Lying is a hindrance to faith;
Laziness, to progress
Animosity, to mindfulness
Hatred, to deep concentration and
Resentment, to wisdom.
~Venerable Wuling, Path to Peace
Happiness… is always Free!
Doesn’t cost you a dime, not even one penny.
Open your heart… look closely…
You will see, Happiness in your eyes.
Look at those falling leaves!
Do you feel Peace, in your heart?
Leaves… of course, are free of charge,
Rich or Poor, can enjoy.
Leaves are talking to you!
Do you know, what they are saying?
Flying closer and closer,
Like messengers, from the Heaven.
Delivering an important message,
That will read, as follows:
Life is too short,
So be kind to one another.
Learn to share your smile,
Even with strangers.
Cherish Life Today,
For Tomorrow, May Never Come…
~by Jendhamuni Sos
February 22, 2013
….•*•.¸¸. ♥
Watching leaves is my favorite hobby.
Some of you may think I’m crazy,
But this is the reality of my life.
I’m not a poet, just putting my thoughts together.
Right from the moment of our birth, we are under the care and kindness of our parents, and then later on in our life when we are oppressed by sickness and become old, we are again dependent on the kindness of others. Since at the beginning and end of our lives we are so dependent on other’s kindness, how can it be in the middle that we would neglect kindness towards others? ~Dalai Lama
It is possible to speak truth in anger.
When so done, people tend to hear the anger and not the truth.
It is possible to speak truth in arrogance.
When so done, people tend to hear the arrogance
and not the truth.
It is possible to speak truth in deceitful ways.
When so done, people tend to sense the deceit
and take the truth for more deceit.
It is possible to speak truth in loving kindness.
When so done, people tend to hear the love and the truth.
Or so it seems in my experience.
~By Jesa MacBeth
“Discipline” is a difficult word for most of us. It conjures up images of somebody standing over you with a stick, telling you that you’re wrong. But self-discipline is different. It’s the skill of seeing through the hollow shouting of your own impulses and piercing their secret. They have no power over you. It’s all a show, a deception. Your urges scream and bluster at you; they cajole; they coax; they threaten; but they really carry no stick at all. You give in out of habit. You give in because you never really bother to look beyond the threat. It is all empty back there. There is only one way to learn this lesson, though. The words on this page won’t do it. But look within and watch the stuff coming up-restlessness, anxiety, impatience, pain-just watch it come up and don’t get involved. Much to your surprise, it will simply go away. It rises, it passes away. As simple as that. There is another word for self-discipline. It is patience. ? Bhante Henepola Gunaratana
The third Buddhist Council being held with the Venerable Moggaliputta Tissa as the presiding Thera
57. The third Buddhist Council being held with the Venerable Moggaliputta Tissa as the presiding Thera
King Dhammasoka understood the essence of Buddhism, and gave great support to the cause of Buddhism by erecting rock-edicts in all parts of his territory enjoining upon the subjects to follow the Doctrine in their daily lives. With his royal patronage Buddhism flourished, and the Sasana gradually grew in importance and numbers. Tempted by worldly gain, many undesirables of alien sects joined the Order and polluted the Sasana by their corrupt lives and heretical views which they taught.
Good monks could not live together with these sham monks and there was trouble. The King consulted the Venerable Moggaliputta Tissa to protect the Sasana. The King tested the monks and disrobed the undesirables to purify the Sasana. The Third Buddhist Council was then held by 1000 Arahants. with the Venerable Moggaliputta Tissa as the presiding Thera.
THE ILLUSTRATED HISTORY OF BUDDHISM
by ASHIN JANAKA BHIVAMSA (Aggamahapandita)
Artist: U Ba Kyi | Link to this post
Just as fog is dispelled by the strength of the sun
and is dispelled no other way,
preconception is cleared by the strength of realization.
There’s no other way of clearing preconceptions.
Experience them as baseless dreams.
Experience them as ephemeral bubbles.
Experience them as insubstantial rainbows.
Experience them as indivisible space.
~by Milarepa
“The richest person is not the one who has the most, but the one who needs the least.” ~Arab Proverb
“When you are discontent, you always want more, more, more. Your desire can never be satisfied. But when you practice contentment, you can say to yourself, ‘Oh yes – I already have everything that I really need.'” ~ Dalai Lama
“Be content with what you have; rejoice in the way things are. When you realize there is nothing lacking, the whole world belongs to you.” ~Lao Tzu
King Asoka offering meal to young novice Nigrodha who sat upon the throne
56. King Asoka offering meal to young novice Nigrodha who sat upon the throne
King Asoka regularly fed the Brahmin priests, in accordance with the custom of the royal household, before his conversion to Buddhism. But he was not pleased with their demeanour at meal-time, as they were neither clean nor calm. The King thought to himself, “Charity on such a lavish scale should be given in proper quarters”. Later, one day he saw a serene-looking young novice, quietly walking along the street with restrained senses.
The King was so impressed with the deportment that the novice was invited to the palace at once and requested to occupy a suitable seat ; and the novice went up the throne and sat on it. The King then served him with an excellent meal and asked him to give an exposition of the Doctrine which his Teacher used to preach. The young novice Nigrodha delivered an instructive discourse on the following stanza of the Dhammapada:— “Heedfulness is the path to Deathlessness. Heedlessness is the path to death. The heedful do not die, the heedless are like unto the dead”.
The word of the Buddha appealed to him and he became a Buddhist and staunch supporter of the religion.
THE ILLUSTRATED HISTORY OF BUDDHISM
by ASHIN JANAKA BHIVAMSA (Aggamahapandita)
Artist: U Ba Kyi | Link to this post
Walk as if you are kissing the Earth with your feet. ~Thich Nhat Hạnh
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
