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 This coming New Year,
May I Be generous in prosperity and thankful in adversity.
May I Be fair in my judgment and guarded in my speech.
May I Be a lamp unto those who walk in darkness.
May I Be eyes to the blind and a guiding light unto the feet of the erring.
May I Be a breath of life to the body of humankind, a dew to the soil of the human heart, and a fruit upon the tree of humility.
Sadhu! Sadhu! Sadhu!
(This photo was taken while in the Eurotunnel; a few hours after my family and I crossed to Paris, 5 trains broke down deep inside the tunnel, trapping hundreds in darkness and cold.... and it was more than 10 hours before they were rescued. For all my blessings, I remain in deep gratitude and humility, and on this New Year's eve, I say thank you to all, both seen and unseen.)
 Life is very short, so let us forget the illusion of our silly ego, forgive quickly, never stop learning, love truly, laugh & seize the moment. After all, the present moment is all that we truly have, the past is GONE and the future yet to be.
The Dhamma is everywhere to Motivate us, It is Simply the reality of Truth
In our very room, the Dhamma is shouting out to us, just look around and see:
For the New Year, Carry a Heart that Never Hates.
Carry a Smile that Never Fades.
Carry a Touch that Never Hurts.
Let us HAVE A PURPOSEFUL LIFE! Happy New Year to all!
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 To see our own mind clearly, without being caught up in its movement, to watch thought without trying to do anything with or about it, simply seeing it and letting it go, this is the way to freedom from dukkha.
Luangpor Teean
 Namo Tassa Bhagavato Arahato Samma Sambuddhasa
By the power and the truth of my practice of the Buddha's teachings,
may All beings have happiness, and the causes of happiness.
May All beings be free from sorrow, and the causes of sorrow.
May All beings never be separated from happiness.
May I live in equanimity,
without attachment or aversion.
May I treasure every moment knowing that all is Impermanent.
May All beings everywhere be filled with joy and peace.
The strong and the weak,
The great and the small,
The meek and the powerful,
The short and the tall,
the subtle and the gross.
May All beings everywhere,
Seen and unseen,
Dwelling far off or nearby,
Being or waiting to become:
May All be filled with lasting joy.
Let no one deceive another,
Let no one despise another,
Let no one out of anger or resentment
Wish suffering on anyone.
Just as a mother with her own life
Protects her child, her only child, from harm,
So within my heart let it grow
A boundless love for all creatures.
Let my love flow outward through the universe,
To its height, its depth, its broad extent,
A limitless love, without hatred or enmity.
Then as I stand or walk,
Sit or lie down,
As long as I am awake,
Strive for this with a one-pointed mind;
By this heaven will be brought to earth.
May All beings be happy and well, May All beings be free from pain and suffering.
Sadhu! Sadhu! Sadhu!
 First experience the Is-ness of the gap between 2 moments of thought, then the Is-ness of the thought between 2 moments of gap.
Even if those who begin to practice this find it difficult to continue in this state for more than an instant, there is no need to worry about it. Without wishing for the state to continue for a long time and without fearing the lack of it altogether, all that is necessary is to maintain pure presence of mind, without falling into the dualistic situation of there being an observing subject perceiving an observed object.
If the mind, even though one maintains simple presence, does not remain in this calm state, but always tends to follow waves of thoughts about the past or future, or becomes distracted by the aggregates of the senses such as sight, hearing, etc., then one should try to understand that the wave of thought itself is as insubstantial as the wind. If one tries to catch the wind, one does not succeed; similarly if one tries to block the wave of thought, it cannot be cut off. So for this reason one should not try to block thought, much less try to renounce it as something considered negative.
In reality, just as there is no distinction whatever between the sun and its rays, or a stream and its ripples, so there is no distinction between the mind and thought. If one considers the calm state as something positive to be attained, and the wave of thought as something negative to be abandoned, and one remains thus caught up in the duality of accepting and rejecting, there is no way of overcoming the ordinary state of mind.
 Homage to the Buddha, Dhamma and Sangha,
May all beings everywhere plagued with sufferings of body and mind be freed from their illnesses.
May those frightened cease to be afraid, and may those bound be free.
May people befriend one another in peace.
May those who find themselves lost, fearful, and alone in spiritual wilderness - be guided to the Truth of the Dhamma,
May all of us be protected by beneficent celestials,
and may all swiftly attain Enlightenment.
Sadhu! Sadhu! Sadhu!
 Homage to you, O Self-developed One,
Whose good works are numerous and wondrous,
Whose virtues are too numerous and awesome to define.
Their number? They are infinite.
Their nature? Words must fail.
But to speak of them bestows great good,
so I shall speak much.
No faults in any way are found in him;
All virtue in every way dwell in him.
You were kind without being asked,
you were loving without reason,
you were a friend to the stranger
and a kinsman to those without kin.
The joy beings feel on saving their lives
equals not the joy you experienced
when you gave your life for others.
By not envying the superior,
despising the inferior,
or competing with equals,
you attained pre-eminence in the world.
Good deeds you praise, bad deeds you blame,
but towards those who act thus
you are free from any 'for' or 'against'.
Lovely yet calming, bright but not blinding,
gentle yet strong. Who would not be inspired just to see you?
Your body seems to say to your virtues:
'I am blessed to have you,'
and the virtues seem to respond:
'Where better could we dwell.'
Just to hear you brings joy;
just to look upon you calms the heart;
your speech refreshes and your teaching frees.
Your are a wall of safety
for those hovering at the edge of the cliff,
those blind to their own welfare,
those who are their own worst enemy.
You are the Lord, but you never lord it over others.
All may use you as a servant to obtain the help they need.
To an enemy intent on evil
you are a friend intent on good.
To one who gleefully seeks faults
you respond by seeking virtues.
I have hardly began to sing your praise
and yet already my heart is filled with joy.
But need a lake be drained
before one's thirst is quenched?
Sadhu! Sadhu! Sadhu!
Satapancasatka of Matrceta, 1st century CE
 Homage to the Buddha, Dhamma and Sangha,
May I become at all times,
A protector for those without protection,
A guide for those who have lost their way,
A ship for those with oceans to cross,
A bridge for those with rivers to cross,
A sanctuary for those in danger,
A lamp for those without light,
A place of refuge for those who lack shelter,
And a servant to those in need.
And May I be gracious enough to accept protection offered,
patience to listen to those who guide me,
the will to cross what I must,
the courage to look out beyond me,
the humility to accept and welcome the service of others,
and to do so with a sincere smile and grateful voice,
hoping that someday I may be strong enough to repay all.
Sadhu! Sadhu! Sadhu!
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Homage to the Buddha, Dhamma and Sangha,
May I reflect ..
That no matter how good a friend is, they're going to hurt me every once in a while and I must forgive them for that.
May I reflect...
That with Metta, friendship continues to grow, even over the longest distance.
May I reflect...
That I can do something in an instant
that will give me heartache for life. Let me be always Mindful.
May I reflect...
That I should always leave loved ones with
loving words.. It may be the last time I see them.
May I reflect...
That I are responsible for what I do, no matter how I feel.
May I reflect...
That either I control my attitude or it controls me.
May I reflect...
That I need to do what has to be done
when it needs to be done.
May I reflect...
That sometimes the people I expect to kick me
when I am down, are the ones that actually help me get back up.
May I reflect...
That sometimes conditions make me angry, but that doesn't give me the right to be cruel.
May I reflect....
That maturity has more to do with the types of experiences I had and what I learned from them, and less to do with how many birthdays I had celebrated.
May I reflect...
That it isn't always enough to be forgiven by others,
I have to learn to forgive myself too.
May I reflect...
That my background and circumstances may have influenced who I am,
but I am responsible for who I become.
May I reflect...
That two people can look at the exact same thing and see something totally different, hence may I learn to respect the views of others.
May I reflect...
That even when I think that I have no more to give, when a friend cries out to me - I can find the strength to help.
May I reflect ...
That the degrees behind a name do not make a decent human being, its what we do that is important.
May I reflect.. that the happiest of people don't necessarily have the best of everything; they just make the most of everything.
 The Moment we are in Tension,KNOW IT!
or We will lose our Attention,
and be LOST in our Emotions.
Then we are in total Confusion,
And we will feel Irritation.
The Mind has been POSSESSED by our Emotions!
Then we will spoil personal Relations,
and Ultimately, we suffer and won't get Co - Operation.
Then we had made things a BIG Complication
and our blood pressure may raise Caution
And soon we may have to take Medication!
Instead, be Mindful at every moment,
Look WITHIN instead of only OUTWARDS, See the Mind, NOTE the thoughts, and understand the Situation.
A moment's pause may well save a lifetime's regret, sometimes our mouths work faster than our Brains!
Mindfulness is the circuit breaker, to prevent the FIRE of Emotions,
And try to think about a Solution.
Many problems will be solved by quiet Contemplation,
and considerate Discussion. Let the Ego die, or a relationship may well demise,
This will work out better in any Situation.
Mindfulness is a free Solution,
It's absolutely effective for Prevention,
Let all Intentions be Noble,
Based on Loving Kindness and Compassion,
And we will avoid coming to Tension.
 Sometimes love is for a moment, sometimes love is for a lifetime. Sometimes a moment is a lifetime.
Once upon a time there was an island where all the feelings lived. One day there was a storm in the sea and the island was about to get drowned.
Every feeling was scared but Love made a boat to escape. Every feeling boarded the boat. Only 1 feeling was left.
Love got down to see who it was. It was EGO.
Love tried and tried but Ego refused to bulge. The water was rising.
Every one asked love to leave him and come in the boat, but love simply loves all. At last all the feelings escape and Love dies with Ego on the island.
Love died because of Ego. But if ego had slowly got smaller and smaller, love would have carried him away on its arms, and love would not have died.
But because EGO was so strong and stubborn, love died.
An Argument wins the situations but loses the person. So when arguing with our loved ones, remember that situations are not more important than our loved ones.
A married lady was expecting a birthday gift from her husband. |
For many months she had admired a beautiful diamond ring,
and knowing her husband could afford it, she told him that was what she wanted.
As her birthday approached, the lady waited anxiously, confident that her husband
had purchased the diamond ring.
Finally, on the morning of her birthday, her husband called her.
Her husband told her how proud he was to have such a good wife, and told her how much he loved her.
He handed her a beautifully wrapped gift. Hmmm, this is way too big for a Ring, she thought! Impatiently, the wife opened the wrapper and found a copy of the Dhammapada!
Angrily, she raised her voice to her husband and said, 'With all your money you give me a copy of the Dhammapada?' And she stormed out of the house, leaving her husband. Many years passed and the lady had a new family, but she realized her ex-husband was old, and thought perhaps she should visit him. She had not seen him for many years.
But before she could make arrangements, she received a telegram telling her that her ex-husband had passed away, and willed all of his possessions to her. She needed to go immediately and take care of things. When she arrived at her ex-husband's house, sadness and regret filled her heart. She began to look through her ex-husband's belongings and saw the copy of the Dhammapada, just as she had left it years before. With tears, she opened the book and began to turn the pages. Her
ex-husband had carefully highlighted a verse,
Verse 354: The gift of the Dhamma excels all gifts; the taste of the Dhamma excels all tastes; delight in the Dhamma excels all delights. The eradication of Craving overcomes all ills As she read those words, a tiny container dropped from the back of
the packaging. It had a diamond ring, with her name engraved on it --
the same diamond ring which she saw at the showroom.
On the tag was the date of her birth, and the words. 'LOVE YOU'. How many times do we miss blessings, because they are not
packaged as we expected?
Please Pass this on to other brothers and sisters. Do not spoil what you have, by desiring what you have not; but remember that what you now have was once among the things you hoped for.
''The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched.
They must be felt with the heart.''
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Anyone wants a copy of the Dhammapada for your loved ones? I can give you mine!
To my Daughter in a distant land....
 Namo tassa bhagavato arahato samma sambuddhasa
Kneeling in front of the Buddha image,
I recall the Teacher's words.
Peace and Universal Love is taught by the Enlightened One.
I forgive all beings, and may all beings forgive me.
Unto all have I amity, and unto none, enmity.
Knowing that greed, hatred, and delusion is the root cause of miseries in the world, I vow to renounce all such unwholesomeness.
A weapon, however powerful it may be, can always be superseded by a superior one; but no weapon can be superior to Metta/ love, Karuna/ compassion.
May I be Loving and Kind, May I show Love and Compassion to all beings.
Sadhu! Sadhu! Sadhu!
I pay Homage to the Buddha, Dhamma and Sangha. I lay my head at the feet of the Lord Buddha in deep respect.
Let nothing disturb me.
Let nothing frighten me.
All things are passing;
Everything is Impermanent.
Only The Dhamma and Nibbana is changeless,
With Patience I will strive till Wisdom and Insight is gained.
With the Buddha as my Teacher,
The Dhamma as my guide,
The Sangha as my fellow companions in this walk,
I have all and want nothing.
I am content,
I take Refuge in the Buddha, Dhamma and Sangha,
Spiritually that alone suffices.
Sadhu! Sadhu! Sadhu!
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 We are taught that death is not a stranger. The Dhamma teaches about the ever presence of impermanence and the frail nature of life. Every day our lives brings us a day closer to our death. And death can come in so many ways: cancer, stroke and heart attacks being the common expectation. But death may also appear suddenly long before any illness creeps in. In the Dhammapada, the Buddha describes the approach of death as ".. a flood that sweeps away a village sleeping in the night".
 As Buddhists walking the Path of the Dhamma, we should never be ashamed to own that we had been wrong, which is but saying, that we are wiser today than we were yesterday
The Ultimate GOAL The ultimate goal for students of the Buddha-Dhamma is to escape the cycle of samsara, the endless rebirths, and attain the peace of Nibbana. While those of theistic faiths hope to be 'born again in Heaven,' the Buddhist aims not to be born anymore. This is indeed a huge difference.
The idea of extinction is very often misunderstood. Greed, hatred and Ignorance is what is extinguished, ego is what is being extinguished - the sense of separation and isolation of "I" from the rest of existence.
But the idea that people are striving to literally not exist in any possible sense of the word is a fundamental misunderstanding of the Dhamma.
Disatisfaction
 Suffering is a fundamental fact of life, a common denominator to the rich and poor. The fact that we constantly seek for movies, music, tasty food or even just conversation and company, are ceaseless acts of escape from a fundamental disatisfaction with what is at present. For all beings, life has suffering and suffering is bad. Thus the aim of all Dhamma classes or sharing is to learn how to live lives that can minimise and ultimately END suffering, to do that we learn to lessen desires and eventually directly see the delusion of self, so that suffering ceases.
Suffering is suffering, pain is pain. Physical pain is inevitable while mental suffering is optional. One is unavoidable so long as we are in the world of form, the other is not. We can learn from all experiences including pain (which is one form of suffering), but there is a difference between psychological and physical pain. Some people through a strong faith or believe in God or gods, are able to find relief from their pain and suffering with prayers and devotions, hoping for a future rebirth in a pain-free heaven. In this, religions truly act as the opiate for the suffering masses.
From the Buddha Dhamma we know that neither God nor gods can save anyone for while they are powerful and have very long lives, they are still Unenlightened and within the realms of samsara, hence deities like humans have emotions of jealousy, anger and even threaten "Vengeance is mine"; the Dhamma is not about the imagery of creation or judgement but the Ultimate Truth of Nature. Within samsara all our actions should be in accord with virtues such as unconditional love, compassion, sympathetic joy and equanimity. How good or virtuous humans are is NOT based on any religious label but 'By their fruits shall you know them.' It is our Thoughts, speech and actions which makes us what we are.
Ceaseless Change, hence HOPE
All form is impermanent – things change. The greatest "sinner" of today eg the mass murderer Anggulimala can be the great saint of tomorrow. No surprise, then, that the idea of sin or sinner is not a part of the Buddhist vocabulary. If we are permanent entities then there will be NO HOPE but it is because we are ceaselessly changing that we can evolve to be better beings.
The three poisons (greed, hatred, and ignorance), which are the root cause of suffering, are born of delusion or our stupidity regarding Ultimate Reality. It is the wisdom of the Truth that finally liberates.
A Peaceful & Calm Way of Life The Buddha is not a saviour who ferries one from earth to heaven BUT a TEACHER who teaches us to free ourselves from Ignorance and be Enlightened. The distinction is that one must walk his own path, not that one does so selfishly. It is a way of life, NOT of "Do this ritual, kneel, say this prayer, sing this hymn, take this sacrament, memorise this Creed".
 And there is no evangelism; whether one wishes to take the SHORT CUT to Enlightenment or the LONG CUT of the ups and downs of existence in Heaven, Hell and earth is entirely an individual choice. Most Buddhists would not be comfortable debating the contentions of other faith traditions, the emphasis is upon the simple sharing of the teachings of the Buddha should one wishes to hear it.
However some people take this open and mild mannered approach as one of weakness.
If we are to "evangelise", then it should be by the example of a virtuous life, not by words. Even if we accept "evangelism" as being a synonym for “converting people to a religion”, there is no conversion per se in Buddhism.
If a person wishes, he or she can the vows of refuge, but this is not like the notion of baptism. Nor is it even necessary to take such vows in order to practice the Dhamma. Nor does anyone have to renounce being of any other religion.
No one has anything sprung on them. There is no pressure to join a cell group or to conform to rituals, if they just want to learn to meditate or chant, that is fine. If they want to learn about the Buddha's discourses, that is fine too. Ehipassiko.. come and hear what the Dhamma is and then decide for yourselves if you agree and want to learn more. No one is ever condemned as a sinner or threatened with eternal damnation if they don’t accept what is being taught.
It is never about "numbers", it isn’t about luring people into the temples but about genuine sincerity in loving thy neighbor, and valuing the worth of each person whether or not they believe. I was so proud and happy last Vesak day when a centre that I am affiliated to gave bursaries to 10 needy students, NONE of whom were from Buddhist families- they were simply people in need.
So many gods, so many creeds, So many beliefs that wind and twist, While just the art of being kind, Is basically what this sad world needs. My religion is very simple, It's simply kindness!
Our actions "speak" so loud that you cannot not hear what we say!
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