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The blessed Buddha once pointed out:
Bhikkhus, these ideas: "I am...", "I am this...", "I will be...", "I shall not be...",
"I shall be of such form", "I shall be formless...", "I will experience such...",
"I will not experience...", "I shall be neither percipient nor non-percipient...",
are all self-deceptions, are all conceited fantasies, are all whimsy illusions,
are all agitated excitations, are escalated proliferations & are all inflated,
vain & narcissistic self-love, leading to egotism, puffed pride & arrogance!
Such self-deceptions are all diseases, such ego-conceits are all tumors,
such egocentric phantasms are all internal, and agonizing hooks in the mind!
Therefore, bhikkhus & friends, you should train yourselves in this very way:
We will dwell with a mind unperturbed by any "I exists..." conceiving...
We will dwell with a mind purified of any "I am this/that" self-deception...
We will dwell with a mind uninvolved in any "I will be this or that" illusion...
We will dwell with a mind without any "I shall not be this/that" agitation...
We will dwell with a mind devoid of any "I will have such a form" fantasy...
We will dwell with a mind cleaned of any "I shall be formless" escalation...
We will dwell with a mind empty of "I will experience such" proliferation...
We will dwell with a mind cleared of any "I will not experience" excitation...
Since these ideas are all self-deceptions, conceited fantasies, illusions,
agitated excitations, escalated proliferations, and are all inflated, vain &
narcissistic self-centered ego-love, leading to egotism, pride & arrogance...
Self-deceptions are all mental diseases! Ego-conceits are puffed inflations!
Egocentric phantasms are internally agonizing & painful hooks in the mind,
which incur inestimable future suffering!!! The cure is understanding the
absolute selflessness of all things, whether they are internal or external...
Thus should you train yourselves...
Comment: This inherent and somewhat hidden "ego-idea", which may seem
innocent, is the core cause of all egoism, asocial behaviour, crime, conflicts
and even wars! Therefore is it extremely advantageous to repeatedly try
to understand this absolute truth: Sabbe Dhamma Anatta:All Phenomena are without any Self!
However counter-intuitive, puzzling, paradoxical & strange it seems initially!
1: The eye is a source of Suffering...
2: Forms are a source of Suffering...
3: The ear is a source of Suffering...
4: Sounds are a source of Suffering...
5: The nose is a source of Suffering...
6: Scents are a source of Suffering...
7: The tongue is a source of Suffering...
8: Flavours are a source of Suffering...
9: The body is a source of Suffering...
10: Tangibles are a source of Suffering...
11: The mind is a source of Suffering...
12: Mental phenomena are a source of Suffering...
Why so?
Because, whether they give rise to a pleasant, painful or a neutral feeling
and experience, then this will always change, fade away, be lost & vanish...
This change takes place even at the very moment of the experience itself!
Sensing is the soil in which all greed and craving takes root and grows...
Like the chronic morphinist can neither understand, nor accept, that to
become clean, without using drugs, is better and more happy on long-term,
even so can the habitual hedonist, delighting in any sense pleasure, neither
understand nor accept, that renunciation and withdrawal from all sense
experience is far better, trustable, and more blissful on the long term...
Urging for sense pleasure, one only gains ever more frustration and pain!
Neither seeing, nor knowing any other happiness, the hedonist always runs
headlong back to rebirth, ageing, decay, sickness, death and Suffering...
Again and again, life after life, again and again, universe after universe!!!
Like a rat in a carrousel, blinded by ignorance and bound by craving, do
beings, in this awful round of rebirth called Samsara, suffer repeatedly...
The treasures of excellent Dhamma talks by Ven. Thanissaro Bhikkhu,
who is pupil of the late Ajahn Chah of the Thai Forest Tradition, are
all highly recommendable and can freely be downloaded here as audio: http://www.dhammatalks.org
as .mp3 files
Ven. Thanissaro and the late Ajahn Chah.
Good to download and listen to in the evening. Enjoy and gain!
Have a nice & noble day!
Friendship is the Greatest!
Bhikkhu Samahita _/\_ http://What-Buddha-Said.net Excellent Online Audio Dhamma talks!
The Buddha once explained how:
I will tell you the way of life of a householder, who becomes a good disciple.
Laying aside all violence, he would not kill a living creature, nor cause to kill,
nor allow others to kill. He should deliberately avoid taking anything, which
has not been freely given. Neither should he cause to steal, nor allow others
to steal. He should not transgress against another's wife. When gone to the
audience hall, court or assembly, he should neither speak false himself, nor
cause others to speak false, deceive or pretend. He should avoid all untruth.
He should also avoid intoxicating drinks and drugs, nor cause to drink, nor
allow others to drink or take drugs, since intoxication causes carelessness!
Intoxication makes negligent fools commit evil deeds accumulating demerit.
He should neither eat food at night, nor wear jewellery, nor use perfume...
He should sleep on a low couch or on the ground on a mat. For this they say
is the eight-fold fast day observance, declared by the Buddha, who has gone
beyond all suffering. Having kept this fast day every fortnight, with a clear
mind, rejoicing, he should in the morning share suitable food with the Sangha
of Bhikkhus. He should support his mother & father by making honest trade.
A vigilant householder living this Noble way of life is reborn among the devas
who shines bright... Sn 393-404
Seeing the momentary Arising & Ceasing gives Calm!
The Venerable Channa once said to a fellow disciple:
Friend Sariputta, it is because I have seen, known and directly experienced
the momentary arising & ceasing of the eye, eye-consciousness, and any
phenomena recognizable by eye-consciousness, that I indeed regard them
all thus: This is not mine, this I am not, this is not my self...
Furthermore: It is because I have seen, known & directly experienced the
momentary arising & ceasing of the ear, ear-consciousness, & any phenomena
recognizable by ear-consciousness, the nose, olfactory consciousness, and any
phenomena recognizable by such nose-consciousness, the tongue, gustatory-
consciousness, and any phenomena recognizable by this tongue-consciousness,
the body, body-consciousness, and any phenomena recognizable by this tactile
consciousness, the mind, mental-consciousness, any phenomena recognizable
by mental-consciousness, that I now indeed consider all these states thus:
This is not mine, this I am not, this is not my self...
Then Venerable Mahacunda said to Venerable Channa: Then friend Channa,
this teaching of the Buddha is to be given acute, constant & close attention:
In any dependence, there is always a shaky, risky & vacillating wavering!
In all independence, there is neither any shaky, nor any risky wavering!
When there is no wavering, then there is tranquillity. When there is tranquillity,
there is neither inclination, nor bias, nor bending, nor attraction, nor repulsion...
When there is no such inclination, then there is neither any coming, nor any going!
When there is no coming & going, there is no passing away, nor any being reborn...
When there is neither passing away, nor being reborn, then there is neither here,
nor beyond, nor in between the two. This –itself- is the very End of all Suffering...
The Blessed Buddha once said:
Knowing that the other person is angry,
The one who remains aware and calm
acts in and for his own best interest,
and for the other's interest, too! Samyutta Nikaya I, 162
Exalted in mind, just open and clearly aware,
the recluse trained in the ways of the sages:
One who is such, calmed and ever mindful,
He has no sorrows! Udana IV, 7
Calm is his mind.
Calm is his speech.
Calm is his action.
So is the tranquillity;
So is the equanimity;
of one freed by the insight
of right understanding... Dhammapada 96
The Blessed Buddha once said:
Bhikkhus, these 8 things, when cultivated and refined, lead to going beyond
from this near shore, right here, to the far shore beyond all... What eight?
Right View (samma-ditthi)
Right Motivation (samma-sankappa)
Right Speech (samma-vaca)
Right Action (samma-kammanta)
Right Livelihood (samma-ajiva)
Right Effort (samma-vayama)
Right Awareness (samma-sati)
Right Concentration (samma-samadhi)
These 8 things, when cultivated and refined, lead to going beyond from this near
shore, right here, to the far shore beyond. This is what the Blessed Buddha said.
The Well-Gone-One, this supreme Teacher, then added this:
Few humans cross to that sublime far shore beyond all being.
Mostly, people just run up and down along this barren bank!
Those whose praxis is like this even and exact Dhamma,
Will pass beyond the State of Death in quiet harmony!
Having left all the dark and evil doing, any intelligence
Seeks the luminous bright light by leaving this turmoil,
By going forth into solitary & silent homelessness.
Secluded from lust, he experiences an unworldly bliss!
Owing nothing, the wise and clever man thereby cleans
himself of all these mental pollutions and defilements...
Mentally well evolved by the 7 links to enlightenment,
Delighting in non-clinging and relinquishment of all,
Such luminous ones, having quenched all fermentation,
Are fully released even right here in this world!
At Savatthi the Blessed Buddha once explained:
What, friends, is the starvation, that prevents the arising of Sense-Desire,
and which also blocks any growth of already arisen Sense-Desire?
It is frequent and careful attention to the Disgusting Features of things!
This starvation prevents sensual lust from arising & reduces present greed…
And what, friends, is the starvation that prevents the arising of Ill-Will &
which also hinders any aggravation and inflation of already arisen Ill-Will?
It is frequent, careful and rational attention to Universal Friendliness!
This starvation prevents aversion from arising & inhibits present anger…
And what is the starvation, that prevents arising of Lethargy-&-Laziness,
and which also eliminates any already present Lethargy-&-Laziness?
It is attention to these 3 elements of: Initiative, Launching and Endurance!
This starvation prevents absent sloth from arising & stops present laziness.
And what is the starving that prevents arising of Restlessness-&-Regret,
and which also slow down any escalation of present Restlessness-&-Regret?
It is frequent attention to this sweet, calm & peaceful Tranquillity of Mind!
This starvation prevents upsetting of the mind & reduces anxiety & worry…
What is the starvation that prevents the arising ofDoubt-&-Uncertainty,
and which also stops any proliferation of present Doubt-&-Uncertainty?
It is frequent, careful, rational attention & evaluation of these 4 Dualities:
There are advantageous & disadvantageous states! There are blameable &
blameless states! There are ordinary & exalted states! There are bright &
dark mental states! This starvation prevents any confusion of the mind &
which also dampen escalation of already present perplexity…
Comments:
Memorize and use as suitable substitution, whenever a hindrance is noted!
At Savatthi the Blessed Buddha said this:
Bhikkhus, there are these five clusters of clinging! What five?
The cluster of clinging to form...
The cluster of clinging to feeling...
The cluster of clinging to perception...
The cluster of clinging to construction...
The cluster of clinging to consciousness...
When, Bhikkhus, a Noble Disciple understands as they really are:
The arising, the ceasing, the satisfaction, the danger, and the escape
from these five clusters of clinging, then he is called a Noble Disciple,
who is a Stream-Enterer, no longer bound to the painful lower worlds,
fixed in destiny, with Enlightenment as his assured destination!
Explanation: Being is Burning on Craving and Clinging:
The body arises from food and ceases in absence of food.
Feeling, perception & mental construction arises from contact and ceases
in absence of sense contact. Consciousness arises from name-&-form and
ceases in absence of this body-&-mind: mentality-&-materiality. These are
the clusters proximate causes... Their remote causes is past ignorance, lust
for them and intentional action (= Kamma) resulting in them!
The satisfaction of these five clusters of clinging is the pleasure and joy
they temporarily induce... The danger of these five clusters of clinging is
their impermanence & inevitable fading away! The escape is the Noble Way
of ceasing all craving for these 5 clusters of clinging! That ends suffering!
The Mind sent Outside is the Cause of Suffering.
The Effect of the Mind sent Outside is Suffering.
The Mind seeing the Mind is the Path: The Noble Way!
The Effect of Mind seeing Mind, is the End of Suffering.
No matter how much one thinks, one will not know directly!
Only when one stops thinking, will one know directly...
Yet, one still depends on thinking, so as to know...!!!
When mind is all quiet, one will come to know directly.
Whatever one really knows, it is from watching one's own mind!
Knowing is the ground state of the empty mind, which is bright,
pure, quiet, calm, not fabricating, not searching, not urging,
and neither possessed, nor attracted by anything at all...
He does, yet he doesn't:
Do you still have anger?
Yes, but I don't pick it up!
The Less the better:
Stop Thinking, and Stop Urging!
The Poorer one is, the more
Happiness one enjoys...
Thai King Bhumibol presents a gift to Venerable Dun Atulo Thera.
There is Nibbana here & now in this very life:
We call it Sa-upadi-sesa-Nibbana i.e. Nibbana with traces of the
substrates of becoming, still remaining! Then there is final Nibbana,
with no substrates for being or fuels for becoming left remaining:
This is called An-upadi-sesa-Nibbana.
The Blessed Buddha explained it thus: The 2 aspects of Nibbana:
Bhikkhus, there are these two Nibbana-elements. What are the two?
The Nibbana-element with residue left and the Nibbana-element without
any traces of substrate left.
What, bhikkhus, is the Nibbana-element with residue left?
Here a bhikkhu is an arahat, one whose mental fermentations is silenced,
who have fulfilled the Noble life, who has done all what was to be done,
who has laid down the burden, attained the goal, who has destroyed the
bondages of being, who is completely released through final knowledge.
However, his five sense abilities remain unimpaired. Through these he still
experiences what is agreeable and disagreeable, and feels both pleasure
and pain. It is the extinction of attachment, aversion, & confusion in him,
that is called this Nibbana-element with residue left.
Now what, bhikkhus, is the Nibbana-element with no residue remaining?
Here a bhikkhu is an arahat, one whose mental fermentations is silenced,
who have fulfilled the Noble life, who has done all what was to be done,
who has laid down the burden, attained the goal, who has destroyed the
bondages of being, who is completely released through final knowledge.
For him, here in this very life, all that is experienced, not being delighted
in, will grow cold right there and cease. That is called Nibbana-element
with no residue left. These, bhikkhus, are the two Dimensions of Nibbana...
These two Nibbana-elements were thus made known by the Seeing One,
confident & detached: The first is the element with substrates of being
remaining, realized here and now, but with re-becoming destroyed.
The other, having no residue left for the future, is that wherein all modes
of being utterly cease. Having understood this unconstructed state,
released in mind, with the cord to becoming eliminated, they attain to the
sublime essence of all states. Delighting in calming and ceasing of craving,
those steady ones have left all being and becoming behind...
Comments:
Sa-upadi-sesa-Nibbana i.e. Nibbana with traces of becoming remaining is
the state of the living arahat, who has still has body, feeling, perception,
mental construction and consciousness as a remaining result of clinging
in his past, the effects of which have not yet been fully exhausted...
Final Nibbana with no substrates for being or fuels for becoming left
remaining An-upadi-sesa-Nibbana is the state of the arahat after death,
where body, feeling, perception, mental construction and consciousness
have irreversibly ceased ever re-arising anywhere anymore!
Source; Thus Was it Said: Itivuttaka II.17; Iti 38
The Blessed Buddha once said:
There are these three kinds of craving. What three?
1: The Craving for Sensing...
2: The Craving for Becoming...
3: The Craving for Non-Becoming…
These are the three kinds of craving!
This Noble 8-fold Way is to be developed for the direct experience of
these three kinds of craving, for the full understanding of them, for their
complete elimination, and for their final overcoming, abandoning & leaving
all behind. The Noble 8-fold Way is developed for the ceasing of all craving!
Comments: Any form of craving is a sign of an habitual addiction:
1: The first kind of sensual craving for sights, sounds, smells, flavours,
touches, thoughts and mental states is fairly obvious, yet still tenacious...
2: The second craving is for becoming things such as: Rich, famous, praised,
satisfied, beautiful, young, painless, healthy, strong, respected… etc…
3: The third kind of craving is for not becoming things such as: Sick, poor,
criticized, despised, weak, ugly, afflicted, lonely, unsuccessful, dead. etc…
The proximate Cause of all Suffering is this Craving, which have to be left!
This is the 2nd Noble Truth! Craving means: All kinds of lust, desire, hunger,
thirst, longing, urging, yearning for, attraction to, hankering, and hoping.
Ceasing of all Craving is ceasing of Suffering! This is the 3rd Noble Truth!
Whatever is delighted in creates craving, clinging and thus Suffering!
Just after enlightenment the Blessed Buddha stayed under a great Banyan
tree at Uruvela on the bank of the river Neranjara. There he reflected:
There is this single, one and only direct way for the purification of beings,
for the relief from all sorrow and grief, for the fading away of all pain and
frustration, for achieving the right method, for the realization of Nibbana,
that is, these Four Foundations of Awareness! What four? When a Bhikkhu
lives & dwells, aware & clearly comprehending, while always contemplating &
reflecting upon:
1: The Body merely as a disgusting and fragile accumulation..
2: The Feelings just as instantly passing conditioned reactions..
3: The Mind only as a set of recurring, banal and habituated moods..
4: Phenomena only as mentally manifested, fake & artificial appearances..
The 4 Great Frames of Reference!
He thereby removes any lust, urge, envy & frustration rooted in this world..
This is verily the one and only direct way for the purification of all beings,
for the relief from all sorrow and grief, for the fading away of all pain and
frustration, for achieving the right method, for the realization of Nibbana,
that is, these Four Foundations of Awareness... Then the Brahma Samapatti,
knowing this, instantly appeared before the Blessed One & having arranged
his upper robe over one shoulder, he raised his joined palms towards the
Blessed One, and said to him: So is it! Blessed One. So be it! Well-Gone One.
Venerable sir, this is the one & only direct way for purification of beings...
The Great Seer of the Silencing of all Becoming,
Compassionate, understands this unique One Way:
By which they all in the past crossed the flood,
By which they all cross now in the present, and
By which they all will cross over in any future...
Comment: The 'Flood' (Ogha) here means:
The Flood of sense-desire (kama-ogha)
The Flood of wanting to (re-)become (bhava-ogha)
The Flood of wrong views (dittha-ogha)
The Flood of ignorance (avijja-ogha)
These floods overwhelm and destroy all beings in Samsara! Ever again and again!
Source of reference (edited extract):
The Grouped Sayings of the Buddha. Samyutta Nikaya.
Book [V: 167-8] 47 The Foundations of Awareness: 18 Brahma...
The Blessed Buddha once explained:
Bhikkhus, there are these three kinds of suffering. What three?
1: The Suffering caused by painful feeling... (dukkha-dukkha)
2: The Suffering caused by construction... (sankhara-dukkha)
3: The Suffering caused by change… (viparinama-dukkha)
These are the three kinds of suffering! This Noble 8-fold Way is to be
developed for the direct experience of these three kinds of suffering,
for the full understanding of them, for their complete elimination,
and for their final overcoming, abandoning and leaving all behind…
The Noble 8-fold Way is to be developed for Ending of Suffering!!!
Comment:
The 1st kind of suffering due to painful feeling, mental & bodily, is obvious.
The 2nd suffering comes when pleasurable constructions always falls apart.
The 3rd suffering is when a pleasant object inevitably changes and decays.
The Blessed Buddha once said:
Bhikkhus: There are these four kinds of Clinging. What four? 1: Clinging to Sense-Pleasures...
2: Clinging to Various Views...
3: Clinging to Rituals and Superstition…
4: Clinging to an an Ego-Concept…
These are the four kinds of Clinging!
This Noble 8-fold Way is to be developed for the direct experience of the
four kinds of clinging, for the full understanding of these clingings,
for their complete elimination, and for their final overcoming, abandoning
and leaving all behind…
The Noble 8-fold Way is developed for the ceasing of all clinging!
Comments:
1: The 1st kind of clinging to sights, sounds, smells, flavours, touches, and
thoughts is fairly obvious, yet still long habituated and thus tenacious...
2: Clinging is to Views is thinking: Doing good deeds are completely useless.
Doing evil have no consequences! No action has any effect on my future!
3: Clinging to rituals & superstition is like thinking that fire, bathing, and
various empty rituals, like wearing funny hats & praying, can purify mind…
3: Clinging to an Ego-concept, personality-belief, & a 'self' is the assuming
an unchanging internal entity ‘I-Me', which however is non-existent...
The proximate cause of all clinging is Craving, which have to be left!
This is the 2nd Noble Truth! Clinging means: adherence, attachment, grip,
clasping, clutching, grasping, stubbornly and tenaciously sticking to.
The word pali word the Buddha used ‘Upadana’ literally means ‘taking up’
indicating that as soon as one takes up the object, then clinging occurs!
Sariputta once said:
When, friends, a Noble Disciple understands clinging, the cause of clinging,
the ceasing of clinging, and the way leading to the ceasing of clinging, in
that way he is one of right view, whose view is straight, who has perfect
confidence in the Dhamma, and has arrived at this true Dhamma...
And what is clinging, what is the cause of clinging, what is the ceasing of
clinging, what is the way to the cease clinging?
Friends: There are these 4 kinds of clinging: clinging to sense-pleasures,
clinging to views, clinging to rituals & superstition, and the subtle clinging
to the ego-concept of an assumed inner self. With the arising of craving,
clinging also arises. With the ceasing of craving, clinging thus ceases too!
The way leading to the ceasing of clinging is just this Noble 8-fold Way:
Right View, Right, Motivation, Right Speech, Right Action, Right Livelihood,
Right Effort, Right Awareness, and Right Concentration…
I am so glad to have found this daily dhamma drops I have been on the site for a while and for some reason never came across them. Today's drop is quite relevant to my current situation so I thank you Samahita
Vap Poya day is the full-moon of October. This holy day celebrates the
end of the Bhikkhu's three months rains retreat and marks the Kathina
month of robes , where lay people donate a set of robes to the Sangha.
This also celebrates the day that Buddha began to teach the Abhidhamma!
The Buddha descending from the Tusita Level after having spent a rains
retreat there explaining the Abhidhamma to the assembled devas during
a single three months long speech! His biological mother Mahamaya, who
died 7 days after his birth, and was reborn there as a deva, was present.
He is followed down by the deva rulers Sakka and Maha-Brahma.
The Kathina Ceremony of giving robes to the Maha-Sangha and receive blessing merit thereby!
On such Full-Moon Uposatha Poya Observance days:
Any Lay Buddhist simply joins the Three Refuges and undertakes the
Five Precepts like this: Newly bathed, shaved, white-clothed, with clean
bare feet, one kneels at a shrine with a Buddha-statue, and bows first
three times, so that feet, hands, elbows, knees & head touch the floor.
Then, with joined palms at the heart, one recites these memorized lines
in a loud, calm & steady voice:
As long as this life lasts: I hereby take refuge in the Buddha.
I hereby take refuge in the Dhamma.
I hereby take refuge in the Sangha.
I hereby seek shelter in the Buddha for the 2nd time.
I hereby seek shelter in the Dhamma for the 2nd time.
I hereby seek shelter in the Sangha for the 2nd time.
I hereby request protection from the Buddha for the 3rd time.
I hereby request protection from the Dhamma for the 3rd time.
I hereby request protection from the Sangha for the 3rd time.
I will hereby respect these Three Jewels the rest of my life!
I accept to respect & undertake these 5 training rules: I hereby accept the training rule of avoiding all Killing.
I hereby accept the training rule of avoiding all Stealing.
I hereby accept the training rule of avoiding all Sexual Abuse.
I hereby accept the training rule of avoiding all Dishonesty.
I hereby accept the training rule of avoiding all Alcohol & Drugs.
As long as this life lasts, I am thus protected by these 5 precepts...
Then, one keeps and protects these sacred vows better than one's
own eyes & children!, since they protect you & all other beings much
better than any army! They are the highest offer one can give in & to
this world! So is the start towards Nibbana: the Deathless Element!
This is the Noble Way to Peace, to Freedom, to Ease, to Happiness,
initiated by Morality, developed further by Dhamma-Study and
fulfilled by training of Meditation...
Today indeed is Pooya or Uposatha or observance day, where any lay
Buddhist normally keeps even the Eight Precepts from sunrise until the
next dawn... If any wish an official recognition by the Bhikkhu-Sangha,
they may simply forward the lines starting with "I hereby ..." signed with
name, date, town & country to me or join here. A public list of this new
quite rapidly growing global Saddhamma-Sangha is set up here!
The Blessed Buddha explained DOING GOOD like this:
Here and now the good-doer rejoices...
Even so after passing away and re-emerging,
the doer of good reaps only joy and satisfaction ...
So both here and there the wise with merit well done
enjoys the purity of his prior good actions.
Dhammapada 16
THE PRECIOUS POSSIBILITY
Just as one can make many varied bouquets from a single
big bunch of flowers, a mortal among the humans can
make many kinds of merit by doing various good deeds.
Dhammapada 53
HONOURABLE
Those who honours those worthy of honour:
That is the Buddha and his disciples;
Who are unhindered, sorrowless, and fearless,
finders of Nibbana, their merit gained from such
worthy & well directed honour cannot be estimated
by anyone...
Dhammapada 195
The Blessed Buddha once said:
When this subtle Dhamma has been taught by me, in many various ways,
using different methods of explanation, then it is only to be expected
that those, who cannot agree, accept, allow, & approve of what really
is well stated and well spoken by others, that they will become angry,
quarrelsome and start disputes, where they will stab each other with
verbal daggers! Yet too, when this sublime Dhamma has been taught by
me, in many variable ways, using diverse methods of explanation, it is
also only to be expected, that those, who can agree, accept, allow, and
approve of what really is well formulated and well spoken of by others,
that they will live in harmony, in calm, friendly and mutual appreciation,
without arguments, blending like milk and water, regarding each other
with kind eyes. In this very way can they come to sleep with open doors
and dance with their children in their arms ...
So we can sleep with open doors & dance with the children in our arms!
The Senses run after pleasing objects like Wild Horses!
The eye likes to see beautiful and attractive forms. The ear likes to hear
sounds that are beautiful, melodious and pleasing to the mind. The nose likes
to smell things that are pleasantly scented, making one feel elated & joyful.
The tongue likes to taste things that are delicious. The body likes to touch
and feel things that are soft and smooth, which produces a mental state of
absorbed fascination all the time without ever having too much of it.
All of this originates from the mind, which is the overlord of all these sense
sources. The mind is the one that wants to play about with them all the time
without being the least bit concerned to consider what is right or wrong,
what is good or bad. All the mind wants, is to fulfill its desires. This makes
all the fields of sense, including the eye, ear, nose, tongue and body, whirl
about according to the emotional dictates of the mind. It is the the mental
defilements that force the mind to this rampage of struggling for stimuli.
When guarding each sense field, we must keep a guard on the mind at the
same time. The mind is the ringleader, which constantly creates the desire
to see sights, to hear sounds, to smell scents, to taste foods and to sense
touches. The mind is the one that desires, that craves, that is ever hungry
and thirsty, the one that goes searching for sensations. So the mind uses its
instruments, which are the eyes, ear, nose, tongue and body, as the paths by
which it travels out to search for all sorts of objects that induce pleasure.
So you must guard the mind with awareness and investigate it carefully with
understanding. Don’t let it roam about getting involved in things, which are
dangerous. Use awareness to control the mind & understanding to examine
the objects that arise from making contact with forms, sounds, smells,
tastes and things which contact the body, so as to learn the basic truth of
such momentary contacts. Then mind will remain detached and indifferent.
It will not love some things and hate others, and so become angry. It will
then easily enter into a state of calm & peacefulness without always being
burdened or troubled by external matters. When the mind is replete and
satisfied in that calm state, it will withdraw from it & examine the internal
sense sources of the eyes, ears, nose, tongue and body as being merely empty
instruments of the mind. It will then examine those objects in relation to the
mind, seeing that they both become intimately blended together, as though
they were one and the same thing. You will see that sensations are things,
which infiltrate the mind, and so are not one & the same thing as the mind,
which nevertheless run out after these empty sensations as wild horses...
To overcome loneliness, first learn to meditate, and to live in the moment!
Living like this, your mind becomes very peaceful, very calm, & very strong.
Mindfulness makes you very strong. You will develop inner strength...
I have no parents. I make heaven and earth my parents.
I have no home. I make awareness my home.
I have no life and death. I make breathing in-&-out my life and death.
I have no divine power. I make honesty my divine power.
I have no friends. I make my mind my friend.
I have no enemy. I make carelessness my enemy.
I have no sword. I make absence of ego my sword!
Source:Sayadaw U Jotika from Burma. His Book: Snow in the Summer
is published by DMG Books (http://www.dmgbooks.com)
The Sakyan Mahanama once asked the Blessed Buddha:
Venerable Sir, What is a Lay Disciple?
Having taken refuge in the Buddha, Dhamma, & Sangha, one is a Lay Disciple!
Venerable Sir, What is a Pure Disciple?
Avoiding all killing, stealing, sexual abuse, lying, and neither drinking any
alcohol nor taking any drugs causing neglect, one is a Pure Disciple!
Venerable Sir, What is a Faithful Disciple?
Placing faith in the Enlightenment of the Tathagata thus:
Worthy, honourable & perfectly self-Enlightened is the Buddha! ... teacher &
guide of gods and humans, exalted, & awakened ... one is a Faithful Disciple!
Venerable Sir, What is a Generous Disciple?
Living mentally devoid stinginess, liberal, open-handed, delighting in donation,
devoted to charity, enjoying all giving & sharing, one is a Generous Disciple!
Venerable Sir, What is a Disciple who Understands?
One who understands the cause of arising & ceasing, which is Noble, decisive,
& which enables eradication of Suffering is a wise Disciple who Understands!
The Buddha Gotama's first five disciples (Pañcavaggiya)
Source (edited extract):
The Grouped Sayings of the Buddha. Samyutta Nikaya. [V:395]
Section 55 on Stream-Entry: Sotapattisamyutta. Thread 37: Mahanama.
Neglect Looses All, while Careful Alertness Wins All!
At Savatthi the Blessed One once said this:
I will teach you, friends, about the one who lives negligent, and about
the one who lives alert. Listen cautiously and pay full attention to it!
How, friends, does one live Negligent?
In him, friends, who lives with an uncontrolled ability to see, the mind is
agitated and warped by the objects recognizable by the eye. In him whose
mind is agitated and warped, there is no satisfaction! Without satisfaction,
there is no joy! Where there is no joy, there is no contentment, no calm, no
tranquillity, and no mental peace! Without this calm, one thus lives in sorrow,
frustrated, urging, and searching! Such sorrowful person’s mind is neither
composed, nor collected, nor confident. When the mind is not composed, one
has neither any clarity, nor any certainty! By not having any clear thinking,
one is reckoned as one, who lives negligent. One is regarded as confused...
So also it is for one who lives without any control over the ability to hear,
smell, taste, touch and without any control over the ability to think…
And how, friends, does one live Alert?
In him, who lives with a fully controlled ability to see, the mind is neither
agitated, nor warped by any object recognizable by the eye. In one, whose
mind is neither agitated, nor warped, satisfaction is born! In one satisfied,
joy is born. When one is joyful, the body is calmed down. He, whose body is
calmed, feels at ease. Composed is mind of one, who is at ease. When mind is
composed, one’s ideas are clear. One gains certainty & assured confidence!
By having clear ideas and thinking, one is reckoned as one who lives alert, &
as one, who is alert! So also it is for any one, who lives with full control over
the ability to hear, smell, taste, touch or controlling the ability to think.
Thus, friends, is one, who lives ready and aware in alertness.
Comments:
Not seduced by the mere glitter of sensation of any kind, not running after
fancy dreams, driven by hopes or compelled longing. By not yearning after
pleasant sensations, satisfied by whatever there is, thus at ease, stilled,
one remains just calm, cleared and cooled... Like a Smiling Mountain :-)
When one cultivates regular meditation on Infinite Friendliness (Metta),
then these 11 advantages are produced, can be expected and observed:
1: One sleeps in comfort.
2: One wakes in comfort.
3: One dreams no evil dreams.
4: One is dear to human beings.
5: One is dear to non-human beings.
6: Deities guard and protect one.
7: Fire, poison and weapons cannot affect one.
8: One's mind is easily concentrated.
9: The expression of one's face is serene.
10: One dies unconfused and without panic.
11: If one penetrates no higher, then one is reborn in the Brahma-world.
These 11 advantages emerges and hold insofar as goodwill is maintained! Vism I 312-314, AN V 342
RADIATING PEACE
The Noble Friend, who dwells in friendly good-will,
Who has faith in the Teaching of the Buddhas,
Will reach the place of Peace, the mode of ease,
The stilling of all formation,
The calming of all construction, Purest Happiness itself ... Dhammapada 368
Friends, this highly advantageous praxis can be undertaken by anyone,
at any time, all day long, in all situations, and at all locations! Therefore
Do it!, Repeat it!, and Remember it!:
When walking, one understands: "I am walking.."
When standing, one knows: "I am standing.."
If sitting, one notes: "I am sitting down now.."
While lying down, one reflects: "I am lying down.."
When moving forward or returning, one clearly comprehends exactly that..
When looking forward or away, one clearly comprehends exactly that..
When bending or extending a limb, one clearly comprehends exactly that..
When dressing or carrying things, one clearly comprehends exactly that..
When eating, drinking, or chewing, one clearly comprehends exactly that..
When defecating or urinating, one clearly comprehends exactly that..
When walking, standing or sitting, one clearly comprehends exactly that..
When falling asleep or waking up, one clearly comprehends exactly that..
When talking or dwelling in silence, one clearly comprehends exactly that..
Rational and alert attention is thus a cause of ultra clear comprehension!
When continuous Awareness is established, it can prevent all mistakes,
and their painful after-effects... In this way do clear comprehension lead
reduced frustration and gain of new satisfaction! If correctly cultivated,
and made much of, this praxis will be for all beings welfare and happiness
for a long, long time... Why so? Clear comprehension purifies the purpose,
the suitability, the domain, and the unconfused focus of any activity!
Overcome the angry by friendliness,
overcome the wicked by goodness,
overcome the miser by generosity,
overcome the liar by truth... Dhammapada 223
He who neither punishes, nor makes others punish,
He who neither steals, nor makes others steal,
who in friendly goodwill shares with all that lives,
such kind gentle one meets no enmity anywhere... Itivuttaka 27
Train yourself in doing only what is good,
that will last and bring great happiness!
Cultivate generosity, a peaceful living,
and a mentality of infinite friendliness... Itivuttaka 16
Initially the Noble Learner temporarily disables the mental hindrances
and bindings by "Substitution by the Opposite" using insight. Lust is thus
temporarily substituted by disgust, anger by friendliness, restlessness
by calm, laziness by energy and doubt is substituted by certainty.
Later the Noble Learner temporarily overcomes the mental hindrances
and bindings by "Suppression" by entering one-pointed absorption of
concentration, which is unmixed, unpolluted and untainted by hindrances.
Later the Noble Learner permanently eliminates another fraction of the
hindrances & bindings by "Cutting Off" at reaching path-moment of the
Stream-entry, Once-Returner, Non-Returner and Arahat (Magga) state.
Later the Noble Learner permanently eliminates the remaining fraction
of hindrances by effortless "Calming" at reaching the fruition-moment of
the Stream-entry, Once-Returner, Non-Returner & Arahat (Phala) state.
Finally the Noble Learned irreversibly leaves behind all mental hindrances
and bindings by "Escape" into the unconditioned and unconditional element
of Nibbana, without remaining traces of either clinging or other fuel...
Take Home: Substitution => Suppression => Cut Off => Calming => Escape!
Equanimity just looks on and observes, while calmly settled in composed neutrality.
Equanimity is characterized as promoting the aspect of impartiality among beings.
Its function is to see the equality of all beings. It is manifested as the quieting of
both resentment and approval. Its proximate cause is seeing and comprehending
the ownership and efficacy of kamma thus: All beings are owners of their deeds,
born, created and conditioned by the accumulated effect of their past intentions!
Whose, if not theirs, is the choices by which they have become happy, or unhappy,
or will break free from suffering, or have fallen down from their past good state?
Equanimity succeeds, when it makes both resentment and approval subside, and it
fails, when it instead produces a bored, indifferent, & careless state of negligence! Vism I 318
Comments:
Non-involved and even Equanimity is a subtle form of happiness... By stabilization
it perfects and consummates all the other six links to awakening: As Awareness,
Investigation, Energy, Joy and Concentration. Equanimity is the proximate cause
for knowing and seeing it, as it really is. Equanimity quenches any upset agitation!
When seeing and noting: All this is constructed, conditioned, coarse and transient!
But this state of serene equanimity is indeed exquisitely peaceful, then instantly
ceases any arisen agreeable or nasty feeling, when Equanimity takes its stance!
Power of Equanimity: Not much agitation, wavering or panic here!
The Buddha encouraged relinquishing possessions thereby ending suffering:
Those who are greedy and needy for cherished things cannot ever end grief,
sorrow, and miserliness. Seeking security the recluse therefore relinquishes
all possessions and wanders forth into homelessness. Dwelling withdrawn and
remote, secluded in senses, he finds it agreeable not show himself anywhere!
Not dependent upon anything, the sage finds nothing pleasant or unpleasant.
Neither possessiveness, nor lamentation, nor what is seen or heard or thought
clings to his mind, just as water cannot ever cling to a lotus-leaf... Sutta-Nipata 809-812 Edited excerpt.
The Blessed Buddha once said:
Monks, a Noble should dwell Aware and Composed…
This is our instruction to you!
And how does a monk dwell Aware?
Herein a friend dwells contemplating any body as a void frame only;
as a transient, painful and impersonal neither-me-nor-mine appearance,
while alert, ballanced and deliberately aware, thereby overcoming
any mental rejection of reality, arised from coveting this world…
Exactly so does he dwell with regard to any feeling..
with regard to any mood and mentality..
with regard to any phenomenon..
Only precisely so is this Noble One Acutely Aware!
And how does a monk dwell Composed?
Herein a friend dwells fully aware of all feelings, that arise..
fully aware of all feelings, that settle..
fully aware of all feelings, that cease..
Such Noble One dwells fully aware of all thoughts, that arise..
fully aware of all thoughts, that remain..
fully aware of all thoughts, that stop..
Such clever one dwells fully aware of all perceptions, that arise..
fully aware of all perceptions, that persist..
fully aware of all perceptions, that end..
Just so is this Noble One Cool, Calm, and Composed!
Any disciple should dwell Aware and Composed. This is our instruction to you…
The Blessed Buddha once said:
Bhikkhus, there are these five kinds of Mental Hindrance. What five?
1: The Mental Hindrance of Desire for Sensing...
2: The Mental Hindrance of Aversion and Ill-Will...
3: The Mental Hindrance of Lethargy and Laziness…
4: The Mental Hindrance of Restlessness and Regret…
5: The Mental Hindrance of Doubt and Uncertainty…
These are the 5 kinds of Mental Hindrance! The Noble 8-fold Way should
be developed for the direct experience of these five Mental Hindrances,
for the full understanding and elimination of them, and for their final and
total overcoming, abandoning and leaving all behind! This Noble 8-fold Way
is developed for the sake of uprooting all Mental Hindrance!
Explanation of the 5 Mental Hindrances:
Desire for sights, sounds, smells, flavours, touches, & thoughts is obvious.
Aversion is hate, anger, irritation, opposition, resistance, & stubbornness.
Lethargy & Laziness is all sluggish indolence, stupor, slow & slack inactivity.
Restlessness & Regret is all agitation, anxiety, hurry, remorse, and worry.
Doubt & Uncertainty is indecision, hesitation, perplexity, & qualm dilemma.
Mental Hindrance means a mental & invisible yet real & ultimately effective
obstacle, obstruction, block, impediment, hurdle, and debilitating handicap!
Elephant pictures by AFP from Sidney Zoo. The kissing lion was rescued by
the Colombian Lady, when abandoned and abused by a travelling circus.
She fed it up and cared for it in her camp for rescued animals. Apparently
it is quite grateful for that good kindness. A truly genuine hug to mama!
When ignorance of the 4 Noble Truths finally fully evaporates,
One no longer clings to any sense pleasure, any views, or any rules and rituals!
One no longer clings to any idea of a self, I, Me, Ego, Soul or Identity at all...
When one does not cling, one is not agitated! One remains imperturbable...
When one is not agitated, one attains the state of Nibbana right there!
One then understands: Rebirth is ended, this Noble life has been lived,
What had to be done is done, there is no more relapsing into any state of being...
Three kinds of gift are mentioned in Buddhism, namely:
1: Amisa dana: The gift of material things,
2: Abhaya dana: The fearless gift of life,
3: Dhamma dana:The gift of real Truth...
Amisa dana: – or the gift of material things is practised by people
of all religions and is very common. Food, clothes and houses are
given to people of little means or to refugees through various
religious and social organizations. It is, no doubt, a good thing to
satisfy the hunger of the starved & the yearning of the thirsty.
This type of donations is highly recommended in Buddhism and
is called the Amisa dana. (The donations of material things).
Next comes the Abhaya dana: - or giving life to those who are in
danger of life caused by fire, water or enemies. Sometimes we
hear of people, who are about to die due to lack of blood.
To donate blood and save another humans life is indeed a great
thing. Donation of eyes and kidneys is also highly appreciated
and they come under Abhaya dana – fearless donation of life.
The last one: Dhamma dana: - or the gift of Truth of the Doctrine
is said to be the highest of all donations on earth. Why so?
Because it opens the Door to the Deathless Dimension!
This no other giving is even remotely capable of...
The gift of Dhamma excels all other Gifts.
The flavour of Dhamma excels all other flavours.
The delight in Dhamma excels all other delights.
He who has destroyed craving overcomes all sorrow! Dhammapada 354
Most Gods actually became Divine Beings as a result of Giving!
The Blessed Buddha once explained:
Friends, form is burning, feeling is burning, perception is burning, mental
constructions are burning, and consciousness itself is burning...
Burning with what? Burning with Greed. Burning with Hate. Burning with
Ignorance. Burning with rebirth. Burning with ageing. Burning with decay.
Burning with sickness & pain. Burning with death. I tell you: Burning with
Suffering! Understanding this fully, friends, the learned Noble Disciple
is disgusted with all form, feeling, perception, and with all constructions!
He is disgusted even with consciousness! The experience of that disgust,
brings disillusion and disenchantment. Through this disillusion, the mind is
completely released! When it is liberated, then this assurance appears:
"This mind is fully and irreversible freed" and one instantly understands:
The rebirth process is now ended, this Noble Life have been completed,
done is what should be done, there is no state beyond this...
CONTENT WHEN UNDERSTANDING
Solitude is happiness for one, who is content,
Who sees and clearly understands this Dhamma.
Harmlessness is happiness in all worlds,
Kindness towards all living beings. :-) Udana 10
IDEAL SOLITUDE
Avoid going along with fools. Should one fail to find
any one, who is better or equal as a good companion,
then one should continue this journey all alone.
Since there can be no friendship with fools... Dhammapada 61
SWEET & NOT LONELY
The one who has tasted the sweetness of solitude
in cooled calm, such one fears not, and wrongdo not,
since so indeed is the sweet joy of true Dhamma! Dhammapada 205
SOLITUDE AS NECESSITY
If one cannot find a clever companion, upright, straight and determined,
then walk alone like a king leaving the kingdom, like an Elephant freely
roam in all the forest... Dhammapada 329
SOLITARY FREEDOM
Life in solitude is better than friendship with the fool.
Let the one live alone, acting only right, freed from greed,
Like the Bull Elephant freely roam in all the forest. Dhammapada 330
THE MASTER
Mastering the hands.
Mastering the feet.
Mastering the speech.
Mastering the thoughts.
Highest Master of Mind;
Concentrated and composed,
Calm and content in secluded solitude,
Such one is indeed rightly called a Bhikkhu ... Dhammapada 362
Comments: Be realistic!
If one cannot be in company with one-self, then something must be wrong!
Any form of company will dissolve, since all meetings end in separation...
The ever socializing parrot-like personality cannot ever end suffering!
Only dead fish float with the stream!
Friendliness means Goodwill
Friendliness means Kindness
Friendliness means Helpfulness
Friendliness means Assistance
Friendliness means Support
Friendliness means Benevolence
Friendliness means Concern
Friendliness means Care
Friendliness means Compassion
Friendliness means Cooperation
Friendliness means Mutual Aid
Friendliness means Mutual Advantage
Friendliness means Sympathy
Friendliness means Symbiosis
Only friendliness can completely evaporate the poison of hate and anger!
Its characteristic is promoting other being's welfare, its function is to
do only good, and its manifestation is kindness, sympathy, and gentleness...
The proximate cause of friendliness is seeing the good aspects of things!
The proximate cause of understanding compassion is this very friendliness!
The Blessed Buddha said about friendliness (Metta):
"Bhikkhus, whatever kinds of worldly merit there are, all are not worth
one sixteenth part of the release of mind by universal friendliness;
in shining, glowing and beaming radiance, this release of mind by
universal friendliness far excels & surpasses them all..."
What are the 11 Advantages of cultivating such Universal Friendliness?
The four Brahma Viharas; The four Divine States:
The four Supreme States; The four Infinite States:
"Friends, eleven advantages are to be expected as effect from the release
of mind into friendliness by the practice of Goodwill, by cultivating amity,
by making much of it frequently, by making friendliness the vehicle, the tool,
the basis, by insisting on it, by being well established in it as a sublime habit!
What are these eleven advantages ?
One falls asleep well! One wakes up Happy!
One dreams no evil dreams!
One is liked and loved by all human beings!
One is liked and loved by all non-human beings too!
One is guarded and protected by the divine devas!
One cannot be harmed by fire, poison, or weapons!
One easily attains the concentration of absorption!
Ones appearance becomes serene, calm, and composed!
One dies without confusion, bewilderment, or panic!
One reappears after death on the Brahma level, if one
has penetrated to no higher level in this very life!
When the mind is released into friendliness by the practice of goodwill,
by manifesting friendliness, by cultivating amity, by frequently making much
of it, by making friendliness the vehicle, the tool, the basis, the medium, the
foundation, by persisting in it, by insisting on it, by properly consolidating it,
by thoroughly undertaking it, by making it a familiar supreme habit, by so
being well established in it, these eleven blessings can be expected!" Anguttara Nikaya V 342
There, Oohh friends, the Bhikkhu with a mind full of friendly loving-kindness
pervading first one direction, then a 2nd one, then a 3rd one then the 4th one,
as below so above, across and all around, everywhere identifying himself with
all sentient beings, he is encompassing the whole world with a mind of friendly
loving-kindness, with a wide mind, vast, refined, unbounded, cleared, exalted,
pure and bright, free from all hate and ill will ...
There, Oh friends, the Bhikkhu with a mind full of understanding compassion
pervading first the front, then the right side, then the back, then the left side,
as below so above, across & all around, all over, far & wide; identifying himself
with all sentient beings, he is perfusing the whole universe with a mind imbued
with pity, with a spacious mind, a refined mind, infinite, purified, all luminous,
freed from all anger and any trace of enmity ...
There, the Bhikkhu with a mind full of altruistic, sympathetic and mutual Joy
pervading the North, then the East, then the South, then the West, as below
so above, across & all around, universally, infinitely; identifying himself with
all sentient beings, he is suffusing all galaxies with a mind elevated by genuine
mutual and altruistic sympathetic joy, with an open mind, immeasurable, wide,
limitless, pure & shining, free from all aversion and bitterness ...
There, Oohh friends, the Bhikkhu with a mind full of balanced equanimity is
pervading first the frontal quadrant, then the right, then the rear & then the
left quadrant, as below so above, across and all around, everywhere placing
himself with all sentient beings, he is permeating the whole world with a mind
satiated of stilled and balanced equanimity, calmed, with a mountain-like mind,
cultivated, endless, clean, dazzling, freed from any irritation and resentment."
"So too, Bhikkhus, others may speak to you timely or untimely, true or untrue,
gentle or harsh, beneficial or harmful, based on kindness or on bitter hate!
If they abuse you verbally, you should train yourselves in this way:
"Our minds will remain unaffected, we shall speak no angry words, will dwell
friendly and understanding, with thoughts of kindness and no inward anger!
We shall remain friendly and beam goodwill towards that very person, and we
shall dwell extending it to the entire universe, mentally overflowing, exalted,
measureless and infinite in friendliness, without any trace hostility or ill-will."
That is how you should train yourselves. Even if bandits were savagely to cut
you up, limb by limb, with a two-handled saw, one who harbours hate on that
account, would not be one who carried out my teaching. Bhikkhus, you should
keep this instruction on this Simile of the Saw constantly in mind... Majjhima Nikaya, Sutta 21
Thus he who both day and night
takes delight in harmlessness
sharing love with all that lives,
finds enmity with none... Samyutta Nikaya. I 208
When one with a mind of love
feels compassion for the entire world
above, below and across,
unlimited everywhere. Jataka 37
The Bodhisatta once was born as the righteous king Ekaraja. His kingdom was
taken by force and he and his son was buried in a pit to the neck...
King Ekaraja, however neither resisted, nor bore even slight ill will against the
invaders. Later he remembered this as his ultimate perfection of friendliness. Ekaraja Jataka 303
The Blessed Buddha once explained:
How is the release of mind by infinite mutual joy (Mudita) achieved?
What does this liberation have as its destination, what is its culmination,
what is its sweet fruit, and what is the ultimate goal of mental release
by universally mutual, unselfish, altruistic, appreciative & rejoicing joy?
Here, Bhikkhus, a Bhikkhu dwells pervading the frontal quadrant with a
mind imbued with infinite mutual joy, so the 2nd, 3rd and 4th quadrant.
As above, so below, across, and everywhere to all beings as for himself,
he dwells pervading the entire cosmos with a mind fully saturated with
unlimited mutual joy, immense, exalted, measureless, without hostility,
without any enmity, without any trace of ill will, of jealousy or of envy!
Thus prepared and mentally quite expanded, he then develops:
1: The Awareness Link to Awakening joined with limitless mutual joy.
2: The Investigation Link to Awakening fused with such mutual joy.
3: The Energy Link to Awakening together with infinite mutual joy.
4: The Joy Link to Awakening accompanied with absolute mutual joy.
5: The Tranquillity Link to Awakening linked with noble mutual joy.
6: The Concentration Link to Awakening associated with mutual joy.
7: The Equanimity Link to Awakening joined with endless mutual joy.
Based upon seclusion, disillusion, ceasing, and culminating in release...
If he then wishes:
May I dwell experiencing repulsion by any attractive & tempting object,
then he can dwell experiencing repulsiveness therein. If he wishes: May I
dwell experiencing the unrepulsive in any disgusting and repulsive object,
then he experiences pleasing beauty in whatever disgusting & ugly thing!
If he wishes: Avoiding both the repulsive & the unrepulsive, may I dwell
in equanimity, just aware & clearly comprehending, then he experiences
equanimity, just aware and clearly comprehending! When meditating he
can completely transcend the realm of infinitude of space, only aware
that consciousness is infinite, he can enter and dwell in the sphere of the
infinitude of consciousness.. I tell you Bhikkhus for a quite wise Bhikkhu
here, who has not yet penetrated to an even more superior mental release,
the mental release by infinite, altruistic and mutual joy has the sphere of
the infinitude of consciousness as its culmination!
Comments: Are you Discontent? Here is Why!
Mutual joy is the proximate cause of contentment.
Consequentially: Lack of mutual joy produces frustrated discontent!
Mutual joy also eliminates jealousy and envy! Absence of mutual joy
therefore induces the acid like mental pain called envy and jealousy!
Source of reference (edited extract):
The Grouped Sayings of the Buddha. Samyutta Nikaya.
Book [V: 115-21] 46: The Links. 54: Joined by Friendliness...
A Brahmin Priest once asked the Blessed Buddha:
Master Gotama, what is the cause of being unable to remember something
that has been memorized over a long period and also that which has not
been memorized?
Brahmin, when then mind is agitated by restlessness and regret, stressed,
agitated, troubled and tyrannized by restlessness and regret, & one does
neither know, nor understand any actual safe escape from this dominating
restlessness and regret, in that moment, then one can neither see, nor ever
understand what is advantageous, neither for oneself, nor for others, nor
for both oneself and for others. Then, consequently, even texts, that have
been long memorized, cannot be remembered. Why is this blind neglect so?
Imagine a bowl of water with the surface stirred up by wind into ripples,
undulations & small wavelets. If a man with good eye-sight were to inspect
the reflection of his own face in it, he would neither see nor recognize it,
as it really is! So too, brahmin, when the mind is distracted by restlessness
and regret, excited, anxious, distressed, worried, perturbed and upset by
restlessness and regret, on any such occasion even texts long memorized
do not recur to the mind, not to speak of those texts, events & knowledge,
that have not been memorized at all…
Il Poya day is this full-moon day of November. This sacred day celebrates:
1: The Buddha Gotama's declaration of the next Buddha Metteyya.
2: The sending out in the world of the 60 missionary Arahats
3: The passing away of the general of the Dhamma: Sariputta.
4: The Buddha's 1st explanation of Anapanasati Breathing Meditation.
On such Full-Moon Uposatha Poya Observance days:
Any Lay Buddhist simply joins the Three Refuges and undertakes the
Five Precepts like this: Newly bathed, shaved, white-clothed, with clean
bare feet, one kneels at a shrine with a Buddha-statue, and bows first
three times, so that feet, hands, elbows, knees & head touch the floor.
Then, with joined palms at the heart, one recites these memorized lines
in a loud, calm & steady voice: As long as this life lasts:
I hereby take refuge in the Buddha.
I hereby take refuge in the Dhamma.
I hereby take refuge in the Sangha.
I hereby seek shelter in the Buddha for the 2nd time.
I hereby seek shelter in the Dhamma for the 2nd time.
I hereby seek shelter in the Sangha for the 2nd time.
I hereby request protection from the Buddha for the 3rd time.
I hereby request protection from the Dhamma for the 3rd time.
I hereby request protection from the Sangha for the 3rd time.
I will hereby respect these Three Jewels the rest of my life!
I accept to respect & undertake these 5 training rules:
I hereby accept the training rule of avoiding all Killing.
I hereby accept the training rule of avoiding all Stealing.
I hereby accept the training rule of avoiding all Sexual Abuse.
I hereby accept the training rule of avoiding all Dishonesty.
I hereby accept the training rule of avoiding all Alcohol & Drugs.
As long as this life lasts, I am thus protected by these 5 precepts...
Then, one keeps and protects these sacred vows better than one's
own eyes & children!, since they protect you & all other beings much
better than any army! They are the highest offer one can give in & to
this world! So is the start towards Nibbana: the Deathless Element!
This is the Noble Way to Peace, to Freedom, to Ease, to Happiness,
initiated by Morality, developed further by Dhamma-Study and
fulfilled by training of Meditation...
Today indeed is Pooya or Uposatha or observance day, where any lay
Buddhist normally keeps even the Eight Precepts from sunrise until the
next dawn... If any wish an official recognition by the Bhikkhu-Sangha,
they may simply forward the lines starting with "I hereby ..." signed with
name, date, town & country to me or join here. A public list of this new
quite rapidly growing global Saddhamma-Sangha is set up here!
The Tranquillity Link to Awakening (passaddhi-sambojjhanga) has the
characteristic of peace, and the function of stilling, which manifests
as absence of restless trembling. Stillness of feeling, perception and
mental construction is the factor that induces bodily Tranquillity.
Stillness of consciousness itself induces mental Tranquillity.
The proximate cause of Tranquillity is the satisfaction within Joy!
The resulting effect of Tranquillity is the bliss within Happiness!
The Buddha once said: What mental fermentations (asava) should be
overcome by development? If a Bhikkhu by careful & rational attention
develops the Tranquillity Link to Awakening based on seclusion, based
on disillusion, based on ceasing, and culminating in cool relinquishment,
then neither can mental fermentation, nor any fever, nor any discontent
ever arise in him. MN2 [i 11]
In one who is joyous, the body becomes calm & the mind becomes calm.
The Tranquillity Link to Awakening emerges right there. He develops it,
& for him it goes to the culmination of its development. MN118 [iii 85]
CALMED
Calm is his thought, calm is his speech,
and calm is his deed, who, truly knowing,
is wholly freed, perfectly tranquil and wise. Dhammapada 96
CONTENT
The one who eliminates discontent, tearing it out
by the roots, utterly cuts it out, such one spontaneously
becomes absorbed in the calm of tranquillity both day & night. Dhammapada 250
COMPOSED
The one who is tranquil in movement, calmed in speech,
stilled in thought, collected & composed, who sees right
through & rejects all allurements of this world, such one
is truly a 'Peaceful One'. Dhammapada 378
A Brahmin Priest once asked the Blessed Buddha:
Master Gotama, what is the cause of being unable to remember even
something that has been memorized over a long period & also that which
has not been memorized?
Brahmin, when mind is retarded by lethargy & laziness, dimmed, detained
& dominated by lethargy and laziness, and one does not understand any
actual safe escape from this arisen lethargy and laziness, in that very
moment, one can neither see, nor understand, what is advantageous,
neither for oneself, nor for others, nor for both oneself and others.
Consequently, whatever have been memorized, cannot be remembered…
Why is this neglect so? Imagine a bowl of water covered with moss,
water plants and algae. If a man with good eye-sight were to inspect
the reflection of his own face in it, he would neither see, nor recognize
it, as it really is! So too, brahmin, when mind is slowed down by lethargy
and laziness, dimmed, detained and handicapped by lethargy & laziness,
on such occasions even texts long memorized do not recur to the mind,
not to speak of those texts, events and information, that have not been
actively memorized at all…
How to cure Laziness:
Attention to these 3 elements of: initiative, launching and endurance!
Comments
The Ego-concept is a Mental Catastrophe!
The blessed Buddha once pointed out:
Bhikkhus, these ideas: "I am...", "I am this...", "I will be...", "I shall not be...",
"I shall be of such form", "I shall be formless...", "I will experience such...",
"I will not experience...", "I shall be neither percipient nor non-percipient...",
are all self-deceptions, are all conceited fantasies, are all whimsy illusions,
are all agitated excitations, are escalated proliferations & are all inflated,
vain & narcissistic self-love, leading to egotism, puffed pride & arrogance!
Such self-deceptions are all diseases, such ego-conceits are all tumors,
such egocentric phantasms are all internal, and agonizing hooks in the mind!
Therefore, bhikkhus & friends, you should train yourselves in this very way:
We will dwell with a mind unperturbed by any "I exists..." conceiving...
We will dwell with a mind purified of any "I am this/that" self-deception...
We will dwell with a mind uninvolved in any "I will be this or that" illusion...
We will dwell with a mind without any "I shall not be this/that" agitation...
We will dwell with a mind devoid of any "I will have such a form" fantasy...
We will dwell with a mind cleaned of any "I shall be formless" escalation...
We will dwell with a mind empty of "I will experience such" proliferation...
We will dwell with a mind cleared of any "I will not experience" excitation...
Since these ideas are all self-deceptions, conceited fantasies, illusions,
agitated excitations, escalated proliferations, and are all inflated, vain &
narcissistic self-centered ego-love, leading to egotism, pride & arrogance...
Self-deceptions are all mental diseases! Ego-conceits are puffed inflations!
Egocentric phantasms are internally agonizing & painful hooks in the mind,
which incur inestimable future suffering!!! The cure is understanding the
absolute selflessness of all things, whether they are internal or external...
Thus should you train yourselves...
Comment: This inherent and somewhat hidden "ego-idea", which may seem
innocent, is the core cause of all egoism, asocial behaviour, crime, conflicts
and even wars! Therefore is it extremely advantageous to repeatedly try
to understand this absolute truth:
Sabbe Dhamma Anatta: All Phenomena are without any Self!
However counter-intuitive, puzzling, paradoxical & strange it seems initially!
More on Anti-Egoism:
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/II/Pride.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/Conceit_I_Am.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/I-dentification.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/Prison_of_Pride.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/IV/Anti-EGO-Tool.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/IV/Anatta_No_Self.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/IV/No_Agent_is_Inside.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/II/Solo_Self-Deception.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/II/Mistaken_Reference.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/IV/Selfless_and_Harmless.htm
Source (edited extract):
The Grouped Sayings by the Buddha. Samyutta Nikaya. Book IV 202-3
The 6 senses section 35: Thread on The sheaf of barley. (248)
http://www.pariyatti.com/book.cgi?prod_id=948507
http://www.accesstoinsight.org/canon/samyutta/index.html
Have a nice, noble and egoless day!
Friendship is the Greatest!
Bhikkhu Samahita _/\_
http://What-Buddha-Said.net
The Ego is a Solo Self-Deception!
I am Not!
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/II/Solo_Self-Deception.htm
is one of my first morning stops on the Internet. ॐ
If you wish to support the Forest Sangha materially with upholding
and sharing this precious Saddhamma, then a quite good opportunity
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The 12 Sense Sources produce Suffering!
1: The eye is a source of Suffering...
2: Forms are a source of Suffering...
3: The ear is a source of Suffering...
4: Sounds are a source of Suffering...
5: The nose is a source of Suffering...
6: Scents are a source of Suffering...
7: The tongue is a source of Suffering...
8: Flavours are a source of Suffering...
9: The body is a source of Suffering...
10: Tangibles are a source of Suffering...
11: The mind is a source of Suffering...
12: Mental phenomena are a source of Suffering...
Why so?
Because, whether they give rise to a pleasant, painful or a neutral feeling
and experience, then this will always change, fade away, be lost & vanish...
This change takes place even at the very moment of the experience itself!
Sensing is the soil in which all greed and craving takes root and grows...
Like the chronic morphinist can neither understand, nor accept, that to
become clean, without using drugs, is better and more happy on long-term,
even so can the habitual hedonist, delighting in any sense pleasure, neither
understand nor accept, that renunciation and withdrawal from all sense
experience is far better, trustable, and more blissful on the long term...
Urging for sense pleasure, one only gains ever more frustration and pain!
Neither seeing, nor knowing any other happiness, the hedonist always runs
headlong back to rebirth, ageing, decay, sickness, death and Suffering...
Again and again, life after life, again and again, universe after universe!!!
Like a rat in a carrousel, blinded by ignorance and bound by craving, do
beings, in this awful round of rebirth called Samsara, suffer repeatedly...
More on Suffering = Dukkha
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/II/What_is_Suffering.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/IV/Origin_of_Suffering.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/II/The_3_kinds_of_Suffering.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/IV/Contemplating_Suffering_2.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/II/The_1st_Noble_Truth_on_Suffering.htm
Have a nice & noble day!
Friendship is the Greatest!
Bhikkhu Samahita _/\_
http://What-Buddha-Said.net
Like a Rat in a Carousel...
Source of What?
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/II/Source_of_What.htm
The treasures of excellent Dhamma talks by Ven. Thanissaro Bhikkhu,
who is pupil of the late Ajahn Chah of the Thai Forest Tradition, are
all highly recommendable and can freely be downloaded here as audio:
http://www.dhammatalks.org
as .mp3 files
Ven. Thanissaro and the late Ajahn Chah.
Good to download and listen to in the evening. Enjoy and gain!
Have a nice & noble day!
Friendship is the Greatest!
Bhikkhu Samahita _/\_
http://What-Buddha-Said.net
Excellent Online Audio Dhamma talks!
How to be a Worthy Lay Disciple!
The Buddha once explained how:
I will tell you the way of life of a householder, who becomes a good disciple.
Laying aside all violence, he would not kill a living creature, nor cause to kill,
nor allow others to kill. He should deliberately avoid taking anything, which
has not been freely given. Neither should he cause to steal, nor allow others
to steal. He should not transgress against another's wife. When gone to the
audience hall, court or assembly, he should neither speak false himself, nor
cause others to speak false, deceive or pretend. He should avoid all untruth.
He should also avoid intoxicating drinks and drugs, nor cause to drink, nor
allow others to drink or take drugs, since intoxication causes carelessness!
Intoxication makes negligent fools commit evil deeds accumulating demerit.
He should neither eat food at night, nor wear jewellery, nor use perfume...
He should sleep on a low couch or on the ground on a mat. For this they say
is the eight-fold fast day observance, declared by the Buddha, who has gone
beyond all suffering. Having kept this fast day every fortnight, with a clear
mind, rejoicing, he should in the morning share suitable food with the Sangha
of Bhikkhus. He should support his mother & father by making honest trade.
A vigilant householder living this Noble way of life is reborn among the devas
who shines bright... Sn 393-404
More on the Best Buddhist Praxis:
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/uposatha.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/II/Happy_Habbit.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/II/Best_Protection.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/III/The_Five_Basics.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/IV/Back_to_Basics.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/Best_Buddhist_Praxis.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/III/Optimal_Observance_I.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/III/Optimal_Observance_II.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/III/Optimal_Observance_III.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/III/Optimal_Observance_IV.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/III/Optimal_Observance_V.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/III/Optimal_Observance_VI.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/III/Optimal_Observance_VII.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/III/Optimal_Observance_VIII.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/IV/Buddhist_Life_Standards_Law_1.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/IV/Buddhist_Life_Standards_Law_2.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/IV/Buddhist_Life_Standards_Law_3.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/IV/Buddhist_Life_Standards_Law_4.htm
Have a nice & noble day!
Friendship is the Greatest!
Bhikkhu Samahita _/\_ Sri Lanka
http://What-Buddha-Said.net
Success is having Buddha as Teacher!
The Good Disciple...
Seeing the momentary Arising & Ceasing gives Calm!
The Venerable Channa once said to a fellow disciple:
Friend Sariputta, it is because I have seen, known and directly experienced
the momentary arising & ceasing of the eye, eye-consciousness, and any
phenomena recognizable by eye-consciousness, that I indeed regard them
all thus: This is not mine, this I am not, this is not my self...
Furthermore: It is because I have seen, known & directly experienced the
momentary arising & ceasing of the ear, ear-consciousness, & any phenomena
recognizable by ear-consciousness, the nose, olfactory consciousness, and any
phenomena recognizable by such nose-consciousness, the tongue, gustatory-
consciousness, and any phenomena recognizable by this tongue-consciousness,
the body, body-consciousness, and any phenomena recognizable by this tactile
consciousness, the mind, mental-consciousness, any phenomena recognizable
by mental-consciousness, that I now indeed consider all these states thus:
This is not mine, this I am not, this is not my self...
Then Venerable Mahacunda said to Venerable Channa: Then friend Channa,
this teaching of the Buddha is to be given acute, constant & close attention:
In any dependence, there is always a shaky, risky & vacillating wavering!
In all independence, there is neither any shaky, nor any risky wavering!
When there is no wavering, then there is tranquillity. When there is tranquillity,
there is neither inclination, nor bias, nor bending, nor attraction, nor repulsion...
When there is no such inclination, then there is neither any coming, nor any going!
When there is no coming & going, there is no passing away, nor any being reborn...
When there is neither passing away, nor being reborn, then there is neither here,
nor beyond, nor in between the two. This –itself- is the very End of all Suffering...
Stable Independence and Unstable Dependence...
Source:
The Grouped Sayings of the Buddha. Samyutta Nikaya. Book IV [59]
Section 35: On The 6 Senses. Channa: 87.
http://www.pariyatti.com/book.cgi?prod_id=948507
http://www.accesstoinsight.org/canon/samyutta/index.html
Have a nice steady day!
Friendship is the Greatest!
Bhikkhu Samahita, Sri Lanka.
http://What-Buddha-Said.net
Any dependence implies insecure instability!
Only the Unconditioned can ever be safe...
Without Wavering!
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/II/Without_Wavering.htm
Imperturbable Calm!
The Blessed Buddha once said:
Knowing that the other person is angry,
The one who remains aware and calm
acts in and for his own best interest,
and for the other's interest, too!
Samyutta Nikaya I, 162
Exalted in mind, just open and clearly aware,
the recluse trained in the ways of the sages:
One who is such, calmed and ever mindful,
He has no sorrows!
Udana IV, 7
Calm is his mind.
Calm is his speech.
Calm is his action.
So is the tranquillity;
So is the equanimity;
of one freed by the insight
of right understanding...
Dhammapada 96
More on this sweetly silenced Tranquillity (Passaddhi):
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/Forest_Bliss.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/III/Feeding_Tranquillity.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/III/Tranquillity_Passaddhi.htm
Have a nice calm day!
Friendship is the Greatest!
Bhikkhu Samahita, Sri Lanka.
http://What-Buddha-Said.net
Sweet Serene Calm!
Running up & down this shore delays any crossing!
The Blessed Buddha once said:
Bhikkhus, these 8 things, when cultivated and refined, lead to going beyond
from this near shore, right here, to the far shore beyond all... What eight?
Right View (samma-ditthi)
Right Motivation (samma-sankappa)
Right Speech (samma-vaca)
Right Action (samma-kammanta)
Right Livelihood (samma-ajiva)
Right Effort (samma-vayama)
Right Awareness (samma-sati)
Right Concentration (samma-samadhi)
These 8 things, when cultivated and refined, lead to going beyond from this near
shore, right here, to the far shore beyond. This is what the Blessed Buddha said.
The Well-Gone-One, this supreme Teacher, then added this:
Few humans cross to that sublime far shore beyond all being.
Mostly, people just run up and down along this barren bank!
Those whose praxis is like this even and exact Dhamma,
Will pass beyond the State of Death in quiet harmony!
Having left all the dark and evil doing, any intelligence
Seeks the luminous bright light by leaving this turmoil,
By going forth into solitary & silent homelessness.
Secluded from lust, he experiences an unworldly bliss!
Owing nothing, the wise and clever man thereby cleans
himself of all these mental pollutions and defilements...
Mentally well evolved by the 7 links to enlightenment,
Delighting in non-clinging and relinquishment of all,
Such luminous ones, having quenched all fermentation,
Are fully released even right here in this world!
Crossing...
To the Other Side...
More the Noble 8-Fold Way:
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/What_is_Right_View.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/What_is_Right_Motivation.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/What_is_Right_Speech.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/What_is_Right_Action.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/What_is_Right_Livelihood.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/What_is_Right_Effort.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/What_is_Right_Awareness.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/What_is_Right_Concentration.htm
Source (edited extract):
The Grouped Sayings of the Buddha. Samyutta Nikaya.
Book [V:24] section 45: The Way. 34: Gone to the other side ...
http://www.pariyatti.com/book.cgi?prod_id=948507
http://www.accesstoinsight.org/canon/samyutta/index.html
Have a nice transcendent day!
Friendship is the Greatest!
Bhikkhu Samahita, Sri Lanka.
http://What-Buddha-Said.net
The Other Side...
What is Starving of the Mental Hindrances?
At Savatthi the Blessed Buddha once explained:
What, friends, is the starvation, that prevents the arising of Sense-Desire,
and which also blocks any growth of already arisen Sense-Desire?
It is frequent and careful attention to the Disgusting Features of things!
This starvation prevents sensual lust from arising & reduces present greed…
And what, friends, is the starvation that prevents the arising of Ill-Will &
which also hinders any aggravation and inflation of already arisen Ill-Will?
It is frequent, careful and rational attention to Universal Friendliness!
This starvation prevents aversion from arising & inhibits present anger…
And what is the starvation, that prevents arising of Lethargy-&-Laziness,
and which also eliminates any already present Lethargy-&-Laziness?
It is attention to these 3 elements of: Initiative, Launching and Endurance!
This starvation prevents absent sloth from arising & stops present laziness.
And what is the starving that prevents arising of Restlessness-&-Regret,
and which also slow down any escalation of present Restlessness-&-Regret?
It is frequent attention to this sweet, calm & peaceful Tranquillity of Mind!
This starvation prevents upsetting of the mind & reduces anxiety & worry…
What is the starvation that prevents the arising ofDoubt-&-Uncertainty,
and which also stops any proliferation of present Doubt-&-Uncertainty?
It is frequent, careful, rational attention & evaluation of these 4 Dualities:
There are advantageous & disadvantageous states! There are blameable &
blameless states! There are ordinary & exalted states! There are bright &
dark mental states! This starvation prevents any confusion of the mind &
which also dampen escalation of already present perplexity…
Comments:
Memorize and use as suitable substitution, whenever a hindrance is noted!
More on these 5 Mental Hindrances (Nivaranas):
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/II/The_Fire_of_Sense-Desire.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/II/The_5_Mental_Hindrances.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/II/Starving_the_Hindrances.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/II/Restlessness_and_Regret.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/II/Feeding_the_Hindrances.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/II/Doubt_and_Uncertainty.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/II/Lethargy_and_Laziness.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/II/Colourful_but_Muddy.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/IV/Suitable_Substitution.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/II/Anger_and_Irritation.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/II/How_5_Become_10.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/II/Naturally_Radiant.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/Canon/Sutta/AN/AN.I.3-4c.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/Canon/Sutta/AN/AN.I.3-4.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/II/The_Canal.htm
Source (edited extract):
The Grouped Sayings of the Buddha. Samyutta Nikaya.
Book [V:105-6] section 46: The Links. 51: The Nutriments...
Have a nice & noble day!
Friendship is the Greatest!
Bhikkhu Samahita _/\_
http://What-Buddha-Said.net
Breaking the inner Bars opens Freedom!
Starving the Hindrances!
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/II/Starving_the_Hindrances.htm
Ceasing the 5 Clusters Ceases Suffering!
At Savatthi the Blessed Buddha said this:
Bhikkhus, there are these five clusters of clinging! What five?
The cluster of clinging to form...
The cluster of clinging to feeling...
The cluster of clinging to perception...
The cluster of clinging to construction...
The cluster of clinging to consciousness...
When, Bhikkhus, a Noble Disciple understands as they really are:
The arising, the ceasing, the satisfaction, the danger, and the escape
from these five clusters of clinging, then he is called a Noble Disciple,
who is a Stream-Enterer, no longer bound to the painful lower worlds,
fixed in destiny, with Enlightenment as his assured destination!
Explanation: Being is Burning on Craving and Clinging:
The body arises from food and ceases in absence of food.
Feeling, perception & mental construction arises from contact and ceases
in absence of sense contact. Consciousness arises from name-&-form and
ceases in absence of this body-&-mind: mentality-&-materiality. These are
the clusters proximate causes... Their remote causes is past ignorance, lust
for them and intentional action (= Kamma) resulting in them!
The satisfaction of these five clusters of clinging is the pleasure and joy
they temporarily induce... The danger of these five clusters of clinging is
their impermanence & inevitable fading away! The escape is the Noble Way
of ceasing all craving for these 5 clusters of clinging! That ends suffering!
More on this Noble Stream-Entry:
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/II/The_4_Doors.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/II/How_to_Enter.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/II/Stream-Enterer.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/IV/Stream_Entrance.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/Fruits_of_the_Noble_Way.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/II/Links_to_Stream_Entry.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/library/DPPN/wtb/s_t/sotaapanna.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/library/DPPN/wtb/a/ariya_puggala.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/II/Helpers_to_Stream_Entry.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/Entering_the_Stream_Supreme.htm
Entering the Stream means having max. 7 lives before Enlightenment!
Source:
The Grouped Sayings by the Buddha. Samyutta Nikaya 22:109 III 161
http://www.pariyatti.com/book.cgi?prod_id=948507
http://www.accesstoinsight.org/canon/samyutta/index.html
Have a nice & noble day!
Friendship is the Greatest!
Bhikkhu Samahita _/\_
http://What-Buddha-Said.net
No Clinging means No Suffering!
Gone Out!
http://what-buddha-said.net/drops/II/Stream-Enterer.htm
Thai Hard Core Oak: Venerable Luang Pu!
The Mind sent Outside is the Cause of Suffering.
The Effect of the Mind sent Outside is Suffering.
The Mind seeing the Mind is the Path: The Noble Way!
The Effect of Mind seeing Mind, is the End of Suffering.
No matter how much one thinks, one will not know directly!
Only when one stops thinking, will one know directly...
Yet, one still depends on thinking, so as to know...!!!
When mind is all quiet, one will come to know directly.
Whatever one really knows, it is from watching one's own mind!
Knowing is the ground state of the empty mind, which is bright,
pure, quiet, calm, not fabricating, not searching, not urging,
and neither possessed, nor attracted by anything at all...
He does, yet he doesn't:
Do you still have anger?
Yes, but I don't pick it up!
The Less the better:
Stop Thinking, and Stop Urging!
The Poorer one is, the more
Happiness one enjoys...
Thai King Bhumibol presents a gift to Venerable Dun Atulo Thera.
On the Four Noble Truths (Ariya-Sacca):
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/IV/Actually_So.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/IV/Indeed_True.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/IV/Four_but_One.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/V/The_16_Aspects.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/IV/Focused_Truths.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/IV/Clustered_Truths.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/V/Absolute_Certainty.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/library/DPPN/wtb/s_t/sacca.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/IV/The_Ultimate_Fact.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/IV/Simple_yet_Complex.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/IV/Concentrated_Truth.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/II/The_4_Noble_Truths.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/IV/Perfectly_Enlightened.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/V/The_4_Truths_Meaning.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/IV/Indispensable_Necessity.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/II/The_1st_Noble_Truth_on_Suffering.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/II/The_2nd_Noble_Truth_on_The_Cause_of_Suffering.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/II/The_3rd_Noble_Truth_on_The_Ceasing_of_Suffering.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/II/The_4th_Noble_Truth_on_The_Way_to_Cease_Suffering.htm
Source: Gifts He Left Behind: The Dhamma Legacy of Ajaan Dune Atulo:
http://www.accesstoinsight.org/lib/thai/dune/giftsheleft.html
Have a nice & noble day!
Friendship is the Greatest!
Bhikkhu Samahita _/\_
http://What-Buddha-Said.net
The Mind sent Outside is the Cause of Suffering!
Solid Siam!
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/solid_siam.htm
The 2 Dimensions of Nibbãna:
There is Nibbana here & now in this very life:
We call it Sa-upadi-sesa-Nibbana i.e. Nibbana with traces of the
substrates of becoming, still remaining! Then there is final Nibbana,
with no substrates for being or fuels for becoming left remaining:
This is called An-upadi-sesa-Nibbana.
The Blessed Buddha explained it thus: The 2 aspects of Nibbana:
Bhikkhus, there are these two Nibbana-elements. What are the two?
The Nibbana-element with residue left and the Nibbana-element without
any traces of substrate left.
What, bhikkhus, is the Nibbana-element with residue left?
Here a bhikkhu is an arahat, one whose mental fermentations is silenced,
who have fulfilled the Noble life, who has done all what was to be done,
who has laid down the burden, attained the goal, who has destroyed the
bondages of being, who is completely released through final knowledge.
However, his five sense abilities remain unimpaired. Through these he still
experiences what is agreeable and disagreeable, and feels both pleasure
and pain. It is the extinction of attachment, aversion, & confusion in him,
that is called this Nibbana-element with residue left.
Now what, bhikkhus, is the Nibbana-element with no residue remaining?
Here a bhikkhu is an arahat, one whose mental fermentations is silenced,
who have fulfilled the Noble life, who has done all what was to be done,
who has laid down the burden, attained the goal, who has destroyed the
bondages of being, who is completely released through final knowledge.
For him, here in this very life, all that is experienced, not being delighted
in, will grow cold right there and cease. That is called Nibbana-element
with no residue left. These, bhikkhus, are the two Dimensions of Nibbana...
These two Nibbana-elements were thus made known by the Seeing One,
confident & detached: The first is the element with substrates of being
remaining, realized here and now, but with re-becoming destroyed.
The other, having no residue left for the future, is that wherein all modes
of being utterly cease. Having understood this unconstructed state,
released in mind, with the cord to becoming eliminated, they attain to the
sublime essence of all states. Delighting in calming and ceasing of craving,
those steady ones have left all being and becoming behind...
Comments:
Sa-upadi-sesa-Nibbana i.e. Nibbana with traces of becoming remaining is
the state of the living arahat, who has still has body, feeling, perception,
mental construction and consciousness as a remaining result of clinging
in his past, the effects of which have not yet been fully exhausted...
Final Nibbana with no substrates for being or fuels for becoming left
remaining An-upadi-sesa-Nibbana is the state of the arahat after death,
where body, feeling, perception, mental construction and consciousness
have irreversibly ceased ever re-arising anywhere anymore!
Source; Thus Was it Said: Itivuttaka II.17; Iti 38
More on this uncreated state - Nibbana (Sanskrit = Nirvana):
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/II/Peace.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/Final_Freedom.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/climax_of_calm.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/Reaching_Peace.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/IV/The_Entrance.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/III/Nibbana_Still.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/II/How_to_Enter.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/II/The_Uncreated.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/II/What_is_Nibbana.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/The_Proximate_Cause.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/IV/The_Unborn_State.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/Nibbana_or_non-return.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/IV/Nibbana_True_Peace.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/library/DPPN/wtb/n_r/nibbaana.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/IV/The_Signless_Nibbana.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/II/Imperturbable_Equanimity.htm
Have a nice & noble day!
Friendship is the Greatest!
Bhikkhu Samahita _/\_
http://What-Buddha-Said.net
From where one does not Return!
Nibbana x 2!
http://what-buddha-said.net/drops/II/The_2_Nibbanas.htm
The 3 kinds of Craving (Tanhã):
The Blessed Buddha once said:
There are these three kinds of craving. What three?
1: The Craving for Sensing...
2: The Craving for Becoming...
3: The Craving for Non-Becoming…
These are the three kinds of craving!
This Noble 8-fold Way is to be developed for the direct experience of
these three kinds of craving, for the full understanding of them, for their
complete elimination, and for their final overcoming, abandoning & leaving
all behind. The Noble 8-fold Way is developed for the ceasing of all craving!
Comments: Any form of craving is a sign of an habitual addiction:
1: The first kind of sensual craving for sights, sounds, smells, flavours,
touches, thoughts and mental states is fairly obvious, yet still tenacious...
2: The second craving is for becoming things such as: Rich, famous, praised,
satisfied, beautiful, young, painless, healthy, strong, respected… etc…
3: The third kind of craving is for not becoming things such as: Sick, poor,
criticized, despised, weak, ugly, afflicted, lonely, unsuccessful, dead. etc…
The proximate Cause of all Suffering is this Craving, which have to be left!
This is the 2nd Noble Truth! Craving means: All kinds of lust, desire, hunger,
thirst, longing, urging, yearning for, attraction to, hankering, and hoping.
Ceasing of all Craving is ceasing of Suffering! This is the 3rd Noble Truth!
Whatever is delighted in creates craving, clinging and thus Suffering!
More on this thorny Craving (Tanha) causing all pain:
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/II/Cut_Craving.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/III/Craving_is_Pain.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/IV/Craving_is_Cause.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/IV/Origin_of_Suffering.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/IV/Ceasing_of_Suffering.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/IV/Craving_is_Catastrophic.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/II/The_3_kinds_of_Craving.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/II/The_2nd_Noble_Truth_on_The_Cause_of_Suffering.htm
Source (edited extract):
The Grouped Sayings of the Buddha. Samyutta Nikaya.
Book [V:58] section 45: The Way. 175: The 3 Cravings ...
http://www.pariyatti.com/book.cgi?prod_id=948507
http://www.accesstoinsight.org/canon/samyutta/index.html.
Have a nice & noble day!
Friendship is the Greatest!
Bhikkhu Samahita _/\_
http://What-Buddha-Said.net
Any Craving creates Suffering!
The 3 Cravings ...
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/II/The_3_kinds_of_Craving.htm
The One and Only Way to Purification of Beings!
Just after enlightenment the Blessed Buddha stayed under a great Banyan
tree at Uruvela on the bank of the river Neranjara. There he reflected:
There is this single, one and only direct way for the purification of beings,
for the relief from all sorrow and grief, for the fading away of all pain and
frustration, for achieving the right method, for the realization of Nibbana,
that is, these Four Foundations of Awareness! What four? When a Bhikkhu
lives & dwells, aware & clearly comprehending, while always contemplating &
reflecting upon:
1: The Body merely as a disgusting and fragile accumulation..
2: The Feelings just as instantly passing conditioned reactions..
3: The Mind only as a set of recurring, banal and habituated moods..
4: Phenomena only as mentally manifested, fake & artificial appearances..
The 4 Great Frames of Reference!
He thereby removes any lust, urge, envy & frustration rooted in this world..
This is verily the one and only direct way for the purification of all beings,
for the relief from all sorrow and grief, for the fading away of all pain and
frustration, for achieving the right method, for the realization of Nibbana,
that is, these Four Foundations of Awareness... Then the Brahma Samapatti,
knowing this, instantly appeared before the Blessed One & having arranged
his upper robe over one shoulder, he raised his joined palms towards the
Blessed One, and said to him: So is it! Blessed One. So be it! Well-Gone One.
Venerable sir, this is the one & only direct way for purification of beings...
The Great Seer of the Silencing of all Becoming,
Compassionate, understands this unique One Way:
By which they all in the past crossed the flood,
By which they all cross now in the present, and
By which they all will cross over in any future...
Comment: The 'Flood' (Ogha) here means:
The Flood of sense-desire (kama-ogha)
The Flood of wanting to (re-)become (bhava-ogha)
The Flood of wrong views (dittha-ogha)
The Flood of ignorance (avijja-ogha)
These floods overwhelm and destroy all beings in Samsara!
Ever again and again!
Details on the 4 Foundations of Awareness (Sati):
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/Sati_Studies.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/Causes_of_sati.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/III/Sati_Summary.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/IV/Sati_in_Solitude.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/III/Awareness_Sati.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/Clear_Comprehension.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/III/Noble_Awareness.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/III/One_and_only_Way.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/III/Feeding_Awareness.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/III/Awareness_Analysis.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/IV/Sati_a_la_Anuruddha.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/What_is_Right_Awareness.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/II/Careful_and_Rational_Attention.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/III/Clear_and_Aware_Comprehension.htm
Source of reference (edited extract):
The Grouped Sayings of the Buddha. Samyutta Nikaya.
Book [V: 167-8] 47 The Foundations of Awareness: 18 Brahma...
Have a nice & noble day!
Friendship is the Greatest!
Bhikkhu Samahita _/\_
http://What-Buddha-Said.net
Present Awareness is the Crucial First Step!
The One and Only Way!
http://what-buddha-said.net/drops/III/One_and_only_Way.htm
There are Three kinds of Suffering (Dukkha):
The Blessed Buddha once explained:
Bhikkhus, there are these three kinds of suffering. What three?
1: The Suffering caused by painful feeling... (dukkha-dukkha)
2: The Suffering caused by construction... (sankhara-dukkha)
3: The Suffering caused by change… (viparinama-dukkha)
These are the three kinds of suffering! This Noble 8-fold Way is to be
developed for the direct experience of these three kinds of suffering,
for the full understanding of them, for their complete elimination,
and for their final overcoming, abandoning and leaving all behind…
The Noble 8-fold Way is to be developed for Ending of Suffering!!!
Comment:
The 1st kind of suffering due to painful feeling, mental & bodily, is obvious.
The 2nd suffering comes when pleasurable constructions always falls apart.
The 3rd suffering is when a pleasant object inevitably changes and decays.
More on Suffering (Dukkha):
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/II/What_is_Suffering.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/IV/Origin_of_Suffering.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/IV/Contemplating_Suffering_2.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/II/The_1st_Noble_Truth_on_Suffering.htm
Source (edited extract):
The Grouped Sayings of the Buddha. Samyutta Nikaya.
Book [V:56] section 45: The Way. 165: The Sufferings ...
http://www.pariyatti.com/book.cgi?prod_id=948507
http://www.accesstoinsight.org/canon/samyutta/index.html
Have a nice & noble day!
Friendship is the Greatest!
Bhikkhu Samahita _/\_
http://What-Buddha-Said.net
Inevitable is pain, change and falling apart!
The 3 Sufferings!
http://what-buddha-said.net/drops/II/The_3_kinds_of_Suffering.htm
There are four kinds of Mental Clinging:
The Blessed Buddha once said:
Bhikkhus: There are these four kinds of Clinging. What four?
1: Clinging to Sense-Pleasures...
2: Clinging to Various Views...
3: Clinging to Rituals and Superstition…
4: Clinging to an an Ego-Concept…
These are the four kinds of Clinging!
This Noble 8-fold Way is to be developed for the direct experience of the
four kinds of clinging, for the full understanding of these clingings,
for their complete elimination, and for their final overcoming, abandoning
and leaving all behind…
The Noble 8-fold Way is developed for the ceasing of all clinging!
Comments:
1: The 1st kind of clinging to sights, sounds, smells, flavours, touches, and
thoughts is fairly obvious, yet still long habituated and thus tenacious...
2: Clinging is to Views is thinking: Doing good deeds are completely useless.
Doing evil have no consequences! No action has any effect on my future!
3: Clinging to rituals & superstition is like thinking that fire, bathing, and
various empty rituals, like wearing funny hats & praying, can purify mind…
3: Clinging to an Ego-concept, personality-belief, & a 'self' is the assuming
an unchanging internal entity ‘I-Me', which however is non-existent...
The proximate cause of all clinging is Craving, which have to be left!
This is the 2nd Noble Truth! Clinging means: adherence, attachment, grip,
clasping, clutching, grasping, stubbornly and tenaciously sticking to.
The word pali word the Buddha used ‘Upadana’ literally means ‘taking up’
indicating that as soon as one takes up the object, then clinging occurs!
Sariputta once said:
When, friends, a Noble Disciple understands clinging, the cause of clinging,
the ceasing of clinging, and the way leading to the ceasing of clinging, in
that way he is one of right view, whose view is straight, who has perfect
confidence in the Dhamma, and has arrived at this true Dhamma...
And what is clinging, what is the cause of clinging, what is the ceasing of
clinging, what is the way to the cease clinging?
Friends: There are these 4 kinds of clinging: clinging to sense-pleasures,
clinging to views, clinging to rituals & superstition, and the subtle clinging
to the ego-concept of an assumed inner self. With the arising of craving,
clinging also arises. With the ceasing of craving, clinging thus ceases too!
The way leading to the ceasing of clinging is just this Noble 8-fold Way:
Right View, Right, Motivation, Right Speech, Right Action, Right Livelihood,
Right Effort, Right Awareness, and Right Concentration…
Source: Majjhima Nikaya 9. Sammaditthi Sutta: Discourse on Right View
http://www.accesstoinsight.org/canon/sutta/majjhima/mn-009-nb0.html
More on Clinging (Upadana): An intensified quite painful form of craving.
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/Cool_Calm.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/V/Quenched.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/V/Shaking_off_Evil.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/V/Without_Clinging.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/V/Without_Possessions.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/IV/Stilling_of_Clinging.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/IV/The_Terror_of_Being.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/library/DPPN/wtb/u_v/upaadaana.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/II/The_4_kinds_of_Clinging.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/II/Clinging_to_the_notion_I_Am.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/What_are_the_5_Clusters_of_Clinging.htm
Source (edited extract):
The Grouped Sayings of the Buddha. Samyutta Nikaya.
Book [V:59] section 45: The Way. 173: The 4 Clingings ...
http://www.pariyatti.com/book.cgi?prod_id=948507
http://www.accesstoinsight.org/canon/samyutta/index.html.
Have a nice & noble day!
Friendship is the Greatest!
Bhikkhu Samahita _/\_
http://What-Buddha-Said.net
Clinging is Solidified Craving...
The 4 Clingings!
http://what-buddha-said.net/drops/II/The_4_kinds_of_Clinging.htm
If glad-2-get Early Buddhism by e-mail then click join here:
http://groups.google.com/group/what_buddha_said
This will ensure your future connection with the Dhamma!
Purity and progress naturally follows if you hang on.
Never give up the good.
How to be a Real Buddhist through Observance?
Vap Poya day is the full-moon of October. This holy day celebrates the
end of the Bhikkhu's three months rains retreat and marks the Kathina
month of robes , where lay people donate a set of robes to the Sangha.
This also celebrates the day that Buddha began to teach the Abhidhamma!
The Buddha descending from the Tusita Level after having spent a rains
retreat there explaining the Abhidhamma to the assembled devas during
a single three months long speech! His biological mother Mahamaya, who
died 7 days after his birth, and was reborn there as a deva, was present.
He is followed down by the deva rulers Sakka and Maha-Brahma.
More about this Higher Abhidhamma Science:
http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/abhi/index.html
More about the Kathina Ceremony:
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/III/Kathina_Ceremony.htm
The Kathina Ceremony of giving robes to the Maha-Sangha and receive blessing merit thereby!
On such Full-Moon Uposatha Poya Observance days:
Any Lay Buddhist simply joins the Three Refuges and undertakes the
Five Precepts like this: Newly bathed, shaved, white-clothed, with clean
bare feet, one kneels at a shrine with a Buddha-statue, and bows first
three times, so that feet, hands, elbows, knees & head touch the floor.
Then, with joined palms at the heart, one recites these memorized lines
in a loud, calm & steady voice:
As long as this life lasts:
I hereby take refuge in the Buddha.
I hereby take refuge in the Dhamma.
I hereby take refuge in the Sangha.
I hereby seek shelter in the Buddha for the 2nd time.
I hereby seek shelter in the Dhamma for the 2nd time.
I hereby seek shelter in the Sangha for the 2nd time.
I hereby request protection from the Buddha for the 3rd time.
I hereby request protection from the Dhamma for the 3rd time.
I hereby request protection from the Sangha for the 3rd time.
I will hereby respect these Three Jewels the rest of my life!
I accept to respect & undertake these 5 training rules:
I hereby accept the training rule of avoiding all Killing.
I hereby accept the training rule of avoiding all Stealing.
I hereby accept the training rule of avoiding all Sexual Abuse.
I hereby accept the training rule of avoiding all Dishonesty.
I hereby accept the training rule of avoiding all Alcohol & Drugs.
As long as this life lasts, I am thus protected by these 5 precepts...
Then, one keeps and protects these sacred vows better than one's
own eyes & children!, since they protect you & all other beings much
better than any army! They are the highest offer one can give in & to
this world! So is the start towards Nibbana: the Deathless Element!
This is the Noble Way to Peace, to Freedom, to Ease, to Happiness,
initiated by Morality, developed further by Dhamma-Study and
fulfilled by training of Meditation...
Today indeed is Pooya or Uposatha or observance day, where any lay
Buddhist normally keeps even the Eight Precepts from sunrise until the
next dawn... If any wish an official recognition by the Bhikkhu-Sangha,
they may simply forward the lines starting with "I hereby ..." signed with
name, date, town & country to me or join here. A public list of this new
quite rapidly growing global Saddhamma-Sangha is set up here!
The True Noble Community of Buddha's Disciples: Saddhamma Sangha:
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/sangha/Saddhamma_Sangha.htm
Can quite advantageously be Joined Here:
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/sangha/Sangha_Entry.htm
May your journey hereby be light, swift and sweet. Never give up !!
Bhikkhu Samahita: what.buddha.said@gmail.com
For Details on The Origin of Uposatha Observance Days:
http://www.accesstoinsight.org/ptf/uposatha.html
For the 2010 Calendar of Uposatha Observance Days:
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/various/Poya.Uposatha.Observance_days.2010.htm
Have a nice & noble day!
Friendship is the Greatest!
Bhikkhu Samahita _/\_
http://What-Buddha-Said.net
Respecting Uposatha Days Purifies and Elevates!
Today is Vap Poya Observance Day!
http://what-buddha-said.net/drops/III/Vap_Poya_Day.htm
Magnificent is Merit well done in good time!
The Blessed Buddha explained DOING GOOD like this:
Here and now the good-doer rejoices...
Even so after passing away and re-emerging,
the doer of good reaps only joy and satisfaction ...
So both here and there the wise with merit well done
enjoys the purity of his prior good actions.
Dhammapada 16
THE PRECIOUS POSSIBILITY
Just as one can make many varied bouquets from a single
big bunch of flowers, a mortal among the humans can
make many kinds of merit by doing various good deeds.
Dhammapada 53
HONOURABLE
Those who honours those worthy of honour:
That is the Buddha and his disciples;
Who are unhindered, sorrowless, and fearless,
finders of Nibbana, their merit gained from such
worthy & well directed honour cannot be estimated
by anyone...
Dhammapada 195
More on Merit (Puñña) which support beings in their next life:
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/IV/4_Goods.htm
http://what-buddha-said.net/drops/V/Pure_Merit.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/library/DPPN/wtb/n_r/punna.htm
Magnificent is Merit!
http://what-buddha-said.net/drops/V/Magnificent_is_Merit.htm
Doing good elevates our Future!
Leaving all Quarrels enables Social Harmony!
The Blessed Buddha once said:
When this subtle Dhamma has been taught by me, in many various ways,
using different methods of explanation, then it is only to be expected
that those, who cannot agree, accept, allow, & approve of what really
is well stated and well spoken by others, that they will become angry,
quarrelsome and start disputes, where they will stab each other with
verbal daggers! Yet too, when this sublime Dhamma has been taught by
me, in many variable ways, using diverse methods of explanation, it is
also only to be expected, that those, who can agree, accept, allow, and
approve of what really is well formulated and well spoken of by others,
that they will live in harmony, in calm, friendly and mutual appreciation,
without arguments, blending like milk and water, regarding each other
with kind eyes. In this very way can they come to sleep with open doors
and dance with their children in their arms ...
So we can sleep with open doors & dance with the children in our arms!
More on High Harmony:
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/II/United_in_Harmony.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/IV/Unique_Unity.htm
Blending like Milk and Water!
Source:
The Grouped Sayings of the Buddha. Samyutta Nikaya. Book IV [225]
Section 36: On Feeling. The Carpenter. Pancakanga: 19.
http://www.pariyatti.com/book.cgi?prod_id=948507
http://www.accesstoinsight.org/canon/samyutta/index.html
Have a nice day!
Friendship is the Greatest!
Bhikkhu Samahita, Sri Lanka.
http://What-Buddha-Said.net
Healthy Human Harmony!
Blending like Milk and Water...
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/II/Milk_and_Water.htm
The Senses run after pleasing objects like Wild Horses!
The eye likes to see beautiful and attractive forms. The ear likes to hear
sounds that are beautiful, melodious and pleasing to the mind. The nose likes
to smell things that are pleasantly scented, making one feel elated & joyful.
The tongue likes to taste things that are delicious. The body likes to touch
and feel things that are soft and smooth, which produces a mental state of
absorbed fascination all the time without ever having too much of it.
All of this originates from the mind, which is the overlord of all these sense
sources. The mind is the one that wants to play about with them all the time
without being the least bit concerned to consider what is right or wrong,
what is good or bad. All the mind wants, is to fulfill its desires. This makes
all the fields of sense, including the eye, ear, nose, tongue and body, whirl
about according to the emotional dictates of the mind. It is the the mental
defilements that force the mind to this rampage of struggling for stimuli.
When guarding each sense field, we must keep a guard on the mind at the
same time. The mind is the ringleader, which constantly creates the desire
to see sights, to hear sounds, to smell scents, to taste foods and to sense
touches. The mind is the one that desires, that craves, that is ever hungry
and thirsty, the one that goes searching for sensations. So the mind uses its
instruments, which are the eyes, ear, nose, tongue and body, as the paths by
which it travels out to search for all sorts of objects that induce pleasure.
So you must guard the mind with awareness and investigate it carefully with
understanding. Don’t let it roam about getting involved in things, which are
dangerous. Use awareness to control the mind & understanding to examine
the objects that arise from making contact with forms, sounds, smells,
tastes and things which contact the body, so as to learn the basic truth of
such momentary contacts. Then mind will remain detached and indifferent.
It will not love some things and hate others, and so become angry. It will
then easily enter into a state of calm & peacefulness without always being
burdened or troubled by external matters. When the mind is replete and
satisfied in that calm state, it will withdraw from it & examine the internal
sense sources of the eyes, ears, nose, tongue and body as being merely empty
instruments of the mind. It will then examine those objects in relation to the
mind, seeing that they both become intimately blended together, as though
they were one and the same thing. You will see that sensations are things,
which infiltrate the mind, and so are not one & the same thing as the mind,
which nevertheless run out after these empty sensations as wild horses...
More on the Sense Sources (Ayatana):
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/II/Things_that_can_be_clung_to.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/II/Guarding_the_Sense_Doors.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/II/The_Fisherman's_Hook.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/IV/Sour_Sense_Sources.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/II/Mistaken_Reference.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/library/DPPN/wtb/a/aayatana.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/II/The_Source_of_All.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/II/Hands_and_Feet.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/II/Source_of_What.htm
Source (edited extract): Venerable Ajaan Khao Analayo Biography.
by Ajaan Maha Boowa Ñanasampanno. Translated by Ajaan Paññavaddho:
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/library/pdfs/Ajaan_Khao_Analayo_Bio.pdf
Published by: Forest Dhamma Books. Baan Taad Forest Monastery. Udon
Thani 41000, Thailand fdbooks@gmail.com, http://www.forestdhammabooks.com
Venerable Ajaan Khao Analayo. 1888-1983. He was a Bhikkhu for 64 years!
"Analayo" means without desire...
Have a nice & noble day!
Friendship is the Greatest!
Bhikkhu Samahita _/\_
http://What-Buddha-Said.net
The Senses run out for pleasing objects!
Wild Horses!
http://what-buddha-said.net/drops/V/Wild_Horses.htm
My mind is my Home & best Friend:
To overcome loneliness, first learn to meditate, and to live in the moment!
Living like this, your mind becomes very peaceful, very calm, & very strong.
Mindfulness makes you very strong. You will develop inner strength...
I have no parents. I make heaven and earth my parents.
I have no home. I make awareness my home.
I have no life and death. I make breathing in-&-out my life and death.
I have no divine power. I make honesty my divine power.
I have no friends. I make my mind my friend.
I have no enemy. I make carelessness my enemy.
I have no sword. I make absence of ego my sword!
Source: Sayadaw U Jotika from Burma. His Book: Snow in the Summer
is published by DMG Books (http://www.dmgbooks.com)
Have a nice homeless day!
Friendship is the Greatest!
Bhikkhu Samahita, Sri Lanka.
http://What-Buddha-Said.net
Mind is Home!
What is a Good Lay Buddhist Disciple?
The Sakyan Mahanama once asked the Blessed Buddha:
Venerable Sir, What is a Lay Disciple?
Having taken refuge in the Buddha, Dhamma, & Sangha, one is a Lay Disciple!
Venerable Sir, What is a Pure Disciple?
Avoiding all killing, stealing, sexual abuse, lying, and neither drinking any
alcohol nor taking any drugs causing neglect, one is a Pure Disciple!
Venerable Sir, What is a Faithful Disciple?
Placing faith in the Enlightenment of the Tathagata thus:
Worthy, honourable & perfectly self-Enlightened is the Buddha! ... teacher &
guide of gods and humans, exalted, & awakened ... one is a Faithful Disciple!
Venerable Sir, What is a Generous Disciple?
Living mentally devoid stinginess, liberal, open-handed, delighting in donation,
devoted to charity, enjoying all giving & sharing, one is a Generous Disciple!
Venerable Sir, What is a Disciple who Understands?
One who understands the cause of arising & ceasing, which is Noble, decisive,
& which enables eradication of Suffering is a wise Disciple who Understands!
More on the Buddhist Lay Disciple (Upasaka):
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/library/DPPN/wtb/u_v/upaasaka.htm
http://what-buddha-said.net/drops/V/The_Good_Disciple.htm
The Buddha Gotama's first five disciples (Pañcavaggiya)
Source (edited extract):
The Grouped Sayings of the Buddha. Samyutta Nikaya. [V:395]
Section 55 on Stream-Entry: Sotapattisamyutta. Thread 37: Mahanama.
Have a nice decisive day!
Friendship is the Greatest!
Bhikkhu Samahita, Sri Lanka.
http://What-Buddha-Said.net
Prime Priority: Get the Right Map and Teacher!
The Disciple!
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/IV/Lay_Disciple.htm
Neglect Looses All, while Careful Alertness Wins All!
At Savatthi the Blessed One once said this:
I will teach you, friends, about the one who lives negligent, and about
the one who lives alert. Listen cautiously and pay full attention to it!
How, friends, does one live Negligent?
In him, friends, who lives with an uncontrolled ability to see, the mind is
agitated and warped by the objects recognizable by the eye. In him whose
mind is agitated and warped, there is no satisfaction! Without satisfaction,
there is no joy! Where there is no joy, there is no contentment, no calm, no
tranquillity, and no mental peace! Without this calm, one thus lives in sorrow,
frustrated, urging, and searching! Such sorrowful person’s mind is neither
composed, nor collected, nor confident. When the mind is not composed, one
has neither any clarity, nor any certainty! By not having any clear thinking,
one is reckoned as one, who lives negligent. One is regarded as confused...
So also it is for one who lives without any control over the ability to hear,
smell, taste, touch and without any control over the ability to think…
And how, friends, does one live Alert?
In him, who lives with a fully controlled ability to see, the mind is neither
agitated, nor warped by any object recognizable by the eye. In one, whose
mind is neither agitated, nor warped, satisfaction is born! In one satisfied,
joy is born. When one is joyful, the body is calmed down. He, whose body is
calmed, feels at ease. Composed is mind of one, who is at ease. When mind is
composed, one’s ideas are clear. One gains certainty & assured confidence!
By having clear ideas and thinking, one is reckoned as one who lives alert, &
as one, who is alert! So also it is for any one, who lives with full control over
the ability to hear, smell, taste, touch or controlling the ability to think.
Thus, friends, is one, who lives ready and aware in alertness.
Comments:
Not seduced by the mere glitter of sensation of any kind, not running after
fancy dreams, driven by hopes or compelled longing. By not yearning after
pleasant sensations, satisfied by whatever there is, thus at ease, stilled,
one remains just calm, cleared and cooled... Like a Smiling Mountain :-)
Source: Samyutta Nikaya: On the 6 Senses:
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/V/Wild_Horses.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/II/Source_of_What.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/II/Hands_and_Feet.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/II/The_Source_of_All.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/II/Mistaken_Reference.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/library/DPPN/wtb/a/aayatana.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/IV/Sour_Sense_Sources.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/II/Guarding_the_Senses.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/II/The_Fisherman's_Hook.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/II/Guarding_the_Sense_Doors.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/II/Things_that_can_be_clung_to.htm
Always Be Internally Alert!
Smiling Mountain :-)
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/IV/Smiling_Mountain.htm
The 11 Advantages of Infinite Friendliness:
When one cultivates regular meditation on Infinite Friendliness (Metta),
then these 11 advantages are produced, can be expected and observed:
1: One sleeps in comfort.
2: One wakes in comfort.
3: One dreams no evil dreams.
4: One is dear to human beings.
5: One is dear to non-human beings.
6: Deities guard and protect one.
7: Fire, poison and weapons cannot affect one.
8: One's mind is easily concentrated.
9: The expression of one's face is serene.
10: One dies unconfused and without panic.
11: If one penetrates no higher, then one is reborn in the Brahma-world.
These 11 advantages emerges and hold insofar as goodwill is maintained!
Vism I 312-314, AN V 342
RADIATING PEACE
The Noble Friend, who dwells in friendly good-will,
Who has faith in the Teaching of the Buddhas,
Will reach the place of Peace, the mode of ease,
The stilling of all formation,
The calming of all construction,
Purest Happiness itself ...
Dhammapada 368
Universal Friendliness, which cures all aversion, is a divine state!
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/Metta.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/IV/The-Effective_Saw.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/II/Blazing_Friendliness.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/IV/Universal_Friendliness.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/IV/All-Embracing_Kindness.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/IV/The_Grace_of_Goodwill.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/III/All_Embracing_Kindness.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/IV/Infinite_and_Divine_Classic.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/Selfless_Friendship_is_Sweetest.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/The_Buddha_on_Noble_Frienship.htm
Have a nice friendly day!
Friendship is the Greatest!
Bhikkhu Samahita _/\_ Sri Lanka.
http://What-Buddha-Said.net
Universal Friendliness Blazes even Beyond!
The 11 Advantages!
A Simple Way to Establish True Awareness:
Friends, this highly advantageous praxis can be undertaken by anyone,
at any time, all day long, in all situations, and at all locations! Therefore
Do it!, Repeat it!, and Remember it!:
When walking, one understands: "I am walking.."
When standing, one knows: "I am standing.."
If sitting, one notes: "I am sitting down now.."
While lying down, one reflects: "I am lying down.."
When moving forward or returning, one clearly comprehends exactly that..
When looking forward or away, one clearly comprehends exactly that..
When bending or extending a limb, one clearly comprehends exactly that..
When dressing or carrying things, one clearly comprehends exactly that..
When eating, drinking, or chewing, one clearly comprehends exactly that..
When defecating or urinating, one clearly comprehends exactly that..
When walking, standing or sitting, one clearly comprehends exactly that..
When falling asleep or waking up, one clearly comprehends exactly that..
When talking or dwelling in silence, one clearly comprehends exactly that..
Rational and alert attention is thus a cause of ultra clear comprehension!
When continuous Awareness is established, it can prevent all mistakes,
and their painful after-effects... In this way do clear comprehension lead
reduced frustration and gain of new satisfaction! If correctly cultivated,
and made much of, this praxis will be for all beings welfare and happiness
for a long, long time... Why so? Clear comprehension purifies the purpose,
the suitability, the domain, and the unconfused focus of any activity!
More on Comprehension (Sampajañña):
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/III/Awareness_Sati.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/library/DPPN/wtb/s_t/sampajanna.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/III/Clear_and_Aware_Comprehension.htm
Source: The Exhaustive Speeches by the Buddha. Digha Nikaya 22
http://www.accesstoinsight.org/canon/sutta/digha/dn22.htm
http://www.pariyatti.com/book.cgi?prod_id=25103l
Have a nice & noble day!
Friendship is the Greatest!
Bhikkhu Samahita _/\_ Sri Lanka
http://What-Buddha-Said.net
Be Aware of every single Moment!
Clear Comprehension!
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/Clear_Comprehension.htm
Compassion is the Core of Buddhism!
Overcome the angry by friendliness,
overcome the wicked by goodness,
overcome the miser by generosity,
overcome the liar by truth...
Dhammapada 223
He who neither punishes, nor makes others punish,
He who neither steals, nor makes others steal,
who in friendly goodwill shares with all that lives,
such kind gentle one meets no enmity anywhere...
Itivuttaka 27
Train yourself in doing only what is good,
that will last and bring great happiness!
Cultivate generosity, a peaceful living,
and a mentality of infinite friendliness...
Itivuttaka 16
More on Friendly Goodwill (Metta): The sweetest fragrance of all!
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/library/DPPN/wtb/b_f/brahma_vihaara.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/IV/Unsurpassable_Radiance.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/IV/The_Grace_of_Goodwill.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/IV/Released_by_GoodWill.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/V/The_11_Advantages.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/IV/Genuine_Goodwill.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/III/Goodwill_Encore.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/IV/Blazing_Goodwill.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/V/Cosmic_Goodness.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/V/Loving-Kindness.htm
Have a nice & noble day!
Friendship is the Greatest!
Bhikkhu Samahita _/\_ Sri Lanka.
http://What-Buddha-Said.net
Goodness Galore _/\_ :-)
Learning The Five Grades of Mental Purity:
Initially the Noble Learner temporarily disables the mental hindrances
and bindings by "Substitution by the Opposite" using insight. Lust is thus
temporarily substituted by disgust, anger by friendliness, restlessness
by calm, laziness by energy and doubt is substituted by certainty.
Later the Noble Learner temporarily overcomes the mental hindrances
and bindings by "Suppression" by entering one-pointed absorption of
concentration, which is unmixed, unpolluted and untainted by hindrances.
Later the Noble Learner permanently eliminates another fraction of the
hindrances & bindings by "Cutting Off" at reaching path-moment of the
Stream-entry, Once-Returner, Non-Returner and Arahat (Magga) state.
Later the Noble Learner permanently eliminates the remaining fraction
of hindrances by effortless "Calming" at reaching the fruition-moment of
the Stream-entry, Once-Returner, Non-Returner & Arahat (Phala) state.
Finally the Noble Learned irreversibly leaves behind all mental hindrances
and bindings by "Escape" into the unconditioned and unconditional element
of Nibbana, without remaining traces of either clinging or other fuel...
Take Home: Substitution => Suppression => Cut Off => Calming => Escape!
More on Withdrawal:
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/Witdrawal_Wins_Wisdom.htm
Source: The Path of Purification: Visuddhimagga. 5th century AC.
http://www.pariyatti.com/book.cgi?prod_id=771100
Have a nice & noble learning day!
Friendship is the Greatest!
Bhikkhu Samahita _/\_ Sri Lanka
http://What-Buddha-Said.net
Learning to Let Go!
http://what-buddha-said.net/drops/Levels_of_Leaving_Behind.htm
Serene Equanimity promotes imperturbable Peace:
Equanimity just looks on and observes, while calmly settled in composed neutrality.
Equanimity is characterized as promoting the aspect of impartiality among beings.
Its function is to see the equality of all beings. It is manifested as the quieting of
both resentment and approval. Its proximate cause is seeing and comprehending
the ownership and efficacy of kamma thus: All beings are owners of their deeds,
born, created and conditioned by the accumulated effect of their past intentions!
Whose, if not theirs, is the choices by which they have become happy, or unhappy,
or will break free from suffering, or have fallen down from their past good state?
Equanimity succeeds, when it makes both resentment and approval subside, and it
fails, when it instead produces a bored, indifferent, & careless state of negligence!
Vism I 318
Comments:
Non-involved and even Equanimity is a subtle form of happiness... By stabilization
it perfects and consummates all the other six links to awakening: As Awareness,
Investigation, Energy, Joy and Concentration. Equanimity is the proximate cause
for knowing and seeing it, as it really is. Equanimity quenches any upset agitation!
When seeing and noting: All this is constructed, conditioned, coarse and transient!
But this state of serene equanimity is indeed exquisitely peaceful, then instantly
ceases any arisen agreeable or nasty feeling, when Equanimity takes its stance!
Power of Equanimity: Not much agitation, wavering or panic here!
Equanimity (Upekkha) is indeed a divine state and itself a link to Awakening!
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/II/Serene_Equanimity_and_Beyond.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/II/Imperturbable_Equanimity.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/The_7_Links_to_Awakening.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/IV/Unshakable_Equanimity.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/III/Equanimity_Upekkha.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/III/Feeding_Equanimity.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/III/Empty_Equanimity.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/Even_is_Equanimity.htm
Have a nice serene day!
Friendship is the Greatest!
Bhikkhu Samahita _/\_ Sri Lanka.
http://What-Buddha-Said.net
Absence of Agitation means Zero Stress!
Serene Equanimity...
http://what-buddha-said.net/drops/V/Serene_Equanimity.htm
Clinging to Possessions always entails Misery!
The Buddha encouraged relinquishing possessions thereby ending suffering:
Those who are greedy and needy for cherished things cannot ever end grief,
sorrow, and miserliness. Seeking security the recluse therefore relinquishes
all possessions and wanders forth into homelessness. Dwelling withdrawn and
remote, secluded in senses, he finds it agreeable not show himself anywhere!
Not dependent upon anything, the sage finds nothing pleasant or unpleasant.
Neither possessiveness, nor lamentation, nor what is seen or heard or thought
clings to his mind, just as water cannot ever cling to a lotus-leaf...
Sutta-Nipata 809-812 Edited excerpt.
More on Clinging (Upadana) which is an intensified quite painful form of craving:
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/Cool_Calm.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/V/Shaking_off_Evil.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/IV/Stilling_of_Clinging.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/IV/The_Terror_of_Being.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/library/DPPN/wtb/u_v/upaadaana.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/II/The_4_kinds_of_Clinging.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/II/Clinging_to_the_notion_I_Am.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/What_are_the_5_Clusters_of_Clinging.htm
No Possessions = No Problems!
Without Possessions!
http://what-buddha-said.net/drops/V/Without_Possessions.htm
Harmlessness is Smart Safety for All Beings!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=corb8EG8G7o
How to relocate a Viper. There are ~600 snake bite deaths yearly on Sri Lanka!
More on Happy Harmlessness (Ahimsa) = Non-Violence:
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/IV/Never_Kill.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/IV/Not_Killing.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/IV/Bon_Benevolence.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/IV/Genuine_Goodwill.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/Patient_is_Tolerance.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/V/Holy_Harmlessness.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/IV/May_all_be_Happy.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/library/DPPN/wtb/a/avihimsaa.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/V/Happy_Harmlessness.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/IV/Selfless_and_Harmless.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/III/Optimal_Observance_I.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/IV/Unsurpassable_Radiance.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/IV/Blessing_all_Beings_by_Bliss.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/II/Harmlessness_and_Tolerance.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/II/Kamma_leading_to_short_&_long_life.htm
The meditating Buddha was once protected by the Naga Snake Mucalinda.
Have a harmless, nice & noble day!
Friendship is the Greatest!
Bhikkhu Samahita _/\_
http://What-Buddha-Said.net
Protecting all Beings is Smart Safety!
Harmless Praxis!
http://what-buddha-said.net/drops/V/Smart_Safety.htm
Aware and Composed Dwelling:
The Blessed Buddha once said:
Monks, a Noble should dwell Aware and Composed…
This is our instruction to you!
And how does a monk dwell Aware?
Herein a friend dwells contemplating any body as a void frame only;
as a transient, painful and impersonal neither-me-nor-mine appearance,
while alert, ballanced and deliberately aware, thereby overcoming
any mental rejection of reality, arised from coveting this world…
Exactly so does he dwell with regard to any feeling..
with regard to any mood and mentality..
with regard to any phenomenon..
Only precisely so is this Noble One Acutely Aware!
And how does a monk dwell Composed?
Herein a friend dwells fully aware of all feelings, that arise..
fully aware of all feelings, that settle..
fully aware of all feelings, that cease..
Such Noble One dwells fully aware of all thoughts, that arise..
fully aware of all thoughts, that remain..
fully aware of all thoughts, that stop..
Such clever one dwells fully aware of all perceptions, that arise..
fully aware of all perceptions, that persist..
fully aware of all perceptions, that end..
Just so is this Noble One Cool, Calm, and Composed!
Any disciple should dwell Aware and Composed.
This is our instruction to you…
More Awareness (Sati):
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/III/The_Awareness_Ability.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/What_is_Right_Awareness.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/IV/Seeing_the_Possible.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/III/Crucial_Foundation.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/IV/Winning_Awareness.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/III/Sati_Summary.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/IV/Sati_Acute.htm
Have a nice fully aware day!
Friendship is the Greatest!
Bhikkhu Samahita, Sri Lanka.
http://What-Buddha-Said.net
Cool Calm soothes like a Mental Balm...
Aware and Composed...
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/IV/Aware_and_Composed.htm
These are the 5 Mental Hindrances:
The Blessed Buddha once said:
Bhikkhus, there are these five kinds of Mental Hindrance. What five?
1: The Mental Hindrance of Desire for Sensing...
2: The Mental Hindrance of Aversion and Ill-Will...
3: The Mental Hindrance of Lethargy and Laziness…
4: The Mental Hindrance of Restlessness and Regret…
5: The Mental Hindrance of Doubt and Uncertainty…
These are the 5 kinds of Mental Hindrance! The Noble 8-fold Way should
be developed for the direct experience of these five Mental Hindrances,
for the full understanding and elimination of them, and for their final and
total overcoming, abandoning and leaving all behind! This Noble 8-fold Way
is developed for the sake of uprooting all Mental Hindrance!
Explanation of the 5 Mental Hindrances:
Desire for sights, sounds, smells, flavours, touches, & thoughts is obvious.
Aversion is hate, anger, irritation, opposition, resistance, & stubbornness.
Lethargy & Laziness is all sluggish indolence, stupor, slow & slack inactivity.
Restlessness & Regret is all agitation, anxiety, hurry, remorse, and worry.
Doubt & Uncertainty is indecision, hesitation, perplexity, & qualm dilemma.
Mental Hindrance means a mental & invisible yet real & ultimately effective
obstacle, obstruction, block, impediment, hurdle, and debilitating handicap!
For details on the Mental Hindrances – Nivaran?a and their removal:
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/Canon/Sutta/AN/AN.I.3-4.htm
More on these 5 Mental Hindrances (Nivaranas):
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/II/The_5_Mental_Hindrances.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/II/The_Fire_of_Sense-Desire.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/II/Restlessness_and_Regret.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/II/Starving_the_Hindrances.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/II/Feeding_the_Hindrances.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/II/Doubt_and_Uncertainty.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/II/Lethargy_and_Laziness.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/IV/Suitable_Substitution.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/II/Colourful_but_Muddy.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/II/Anger_and_Irritation.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/II/How_5_Become_10.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/II/Naturally_Radiant.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/Canon/Sutta/AN/AN.I.3-4c.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/Canon/Sutta/AN/AN.I.3-4.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/II/The_Canal.htm
The unhindered & undefiled mind is calm & luminous!
Source (edited extract):
The Grouped Sayings of the Buddha. Samyutta Nikaya.
Book [V:60] section 45: The Way. 177: The 5 Mental Hindrances ...
http://www.pariyatti.com/book.cgi?prod_id=948507
http://www.accesstoinsight.org/canon/samyutta/index.html.
Have a nice & noble day!
Friendship is the Greatest!
Bhikkhu Samahita _/\_
http://What-Buddha-Said.net
Mental Handicaps are Real yet Invisible...
The 5 Mental Hindrances!
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/II/The_5_Mental_Hindrances.htm
Good Friendship is Universal among all Beings!
Elephant pictures by AFP from Sidney Zoo. The kissing lion was rescued by
the Colombian Lady, when abandoned and abused by a travelling circus.
She fed it up and cared for it in her camp for rescued animals. Apparently
it is quite grateful for that good kindness. A truly genuine hug to mama!
More on Friendliness and Friendship (Metta):
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/IV/Symbiotic_Sympathy.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/V/The_11_Advantages.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/IV/Genuine_Goodwill.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/IV/Blazing_Goodwill.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/V/Cosmic_Goodness.htm
http://what-buddha-said.net/drops/V/Unbounded_Mind.htm
http://what-buddha-said.net/drops/V/Goodness_Galore.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/V/Loving-Kindness.htm
Have a nice & noble day!
Friendship is the Greatest!
Bhikkhu Samahita _/\_
http://What-Buddha-Said.net
Goodwill outshines all Resentment!
Friendship is Universal!
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/V/Friendship_is_Universal.htm
The Last Relinquishment:
When ignorance of the 4 Noble Truths finally fully evaporates,
One no longer clings to any sense pleasure, any views, or any rules and rituals!
One no longer clings to any idea of a self, I, Me, Ego, Soul or Identity at all...
When one does not cling, one is not agitated! One remains imperturbable...
When one is not agitated, one attains the state of Nibbana right there!
One then understands: Rebirth is ended, this Noble life has been lived,
What had to be done is done, there is no more relapsing into any state of being...
Nibbana is a phase transition of consciousness!
More on Nibbana A quenched state of Peace, Freedom, and supreme Bliss:
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/II/Peace.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/Final_Freedom.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/climax_of_calm.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/Reaching_Peace.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/IV/The_Entrance.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/III/Nibbana_Still.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/II/How_to_Enter.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/II/The_Uncreated.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/II/What_is_Nibbana.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/The_Proximate_Cause.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/IV/The_Unborn_State.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/Nibbana_or_non-return.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/IV/Nibbana_True_Peace.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/library/DPPN/wtb/n_r/nibbaana.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/IV/The_Signless_Nibbana.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/II/Imperturbable_Equanimity.htm
Source: Majjhima Nikaya I 68: The shorter speech on the Lion's Roar.
Have a nice redefining the goal day!
Friendship is the Greatest!
Bhikkhu Samahita, Sri Lanka.
http://What-Buddha-Said.net
Ignorance Meltdown!
The Entrance!
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/IV/The_Entrance.htm
What are the 3 kinds of Buddhist Gifts?
Three kinds of gift are mentioned in Buddhism, namely:
1: Amisa dana: The gift of material things,
2: Abhaya dana: The fearless gift of life,
3: Dhamma dana: The gift of real Truth...
Amisa dana: – or the gift of material things is practised by people
of all religions and is very common. Food, clothes and houses are
given to people of little means or to refugees through various
religious and social organizations. It is, no doubt, a good thing to
satisfy the hunger of the starved & the yearning of the thirsty.
This type of donations is highly recommended in Buddhism and
is called the Amisa dana. (The donations of material things).
Next comes the Abhaya dana: - or giving life to those who are in
danger of life caused by fire, water or enemies. Sometimes we
hear of people, who are about to die due to lack of blood.
To donate blood and save another humans life is indeed a great
thing. Donation of eyes and kidneys is also highly appreciated
and they come under Abhaya dana – fearless donation of life.
The last one: Dhamma dana: - or the gift of Truth of the Doctrine
is said to be the highest of all donations on earth. Why so?
Because it opens the Door to the Deathless Dimension!
This no other giving is even remotely capable of...
Openhanded Giving is the 1st Mental Perfection...
Sabba danam Dhamma danam jinati
Sabbam rasam Dhamma raso jinati
Sabbam ratim Dhamma rati jinati
Tanhakkayo sabba dukkham jinati
The gift of Dhamma excels all other Gifts.
The flavour of Dhamma excels all other flavours.
The delight in Dhamma excels all other delights.
He who has destroyed craving overcomes all sorrow!
Dhammapada 354
Most Gods actually became Divine Beings as a result of Giving!
More on Generosity (Dana) = The 1st mental perfection:
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/III/Glad_Giving.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/III/Kathina_Ceremony.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/library/DPPN/wtb/b_f/caaga.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/library/DPPN/wtb/b_f/daana.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/Openhanded_Generosity.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/IV/Generosity_Contemplation.htm
Sumedha - the young millionaire - gives away all his property!
Source:
Ven. Weragoda Sarada Maha Thero http://www.buddhist-book.com Singapore
Have a nice generous day!
Friendship is the Greatest!
Bhikkhu Samahita, Sri Lanka.
http://What-Buddha-Said.net
Generosity is the 1st mental Perfection!
The 3 Golden Gifts!
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/III/The_3_Gifts.htm
The illustrated life of the Lord Buddha!
The Devas request the Bodhisatta in Tusita Heaven to descend and become a Buddha.
Queen Mahamaya dreams a white elephant enters her side during the conception.
King Suddhodana and the Brahmin soothsayers examines the newborn Bodhisatta.
The Seer Kaladevala also called Asita explains that the Bodhisatta will become Buddha.
The Bodhisatta meditates during his father's plowing festival.
The Bodhisatta uses his arching skills to win his future wife Yasodhara Rahulamata.
The Bodhisatta sees the 4 signs: An old, sick & dead man and a calm wandering recluse.
The Bodhisatta observes his dancing girls & realizes the vanity and depravity of luxury.
He decides to leave his wife and newborn son Rahula and become a wandering recluse.
He leaves his palace at night on his horse Kanthaka followed by his driver Channa.
He crosses the river Anoma, cuts his topknot, throws it up, where Sakka catches it.
Gotama then strives and starves himself for six years without result. The 5 leaves him.
The maiden Sujata offers the last milk-rice meal on the morning of his Enlightenment.
The Buddha throws the plate into the river Nerañjara, where Naga Mahakala hears it.
Gaining the 6 higher powers he sees the rebirth of beings and recalls all his prior lives.
He is indifferent to the temptations of Mara's 3 daughters: Raga, Tanha and Arati.
Under the Ajapala-nigrodha banyan tree Buddha spent a week cross-legged in Jhana.
The Mahabrahma Sahampati requests the Buddha to open the doors to Deathlessness...
The Naga King Mucalinda protects the fasting Buddha in 3rd week after enlightenment.
Descending in Sankassa after having spoken the Abhidhamma to the assembled Devas.
The Buddha explains the true Dhamma to the many beings for their long-term welfare.
The Buddha compassionately attends to the sick and dying to guide them through it.
The Buddha visits his home and his former wife Yasodhara in the city of Kapilavatthu.
He meets his father the Sakiyan King Suddhodana.
There he brings his son Rahula to the Sangha, who ordains him. Rahula later awakens.
He shows his half brother Nanda the beauty of the divine nymphs & ordains him as monk.
The Buddha dispels the manifold doubts of many of the elder Brahmin chiefs.
The Buddha explains Breathing Meditation Anapana-sati on the full-moon of November
He realizes that his long prepared mission has finally been completed & renounces life.
He deliberately accepts some accidentally poisoned food from Cunda & gets very sick.
Soon after the Lord Buddha dies and attains Parinibbana in the small town of Kusinara.
See also:
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/library/DPPN/g/gotama.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/library/DPPN/b/buddha.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/library/DPPN/b/bodhisatta.htm
BBC Video series on the Life of Buddha:
The Life of Buddha Part 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8WiswuYO1cE
The Life of Buddha Part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DlZmbjqLPCU
The Life of Buddha Part 3: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xcD9O_E-xec
The Life of Buddha Part 4: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4xuE53jhlXk
The Life of Buddha Part 5: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ypFmNfPLng
More on the Buddha:
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/V/Well_Gone.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/V/Master_Presence.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/V/The_Blessed_One.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/library/Metteyya/arimet00.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/IV/Sumedhas_Similes.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/library/DPPN/me_mu/metteyya.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/IV/Buddha_Contemplation.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/III/The_10_Future_Buddhas.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/library/DPPN/wtb/s_t/sammaa_sambodhi.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/IV/How-2-Meet_Buddha_Metteyya.htm
The 2 Best Book sources on the life of the Buddha are:
1: The story of Gotama Buddha. Tr. by N.A. Jayawickrama, Pali Text Society 1990.
http://www.pariyatti.org/Bookstore/productdetails.cfm?sku=132935
2: Life of the Buddha according to the Pali Canon. Translated by: Bhikkhu Nanamoli
http://www.pariyatti.org/Bookstore/productdetails.cfm?PC=555
Thanx for the nice pictures kindly forwarded by our friend Rohitha Samarakoon.
Have a nice & noble day!
Friendship is the Greatest!
Bhikkhu Samahita _/\_
http://What-Buddha-Said.net
The Life of the Lord Buddha!
Fight the Defilements & not the World!
CONQUEROR
Even after having defeated a million men,
one is better off by conquering oneself.
Dhammapada 103
VICTORY
Victory over self is superior to victory over others.
Winning self-control & you are forever in power!
Dhammapada 104
UNDEFEATABLE
Neither a God, nor a Demon, nor a Devil, nor even Maha-Brahma
can undo the victory of one who has won self-control ....
Dhammapada 105
More on the mental Defilements (Kilesa):
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/library/DPPN/wtb/g_m/kilesa.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/II/Proximate_Causes.htm
Have a nice & noble day!
Friendship is the Greatest!
Bhikkhu Samahita _/\_
http://What-Buddha-Said.net
Fight the Mental Defilements & not the World!
The Warrior!
http://what-buddha-said.net/drops/V/The_Warrior.htm
The 5 Clusters are Burning on Ignorance!
The Blessed Buddha once explained:
Friends, form is burning, feeling is burning, perception is burning, mental
constructions are burning, and consciousness itself is burning...
Burning with what? Burning with Greed. Burning with Hate. Burning with
Ignorance. Burning with rebirth. Burning with ageing. Burning with decay.
Burning with sickness & pain. Burning with death. I tell you: Burning with
Suffering! Understanding this fully, friends, the learned Noble Disciple
is disgusted with all form, feeling, perception, and with all constructions!
He is disgusted even with consciousness! The experience of that disgust,
brings disillusion and disenchantment. Through this disillusion, the mind is
completely released! When it is liberated, then this assurance appears:
"This mind is fully and irreversible freed" and one instantly understands:
The rebirth process is now ended, this Noble Life have been completed,
done is what should be done, there is no state beyond this...
More on these 5 Clusters of Clinging (Khandha):
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/Any_Kind.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/Not_Yours.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/The_Leash.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/V/House_on_Fire.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/Fingernail_of_Soil.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/Acquisition_of_Fuel.htm
http://What-buddha-said.net/drops/V/Burden_and_Prison.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/IV/Clustered_Truths.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/IV/Breaking_the_Bonds.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/library/DPPN/wtb/g_m/khandha.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/II/The_5_Clusters_of_Clinging.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/What_are_the_5_Clusters_of_Clinging.htm
Source:
The Grouped Sayings by the Buddha. Samyutta Nikaya 22:61 III 71
http://www.pariyatti.com/book.cgi?prod_id=948507
http://www.accesstoinsight.org/canon/samyutta/index.html
The 5 Clusters of Clinging burns on Ignorance!
The Burning Five!
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/II/The_Burning_Five.htm
Purification is best in Sweet Silent Solitude!
CONTENT WHEN UNDERSTANDING
Solitude is happiness for one, who is content,
Who sees and clearly understands this Dhamma.
Harmlessness is happiness in all worlds,
Kindness towards all living beings. :-)
Udana 10
IDEAL SOLITUDE
Avoid going along with fools. Should one fail to find
any one, who is better or equal as a good companion,
then one should continue this journey all alone.
Since there can be no friendship with fools...
Dhammapada 61
SWEET & NOT LONELY
The one who has tasted the sweetness of solitude
in cooled calm, such one fears not, and wrongdo not,
since so indeed is the sweet joy of true Dhamma!
Dhammapada 205
SOLITUDE AS NECESSITY
If one cannot find a clever companion, upright, straight and determined,
then walk alone like a king leaving the kingdom, like an Elephant freely
roam in all the forest...
Dhammapada 329
SOLITARY FREEDOM
Life in solitude is better than friendship with the fool.
Let the one live alone, acting only right, freed from greed,
Like the Bull Elephant freely roam in all the forest.
Dhammapada 330
THE MASTER
Mastering the hands.
Mastering the feet.
Mastering the speech.
Mastering the thoughts.
Highest Master of Mind;
Concentrated and composed,
Calm and content in secluded solitude,
Such one is indeed rightly called a Bhikkhu ...
Dhammapada 362
Comments: Be realistic!
If one cannot be in company with one-self, then something must be wrong!
Any form of company will dissolve, since all meetings end in separation...
The ever socializing parrot-like personality cannot ever end suffering!
Only dead fish float with the stream!
More on Sweet Secluded Solitude:
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/Alone_yet_Free.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/IV/The_Rhinoceros_Horn.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/library/Wheels/wh_188.pdf
Only dead fish float with the stream!
Sweet Solitude!
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/V/Sweet_Solitude.htm
Friendly Goodwill is the 9th Mental Perfection:
Friendliness means Goodwill
Friendliness means Kindness
Friendliness means Helpfulness
Friendliness means Assistance
Friendliness means Support
Friendliness means Benevolence
Friendliness means Concern
Friendliness means Care
Friendliness means Compassion
Friendliness means Cooperation
Friendliness means Mutual Aid
Friendliness means Mutual Advantage
Friendliness means Sympathy
Friendliness means Symbiosis
Only friendliness can completely evaporate the poison of hate and anger!
Its characteristic is promoting other being's welfare, its function is to
do only good, and its manifestation is kindness, sympathy, and gentleness...
The proximate cause of friendliness is seeing the good aspects of things!
The proximate cause of understanding compassion is this very friendliness!
The Blessed Buddha said about friendliness (Metta):
"Bhikkhus, whatever kinds of worldly merit there are, all are not worth
one sixteenth part of the release of mind by universal friendliness;
in shining, glowing and beaming radiance, this release of mind by
universal friendliness far excels & surpasses them all..."
What are the 11 Advantages of cultivating such Universal Friendliness?
The four Brahma Viharas; The four Divine States:
The four Supreme States; The four Infinite States:
"Friends, eleven advantages are to be expected as effect from the release
of mind into friendliness by the practice of Goodwill, by cultivating amity,
by making much of it frequently, by making friendliness the vehicle, the tool,
the basis, by insisting on it, by being well established in it as a sublime habit!
What are these eleven advantages ?
One falls asleep well! One wakes up Happy!
One dreams no evil dreams!
One is liked and loved by all human beings!
One is liked and loved by all non-human beings too!
One is guarded and protected by the divine devas!
One cannot be harmed by fire, poison, or weapons!
One easily attains the concentration of absorption!
Ones appearance becomes serene, calm, and composed!
One dies without confusion, bewilderment, or panic!
One reappears after death on the Brahma level, if one
has penetrated to no higher level in this very life!
When the mind is released into friendliness by the practice of goodwill,
by manifesting friendliness, by cultivating amity, by frequently making much
of it, by making friendliness the vehicle, the tool, the basis, the medium, the
foundation, by persisting in it, by insisting on it, by properly consolidating it,
by thoroughly undertaking it, by making it a familiar supreme habit, by so
being well established in it, these eleven blessings can be expected!"
Anguttara Nikaya V 342
There, Oohh friends, the Bhikkhu with a mind full of friendly loving-kindness
pervading first one direction, then a 2nd one, then a 3rd one then the 4th one,
as below so above, across and all around, everywhere identifying himself with
all sentient beings, he is encompassing the whole world with a mind of friendly
loving-kindness, with a wide mind, vast, refined, unbounded, cleared, exalted,
pure and bright, free from all hate and ill will ...
There, Oh friends, the Bhikkhu with a mind full of understanding compassion
pervading first the front, then the right side, then the back, then the left side,
as below so above, across & all around, all over, far & wide; identifying himself
with all sentient beings, he is perfusing the whole universe with a mind imbued
with pity, with a spacious mind, a refined mind, infinite, purified, all luminous,
freed from all anger and any trace of enmity ...
There, the Bhikkhu with a mind full of altruistic, sympathetic and mutual Joy
pervading the North, then the East, then the South, then the West, as below
so above, across & all around, universally, infinitely; identifying himself with
all sentient beings, he is suffusing all galaxies with a mind elevated by genuine
mutual and altruistic sympathetic joy, with an open mind, immeasurable, wide,
limitless, pure & shining, free from all aversion and bitterness ...
There, Oohh friends, the Bhikkhu with a mind full of balanced equanimity is
pervading first the frontal quadrant, then the right, then the rear & then the
left quadrant, as below so above, across and all around, everywhere placing
himself with all sentient beings, he is permeating the whole world with a mind
satiated of stilled and balanced equanimity, calmed, with a mountain-like mind,
cultivated, endless, clean, dazzling, freed from any irritation and resentment."
"So too, Bhikkhus, others may speak to you timely or untimely, true or untrue,
gentle or harsh, beneficial or harmful, based on kindness or on bitter hate!
If they abuse you verbally, you should train yourselves in this way:
"Our minds will remain unaffected, we shall speak no angry words, will dwell
friendly and understanding, with thoughts of kindness and no inward anger!
We shall remain friendly and beam goodwill towards that very person, and we
shall dwell extending it to the entire universe, mentally overflowing, exalted,
measureless and infinite in friendliness, without any trace hostility or ill-will."
That is how you should train yourselves. Even if bandits were savagely to cut
you up, limb by limb, with a two-handled saw, one who harbours hate on that
account, would not be one who carried out my teaching. Bhikkhus, you should
keep this instruction on this Simile of the Saw constantly in mind...
Majjhima Nikaya, Sutta 21
Thus he who both day and night
takes delight in harmlessness
sharing love with all that lives,
finds enmity with none...
Samyutta Nikaya. I 208
When one with a mind of love
feels compassion for the entire world
above, below and across,
unlimited everywhere.
Jataka 37
The Bodhisatta once was born as the righteous king Ekaraja. His kingdom was
taken by force and he and his son was buried in a pit to the neck...
King Ekaraja, however neither resisted, nor bore even slight ill will against the
invaders. Later he remembered this as his ultimate perfection of friendliness.
Ekaraja Jataka 303
On the Practice of Loving-Kindness (Metta):
http://www.accesstoinsight.org/lib/bps/wheels/wheel007.html
On Universal Friendliness:
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/Metta.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/IV/Good-Will_Again.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/IV/Bon_Benevolence.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/III/Goodwill_Encore.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/IV/Released_by_GoodWill.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/IV/All-Embracing_Kindness.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/IV/Infinite_and_Divine_Classic.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/The_Buddha_on_Noble_Frienship.htm
More on the 10 mental perfections (paramis):
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/IV/The_Ten_Perfections.htm
Have a friendly, nice & noble day!
Friendship is the Greatest!
Bhikkhu Samahita _/\_ Sri Lanka.
http://What-Buddha-Said.net
Friendliness Frees!
How is the Mental Release by Mutual Joy?
The Blessed Buddha once explained:
How is the release of mind by infinite mutual joy (Mudita) achieved?
What does this liberation have as its destination, what is its culmination,
what is its sweet fruit, and what is the ultimate goal of mental release
by universally mutual, unselfish, altruistic, appreciative & rejoicing joy?
Here, Bhikkhus, a Bhikkhu dwells pervading the frontal quadrant with a
mind imbued with infinite mutual joy, so the 2nd, 3rd and 4th quadrant.
As above, so below, across, and everywhere to all beings as for himself,
he dwells pervading the entire cosmos with a mind fully saturated with
unlimited mutual joy, immense, exalted, measureless, without hostility,
without any enmity, without any trace of ill will, of jealousy or of envy!
Thus prepared and mentally quite expanded, he then develops:
1: The Awareness Link to Awakening joined with limitless mutual joy.
2: The Investigation Link to Awakening fused with such mutual joy.
3: The Energy Link to Awakening together with infinite mutual joy.
4: The Joy Link to Awakening accompanied with absolute mutual joy.
5: The Tranquillity Link to Awakening linked with noble mutual joy.
6: The Concentration Link to Awakening associated with mutual joy.
7: The Equanimity Link to Awakening joined with endless mutual joy.
Based upon seclusion, disillusion, ceasing, and culminating in release...
If he then wishes:
May I dwell experiencing repulsion by any attractive & tempting object,
then he can dwell experiencing repulsiveness therein. If he wishes: May I
dwell experiencing the unrepulsive in any disgusting and repulsive object,
then he experiences pleasing beauty in whatever disgusting & ugly thing!
If he wishes: Avoiding both the repulsive & the unrepulsive, may I dwell
in equanimity, just aware & clearly comprehending, then he experiences
equanimity, just aware and clearly comprehending! When meditating he
can completely transcend the realm of infinitude of space, only aware
that consciousness is infinite, he can enter and dwell in the sphere of the
infinitude of consciousness.. I tell you Bhikkhus for a quite wise Bhikkhu
here, who has not yet penetrated to an even more superior mental release,
the mental release by infinite, altruistic and mutual joy has the sphere of
the infinitude of consciousness as its culmination!
More on Mutual Joy (Mudita):
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/library/DPPN/wtb/b_f/brahma_vihaara.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/Rejoicing_Bliss_is_Mudita.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/IV/What_is_Wrong.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/IV/Safe_Medicine.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/V/Rejoicing_Joy.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/IV/Mutual_Joy.htm
Comments: Are you Discontent? Here is Why!
Mutual joy is the proximate cause of contentment.
Consequentially: Lack of mutual joy produces frustrated discontent!
Mutual joy also eliminates jealousy and envy! Absence of mutual joy
therefore induces the acid like mental pain called envy and jealousy!
Source of reference (edited extract):
The Grouped Sayings of the Buddha. Samyutta Nikaya.
Book [V: 115-21] 46: The Links. 54: Joined by Friendliness...
Mutual joy is the cause of contentment.
Rejoice!
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/III/Infinitely_Joyous_Consciousness.htm
:anjali:
Restlessness and Regret Agitates the Mind!
A Brahmin Priest once asked the Blessed Buddha:
Master Gotama, what is the cause of being unable to remember something
that has been memorized over a long period and also that which has not
been memorized?
Brahmin, when then mind is agitated by restlessness and regret, stressed,
agitated, troubled and tyrannized by restlessness and regret, & one does
neither know, nor understand any actual safe escape from this dominating
restlessness and regret, in that moment, then one can neither see, nor ever
understand what is advantageous, neither for oneself, nor for others, nor
for both oneself and for others. Then, consequently, even texts, that have
been long memorized, cannot be remembered. Why is this blind neglect so?
Imagine a bowl of water with the surface stirred up by wind into ripples,
undulations & small wavelets. If a man with good eye-sight were to inspect
the reflection of his own face in it, he would neither see nor recognize it,
as it really is! So too, brahmin, when the mind is distracted by restlessness
and regret, excited, anxious, distressed, worried, perturbed and upset by
restlessness and regret, on any such occasion even texts long memorized
do not recur to the mind, not to speak of those texts, events & knowledge,
that have not been memorized at all…
On how to prevent Restlessness & Regret (=curable anxiety):
1: Frequent systematic attention both to bodily and mental Tranquillity!
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/Forest_Bliss.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/Canon/Sutta/AN/AN.I.3-4.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/Canon/Sutta/AN/AN.I.3-4c.htm
http://what-buddha-said.net/drops/II/Curing_Restlessness_and_Regret.htm
Source (edited extract):
The Grouped Sayings of the Buddha. Samyutta Nikaya.
Book [V:123] section 46: The Links. 55: To Sangarava...
Have a nice & noble day!
Friendship is the Greatest!
Bhikkhu Samahita _/\_
http://What-Buddha-Said.net
Restlessness and Regret Agitates the Mind!
Restlessness and Regret!
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/II/Restlessness_and_Regret.htm
How to be a Real Buddhist through Observance?
Il Poya day is this full-moon day of November. This sacred day celebrates:
1: The Buddha Gotama's declaration of the next Buddha Metteyya.
2: The sending out in the world of the 60 missionary Arahats
3: The passing away of the general of the Dhamma: Sariputta.
4: The Buddha's 1st explanation of Anapanasati Breathing Meditation.
More on the Significance of Il Poya Day:
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/III/The_Importance_of_Il_Poya.htm
The next Buddha Metteyya: The Friendly One!
More on this last perfectly self-enlightened one in this universe: Metteyya!
The Coming Buddha: Ariya Metteyya. Sayagyi U Chit Tin: BPS Wheel 381/383
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/library/Metteyya/arimet00.htm
On how to meet Buddha Metteyya in the future:
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/IV/How-2-Meet_Buddha_Metteyya.htm
On such Full-Moon Uposatha Poya Observance days:
Any Lay Buddhist simply joins the Three Refuges and undertakes the
Five Precepts like this: Newly bathed, shaved, white-clothed, with clean
bare feet, one kneels at a shrine with a Buddha-statue, and bows first
three times, so that feet, hands, elbows, knees & head touch the floor.
Then, with joined palms at the heart, one recites these memorized lines
in a loud, calm & steady voice:
As long as this life lasts:
I hereby take refuge in the Buddha.
I hereby take refuge in the Dhamma.
I hereby take refuge in the Sangha.
I hereby seek shelter in the Buddha for the 2nd time.
I hereby seek shelter in the Dhamma for the 2nd time.
I hereby seek shelter in the Sangha for the 2nd time.
I hereby request protection from the Buddha for the 3rd time.
I hereby request protection from the Dhamma for the 3rd time.
I hereby request protection from the Sangha for the 3rd time.
I will hereby respect these Three Jewels the rest of my life!
I accept to respect & undertake these 5 training rules:
I hereby accept the training rule of avoiding all Killing.
I hereby accept the training rule of avoiding all Stealing.
I hereby accept the training rule of avoiding all Sexual Abuse.
I hereby accept the training rule of avoiding all Dishonesty.
I hereby accept the training rule of avoiding all Alcohol & Drugs.
As long as this life lasts, I am thus protected by these 5 precepts...
Then, one keeps and protects these sacred vows better than one's
own eyes & children!, since they protect you & all other beings much
better than any army! They are the highest offer one can give in & to
this world! So is the start towards Nibbana: the Deathless Element!
This is the Noble Way to Peace, to Freedom, to Ease, to Happiness,
initiated by Morality, developed further by Dhamma-Study and
fulfilled by training of Meditation...
Today indeed is Pooya or Uposatha or observance day, where any lay
Buddhist normally keeps even the Eight Precepts from sunrise until the
next dawn... If any wish an official recognition by the Bhikkhu-Sangha,
they may simply forward the lines starting with "I hereby ..." signed with
name, date, town & country to me or join here. A public list of this new
quite rapidly growing global Saddhamma-Sangha is set up here!
The True Noble Community of Buddha's Disciples: Saddhamma Sangha:
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/sangha/Saddhamma_Sangha.htm
Can quite advantageously be Joined Here:
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/sangha/Sangha_Entry.htm
May your journey hereby be light, swift and sweet. Never give up !!
For Details on The Origin of Uposatha Observance Days:
http://www.accesstoinsight.org/ptf/uposatha.html
Have a nice Poya day!
Friendship is the Greatest!
Bhikkhu Samahita _/\_ Sri Lanka
http://What-Buddha-Said.net
Il Poya day: The coming of the next Buddha Metteyya!
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/III/Il_Poya_Day.htm
What is the Tranquillity Link to Awakening?
The Tranquillity Link to Awakening (passaddhi-sambojjhanga) has the
characteristic of peace, and the function of stilling, which manifests
as absence of restless trembling. Stillness of feeling, perception and
mental construction is the factor that induces bodily Tranquillity.
Stillness of consciousness itself induces mental Tranquillity.
The proximate cause of Tranquillity is the satisfaction within Joy!
The resulting effect of Tranquillity is the bliss within Happiness!
The Buddha once said: What mental fermentations (asava) should be
overcome by development? If a Bhikkhu by careful & rational attention
develops the Tranquillity Link to Awakening based on seclusion, based
on disillusion, based on ceasing, and culminating in cool relinquishment,
then neither can mental fermentation, nor any fever, nor any discontent
ever arise in him. MN2 [i 11]
In one who is joyous, the body becomes calm & the mind becomes calm.
The Tranquillity Link to Awakening emerges right there. He develops it,
& for him it goes to the culmination of its development. MN118 [iii 85]
CALMED
Calm is his thought, calm is his speech,
and calm is his deed, who, truly knowing,
is wholly freed, perfectly tranquil and wise.
Dhammapada 96
CONTENT
The one who eliminates discontent, tearing it out
by the roots, utterly cuts it out, such one spontaneously
becomes absorbed in the calm of tranquillity both day & night.
Dhammapada 250
COMPOSED
The one who is tranquil in movement, calmed in speech,
stilled in thought, collected & composed, who sees right
through & rejects all allurements of this world, such one
is truly a 'Peaceful One'.
Dhammapada 378
Inspirations on the calming & soothing of serene Tranquillity (Passaddhi):
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/III/Tranquillity_Passaddhi.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/III/Feeding_Tranquillity.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/IV/The_Tranquil_One.htm
Inner Calm Soothes the Mind!
Tranquillity!
http://what-buddha-said.net/drops/III/Tranquillity_Passaddhi.htm
Harming none All Beings may become Happy!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qcRiTVGVqyU
The endangered Purple Faced Leaf Langur Monkey plays here!
How to safely, gently and harmlessly relocate a Viper.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FfypDFAnszE
This species is probably Wall's hump-nosed pit viper (Hypnale walli)
More on Happy Harmlessness (Ahimsa) = Non-Violence:
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/IV/Never_Kill.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/IV/Not_Killing.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/IV/Bon_Benevolence.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/IV/Genuine_Goodwill.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/Patient_is_Tolerance.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/V/Holy_Harmlessness.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/IV/May_all_be_Happy.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/library/DPPN/wtb/a/avihimsaa.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/V/Happy_Harmlessness.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/IV/Selfless_and_Harmless.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/III/Optimal_Observance_I.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/IV/Unsurpassable_Radiance.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/IV/Blessing_all_Beings_by_Bliss.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/II/Harmlessness_and_Tolerance.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/II/Kamma_leading_to_short_&_long_life.htm
Happy is Harmlessness :-)
May all Beings become Happy thus!
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/V/May_All_Be_Happy.htm
How does Lethargy & Laziness Suppress Mind?
A Brahmin Priest once asked the Blessed Buddha:
Master Gotama, what is the cause of being unable to remember even
something that has been memorized over a long period & also that which
has not been memorized?
Brahmin, when mind is retarded by lethargy & laziness, dimmed, detained
& dominated by lethargy and laziness, and one does not understand any
actual safe escape from this arisen lethargy and laziness, in that very
moment, one can neither see, nor understand, what is advantageous,
neither for oneself, nor for others, nor for both oneself and others.
Consequently, whatever have been memorized, cannot be remembered…
Why is this neglect so? Imagine a bowl of water covered with moss,
water plants and algae. If a man with good eye-sight were to inspect
the reflection of his own face in it, he would neither see, nor recognize
it, as it really is! So too, brahmin, when mind is slowed down by lethargy
and laziness, dimmed, detained and handicapped by lethargy & laziness,
on such occasions even texts long memorized do not recur to the mind,
not to speak of those texts, events and information, that have not been
actively memorized at all…
How to cure Laziness:
Attention to these 3 elements of: initiative, launching and endurance!
More on curing this common mental defilement: Laziness (Thina-middha):
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/II/Curing_Lethargy_and_Laziness.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/library/DPPN/wtb/s_t/thiina_middha.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/Arousal_Get_Up_and_Going.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/IV/Suitable_Substitution.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/Enthusiastic_is_Energy.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/Canon/Sutta/AN/AN.I.3-4.htm
Source (edited extract):
The Grouped Sayings of the Buddha. Samyutta Nikaya.
Book [V:122-3] section 46: The Links. 55: To Sangarava...
Have a nice & noble day!
Friendship is the Greatest!
Bhikkhu Samahita _/\_
http://What-Buddha-Said.net
Laziness imprisons the Mind!
Lethargic Laziness...
http://what-buddha-said.net/drops/II/Lethargy_and_Laziness.htm