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 When the Buddha arrived in Kusinara and lay down between two sal trees, they burst into flower out of season and sprinkled their petals over him. Ananda expressed amazement that the very trees were revering him, the Buddha said: “Ananda, these sal trees burst into flower out of season in homage to the Tathagata and covered his body…But the monk or the nun, the lay man or the lay woman who lives practicing the Dhamma properly and perfectly fulfills the Dhamma, he or she honors, reveres and respects the Tathagata with the highest homage”
(D.II,137-8)
Namo tassa bhagavato arahato sammasambuddhasa
I sit now before the Buddha and contemplate that he and all who knew him are now dead. Since his great passing countless beings have come, bided their time and gone. The names and deeds of but a few are remembered.
Their many pains, their joy, their victories and defeats, like themselves are now but shadows.
And so it will be with all whom I know.
Passing time will turn the calamities I worry about, the possibilities I fear and the pleasure I chase after into mere shadows.
Therefore, I will contemplate the reality of my own death that I may understand what is of true value in life.
Because death may soon come, I will repay all debts for all my transgressions and be at odds with none.
Because death may soon come, I will squander no time brooding on past mistakes but use each day as if it were my last.
Because death may soon come, I will purify my mind rather than pamper the body.
Because death may soon come, with separation from those I love, I will develop detached compassion rather than possessiveness and clinging.
Because death may soon come, I will use each day fully not wasting it on fruitless pursuits and vain longings.
May I be prepared when death finally comes.
May I be fearless as life ebbs away.
May my detachment help in the freeing of the heart.
Sadhu! Sadhu! Sadhu!
All the Buddhas teach the "Dhamma" - the way nature is - the truth and truth has nothing to do with sectarianism, religions, yanas or doctrines. The Buddha's Teachings are Teachings of Truth and are timeless (akkaliko). These Teachings were taught by all the Buddhas. Enlightenment/liberation is not the monopoly of Siddhartha Gautama. Truth has no copy right and anyone can become Enlightened. There were Enlightened beings in the past and there will be Enlightened beings in the future.
The Dhamma describes how nature works - These Teachings are universal and timeless (akkaliko). The Teachings are for the earnest who SEE them within themselves and outside.
The Teachings are our true refuge. One takes refuge in the timeless Teachings of Truth, one does not start conducting rites-rituals of blindly worshipping a particular person, even if the teachings have manifested through that person.
It is not Siddhartha Gotama Saranam Gaccami .
It is not taking refuge in the person of Siddharta Gotama. One takes refuge in the ENLIGHTENED BEINGS titled the "BUDDHA", whose wisdom "Bodhi" - is the Teachings, the Truth. Hence, Buddham saranam gachami! TO THE BUDDHA (The Enlightened Being) we take Refuge! The word 'Buddha' means 'The Enlightened One," it is not the name of a person. Again how does one take refuge in the Enlightened One? How does one take refuge in the Dhamma? How does one take refuge in the Sangha - the assembly of Enlightened beings? BY LIVING THE TEACHINGS OF THE TRUTH, The Dhamma!
We must NOT let rites and rituals to overwhelm the Dhamma, burying it within the tentacles of chants and offerings, so much so that the Teachings are forgotten.
The Buddha referred to the people who heard Him and really went into the Teachings simply as Dhammiko, Dhammattho, Dhammachan, Dhammavihari, Dhammim (one who lives the teachings, one who goes into the teachings).
The Buddha taught the 'art of living'. He never established any 'ism'. He never instructed any rite or rituals, any blind or empty formalities. Instead, He taught us to just observe reality 'as it is'. He said one must look within and SEE 'what is'.
The Buddha declared:
Be A Light Unto Yourself
Let the Dhamma be our Guide, our Refuge and the way to live.
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  ONCE in Persia ruled a king
Who upon his signet ring
‘Graved a motto true and wise,
Which, when held before his eyes,
Gave him counsel at a glance
Fit for any change or chance.
Solemn words, and these were they:
“Even this shall pass away.”
Trains of camel through the sand
Brought him gems from Samarkand;
Fleets of galleys through the seas
Brought him pearls to rival these.
Yet he counted little gain
Treasures of the mine or main.
“Wealth may come, but not to stay;
Even this shall pass away.”
‘Mid the revels of his court,
In the zenith of his sport,
When the palms of all his guests,
Burned with clapping at his jests,
He, amid his figs and wine,
Cried: “Oh, precious friends of mine,
Pleasure comes, but not to stay —
Even this shall pass away.”
Lady, fairest ever seen,
Was the bride he crowned his queen.
Pillowed on his marriage bed
Softly to his soul he said:
“Though no bridegroom ever pressed
Fairer bosom to his breast,
Mortal flesh must come to clay —
Even this shall pass away.”
Fighting in a furious field,
Once a javelin pierced his shield,
Soldiers with a loud lament
Bore him bleeding to his tent.
Groaning, from his wounded side,
“Pain is hard to bear,” he cried.
“But, with patience, day by day,
Even this shall pass away.”
Towering in the public square,
Twenty cubits in the air,
Rose his status grand in stone;
And the king, disguised, unknown,
Gazing on his sculptured name,
Asked himself: “And what is fame?
Fame is but a slow decay —
Even this shall pass away.”
Struck with palsy, sere and old,
Standing at the gates of gold,
Spake him this, in dying breath:
“Life is done, and what is death?”
Then, in answer to the king,
Fell a sunbeam on the ring,
Answering, with its heavenly ray:
“Even death shall pass away.”
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 The greater the Ego, the greater the level of Ignorance. To awaken to the realities of life leads to the dissolution of the ego; that real strength and success come NOT from ego driven activity but from transcending one's ignorance and attachments, doing good not for rewards but simply because it is right to do so.
 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
 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.
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