Are you a man?

[Alavaka]

Unknown author

What wealth here is best for man?

What well practiced will happiness bring?

What taste excels all other tastes?

How lived is the life they say is best?

[The Buddha:]

Faith is the wealth here best for man;

Dhamma well practiced shall happiness bring;

Truth indeed all other tastes excels;

Life wisely lived they say is best.

(Alavaka Sutta: Discourse to Alavaka SN 10.12)

Mum!

Unknown Artist

When you were 1 year old, she fed you and bathed you. You thanked her by crying all night long.

When you were 2 years old, she taught you to walk.

You thanked her by running away when she called.

When you were 3 years old, she made all your meals with love.

You thanked her bu tossing your plate on the floor.

When you were 6 years old, she walked you to school.

You thanked her buy screaming, “ I”M NOT GOING!”

When you were 7 years old, she bought you a baseball.

You thanked her by throwing it through the next- door-neighbor's window.

When you were 8 years old, she handed you an ice cream.

You thanked by dripping it all over your lap.

When you are 9 years old she paid for piano lessons.

You thanked her by never even bothering to practice.

When you were 10 years old she drove you all day, from soccer to gymnastic to one birthday party after another.

You thanked her by jumping out of the car and never looking back.

When you were 11 years old, she took you and you friends to the movies.

You thanked her by asking to sit in a different row.

When you were 12 years old, she warned you not to watch certain TV shows.

You thanked her by waiting until she left the house.

When you were 14, she paid for a month away at summer camp.

You thanked her by forgetting to write a single letter.

When you were 15, she came home from work, looking for a hug.

You thanked her by having your bedroom door looked.

When you were 16, she taught you how to drive her car.

You thanked her by taking it every chance you could.

When you were 17, she was expecting an important, call.

You thanked her by being on the phone all night.

When you were 18, she cried at your high school graduation.

You thanked her by staying out partying until dawn.

When you were 19, she paid for your college tuition, drove you to campus carried you bags.

You thanked her by saying good-bye out side the dorm so you wouldn't be embarrassed in front of your friends.

When you were 20, she ask whether you were seeing anyone.

You thanked her buy saying, “Its none of your business.”

When you are 21, she suggested certain careers for you future.

You thanked her by saying, “ I don't want to be like you.”

When you were 22, she hugged you at your college graduation.

You thanked her by asking whether she could pay for a trip to Europe.

When you were 23, she gave you furniture for your first apartment.

You thanked her by telling your friends it was ugly.

When you were 24, she met your fiance and asked about your plans for the future.

You thanked her by glaring and growling, “Muuhh-ther. Pleeeeeeeaaaazzzzeeeee!”

When you were 25, she helped to pay for your wedding, and she cried and told you how deeply she loved you.

You thanked her by moving halfway across the country.

When you were 30, she called with some advice on the baby.

You thanked her bu telling her, “Things are different now.”

When you were 40, she called to remind you of a relative's birthday.

You thanked her by saying you were “really busy right now.”

When you were 50, she fell ill and needed you to take care of her.

You thanked her buy reading about the burden parents become to their children.

And then, one day, she quietly died. And everything you never did came crashing down like thunder on your HEART....

( Unknown Writer )

Nearer and Dearer

Unknown Artist

Nearer and Dearer

Whosoever they be that are near me,

Know not that nearer to me is the Truth.

Whosoever they be that talk with me,

Know not that mute in my heart smiles the Truth.

Whosoever they be that walk with me,

Know not I'm walking alone with the Truth.

Whosoever they be that so love me,

Know not that dearer to me is the Truth.

Nearer and Dearer, alone,

The fourth immutable Truth. ( Patrick Wakefield )

HELL IS THE REAL HOME OF A FOOL

The foolish and ignorantindulge in heedlessness,

but the wise one keeps his heedfulness...

as his best treasure.

(Buddha Dhammapada Verse: 26)

Good habit is a wholesome Kamma and bad habit is unwholesome Kamma. Please ask your self . Which habit is strong in yours ? The tiger which always catches and eats small and weak animals,must be doing unwholesome Kammas continually, will always reap the bad results, and has very little chance to be reborn in the happy existence. That is why in the Balapandita Sutta ( Wise and Fool Sutta) the Buddha says that there is no practicing of the Dhamma in the woeful states, no practicing of what is righteous, no doing of what is wholesome, no performance of merit. There, mutual devouring and the slaughter of the weak prevail.The commentary to the Dhammapada says that hell is the real home of a fool. After suffering in the great hell for a long time, a fool will be reborn in a minor hell. After suffering for a long time there, he will be reborn in another minor hell. After suffering thus for a long time in various hells, he will be reborn in the Peta world. Again he has to suffer for a long time there, and then he may be reborn as an animal. In the animal world, mutual devouring and the slaughter of the weak prevail, and he performs a lot of unwholesome Kammas. After death he is again reborn in hell. After going in such a cycle for many times, he may be reborn as a human being. But due to his bad habit, again he performs a lot of unwholesome Kammas, and after death he is reborn in hell. Thus we call a fool as a permanent inhabitant of hell.Only after a long time in hell they take a short vacation in the human world. And after the short vacation, he will go back to hell. That is why The Buddha says that it is difficult to be born as a human being. However many people do not really appreciate being born as a human being. They live heedlessly, enjoying various sensual pleasures as they like. They cohabit with their lovers, seduce others' wife or husband, abort their own foetus for a higher standard of living, order many chicken and pigs to be killed for their wedding and various kinds of parties, earn money unlawfully, and do many other unwholesome deeds. Nowadays, human society had been defeated by such kind of bad habits as tradition. They regret that they did not make a proper use of human life only when they are reborn in the woeful states, but then it is too late.Which habit do u have?

Do you want to go back home?

What are we living for?

Artist By Tae Park

For the happiness? People all over the world, they are living for their body because of they think that it can brings happiness for them. Do you agree? We all need food, all you need shelter, we all need clothes, we want to be healthy. This all the reason why we all are living. We may think that we need clothes; we may think that you need shelter; we may think that you need food; we may think that we need to be healthy, actually according to our Buddha, this is not our need, because we have the body, it is the body that needs clothes, this body wants to be healthy, this body wants shelter. Are you living for yourself or are you living for the body? What do you think? This is the reason to come to Vietnam and to let you know the truth. Are you slave or master? But now you are living for your body, you are just a slave. Within birth and death, you all are very busy, being busy for your body. Morning till night you all are very busy for your body. Is this the purpose of life? Will you die for your body? Just by fulfilling the needs of your body, all people die. That is why we need to live more than what we are now living for.

Ere long, alas

this body will lie upon the earth,

unheeded and lifeless, like a useless log. (Dhammapada : 41)

Because you have existences, you do your responsibility for your existences. In other words, we can say that you know your responsibility for this present life. Truly to say you know your responsibility of your body. Because all of you are going back today for your body, that’s why we need to live not only for our body, we need to live for our life. If we think about this body, we will not think much of our life. Do you believe you have new existences after this life? After you pass away, there are new existences waiting for you. Have you done something for your new existences waiting for you? Have you done something for your new existences or are you doing for your new existences every day? Truly? If you are doing, I am happy for all of you. Compare for this present life, if we cannot make the end of suffering, there are many future lives waiting for us. After this present life there are many future lives, if we cannot make an end of suffering. At the near death of this present life, a near death object will appear. This object will be the cause of your future life. Do you think that all of your wealth can bring happiness when you are in death moment? So, which kind of happiness is more valuable and important? We need deep consider in our life. When we are practice meditation, the mind is wandering a lot. What’s are the most of your wandering thoughts, good or bad wandering thoughts? Be honest, good or bad? Bad. So at the near dead moment, the object that appears, it looks like the object while you are practicing meditation. Now you are young, not old, still strong, you have strength, you have mindfulness, even in such condition you can’t focus on the meditation object as you like. At the near death moment, you are seriously ill, you are very weak, you have no strength, you have no mindfulness, what do you think, can you focus on the object as you want ? So difficult. Because of this reason, Buddha said when a person dies, when people die, when beings die, they fall into four woeful states. Those who are training their mind through practicing, which are more? Those who are not training their mind through practicing are much more. If you don’t train your mind when you are young, strong and you have strength, you cannot face your death. Sure that you will be sad at that time. Do you think that that kind of sadness is your happiness?

The first reason why we need to practice is to be able to face our death. This is the most difficult thing to face in our life. However beautiful you are now, however high intelligent you are now, however rich you are now, however successful you are now if you are not training your mind, you are not rich. You are rich but materially, not mentally. However high is your living standard, if you are not training your mind, really you are not in high standard, and high standard of life cannot be decided by seeing the position of someone. The standard of one person should be decided through looking at the maturity of mind. If you are living for the body, you will try much material wealth. You will forget to improve spiritual wealth. I heard of many Vietnamese people who are so exhausted because of working too hard. That’s true? That’s why you need to improve your maturity of mind. It’s through practicing meditation; meditation practice is the training of the mind. There are many trainings in the world, among all training the training of mind is the most difficult training. Which one do you like? Difficult one or easier one ? Easier one. Easy going is better for all of you. I think. But the Buddha said difficult to do is what beneficial for one sake. Easy to do is not beneficial for one’s sake. Do you really love yourself? Are you going to do the difficult thing? There are two things you have to choose, listening the music and listening the Dhamma, which one do you want to choose? If you answer me the answer I like. I am happy with you, but be honest, you are like listen music, you all choose easy thing to do, what is not really beneficial for you.

Meditation practice is difficult but very beneficial for the present happiness and for the future happiness. That is what we are going to experience but it is not our goal. The reason why we ordain as Bhikkhus practicing meditation because we want to purify of mind. Who is honest? Those who have no defilements are honest. No one could be as honest with their defilements. If you have greed, if you have lust, if you have hatred, even you try to be honest, because of your defilements in your mind still influencing, improper thoughts still arise. That’s why with defilement we cannot be really honors one. We can live peacefully if we have a lot of defilements. That’s why the purpose of practicing meditation is to eradicate all the defilements. If you want pure happiness and a good future life, you need to train your mind. Is it because of physical beauty that we get a good future life or because of beautifying our mind that we get a good future life? If you want to be beautifying your mind, you need to practice. You all everyday purify your mind or your face? You all beautify your face but not your mind. You all need to purify your mind much much more. Do you think life is suffering? Yes. Do you want to free from suffering of life? If you all want to be free from suffering of life you all need to practice meditation. This is our real goal of practicing meditation, to make an end of suffering. And this is the pure happiness which we searching in our life.

My last supreme gift to all of you. I will give you a last supreme gift for all of you, do you want it? If you are not skillful in reading the habits of others minds, please be skillful in reading the habits of your own mind. Is it easy to know others mind? Is it easy to know your own mind? Even to know your own mind is not easy, only those who are heedful can be skillful in reading their own mind. If you want to do more wholesome deed you need to know your own mind. Why? All the bodily wrong actions, all the verbally wrong actions, occur because mental instructions. That’s why if you are not skillful to reading your own mind, you will do many unwholesome deeds, you will not do wholesome deed. That’s why be skillful in reading the habit of your own mind for the rest of your life.

May you be able to practice meditation more and more in the rest of your life. May you all make an end of suffering in this very life time!

The sun shines by day,

the moon shines by night.

The warrior shines in armor,

the holy man shines in meditation.

But the Buddha shines resplendent all day and all night. ( Dhammmapada : 387 )

Do not give way to heedlessness.

Do not indulge in sensual pleasures.

Only the heedful and meditative attain great happiness.