My Republic day greetings to all Indians....

DEVOTION IN THERAVADA BUDDHIM

        The Pāli word vandanā means literally “bowing down”.  It is a word used in Theravada Buddhism to signify the heart’s response to the highest objects of veneration; hence it may be rendered as “devotion” or “homage”.  The idea of vandanā covers both aspects of the devotional responses – on one side the feelings of faith, reverence, and love, on the other the act of homage, bodily and verbal, which express them.  In the ideal practice of vandanā these two aspects fuse together into a unity, the feeling spilling forth into the act and the act of giving concrete form to the feeling.

          The devotional element is often omitted from accounts of Theravada Buddhism, which usually depict this ancient Buddhist school as dry intellectual system without much room for religious emotion.  Seen firsthand, however, the Theravāda tradition reveals at its core a vibrant current of devotional feeling which permeates the Theravāda lives of it followers.  Its tone may be quiet and restrained but it is unmistakably present.  The devotional strain has firm roots in the Theravāda doctrinal perspective.  Theravada teaching does not encourage emotional oppressive, as this often leads astray, but it does proclaim an electric message of deliverance capable of sparking off the higher emotions.

          The teachings of the Buddha (Theravāda scriptures) speaks directly about the most vital issues of human concern.

NOTE: Collected from Buddhist literature.

My Dear comrades may the Buddha bless you all. 

I wish you be happy and prosperous in the new year.

I wish you all a happy and prosperous new year 2018

MINDfULNESS

v I have no home. I make mindfulness as my home.

Ø When I first read these lines, I felt so happy. I felt this is true, so true.

Ø If you are not mindful, what happens to your mind? Your mind just wanders around; it has no place to rest.

Ø You may have a big house physically, but mentally you may be homeless.

Ø When you practice mindfulness, if you keep practicing for long time diligently, you will come to the point that you know that you know. You know that you are seeing, you know that you are hearing, you know that you are talking.

Ø And then thinking stops and the mind is quiet, and though it is quiet, there is still this knowing.

Ø It is called awareness of awareness, and at that point you feel a kind of energy and power.

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         By Practicing Ana-Pana Sati Meditation one can improve one’s mindfulness.   To practice mindfulness there are many Buddhist meditation centers around the world, one can utilize these centers.  If you can find a suitable one then you are lucky.

                       SOURCES: From Sayadaw U Jotika’s Dharma lectures

The Environment and Buddhists

The human being is a part of nature or Prakruti.  So we are living in nature, we should protect it, which is gift for beings. Protecting the environment is the duty of every one.  Present day many nation’s manufacturing nuclear weapons is nothing but destroying Mother Nature. As a ‘Dhamma soldier’ while working for social, political and economic suffering and injustice, we also work to protect our environment. Everybody should think to live like a 'Kalyanamitra'.

Modern man in his search for pleasure and affluence has exploited nature without any moral restraint to such an extent that nature has been rendered almost incapable of sustaining healthy life. Invaluable gifts of nature, such as air and water, have been polluted with severely disastrous consequences. Man is now searching for ways and means of overcoming the pollution problem as his health too is alarmingly threatened.

           

ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTION

 He also feels that it is irresponsible and morally wrong on his part to commit the future generations to a polluted planet. If man is to act with a sense of responsibility to the natural world, to his fellow human beings and to unborn future generations, he has to find an appropriate environmental ethic today to prevent further aggravation of the present pollution problem.

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THE PAVARANA (INVITATION)

          The October month is to celebrate Pavarana for Buddhists all over the world.

This is a name for practicing one form of religious ceremony relating to giving the opportunity of mutual admonishment.   It can also be regarded as the mark of the end of the rains.  It is commonly understood as ‘invitation’ so that we hardly know the underlying meaning of this word. As a matter of fact, it is the relinquishment of one’s ego or self and giving the chance of having word of admonishment to others.  It is very obvious to those who are very selfish to ego centric or very much attached to themselves not give others the chance of having even a word of admonishment, suggestion, and advice.  All and all, he does not even want to ask others the question of ‘Any suggestion?’

As a worldly person, it is natural for us to be blind to our own faults since we naturally love ourselves most.  If we really love ourselves most we need to be very careful not to be blind to our own faults because this sense of love can blind us to the truth.  It is a great advantage to have co-resident monks who will help us to see the truth when we are in case of getting stuck in traps of some offences.  For this good and happiness of the Noble Order, the Buddha with boundless compassion, laid down this religious observation.  Overcoming one’s ego, therefore, is of overriding importance in the observance of this pavāraṇā ceremony as is in striving for the attainment of Nibbāna.

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NOTE: from my Vinaya study notes