The Triple Gem , The Buddhist Site, Dhamma , Sanng

RSS Feed Homepage

The actual meaning of refuge in the Triple Gems and the Precepts, fo
2008-06-10 10:51:00
The actual meaning of refuge in the Triple Gems and the Precepts, for the lay person by R. L. Ihalamulla Department of Parasitology, Faculty of Medicine, Kynsey Rd, Colombo 8 The Lord Buddha showed us the Eightfold Path as the only way for the eternal ending of suffering - the attainment of Nirvana. This is something that the Buddha realized by himself and preached to the world. Eventhough he was knowledgeable in everything in the whole universe in and out, the Great Teacher taught primarily as to how to end suffering. Therefore, the teachings mainly revolve round and incorporate the essence of His Declaration that 'the cause of suffering is attachment and the only way to end suffering 'is non-attachment'. As such, the recitals -in Pali - the language in which the Buddha preached - for daily chanting for the lay person pertaining to 'taking in refuge' and the Precepts also...
More About: Meaning , Buddhism

Vesak Reflection on the Medical Profession
2008-06-10 10:49:00
Vesak Reflection on the Medical Profession by Nalin Swaris - The Island ' News Paper ?Physicians? as the very term implies deal with the body, which is subject to sickness, decay and death. As such physicians seem to be engaged in a Sisyphean task ? an absurd, but for many lucrative, preoccupation devoted to propping up what Shakespeare called "this muddy vesture of decay". But if we shed the devaluation of the body on the basis of an assumed dichotomy of body and soul or the body and a rebirthing identity consciousness in mainstream Buddhism , we will have an exhilarating perspective on human existence. It helps us to cultivate a holistic view of the human person as a totality of vital processes or synergies. Whatever our religion, ethnicity or social status all human beings are subjected to the paradoxical character of the human condition. We must all die. What ethics ...
More About: Vesak

Full moon Poya day of Vesak ? 2552
2008-06-10 10:48:00
Full moon Poya day of Vesak ? 2552 by Walter Wijenayake Today is the full moon Poya day of Vesak in the Buddhist year 2552, as well as the 19th day of May 2008 as per the Gregorian calendar ? the day on which the birth, the englightenment and the final passing away of the Buddha occurred within a span of 80 years over two and half millennia ago, exactly 2632 years ago today. A noble prince who was destined to be the greatest religious teacher of the world was born on the full moon Poya day of Vesak in the year 623 BC at Lumbini Park at Kapilavattu on the Indian borders, to the King Suddhodana of the aristocratic Sakya clan, the ruler of the sakyas (in the modern Nepal) and the queen Maha Maya of the Koliya clan. On the fifth day after the birth of the prince he was named Siddhartha which means ?wish fulfilled?. On the seventh day Queen Maha Maya breathed her last. Th...
More About: Full Moon , Moon , Full

Living stress free
2008-06-10 10:45:00
Living stress free by Dr. Wasantha Gunathunga Faculty of Medicine, University of Colombo, The other day I met a friend of mine. He said "I decided to migrate to a better country." I asked why he wanted to migrate. "There are lots of problems in the country. I want to give the best education to my children. I asked "what do you want them to be in the future"? He was not sure. "After all I want to live in peace" was his answer. My friend is not the only person who decided to migrate for peace of mind. There were so many, there will be too. This conversation provided me some insight as to how some people take serious decisions in their lives in search of peace and 'contentment. People migrate to greener pastures citing various aim to do so. Some people within the country mostly towards cities. Those who live in cities go to villages to get away from the busy life....
More About: Living , Free , Buddhism , Stress

Relating Bhavana to daily Life
2008-06-10 10:10:00
Relating Bhavana to daily Life by Rajah Kuruppu Man comprises of mind and body. Modern medical science is now according an important place to the mind, but the Buddha over 2,500 years ago emphasised the invaluable role of the mind. In fact the opening lines of the Dhammapada, a collection of important sayings of the Buddha, state that the mind is the forerunner of all states of being, mind is supreme, mind made are they. Accordingly, Bhavana commonly translated to English as meditation, is assigned a crucial role in the practice of the Dhamma. Bhavana means the culture or the development of the mind and perhaps the English word meditation does not adequately describe Bhavana but it may be used for convenience provided the true meaning of the term Bhavana is understood. There are two kinds of Bhavana, one being Samatha or the one pointed concentration of the m...
More About: Daily , Buddhism

Gautama Buddha
2008-06-03 22:48:00
Gautama Buddha Gautama, whose personal name was Siddhartha, was born in the city of Lumbini and was raised in Kapilavastu. The traditional story of his life is as follows; Born a prince, his father, King Suddhodana, was said to have been visited by a wise man shortly after Siddhartha was born. The wise man said that Siddhartha would either become a great king or a holy man (Sadhu). Determined to make Siddhartha a king, the father tried to shield his son from the unpleasant realities of daily life. Despite his father's efforts, at the age of 29, he discovered the suffering of his people, first through an encounter with an elderly man. On subsequent trips outside the palace, he encountered various sufferings such as a diseased man, a decaying corpse, and a monk. These are often termed 'The Four Sights.Gautama was deeply depressed by these four sigh...
More About: Buddhism , Gautama

Significance of Vesak
2008-06-03 22:43:00
Significance of Vesak www.dailymirror.lkThe significance of Vesak lies with the Buddha and his universal peace message to mankind. As we recall the Buddha and his Enlightenment, we are immediately reminded of the unique and most profound knowledge and insight which arose in him on the night of his Enlightenment. This coincided with three important events which took place, corresponding to the three watches or periods of the night. During the first watch of the night, when his mind was calm, clear and purified, light arose in him, knowledge and insight arose. He saw his previous lives, at first one, then two, three up to five, then multiples of them .. . ten, twenty, thirty to fifty. Then 100, 1000 and so on.... As he went on with his practice, during the second watch of the night, he saw how beings die and are reborn, depending on their Karma, how ...
More About: Significance

Diamonds never die ....
2007-10-18 22:58:00
Twentieth Anniversary Diamonds never die .... By Ganga Pradeepa Diamond Cutters Limited is a member of Lanka Equities group, which has its diversified business activities in apparel, diamond cutting and polishing, jewellery manufacturing, and power generation. Over 600 employees respond to the changes in the diamond market, extending their services to the manufacture of Baguettes, Rounds, Sawing, Princess and Precision cut diamonds. DCL has won the trust of many international markets and among them are the leading watch companies and up market jewellery manufacturers who have become valued clients. Belgium, USA, Japan, Switzerland and Israel are some of the more prominent locations of their clientele. Riyaz Mohamed, Managing Director of DCL said, ?The past 20 years has given us much exposure and expertise to ...
More About: Features

Practise of Buddhism in Singapore
2007-09-30 04:54:00
Practise of Buddhism in Singapore Dhamma in practise, not just words--Lakbima Online by Dharma Sri Thilakawardena Extracts from an interview with Ven.Dr.K.Gunarathana Thera, a patron of the Maha Karuna Buddhist Organization of Singapore. Q. People in developed countries enormously rich with power and wealth are grappling with the search for spiritual tranquility in the modern world. How is the trend in Singapore where you are domiciled? Are the people in Singapore inspired to embrace Buddhism to meet this end?A. Yes. This is especially so in the case of Chinese domiciled in Singapore. These people do not take for granted the Buddhism that we preach. They probe and argue before accepting. They are not in the habit of practising Buddhism as a fashion to impress the neighbours. They are not prepared to roam about temples merely for the purpose of salutation. In their view, realisation of the truth is a mental process. Because of this attitude Chinese Singaporeans are am...

The Spiritual Faculties
2007-09-30 04:52:00
The Spiritual Faculties-- Lakbima OnlineBy Ajahn Nyanadhammo TheroA Dhamma theme which is very close to my heart is the five indriya - the Five Spiritual Faculties. These Five Spiritual Faculties are the qualities of practise, the qualities of mind that one needs to bring to the spiritual path. There’s saddha , which is faith; viriya, energy; sati, mindfulness; samadhi, which is calm concentration; and panna, wisdom. They become powers through which the mind becomes very dynamic and can end suffering.Path out of sufferingSaddha is often translated as faith, confidence or conviction. The Buddha said that faith comes from having seen that the human condition is unsatisfactory. It is imperfect, wrought with dissatisfaction, discontentment, pain, grief, fear, and anxiety. Having seen that, then the mind naturally seeks a path out of that state. It questions the meaning of life and how to find inner happiness. So this faith looks for a path out of suffering. For people who come across ...

Agriculture was a big part of Buddha’s life
2007-09-30 04:51:00
Agriculture was a big part of Buddha’s life- Lakbima OnlineBy Ven.Kamal Madhava Thera.Prince Siddhartha was born to a royal dynasty associated with agriculture. His father who enjoyed a vast yield of clean paddy was named Suddhodana. Servants of other royal families ate naadu rice with a simple curry while the servants in King Suddhodana’s palace enjoyed delicious food made of clean rice. The rice festival marking the gathering of the new harvest was an occasion celebrated by King Suddhodana with elaborate festivity. According to Buddhist literature, Prince Siddhartha who was destined to attain Buddhahood displayed his first miracle on a day when the rice festival or the Vap Magula was in progress.The ascetic Siddhartha, as he sat cross-legged at the foot of an Esathu tree resolutely determined to attain enlightenment before he rose from that sedentary position was offered a meal of milk rice by Princess Sujatha. That too was a historic blessing bestowed upon the agricultural co...
More About: Life , Agriculture , Part , Agri

KAMMA - CAUSE AND EFFECT
2007-09-30 04:48:00
KAMMA - CAUSE AND EFFECT- Lakbima Online' News Buddhist thoughts on the Law of cause and effect Dr. Bokanoruwe Dewananda Thero Sri Lanka Buddhist Temple Malaysia, Na Anthalikke na Samuddamajjhe Na Pabbatanam Vivaram pavissa Na vijjathi so jagatippadeso Yatthathi to Mucceyya Papakammam. The sphere of the Law of cause and effect is unimaginable. However, we should not give up on our thinking of the cause and effects of our actions. The term kamma means ‘to do or to act’. Other religious traditions or religions like, Hinduism and Jainism also talk about kamma.‘Chetanaham Bhikkave Kamman Vadami’ “Oh! Venerable monks: I declare that volitional thoughts are kamma.” We must consider that there is no karmic action when a thought does not arise in the mind owing to kamma based on thought or volition according to Buddha.Other religious traditions consider all the acts that we perform intentionally or unintentionally as kamma”, ju...
More About: Effect

The mission of Buddha Dhamma propagation
2007-09-30 04:46:00
The mission of Buddha Dhamma propagation-Lakbima Online Extracts from an interview with Ven. Polgampola Piyananda Thera, the Viharadhipathi of Sri Lankarama Viharaya, Singapore. Interviewed by Dharma Sri Thilakawardena. Q. There is a discernible increase in the interest among people the world over to study Buddhism. At the same time the general opinion is that there is a dearth of personnel to undertake the mission of propagation of Buddhism globally. What is your view on this condition?A. This condition is an absolute truth. In spite of tremendous heights man has climbed in various fields, he is not mentally at rest. Ultimately man turns to Buddhism as a means of solace. Our Buddhist monks are confronted with certain handicaps to undertake this mission. They lack the knowledge of international languages as well as the wholesome knowledge of Buddhism itself. This drawback is specially felt by Buddhist monks who are young but they do not show any interest to overcome these...
More About: Mission , Prop , Missi

Time for revival of Budhism in Sri Lanka
2007-09-30 03:54:00
Time for revival of Budhism in Sri Lanka - Lakbima Online' NewsBy Ven. Alubomulle Ratanasiri Thera, the Chief Sangha Anunayaka of Malaysia.It is amidst irrepressible obstacles that Buddhism survived in Sri Lanka to date. Buddhism gave rise to a new civilization in this country. People became disciplined owing to Buddhism. The majority of Buddhists we find in Sri Lanka at present are nominal Buddhists who are so by virtue of birth. As Sri Lankan Buddhists, moral discipline has degenerated. Buddhists in other countries apply principles of Buddhism in their day-to-day life. In our country, we have Dhamma schools in every temple and preaching of Dhamma is a daily routine. But people have distanced themselves from practisinging what they listen. What is urgently needed in this country is a mental revolution. Cleanliness is the basic factor in Buddhism. Cleanliness should prevail both in thought and environment. This is the factor meant by pathiroopa desa vasocha.There are a number of rea...
More About: Time , Viva , Revival

Shwedaung blends faith with development
2007-09-29 16:48:00
Shwedaung blends faith with development By Sann Oo-- Shwedaung's famously bespectacled Buddha image. Pic: Hein Latt Aung FARMERS are ploughing their fields with cows and bullocks, while goats graze along the roadside. Nearby, a woman is selling steamed sticky rice wrapped in teak leaf. And behind her is a modern textile factory producing fabrics of all styles and colours. The town of Shwedaung is about 170 miles (270 kilometres) north of Yangon and 7 miles (11km) from the regional hub of Pyay. It is a fascinating crossroad where history and modernity meet and religion and bus...
More About: Faith , Development

The perfection of renunciation
2007-09-28 02:17:00
The perfection of renunciation - Daily MirrorBuddhism is a religion which encourages the lay person to renounce all worldly pleasures.and lead a life of a monk .During the Buddha sasana of Deepankara Buddha our Gauthama Buddha was born as the only child of rich parents. He was called Sumedha and he renounced all worldly pleasures and became a monk after the demise of his parents. He had no craving for worldly properties and donated them to the needy.He regarded all worldly comforts as fetters and renounced them.After donning robes Sumedha told Deepankara Buddha of his intentions to be a Samma Sambuddha in the future. Deepankara Buddha who looked in to the future with his omniscient eye declared that one day monk Sumedha would be a Buddha called Gauthama.The word renunciation means elimination of attachment. It is not an easy task to go in search of the noble truths. We have to first overcome the fetters that bind us to sansara. One?s parents, wife husband, children, sisters brothers...
More About: Perfection , Renunciation , Renu

Merkel backs Dalai Lama's quest for Tibetan cultural autonomy
2007-09-23 23:08:00
Merkel backs Dalai Lama's quest for Tibetan cultural autonomyGerman Chancellor Angela Merkel meets Dalai Lama. BERLIN : Defying pressure from China, German Chancellor Angela Merkel held an historic meeting with the Dalai Lama on Sunday, and gave support to the Buddhist leader's quest for cultural autonomy for Tibet."The chancellor paid tribute to the Dalai Lama as a religious leader and assured him of support for his efforts to preserve the cultural identity of Tibet and for his peaceful quest for religious and cultural autonomy," her spokesman Ulrich Wilhelm said afterwards.The meeting lasted almost an hour and marked the first time that the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader, whose worldwide following is a thorn in China's side, has been received by a German chancellor.It came just weeks after a three-day visit by Merkel to China in which she took a tough line on human rights issues.Merkel's office, like the Dalai Lama in an interview with a German newspaper, took care howe...
More About: Merkel , Quest , Cultural , Autonomy

Is The Buddhist TV worth as expected?
2007-09-05 22:10:00
Is The Buddhist TV worth as expected?- Priyantha De Silva The only Buddhist satellite TV in the Asia ?The Buddhist TV? now on air via Dialog Satellite TV. When we get the religious channels in the world with comparing ?God? is the most popular one as religious channel. It?s a very organized channel with many aspects. Comparing with others ?The Buddhist TV? is as a baby of one month. But it must be developed faster but not so. Sad to say, nothing happening as we expected like before ?The Buddhist TV? beginning. Satellite TV station is a very powerful one so it can be able to convert some people?s thinking and feelings. To bad or to good. From ?The Buddhist TV? it must come to the point ?The Best? not to ?good?. There are many people who speak Hindi, Tamil, mostly English( Can understand if they can?s speak) Bus most programs air on BTV are from Sinhala. But most Sinhala speaking people know about Buddhism and listen preach in Sinhala via Radio. But less of other ...
More About: Media , Worth , Wort

HINDAGALA:Brief shelter of the Tooth Relic - the Nation
2007-08-26 13:11:00
HINDAGALA:Brief shelter of the Tooth RelicThe Kandy Perahera unfolds again this year, amidst tight security and road blockades. For centuries, this has been a pageant at which we parade the Sacred Tooth Relic through the streets of a holy city, evoking blessings for rain and prosperity. So this week, The Nation looks back on a time as uncertain as this when we visited the secluded rock temple of Hindagala in Peradeniya. The temple is steeped in history and legend surrounding the arrival of the Sacred Tooth Relic in the city of Kandy, when a young prince and princess braved so much danger to bring the relic safely to the place that has been its resting place since. Legend says Hindagala was where Danta and Hemamala took shelter for one night en route to Kandy and so the little temple will always hold a special place in the hearts of Sri Lankan Buddhists.......By Rathindra Kuruwita and Indika SakalasooriyaIt is that time of the year again; the time that the streets of Kandy come alive...
More About: Culture , Shelter , Gala

The Truth Is Unbelievable - The Nation
2007-08-26 12:07:00
The Truth Is Unbelievable By Chamindra WickremasingheThe Truth Is Unbelievable is an exhibition of paintings, film and art installation on the life work of Bhikkhu Sumedha, organised by the Goethe Institute, German Cultural Centre, commemorating its 50th anniversary. The exhibition is curated on the priest?s wish by the artist Cora de Lang.Bhikkhu Sumedha (Aja Iskander Schmidlin) born in Switzerland, lived the last decades of his life in a cave in Manapadassana Lena in Dulvala, near Kandy. He didn?t want to be remembered as German or Swiss, but simply a Sri Lankan monk.The Truth Is Unbelievable is the culmination of Bhikku Sumedha?s last days spent with Ven. Mettavihari, Cora de Lang and Richard Lang in his cave. It is a presentation of their interviews with him, recorded images and sounds, viewing his installation in the cave.In the film, Bhikku Sumedha reflects on the heart of the Dhamma, transience of sensual pleasures, the dangers of impermanence, the mask-like nature of selfhood...
More About: Culture , Nation , The Nation

Uppalavanna : A contemporary Theri-Gatha Sojourn in a nunnery
2007-08-10 22:01:00
Uppalavanna : A contemporary Theri-Gatha Sojourn in a nunneryby Indeewara Thilakarathne and Ranga ChandrarathneUppalavanna, a film directed by Prof. Sunil Ariyaratne and produced by Milina Sumathipala, is woven around an eventful life of a girl, Upuli who entered the Buddhist order of nuns following the tragic events in her life; the killing of her husband by her father at Upuli's mother's funeral and subsequent imprisonment of her father.According to the pali cannon, Uppalavanna was the Buddhist nun famous for her psychic powers. However, the contemporary Uppalavanna is different in that she has, more or less, become the victim of the circumstances.The story unfolds with Upuli, a daughter of an aristocratic physician father, falling in love with the son of her teacher of dancing and marries her sweet heart against parent's wishes.Upuli's mother dies after a prolonged illness apparently precipitated by Upuli's out of caste marriage. On the day of the funeral, Upuli with her hus...
More About: Films , Contemporary , Nunn , Temp

Reconciliation, path to lovingkindness
2007-08-09 21:12:00
Reconciliation, path to lovingkindness - DailynewsPhillip MOFFITT?My mind fills with anger each time I see his face or hear him speak,? one student reports. ?I find myself wishing ill will towards all of them,? another says with a painful voice, ashamed of her own reactions.?I simply cannot practice loving kindness for these people?, says a third. In the past three years many meditation practitioners have been coping with such emotions as they have struggled to find the Buddhist peace of mind in relation to national events and political leaders they view as being harmful.Similar feelings of outrage, of seething anger or disgust, are frequently reported by students coping with a difficult person at work, a betrayal by a teacher or a friend, the painful breakup of a marriage, or an unjust family situation.On meditation retreats and in my weekly meditation group I am often asked by students what they should do in circumstances where the hostility and sense of separation has persisted d...
More About: Buddhism , Reconciliation , Ving , Path