather than nearer to what they have tried so hard to work for, Why is this so?

Technorati Tags: happiness, happy

The Broken BUDDHA

2009-01-21T22:45:00.002+07:00

Critical Reflections on Theravada and a Plea for a New Buddhism
by S. Dhammika

As Buddha says, "Do not believe in anything you read or hear, even if it is said by your master. But after you can prove it is correct or benefits for all beings then you have to accept it."

That is exactly what the book wants the readers to. Either you take it as the truth or objectively observe on it, you have your own free will to decide.
This book is good to build up a critical thinking on the old traditions of Theravada, which never been questioned before.

It does not intend to discriminate the Theravada because the writer also mentioned the possibility of critics to Mahayana and Vajrayana as well.

Being realistic and objective, he only tried to gave critics based on his own observation as Theravadin monk. He believes, others would do better in commenting Mahayana and Vajrayana.

Download here: The Broken BUDDHA E-book

When Jesus met BUDDHA

2009-01-03T17:23:00.003+07:00

By Philip Jenkins, The Boston Globe, December 14, 2008
Source: www.buddhistchannel.tv

Something remarkable happened when evangelists for two great religions crossed paths more than 1,000 years ago: they got along

Boston, MA (USA) -- WAS THE BUDDHA a demon?

While few mainline Christians would put the matter in such confrontational terms, any religion claiming exclusive access to truth has real difficulties reconciling other great faiths into its cosmic scheme.
Most Christian churches hold that Jesus alone is the Way, the Truth, and the Life, and many also feel an obligation to carry that message to the world's unbelievers. But this creates a fundamental conflict with the followers of famous spiritual figures like Mohammed or Buddha, who preached radically different messages. Drawing on a strict interpretation of the Bible, some Christians see these rival faiths as not merely false, but as deliberate traps set by the forces of evil.

Being intolerant of other religions - consigning them to hell, in fact - may be bad enough in its own right, but it increasingly has real-world consequences. As trade and technology shrink the globe, so different religions come into ever-closer contact with one another, and the results can be bloody: witness the apocalyptic assaults in Mumbai. In such a world, teaching different faiths to acknowledge one another's claims, to live peaceably together side by side, stops being a matter of good manners and becomes a prerequisite for human survival.

Over the past 30 years, the Roman Catholic Church has faced repeated battles over this question of Christ's uniqueness, and has cracked down on thinkers who have made daring efforts to accommodate other world religions. While the Christian dialogue with Islam has attracted most of the headlines, it is the encounters with Hinduism and especially Buddhism that have stirred the most controversy within the church.

Sri Lankan theologians Aloysius Pieris and Tissa Balasuriya have had many run-ins with Vatican critics, and, more recently, the battle has come to American shores. Last year, the Vatican ordered an investigation of Georgetown University's Peter Phan, a Jesuit theologian whose main sin, in official eyes, has been to treat the Buddhism of his Vietnamese homeland as a parallel path to salvation.

Following the ideas of Pope Benedict XVI, though, the church refuses to give up its fundamental belief in the unique role of Christ. In a widely publicized open letter to Italian politician Marcello Pera, Pope Benedict declared that "an inter-religious dialogue in the strict sense of the term is not possible." By all means, he said, we should hold conversations with other cultures, but not in a way that acknowledges other religions as equally valid. While the Vatican does not of course see the Buddha as a demon, it does fear the prospect of syncretism, the dilution of Christian truth in an unholy mixture with other faiths.

Beyond doubt, this view places Benedict in a strong tradition of Christianity as it has developed in Europe since Roman times. But there is another, ancient tradition, which suggests a very different course. Europe's is not the only version of the Christian faith, nor is it necessarily the oldest heir of the ancient church.

For more than 1,000 years, other quite separate branches of the church established thriving communities across Asia, and in their sheer numbers, these churches were comparable to anything Europe could muster at the time. These Christian bodies traced their ancestry back not through Rome, but directly to the original Jesus movement of ancient Palestine. They moved across India, Central Asia, and China, showing no hesitation to share - and learn from - the other great religions of the East.

Just how far these Christians were prepared to go is suggested by a startling symbol that appeared on memorials and stone carvings in both southern India and coastal China during the early Middle Ages. We can easily see that the image depicts a cross, but it takes a moment to realize that the base of the picture - the root from which the cross is growing - is a lotus flower, the symbol of Buddhist enlightenment.

In modern times, most mainstream churches would condemn such an amalgam as a betrayal of the Christian faith, an example of multiculturalism run wild. Yet concerns about syncretism did not bother these early Asian Christians, who called themselves Nasraye, Nazarenes, like Jesus's earliest followers. They were comfortable associating themselves with the other great monastic and mystical religion of the time, and moreover, they believed that both lotus and cross carried similar messages about the quest for light and salvation. If these Nazarenes could find meaning in the lotus-cross, then why can't modern Catholics, or other inheritors of the faith Jesus inspired?

Many Christians are coming to terms with just how thoroughly so many of their fundamental assumptions will have to be rethought as their faith today becomes a global religion. Even modern church leaders who know how rapidly the church is expanding in the global South tend to see European values and traditions as the indispensable norm, in matters of liturgy and theology as much as music and architecture.

Yet the reality is that Christianity has from its earliest days been an intercontinental faith, as firmly established in Asia and Africa as in Europe itself. When we broaden our scope to look at the faith that by 800 or so stretched from Ireland to Korea, we see the many different ways in which Christians interacted with other believers, in encounters that reshaped both sides. At their best, these meetings allowed the traditions not just to exchange ideas but to intertwine in productive and enriching ways, in an awe-inspiring chapter of Christian history that the Western churches have all but forgotten.

To understand this story, we need to reconfigure our mental maps. When we think of the growth of Christianity, we think above all of Europe. We visualize a movement growing west from Palestine and Syria and spreading into Greece and Italy, and gradually into northern regions. Europe is still the center of the Catholic Church, of course, but it was also the birthplace of the Protestant denominations that split from it.
For most of us, even speaking of the "Eastern Church" refers to another group of Europeans, namely to the Orthodox believers who stem from the eastern parts of the continent. English Catholic thinker Hilaire Belloc once proclaimed that "Europe is the Faith; and the Faith is Europe."

But in the early centuries other Christians expanded east into Asia and south into Africa, and those other churches survived for the first 1,200 years or so of Christian history. Far from being fringe sects, these forgotten churches were firmly rooted in the oldest traditions of the apostolic church. Throughout their history, these Nazarenes used Syriac, which is close to Jesus' own language of Aramaic, and they followed Yeshua, not Jesus. No other church - not Roman Catholics, not Eastern Orthodox - has a stronger claim to a direct inheritance from the earliest Jesus movement.

The most stunningly successful of these eastern Christian bodies was the Church of the East, often called the Nestorian church. While the Western churches were expanding their influence within the framework of the Roman Empire, the Syriac-speaking churches colonized the vast Persian kingdom that ruled from Syria to Pakistan and the borders of China.

From their bases in Mesopotamia - modern Iraq - Nestorian Christians carried out their vast missionary efforts along the Silk Route that crossed Central Asia. By the eighth century, the Church of the East had an extensive structure across most of central Asia and China, and in southern India. The church had senior clergy - metropolitans - in Samarkand and Bokhara, in Herat in Afghanistan. A bishop had his seat in Chang'an, the imperial capital of China, which was then the world's greatest superpower.

When Nestorian Christians were pressing across Central Asia during the sixth and seventh centuries, they met the missionaries and saints of an equally confident and expansionist religion: Mahayana Buddhism. Buddhists too wanted to take their saving message to the world, and launched great missions from India's monasteries and temples. In this diverse world, Buddhist and Christian monasteries were likely to stand side by side, as neighbors and even, sometimes, as collaborators. Some historians believe that Nestorian missionaries influenced the religious practices of the Buddhist religion then developing in Tibet. Monks spoke to monks.

In presenting their faith, Christians naturally used the cultural forms that would be familiar to Asians. They told their stories in the forms of sutras, verse patterns already made famous by Buddhist missionaries and teachers. A stunning collection of Jesus Sutras was found in caves at Dunhuang, in northwest China. Some Nestorian writings draw heavily on Buddhist ideas, as they translate prayers and Christian services in ways that would make sense to Asian readers. In some texts, the Christian phrase "angels and archangels and hosts of heaven" is translated into the language of buddhas and devas.

One story in particular suggests an almost shocking degree of collaboration between the faiths. In 782, the Indian Buddhist missionary Prajna arrived in Chang'an, bearing rich treasures of sutras and other scriptures. Unfortunately, these were written in Indian languages. He consulted the local Nestorian bishop, Adam, who had already translated parts of the Bible into Chinese.

Together, Buddhist and Christian scholars worked amiably together for some years to translate seven copious volumes of Buddhist wisdom. Probably, Adam did this as much from intellectual curiosity as from ecumenical good will, and we can only guess about the conversations that would have ensued: Do you really care more about relieving suffering than atoning for sin? And your monks meditate like ours do?

These efforts bore fruit far beyond China. Other residents of Chang'an at this very time included Japanese monks, who took these very translations back with them to their homeland. In Japan, these works became the founding texts of the great Buddhist schools of the Middle Ages. All the famous movements of later Japanese history, including Zen, can be traced to one of those ancient schools and, ultimately - incredibly - to the work of a Christian bishop.

By the 12th century, flourishing churches in China and southern India were using the lotus-cross. The lotus is a superbly beautiful flower that grows out of muck and slime. No symbol could better represent the rise of the soul from the material, the victory of enlightenment over ignorance, desire, and attachment. For 2,000 years, Buddhist artists have used the lotus to convey these messages in countless paintings and sculptures.

The Christian cross, meanwhile, teaches a comparable lesson, of divine victory over sin and injustice, of the defeat of the world. Somewhere in Asia, Yeshua's forgotten followers made the daring decision to integrate the two emblems, which still today forces us to think about the parallels between the kinds of liberation and redemption offered by each faith.

Christianity, for much of its history, was just as much an Asian religion as Buddhism. Asia's Christian churches survived for more than a millennium, and not until the 10th century, halfway through Christian history, did the number of Christians in Europe exceed that in Asia.

What ultimately obliterated the Asian Christians were the Mongol invasions, which spread across Central Asia and the Middle East from the 1220s onward. From the late 13th century, too, the world entered a terrifying era of climate change, of global cooling, which severely cut food supplies and contributed to mass famine. The collapse of trade and commerce crippled cities, leaving the world much poorer and more vulnerable. Intolerant nationalism wiped out Christian communities in China, while a surging militant Islam destroyed the churches of Central Asia.

But awareness of this deep Christian history contributes powerfully to understanding the future of the religion, as much as its past. For long centuries, Asian Christians kept up neighborly relations with other faiths, which they saw not as deadly rivals but as fellow travelers on the road to enlightenment. Their worldview differed enormously from the norms that developed in Europe.

To take one example, we are used to the idea of Christianity operating as the official religion of powerful states, which were only too willing to impose a particular orthodoxy upon their subjects. Yet when we look at the African and Asian experience, we find millions of Christians whose normal experience was as minorities or even majorities within nations dominated by some other religion. Struggling to win hearts and minds, leading churches had no option but to frame the Christian message in the context of non-European intellectual traditions. Christian thinkers did present their message in the categories of Buddhism - and Taoism, and Confucianism - and there is no reason why they could not do so again. When modern scholars like Peter Phan try to place Christianity in an Asian and Buddhist context, they are resuming a task begun at least 1,500 years ago.

Perhaps, in fact, we are looking at our history upside down. Some day, future historians might look at the last few hundred years of Euro-American dominance within Christianity and regard it as an unnatural interlude in a much longer story of fruitful interchange between the great religions.

Consider the story told by Timothy, a patriarch of the Nestorian church. Around 800, he engaged in a famous debate with the Muslim caliph in Baghdad, a discussion marked by reason and civility on both sides. Imagine, Timothy said, that we are all in a dark house, and someone throws a precious pearl in the midst of a pile of ordinary stones. Everyone scrabbles for the pearl, and some think they've found it, but nobody can be sure until day breaks.

In the same way, he said, the pearl of true faith and wisdom had fallen into the darkness of this transitory world; each faith believed that it alone had found the pearl. Yet all he could claim - and all the caliph could say in response - was that some faiths thought they had enough evidence to prove that they were indeed holding the real pearl, but the final truth would not be known in this world.

Knowing other faiths firsthand grants believers an enviable sophistication, founded on humility. We could do a lot worse than to learn from what we sometimes call the Dark Ages.

-------------------
Philip Jenkins is Edwin Erle Sparks professor of the humanities at Penn State University. He is author of "The Lost History of Christianity: The Thousand-Year Golden Age of the Church in the Middle East, Africa, and Asia -- and How It Died," published last month.

The Most Important Requisites For a Meditator

2008-11-26T22:36:00.002+07:00

The five most important requisites for a meditator who wants to practise Vipassana meditation for the achievement of Supreme bliss are as follows:

A Qualified Instructor

A qualified instructor is a person who has himself practised Vipassana meditation thoroughly and has acquired a very sound experience of meditation.
The meditator should see and relate to the instructor very often about his experience of the meditation.
During the interview, the instructor can guide the meditator on the correct method of meditation.
If the meditator is discouraged due to lack of progress, the instructor must give him some words of encouragement.

A Firm Faith

Not all meditators have firm faith in meditation. Some do have the characteristics, namely, obedience, faith, discipline, honesty and diligence. But they still have weaknesses in the mind which must be recognized.

With insight, the mental impurities of laba (greed), dosa (ill-feeling), moha (ignorance) can be uprooted. Only meditators with firm faith and the correct view of themselves will have the ability to attain mental purification.

Good Discipline

For best results, it is recommended that one seeks training at a proper meditation centre. From the time the lessons in meditation begin until a meditator leaves the centre, he will have practically no time to attend to external activities

Those who enter into a meditation centre usually get up very early in the morning and practise meditation for many hours. this insufficiency of sleep,
under normal circumstances, may affect the health of a person. But it does not affect the practising meditator, because of his mental concentration.

General conversation on worldly affairs, smoking, reading of newspaper, books, watching television, writing letters, doing anything which is not connected with meditation, are not encouraged at the centre.

Real Honesty

In relating his experiences to the instructor, the meditator must be truthful. He must relate only the facts, good or bad, which the meditator has definitely experienced.

If he does not have mental concentration, or if he loses faith in the meditation, he must reveal it.

There are some meditators who have learnt about meditation either from others or from books. During the interview with the instructor, they may relate these facts as if they are their own. This kind of untruthful dealings must be avoided at any cost.
If the meditator does not tell the truth to the instructor the latter will not be in a position to help him.

The meditator must relate only what he has experienced during meditation and not what he imagines he has experienced.
He must therefore be able to examine himself

Persistent Diligence

As has been pointed out above, the task of uprooting loba, dosa and moha is not an easy task.
If requires unflagging effort, patience, strong determination, devotion and understanding of the real purpose of Buddhist meditation.

Tag Technorati:Meditation,Vipassana,Meditate

A Rose for Your Pocket by Thich Nhat Hanh

2008-11-13T21:57:00.003+07:00

Our parents are the most wonderful and precious treasures that we are given. But we never fully realise their importance or ever cherish them enough.

I never understood how dear my parents truly are until I became a mother myself. The hardship of the pregnancy, the labour, the birth experience, the difficulties of nursing and looking after a newborn _ all these and more along the path of motherhood enabled me to comprehend just how dear and precious my own parents are, especially my mother.

I can never be thankful, grateful, appreciative or ever repay her enough for what she has sacrificed and done for me.

I believe the same goes for everyone out there. We can never love our parents enough because our love will always be wanting compared to the boundless love and sacrifice which our mothers enveloped us in since we were conceived.

This book pays tribute to all mothers and fathers, past, present and future.

May anyone who sees, reads, talks, hears or remembers this book awaken to be more loving, caring, grateful, patient, thankful and kinder to their mothers and fathers.

I sincerely thank Venerable Thich Nhat Hanh from the depths of my heart for giving this wonderfully simple yet direct teaching, and for so kindly allowing us to republish
this book for free distribution.

May all sentient beings be well and happy.
May all progress well on the path of the Dharma!

Yours in the Dharma,
Sister Esther Thien
Executive Editor

Get this e-book for FREE!
Download Here:

A Rose for Your Pocket

A Happy Married Life a Buddhist Perspective by Ven. Dr K Sri Dhammananda

2008-11-04T15:42:00.005+07:00

A good marriage should grow and develop gradually from understanding and not impulse, from true loyalty and not just sheer indulgence.
A marriage is a partnership of equality, gentleness, generosity, calm and dedication.
Each is complementary to the other; giving strength and moral courage to each other;
supporting and appreciating the other in caring and providing for the family.

Are you wondering what it takes to maintain a truly happy married life? Or what is Buddhist view on marriage?
In this book, Ven.Dr Dhammananda emphasises the important note that marriage is a partnership of two individuals and that this partnership is enriched and enhanced when itallows the personalities involved to grow.

In the Buddhist perspective, marriage means understanding and respecting each other’s beliefs and privacy.

If a man can find a suitable and understanding wife and a woman can find a suitable and understanding husband,both are fortunate indeed.
- The Buddha.

If we investigate thoroughly the root causes of social problems such as pre-marital sex, teenage pregnancies, unhappy marriages and divorces, child-abuse and wife-battering,
we invariably discover that all these occur due to selfishness, lack of patience, tolerance and mutual understanding.
Since time immemorial, man has worked and struggled very hard to attain happiness. But very often, due to man’s ignorance of the nature of life, he does not know exactly what gives happiness.

It is difficult for man to make a distinction between happiness and pleasure. To him, that which gives pleasure gives happiness, and to be happy is to experience pleasure.
The present day is most timely for a book of this nature to be published.
Providing Buddhist youths with a lucid understanding of life’s imperative matters like love, sex and marriage will not only help them live a happy married life, but
also assist them to lead peaceful and contented lives.

May all beings have happy unions and may all progress well on the path of the Dharma!

CONTENTS:

- The Nature of Love and Pleasure
- The Reality of Married Life
- The Buddhist Concept of Marriage
- The Religious Dilemma
- Security, Respect and Responsibilities
- Polygamy or Monogamy
- New Technology
- Morality
- The East and the West
- Celibacy
- Summary
- Appendix I : The Affectionate Mother
- Appendix II : Moral Code
- Appendix III : The Art of Living

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A Happy Married Life by Ven. Dr K Sri Dhammananda

The Purpose Of Life with Ven. Dr K Sri Dhammananda

2008-10-23T00:26:00.009+07:00

In memory of Ven. Dr K Sri Dhammananda, this book which is a compilation of some of the succinct teachings given by this well-known Venerable is published.

This e-book gives very clear, practical and direct advice to those who seek to achieve an understanding of their life on earth, and how
to lead a noble and peaceful life amidst the confusion, murkiness, materialism and strong craving that this age heralds.
Ven. Dhammananda shows us the real nature of worldly life, giving us a correct understanding of life as it is and puts worldly pleasures into its right perspective.

We are responsible for our own inner peace, happiness and unhappiness, and for the way things turn out.
Using the Middle Path, he guides us gently onto the path of truth, peace, happiness, wisdom and liberation.

May all sentient beings be well and happy.

CONTENTS:

1. The Purpose of Life
2. The Aim & Way of Life
3. Is it Wrong to be Ambitious?
4. You are Responsible

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Download Here:
The Purpose Of Life with Ven. Dr K Sri Dhammananda

How to handle trouble-makers

2008-10-11T11:57:00.004+07:00

You have to realize that you might have contributed something, for the troubles and problems that now befall you.
It is important for you to know what you must do to overcome the problems that have come to you through various sources.
If your understanding is deep enough to overcome your responsibility for having caused the existing problem, you will certainly get the idea of how best to get rid of them.

Then you know how to handle troublemakers and your opponents. Those who oppose you also have a human heart.
Therefore it is not difficult to accomodate them; develop their friendship instead of isolating them.

If you are strong enough to resist their wrong attitude, then there is no reason to avoid associating with them.
Through your association with such people, you can influence them for their own betterment.
Remember that it is your own understanding that protects you from your enemies and allows you to guide them become good.

If a man does something wrong to you through his ignorance or misunderstanding, that is the most opportune time for you to show your wisdom, your education and religious understanding.

What is the use of all your education and your religious knowledge if you have not learned how to behave yourself as a real gentleman particularly at a time of trial?
When others do wrong to you, you must regards their ion as an opportunity for you to develop your patience and sympathy.

Patience is one of the prime qualities which everyone must cultivate.
The more you practise such a virtue, the more you will be able to maintain your dignity.
You must know how to make good use of your knowledge and principles to deal with people who are hostile to you.

Sooner or later, they will realise their folly and change their hostile attitude.
Sometimes, people try to take advantage of your tolerance and patience as signs of weakness.
That is the time for you to act wisely without becoming a victim to such cunning people.

Kindness, honesty, and patience are fertile grounds for cunning people to take advantage to their own benefit.

Resource : Self & Your Problem Books by Ven Dr K Sri Dhammananda

The Danger of the untrained intellect

2008-10-07T15:49:00.003+07:00

Today we even neglect our health and succumb to indulgence of the senses to the extent that we have become slaves to
self-gratification. In a sense our untrained intelligence is the cause of our problems. Human beings are the only
beings on this earth who have developed their thinking powers to the extent that they can understand that one day
they have to death. That is why they worry unnecessarily about it. Worrying about it will not make death go away.
So why don't we accept it calmly?

Shakespeare made Julius Ceasar say, 'Of all the wonders that I yet have heard and seen, it seems to me most strange
that men should fear, Seeing that death, a necessary end, will come when it will come.'

On the other hand there are of course some who go to other extreme and not bother at all about the end of their life or about what happen after that.
However, the majority do worry about existing problems and also worry about the next life.

All other beings are free from that problem. Although we cannot predict what will happen to us in the future, we need not worry about it unnecessarily.
Whenever certain difficulties and problems arise there are various ways and means for us to strengthen our mind to reduce our mental agony and unhappiness.

First and foremost we must try to understand the nature of the world in which we live.
We must realize that we can never expect everything in this world to be perfect and to run smoothly.
The world does not always work in our favor.

In fact there is no one besides ourselves who can work out our happiness and well-being.
Knowing this we must take control of our lives. People always blame the world.
It is not something is wrong with the world but something is wrong with us.

Benefits of Contentment

2008-10-06T00:18:00.004+07:00

One day a King approached the Buddha and asked a question, "When I look at your disciples I can see serenity, cheerfulness and a very radiant complexion on them.
I have also heard that they take only one meal a day, but I really cannot understand how they maintain this lifestyle."
The Buddha gave a beautiful answer.

"My disciples do not regret what they might have done in the past but continue to do more and more meritorious deeds.
It is not by repenting, praying and worshipping but by doing some service to others that people can overcome the mistakes that they might have done in the past.
My disciples never worry about their future. They are satisfied with whatever they receive, and thereby maintain contenment.
They would never say that this or that is not enough for them. That is their way of life. Therefore they are able to maintain a state of serenity, cheerfulness, and a good complexion as a result of that contenment."

Anyone can also try to maintain this cheerfulness by being contented. Should anybody ask why we cannot be satisfied in our lives although we have more than enough things, what would be the correct answer?

The correct answer to give is: "We have no contenment."
If there is indeed coontenment, we would never say that we are not satisfied with this or that.

We cannot satisfy ourselves due to conflict between our insatiable selfish desire and the law of impermanence (anicca).

One of the best advice given by the Buddha for us to practise as a principle is

'Contenment is the highest wealth.'

A wealthy man is not necessarily a rich man. A wealthy man is in perpetual fear of his life.
He is always in a state of suspicion and fear, thinking people are waiting to kidnap him.
A wealthy man cannot go out without a security guard, and in spite of the many iron gates and locks in his house, he cannot sleep without fear and worry.

In comparison, a contented man is indeed a very lucky man because his mind is free from all those disturbances.

He indeed is rich. What then is contenment?
When a person thinks, "this much is enough for me and for my family and I do not want anything beyond that," then that is contenment.

If everybody could think in this way, then there cannot be any problems.
When we maintain this contenment, jealousy can never cloud our mind and thereby we allow others also to enjoy their lives.
If there is no jealousy, anger also cannot arise.
If there is no anger, there will be no violence and bloodshed and everybody can then live peacefully.

A contented life always gives one hope and confidence.
This is not idealistics.

For more than twenty-five centuries, men and women in the community of Buddhists monks and nuns have lived such peaceful lives.

They had only four requisites: food, shelter, clothing and medicine. No one really needs anything else for survival.

And many Buddhist householders too, have lived contentedly not allowing their greed to overtake their basic needs.
It is surprising, how little we really need to be contented. Think about it.

Forgive and Forget

2008-09-25T10:15:00.004+07:00

To take revenge on troublemakers is only to create more problems and disturbances.
You must realise that negative feelings and hostile actions could only bring harm and suffering to both you and the troublemaker.
In order to take retaliatory action, you have to harbour intense hatred in your heart. This hatred is like a poison.
Since the poison is initially in you, surely it will harm you before it can harm anyone else.

Before you can throw a blazing iron at another, you get burned first.
Your action merely goes to show that there is no basic difference between you and your opponent.

By hating others, you only give them power over you. You do not solver your problem.
If you become angry with a person who simply smiles back at you, then you will feel defeated and miserable. Since he did not co-operate with you to fulfil your wish, it is who is victorious.
The Buddha teaches us how to live happily when we are faced with disturbances.

"Ah happily do we live without hate amongst the hateful. Amidst hateful men, we live without hate." - Dhammapada.

We can live happily without fanning the fires of hatred. Perhaps you may not be strong enough to extend compassionate love to your enemies;
but for the sake of your own health and happiness and that of everybody else, you must at least learn how to forgive and forget.

By not hating or crushing your troublemaker, you act like a gentleman. To act in this manner, you must understand that the other person has been misled by anger, jealously and ignorance. He is therefore no different from all other human beings who have also at one time or another been misled by the same negative states of mind.

The Buddha says "Evil-doers are not wicked by nature. They do evil because they are ignorant." Therefore they need guidance.

We should not curse them. It is not justifiable for us to say that they should be condemned to everlasting suffering as it is never too late to correct them.
We should try to explain to them in a very convinving way that they are in fact in the wrong. With this understanding, you can treat the evil-doer as you would a patient who is suffering from a sickness and in need of treatment.
When the sickness is cured the ex-patient and everyone else will be well and happy.
The ignorant must be guided by the wise.

'Good life is inspired by love and guided by knowledge.'

If a man does something wrong to you because of the ignorance or misunderstanding, then that is the time to radiate your compassionate love towards the evil-doer.
One day, he will realise this folly and relent his evil habits. So it is better to give him a chance to be good.
Repentance of his past misdeeds will change him into a better person and in the end he will truly appreciate your kind thoughts.

The compassionate Buddha's advice is:
'Hatred does not cease by hatred;
by love aloneit ceases.
This is an eternal law.' Dhammapada

If you can radiate compassionate love, no harm will come to you. This will help you to achieve both physical and mental health.
Life has its own rhythm. When you lose on the swing, you gain on the roundabout.
Those who do not understand this principle often get into trouble and face difficulties in life.

If a man does something wrong to you again and again, you must act wisely in correcting him each time he makes the mistake.
Although it is not so easy to do that, you should nevertheless try your best to follow the example set by the Buddha.
Then you will come to know that it is after all not impossible.

The attitude of the Buddha is such a situation could be summarised thus:-'The more evil that comes to me, the more good will radiate from me.'

Some people think that it is not practicable to return good for evil. Try it and see for yourself.
If you find it too difficult to return good for evil, then you can still do a great service to yourself and to others by at least not returning evil for evil.

'Sympathetic consideration is needed for less-understanding people who make mistakes.'

The Body As An Object Of Meditation - Mindfulness of Walking

2008-09-23T15:24:00.004+07:00

The goal of these meditation exercises is to realise the nature of the body and to be non-attached to the body,
to be neither attracted to nor repelled by it. Usually most people identify themselves with their bodies.
However, at a certain stage of mental purification and insight, you will no longer be identified with the body.
You will begin to see the body as a bundle of component things.

- Mindfulness of Walking

Walking practice begins with standing on the spot. The standing posture should be an erect body with heels together.
Keep the eyes straight forward, neither up nor down. Maintain this posture for the whole of the walking practice.
Do not follow the movements with the eyes but with mindfulness.

While standing, be aware of standing; acknowledge you are standing by saying the mind, 'Standing, standing, standing.' Then move the walking foot.
Acknowledge the lifting of the right foot forward and acknowledge mentally, 'going.' Lower the foot, set it on the ground and mentally acknowledge, 'Here.'

The Walking exercise consists of three phases: 'Lifting' 'Going' and 'Here'. Acknowledge each phase as you walk mindfully, concentrating on the movements
of the walking process until you reach the end of your allotted walking space.

You stop with both feet together in the standing position, saying in the mind, 'Standing, standing, standing.' As you turn around by rotating on your heel,
acknowledge each phase of the turning motion: the turning of the heel of one foot and the lifting and setting down on the ground of the other foot.
Acknowledge the standing posture. 'Standing, standing, standing.' Then begin to walk, saying again, 'Lifting, Going, Here.'
This exercise should be done as slowly and as mindfully as possible.

If any feelings, thoughts, sounds, disturbances etc. arise, you must acknowledge them as they comeup. If you are hear a sound,
say 'Hearing, hearing, hearing'. If some thoughts enter your mind, acknowledge by saying, 'Thinking, thinking, thinking'.
After acknowledgement, turn your attention back to the walking exercise.

Do not resist the disturbance, because then you will be concentrating on the resistance and forget the object of meditation

His Holiness the Dalai Lama

2008-09-20T11:50:00.009+07:00

For as long as space endures
And for as long as living beings remain,
Until then may I too abide
To dispel the misery of the world.

His Holiness the 14th the Dalai Lama Tenzin Gyatso, is the head of state and spiritual leader of the Tibetan people. He was born on 6 July 1935 in a small village called Taktser in northeastern Tibet, and was named Lhamo Dhondrub. Born to a peasant family, His Holiness was recognized at the age of two, in accordance with Tibetan tradition, as the reincarnation of his predecessor the 13th Dalai Lama, and thus an incarnation of Avalokitesvara, or Chenrezig, the Bodhisattva of Compassion and patron saint of Tibet. Bodhisattvas are enlightened beings who have postponed their own nirvana and chosen to take rebirth in order to serve humanity.

He began his education at the age of six with curriculum consisted of five major and five minor subjects. The major subjects were logic, Tibetan art and culture, Sanskrit, medicine, and Buddhist philosophy which was further divided into a further five categories: Prajnaparimita, the perfection of wisdom; Madhyamika, the philosophy of the middle Way; Vinaya, the canon of monastic discipline; Abidharma, metaphysics; and Pramana, logic and epistemology. The five minor subjects were poetry, music and drama, astrology, motre and phrasing, and synonyms. At 23, he took the preliminary examinations at each of the three monastic universities: Drepung, Sera and Ganden. The final examination was conducted in the Jokhang, Lhasa during the annual Monlam Festival of Prayer, held in the first month of every year Tibetan calendar. He completed the Geshe Lharampa Degree (Doctorate of Buddhist Philosophy) when he was 25 in 1959.

On November 17, 1950, His Holiness was called upon to assume full political power (head of the State and Government) after some 80,000 Peoples Liberation Army soldiers invaded Tibet. In 1954, he went to Beijing for peace talk with Mao Tse-tung and other Chinese leaders, including Chou En-lai and Deng Xiaoping. In 1956, while visiting India to attend the 2500th Buddha Jayanti Anniversary, he had a series of meetings with Prime Minister Nehru and Premier Chou about deteriorating conditions in Tibet.

His efforts to bring about a peaceful solution to Sino-Tibetan conflict were thwarted by Bejing's ruthless policy in Eastern Tibet, which ignited a popular uprising and resistance. This resistance movement spread to other parts of the country. On 10 March 1959 the capital of Tibet, Lhasa, exploded with the largest demonstration in Tibetan history, calling on China to leave Tibet and reaffirming Tibet's independence. The Tibetan National Uprising was brutally crushed by the Chinese army. His Holiness escaped to India where he was given political asylum. Some 80,000 Tibetan refugees followed His Holiness into exile. Today, there are more than 120,000 Tibetan in exile. Since 1960, he has resided in Dharamsala, India, known as "Little Lhasa," the seat of the Tibetan Government-in-exile.

In the early years of exile, His Holiness appealed to the United Nations on the question of Tibet, resulting in three resolutions adopted by the General Assembly in 1959, 1961, and 1965, calling on China to respect the human rights of Tibetans and their desire for self-determination. With the newly constituted Tibetan Government-in-exile, His Holiness saw that his immediate and urgent task was to save the both the Tibetan exiles and their culture alike. Tibetan refugees were rehabilitated in agricultural settlements. Economic development was promoted and the creation of a Tibetan educational system was established to raise refugee children with full knowledge of their language, history, religion and culture. The Tibetan Institute of Performing Arts was established in 1959, while the Central Institute of Higher Tibetan Studies became a university for Tibetans in India. Over 200 monasteries have been re-established to preserve the vast corpus of Tibetan Buddhist teachings, the essence of the Tibetan way of life.

In 1963, His Holiness promulgated a democratic constitution, based on Buddhist principles and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights as a model for a future free Tibet. Today, members of the Tibetan parliament are elected directly by the people. The members of the Tibetan Cabinet are elected by the parliament, making the Cabinet answerable to the Parliament. His Holiness has continuously emphasized the need to further democratise the Tibetan administration and has publicly declared that once Tibet regains her independence he will not hold political office.

In Washington, D.C., at the Congressional Human Rights Caucus in 1987, he proposed a Five-Point Peace Plan as a first step toward resolving the future status of Tibet. This plan calls for the designation of Tibet as a zone of peace, an end to the massive transfer of ethnic Chinese into Tibet, restoration of fundamental human rights and democratic freedoms, and the abandonment of China's use of Tibet for nuclear weapons production and the dumping of nuclear waste, as well as urging "earnest negotiations" on the future of Tibet.
In Strasbourg, France, on 15 June 1988, he elaborated the Five-Point Peace Plan and proposed the creation of a self-governing democratic Tibet, "in association with the People's Republic of China."

On 2 September 1991, the Tibetan Government-in-exile declared the Strasbourg Proposal invalid because of the closed and negative attitude of the present Chinese leadership towards the ideas expressed in the proposal.

On 9 October 1991, during an address at Yale University in the United States, His Holiness said that he wanted to visit Tibet to personally assess the political situation. He said, "I am extremely anxious that, in this explosive situation, violence may break out. I want to do what I can to prevent this.... My visit would be a new opportunity to promote understanding and create a basis for a negotiated solution."

Since 1967, His Holiness initiated a series of journeys which have taken him to some 46 nations. In autumn of 1991, he visited the Baltic States at the invitation of Lithuanian President Vytautas Landsbergis of Lithuania and became the first foreign leader to address the Lithuanian Parliament. His Holiness met with the late Pope Paul VI at the Vatican in 1973. At a press conference in Rome in 1980, he outlined his hopes for the meeting with John Paul II: "We live in a period of great crisis, a period of troubling world developments. It is not possible to find peace in the soul without security and harmony between peoples.

For this reason, I look forward with faith and hope to my meeting with the Holy Father; to an exchange of ideas and feelings, and to his suggestions, so as to open the door to a progressive pacification between peoples." His Holiness met Pope John Paul II at the Vatican in 1980, 1982, 1986, 1988 and 1990. In 1981, His Holiness talked with Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr. Robert Runcie, and with other leaders of the Anglican Church in London.

He also met with leaders of the Roman Catholic and Jewish communities and spoke at an interfaith service held in his honor by the World Congress of Faiths: "I always believe that it is much better to have a variety of religions, a variety of philosophies, rather than one single religion or philosophy. This is necessary because of the different mental dispositions of each human being. Each religion has certain unique ideas or techniques, and learning about them can only enrich one's own faith."

Recognition and Awards

Since his first visit to the west in the early 1973, a number of western universities and institutions have conferred Peace Awards and honorary Doctorate Degrees in recognition of His Holiness' distinguished writings in Buddhist philosophy and for his leadership in the solution of international conflicts, human rights issues and global environmental problems.

In presenting the Raoul Wallenberg Congressional Human Rights Award in 1989, U.S. Congressman Tom Lantos said, "His Holiness the Dalai Lama's courageous struggle has distinguished him as a leading proponent of human rights and world peace. His ongoing efforts to end the suffering of the Tibetan people through peaceful negotiations and reconciliation have required enormous courage and sacrifice."

The 1989 Nobel Peace Prize

The Norwegian Nobel Committee's decision to award the 1989 Peace Prize to His Holiness the Dalai Lama won worldwide praise and applause, with exception of China. The CommitteeÕs citation read, "The Committee wants to emphasize the fact that the Dalai Lama in his struggle for the liberation of Tibet consistently has opposed the use of violence. He has instead advocated peaceful solutions based upon tolerance and mutual respect in order to preserve the historical and cultural heritage of his people."

On 10 December 1989, His Holiness accepted the prize on the behalf of oppressed everywhere and all those who struggle for freedom and work for world peace and the people of Tibet. In his remarks he said, "The prize reaffirms our conviction that with truth, courage and determination as our weapons, Tibet will be liberated. Our struggle must remain nonviolent and free of hatred."

He also had a message of encouragement for the student-led democracy movement in China. "In China the popular movement for democracy was crushed by brutal force in June this year. But I do not believe the demonstrations were in vain, because the spirit of freedom was rekindled among the Chinese people and China cannot escape the impact of this spirit of freedom sweeping in many parts of the world. The brave students and their supporters showed the Chinese leadership and the world the human face of that great nations."

Ven. Sri Dhammananda

2008-09-13T08:53:00.006+07:00

Ven. Dr. K. Sri Dhammananda,
Nayake Maha Thera JSM., PhD., D. Litt.

Ven. Dr. K. Sri Dhammanada is a household name in the Buddhist world. In more than forty two years as incumbent of the Buddhist Maha Vihara, Malaysia, the Venerable has brought the Buddha Word to countless numbers of devotees who otherwise would have has no access to the sublime message of the Enlightened One

Venerable Dhammananda was born on March 18, 1919 to the family of Mr. K.A. Garmage in the village of Kirinde, Matara in southern Ceylon. Like most children born during the British colonial period, he was given the English name of Martin. He was the eldest in a family of three brothers and three sisters.

He began his formal secular education in a government school in the village of Kirinde at the age of seven. Even as a young child he had a keen interest in the Buddha's teachings. Buddhism was close to the hearts of the villagers because of the strong presence of the sangha which successfully used the local vihara as the vortex of most religious activities and functions.

The young Martin participated in many of these religious programmes which were based on Buddhist principles and morals. He also had an uncle who was the chief monk of the local temple. Together with his devout mother, his uncle provided much spiritual guidance in his childhood days. Thus, the idea of monkhood slowly seeped into his mind.

To read a writing from Ven. Dr K Sri Dhammananda, Get the e-book for FREE.
- A Happy Married Life
- The Purpose Of Life

When he was 12 years old, he was ordained as a novice monk (samanera) by Venerable K. Dhammaratana Maha Thera of Kirinde Vihara. He was given the name "Dhammananda" meaning "one who experiences happiness through the Dharma." He then underwent ecclesiastical education for the next 10 years before he was fully ordained as a full-fledged monk bhikkhu) in 1940. His Preceptor was Venerable K. Ratanapala Maha Thera of Kotawila Vihara. Thus, at the age of 22, samanera Dhammananda became bhikkhu Dhammananda upon receiving the higher ordination (upasampada).

Venerable Dhammananda enrolled at the Sri Dhammarama Pirivena, Ratmalana in 1935, and then at the Vidyawardhana Buddhist Institute, Colombo, 1937 for a more detailed study of the Buddha's teaching. His mentor was Venerable Kotawila Deepananda Nayaka Thera. Upon completion of his studies in 1938, he entered Vidyalankara Pirivena, in Peliyadoga, Kelaniya, a prestigious Buddhist college that has since been upgraded into a university.

For the next seven years, Venerable Dhammananda attended a diploma programme at the Vidyalanka Pirivena where he studied Sanskrit, the Pali Tipitaka and Buddhist Philosophy, besides other secular subjects. His principal tutor at the Institute was Venerable Lunupokune Sri Dhammananda, an eminent scholar monk. At age 26 he successfully graduated with a diploma in Linguistics and Pali Tipitaka.

His seven years of intensive learning and training in monastic discipline from 1939-1945 at the Vidyalanka Pirivena provided him the relevant knowledge and skills in missionary techniques. He was able to use his training to assist the Buddhists in Ceylon, especially those who were English educated and had been prime targets of Christian proselytization, in understanding the more intellectual aspects of the Buddha's teachings.

In 1945 Venerable Dhammananda furthered his tertiary education at the Benares Hindu University in India where he was awarded a scholarship. At the university, he read Sanskrit, Hindi and Indian Philosophy. His contemporaries at the University included Venerable P. Panananda Nayaka Thera of Colombo, Venerable Dr. H. Saddhatissa Maha Thera (who later became head of the London Buddhist Vihara), Venerable Dr. U. Dhammaratana and the late Venerable Dr. Amritananda Thera, former head of the Sangha of Nepal. Venerable Dhammananda studied four years at the university graduating with a Master of Arts degree in Indian Philosophy in 1949. Among the many well-known professors who taught him was the late Dr. S. Radhakrishnan, who later became President of the Republic of India.

Having completed his studies, Venerable Dhammananda returned to Ceylon. In Kotawilla he established the Sudharma Buddhist Institute and tended to the educational, welfare and religious needs of the villagers. He also published a quarterly Buddhist journal "Sudharma" in Sinhalese. He gave regular teachings to the devotees to improve their knowledge and practice of Buddhism.

Besides his talks the Venerable has been able to reach an even wider audience through his publications which range from the voluminous "Dhammapada" to little five page pamphlets. He has been able to reached all levels of readers from erudite scholar monks to young school children. His whole approach to the exposition of the Dhamma is governed by his deep concern for giving the ancient teachings a contemporary relevance, to show that the Sublime Message is timeless and has a meaning that cuts across the boundaries of time, space, race, culture and even religious beliefs.

VEN DR K SRI DHAMMANANDA'S AWARDS

- DHARMAKIRTI SRI SADDHARMA VISARADA Dharma-Glory, The illustrious Doctor of the Good Law by Siam Maha Nikaya, Sri Lanka on 17th October 1976

- PARIYATI VISARADA Doctor of The Scriptures by Kotte Maha Sangha Sabha, Sri Lanka

- SADDHAMMA VIBHUSANA The Adornment of The True Doctrine by Vidyalankara Pirivena, Sri Lanka

- SASTRIYA Doctor of Literature by Benares Hindu University, India

- TRIPITAKA VAGISWARA- CHARYA MAHOPADHAYA The Grand Master, The Supreme Doctor of The Tripitaka by Rohana Sangha Sabha, Sri Lanka

- BUDDHASASANAVIBHUSANA (Honorary Title) By Vidyalankara Pirivena, Sri Lanka on 5th December 1991

- VISVADHARMA VISHARADA SASANADHAJA Doctor of Universal Doctrines, The Banner of The Buddha's Dispensation by Ramanna Maha Nikaya,Sri Lanka on 5th February 1993
- VISHWA KIRTI SRI SASANA SOBHANA Universal-Glory, The Radiant Embellishment of The Buddha's Dispensation by Amarapura Maha Nikaya, Sri Lanka on 3rd March 1995

- SAHITTYA VISARADA AND VINAYA-CHARIYA Doctor of Literature and Ecclesiastical Law by Vidyalankara Oriental College, Sri Lanka

- DARSHANA VISARADA - PH.DThe Honorary Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Buddhist Philosophy By Dharma Realm Buddhist University, U.S.A. on 4th November 1979

- SAHITTYA CAKKRAVARTI - D.LITT By Pali and Buddhist University, Sri Lanka on 6th December 1991

- SADDHARMA PRAWARTAKA CHAKRAWARTI (Supreme Commander of Buddhist Propagation) By Vidyalankara Pirivena, Sri Lanka in 2000

- HONORARY PH.D. DEGREE An Honorary Doctorate Degree of Ph.D. (honoris causa) in Philosophy Division by Mahachulalongkornrajavidyalaya University Bangkok, Thailand on April 26th, B.E. 2544 (A.D.2001)

- DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF LETTERS (honoris causa) University of Ruhuna, Sri Lanka on 16th November 2001

- JOHAN SETIA MAKHOTA- J.S.M. By Duli Yang Maha Mulia Seri Paduka Baginda Yang di- Pertuan Agong IX Sultan Azlan Muhibuddin Shah Ibni Almarhum Yussuf Izzudin Ghafarullahu-Lahu Shah on 5th June 1991

Buddhism For Dummies

2008-08-30T12:07:00.005+07:00

Buddhism seems like a bundle of contradictions wrapped inside a paradox. It is a religion without a god, a belief system without rules, and a faith that encourages its adherents to question everything, including its own teachings.

You could spend a lifetime studying Buddhist texts and following its observances and still feel like you’ve only just barely scratched the surface. Yet, over the past 2500 years, this lovely religion that preaches compassion, generosity, tolerance, selflessness and self-awareness has commanded the fervent devotion of hundreds of millions of people around the world who believe it to be the true path to enlightenment.

If you’re curious about Buddhism but feel intimidated by all the exotic jargon and strange trappings, this book is for you. Written by two leading American Buddhist teachers and scholars, it offers you a uniquely friendly way to explore the fascinating history of Buddhism and discover:

- Who Buddha was and his significance in world history and spirituality
- How the practice of Buddhism can enrich your everyday life
- How Buddha’s teachings combine to create a path to enlightenment
- Daily observances and meditation practices
- How to fulfill your highest potential through Buddhism

In plain English, experts Jonathan Landaw and Stephan Bodian define the important terms, explain the key concepts and explore, in-depth a wide range of topics, including:

- Buddha’s life and teachings and the evolution of the major Buddhist traditions
- How Buddhism works as a religion, philosophy of life and a practical approach to dealing with life’s problems, all rolled into one
- The idea that the mind is the source of all happiness and suffering
- How the practices of wisdom and compassion can connect you with your inner spiritual resources
- Meditation and other core Buddhist practices and how they can affect your everyday life
- How to apply Buddhist teachings at each stage along the spiritual path

Whether you’re a searcher of truth, a student of religions, or just curious about what’s got Richard Gere and all the rest of those celebrity Buddhists so excited, Buddhism For Dummies is your intro to Buddhism basics.

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The Magnificent Borobudur

2008-08-15T12:22:00.011+07:00

Borobudur is a ninth-century Mahayana Buddhist monument in Magelang, Central Java, Indonesia. The monument comprises six square platforms topped by three circular platforms, and is decorated with 2,672 relief panels and 504 Buddha statues. A main dome is located at the center of the top platform, and is surrounded by seventy-two Buddha statues seated inside perforated stupa.

The monument is both a shrine to the Lord Buddha and a place for Buddhist pilgrimage. The journey for pilgrims begins at the base of the monument and follows a path circumambulating the monument while ascending to the top through the three levels of Buddhist cosmology, namely, Kamadhatu (the world of desire); Rupadhatu (the world of forms); and Arupadhatu (the world of formless). During the journey, the monument guides the pilgrims through a system of stairways and corridors with 1,460 narrative relief panels on the wall and the balustrades.

Evidence suggests Borobudur was abandoned following the fourteenth century decline of Buddhist and Hindu kingdoms in Java, and the Javanese conversion to Islam. It was rediscovered in 1814 by Sir Thomas Raffles, the British ruler of Java.

Borobudur has since been preserved through several restorations. The largest restoration project was undertaken between 1975 and 1982 by the Indonesian government and UNESCO, following which the monument was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Borobudur is still used for pilgrimage, where once a year Buddhists in Indonesia celebrate Vesak at the monument, and Borobudur is Indonesia's single most visited tourist attraction.

Location

Approximately 40 kilometers (25 mi) northwest of Yogyakarta, Borobudur is located in an elevated area between two twin volcanoes, Sundoro-Sumbing and Merbabu-Merapi, and two rivers, the Progo and the Elo. According to local myth, the area known as Kedu Plain is a Javanese 'sacred' place and has been dubbed 'the garden of Java' due to its high agricultural fertility.

Besides Borobudur, there are other Buddhist and Hindu temples in the area, including the Prambanan temples compound. During the restoration in the early 1900s, it was discovered that three Buddhist temples in the region, Borobudur, Pawon and Mendut, are lined in one straight line position. It might be accidental, but the temples' alignment is in conjunction with a native folk tale that a long time ago, there was a brick-paved road from Borobudur to Mendut with walls on both sides.

The three temples (Borobudur–Pawon–Mendut) have similar architecture and ornamentation derived from the same time period, which suggests that ritual relationship between the three temples, in order to have formed a sacred unity, must have existed, although exact ritual process is yet unknown.

Unlike other temples, which were built on a flat surface, Borobudur was built on a bedrock hill, 265 m (869 ft) above sea level and 15 m (49 ft) above the floor of the dried-out paleolake. The lake's existence was the subject of intense discussion among archaeologists in the twentieth century; Borobudur was thought to have been built on a lake shore or even floated on a lake.

In 1931, a Dutch artist and a scholar of Hindu and Buddhist architecture, W.O.J. Nieuwenkamp, developed a theory that Kedu Plain was once a lake and Borobudur initially represented a lotus flower floating on the lake. Lotus flowers are found in almost every Buddhist work of art, often serving as a throne for buddhas and base for stupas.

The architecture of Borobudur itself suggests a lotus depiction, in which Buddha postures in Borobudur symbolize the Lotus Sutra, mostly found in many Mahayana Buddhism (a school of Buddhism widely spread in the east Asia region) texts. Three circular platforms on the top are also thought to represent a lotus leaf.

Nieuwenkamp's theory, however, was contested by many archaeologists because the natural environment surrounding the monument is a dry land.Geologists, on the other hand, support Nieuwenkamp's view, pointing out clay sediments found near the site. A study of stratigraphy, sediment and pollen samples conducted in 2000 supports the existence of a paleolake environment near Borobudur, which tends to confirm Nieuwenkamp's theory.

The lake area fluctuated with time and the study also proves that Borobudur was near the lake shore circa thirteenth and fourteenth century. River flows and volcanic activities shape the surrounding landscape, including the lake. One of the most active volcanoes in Indonesia, Mount Merapi, is in the direct vicinity of Borobudur and has been very active since the Pleistocene.

Contemporary events

Following the major 1973 renovation funded by UNESCO, Borobudur is once again used as a place of worship and pilgrimage. Once a year, during the full moon in May or June, Buddhists in Indonesia observe Vesak (Indonesian: Waisak) day commemorating the birth, death, and the time when Siddhārtha Gautama attained the highest wisdom to become the Buddha Shakyamuni.

Vesak is an official national holiday in Indonesia and the ceremony is centered at the three Buddhist temples by walking from Mendut to Pawon and ending at Borobudur.

The monument is the single most visited tourist attraction in Indonesia. In 1974, 260,000 tourists of whom 36,000 were foreigners visited the monument. The figure hiked into 2.5 million visitors annually (80% were domestic tourists) in the mid 1990s, before the country's economy crisis.

Tourism development, however, has been criticized for not including the local community on which occasional local conflict has arisen. In 2003, residents and small businesses around Borobudur organized several meetings and poetry protests, objecting to a provincial government plan to build a three-story mall complex, dubbed the 'Java World'.

On 21 January 1985, nine stupas were badly damaged by nine bombs. In 1991, a blind Muslim evangelist, Husein Ali Al Habsyie, was sentenced to life imprisonment for masterminding a series of bombings in the mid 1980s including the temple attack. Two other members of a right-wing extremist group that carried out the bombings were each sentenced to 20 years in 1986 and another man received a 13-year prison term.

On 27 May 2006, an earthquake of 6.2 magnitude on Richter scale struck the south coast of Central Java. The event had caused severe damage around the region and casualties to the nearby city of Yogyakarta, but Borobudur remained intact.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Heart of the Buddha's Teaching

2008-08-12T10:55:00.006+07:00

By Thich Nhat Hanh

In The Heart of the Buddha's Teaching, Thich Nhat Hanh introduces us to the core teachings of Buddhism and shows us that the Buddha's teachings are accessible and applicable to our daily lives. With poetry and clarity, Nhat Hanh imparts comforting wisdom about the nature of suffering and its role in creating compassion, love, and joy--all qualities of enlightenment.

Covering such significant teachings as the Four Noble Truths, the Noble Eightfold Path, the Three Doors of Liberation, the Three Dharma Seals, and the Seven Factors of Awakening, The Heart of the Buddha's Teaching is a radiant beacon on Buddhist thought for the initiated and uninitiated alike.

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From the Back Cover
"Thich Nhat Hanh writes with the voice of the Buddha."
--Sogyal Rinpoche

"If there is a candidate for 'Living Buddha' on earth today, it is Thich Nhat Hanh."
--Richard Baker-roshi

"Thich Nhat Hanh shows us the connection between personal, inner peace, and peace on earth."
--His Holiness the Dalai Lama

"Thich Nhat Hanh is a real poet."
--Robert Lowell

Jataka Stories of Buddha's Former Lives

2008-08-11T00:05:00.003+07:00

All Jataka stories have a moral at the end on how to correct our ways and in developing virtuous
conduct and good behaviour. They promote and highlight those human values which contribute
to harmony, pleasure and progress.

One story teaches respect for elders, and the need to gain control over conceit, which is a minor defilement. Another teaches the value of gratitude. And yet another teaches about the detrimental
effects of associating with unwholesome people.

Others help cultivate the mind in many ways, advocating values like generosity, the use of gentle
language, the nobility of the ways of wise people, the value of morality and the evils of unwholesome
associations. In this and many other aspects, the Jataka stories contributed to the happiness
and development of the minds of impressionable ones.

The happiness that they engendered went well beyond the mundane to reach the supra mundane.
They led mankind to all that is good in this world and to the ultimate happiness taught by the
Buddha.

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- Buddha's Former Lives (content)
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Thich Nhat Hanh

2008-08-10T05:44:00.004+07:00

Thich Nhat Hanh (pronounced Tick-Naught-Han) is a Vietnamese Buddhist monk. During the war in Vietnam, he worked tirelessly for reconciliation between North and South Vietnam. His lifelong efforts to generate peace moved Martin Luther King, Jr. to nominate him for the Nobel Peace Prize in 1967. He lives in exile in a small community in France where he teaches, writes, gardens, and works to help refugees worldwide. He has conducted many mindfulness retreats in Europe and North America helping veterans, children, environmentalists, psychotherapists, artists and many thousands of individuals seeking peace in their hearts, and in their world.

"Every day we do things, we are things that have to do with peace. If we are aware of our life..., our way of looking at things, we will know how to make peace right in the moment, we are alive."
Thich Nhat Hanh

Thich Nhat Hanh has been living in exile from his native Vietnam since the age of forty. In that year of 1966, he was banned by both the non-Communist and Communist governments for his role in undermining the violence he saw affecting his people. A Buddhist monk since the age of sixteen, Tha^y ("teacher," as he is commonly known to followers) earned a reputation as a respected writer, scholar, and leader. He championed a movement known as "engaged Buddhism," which intertwined traditional meditative practices with active nonviolent civil disobedience.

This movement lay behind the establishment of the most influential center of Buddhist studies in Saigon, the An Quang Pagoda. He also set up relief organizations to rebuild destroyed villages, instituted the School of Youth for Social Service (a Peace Corps of sorts for Buddhist peace workers), founded a peace magazine, and urged world leaders to use nonviolence as a tool. Although his struggle for cooperation meant he had to relinquish a homeland, it won him accolades around the world.

When Thich Nhat Hanh left Vietnam, he embarked on a mission to spread Buddhist thought around the globe. In 1966, when Thây came to the United States for the first of many humanitarian visits, the territory was not completely new to him: he had experienced American culture before as a student at Princeton, and more recently as a professor at Columbia. The Fellowship of Reconciliation and Cornell invited Tha^y to speak on behalf of Buddhist monks, and he offered an enlightened view on ways to end the Vietnam conflict. He spoke on college campuses, met with administration officials, and impressed social dignitaries.

The following year, Nobel Peace Prize winner Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., nominated Thich Nhat Hanh for the same honor. Hanh's Buddhist delegation to the Paris peace talks resulted in accords between North Vietnam and the United States, but his pacifist efforts did not end with the war. He also helped organize rescue missions well into the 1970's for Vietnamese trying to escape from political oppression. Even after the political stabilization of Vietnam, Thich Nhat Hanh has not been allowed to return home. The government still sees him as a threat-ironic, when one considers the subjects of his teachings: respect for life, generosity, responsible sexual behavior, loving communication, and cultivation of a healthful life style.

Tha^y now lives in southwestern France, where he founded a retreat center twelve years ago. At the center, Plum Village, he continues to teach, write, and garden. Plum Village houses only thirty monks, nuns, and laypeople, but thousands from around the globe call it home. Accommodation is readily available for short-term visitors seeking spiritual relief, for refugees in transit, or for activists in need of inspiration. Thich Nhat Hanh gathers people of diverse nationalities, races, religions, and sexes in order to expose them to mindfulness-taking care in the present moment, being profoundly aware and appreciative of life.

Despite the fact that Tha^y is nearing seventy, his strength as a world leader and spiritual guide grows. He has written more than seventy-five books of prose, poetry, and prayers. Most of his works have been geared toward the Buddhist reader, yet his teachings appeal to a wide audience. For at least a decade, Thich Nhat Hanh has visited the United States every other year; he draws more and more people with each tour, Christian, Jewish, atheist, and Zen Buddhist alike.

His philosophy is not limited to preexistent religious structures, but speaks to the individual's desire for wholeness and inner calm. In 1993, he drew a crowd of some 1,200 people at the National Cathedral in Washington DC, led a retreat of 500 people in upstate New York, and assembled 300 people in West Virginia. His popularity in the United States inspired the mayor of Berkeley, California, to name a day in his honor and the Mayor of New York City declared a Day of Reconciliation during his 1993 visit. Clearly, Thich Nhat Hanh is a human link with a prophetic past, a soft-spoken advocate of peace, Buddhist community, and the average American citizen.

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- All in One, One in All
- Rose for Your Pocket