Monday, March 15, 2010
Saturday, March 13, 2010
Non Possession
Though we possess things out of necessity, we grow concerned because of them. Therefore, possessing something is in a way being bound by something. When you do not own anything, you actually own everything in the world. ... Venerable Pup Jeong
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
Respects
Dear YeePing,
today you asked about the verse
"namo tassa bhagavato arahato samma-sambuddhasa"
This is chanted at the very beginning of every sutta chant, every puja (paying homage), every gathering. And I gave you a CD today to help you listen to it as a musical piece to calm you down, to help you be at peace.
It is a verse in Pali, a language in India that were spoken by the common people and understood by all, the lower and higher castes, unlike sanskrit which is restricted to the higher castes. It is a language now only commonly used by serious students of the Dhamma as the Collections of the Buddha's discourses are recorded in Pali.
Namo Tassa (pay homage to)
'Namo tassa' by itself is just about paying homage. We speak of paying homage but to who?
Bhagavato (one who have destroyed, eradicated and crossed the great ocean of Samsara, to final salvation from all pain and suffering, One who has transcended all)
Bhagavato is from the word 'bhagava' which is another title for the Buddha, the one who have experience nibbana bliss and gained enlightenment.
Arahato ('Araham' - worthy of respect and offering, a perfected being freed from the fetters)
Araham means one who destroyed all his defilements.
The Buddha is firstly an araham, worthy of offering and paying homage to.
There was a brief meeting between the Buddha and a Brahmin. The Brahmin was amazed by Lord Buddha's serene figure and complexion.
Br: May I know whether you are a God?
Buddha: No, I am not a God.
Br: Are you any form of supernatural living being?
Buddha: No, I am all natural.
Br: Then, are you an ordinary man?
Buddha: No, I am not an ordinary man.
Br: Who are you?
Buddha:
I understood everything that exists in this world.
I have practice all the great qualities, virtues, principles, percepts, morals, and all evil is completely eradicated from my mind
Therefore, I am the Buddha, not a God, not an Angel, not an ordinary human being. I am the Buddha.
The Buddha is not his name. It is a title of the Fully Self Enlightened Being.
How can the Buddha help us?
When you are sick, you go to the doctor. The wise Doctor examined you and prescribed you some medicine. You don't want to take the medicine because it tastes bitter but you go home appreciating the doctor's great intelligence and his expertise and his clinical skills. Will your illness be cured?
We gain by learning what Lord Buddha had taught and how to gain our own salvation.
I have a Buddha image in my clinic room. Some would ask me, "this is your god, eh". I would tell them. "No, he is my teacher."
We do not worship the Buddha. We concentrate on the qualities of the Lord Buddha, learn the Truth that he discovered and taught, and strive to attain our own enlightenment.
Samma Sambuddhasa (The Supremely enlightened one, the Buddha who realized the Dhamma/Truths and subsequently teaches to others)
Gautama Buddha is a Samma Sambuddho as he is the one who understood, realized and explained to others the 4 noble truths and 8 noble path.
Therefore: in the salutation
"Namo Tassa Bhagavato Arahato Samma Sambuddhasa" we recall all these qualities. This is also the salutation used by people even during the Buddha's time when they pay respects to him.
This is chanted at the very beginning of every sutta chant, every puja (paying homage), every gathering. And I gave you a CD today to help you listen to it as a musical piece to calm you down, to help you be at peace.
It is a verse in Pali, a language in India that were spoken by the common people and understood by all, the lower and higher castes, unlike sanskrit which is restricted to the higher castes. It is a language now only commonly used by serious students of the Dhamma as the Collections of the Buddha's discourses are recorded in Pali.
Namo Tassa (pay homage to)
'Namo tassa' by itself is just about paying homage. We speak of paying homage but to who?
Bhagavato (one who have destroyed, eradicated and crossed the great ocean of Samsara, to final salvation from all pain and suffering, One who has transcended all)
Bhagavato is from the word 'bhagava' which is another title for the Buddha, the one who have experience nibbana bliss and gained enlightenment.
Arahato ('Araham' - worthy of respect and offering, a perfected being freed from the fetters)
Araham means one who destroyed all his defilements.
The Buddha is firstly an araham, worthy of offering and paying homage to.
There was a brief meeting between the Buddha and a Brahmin. The Brahmin was amazed by Lord Buddha's serene figure and complexion.
Br: May I know whether you are a God?
Buddha: No, I am not a God.
Br: Are you any form of supernatural living being?
Buddha: No, I am all natural.
Br: Then, are you an ordinary man?
Buddha: No, I am not an ordinary man.
Br: Who are you?
Buddha:
I understood everything that exists in this world.
I have practice all the great qualities, virtues, principles, percepts, morals, and all evil is completely eradicated from my mind
Therefore, I am the Buddha, not a God, not an Angel, not an ordinary human being. I am the Buddha.
The Buddha is not his name. It is a title of the Fully Self Enlightened Being.
How can the Buddha help us?
When you are sick, you go to the doctor. The wise Doctor examined you and prescribed you some medicine. You don't want to take the medicine because it tastes bitter but you go home appreciating the doctor's great intelligence and his expertise and his clinical skills. Will your illness be cured?
We gain by learning what Lord Buddha had taught and how to gain our own salvation.
I have a Buddha image in my clinic room. Some would ask me, "this is your god, eh". I would tell them. "No, he is my teacher."
We do not worship the Buddha. We concentrate on the qualities of the Lord Buddha, learn the Truth that he discovered and taught, and strive to attain our own enlightenment.
Samma Sambuddhasa (The Supremely enlightened one, the Buddha who realized the Dhamma/Truths and subsequently teaches to others)
Gautama Buddha is a Samma Sambuddho as he is the one who understood, realized and explained to others the 4 noble truths and 8 noble path.
Therefore: in the salutation
"Namo Tassa Bhagavato Arahato Samma Sambuddhasa" we recall all these qualities. This is also the salutation used by people even during the Buddha's time when they pay respects to him.
Debts
Debts of Gratitude
Dear Su Yi,
almost all the female medical students after witnessing their first natural childbirth in the OG posting comes back a bit shell shocked, and when asked will declare "I am NOT going to give birth!" This is a natural response as it is the poor girls initiation into a scene of blood and pain which was over and beyond most peoples expectations.
I will instead advise that this exposure to a physiological process ( Yes , my Professor used to hammer into us that childbirth is an entirely natural physiological process in which the doctors role is 'Masterly Inactivity' ) teaches and reminds us of the fundamental process with which all of us start life, a painful and traumatic experience for both mother and child.
I will instead advise that this exposure to a physiological process ( Yes , my Professor used to hammer into us that childbirth is an entirely natural physiological process in which the doctors role is 'Masterly Inactivity' ) teaches and reminds us of the fundamental process with which all of us start life, a painful and traumatic experience for both mother and child.
The First Noble Truth includes 'Birth' as dukkha - pain, suffering, distress... and you have seen it clearly. Clearly it also reminds us of the debts that is owed to one's father and mother; you have witnessed what your mother had to endure to give you life. Of course doctors now try our best to relieve pain. As for your parents in this lifetime, they not only gave you life through the birth process, they also sent you to medical school, gave you the best education that they can afford, got me to GRILL you and most importantly they taught you about the Dhamma as well.
We have much to be grateful for including the debts of gratitude of the following:
We have much to be grateful for including the debts of gratitude of the following:
1. The debt of gratitude that one owes to all living beings; if they were not there you will have NO rice on the table, no burger to eat, no lup cheong for CNY and certainly NO veggies. We survive because of the net of connectivity, from the simple hard working farmer to the market stall proprietor to the man who checks the water level at the reservoir.
2. The debt of gratitude that one owes to one’s parents is obvious to all. I provide a FAM (Father and Mother ) scholarship to my 2 daughters, trust me I know!
3. The debt of gratitude that one owes to one’s sovereign. Yup, its is true for without an effective administration, no one will collect rubbish, maintain roads, build bridges, run schools or provide General Hospitals for all! Anarchy will take place overnight.
4. The debt of gratitude that one owes to the Triple Gems. The Buddha is the Teacher who taught us the Dhamma that He discovered, and the Sangha preserves the Dhamma for the present and the Future.
We frequently hear that we must truly appreciate and honour our parents. Showing our debt of gratitude to our parents means to support them and sincerely devote ourselves to them.
It is a fact that, in this world, there is nothing more profound than the bond of love between parents and child. In our lives, we form various relationships, such as the bonds between boyfriend and girlfriend, teacher and student, master and disciple, between husband and wife, and between parent and child. The bond between master and disciple can be severed by excommunication. The bond between husband and wife can be cut by divorce. However, the bond between parent and child can never be broken. This relationship between parent and child represents a profound kammic bond.
What can we do to repay these debts of gratitude to our parents? The filial duties are divided into the supreme, the middle, and the low priorities.
The low priority refers to the offering of clothing and food to our parents.
The middle priority signifies our efforts to bring joy and comfort to our parents. An example of this may be a soothing shoulder massage that we can give them when their muscles are tense. This type of filial duty refers to our sincere efforts to consider what would bring great joy to our parents and to take the needed action.
While the low and medium types of filial duty are extremely important, they represent manifestations of gratitude that are temporary and limited, they all signify presentations of temporary joy to our parents. All gifts of cash and material goods would eventually be consumed and disappear in time. Those who want to repay their debt of gratitude to their parents should help them learn the Dhamma.
In this lifetime, laughter, material goods and money are temporary and finite. However, the benefits amassed through practising the Dhamma will continue into and transcend all future existences. This is what they truly need.
2. The debt of gratitude that one owes to one’s parents is obvious to all. I provide a FAM (Father and Mother ) scholarship to my 2 daughters, trust me I know!
3. The debt of gratitude that one owes to one’s sovereign. Yup, its is true for without an effective administration, no one will collect rubbish, maintain roads, build bridges, run schools or provide General Hospitals for all! Anarchy will take place overnight.
4. The debt of gratitude that one owes to the Triple Gems. The Buddha is the Teacher who taught us the Dhamma that He discovered, and the Sangha preserves the Dhamma for the present and the Future.
We frequently hear that we must truly appreciate and honour our parents. Showing our debt of gratitude to our parents means to support them and sincerely devote ourselves to them.
It is a fact that, in this world, there is nothing more profound than the bond of love between parents and child. In our lives, we form various relationships, such as the bonds between boyfriend and girlfriend, teacher and student, master and disciple, between husband and wife, and between parent and child. The bond between master and disciple can be severed by excommunication. The bond between husband and wife can be cut by divorce. However, the bond between parent and child can never be broken. This relationship between parent and child represents a profound kammic bond.
What can we do to repay these debts of gratitude to our parents? The filial duties are divided into the supreme, the middle, and the low priorities.
The low priority refers to the offering of clothing and food to our parents.
The middle priority signifies our efforts to bring joy and comfort to our parents. An example of this may be a soothing shoulder massage that we can give them when their muscles are tense. This type of filial duty refers to our sincere efforts to consider what would bring great joy to our parents and to take the needed action.
While the low and medium types of filial duty are extremely important, they represent manifestations of gratitude that are temporary and limited, they all signify presentations of temporary joy to our parents. All gifts of cash and material goods would eventually be consumed and disappear in time. Those who want to repay their debt of gratitude to their parents should help them learn the Dhamma.
In this lifetime, laughter, material goods and money are temporary and finite. However, the benefits amassed through practising the Dhamma will continue into and transcend all future existences. This is what they truly need.
Thursday, March 4, 2010
Do not BLUFF ourselves
Right Effort is crucially needed as PEOPLE DO NOT drift toward holiness.
"This Dhamma that I have attained is profound, hard to see and hard to understand, peaceful and sublime, unattainable by mere reasoning, subtle, to be experienced by the wise. But this generation delights in worldliness. It is hard for such a generation to see this truth, namely specific conditionality, dependent origination and stilling of all formations, the relinquishing of all attachments, the destruction of craving, dispassion, cessation, nibbana".
Apart from the guided life from Right View, and hence Right Thoughts, people do not gravitate toward a Noble life, aspirations, keeping the Precepts, faith, and delight in letting go instead of more Greed and Cravings.
We drift toward compromise and call it tolerance;
we drift toward disobedience and call it freedom;
we drift toward superstition and call it faith.
We cherish the indiscipline of lost self-control and call it relaxation;
we slouch toward mindlessness and delude ourselves into thinking we have freedom of thoughts;
we slide toward the satisfaction of sensual greed and convince ourselves we are happy.
Hence the noble path starts with Right View where we learn the basics of the Truth, from there our Thoughts are guided to the Right "ones", abandoning or letting go the unwholesome thoughts which arises due to our unenlightened state.
A life guided by the 5 basic moral precepts keeps us within Right Speech, Action and Livelihood.
And it is the constant surveillance of Right EFFORT, MINDFULNESS and CONCENTRATION that keeps us on the path, steering us back on track whenever we so often drift aside.
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