As rain seeps into
an ill-thatched hut,
so passion,
the undeveloped mind.
As rain doesn’t seep into
a well-thatched hut,
so passion does not,
the well-developed mind.
~Dhammapada
RFA/Ouk Savborey
Phenomena are preceded by the heart,
ruled by the heart,
made of the heart.
If you speak or act
with a corrupted heart,
then suffering follows you —
as the wheel of the cart,
the track of the ox
that pulls it.
Phenomena are preceded by the heart,
ruled by the heart,
made of the heart.
If you speak or act
with a calm, bright heart,
then happiness follows you,
like a shadow
that never leaves.
~Dhammapada
Look around. People have faces with no smiles, as if they are carrying heavy baggage. Stop them. Give them a smile and see them Light up. ~Unknown
“The most powerful smile is the one that radiates from the inside to the outside. It is capable of transfiguration.” ~Terry Mark
Inner beauty is long lasting
Inner beauty makes people fall in love with you
Inner beauty gives you peace
Inner beauty helps you connect emotionally
Inner beauty helps you connect with God / ‘supreme’ entity
Inner beauty will never die
Inner beauty makes you confident
Inner beauty doesn’t need money or cosmetics
Inner beauty helps you judge right from wrong
Source: Mag for Women
End each day with thoughts of peace. Begin each day with thoughts of peace. Continue thinking thoughts of peace throughout your precious day and happiness will be yours. ~Unknown author
1. Criticize you for being flawed.
As flawed as you might be, as out of place as you sometimes feel, and as lacking as you think you are, you don’t have to hide all the imperfect pieces of yourself from a true friend. They see your flaws as features that make you interesting and beautiful.
The quality of the happiness between two people grows in direct proportion to their acceptance, and in inverse proportion to their intolerance and expectations. True friends love and appreciate each other just the way they are.
2. Walk away when times get tough.
True friendship and good character is all about how a person nurtures another person when they are vulnerable and can give very little in return. Thus, it’s not who’s standing beside you during good times, but the ones who stick by you through tough times that are your true friends.
So take note of who remains in your life when times get tough, especially the people who sacrifice the resources they have in their life to help you improve yours when you need it most. Seriously, when you come out the other side of a difficult period in your life, look around you. The people still standing beside you are your true friends.
3. Discourage you.
Unfortunately, some who seem like your friends will try to hold you back from your full potential. It may be difficult, but don’t let these negative imposters bring you down. Don’t ever let your so-called friends turn your sky into a ceiling. Beware of friends who try to belittle your ambitions. Small hearts and minds always do that. The greatest hearts and minds – the people you should spend time around – make you feel that you, too, can become great.
Remember, encouraging things happen when you distance yourself from discouraging people. Doing so doesn’t mean you hate them, it simply means you respect yourself. (Angel and I discuss this in more detail in the “Relationships” chapter of 1,000 Little Things Happy, Successful People Do Differently.)
4. Hold a grudge over your head.
Some people will refuse to accept that you are no longer who you used to be – that you’ve made mistakes in the past, learned from them, and moved beyond them. They may not be able to stand the fact that you’re growing and moving on with your life, and so they will try to drag your past to catch up with you. Do not help them by acknowledging their begrudging behavior. Let go of their negativity, find peace, and liberate yourself!
A true friend never holds the unchangeable past against you; instead, they help your repair your present and future. If someone relentlessly judges you by your past and holds it against you, you might have to take matters into your own hands, and repair your present and future by leaving them behind.
5. Lie to you.
When you keep someone in your life who is a chronic liar, and you keep giving them new chances to be trusted, you have a lot in common with this person – you’re both lying and being unfriendly to YOU.
If you know someone who avoids the truth by telling you only what you want to hear, they do so for their own benefit, not yours. They are not a true friend and they don’t deserve to be treated as such. Continue reading
A true friend is someone who can offer peace and happiness. If you’re a true friend to yourself, you need to be able to offer yourself true peace and true happiness. ~Thich Nhat Hanh
Sutta Nipata I.2 | Dhaniya Sutta
Dhaniya the cattleman:[1]
“The rice is cooked,
my milking done.
I live with my people
along the banks of the Mahi;
my hut is roofed, my fire lit:
so if you want, rain-god,
go ahead & rain.”
The Buddha:“Free from anger,
my stubbornness gone,[2]
I live for one night
along the banks of the Mahi;
my hut’s roof is open, my fire out:[3]
so if you want, rain-god,
go ahead & rain.”
Dhaniya:
“No mosquitoes or gadflies
are to be found.
The cows range in the marshy meadow
where the grasses flourish.
They could stand the rain if it came:
so if you want, rain-god,
go ahead & rain.”
The Buddha:“A raft, well-made,
has been lashed together.[4]
Having crossed over,
gone to the far shore,
I’ve subdued the flood.
No need for a raft
is to be found:[5]
so if you want, rain-god,
go ahead & rain.”
Dhaniya:
“My wife is compliant, not careless,
is charming, has lived with me long.
I hear no evil about her at all:
so if you want, rain-god,
go ahead & rain.”
The Buddha:“My mind is compliant, released,
has long been nurtured, well tamed.
No evil is to be found in me:
so if you want, rain-god,
go ahead & rain.”
Verse 15: Here he grieves, hereafter he grieves; the evil-doer grieves in both existences. He grieves and he suffers anguish when he sees the depravity of his own deeds.
While residing at the Veluvana monastery in Rajagaha, the Buddha uttered Verse (15) of this book, with reference to Cunda, the pork-butcher.
Once, in a village not far away from the Veluvana monastery, there lived a very cruel and hard-hearted pork-butcher, by the name of Cunda. Cunda was a pork-butcher for over fifty-five years; all this time he had not done a single meritorious deed. Before he died, he was in such great pain and agony that he was grunting and squealing and kept on moving about on his hands and knees like a pig for seven whole days. In fact, even before he died, he was suffering as if he were in Niraya*. On the seventh day, the pork-butcher died and was reborn in Avici Niraya. Thus, the evil-doer must always suffer for the evil deeds done by him; he suffers in this world as well as in the next.
In this connection, the Buddha spoke in verse as follows:
Verse 15: Here he grieves, hereafter he grieves; the evil-doer grieves in both existences. He grieves and he suffers anguish when he sees the depravity of his own deeds.
*Niraya or Naraka: a place of continuous torment sometimes compared with hell; but it is different from hell because suffering in Niraya is not everlasting like suffering in hell. Avici Niraya is the most fearful of all Nirayas.
Dhammapada Verse 15
Cundasukarika Vatthu
Idha socati pecca socati
papakari ubhayattha socati
so socati so vihannati
disva kammakilitthamattano.
Source: Tipitaka
Bhikkhus, whatever kinds of worldly merit there are, all are not worth one 16th part of the release of mind by universal friendliness; in shining, glowing, beaming & radiance the release of mind by universal friendliness far excels & surpasses them all. Itivuttaka 27
As a mother even with own life protects her only child, so should one cultivate immeasurable loving-kindness towards all living beings. The Metta Sutta
He who both day and night takes delight in harmlessness sharing love with all that live, finds enmity with none.
Samyutta Nikaya. I, 208
What are the eleven advantages of Metta ?
One sleeps Happy!
One wakes 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 & Protected by the divine Devas!
One cannot be Harmed by Fire, Poison, or Weapons!
One swiftly Attains the Concentration of Absorption!
One’s appearance becomes Serene, Calm, & 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!
Anguttara Nikaya XI.16
They may address you in an affectionate way or a harsh way. They may address you in a beneficial way or an unbeneficial way. They may address you with a mind of good-will or with inner hate. In any event, you should train yourselves: ‘Our minds will be unaffected and we will say no evil words. We will remain sympathetic to that person’s welfare, with a mind of good will, and with no inner hate. We will keep pervading him with an awareness imbued with good will and, beginning with him, we will keep pervading the all-encompassing world with an awareness imbued with good will equal to the great earth — abundant, expansive, immeasurable, free from hostility, free from ill will.’ That’s how you should train yourselves.
Majjhima Nikaya 21
When one gives birth to hatred for an individual, one should direct one’s thoughts to the fact of his being the product of his actions: ‘This venerable one is the doer of his actions, heir of his actions, born of his actions, related by his actions, and is dependent on his actions. Whatever actions he does, for good or for evil, to that will he fall heir.’ Thus the hatred for that individual should be subdued.
Anguttara Nikaya V.161
I have good will for footless beings,
good will for two-footed beings,
good will for four-footed beings,
good will for many-footed beings.
May footless beings do me no harm.
May two-footed beings do me no harm.
May four-footed beings do me no harm.
May many-footed beings do me no harm.
May all creatures,
all breathing things,
all beings — each & every one –
meet with good fortune.
May none of them come to any evil.
Anguttara Nikaya IV.67 Continue reading
ព្រះត្រៃបិដក ប្រែថា កញ្រ្ចែង ឬ ល្អី ៣ សម្រាប់ដាក់ផ្ទុកពាក្យពេចន៍នៃព្រះសម្មាសម្ពុទ្ធ
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.
វចនានុក្រមសម្តេចសង្ឃ ជួន ណាត
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Listen to Khmer literature and Dhamma talk by His Holiness Jotannano Chuon Nath, Supreme Patriarch of Cambodia Buddhism.
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
