1. Pakinnakavagga: Miscellaneous

    Comment July 6, 2021

    1. If by renouncing a lesser happiness one may realize a greater happiness, let the wise man renounce the lesser, having regard for the greater.

    2. Entangled by the bonds of hate, he who seeks his own happiness by inflicting pain on others, is never delivered from hatred.

    3. The cankers only increase for those who are arrogant and heedless, who leave undone what should be done and do what should not be done.

    4. The cankers cease for those mindful and clearly comprehending ones who always earnestly practice mindfulness of the body, who do not resort to what should not be done, and steadfastly pursue what should be done.

    5. Having slain mother (craving), father (self-conceit), two warrior-kings (eternalism and nihilism), and destroyed a country (sense organs and sense objects) together with its treasurer (attachment and lust), ungrieving goes the holy man.

    6. Having slain mother, father, two brahman kings (two extreme views), and a tiger as the fifth (the five mental hindrances), ungrieving goes the holy man.

    7. Those disciples of Gotama ever awaken happily who day and night constantly practice the Recollection of the Qualities of the Buddha. Continue reading →

  2. Maggavagga: The Path

    1 July 4, 2021

    1. Of all the paths the Eightfold Path is the best; of all the truths the Four Noble Truths are the best; of all things passionlessness is the best: of men the Seeing One (the Buddha) is the best.

    2. This is the only path; there is none other for the purification of insight. Tread this path, and you will bewilder Mara.

    3. Walking upon this path you will make an end of suffering. Having discovered how to pull out the thorn of lust, I make known the path.

    4. You yourselves must strive; the Buddhas only point the way. Those meditative ones who tread the path are released from the bonds of Mara.

    5. “All conditioned things are impermanent” — when one sees this with wisdom, one turns away from suffering. This is the path to purification.

    6. “All conditioned things are unsatisfactory” — when one sees this with wisdom, one turns away from suffering. This is the path to purification. Continue reading →

  3. Dhammatthavagga: The Just

    Comment June 9, 2021

     

    1. Not by passing arbitrary judgments does a man become just; a wise man is he who investigates both right and wrong.

    2. He who does not judge others arbitrarily, but passes judgment impartially according to the truth, that sagacious man is a guardian of law and is called just.

    3. One is not wise because one speaks much. He who is peaceable, friendly and fearless is called wise.

    4. A man is not versed in Dhamma because he speaks much. He who, after hearing a little Dhamma, realizes its truth directly and is not heedless of it, is truly versed in the Dhamma.

    5. A monk is not an elder because his head is gray. He is but ripe in age, and he is called one grown old in vain.

    6. One in whom there is truthfulness, virtue, inoffensiveness, restraint and self-mastery, who is free from defilements and is wise — he is truly called an Elder.

    7. Not by mere eloquence nor by beauty of form does a man become accomplished, if he is jealous, selfish and deceitful.

    8. But he in whom these are wholly destroyed, uprooted and extinct, and who has cast out hatred — that wise man is truly accomplished. Continue reading →

  4. Malavagga: Impurity

    2 June 1, 2021

    235. Like a withered leaf are you now; death’s messengers await you. You stand on the eve of your departure, yet you have made no provision for your journey!

    236. Make an island for yourself! Strive hard and become wise! Rid of impurities and cleansed of stain, you shall enter the celestial abode of the Noble Ones.

    237. Your life has come to an end now; You are setting forth into the presence of Yama, the king of death. No resting place is there for you on the way, yet you have made no provision for the journey!

    238. Make an island unto yourself! Strive hard and become wise! Rid of impurities and cleansed of stain, you shall not come again to birth and decay.

    239. One by one, little by little, moment by moment, a wise man should remove his own impurities, as a smith removes his dross from silver.

    240. Just as rust arising from iron eats away the base from which it arises, even so, their own deeds lead transgressors to states of woe. Continue reading →

  5. Kodhavagga: Anger

    Comment April 7, 2021

    221. One should give up anger, renounce pride, and overcome all fetters. Suffering never befalls him who clings not to mind and body and is detached.

    222. He who checks rising anger as a charioteer checks a rolling chariot, him I call a true charioteer. Others only hold the reins.

    223. Overcome the angry by non-anger; overcome the wicked by goodness; overcome the miser by generosity; overcome the liar by truth.

    224. Speak the truth; yield not to anger; when asked, give even if you only have a little. By these three means can one reach the presence of the gods.

    225. Those sages who are inoffensive and ever restrained in body, go to the Deathless State, where, having gone, they grieve no more.

    226. Those who are ever vigilant, who discipline themselves day and night, and are ever intent upon Nibbana — their defilements fade away. Continue reading →

  6. Piyavagga: Affection

    Comment April 3, 2021

    209. Giving himself to things to be shunned and not exerting where exertion is needed, a seeker after pleasures, having given up his true welfare, envies those intent upon theirs.

    210. Seek no intimacy with the beloved and also not with the unloved, for not to see the beloved and to see the unloved, both are painful.

    211. Therefore hold nothing dear, for separation from the dear is painful. There are no bonds for those who have nothing beloved or unloved.

    212. From endearment springs grief, from endearment springs fear. For one who is wholly free from endearment there is no grief, whence then fear?

    213. From affection springs grief, from affection springs fear. For one who is wholly free from affection there is no grief, whence then fear?

    214. From attachment springs grief, from attachment springs fear. For one who is wholly free from attachment there is no grief, whence then fear? Continue reading →

  7. Sukhavagga: Happiness

    Comment March 18, 2021

    197. Happy indeed we live, friendly amidst the hostile. Amidst hostile men we dwell free from hatred.

    198. Happy indeed we live, friendly amidst the afflicted (by craving). Amidst afflicted men we dwell free from affliction.

    199. Happy indeed we live, free from avarice amidst the avaricious. Amidst the avaricious men we dwell free from avarice.

    200. Happy indeed we live, we who possess nothing. Feeders on joy we shall be, like the Radiant Gods.

    201. Victory begets enmity; the defeated dwell in pain. Happily the peaceful live, discarding both victory and defeat.

    202. There is no fire like lust and no crime like hatred. There is no ill like the aggregates (of existence) and no bliss higher than the peace (of Nibbana). [17]

    203. Hunger is the worst disease, conditioned things the worst suffering. Knowing this as it really is, the wise realize Nibbana, the highest bliss.

    204. Health is the most precious gain and contentment the greatest wealth. A trustworthy person is the best kinsman, Nibbana the highest bliss. Continue reading →

  8. Buddhavagga: The Buddha

    Comment February 15, 2021

    179. By what track can you trace that trackless Buddha of limitless range, whose victory nothing can undo, whom none of the vanquished defilements can ever pursue?

    180. By what track can you trace that trackless Buddha of limitless range, in whom exists no longer, the entangling and embroiling craving that perpetuates becoming?

    181. Those wise ones who are devoted to meditation and who delight in the calm of renunciation — such mindful ones, Supreme Buddhas, even the gods hold dear.

    182. Hard is it to be born a man; hard is the life of mortals. Hard is it to gain the opportunity of hearing the Sublime Truth, and hard to encounter is the arising of the Buddhas.

    183. To avoid all evil, to cultivate good, and to cleanse one’s mind — this is the teaching of the Buddhas.

    184. Enduring patience is the highest austerity. “Nibbana is supreme,” say the Buddhas. He is not a true monk who harms another, nor a true renunciate who oppresses others.

    185. Not despising, not harming, restraint according to the code of monastic discipline, moderation in food, dwelling in solitude, devotion to meditation — this is the teaching of the Buddhas. Continue reading →

  9. Lokavagga: The World

    Comment February 13, 2021

    1. Follow not the vulgar way; live not in heedlessness; hold not false views; linger not long in worldly existence.

    2. Arise! Do not be heedless! Lead a righteous life. The righteous live happily both in this world and the next.

    3. Lead a righteous life; lead not a base life. The righteous live happily both in this world and the next.

    4. One who looks upon the world as a bubble and a mirage, him the King of Death sees not.

    5. Come! Behold this world, which is like a decorated royal chariot. Here fools flounder, but the wise have no attachment to it.

    6. He who having been heedless is heedless no more, illuminates this world like the moon freed from clouds.

    7. He, who by good deeds covers the evil he has done, illuminates this world like the moon freed from clouds.

    8. Blind is the world; here only a few possess insight. Only a few, like birds escaping from the net, go to realms of bliss.

    9. Swans fly on the path of the sun; men pass through the air by psychic powers; the wise are led away from the world after vanquishing Mara and his host.

    10. For a liar who has violated the one law (of truthfulness) who holds in scorn the hereafter, there is no evil that he cannot do. Continue reading →

  10. Attavagga: The Self

    Comment February 11, 2021

    1. If one holds oneself dear, one should diligently watch oneself. Let the wise man keep vigil during any of the three watches of the night.

    2. One should first establish oneself in what is proper; then only should one instruct others. Thus the wise man will not be reproached.

    3. One should do what one teaches others to do; if one would train others, one should be well controlled oneself. Difficult, indeed, is self-control.

    4. One truly is the protector of oneself; who else could the protector be? With oneself fully controlled, one gains a mastery that is hard to gain.

    5. The evil a witless man does by himself, born of himself and produced by himself, grinds him as a diamond grinds a hard gem.

    6. Just as a single creeper strangles the tree on which it grows, even so, a man who is exceedingly depraved harms himself as only an enemy might wish.

    7. Easy to do are things that are bad and harmful to oneself. But exceedingly difficult to do are things that are good and beneficial.

    8. Whoever, on account of perverted views, scorns the Teaching of the Perfected Ones, the Noble and Righteous Ones — that fool, like the bamboo, produces fruits only for self destruction. [14]

    9. By oneself is evil done; by oneself is one defiled. By oneself is evil left undone; by oneself is one made pure. Purity and impurity depend on oneself; no one can purify another. Continue reading →

Live & Die for Buddhism

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Me & Grandma

My Reflection

This site is a tribute to Buddhism. Buddhism has given me a tremendous inspiration to be who and where I am today. Although I came to America at a very young age, however, I never once forget who I am and where I came from. One thing I know for sure is I was born as a Buddhist, live as a Buddhist and will leave this earth as a Buddhist. I do not believe in superstition. I only believe in karma.

A Handful of Leaves

A Handful of Leaves

Tipitaka: The pali canon (Readings in Theravada Buddhism). A vast body of literature in English translation the texts add up to several thousand printed pages. Most -- but not all -- of the Canon has already been published in English over the years. Although only a small fraction of these texts are available here at Access to Insight, this collection can nonetheless be a very good place to start.

Major Differences

Major Differences in Buddhism

Major Differences in Buddhism: There is no almighty God in Buddhism. There is no one to hand out rewards or punishments on a supposedly Judgement Day ...read more

Problems we face today

jendhamuni pink scarfnature

Of the many problems we face today, some are natural calamities and must be accepted and faced with equanimity. Others, however, are of our own making, created by misunderstanding, and can be corrected...

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