By Ven. Dr. K. Sri Dhammananda

We are living in an ever changing world. But a very few people realise this fact. One should not cling to the traditions, customs, manners, habits and beliefs, introduced by ancient people and ancestors thinking that he should follow all those traditions forever and ever. If he is going to be so narrow minded then there will be no progress in this society of ours. There may be some good customs amongst them which had been handed down by the ancestors; but one must consider whether these customs are congenial to modern society. On the other hand parents and elderly people conflict with their younger generation. They would like to see their children follow the same old customs and traditions. However this is not a very good attitude to adopt. Allow the children to move with the times if it is harmless. Parents only have to remember how their own parents had objected to certain modern ways of living prevalent at the time when they were young. This conflict between the conservative people and the younger generation is not a very healthy attitude towards the progress of society. Of course, if children go astray due to misguidance of modern society then parents should counsel and guide them.

You must learn how to tolerate the other man’s views and customs even though you do not like them. Here, to tolerate does not mean that you have to follow his ideas and ideals.

Every man is a part of the world of man, and is responsible for what goes on in it. He must be concerned as to whether or not society is becoming more humanised. He must ask what he himself is doing to bring about a better order of things. This is the ethical view by which life takes on a serious aspect is given an incentive. Such a life is the really happy life. Then we become commendably, constructively discontented with the present order of things, and proceed happily to do something about it.

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By Ven. Dr. K. Sri Dhammananda

Sweetness is sickness, bitterness is medicine. Praise is like a sweet, excess of which cause sickness. And criticism is like a bitter pill or a painful injection which cures sickness. We must have the courage to welcome criticism and not to be afraid of it.

“The ugliness we see in others  Is a reflection of our own nature”

A man’s individual life, circumstances and world are a reflection of his own thoughts and beliefs. All men are mirrors reflecting according to their own surface. All men, looking at the world of men and things, are looking into a mirror which gives back their own reflection.

By Ven. Dr. K. Sri Dhammananda 

If one is born ugly, no matter how ugly his face may be, if he cultivate love, that love will give him an inward eternal charm which emanate outwardly and parade his whole being with that supernatural charm which will make him attractive because charm is the real beauty and not the shape or colour of the face.

We take the most handsome looking person. Sometimes people may not be attracted towards him or her because his or her beauty may be disfigured by the conceit or pride in his or her own beauty. Take the person who is ugly but is over flowing with boundless loving-kindness and speaks gently and politely, treats others kindly and you will see how attractive that person will be to everybody.

Act of giving something to others is an art of flowering your heart.
― Vinayak

By Ven. Dr. K. Sri Dhammananda

Drunkenness expels reason,
Drowns memory,
Defaces the brain,
Diminishes strength,
Inflames the blood,
Causes external and internal incurable wounds.

Is a witch to the body,
A devil to the mind,
A thief to the purse,
The beggar’s curse,
The wife’s woe,
The children’s sorrow,
The picture of a beast,
And self murder,
Who drinks to other’s health,
And robs himself of his own.
Its final result can never be anything but utter physical and moral degradation.

By Ven. Dr. K. Sri Dhammananda

You should not come to any hasty decision regarding any matter when you are in a bad mood or when provoked by someone, not even when you are in a good mood influenced by emotion, because at such a time the state of your mind is emotional and any decision or conclusion reached during such a period would be a matter you could one day regret. Allow your mind to calm down first and think over it, then your judgement will be an unbiased one.

Cultivate tolerance; for tolerance helps you to avoid hasty judgements, to sympathise with other people’s troubles, to avoid captious criticism, to realise that even the finest human being is not infallible; the weakness you find in your neighbours can be found in your own self.

By Ven. Dr. K. Sri Dhammananda

Be patient with all. Anger leads one through a pathless jungle. While it irritates and annoys others it also hurts oneself, weakens the physical frame and disturbs the mind. A harsh word, like an arrow discharged from a bow, can never be taken back even if you would offer a thousand apologies for it.

Certain creatures cannot see in the day-time whilst some others are blind at night. But a man driven to great heights of hatred does not observe anything, either by day or night.

With whom and with what do you fight when you are angry? You fight with yourself, for you are the worst enemy of yourself. Mind is your best friend and worst foe. You must try to kill the passion of lust, hatred and ignorance that are latent in your mind by means or morality, concentration and wisdom.

Some varieties of heart trouble, rheumatic disorders, and skin diseases are traceable to chronic resentment, hatred and jealously *. Such destructive feelings poison the cockles of the heart. They foster the development of latent disease tendencies and invite disease microbes.

Please help us sign the petition to ban dog and cat meat. Please help the activists put an end to the Yulin Dog Eating Festival in China. This year, Yulin Dog-Eating Festival will begin June 21, 2014. Animal rights groups say 10,000 dogs are slaughtered during the festival each year, and that many are electrocuted, burned and skinned alive.

According to an open letter by the Hong Kong-based NGO Animals Asia, many of the dogs consumed during the festival are strays and abductees. Some are transported to the city on filthy, overcrowded trucks, significantly increasing the risk that they carry rabies and other contagious diseases.

To join in the fight against the Yulin tradition of dog eating, please click on these links below to sign petitions.

Nobody touch the DOG – International Petition and campaign to stop dog slaughter in China

China: Ban dog and cat meat