Of all the paths the Eightfold Path is the best; of all the truths the Four Noble Truths are the best; of all things passionlessness is the best: of men the Seeing One (the Buddha) is the best.
This is the only path; there is none other for the purification of insight. Tread this path, and you will bewilder Mara.
Walking upon this path you will make an end of suffering. Having discovered how to pull out the thorn of lust, I make known the path.
You yourselves must strive; the Buddhas only point the way. Those meditative ones who tread the path are released from the bonds of Mara.
“All conditioned things are impermanent” — when one sees this with wisdom, one turns away from suffering. This is the path to purification.
“All conditioned things are unsatisfactory” — when one sees this with wisdom, one turns away from suffering. This is the path to purification. Continue reading →
Jendhamuni visiting Master Dejapanno Phorn Pheap at Baystate Medical Center in Springfield, Massachusetts on Saturday June 19, 2021.
Gratitude is a value of interdependence. It is an inner orientation that aligns us emotionally with the outer reality of our lives. Bringing heart and mind together, gratitude is an affective state that can be produced by an awareness of interdependence. We identify interdependence at work and train ourselves to respond to that awareness with gratitude. Like other values of interdependence, gratitude can lead us from awareness to feelings and, eventually, can culminate in action. ~ 17th Karmapa
Maha Thera Siripanno Sophon Thon, Bhikkhu Buddha Saddha, Bhikkhu Indajoto, . Bhikkhu Munindathero Maha Nhor Tepmony, Mr. Piseth Kien, Mr. Sakal Kim, Mrs. San Ou, Ananda Kim, Jendhamuni Sos, Ven. Sirip visiting Bhikkhu Dejapanno, our meditation master, at the Baystate Medical Center in Springfield, Massachusetts on Thursday June 17, 2021. Bhikkhu Buddha Saddha, Bhikkhu Indajoto, Mr. Piseth Kien, Mr. Sakal Kim, Upāsikā Mony Kim, Ananda Kim and Jendhamuni Sos were at the scene on Sunday, May 30, B.E.2565 A.D.2021 and called an ambulance to examine Bhikkhu Dejapanno Pheap Phorn in his room before he was transported from the Kiryvongsa Bopharam Temple to the Baystate Medical Center around 9 a.m. during that morning.
Verse 157: If one knows that one is dear to oneself, one should protect oneself well. During any of the three watches (of life) the wise man should be on guard (against evil).
If one knows that one is dear to oneself, one should protect oneself well. During any of the three watches (of life) the wise man should be on guard (against evil).
yamam: A night is divided into three watches. According to the Commentary, the watches in this context are the three stages in Man’s life, viz., childhood, youth and old age.
The Story of Bodhirajakumara
While residing at the Bhesakala wood, the Buddha uttered Verse (157) of this book, with reference to Prince Bodhi (Bodhirajakumara).
Once, Prince Bodhi built a magnificent palace for himself. When the palace was finished he invited the Buddha for alms-food. For this special occasion, he had the building decorated and perfumed with four kinds of scents and incense. Also, a long length of cloth was spread on the floor, starting from the threshold to the interior of the room. Then, because he had no children, the prince made a solemn asseveration that if he were to have any children the Buddha should step on the cloth. When the Buddha came, Prince Bodhi respectfully requested the Buddha three times to enter the room. But the Buddha, instead of moving, only looked at Ananda. Ananda understood him and so asked Prince Bodhi to remove the cloth from the door-step. Then only, the Buddha entered the palace. The prince then offered delicious and choice food to the Buddha. After the meal, the prince asked the Buddha why he did not step on the cloth. The Buddha in turn asked the prince whether he had not spread the cloth making a solemn asseveration that if he were to be blessed with a child, the Buddha would step on it; and the prince replied in the affirmative. To him, the Buddha said that he and his wife were not going to have any children because of their past evil deeds. The Buddha then related their past story. Continue reading →
There’s no end to the activity and delusions of saṃsāra:
The more you do, the more they go on increasing,
Animosity and attachment strengthen all the while,
Creating the causes for your own downfall.
Turn your mind, therefore, towards the Dharma.
If you can integrate the Dharma physically, verbally and mentally,
You have set out on the path to liberation and enlightenment,
And, at the moment of death, you will have no regrets.
In this and all your future lives,
You will go from one joy to the next.
It can be very difficult to accept that the source of what we like or do not like arises in our mind. When we get our heads stuck in the clouds – pretty clouds, ugly clouds – we cannot see that they are impermanent, that they have a life of their own, and that they will pass on, if we let them. ~ Mingyur Rinpoche
Not by passing arbitrary judgments does a man become just; a wise man is he who investigates both right and wrong.
He who does not judge others arbitrarily, but passes judgment impartially according to the truth, that sagacious man is a guardian of law and is called just.
One is not wise because one speaks much. He who is peaceable, friendly and fearless is called wise.
A man is not versed in Dhamma because he speaks much. He who, after hearing a little Dhamma, realizes its truth directly and is not heedless of it, is truly versed in the Dhamma.
A monk is not an elder because his head is gray. He is but ripe in age, and he is called one grown old in vain.
One in whom there is truthfulness, virtue, inoffensiveness, restraint and self-mastery, who is free from defilements and is wise — he is truly called an Elder.
Not by mere eloquence nor by beauty of form does a man become accomplished, if he is jealous, selfish and deceitful.
But he in whom these are wholly destroyed, uprooted and extinct, and who has cast out hatred — that wise man is truly accomplished. Continue reading →
Verse 155: They, who in youth have neither led the life of Purity nor have acquired wealth, waste away in dejection like decrepit herons on a drying pond deplete of fish.
Verse 156: They, who in youth have neither led the Life of Purity nor have acquired wealth, lie helplessly like arrows that have lost momentum, moaning and sighing after the past.
The Story of the Son of Mahadhana
While residing at the Migadaya wood, the Buddha uttered Verses (155) and (156) of this book, with reference to the son of Mahadhana, a rich man from Baranasi.
The son of Mahadhana did not study while he was young; when he came of age he married the daughter of a rich man, who, like him, also had no education. When the parents on both sides died, they inherited eighty crores from each side and so were very rich. But both of them were ignorant and knew only how to spend money and not how to keep it or to make it grow. They just ate and drank and had a good time, squandering their money. When they had spent all, they sold their fields and gardens and finally their house. Thus, they became very poor and helpless; and because they did not know how to earn a living they had to go begging. One day, the Buddha saw the rich man’s son leaning against a wall of the monastery, taking the leftovers given him by the samaneras; seeing him, the Buddha smiled. Continue reading →
235. Like a withered leaf are you now; death’s messengers await you. You stand on the eve of your departure, yet you have made no provision for your journey!
236. Make an island for yourself! Strive hard and become wise! Rid of impurities and cleansed of stain, you shall enter the celestial abode of the Noble Ones.
237. Your life has come to an end now; You are setting forth into the presence of Yama, the king of death. No resting place is there for you on the way, yet you have made no provision for the journey!
238. Make an island unto yourself! Strive hard and become wise! Rid of impurities and cleansed of stain, you shall not come again to birth and decay.
239. One by one, little by little, moment by moment, a wise man should remove his own impurities, as a smith removes his dross from silver.
240. Just as rust arising from iron eats away the base from which it arises, even so, their own deeds lead transgressors to states of woe. Continue reading →
So stay right here, you lucky people,
let go and be happy in the natural state.
Let your complicated life and everyday confusion alone
and out of quietude, doing nothing, watch the nature of mind.
This piece of advice is from the bottom of my heart:
fully engage in contemplation and understanding is born;
cherish nonattachment and delusion dissolves;
and forming no agenda at all reality dawns.
Whatever occurs, whatever it may be, that itself is the key,
and without stopping it or nourishing it, in an even flow,
freely resting, surrendering to ultimate contemplation,
Verse 153: I, who have been seeking the builder of this house (body), failing to attain Enlightenment (Bodhi nana or Sabbannuta nana) which would enable me to find him, have wandered through innumerable births in samsara. To be born again and again is, indeed, dukkha!
Verse 154: Oh house-builder! You are seen, you shall build no house (for me) again. All your rafters are broken, your roof-tree is destroyed. My mind has reached the unconditioned (i.e., Nibbana); the end of craving (Arahatta Phala) has been attained.
The Story Concerning the “Words of Exultation of the Buddha”
These two verses are expressions of intense and sublime joy felt by the Buddha at the moment of attainment of Supreme Enlightenment (Bodhi nana or Sabbannuta nana). These verses were repeated at the Jetavana monastery at the request of the Venerable Ananda.
Prince Siddhattha, of the family of Gotama, son of King Suddhodana and Queen Maya of the kingdom of the Sakyans, renounced the world at the age of twenty-nine and became an ascetic in search of the Dhamma (Truth). For six years, he wandered about the valley of the Ganges, approaching famous religious leaders, studying their doctrines and methods. He lived austerely and submitted himself strictly to rigorous ascetic discipline; but he found all these traditional practices to be unsound. He was determined to find the Truth in his own way, and by avoiding the two extremes of excessive sensual indulgence and self-mortification*, he found the Middle Path which would lead to Perfect Peace, Nibbana. This Middle Path (Majjhimapatipada) is the Noble Path of Eight Constituents, viz., Right view, Right thought, Right speech, Right action, Right livelihood, Right effort, Right mindfulness and Right concentration. Continue reading →
The Tipitaka or Pali canon, is the collection of primary Pali language texts which form the doctrinal foundation of Theravada Buddhism. The three divisions of the Tipitaka are: Vinaya Pitaka, Sutta Pitaka, Abhidhamma Pitaka.
Maha Ghosananda
Supreme Patriarch of Cambodian Buddhism (5/23/1913 - 3/12/07). Forever in my heart...
Samdech Chuon Nath
វចនានុក្រមសម្តេចសង្ឃ ជួន ណាត Desktop version
Listen to Khmer literature and Dhamma talk by His Holiness Jotannano Chuon Nath, Supreme Patriarch of Cambodia Buddhism.
Shantidevas’ Bodhisattva vows
Should anyone wish to ridicule me and make me an object of jest and scorn why should I possibly care if I have dedicated myself to others?
Let them do as they wish with me so long as it does not harm them. May no one who encounters me ever have an insignificant contact.
Regardless whether those whom I meet respond towards me with anger or faith, may the mere fact of our meeting contribute to the fulfilment of their wishes.
May the slander, harm and all forms of abuse that anyone should direct towards me act as a cause of their enlightenment.
As a solid rock is not shaken by the wind, so the wise are not shaken by blame and praise. As a deep lake is clear and calm, so the wise become tranquil after they listened to the truth…
Good people walk on regardless of what happens to them. Good people do not babble on about their desires. Whether touched by happiness or by sorrow, the wise never appear elated or depressed. ~The Dhammapada
Hermit of Tbeng Mountain
Sachjang Phnom Tbeng សច្ចំ ភ្នំត្បែង is a very long and interesting story written by Mr. Chhea Sokoan, read by Jendhamuni Sos. You can click on the links below to listen. Part 1 | Part 2
