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慧禅 Hui Chan During the summer of 2022, I went to visit Huangmei (黄梅) in Hubei, China, which is apparently famous for two things, its opera (one of the five major Chinese opera styles) and for having the first Chan/Zen monastaries. It was in hills of Huangmei that the fourth Chan patriarch, Dayi Daoxin (大毉道信), founded what is now referred to as Sizu Si (Fourth Patriarch Temple) in AD624. One of his disciples and Dharma heir, Daman Hongren (大滿弘忍), then went on to found another monastary in the area, Wuzu Si (Fifth Patriarch Temple). They were the first two Chan monastaries to be built and laid the foundation for the growth of Chan. Anyway, I only knew all of this after reading Bill Porter’s ‘Zen Baggage’. When reading it, I noticed that Huangmei was actually pretty close to my wife’s hometown and it would be a worthwile stop off when going back to see her family (obviously my family would not be interested in going, so I decided to go by myself). The journey was a pretty eventful one. After getting the train for a few hours, I had to get a taxi to a hotel near Wuzu Si. During the taxi ride, the weather took a turn for the worse with some of the worst thunder storms I’ve ever been trapped in. You could barely see a few metres in front of you and just saw some blurry lights of lorries around us. As we were on a motorway, we couldn’t just stop or get off the road, so had to keep going. The taxi driver was obviously panicking and trying his best to stop both of us from dying in a nasty car accident. We finally made it off the motorway just as the storms died down with a sigh of relief. As my hotel was near Wuzu Si, I decided to vist there first. My hotel was part of a new holiday village, conveniently built at the bottom of an old path that led straight up to the temple. Luckily, it was an unusually cool day for a Central China summer and after about 20 minutes I arrived. To be honest, once you’ve been to a few temples in China, you’ve been to them all and I’ve been to some more aesthetically pleasing ones than this (and Sizu Si). However, that wasn’t the reason I went to visit. It was more of a pilgrimage to help me understand the history behind my chosen practice and to connect more deeply with it. If I’m being honest, I don’t buy into the lineage as much as other Chan/Zen practitioners, as there’s obviously a lot of inaccuracies with them. But there was still a special feeling when I was walking around the temple grounds, knowing how many dedicated practitioners have cultivated the Way here. Writing about it now, makes me think of something spoken by Master Jing Hui (who coincidentally was the Head of Sizu Si for a long time) “Temple” in Chinese is also called “Bodhimandala”, a word somewhat coincidentally similar to the present scientific term, the field of Dharma. Nowadays, there is a term “the magnetic field”, isn’t there? That is, the field of magnetism. This temple, a place where people come with a compassionate Mind, a Mind that seeks for the ultimate truth, and a place where such consciousness is likely to be concentrated, is a field of Dharma. What is consciousness? It is called Avijnapti-rupa, the “non-revealing”. Consciousness is a kind of invisible energy in the sphere of Rupadharma (the phenomenal world). It is this same consciousness that animates our faith and resolution to keep the precepts. It is also a non-revealing energy. If one truly has such faith and resolution, he will then hold on to it, never departing from the precepts because he is always charged by a powerful will. The Temple, or Bodhimandala, we say, is the field of the Dharma where the Sangha and practitioners carry on self-training, become enlightened, and affirm the truth. Among temples, the Yufo (Jade Buddha) temple – built some one hundred and twenty years ago, is perhaps the most recent... Suppose a temple was one thousand two hundred years old, the power of its field would be enormous. Master Jing Hui – The Gates of Chan Buddhism As I walked behind the main temple towards an older area, a group of old women were waiting to take advantage of a naive foreigner. One of them pointed me towards something that was apparently worth seeing, so I decided to follow her advice. Then she started following me and soon arrived at a cave area. I went inside and saw that it was an area of worship. She told me to put my hand on a hand imprint for good luck and then started lighting a candle for me. I knew then she was expecting some money from me, so I told her I didn’t want anything and she wasn’t getting any money from me. She then proceeded to beg me, constantly saying “amituofo” and she’s a poor, old woman. I gave in, gave her some money and walked away with a smile on my face as it was a bit of a comical situation. It was getting towards lunch time and I was feeling hungry. I was looking forward to tasting some of the food in the temple’s vegetarian restaurant. However, my luck was out. I went inside only to be told it had been booked out for a private event, so wasn’t open to the public. I then walked back down to my hotel, stopping off for some reganmian (热干面 hot dry noodles). I rested in the hotel for the rest of the day, learning some Chinese, meditating and watching some terrible TV. A few photos of Wuzu Si The next morning, I got up early and wanted to be at Sizu Si early as I knew it would be hotter than the day before. A […]
was a poet. I didn’t know it
Cathal Costello Costello If there’s a me or mine, that’ll cost you a heavy fine. Delighting in the taste of wine? Surely you’ll miss out on the divine. Another candle at the shrine….I think not one goes from gross to fine. Not looking at the above or below instead what is really here, already the Seer. From flame to fire, he who kindles this burns down the world as himself: beware not to be the heir! Not seen or yet known, knowing I haven’t seen or yet known – my seed is safely sown. Wash away sin with nurturing! Uncertain in this could be gain: came to be certain to give up this could be, already in vain. EmailURLViews: 16
Can “just say no” Be effective
I think with time, practice, restraint, and discipline(and 8FNM) the practice of “Just say no” can be a good method. If it’s not working for u yet…don’t say no…just say later. Or not now. Let me see if I can wait 10 more mins and not do that behavior which is causing more suffering….and see if I can imagine being ok if I do it, or if I don’t. It’s okay either way. From that okayness saying no becomes easier. Cultivate good feelings and right action. Its also about what you do leading up to trying to Saying no to immaturely following sense desires…get some momentum with the easy “No’s” and then when the hard ones come you will have a stronger foundation to help u ride the wave. EmailViews: 14
Fear and the Fictional State of Perdition
omshantilove Audio: https://voca.ro/11DcpLy0m7NJ Fear and the Fictional State of Perdition OmShantiLove A desperate desire that one will remain untouched by the winds of the universe is what drives the sails of fear. To be forever untouched by calamity is akin to the search for happiness. It can easily be argued that a false security from our fears is even more sought after than our peace and happiness. Many of us right now are trading our happiness for a sense of false security. In part our societies have been arranged as such in an effort to guarantee our security. We are willing to live in a prison chained to the wall while making the greatest effort to extend our arms so that we be holding a knife to each other’s throats if it means that we may feel as though we are safe. To live in a society where there is no trust, and everything must be legislated and sustained by force. To arm ourselves even under the nails of our toes. To bring to fruition the most perverted weapons imaginable so that if our safety is violated both throats will not only be slit but there will be no remnants. So that there will never be a conversation had by other beings as to who got the better of the other. To manipulate and abuse each other in an effort to become eternal. Many of us have succumbed to a sense of desperation. When we have come to realize that this suffering lies in a poor education which leads us towards a deep disgust of ourselves and others will our societies be removed from such a primitive and self-castrating arrangement. There is a proven solution to this fear of security, and it is to keep the Dhamma in our minds and in our hearts. To abandon the notion of a life untouched by traumas. We are born in trauma, and we will die in trauma but we can remain calm and happy through it all. To overcome the world is to overcome all traumas. Our love for each other and the Dhamma will sustain us from everything that we fear. This wisdom and love is true security. The one that loves everyone, and everything is able to face the most unfortunate and agonizing of situations. Yes, there will be pain however they cannot be moved in a matter that diminishes them as they are empowered by love. They are not weak and submissive their love is the strength of the universe itself. Though the winds of the universe take a path that seems to threaten their security they know that the only security that can be found in existence and outside of it is inside of themselves and their love for others. Though their bodies, possessions, family, friends, nations perish in the material they know that behind every lover, son, daughter, father, mother, and so on there is but one. It is in that love that one becomes eternal. Though in this life one may fear imprisonment the one that has acquired a true love for themselves and others knows that the only prison that exists is outside of that love. They know that if they cannot provide for their family in the material that their family will be sustained by this universe. They know that their reputations lie only in their love. They understand that all fears are caused in the absence of love. Though they scream in pain as is the natural reaction of their bodies and instincts their minds are pacified by their love. The perfect hedonist finds this to be true and abandons that title. Hate is what causes the fictional state of perdition and the fear of it not because it be a physical place in our world but because it is something that we have created for ourselves. Many have understood this fictional perdition as such and this hell has been used to abuse, manipulate, extract, and control by those who understand what great fear lies in it. Hatred is a path that is effortless in its beginnings as it is an impulsivity, but to maintain that hatred one must frantically empty the ocean with the cupped palm of one’s hand. What great strength one has when one allows oneself to be vulnerable in love. To not be sullied by the thoughts of those who do not harness that strength, but instead castrate themselves using hatred as they have mistakenly identified it with strength. Always remember that we share the power of creation and destruction. We can create and destroy our fears. The good news is that the Dhamma is with us and has always been with us and that a state of fictional perdition in this life is impossible unless one wishes to reside in the absence of love for themselves and others. Laws are imperfect creations of mankind that almost always fail to grasp the simplicity that is any action done in pure love away from ignorance and selfishness has but to agree with the universe. With much love, Santiago T EmailViews: 39
May I
omshantilove May I be a source of warmth, Embracing all beings with an open heart, May I cultivate an infinite loving-kindness, For every soul I encounter, May I cherish the gift of empathy and care, And bring relief to suffering everywhere, May I have in my heart pure joy and bliss, Sharing this happiness with each soul I meet, May I hold in my heart a deep sense of equanimity, To see the interconnectedness of all things, May I be a bridge of understanding and grace, In a world healing from division, May I surrender my selfish desires, Embracing the gift of service, May I in this devotion to others, Find true purpose and fulfillment, May all beings one day be free from suffering, Understanding that all earthly experiences are passing. EmailViews: 14
Who eats time? By Bhikku Buddhadasa
Cathal Costello Costello The Buddha is recorded as saying that anyone who gets rid of tanha (ignorant desire) is someone who eats time. Usually it's time that devours; it devours people and all other living things. Would anyone who puts an end to desire, that one turns around and eats time, which means that time becomes a small matter, something to smile at, an inconsequential matter that can't eat or bite us." Ajahn Buddhadasa Bhikku EmailURLViews: 11
Our problems today… Thich Nath Hahn
Cathal Costello Costello Our problems today are no longer as simple as those encountered by the Buddha. In the twenty-first century, we will have to practice meditation collectively as a family, a city, a nation, and a community of nations. The Buddha of the twenty-first century Maitreya, the Buddha of Love, may well be a community rather than an individual. Sanghas that practice loving kindness and compassion are the Buddha we need. We can prepare the ground for bringing that Buddha to life, for our sake and for the sake of countless others, by transforming our own suffering and cultivating the art of Sangha-building. It is the most important work we can do.” “Thich Nhat Hahn EmailURLViews: 17
If you know what he characteristics of….Ajahn Chah quote
Cathal Costello Costello If you know the characteristics of what is skillful and unskillful in physical and verbal behavior, you already see where to practice in order to give up what is unskillful and do what is good. When you give up wrong and set yourself right, the mind becomes firm, unswerving, concentrated. This concentration limits wavering and doubt as to body and speech. With the mind collected, when forms or sounds come, you can contemplate and see them clearly. By not letting your mind wander, you will see the nature of all experiences according to the truth. When this knowledge is continuous, wisdom arises. Virtue, concentration, and wisdom, then, can be taken together as one. When they mature, they become synonymous that is the Noble Path. When greed, hatred, and delusion arise, only this Noble Path is capable of destroying them.” Ajahn Chah EmailURLViews: 5
Everything is ok
dhammadasaEverything is just like this, Everything is ok, resting gently in our relaxation & breathing, Letting go, our true sweet nature is revealed EmailViews: 5
Karma: The Choice is Yours, by Bhikku Buddhadasa
Cathal Costello Costello Karma: The Choice Is Yours BY AJAHN BUDDHADASA| OCTOBER 20, 2017 There are two ways to understand dependent origination, teaches Ajahn Buddhadasa. But only one leads to liberation. Ajahn Buddhadasa. Courtesy of Buddhadasa Indapanyo ArchIves (Bangkok). In the Pali suttas there are two descriptions of what occurred under the Bodhi tree at the time of the Buddha’s great awakening. In one version, appearing in various texts, the Buddha realized the three supreme knowledges. In the first true knowing, as it is generally understood, he recollected his former lives. In this account, as traditionally understood, he is able to recall his own previous births far into the distant past. These are invariably described as happening to the same person. In the second true knowing, he reviewed how beings carry on according to their actions (cutupapatañana), how beings pass away and reappear according to the karma they have done. Through the third true knowing, he realized the destruction of the impulses (asavakkhyañana). The out-flowing fermentations (asavas) are the deepest level of defilement; when they are completely ended, no further defilement, egoism, or suffering is possible. This is the more commonly recounted description of the night of the Buddha’s awakening. Elsewhere, the Pali texts state that the Buddha awakened to dependent co-arising. There also are accounts of the Buddha contemplating dependent co-arising immediately after his awakening, while he was still sitting under the Bodhi tree. Together, these give a second description of the Buddha’s great awakening. In the immediate aftermath, during the first four-hour watch one night, the Buddha examined dependent co-arising in the forward order, starting with ignorance, then concoctings, and so on, one after the other. During the second watch of the night, he reviewed dependent co-arising in the reverse order, starting from suffering, then birth, becoming, clinging, and so on all the way back to ignorance. Then for the third watch, he examined dependent co-arising in both forward and reverse orders until dawn. Between these two versions, the second is more reasonable and acceptable in light of the overall themes and threads of the Pali suttas. In the other account, the first knowledge concerning the recollection of past lives is in the language of eternalism, just as in the pre-Buddhist Upanishads, which speak of a self or an individual being born again and again over many lives. The belief that the same person is repeatedly reborn is eternalism, which Buddhism aims to eliminate. This idea has more in common with popular beliefs and the philosophy of the Upanishads than with the core of the Buddha’s message. At heart, Buddhism teaches the end of karma, living beyond karma, rather than carrying on according to karma. The second knowledge is about beings passing away and reappearing according to karma. This is generally understood to mean that the same being disappears from one existence (bhava) and reappears in another according to karmic influences somehow carried over from one existence to the next. However, this is not directly or specifically a Buddhist teaching. At heart, Buddhism teaches the end of karma, living beyond karma, rather than carrying on according to karma. The noble path is for freedom from karma; living under the sway of karma is limiting, distressful, and burdensome. It is not good enough to merely surrender to karma, to die and be reborn according to the fruits of our actions. In Buddhism, liberating insight must go further than that. Neither of these first two knowledges can be considered truly Buddhist principles. Why, then, are they included in the Pali scriptures? My own view is that perhaps the compilers of the discourses included these passages for the benefit of ordinary people. For those people unable to understand dependent co-arising and the end of karma, these passages were included for the sake of morality. Consequently, this is an account of the Buddha’s awakening for the moral benefit of ordinary people. The second account puts dependent co-arising at the center of the Buddha’s awakening. Not only did he express his awakening in these terms but he also described how he pondered and contemplated dependent co-arising both before the awakening and immediately after. After experiencing the bliss of liberation for a week, he examined and investigated dependent co-arising throughout at least one night, the first watch of which focused on how dependent co-arising occurs. He repeatedly investigated this in the forward order from ignorance to concoctings on through suffering. He spent four full hours thoroughly penetrating this truth. In the next four hours, he investigated the causality of dukkha in careful detail all the way back to ignorance. In the final four hours, he examined dependent co-arising in both directions, forward and backward. This shows the central importance of dependent co-arising. The formula recorded is brief and succinct—the Buddha looked into it forward and backward for twelve hours without a break. He had the most profound spiritual experience of this through each of the watches: forward order, reverse order, and both forward and backward, each for four full hours. Please consider how profound, how difficult, how subtle, and how important this is. This ought to be of great interest to all serious meditators. The words we have translated as “forward order” and “reverse order,” or “forward” and “backward”—anuloma and patiloma—can be understood rather broadly. Thus, for clarity’s sake, we can explain anuloma, “with the hairs,” as the examining of the arising sequence, that is, dependent co-arising. The reverse, patiloma, “against the hairs,” is the quenching of dependent co-arising, that is, dependent quenching. In the first watch, the Buddha investigated and reviewed how dependent co-arising arises. In the second watch, he investigated and reviewed how it quenches. In the final watch, he investigated and reviewed both. This understanding is eminently reasonable and fully supported by the core themes of the discourses. Please consider this important question: Have you ever practiced like this? Have you ever investigated dependent co-arising in the way that the Buddha did before, during, and after his awakening? We suggest that you examine and scrutinize dependent co-arising in […]
There are no chains
Cathal Costello Costello But the direct path is to realize that right now, there really are no chains. In reality, the ignorant mind is grasping at the smoke and mirrors of these five aggregates (form, feeling, perception, thinking, and sensory consciousness), which are all subject to arising and therefore subject to passing away. But this essential knowing nature that is not subject to arising and passing away—the ever-present awareness of this moment—is the place of liberation here and now. In other words, there are no chains holding you. There is only you holding yourself. That’s why Ajahn Chah says the Dhamma is easy. Simply know and let go. That knowing is what they call “Self” in Vedanta. The Buddha taught not-self (non-identification) because when we look for our essential knowing nature (as Ajahn Chah called it), we first notice physical sensation (form) and mistake that as it. Or we mistake feeling, perception, thinking, and/or consciousness as it. This is what the Buddha called “the five aggregates afflicted by clinging (identification).” Non-identification is the direct path out of suffering. The Dukkha Dukkha Nirodha I practice now is going from the conditioned directly to the unconditioned anytime this present awareness contracts even a tiny bit. The chains don’t have us. We are like the monkey whose fist is stuck in the coconut because it won’t let go of the food inside… –Dhammarato EmailURLViews: 10
Text file quotes, not my writing *
dhammadasa All of humanity's problems stem from man's inability to sit quietly in a room alone." Blaise Pascal "Another student once told me that he can accept that life and death are happening in each moment of our daily life. that life and death inter-are. but he wondered whether it is possible for us to continue after our body disintegrates. He asked, 'How can the brain imagine after it disintegrates, and, therefore, how can we conceive of a continuation?' If you look deeply in the present moment, you can see. Each of my students carries me within himself or herself. Right now in the city of Moscow, someone is breathing and smiling. That is me." Thich Nhat Hahn "If you know the characteristics of what is skillful and unskillful in physical and verbal behavior, you already see where to practice in order to give up what is unskillful and do what is good. When you give up wrong and set yourself right, the mind becomes firm, unswerving, concentrated. This concentration limits wavering and doubt as to body and speech. With the mind collected, when forms or sounds come, you can contemplate and see them clearly. By not letting your mind wander, you will see the nature of all experiences according to the truth. When this knowledge is continuous, wisdom arises. Virtue, concentration, and wisdom, then, can be taken together as one. When they mature, they become synonymous—that is the Noble Path. When greed, hatred, and delusion arise, only this Noble Path is capable of destroying them." Achaan Chah "Many people have misunderstood this point, believing that the Buddha's teachings on non-attachment require that one relinquish one’s attachment to the path of practice as quickly as possible. Actually, to make a show of abandoning the path before it is fully developed is to abort the entire practice. As one teacher has put it, a person climbing up to a roof by means of a ladder can let go of the ladder only when safely on the roof. In terms of the famous raft simile [§§113-114], one abandons the raft only after crossing the flood. If one were to abandon it in mid-flood, to make a show of going spontaneously with the flow of the flood’s many currents, one could drown." Thanissaro Bhikku "Only when we look dispassionately can we begin to see." Thich Nhat Hahn "Our problems today are no longer as simple as those encountered by the Buddha. In the twenty-first century, we will have to practice meditation collectively — as a family, a city, a nation, and a community of nations. The Buddha of the twenty-first century — Maitreya, the Buddha of Love — may well be a community rather than an individual. Sanghas that practice loving kindness and compassion are the Buddha we need. We can prepare the ground for bringing that Buddha to life, for our sake and for the sake of countless others, by transforming our own suffering and cultivating the art of Sangha-building. It is the most important work we can do." Thich Nhat Hahn "[Buddhanussati] Recollection of the Buddha This fine report of the Blessed One's reputation has spread far & wide: He is a Blessed One a Worthy One a Rightly Self awakened One consummate in knowledge & conduct one who has gone the good way knower of the cosmos unexcelled trainer of those who can be taught teacher of human & divine beings; awakened; blessed" Source: The Complete Book of Pâli Chanting "Samsara and suchness are not different. They have the same ground. The wave does not have to do anything to become water. It is already water. It has had nirvana in it for a long time. Just like the water, you don’t have to look for nirvana. When you are able to see through the eyes of interbeing and interdependence, you touch the nature of nirvana within yourself." Thich Nhat Hahn "So this is what you think of me: “The Blessed One, sympathetic, seeking our well-being, teaches the Dhamma out of sympathy.” Then you should train yourselves—harmoniously, cordially, and without dispute—in the qualities I have pointed out, having known them directly: the four frames of reference, the four right exertions, the four bases of power, the five faculties, the five strengths, the seven factors for Awakening, the noble eightfold path." MN 103 "The Buddha is recorded as saying that anyone who gets rid of tanhā (ignorant desire) is someone who eats time. Usually it's time that devours; it devours people and all other living things. Would anyone who puts an end to desire, that one turns around and eats time, which means that time becomes a small matter, something to smile at, an inconsequential matter that can't eat or bite us." Ajahn Buddhadasa Bhikku EmailViews: 6
Dana from Text file, not my writing
dhammadasa Dana Teachers listed with the Open Sangha Foundation as individual instruction do not charge students fixed amounts but rather accept donations from them. This means that students can contribute what they are able to based on their circumstances. This is dana in action. Dana, which translates as ‘sharing’ or ‘generosity’ in English, is an important and rich concept across the Buddhist traditions, not least in how it relates to the teaching and learning of the Dharma. From the time of the Buddha to the present day, monastic sanghas do not charge for access to the teachings. Instead teachings are offered as a gift, as dana, with an open and compassionate heart to those that seek them. In response to this priceless gift, people in turn have supported their teachers, out of generosity, out of dana, and from a place of responsibility and so ensured that their teachers can continue to share the practices and teachings. Traditionally, this would take the form of offering food, clothing or medicine to the monks and nuns. While this traditional paradigm is still the norm in most heritage Buddhist cultures and communities, it is an aspect of the teachings that has been neglected by some as Buddhism has spread globally in the 20th and 21st centuries. Instead the Buddhadharma is often taught and learnt in something more akin to a capitalistic paradigm. This paradigm creates barriers to the Dharma, limiting who can access it, and alters the nature of the transmission in a potentially problematic way. In the Open Sangha Foundation we are encouraging and supporting teachers to teach within a traditional dana based context to whatever extent they feel moved and able to. For this model to flourish outside of heritage Buddhist cultures though both teachers and students of the Buddhadharma need to train in and trust in each others’ generosity. This acting from generosity then has the potential to form an integral part of our Dharma practice, as teachers and students, and allows us to divest ourselves from modern naratives of separation and take on greater responsibility in our relationships and in our lives. https://youtu.be/kQvlHo9aYQY EmailViews: 1
A Deep Spring of Happiness
Mountain DhammaThe Buddhist world is overflowing with academic minded people who hold up a clipboard of sutta criteria to evaluate your experience and see if it fits what that nonlivivng text says. But that’s not where or what the Dhamma is. The Dhamma is this very real, very alive, bottomless well of happiness that flows inside, covered over by greed, hatred, and delusion, muddied by hinderances, distorted by this cyclical pursuit of stimulating activities. But despite all that obstruction, when we can stop, it takes only a slight turn in the right direction to see this happiness that’s always already here. And when you see it, stay with it and be satisfied. As you remain looking at this causeless happiness, it will grow and overflow all the defilements that once covered it over, and the endless seeking for stimulating sensory activities, stimulating ideas and answers, will become valueless, like straw in your hand. “Problems” that once occupied decades of discussions will look like a single grain of dust on your pants, and you’ll laugh or giggle when they arise in the mind, starved for attention. It’s really that simple, there’s nothing to it. Don’t worry, be happy. EmailURLViews: 29
Autobiography In 5 Short Chapters
CallumChapter I: I walk down the street. There is a deep hole in the sidewalk. I fall in. I am lost… I am hopeless. It isn’t my fault. It takes forever to find a way out. Chapter II: I walk down the same street. There is a deep hole in the sidewalk. I pretend I don’t see it. I fall in again. I can’t believe I am in this same place. But it isn’t my fault. It still takes a long time to get out. Chapter III: I walk down the same street. There is a deep hole in the sidewalk. I see it there. I still fall in… it’s a habit… but, my eyes are open. I know where I am. It is my fault. I get out immediately. Chapter IV: I walk down the same street. There is a deep hole in the sidewalk. I walk around it. Chapter V: I walk down another street. EmailViews: 28
Testing Elementor Header
Michael Clark TEST POST TO TEST THE HEADER (USERS PLEASE IGNORE) EmailViews: 12
Wat Buddha Manodham – an oasis of Metta
https://m.facebook.com/watbuddhamanodham Last Thursday I once again had the privilege of visiting Wat Buddha Manodham in Chickamauga, GA. Over the years I have known Bhante Prasasouk, there is always the glow on his face of genuine Metta and Contentment that can’t be hidden. Not only have I been allowed to practice and take refuge on the grounds of the Wat, but I have been welcomed in to give Dana and assist in any way possible. I have seen others who sought refuge at the Wat treated with the same warmth, acceptance, and generosity. This week the monks were preparing for an upcoming event (as well as the upcoming Laotion New Year) and I was allowed to assist in some of the construction inside the Wat, and found that Metta transcends language barriers as I was treated with kindness even though my excitement for the Dhamma can overwealm my speech at times. Bhante has always showed incredible Patience and a recognition that my Desire to practice Lord Buddha’s Dhamma and train the mind in the laylife is Sincere. He has always been extremely direct in correcting my delusion based misconceptions whenever he has caught me speaking them out loud, yet he has done so with a gentle grace and skill i have rarely encountered outside ordained Sangha. Every one of my handful of visits so far to the Wat has been an inspiration to the practice, and i will visit whenever it is within my means to do so and Bhante or Ajahn say that i am welcome. The fact that there are monks practicing the Buddha’s Noble 8-fold is undenyable in every encounter with Bhante Joseph Prasasouk. He has not only had time to accept Dana and listen to me pour out my emotions in times of grief when I was having difficulties. He responded with loving kindness and nurturing and was more than willing to listen without judgment, even when I was caught in restlessness and worry. This is generosity of the highest nature, and it stuck with me for years. What i continue to be grateful and amazed about, is the fact that Bhante can be so calm and strong, yet without the slightest shred of superiority in his tone, face or delivery. He never places himself in a position of power over, he is there to empower others, and there is no doubt. This is the kind of Good Friend that the Lord Buddha told Ananda was the Whole of the Holy life. A good friend supports you, not your Delusion. Whenever I do give Dana, Bhante allows me to hit the gong myself, and the experience of taking refuge and chanting the Vandana at the Wat is a source of Viriya and Saddha (energy and faith) for the practice here. It’s always worth visiting ordained Sangha who are pracing under the protection of dhamma vinaya. The reason why is because the Virtue they have developed is impossible to miss as it shows in everything they do, say, and in their very face. It’s impossible to hide the kindness that radiates from every direction. If you catch yourself wondering what the fruit of good practice looks like, just go hang out with those who have been living Dhamma Vinaya for years. It will be a benefit to your Practice in ways you can’t imagine. It was truly refreshing to hear Bhante say that in the Laos tradition, taking care of family and our elderly was part of the practice of virtue. On more than one occasion other laypeople have stopped by the Wat for advice while i was visiting, often on their first encounter with any Buddhist tradition. They were treated with warmth and acceptance by the monks. Wat Buddha Manodham, in my experience is an oasis of sanity, generosity and loving kindness in the deep south. Views: 56
Thailand Travel Info & Traveling to Koh Pha ngan
David MatteGreetings dhamma pals! If you’re planning a trip to come to the land of smiles (Thailand), I wrote a brief guide containing information and tips on your travels here. See you here soon! 🙂 EmailURLViews: 25
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