May 2016 — Page 2 of 8 — Jendhamuni-Buddhism

Buddha sending out a mission of sixty Arahants

Comment May 29, 2016

Buddha sending out a mission of sixty Arahants

19. Buddha sending out a mission of sixty Arahants

After the Buddha had kept his retreat at the Deer Park at Isipatanaduring the first rainy season, there were fully sixty Arahants besides the Blessed One. He called them and said. “Released am I, O Bhikkhus, from fetters both human and divine. Ye also are free from fetters both human and divine. Go ye, now O Bhikkhus, and wander for the gain of the many, for the good of the many, for the gain and welfare of gods and men. Preach, O Bhikkhus, the doctrine which is glorious in the beginning, glorious in the middle, glorious at the end, in spirit and in letter. Proclaim the Holy Life altogether perfect and pure. There are beings with a little dust in their eyes, who, not hearing the Doctrine will fall away. There will be those who will understand the Doctrine”. With this exhortation the Buddha despatched His first sixty disciples in various directions.

THE ILLUSTRATED HISTORY OF BUDDHISM
by ASHIN JANAKA BHIVAMSA (Aggamahapandita)
Artist: U Ba Kyi | Link to this post
10 things dogs teach us about what matters most

Comment May 29, 2016

By Debbie Gisonni | Source: Huffigton Post

Here are 10 things dogs can teach us about what matters most in life:

1. Live in the moment.
Although dogs remember things like where the treats are kept, what street takes them home and who they’ve met before, they only access that information when they need it — in the moment. Whether they’re eating a bowl of kibble or chasing a ball, dogs live for the present moment. The past is gone; you can’t do anything about it. The future is unknown. The only thing you can really enjoy and affect is the present moment.

2. Overcome fear with love.
There are plenty of stories about frightful, aggressive dogs who transformed into kind, gentle dogs after they were placed in a loving environment. Dogs can overcome their fear and insecurities through love, and so can humans. Love truly does conquer all, and the first step for us is to love ourselves. If you can replace fear and self-criticism with self-love, no matter what situation you’re in, life gets easier.

3. Don’t hold grudges
A grudge is a feeling of resentment toward someone. It originates in our mind. Humans are probably the only species that holds a grudge. A dog will never be angry with you because you didn’t give him a treat after dinner last night. Holding a grudge weighs you down emotionally and keeps you from moving forward in life. Let grudges go and you will create your own personal freedom. Continue reading →
Environmental activists

Comment May 29, 2016

Earth provides enough to satisfy every man’s needs, but not every man’s greed.
~Mahatma Gandhi
Constant kindness

Comment May 25, 2016

Constant kindness can accomplish much. As the sun makes ice melt, kindness causes misunderstanding, mistrust, and hostility to evaporate. ~Albert Schweitzer

Love and kindness are never wasted. They always make a difference. They bless the one who receives them, and they bless you, the giver. ~Barbara de Angelis
We Love our Lives, so does baby chick

264 May 23, 2016

I don’t live to eat, I only eat to live…

I did not become a vegetarian
for my health, I did it for
the health of the chickens.

~Isaac Bashevis Singer
Mean Girls are so Yesterday

115 May 23, 2016

Mean girls,
They would only make you cry
Mean girls,
They would only take away your smile
Oh mean girls,
They’ll only make you feel different
You know you’re you
That’s enough for you to be content.

Oh girl,
Don’t take their words to heart
You know who you are
And that, alone, is enough

Mean girls,
What did I ever do to you?
Who do you think you are?
Someday it might be you but when you turn around,
Your so called “friends” won’t have your back.

How can you make me feel so insecure?
No, you, yourself, have never been you.
How can you ever believe that they think like that too?

Those mean girls,
Don’t let them run your world
Those mean girls
Will only make you treat your friends as strangers.
They’ll make you feel like they’re perfect and you’re nothing
Don’t let it get to you now
Because you can be everything

How would they feel if those mean girls were in my place?
Would they put up a smile on their faces?
Will they get hurt and feel my pain?
Will they get laughed at and be ashamed?

Oh mean girls, what would they feel?
They’re making me turn my backs against my friends
And be one of them
But no, I’m staying with my friends
I’m staying as me
I won’t change.

Poem title: Mean girls
Poem source: Wattpad
http://www.wattpad.com

….•*•.¸¸. ♥
Bhadda-vaggiya brothers converted by the Buddha

Comment May 23, 2016

Bhadda-vaggiya brothers when searching for a woman, and were converted by the Buddha.

18. Bhadda-vaggiya brothers when searching for a woman, and were converted by the Buddha.

The Buddha went back from Benares to Uruvela, and on his way he entered a grove and sat under a tree. At that time, thirty Bhadda-vaggiyabrothers, who were born of the same father as King Pasenadi of Kosala, were sporting with their wives in that grove. One of them had no wife and they had brought a courtesan for him, but while they were not noticing she had taken their bag of valuables and fled. They came seeking her, and when they came near the Blessed One they inquired, “Did you not see a woman ?” “What do you think, young men,” Buddha replied, “which is better for you, to go in search of a woman or to go in search of yourselves?” The brothers admitted, “It is better to go in search of oneself’. Buddha then told them to sit down and preaching to them the evils of sensual indulgence, converted and ordained them as monks of the Holy Order.

THE ILLUSTRATED HISTORY OF BUDDHISM
by ASHIN JANAKA BHIVAMSA (Aggamahapandita)
Artist: U Ba Kyi | Link to this post
What practical means have I developed

Comment May 23, 2016

Meditators need to be contented with material supports and discontented with the spiritual virtues and accomplishments they have already attained. In daily life this is something that can be applied anywhere. For instance, you have to go to a meeting or you have a particular task to perform, and you ask yourself what are the kinds of unwholesome dhammas that tend to arise: ‘When I meet that person I always get so irritated, he’s so selfish or so conceited.’ This is your meditation. Your practice that day is, ‘How can I spend an hour with that person without getting irritated with him, feeling averse to him or contemptuous of him?’ But in the case where you do lose your temper or get upset with somebody, you ask, ‘What strategies do I have, what practical means have I developed or should be developing to deal with that? And in a particular situation that I’m going to find myself in today – with my family, friends, colleagues at work – what are the wholesome dhammas, the particular kinds of virtues that I can be working on: right speech, patience, kindness, compassion? Where should I be applying those qualities? How should I be applying them? And those qualities that I have developed, how can I take care of them, nurture them and lead them even further onwards?’ ~Ajahn Jayasaro
Four Paths to Power

Comment May 23, 2016

In the four Iddhipādas, the Four Paths to Power, chanda is the first. In the presence of chanda, viriya, effort, arises. Effort is in many ways the characteristic dhamma of this whole school of Buddhism. In fact, the Buddha referred to his teachings not as Theravāda but as viriyavāda. It is a teaching of effort, a teaching that there is such a thing as effort, that effort can be put forth, effort should be put forth, and that effort is what is needed for progress on the Path. ~Ajahn Jayasaro

Meditation Master Toum Vachana and students

Meditation Master Toum Vachana and students
Venerable Yasa and his father met the Buddha

Comment May 21, 2016

Venerable Yasa and his father met the Buddha

17. Venerable Yasa and his father met the Buddha

Yasa was the first born son of Sujata who offered milk-porridge to the Great Being on the very day he was to become the Enlightened Buddha. He had been brought up in the greatest luxury as in the case of the Future Buddha, three separate mansions being provided for three different seasons, namely, the wet, cold and dry seasons. Waking up one night, he found his palace attendants, female musicians, asleep in unseemly conditions, and deeming the scene to be a cemetery, went out from his house and the city to the Deer Park of Isipatana that every night.

Yasa came into the presence of the Buddha and, after hearing the sermon from the Blessed One, was established in the first noble stage of the Ariyan Path. Yasa’s father went in search of his son and came to the Buddha. The Buddha made Yasa invisible with his supernatural power and assuring him with these words, “You will find your son” preached a sermon to him. Yasa’s father was also established in the first holy stage of the Aryan Path, while Yasa was established in the fourth holy stage of the Aryan Path. The Blessed One then discontinued the use of the supernatural power with the result that the father met the son, and ordained Yasa as a monk at his request.

THE ILLUSTRATED HISTORY OF BUDDHISM
by ASHIN JANAKA BHIVAMSA (Aggamahapandita)
Artist: U Ba Kyi | Link to this post