Mettavalokanaya_Buddhist_Magazine_March_2019

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March | 2019 

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The Worth of life…. 

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SRI LANKA’S LEADING 

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Buddhist Magazine & Website 

Buddhist 

Normative Ethics... 

Page 12 & 13 

Real Loving 

Kindness…. 

Page 18 & 19 

The Tao 

Experience…. 

Page 22 & 23 

Amazing 

Relaxation Zen…. 

Page 28 & 29 

The Comfort Zone…. 

Page 40 & 41 

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“The tasks 

of Religion 

Today”…. 

Here I will mention several 

challenges that confront the 

major religious traditions 

today, and I will also sketch, 

very briefly, the ways such challenges 

may be met from within the horizons 

of the religion which I follow, Theravada 

Buddhism. 

The first challenge I will discuss 

is primarily philosophical in scope, 

though with profound and far-reaching 

practical implications. This is the task of 

overcoming the fundamental dichotomy 

which scientific materialism has posited 

between the realm of “real fact,” i.e., 

impersonal physical processes, and the 

realm of value. By assigning value and 

spiritual ideals to private subjectivity, the 

materialistic world view, as I mentioned 

earlier, threatens to undermine any 

secure objective foundation for morality. 

The result is the widespread moral 

degeneration that we witness today. To 

counter this tendency, I do not think mere 

moral exhortation is sufficient. If morality 

is to function as an efficient guide to 

conduct, it cannot be propounded as 

a self-justifying scheme but must be 

embedded in a more comprehensive 

spiritual system which grounds morality 

in a transpersonal order. Religion 

must affirm, in the clearest terms, that 

morality and ethical values are not mere 

decorative frills of personal opinion, not 

subjective superstructure, but intrinsic 

laws of the cosmos built into the heart 

of reality. 

In the Buddha’s teaching, the 

objective foundation for morality is the 

law of kamma, and its corollary, the 

teaching of rebirth. According to the 

principle of kamma, our intentional 

actions have a built-in potential for 

generating consequences for ourselves 

that correspond to the moral quality of 

the deeds. Our deeds come to fruition, 

sometimes in this life, sometimes 

in future lives, but in either case an 

inescapable, impersonal law connects 

our actions to their fruits, which rebound 

upon us exactly in the way we deserve. 

Thus our morally determinate actions 

are the building blocks of our destiny: 

we must ultimately reap the fruits of our 

own deeds, and by our moral choices 

and values we construct our happiness 

and suffering in this life and in future 

lives. 

In the Buddha’s teaching, the law of 

kamma is integral to the very dynamics of 

the universe. The Buddhist texts speak of 

five systems of cosmic law, each perfectly 

valid within its own domain: the laws of 

inorganic matter (utuniyama), the laws 

of living organisms (bijaniyama), the laws 

of consciousness (cittaniyama), the laws 

of kamma or moral deeds and their fruits 

(kammaniyama), and the laws of spiritual 

development (dhammataniyama). The 

science that dominates the West has 

flourished through its exclusive attention 

to the first two systems of law. As a 

Buddhist, I would argue that a complete 

picture of actuality must take account 

of all five orders, and that by arriving at 

such a complete picture, we can restore 

moral and spiritual values to their proper 

place within the whole. 

A second challenge, closely related 

to the first, is to propose concrete 

guidelines to right conduct capable 

of lifting us from our morass of moral 

confusion. While the first project I 

mentioned operates on the theoretical 

front, this one is more immediately 

practical in scope. Here we are not so 

much concerned with establishing a 

valid foundation for morality as with 

determining exactly what guidelines 

to conduct are capable of promoting 

harmonious and peaceful relations 

between people. On this front I think 

that the unsurpassed guide to the ethical 

good is still the Five Precepts (pancasila) 

taught by Buddhism. According to 

the Buddhist texts, these precepts 

are not unique to the Buddha Sasana 

but constitute the universal principles 

of morality upheld in every culture 

dedicated to virtue. The Five Precepts 

can be considered in terms of both the 

actions they prohibit and the virtues they 

inculcate. At the present time I think it is 

necessary to place equal stress on both 

aspects of the precepts, as the Buddha 

himself has done in the Suttas. 

These precepts are…. 01 - The rule 

to abstain from taking life, which implies 

the virtue of treating all beings with 

kindness and compassion. 02 - The rule 

to abstain from stealing, which implies 

honesty, respect for the possessions 

of others, and concern for the natural 

environment. 03 - The rule to abstain 

from sexual misconduct, which implies 

responsibility and commitment in 

one’s marital and other interpersonal 

relationships. 04 - The rule to abstain 

from lying, which implies a commitment 

to truth in dealing with others. 05 - The 

rule to abstain from alcoholic drinks, 

drugs and intoxicants, which implies the 

virtues of sobriety and heedfulness. In 

presenting the case for these precepts, 

it should be shown that quite apart from 

their long-term karmic effect, which is a 

matter of faith, they conduce to peace 

and happiness for oneself right here and 

now, as well as towards the welfare of 

those whom one’s actions affect. 

A third project for religion 

is to formulate, on the basis of its 

fundamental doctrinal traditions, an 

incisive diagnosis of the contemporary 

human condition. From the Buddhist 

perspective I think the analysis that 

the Buddha offered in his Four Noble 

Truths still remains perfectly valid. Not 

only does it need not the least revision 

or reinterpretation, but the course of 

twenty-five centuries of world history 

and the present-day human situation 

only underscores its astuteness and 

relevance. The core problem of human 

existence, the First Truth announces, is 

suffering. The canonical texts enumerate 

different types of suffering — physical, 

psychological and spiritual; in the 

present age, we should also highlight 

the enormous volume of social suffering 

that plagues vulnerable humanity. The 

cause of suffering, according to the 

Second Truth, lies nowhere else than 

in our own minds — in our craving and 

ignorance, in the defilements of greed, 

hatred and delusion. The solution to 

the problem is the subject of the Third 

“Protecting 

oneself, one 

protects 

others”…. 

Noble Truth, which states that liberation 

from suffering must also be effected by 

the mind, through the eradication of the 

defilements responsible for suffering. 

And the Fourth Truth gives us the method 

to eradicate the defilements, the Noble 

Eightfold Path, with its three stages of 

training in moral discipline, meditation 

and wisdom. 

The next point is a practical 

extension of the third. Once a religion 

has offered us a diagnosis of the human 

condition which reveals the source 

of suffering in the mind, it must offer 

us concrete guidance in the task of 

training and mastering the mind. Thus 

I think that a major focus of presentday 

religion must be the understanding 

and transformation of the mind. This 

requires experiential disciplines by 

which we can arrive at deeper insight 

into ourselves and gradually effect very 

fundamental inward changes. Buddhism 

provides a vast arsenal of time-tested 

teachings and methods for meeting this 

challenge. It contains comprehensive 

systems of psychological analysis and 

potent techniques of meditation that 

can generate experiential confirmation 

of its principles. 

In the present age access to these 

teachings and practices will cease to 

remain the exclusive preserve of the 

monastic order, but will spread to the 

lay community as well, as has already 

been occurring throughout the Buddhist 

world both in the East and in the West. 

The spirit of democracy and the triumph 

of the experimental method demand 

that the means of mind-development 

be available to anyone who is willing 

to make the effort. The experiential 

dimension of religion is an area where 

Christianity can learn a great deal from 

Buddhism, and I believe that Christianity 

must rediscover its own contemplative 

heritage and make available deeper 

transformative disciplines to both its 

clergy and its lay followers if it is to retain 

its relevance to humanity in the future. 

The last challenge I will discuss is 

the need for religions to re-affirm and 

to actively demonstrate those values 

that are particularly critical for the 

human race to attain the status of an 

integrative, harmonious community. 

They must translate into concrete 

programs of action the great virtues 

of love and compassion. Because the 

world has become more closely knit 

than ever before, we have to recognize 

the enormous responsibility that we 

each bear for the welfare of the whole. 

What all religions need to stress, in the 

face of so much cruelty and violence, is 

the development of a sense of global 

responsibility, a concern for the welfare 

and happiness of all living beings as 

well as for the protection of our natural 

environment. Love and compassion 

must issue forth in active endeavor to 

alleviate the sufferings of others and to 

ensure that the oppressed and afflicted 

are granted all the opportunities that 

have hitherto been denied them. 

USA 

The world famous American 

Author, New York, USA 


Bhikkhu Bodhi 


esentment towards the world, because 

life is about self-cultivation, do not let 

resentment overlook the true self, if we 

can release the place occupied by anger 

and resentment in our minds, and turn 

it into love and tolerance, then the real 

wisdom will accumulate within your 

mind, and obtain spiritual conservation, 

to have the refreshment of mercifulness, 

it would represent much better the 

worth of life. Sincere blessings to all. 

The root causes of the inner mind 

We are unable to quit life, only the 

style of life can be different, as we are 

living in a colorful world, we are unable 

to break out of the turbid world, as for 

performing daily cleansing in our normal 

everyday life style to turn our troubled 

03. Reason - In reason, the inability 

to understand good and evil, karma, law 

and order, thinking becomes retarded 

instead of righteous, then suffering is 

started again, thus, Buddha teaches us 

to correct it. 

Regarding the will, learn to control 

one’s greed; in relationship, treat 

everyone with mercy and compassion; 

in reason, learn to distinguish between 

good and evil, understand karma, be 

reasonable, these are the root of all 

virtues. From good karma, initiate 

goodness in words and action, and 

from goodness in words and action fill 

the mind with honesty and goodness, 

to be able to establish the internal and 

external as perfect unison, to unify 

The value of life hangs in a 

singular thought. A person’s life 

is most distinguished and not 

measurable, if one does not have 

the right perspective on life and values, 

then the life will be unhappy, not at ease, 

not healthy, let us study and cultivate on 

this subject together. 

What is the right perspective? One 

is born into this world, to gain a thorough 

understanding of impermanence, karma, 

and with a clear mind learn the world 

is imperfect, it is consisted of all kinds 

of people, matters, things, minds, and 

conditions, and these causes are teaching 

us to enlighten, to grow, and to embrace 

what comes at us, once you understand 

this truth thing will naturally be perfect. 

The complexity of society resembles 

a never-ending book, a never-ending 

scripture, we are to learn from this book 

about dedication, thankfulness, and not 

be orientated towards the pursuit of 

personal fame and power, we need to 

take practical actions to repay gratitude, 

to realize wisdom, although there are a 

lot of temptations in this world, as long as 

one always keep a grateful and merciful 

The 

worth of 

life…. 

“Make the 

better life by 

ourselves”…. 

mind, put aside prejudice, one’s physical 

and mental aspects will immediately be 

at ease, and life with be worthwhile. 

The reason we generate karma is 

because of greed, the reason we have 

this thought is because we forget who 

we are, unusual and diverging thoughts 

are always the demon. Buddha said: 

Compassion is an empathy mind that 

brings mutual understanding, tolerance 

and benevolence, sharing and caring for 

each other; the ultimate bliss in life is to 

be compassionate and to empathize with. 

all living beings. The six reincarnations 

are a dialogue between these two 

aspects of life including morality and a 

host of other philosophical themes. 

The concept of mental activity is 

the management to naturally turn evil 

to good, and turn grief to fulfillment. 

Those who cherish counts of blessings 

take upon charitable deeds for action. 

Happiness is a state of mind within the 

reach of everyone who takes time to 

be kind. For the kindness one gives, 

happiness returns to shine on one, the 

concept of mental activity management 

is everyone’s healthy development of 

the value to improve life. 

Spiritual conservation, a 

compassionate heart is a clear and 

cool place. Let us have peace in our 

mind, it can eliminate people’s original 

karmas, it is conserving, and able to turn 

evil to goodness, increasing the root of 

our goodness, or even make our root 

goodness shine through. 

01. Wills - In general people’s will 

always contain infinite desires, hoping 

everything belongs to the self, when the 

will is filled with greed, and when greed 

is unfulfilled, that is the beginning of 

troubles, and sorrows, so the Buddha 

teaches us to correct it. In our times 

of adversity: cultivate oneself from 

making concessions, cultivate oneself 

from restricting material desires, learn 

from experiences of grief, step up to the 

challenge during hardship, train the will 

through setbacks, accumulate wisdom 

from failures, from breathing realize 

the impermanence of life, and keeping 

a thankful mind, such are the important 

self-cultivations in life. 

The clean meditation cultivation 

stated by Buddhism is a self-training, 

taking care of the generated wills at the 

spur of the moment, keeping a righteous 

mind at all times, cultivate one’s 

grievances, expanding one’s own mind, 

cultivate endlessly, from within normal 

everyday life achieve, train, discipline, 

and purify any troubles naturally. 

Broaden one’s horizons, become a 

living Buddha, implement and establish 

through faith. The daily doings are 

never far from the doings of the will of 

body and mouth. Mind is the master, 

body and mouth are instruments, thus 

purification should be of the mind, to 

train one’s will generation from the little 

things in life. 

In fact, there are many chances 

for body and mind purification in 

normal everyday life: thankfulness, 

caring, apologies, and smiles, all can be 

practiced. Clearly examine one’s actions 

from normal everyday living routines, 

feel each breathe and thought, utilize 

the will of body and mouth to examine 

oneself in detail. 

02. Relationships - In relationships, 

every action directed towards others 

will always feel awkward, without 

compassion, it is natural to resent and 

grieve, and so suffering and sorrows is 

started. 

knowledge and action, this is the highest 

achievement in personal integrity, and 

the highest worth of life. 

Sorrows stem from the mind; joy 

is from within. Buddha said: trouble is 

Bodhi. Thus to swim upstream is the only 

way to find the inner root, and to arrive 

and the goal of Buddhism. 

China 

Chief Abbes of Pu Tuo 

Shan Temple in Taiwan and 

Cambodia, President of 

China International 

Pu Tuo Shan 

Most Venerable Bhikkhuni 

Shih Sheng Hua 


For those who are interested in the 

ordination of women, this is one of 

the most puzzling questions, which 

needs a great deal of contextual 

understanding. When King Suddhodana, 

the Buddha’s royal father passed away, 

the duty of a wife to her husband was 

completed. It was the right time for 

Maha Pajapati to consider following the 

teaching and the practice of the Buddha 

seriously. But, when she approached 

and asked for permission the Buddha 

simply said, “Please do not ask so.” The 

Tripitaka, which is the most important 

primary source, did not provide any 

reason for not allowing women to join 

the Order. Many interpretations were 

given in later commentaries trying to 

explain the situation. This led also to 

common belief that the Buddha did 

not want to allow women to lead a 

religious life. This is not without basis. 

According to Indian social mores, to lead 

“The Brighter of 

Bhikkhuni Sasana”…. 

a religious life is not the path for women. 

Manudharma Sastra was very clear to 

spell out that salvation for a woman is 

possible only through bhakti (devotion) 

to her husband. 

But Maha Pajapati was unshaken 

in her decision. After the Buddha had 

gone, she, along with 500 Sakiyanis 

(Sakyan women) from the royal court 

shaved their heads and donned the 

yellow robes. ey followed him on foot 

until they arrived at Vesali where the 

Buddha resided. Upon arriving at the 

arama (residence) they did not ask to 

have an audience with the Buddha for 

fear of being rejected again. Ananda, the 

Buddha’s cousin and personal attendant, 

found them at the entrance covered 

with dust, with torn robes and bleeding 

feet. Many of them were miserable 

and in tears of desperation. He learned 

from them of their request and on their 

behalf approached the Buddha. Again, 

the Buddha forbade Ananda in the 

same manner, “Ananda, please do not 

ask so. There are various reasons to be 

taken in consideration in attempting to 

understand the possible difficulties or 

obstacles which presented themselves in 

the mind of the Buddha. 

First of all Maha Pajapati was a 

queen who, along with 500 ladies of the 

court, knew only the life of comfort. To 

lead a reclusive life allowing them only to 

sleep under the tree, or in the cave, would 

be too hard for them. Out of compassion 

the Buddha wanted them to think it over. 

Furthermore, accepting a large group of 

women to be ordained all at once would 

immediately involve teachers to provide 

them both instruction and training. The 

Buddha also could not make himself 

constantly accessible for them. The 

Sangha was not ready with competent 

teachers to handle a large crowd of 

women. This proved to be a reality later 

on when women were already accepted 

to the Sangha. Monks who could teach 

the nuns must be not only learned but 

also require an appropriate attitude to 

help uplift women spiritually. 

The Buddha already received 

criticism from outsiders for breaking 

up families by ordaining either the 

husbands or wives. When Maha Pajapati 

approached him with 500 Sakiyanis, 

definitely this would be a major cause 

of criticism. Particularly Sakyas did 

not marry people from other clans. By 

allowing 500 Sakiyanis to be ordained 

would definitely affect the social status 

quo. But it was revealed that these 

women’s husbands had already joined 

the Order. Thus, the criticism that 

accepting these women would break up 

their families became groundless. The 

fact that these women followed him on 

foot to Vesali is a proof of their genuine 

commitment to lead religious lives and 

removed the doubt that their request 

might be out of momentary impulse. 

These could have been some of the 

reasons behind the Buddha’s hesitation. 

The Buddha needed the time to examine 

both the pros and cons to their request. 

Ananda also tried to understand the 

Buddha’s refusal. Is it because women 

are not capable of achieving spiritual 

enlightenment? If that is so, then 

ordination, a spiritual path is open only 

to men. To this, the Buddha made it 

clear that both men and women have 

equal potentiality to achieve spiritual 

enlightenment. We have to mark this 

statement, as this is the first time in 

the history of religion that a religious 

leader declared openly that men and 

women are equal on spiritual grounds. 

Previously in the Hindu context, the 

Vedas, the most sacred religious texts, 

were available only to men. Buddhism 

has transcended race, nation, caste and 

gender differences to declare that the 

highest spiritual achievement transcends 

obstacles or discrimination of gender. 

With this important reason, the Buddha 

allowed women to join his Order. 

Theravada context which preserved 

the teachings in Pali. Theravadins believe 

that their teaching is most authentic 

from a historical point of view. We need 

to understand that the Tripitaka that we 

know of was not a written work from 

the Buddha’s time. Religious knowledge 

was to be practiced and handed down 

from teachers to chosen disciples. Hence 

no religious teaching was recorded. 

This applied also to the teaching of 

the Buddha. The Tripitaka was first 

recorded in Sri Lanka not before 450 

B.E. (about 90 B.C.) What was recorded 

was according to the understanding of 

the monk recorders. What they chose 

to record was subjective, hence it is 

understandable why the Tripitaka is 

androcentric. The Tripitaka was recorded 

by men who were ridden with Indian 

social values. They were men who by 

the vinaya, were expected to lead lives 

of purity. The most immediate obstacle 

“The 

Buddhism and 

Bhikkhunies”…. 

to their chastity was the opposite 

gender. Many teachings as preserved by 

these men therefore projected women 

(embodiment of their obstacles) as evil, 

unclean, etc. This is a necessary barrier 

to fence themselves off from failing into 

the pit of the unchaste. While reading 

the Tripitaka one must remind oneself of 

this limitation in order to sift the essence 

from its social contextual limitations. 

Looking at the teaching from the 

Paramattha level, one sees clearly that 

Buddhism is free from gender bias, 

Buddhism is the first religion in the 

world to recognize the equal spiritual 

potentiality of men and women. This 

provides a special place for Buddhism 

which started in India to lift up to the 

world spiritual level without boundary 

in race, caste, or gender. Among western 

feminists, abortion is one of the most 

discussed social issues. One argues that 

a woman should have right over her 

body because it is hers. Buddhism does 

not argue on this point but takes a clear 

stand that abortion is killing. One who 

chooses abortion transgresses the first 

precept. But whether the government 

should pass a bill to legalize abortion or 

not is an issue which needs consideration 

from various related fields e.g. social, 

economic, cultural, etc. 

To the argument which raises a 

question whether abortion is killing “life” 

or not, Buddhism supplies a detailed 

explanation of conception and its 

various stage of formation. This explains 

the coming together of sperm and egg, 

then through 01st, 02nd, 03rd, 04th 

week to a stage called ‘Pancasakha’ or 

“05 branches” namely head, arms, legs 

Life is present through all these stages 

since conception. To complete killing 

there are at least 05 factors: 01 - that it 

has life, 02 - knowing that it has life, 03 - 

willingness to kill, 04 - try to kill, 05 - that 

life is destroyed. If one has completed 

these five factors, killing is completed 

bearing fruit of action (Vipakkarma). As 

a Buddhist woman, one may be forced 

to choose abortion but must be willing 

to receive the fruit of her action without 

trying to explain away the teaching to 

suits one’s choice. That a man should 

bear equal responsibility of pregnancy 

is true but entirely a separate issue to 

consider. 

Thailand 

The Chief Abbes 

Songdhammakalyani 

Bhikkhuni Arama and The 

Medicine Buddha Vihara, 

Nakhonpathom, Thailand 


Dhammananda (Dr. 

Chatsumarn Kabilsingh) 


In the past two hundred years, the 

Chinese and foreign Buddhist circles 

have traced back to the origins of the 

Buddha’s return to the Buddha. This 

is the teaching of the Buddha who lived 

in the Buddha’s residence in addition 

to the existing Nanchuan Buddhism, 

the Han Chuan Bodhisattva, and the 

Tibetan Bodhisattva. This thinking, 

which traces the source of Buddhist law, 

is gradually prevailing in the cause of 

Buddhism. The external reason is that 

“the Buddha disciple is on the road of 

learning Dharma, and he hopes to be 

more credible, besides “legend” and 

“belief”. The plausible proof of history 

is used as the basis for exploring the 

Dharma. The intrinsic factor is that 

“the traditional Buddhist teachings are 

extremely divided, not only against each 

other, but also with a set of discourse 

and practice systems, thus contributing 

to the hope of learners. Through the 

Buddha’s original statement, he will fully 

explain the doubts and obstacles of the 

differences. Therefore, the exploration 

of the “Buddha’s original theory” has 

gradually developed into a prominent 

study of the modern Buddhist circle. 

In the modern times, the first 

scientific research on the history of 

Indian Buddhism was the western 

academic circle, while the research in 

the Western academic circles was mostly 

biased towards the historical materials 

of the Southern Buddhism. It is difficult 

to deepen the historical literature of the 

“The 

Primitive 

Buddhism”…. 

“Make the 

real world 

of peace and 

happiness”…. 

Buddhist ministry in the early period of 

the Chinese translation of the Tibetan 

Buddhist scriptures. The understanding 

of this has caused the Western academic 

community to recognize that the 

Southern Buddhism is the same as the 

“Original Buddhism” of the Buddha. This 

view has influenced the influence of the 

Southern Buddhism, which has always 

been a “Buddhist Buddhism”, and is also 

considered to be “primitive Buddhism”. 

Most of them who do not have a deep 

understanding of the history of Buddhism 

are also regarded as Southern Buddhism. 

“Original Buddhism.” However, from the 

mid-nineteenth century to the end of 

the twentieth century, the re-exploration 

of “the history of Buddhism in India” by 

the Japanese academic circles and the 

Chinese Buddhist community reaffirmed 

the positioning of “primitive Buddhism”, 

which means that the Buddha lived to 

the “first” Buddhism at the time of the 

second episode. The inheritance of 

Nan Buddhism should be the system of 

the “Bao Bian Department” that was 

transferred from Cuihua to Ceylon. The 

real “Captain” is the Ananda system 

that passed on the law. Hidden in the 

world. Therefore, “primitive Buddhism” 

is neither equivalent to Southern 

Buddhism nor “Shang Buddhism”. 

The connotation of primitive 

Buddhism contains two major axes, 

one is the “original Buddhism” and 

the other is “Human Buddhism”. The 

original Buddhism and the interpersonal 

Buddhism correspond to each other, 

and they are called “Original Buddhism”. 

The meaning of the original Dharma is 

mainly for the Buddhist history that has 

undergone time and space migration 

and teaching and interpretation. In 

the Buddhism that has been circulated 

and changed, only the teachings of the 

Buddha when he lived in the world, the 

original Dharma, is what the Buddha said. 

“Saddhamma”. In the year of Buddhism, 

the biography of the “first classic 

collection” held by the Buddhist disciples 

of the Buddha’s pro-teachers really 

represented “if I smelled”, and it really 

fits in with the “Faithfulness”. Therefore, 

the Buddhist sects that practice, 

promote, and inherit the “Faithfulness” 

of the “first classic collection” integration 

are the “light of the Fa-rectification, the 

lamp of the Fa-rectification, and the 

inheritance of the Fa-rectification of 

the Faculty of Saddhammadīpa”. The 

meaning of Buddhism in the world refers 

to Buddhism, which is based on the 

“law of the sacred method and the four 

sacred sacred sacredness” taught by the 

Buddha, and realizes the “difficultness 

of restoring the world and leaving the 

world.” This is based on the wisdom of 

the world, the cause of the cause, the 

cause of death, and the ability to solve 

the problems and sufferings of the real 

world in a pragmatic and practical way. 

This is both the real connotation of the 

real world and the right way to solve the 

difficulties of real life. 

At the same time, according to 

the wisdom of “because of the cause 

of life, the cause of death”, we can see 

“the impermanence of the law, the 

suffering, the non-self, and the self”. 

If we can know the truth, “the life, the 

impermanence, the corruption, the 

pain” It is the right way to stay away 

from and rid the world of distress. Based 

on the wisdom of “causality, karma, and 

extinction”, and relying on the “study 

of life, impermanence, and bitterness”, 

and away from the “salvation and 

sorrow of the sacred law” Consistent, 

corresponding, and consistent, it is called 

“four holy”. Only by relying on the “law of 

karma, the four sacred sacredness”, can 

people solve the current problems and 

the current situation of suffering, while 

at the same time, the internal greed, 

jealousy, obedience and distress. This is 

the true “worldly right path” and “out of 

the world.” The right way of trouble in 

the world.” 

Therefore, the spirit and the 

righteousness of “human Buddhism” 

is neither a generalized Buddhist 

construction nor a fashionable Buddhist 

style that emphasizes life, nor is it a 

high-profile religious act of the world. 

Of course, it is not empty talk about 

metaphysical or esoteric, mysterious. 

Well-informed Buddhism. Only in the 

“Human Buddhism” of “Boundary Law, 

Four Saints” can we “get the more real 

problems in the world” and satisfy the 

“compassionate and compassionate”, 

“self-respecting, self-consciousness” and 

“destruction” This is the “one-day Bodhi 

Path” that is being promoted to Supreme 

Bodhi. Just as the Chinese translation of 

“Zeng Yu A Han” says that “Buddha and 

the world are all out of the world”, the 

true meaning of “Buddha is the human 

being, the Buddha of the world” is here. 

The practice of primitive Buddhism 

mainly consists of two methods. First, 

it is to realize the “view of the four 

senses of the Orthodox and the Sense 

of Righteousness” (this is the Zen view 

of the Orthodox and the 12th cause). 

“Seven Bodhi” and “Eight Paths” in the 

“righteousness of the law”. “Viewing the 

Four Mind” is a method of embodying 

the “positive sense of the cause of the 

law”, and it is the righteousness of the 

truth of the world - the cause of life, the 

cause of death. The “Seven Bodhisattvas” 

carried out in accordance with the 

“Sense of Reasons” is a way of breaking 

greed and liberation. It is a method of 

“compassion and compassion”. It is a way 

to be comfortable in the world and to be 

out of the world. “Eight Roads” include 

In the world of the Eight Orthodox Road 

and the Eight Orthodox Ways of the 

World, the Eight Orthodox Ways of the 

World can make the real world of peace 

and happiness increase. 

The teachings of “Original 

Buddhism”, although the Buddhist 

monks in the past 100 years after 

the buddhas have been updated, still 

maintain the ancient teachings. In the 

116th year after the annihilation of the 

Buddha, because Ubo was separated 

from the squad in the area, it violated 

the tradition of the revision of the 

sacred and the teachings, and the “five 

things are different” to sing the sacred. 

The squadron of the squadron attached 

to the compromise, and the Ananda 

Department (the sergeant) began to 

fight against the superior wave (lawyer), 

and the Buddhist sect was split into the 

three divisions of the Afghan Department 

and the Ubera Department of the 

Uber. The Department of Volkswagen 

of the Department of Excellence and 

the Department of the Ministry of the 

Ministry of the People’s Republic of 

China, each of which is based on the 

idea of the Ministry of Self-Department, 

and the Affiliation of the Ministry of 

Buddhism or the Holy Disciples, and the 

integration of the “argument” of the 

Ministry In the traditional scriptures, 

the original scriptures, meditations, 

teachings, and passages were changed 

, and the ministry of Buddhism based 

on “theory” was developed. Many 

“theories” from the later generations 

are the source of the split between 

the Sangha and Buddhism. The “Ada 

Dharma” of the various ministries is 

not only the opposite of each other 

but also different from the original. 

The opinions that have been said. For 

example, in the book “The Buddhism of 

India” (p. 162-8 ~ 10) written by Master 

Yin Shun in modern times, it is said that 

the Buddhism of Buddhism “requires 

the outside of the sect and “discussing 

Tibet”, and talks about prosperity. At the 

very extreme, it is not practical, and the 

philosophical thinking is deep and deep, 

and the effectiveness of the world is 

becoming more and more effective.” 

At present, the scriptures of 

the Nanjiao Buddhism, although 

retaining the original teachings of the 

Fa, are influenced by the “theory” and 

the “new passage of the synonym”, 

forming an ancient and new dilemma. 

Miscellaneous dilemma. Therefore, 

from the perspective of the three major 

sects of Buddhism today, the “primitive 

Buddhism” that adheres to “self-reliance 

and self-consciousness” can certainly not 

be “small-sized”, not only different from 

Nan Chuan, respectively. In Buddhism, 

the system of teachings dominated 

by “argument” is not the “Mahwa 

Bodhisattva” or “Secret Bodhisattva” 

that emerged after the first century BC. 

China 

The Chief Monk of Original 

Buddhism Sambodhi 

Sangha Society in Taiwan, 

Saddhamma Cultural Centre 

& Holy Buddha Monastery, 

Jiaohe City, China 

Most Venerable Bhikkhu 

Vūpasama Maha Thera 


“The 

Buddhist 

Normative 

Ethics”…. 

“Use Buddhist 

Textual 

Materials”…. 

Writing on normative ethics, 

I have benefited a lot 

from Western ethical 

studies regarding the 

establishment of ideological systems and 

structures. However, Buddhism is more 

than merely ontology or metaphysics. It 

is based on its fundamental principle that 

developed from experience – dependent 

origination (s. pratītya-samutpāda, p. 

paticca-samuppāda). This is the principle 

that the Buddha realized through his 

practical experience of contemplation 

and discernment. It is based on this 

principle that I discuss and explain the 

various topics related to the study of 

ethics. 

Regarding specific books that 

discuss the contemporary study of 

Buddhist ethics, there are not any lengthy 

works in Chinese, although there have 

been some articles. In Japanese, there 

are The Daily Ethics of Early Buddhism 

and Sociological Thoughts of Early 

Buddhism by Nakamura Hajime, which 

discuss personal/individual ethics, and 

group ethics respectively. Nevertheless, 

the functioning aim of The Study of 

Buddhist Ethics is not an abundance of 

materials quoted and textual research, 

but the digestion of the materials, and 

the extraction of their essence, so as 

to present a complete, Buddhist ethical 

system. 

In other words, my work here adopts 

an analytical, philosophical methodology 

and not textual research methods. 

There is more logical evidence than 

scriptural evidence, and there are more 

deductions than summaries. However, 

this does not mean that I do not regard 

the teachings and making summaries 

from materials as unimportant. Rather, 

my aim is to present features that are 

complementary to other approaches in 

my other writing. This allows my written 

works to supplement each other. 

Theoretically, we cannot neglect 

the history of Buddhist ethics if we wish 

to provide a complete explanation of the 

study of Buddhist normative ethics. For 

example, after the Buddha’s parinirvāïa, 

Mahākāśyapa and Pūrna, two of the 

foremost disciples of the Buddha, varied 

in their views regarding whether leeway 

should be given to certain precepts 

under special circumstances. Also, during 

the period of Mahāyāna Buddhism, the 

sūtras adopted a gentle yet mocking 

attitude towards the Śrāvaka elders’ 

system of sangha hierarchy, while 

at the same time harboring serious 

discrimination and prejudice toward 

women. In addition, during the Middle 

Mahāyāna Period, the ideology of the 

Tathāgatha-garbha gradually developed. 

It often tended trespass on to the theory 

of dependent origination. Moreover, 

in ancient China, Venerable Dao An 

(312-385) and Venerable Hui Yan (334- 

416) also stated differing views of the 

relationship between Buddhist religion 

and politics. 

Without a thorough understanding 

of Buddhist history, we cannot easily 

understand the moral judgments and 

controversies of the fundamental 

theories mentioned above, and will 

therefore have difficulty mastering 

the complete picture of the ethical 

principles of the various schools. It 

will also be difficult to understand the 

internal thread of thinking and choices 

explained in this book regarding these 

controversies. 

However, if I include historical 

research as well as systematic analysis, 

then I must introduce the ideologies 

of the various schools, and repeatedly 

compare and list their similarities 

and dissimilarities, and then present 

reasons for choices of selections. In 

this way, the book’s categories and 

sections will become enormous, petty, 

and complicated. This could deter many 

people from reading the book. The 

adoption of both methods of research at 

the same time hinders a well-organized 

presentation of the complete outline 

and direction of the questions regarding 

Buddhist normative ethics. Thus, I have 

decided to adopt only a systematic 

analytical method in this book, and do 

not here consider the historical study of 

ethics. 

How can we establish the 

ideological system of Buddhist ethics in 

accordance with the Buddha’s teachings 

and, at the same time, make it acceptable 

to Buddhists from all traditions? The 

fundamental resources in establishing the 

study of Buddhist ethics come from the 

sūtras and scriptures. Without the sūtras 

as the basis, even if the argument is very 

reasonable, it can only be considered a 

personal point of view, and, as such, how 

can it be proved to be in accordance with 

the Buddha’s teachings? Furthermore, 

among the Buddhist sūtras, there are 

sūtras of various schools such as the 

Śrāvakayāna, Mahāyāna, and sub schools 

of Mahayana, such as Vajrayāana. In 

addition, the various schools and sects in 

India and China tended to have diverse 

views on various matters. With such 

problems, how can we decide which to 

accept or reject? This immediately leads 

to an issue that cannot be avoided: the 

issue of the analysis and classifications of 

teachings. 

However, if we wish to include 

these teachings in the scope of scriptural 

evidence, how can we use the Mahāyāna 

sūtras as scriptural evidence to convince 

everyone that this is a study of Buddhist 

ethics that is acceptable to both the 

southern and northern traditions, and 

not merely a study of Mahāyāna Buddhist 

ethics? To establish the teachings of 

Mahāyāna, some of the Indian Mahāyāna 

ùāstra masters used the legends and 

stories from the Iron Bar Compilation to 

prove that the Mahāyāna sūtras were 

taught by Buddha. However, there is 

little or no material evidence for these 

proofs. We can only say that they are 

beliefs or legends. Some of these points 

would not be convincing to the Śrāvaka 

scholars. Thus, why should I repeat the 

old stories? After much consideration, 

when I started writing The Study of 

Buddhist Ethics, I decided to include the 

Mahāyāna teachings in the Buddhist 

ethics system. The reasons come from 

considerations of two perspectives: 

01 - From practical experiences in 

propagating the dharma and benefiting 

others, I deeply feel the greatness of 

the Mahāyāna bodhisattvas’ aspirations, 

the majestic atmosphere that develops 

from Mahāyāna Buddhism, and the 

boundless comfort it brings to suffering 

sentient beings. These are the scopes of 

mind with which those Śrāvakas, who 

are renowned for having only aimed 

for self-liberation, could not compare. 

I sincerely believe that for Mahāyāna 

Buddhism to have become popular in 

ancient India there must have been 

deep reflection and reviews among the 

Buddhist disciples within the sangha 

orders, and the public’s vast wishes and 

hopes for Buddhism. I am also a part of 

the ‘bodhisattva spiritual foundation’, 

and therefore I cannot bear to see the 

glorious works and enthusiastic vows 

and practices of bodhisattvas be placed 

outside the study of Buddhist ethics. 

02 - Contemplating the internal 

logic of the teachings and theories, we 

can see that from the development 

of Śrāvaka Buddhism to Mahāyāna 

Buddhism, there has been a consistent 

thread of thoughts linking them. They 

are not two theories that are completely 

disconnected. I do not wish to discuss 

the question of whether Mahāyāna 

was taught by the Buddha, in the study 

of Buddhist ethics, as this would divert 

us to a lot of tangential questions on 

textual research. At the same time, it 

would be impossible to satisfy everyone, 

i.e., to enable both parties to agree to a 

common agenda of discussion questions. 

However, through long contemplation 

and consideration, and repeated 

investigation and authentication, I have 

strong confidence that I can, without 

using the scriptural evidence exclusively 

from the Mahāyāna sūtras, hold onto the 

consistent thread of logic directly, and 

make a clear presentation of the unique 

ethical ideology of Mahāyāna. 

Therefore, I will follow the same 

style in using scriptural evidence from 

the texts of sūtras, as the source of 

thoughts for the whole study of Buddhist 

ethics. In addition, I will be using the law 

of dependent origination (s. pratītyasamutpāda), 

which is most commonly 

acknowledged by the various schools of 

Buddhism as the fundamental scriptural 

evidence (found in the Āgama sutras). 

Not only is it the fundamental formula 

among all the Buddhist theories, it also 

does not rely on faith or speculation. It 

is a truth that everyone can experience 

personally in life. In addition, with 

dependent origination as the premise, 

detailed logical evidence, from simple to 

profound can be deduced. 

Taiwan 

Professor – Hsuan Chuang 

University and Fu Jen 

University, Head of the 

Department of Religious 

Studies in Hsuan Chuang 

University, President of Hong 

Shi Buddhist Cultural and 

Educational Foundation, 

Dean of the College of Liberal 

Arts Hsuan Chuang University 

in Taiwan 


Chao Hwei Shih 


We are all prisoners of 

our own sufferings and 

mortality. When human 

beings are born, they 

are born into a prison where they 

are imprisoned for life. These are the 

proverbial ‘facts of life.’ We are all 

prisoners of this worldly existence, 

born into ageing, sickness and death. 

We cannot escape this; we cannot 

go anywhere away from this world 

or universe, so we are prisoners of it. 

Moreover, we are on ‘Death Row.’ No 

matter if we are a ruler or a beggar, in 

the end we are all mortal beings and 

ultimately will die. Some pass away not 

long after they are born; others after 10 

or 20 years; while some even survive 

beyond the age of 100. Nonetheless, 

everyone dies; it is just a matter of time. 

Our prison is huge, so huge that 

we cannot see or visualize its walls as 

they seem so far away. We are trapped 

in a sort of loose confinement but, make 

no mistake, we are trapped here. We 

can go to the moon, another planet, 

eventually perhaps another galaxy . . 

. but we still die. Although our prison 

cell may change we still remain in 

this mortal confinement. In fact, our 

universe is a penitentiary so immense 

and complicated that without resorting 

to perfecting and connecting with our 

‘Inner Light’ to reveal its existence we 

The Golden 

Life…. 

“Universal 

truth 

based on 

reality”…. 

are unable to comprehend the true 

nature of our perpetual incarceration. 

The human mind can be expanded 

limitlessly. When we feel compassion for 

others beyond culture, race or religion 

our minds will expand sufficiently so that 

we will experience a desire to help and 

protect them. Greedy and self-centered 

people think that the world belongs to 

them, so they take advantage of others, 

of things, of nature etc. 

When the mind expands in a 

virtuous way, the world becomes small, 

as if it were an orange in the palm of 

your hand. Minds of monks or ascetics 

expand in proportion to their dedication 

and sincerity to live in accordance 

with the revelations that come with 

enlightenment to the true nature of all 

things. The mind of a ruler, politician or a 

person who by way of position in society 

has control over others, can also expand, 

but it often expands in a negative 

way that allows defilements to cloud 

judgment and actions. This in turn leads 

to an addiction to possessing material 

things, power and winning supremacy 

over others. If we meditate, our minds 

expand and we come to realize the world 

or universe is our perpetual prison. 

Heaven and hell exist, and let me make 

this quite clear, they certainly exist. But 

they are just other cells in the prison. 

Heaven is a prison cell for prisoners 

with good behavior, while hell is a prison 

cell for prisoners with bad behavior. 

We will discover this for ourselves with 

training and meditation. We will also 

learn later how to upgrade our prison 

or to escape, and that the very prison in 

which we are trapped can be destroyed 

so that we can escape forever. So . . . , 

01 - We are prisoners in a huge prison, 

which is the world and universe. 02 - We 

don’t know who built the prison. 03 - We 

need to learn the rules of the prison. One 

question that is puzzling is why no one 

had ever revealed the rules until around 

2,600 years ago when the Buddha 

became enlightened, discovering the 

Law of Kamma, and dedicated his life to 

sharing this knowledge with others. 

The Buddha told people to be 

careful, that there is such a thing as the 

Law of Kamma. The Law of Kamma is 

short and simple: if you do good things 

you will receive good things in return, 

but if you do bad things you will receive 

bad things in return. But there are so 

many small and fine rules surrounding 

this that we cannot be aware of them 

all. It’s like the laws of a country; even 

the supreme judge cannot remember 

all of them. However, if we break the 

law, we will surely be reprimanded in 

one way or another. If we knew all the 

rules and abided by them we would have 

the knowledge to destroy the prison 

forever. No one told us who created 

this prison, not even that there was a 

law governing the prison, except the 

Buddha. Moreover, no one tells us what 

we have been indicted of or the length of 

our sentence. If we knew this, we would 

surely choose to use it to destroy the 

prison and escape to eternal freedom 

from the sufferings inflicted upon us in 

this prison. 

To make matters worse, this 

prison doesn’t provide meals, clothing 

or shelter. As prisoners we are left to 

find these things for ourselves. We are 

not taught where or how to find these 

things . . . so while struggling and figuring 

this out we end up breaking the Law of 

Kamma, which causes our sentence to be 

longer. For this very reason monks and 

people searching for answers meditate. 

They are not peculiar, weird or eccentric. 

Rather, they are just like astronauts or 

scientists seeking to look deeper, go 

further and discover the truths of the 

universe. However, meditation is not 

limited to the existence of the material 

substance of the universe and may be 

considered as the vehicle that transports 

us beyond the understanding of matter 

to reveal the true nature of all things, 

including the mind and kamma. In this 

prison there are no visible shackles or 

handcuffs, but there are things that are 

even more cruel and more difficult to 

tolerate. Chains can be removed, but 

when a person is born disabled, blind, 

deaf, or loses a limb while fighting a war, 

or even is born in another life form, this 

kind of ‘shackle’ cannot be removed in 

this lifetime. One type of shackle is to 

be born in animal form. Once a person 

is in that state, he or she will be trapped 

for a lifetime without being able to do 

anything to promote their life’s quality. 

This is quite difficult to understand 

so just be aware that animal is another 

form of punishment a human can be 

born into based on actions committed in 

life. Having to fight to find food, clothing 

and shelter, we break the Law of Kamma, 

get longer sentences, are reborn to fight 

to find food etc., break the Law of Kamma 

again and thus receive longer and longer 

sentences, becoming eternal prisoners 

of our own self-perpetuating karmic 

cycle. The human body is composed of 

the elements, earth, air, fire and water, 

which are impure. The impurity of the 

elemental substances that make up 

the body cause the cells in the body to 

deteriorate at a rate of 300 million cells 

per minute. As our cells expire, we need 

to refuel the four elements from the 

sources found outside the body, i.e. the 

environment. So we eat food to refuel 

the earth element, we drink water to 

refuel the water element, breathe to 

refuel the air element, and wear clothing 

and live in a sheltered place to refuel 

the fire/heat element. We need to start 

refueling our elements from the moment 

we are born, and continue refueling 

until we take the last breath of life. The 

impurity of the elements is the cause of 

certain conditions of the body. But there 

is more yet to discover about ourselves; 

that is why we need to go back inside, 

and know ourselves. 

Since our elements are impure and 

expire, we face the problem of having 

to survive. We need to refuel the four 

elements, and in the process of refueling 

them we need to earn money to buy the 

four requisites (food, clothing, shelter 

and medicines). In modern times we 

do not acquire these requisites directly 

but purchase them at the supermarket 

etc. This brings us to face the second 

problem, which is to earn a living. As we 

have to earn money to make a living we 

need to live in a community with other 

people. This brings us into conflict with 

each other, which is the third problem 

that we face. The body is like a puppet 

being controlled by the mind, and what 

the mind produces depends on the 

program running it. The mind is being 

controlled by defilements, which can be 

known and seen once we have the inner 

light from meditation. The defilements 

taint the mind’s original pure nature, 

and make it impure. And since the mind 

controls the body, this relates to the 

body’s elements being impure. This is 

the fourth problem, which can be said to 

be the origin of all the other problems 

of a human being — defilements in the 

mind. Thus defilements are truly an 

enemy of a human being.. 

Thailand 

Vice Abbot of Wat 

Phra Dhammakaya, 

Vice President of the 

Dhammakaya Foundation, 

Most Popular and Respected 

Dhamma Teacher & Author 

in Thailand. 


Phrarajbhavanajahn 

(Luang Por Dattajeevo) 


“The 

Meaningful 

Monastic 

Life”…. 

Normally, a man or women would 

come to stay at a monastery 

where they think they would 

like to train. Sometimes they 

visit several monasteries to find where 

seems best. Most monasteries allow 

someone to stay to see if they feel well 

there initially for one week or two weeks. 

If one feels inclined to stay and 

enter into the training at a particularly 

monastery, they should make their 

aspiration known to the teacher, abbot 

or abbess there. If it is agreeable to the 

teacher and the monastic community, 

the aspirant is welcomed to return. Upon 

their return they undertake the eight 

precepts (if they hadn’t already) as a prepostulant 

or nekkhamma, normally with 

an as yet unshaven head, wearing white 

or black and white clothing. The prepostulant’s 

eight precepts are the same 

as the layperson’s five precepts plus 

three additional renunciate precepts, 

as well as the significant change in the 

3rd precept from no sexual misconduct, 

to brahmacarya or no sexual conduct 

whatsoever. The fundamental Buddhism 

is summarised by Shakyamuni in the 

Dhammapada: Not to do any evil, To 

cultivate good, To purify one’s mind, 

This is the teaching of the Buddhas. It is 

simple but not easy. When a kid is three 

years old, he knows it. However, when 

he is over 80 years old, he cannot really 

practice it in his daily life. 

Morality - Morality is the 

preliminary stage on the path to 

attain Buddhahood. It is a necessary 

condition, though not sufficient, leading 

to wisdom. It is absolutely essential for 

enlightenment. Morality in Buddhism is 

a rational and practical mode based on 

verifiable facts and individual experience, 

which is regarded as the one of the most 

perfect moral code ever known in the 

world. 

What is the criterion of morality 

according to Buddhism? In the 

admonition given by the Buddha to 

young Rahula, there is the answer. If 

there is a deed, Rahula, you wish to do, 

reflect thus: Is this deed conducive to my 

harm, or to others’ harm, or to that of 

both? Then is this a bad deed entailing 

suffering. From such a deed, you must 

desist. If there is a deed you wish to do, 

reflect thus: Is this deed not conducive 

to my harm, nor to others’ harm, nor 

to that of both? Then is this a good 

deed entailing happiness. Such a deed 

you must do again and again. Thus, in 

assessing morality, a Buddhist takes into 

consideration of the interests of both 

himself and others - animals not excluded. 

To understand the exceptionally high 

standard of morality, one can vigorously 

study Dhammapada, Sigalovada Sutra, 

Vyagghapajja Sutra, Mangala Sutra, 

Mutta Sutra, Parabhara Sutra, Vassla 

Sutra, Dhammika Sutra. Good deeds 

are essential for one’s emancipation, 

but when once the ultimate goal of holy 

life or enlightenment is attained, one 

transcends both good and evil. Morality 

is a means to an end, but not an end in 

itself. 

Three Poisons / Three Evil Roots - 

In Flower Adornment Sutra, it says that; 

For all bad Karma created in the past, 

Based upon beginningless greed, hatred 

and delusion, And born of body, mouth 

and mind, 

I now repent and reform. It is 

the well-known Repentance Verse in 

Buddhism. In Buddhism, the distinction 

between what is good and what is bad 

is simple. It hinges on the intention 

or motivation from which an action 

originates. The deed which is associated 

with greed / attachment, hatred / ill 

will, delusion / stupidity is evil. Greed, 

hatred and delusion are called the Three 

Poisons or Three Evil Roots, which are 

the primary source of all evil deed. It 

is the Three Poisons that create all bad 

Karma, resulting all kinds of suffering in 

accordance with the Principle of Cause 

and Effect. The Three Poisons are also 

obstacles to the attainment of good 

Karma. Thus we have to abandon them 

by all means. 

Greed - Greed is the cause of many 

offences. The five greedy desires are: 

wealth, sex, fame, eating and sleeping. 

Greedy desire is endless and therefore 

can never be satisfied. The lesser the 

greedy desire, the happier and more 

satisfied we are. The best prescription to 

deal with greed is in giving away. Anger 

- Hatred to people is another cause of 

evil deed. We should not lose temper 

and get angry when we are unhappy. We 

should be calm and patient. Delusion - It 

means the persistent belief in something 

false and distorted. We have to observe 

and think in an objective and rational 

manner, so as to avoid prejudice and 

misunderstanding. For instance, if 

we don’t believe in cause and effect, 

and then commit offence frequently 

and heavily, we will suffer from the 

retribution. 

After staying for some time as a 

pre-postulant (normally 2 weeks to 2 

or 3 months), if both the aspirant and 

the teacher as well as the monastic 

community feel amiable about going 

ahead, the aspirant may request 

ordination as an anagarika. Anāgārika 

means homeless one due to their having 

left home life, sought refuge and being 

accepted as postulants in the monastery. 

In English we call anagarikas at this stage 

“postulants, aspirants” or “candidates.” 

Anāgārikā (with a long “a” at the end) 

is the female form, anāgārika the male 

form. The anagarika has a shaven 

head, wears white robes and keeps the 

8 precepts. The anagarika period is 

normally around a year, but sometimes 

can be as little as six months, or as long 

as several years, depending on individual 

circumstances. 

As a postulant, one is still officially 

a lay person, and as such still able to 

use money, hold property and finances 

and support oneself. Although normally 

lodging and food are shared by the 

monastic community with anagarikas at 

a monastery, special health care needs, 

travel (not related to the training) or 

other such expenses, are still covered 

by the anagarika herself. Most nuns 

in Burma and Thailand, for whom 

novice and full ordination has not 

been available for some time, live as 

anagarikas for short-term or long-term 

monastic retreat in this way with the 

“uposatha” eight precepts. Thai, Lao 

and Cambodian angarikas are called 

maechees and donchees. In Burma the 

anagarikas may wear light-pink, peach 

or dark-brown colored robes and are 

called Sayalay or thilashin. A samaneri is 

a female novice samana, or a samana-intraining. 

A samana is a monastic recluse. 

Samaneri is the female form of the word; 

samanera is the male form. 

After an average of a year as an 

anagarika, with the approval of her 

teacher, an anagarika may request the 

samaneri pabbaja, the “going forth” 

as a novice into the monastic life. If an 

aspirant for novice ordination is under 

the legal age of adulthood (or age 20), 

she must have the permission of her 

parents or guardians in order to receive 

novice ordination. Novices undertake 

the ten novice precepts, which include 

8 precepts plus the additional precept 

of not handling or keeping money. In 

most forest monasteries, novices also no 

longer drive cars. The novice precepts 

and training are exactly the same for 

male and female novice trainees. In 

addition to the going forth, a novice 

also takes “dependancy” upon the elder 

Sangha member who will be her acariya 

- her personal teacher, mentor and guide 

through the ordination process. 

Again, in the absence of 

bhikkhunis, bhikkhus are both permitted 

and enjoined by the Vinaya to give 

both the novice and probationary 

novice ordination to qualified women 

candidates. In the currently (at least in 

the West!) very rare event that a woman 

has married very young, or become 

a novice as a young girl, she might be 

qualified to be ordained as a sikkhamana 

from age 10 or age 18 respectively. For a 

child bride, having proven her maturity 

and responsibility by completing 2 vassas 

of the sikkhamana training, she may be 

fully ordained as a bhikkhuni even before 

age 20. The Vinaya normally considers 

age 20 to be the age of adulthood, 

at which time one may, if having met 

all requisite conditions, request full 

ordination, the bhikkhuni upasampada, 

from the monastic community. It is 

noteworthy that, in some Thai, Korean, 

Chinese and Tibetan tradition monastic 

communities, women currently receive 

and complete the sikkhamana ordination 

and training for two years before fully 

ordaining, no matter what their age. A 

bhikkhuni is literally an almswoman or 

female alms mendicant. Bhikkhuni is the 

feminine form of bhikkhu. 

“Women 

upholding the 

Dhamma”…. 

USA 

Preceptor, The Chief 

Founding Abbes of 

Dhammadharini Monastery 

& Senior Teacher in 

Residence at Aranya Bodhi 

Hermitage, California, USA 


Ayya Tathaloka Mahatheri 

Sanghatheri, 


it is possible for you to enter my heart.” 

However, Buddhism is a religion by 

any definition of that indefinable term, 

unless one defines religion as belief 

in a creator God. The great majority 

of Buddhist practice over history, for 

both monks and laypeople, has been 

focused on a good rebirth in the next 

lifetime, whether for oneself, for one’s 

family, or for all beings in the universe. 

The famous phrase “four noble truths” 

is a mistranslation. The term “noble” in 

Sanskrit is aryan, a perfectly good word 

meaning “noble “ or “superior” that was 

ruined by the Nazis. Aryan is a technical 

term in Buddhism, referring to someone 

who has had direct experience of the 

truth and will never again be reborn as 

an animal, ghost, or hell being. The four 

truths of suffering, origin, cessation, 

and path are true for such enlightened 

beings. They are not true for us; we 

don’t understand that life is suffering. 

to them; may no problems come to them. 

May they always meet with success. 

May they also have patience, courage, 

understanding, and determination 

to meet and overcome inevitable 

difficulties, problems, and failures in 

life. May my friends be well, happy, 

peaceful prosperous May no harm come 

to them; may no difficulties come to 

them; may no problems come to them. 





difficulties, problems, and failures in life. 

those unfriendly to me be well, happy, 

peaceful and prosperous. May no harm 

come to them; may no difficulties come 

to them; may no problems come to them. 





The right view is important for all 

of us. As one analysis of the path 

says, three qualities circle around 

every factor of the path. One is 

right view. The second is right effort. 

The third is right mindfulness. So try 

to make sure that these three qualities 

are circling around your practice right 

now. There are basically four truths 

covered by right view. First is the truth 

of suffering or stress; dukkha is the Pali 

term. Sometimes we’re told that the 

first truth is that “life is suffering” or 

“everything is suffering,” but that’s not 

the case. 

The Buddha basically said that 

“there is suffering.” It’s one of four things 

you’re going to encounter in life that you 

should pay attention to. You could argue 

with the idea that life is suffering, but 

you can’t argue with the idea that there 

is suffering. You see it all around you. You 

see it inside you as well. The Buddha’s 

simply asking you to take it seriously. To 

take suffering seriously means that you 

should learn how to comprehend it. To 

do that, you have to put yourself in a 

position where you can watch it, to see 

how it comes, how it goes, what comes 

and goes along with it. The coming and 

going along with it: That’s essentially 

what the word samudaya—usually 

translated as “cause” or “origination”— 

means. You want to see that every time 

there’s real suffering in the mind, it’s 

accompanied by craving—any one of 

three kinds of craving to be specific: 

The Real 

Loving 

Kindness…. 

craving for sensuality, craving for 

becoming, craving for non-becoming. 

For forty-five years, the Buddha 

said, over and over again, “I teach only 

suffering and the transformation of 

suffering.” When we recognize and 

acknowledge our own suffering, the 

Buddha — which means the Buddha in 

us — will look at it, discover what has 

brought it about, and prescribe a course 

of action that can transform it into peace, 

joy, and liberation. Suffering is the means 

the Buddha used to liberate himself, and 

it is also the means by which we can 

become free. The ocean of suffering is 

immense, but if you turn around, you can 

see the land. The seed of suffering in you 

may be strong, but don’t wait until you 

have no more suffering before allowing 

yourself to be happy. When one tree in 

the garden is sick, you have to care for 

it. But don’t overlook all the healthy 

trees. Even while you have pain in your 

heart, you can enjoy the many wonders 

of life — the beautiful sunset, the smile 

of a child, the many flowers and trees. To 

suffer is not enough. 

Please don’t be imprisoned by your 

suffering. If you have experienced hunger, 

you know that having food is a miracle. 

If you have suffered from the cold, you 

know the preciousness of warmth. 

When you have suffered, you know how 

to appreciate the elements of paradise 

that are present. If you dwell only in your 

suffering, you will miss paradise. Don’t 

ignore your suffering, but don’t forget 

to enjoy the wonders of life, for your 

sake and for the benefit of many beings. 

Without suffering, you cannot grow. 

Without suffering, you cannot get the 

peace and joy you deserve. Please don’t 

run away from your suffering. Embrace it 

and cherish it. Go to the Buddha, sit with 

him, and show him your pain. He will look 

at you with loving kindness, compassion, 

and mindfulness, and show you ways 

to embrace your suffering and look 

deeply into it. With understanding and 

compassion, you will be able to heal the 

wounds in your heart, and the wounds 

in the world. The Buddha called suffering 

a Holy Truth, because our suffering has 

the capacity of showing us the path to 

liberation. Embrace your suffering, and 

let it reveal to you the way to peace. 

Buddha was not a god. He was a human 

being like you and me, and he suffered 

just as we do. If we go to the Buddha 

with our hearts open, he will look at us, 

his eyes filled with compassion, and say, 

“Because there is suffering in your heart, 

So the term means the “four truths for 

the [spiritually] noble.” The Buddha 

said, This Dhamma is for one who wants 

little, not for one who wants much; 

This Dhamma is for the contented, not 

for the discontented; This Dhamma is 

for the secluded, not for one who is 

fond of society; This Dhamma is for the 

energetic, not for the lazy; This Dhamma 

is for the mindful, not for the confused; 

This Dhamma is for the composed, not 

for the flustered; This Dhamma is for the 

wise, not for the unwise; This Dhamma is 

for the precise and the one who delights 

in exactness, not for the diffused or the 

one who delights in diffusion. 

For Sharing of Loving-Kindness, 

May I be well, happy, peaceful and 

prosperous. May no harm come to me; 

may no difficulties come to me; may 

no problems come to me. May I always 

meet with success. May I also have 

patience, courage, understanding, and 

de termination to meet and overcome 

inevitable difficulties, problems, and 

failures in life. May my parents be well, 

happy, peaceful and prosperous. May no 

harm come to them; may no difficulties 

come to them; may no problems 

come to them. May they always meet 

“Thinking 

always about 

happiness”…. 

with success. May they also have 


determination to meet and overcome 


failures in life. May my teachers be well, 

happy, peaceful and prosperous. May no 

harm come to them; may no difficulties 

come to them; may no problems 

come to them. May they always meet 

with success. May they also have 


determination to meet and overcome 


failures in life. 

May my family be well, happy, 

peaceful and prosperous. May no harm 

come to them; may no difficulties come 


all living beings be well, happy, peaceful 

and prosperous. May no harm come 

to them; may no difficulties come to 

them; may no problems come to them. 

May they always meet with success 





Taiwan 

The Secretary General of 

Taiwan Buddhist Association, 

Secretary General of the 

World Buddhism Bhikkhuni 

Association & the Chinese 

Buddhism Bhikkhuni 

Association, Abbess of Miau 

Kuang Chan Monastery, 

Wan Fa Monastery, Zhi 

Cheng Monastery, Tai Ming 

Monastery & Zheng Jue Chan 

Monastery 


Shih Jian Yin 


When we take time to calm 

the mind, to reflect on 

the supreme qualities 

of consciousness – the 

innate wisdom and compassion of the 

awakened mind – we cannot fail to 

acknowledge the presence of all those 

fellow living beings that constitute the 

entirety of our conscious experience – all 

those brothers and sisters of this lived 

reality. 

Recollecting what it means to be 

human, bringing into consciousness our 

humanness and its inseparability from 

the entirety of the natural environment 

that sustains and maintains us, the most 

obvious and pressing need of our time is 

Mahakaruna (Compassion in Action). 

Through great compassion, which 

is the most natural expression of great 

wisdom, we can transform our outlook 

and activities, and strive to address the 

many challenges and threats that our 

world faces today – from sectarianism, 

violence, poverty, hunger, disease, 

environmental degradation, excessive 

consumerism, and so on. Now is the 

“Compassion 

& Meditation 

in Action”…. 

time to raise public awareness and 

recognition of the truly priceless value 

of life, to foster a deep appreciation 

and gratitude for all that others and this 

Earth provides for us, to celebrate our 

shared humanity, and to focus our vision, 

mission and principal objectives on 

conserving and preserving our precious 

ecological heritage. 

With the Buddha’s teachings 

forefront, and with the organisation’s 

guiding motto of “Meditation in Action, 

Compassion in Action”, our vision and 

mission at the Mahabodhi International 

Meditation Centre (MIMC) Ladakh 

has always been focused on the 

transformative power of awakening the 

full human potential that lies within each 

The 

realization 

of the 

awakened 

mind…. 

and every individual we work with. 

MIMC currently delivers more 

than sixty-four transformative social 

programmes, all of which are in line 

to the UN’s 2030 Global Vision, which 

calls for the achievement of seventeen 

Sustainable Development Goals for a 

better future for a better world. 

Besides its multifarious social 

and humanitarian services, MIMC is 

also proactively involved in building 

community peace and harmony, and 

in cultural preservation programmes, 

through the delivery of interfaith and 

interreligious dialogues and forums, 

and through various national and 

international festivals promoting the 

preservation of the Buddhist and 

Himalayan cultural heritage. 

It is true to say, MIMC plays a 

leading role in promoting national 

integration, world peace, interfaith 

harmony, environmental protection, and 

cultural heritage, organising numerous 

international conferences, seminars, 

festivals, workshops, and meditation and 

yoga courses each year. Every activity 

intentionally guided by the brilliant 

and non-discriminating light of the 

Sanathana Dhamma, which awakens 

through the purity of its eternal wisdom 

and transforms through the power of its 

selfless compassion. 

The Lord Buddha is the main 

teacher who inspired me. Not exactly 

in terms of socially engaged Buddhism, 

but the Buddha inspired me. He was full 

of compassion. I think many Buddhists 

do not properly understand the 

Buddha’s teachings. Many people keep 

on reciting the Buddha’s teachings of 

“love compassion,” “love compassion,” 

but those ideals must be brought into 

action. This is what we are trying to 

do. One of our slogans is “Compassion 

in action, meditation in action.” Not 

just simply going around sitting in the 

high seat and talking about compassion 

without action. We don’t believe that. 

The Buddha’s teaching is compassion in 

action. It is meditation in action. That is 

what we are trying to do. 

Then, while visiting several 

countries, I got inspired by some other 

great people in India like Sathya Sai 

Baba. He is another wonderful role 

model. He built the best hospital offering 

free treatment for the poor. He also 

offers the best free education for the 

people, as well as meditation teachings 

for foreigners. I also met some great 

masters in Taiwan and Thailand. I got 

inspiration from many others, but mainly 

the Buddha. 

The Buddha’s teachings are very 

much socially engaged, but slowly, over 

the course of time, camps dividing the 

monastic orders and society developed. 

With the monks living in monasteries 

far away from society, lay people didn’t 

have much contact with them except 

when going to the temple to seek some 

blessings, or occasionally when hearing 

sermons. I feel they have to come closer 

and work together. Monastics have a 

distinct role to play, but they have to work 

together. Unless they come together and 

work together, the Buddha’s message 

cannot be spirited effectively among 

the people. So I saw that clearly, and 

felt that there is a need for a Buddhist 

organization where we can reduce the 

gap. I’m very glad that Mahabodhi has 

been able to bring these two worlds 

together. Today, our monks and nuns 

living on this campus are working very 

closely with the people while not losing 

their own distinct identity or their own 

role as a monk or a nun. 

Youth are a very important part 

of society and the world. Today’s 

youth require proper guidance and 

inspiration. Many youths are lacking this. 

Unfortunately, our education system 

is terrible. Our schools, colleges and 

universities are not giving the correct 

guidance to youth. They go to colleges 

and universities and learn how to 

develop greed in the name of knowledge 

and wisdom. We are taught how to go 

into space and how to work in space 

without knowing how to live here on this 

Earth. They do not use the word greed, 

but they teach greed. So the youth do 

not have proper guidance, and they 

get caught up. They don’t know. That’s 

why so many young people get addicted 

to drugs and commit suicide. You need 

guidance, and this guidance comes from 

spiritual education, not from universities 

and colleges. 

Unavoidably, children have to 

acquire the general education, which I 

personally am not in much favor of, but 

it cannot be avoided. The whole society 

is based on this education system. After 

finishing their studies, students have 

to get a job and earn something. They 

will be asked, what’s your qualification, 

what’s your certificate. For that reason 

they have to get the general education. 

Along with that aspect of education, 

we very much emphasize the moral 

education, the spiritual education, the 

meaning and purpose of life. 

The most important thing is to 

realize the true nature of existence. The 

true nature of existence is that we are all 

temporarily here. We are like visitors, we 

are like guests. We are not going to live 

thousands of years. During your visit you 

cannot afford to spend your time fighting 

and quarrelling and accumulating more 

than you need. Once we realize this, 

then the unnecessary greed, desire, 

and ego, which are the sources of all 

problems, will disappear, and our life 

will be different. We will learn to live a 

contented life. 

Spiritual education comes from the 

teachings of the enlightened one. So we 

emphasize, we inspire and encourage the 

students to study the teachings. Through 

the spiritual teachings, children learn 

how to grow in love, compassion and 

goodwill. Every morning they meditate, 

pray and attend regular dharma lessons, 

which other schools do not do. Other 

schools emphasize getting higher and 

higher 100 per cent marks and then 

announce to people: “Children from our 

school are first ranked.” 

Through spiritual education, 

students here learn how to open their 

hearts toward all of humanity — not just 

Buddhists, Indians, and Asians, but open 

up to all brothers and sisters. We are all 

sharing the same planet, living under 

one sun, one moon and one sky. 

India 

Founder & President of 

Mahabodhi International 

Meditation Centre, Leh, 

Ladakh, India, Founder 

& President of save the 

Himalaya Foundation - New 

Delhi, Founder & President 

of Foundation of Indian 

Buddhist New Delhi, India 

Most Venerable Bhikkhu 

Sanghasena 


The Tao of Food, Foods to Awaken 

Living Beings, Food to Protect 

the Earth, Food to Nourish our 

Bodies, Food to Enliven our 

Hearts, Food to Brighten the Way of Life. 

The Tao of Eating - To protect our lives 

and earth with right food. To nurse one’s 

body and mind with right food. To enter 

the way of Tao with right food. 

According to a UN report, animal 

husbandry is responsible for 51% of 

greenhouse gas emissions and is the 

main reason for global warming. It is 

everyone’s responsibility to save the 

earth and all beings with vegetarian diet. 

If one person can persuade 10 people 

toward vegetarian diets, then the 10th 

power of 10 is ten billion. This is the ace 

in our hand to win back our earth. 

There are already many 

organizations in the world promoting 

vegetarianism. Even the Christians have 

founded their vegetarian union, we as 

Buddhists should be active in this. You 

are welcome to join the Firefighting Bird 

Campaign to vow not to eat the flesh of 

all beings to save our earth. Please tick 

the boxes below: 

01 - One vegetarian meal per day. 

02 - One vegetarian meal per week. 03 

- Vegetarian meals per week. 04 - Tell 

10 friends of yours to pray before every 

meal . 05 - Request local restaurants to 

provide vegetarian dishes. 06 - Organize 

a group to promote vegetarian diet. 

There is good concept for Prayers 

before Meals…. 

The Tao 

Experience… 

“Tao is the 

best.”…. 

The story of a bird putting out the 

fire 

“I am the guardian of our Earth , I 

promote meatless diet to reduce carbon 

emissions. . So, our Mother Earth can 

finally breathe Greenhouse effect makes 

the ice melt Where else can all beings 

live? Protect the world with vegetarian 

diet Enrich everyday life with rainbow 

cuisines With a self-disciplined mind and 

less desires We help cleansing the world 

by purifying our mind 

Bless all creatures before every 

meal We thank the world with sincerity 

With an awakened mind Lives are 

sustained on our Mother Earth” Pray 

before every meal, we touch the heart 

of heaven and earth Once upon a time, 

there was a big fire in the forest. When 

all the animals were anxiously escaping 

from the fire, a bird was trying its best 

to save its family and home by putting 

out the fire. It carried the water from 

the lake with its peak and feathers and 

sprayed it upon the fire. After a few 

rounds going back and forth, it became 

extremely tired. This act of benevolence 

moves a divine being into sending rainfall 

to distinguish the fire. This story tells us 

that although we have limitation in our 

individual strength, there’s no boundary 

in our mind. 

Global warming has become 

almost irreversible; it is time to promote 

nutritious and healthy vegetarian food 

with the help of our mental power. We 

encourage all people to pray for the 

earth before every meal. Just as the 

bird that touches the heart of the divine 

being, our earth will be reborn because 

of our right efforts. 

Most Venerable Bhiksuni Shih Yen 

Ding born on March 1, 1951, in Republic 

of China, Taiwan. Education: Graduated 

from “Corning Nursing School” and 

“Kaiyuan Zen College”. Experiences: 

01 - Hospital care work for 5 years. 

02 - Buddhist College Supervisor over 

1 year. 03 - In 2004, the “Auspicious 

Guangyu Detoxification and Purification 

Center” was established to help the 

monks, nuns and public to detox and 

achieving excellent health concepts.. 

04 - To organize detoxification courses 

in Southeast Asia.. 05 - In 2008, the 

“Lianhua Yuan Life and Health Center” 

was established in Puli, Taiwan, to 

train the monks, nuns and public on 

total holistic health.. 06 - In co-operate 

with the “Santi Asoke Pure Land 

Organization”in Thailand, to conduct 

courses on detoxification and health 

care. Then hundred detoxification 

centers were established in Thailand and 

become living health medicines for Thai 

people.. 07 - In 2012, the “Auspicious 

World Life Health Education Center” was 

established in Yangmingshan, Taipei. It 

integrates ancient and modern Chinese 

and foreign natural therapy, religious 

medicine, biochemical technology, 

energy medicine, diet and nutrition, 

and other health care knowledge and 

technology. It simplifies the complicated 

medical science to apply it easily in our 

daily living and enhance the body’s selfhealing 

power and enable every one of 

us to be our own doctor.08 - In 2015, 

Venerable Yen Ding was awarded the 

Honorary President of “International 

Naturopathy Association of China.” 

Diseases are mainly arising from 

the poor modern diets. Especially on 

meat-based diet, human beings not only 

kill and create violence, but also destroy 

the earth, forest and enviroment. Waste 

of water on animal farming, create 

greenhouse effects, deteriorate the earth 

climate, and worsen the ecological life 

cycle. We are in great danger, the most 

direct and effective way to save the earth 

is to become “vegetarian” to raise the 

compassion in our heart and minimize 

the greed, hatred and ignorance. 

In 2013, the “ChongHua Miaojing 

Food Culture Association” actively 

promoted “Plant-Based Diet to Save 

the Earth” , also to protect health, and 

minimize the waste of resources-- . 

“Foods to Awaken Living Beings, Food to 

Protect the Earth, Food to Nourish our 

Bodies, Food to Enliven our Hearts, and 

Food to Brighten the Way of Life!” 

Ven. Yen Ding was invited to speak 

and conduct Detox and Rejuvenate 

courses and Healthy Vegetarian 

Cooking classes worldwide. In 2018, 

she was appointed by the “World Vegan 

Organization” as a Health Food Charity 

Ambassador, regardless of religion or 

ethnicity, she spreads the mindfulness of 

plant-based diet to save the earth and all 

living beings. 

With the medical background, 

Most Venerable Bhiksuni Yen Ding was 

aspired to ease the suffering from illness 

by combining Buddhism with ancient 

and modern medical science. She has 

founded the Auspicious World in Taipei 

and dedicated her life in promoting the 

physical and mental health education. 

She also founded Yang Qing (meaning 

rest and cleanse) Kitchen whose mission 

is to teach people how to make nutritious 

vegetarian cuisines and to promote 

vegetarianism in order to save the earth. 

Taiwan 

Founder of Auspicious World 

promoting the physical and 

mental health education 

Taipei - Taiwan 

Most Venerable Bhiksuni 

Yen Ding 


The Validity of 

Present life…. 

One who truly seeks one’s 

spiritual well-being and welfare 

should put “metta” into action 

in all spheres of life. First of all, 

he should develop the skill of properly 

managing, with full awareness, every 

aspect and every moment of his life, 

from the time he gets up in the morning 

till he retires at night. He must be skillful 

in everything that he does, thinks and 

says. These three modes of action should 

be so oriented, so influenced and so 

imbued, by metta or universal love, by 

the wish for all beings to be happy. So, 

one quality or virtue that one has to 

imbibe and cultivate in order to walk the 

spiritual path and live according to metta 

which is to say one has become skillful 

in whatever one does. Life is a very 

complex thing. 

We have our individual life, than we 

have our family life, than our professional 

life and then we have our social life. So, 

there are so many different levels of life 

and metta must guide us at all these 

levels. Metta in action must be expressed 

in the form of skillful management of 

every aspect, moment and level of our 

lives. We should know how to manage 

ourselves with metta in our personal life 

and how to do the same in our dealings 

with our family members, with the group 

or community that we live with and in 

our professional life. In order to make 

our interactions with others meaningful, 

we must develop the necessary skills 

so that we are competent and are not 

dependent on others to do things for us 

that we can do ourselves. For this, one 

has to be absolutely straightforward 

and upright. A person who is not 

straightforward, who is crooked in his 

outlook, crooked his actions, crooked in 

his behavior, cunning and hypocritical, 

can never practice universal love in 

any form. One has to be honest and 

upright and only then can one develop 

skillfulness in managing one’s life. 

Uprightness requires that you 

do what you say and practice what 

you preach. In this way, there must be 

no conflict in your life in any manner, 

whether in your personal life or your 

family life, your professional life or 

your social life. Straightforwardness 

or uprightness is the beginning of the 

practice of metta. To be straightforward, 

one must have some kind of idea of 

rightness or properness, that which is 

right and proper so that one lives by 

it and becomes upright. You become 

upright when you have an idea about 

what is right. If you don’t have a clear 

notion of what exactly is right and wrong, 

how can be upright? And, if you are not 

upright, how you can really practice 

metta? How can you skillfully manage 

your life? One has to think very deeply 

about these matters and be honest to 

oneself. People love to find fault with 

others. Everywhere, you keep seeing 

faults in others. But, the honest person 

sees the faults first within himself. He 

realizes that he has plenty of faults of his 

own. 

Metta or loving kindness is very 

opposite of finding fault with other 

people. Being negative, always finding 

with others these are terrible qualities 

that make your life miserable. So, 

we should consciously try to stop 

ourselves before we fall prey to the 

temptation of seeking faults in others. 

The Metta consists of unbounded and 

unconditioned thoughts of love towards 

all living beings for their well-being and 

happiness, without any discrimination. 

It embraces the entire world of 

sentient beings alike. It is mixed with 

kindness. There must not be any kind 

of attachment mixed with it. It is pure 

love, free from attachment. Therefore, it 

is not easy to practice. As unconditional 

love, it is completely different from the 

love involved in sensual matters. In fact, 

sensual love is the indirect enemy of 

true loving kindness is a very effective 

antidote for anger. The kindness is 

compassionate loving thoughts towards 

those who are in distress or sorrow. 

It should embrace beings faced with 

troublesome situations. Those who 

cultivate such noble thoughts will try 

their best by world and deed to alleviate 

those in need to free them from those 

miserable situations. 

Those who possess real kindness 

are not concerned with the ethnic or 

religious background of victims or their 

social statues, education, economic 

situation, color or any such barrier when 

helping others. They will just focus their 

attention on the problems faced by the 

victims. Brutality is the direct enemy 

of compassion. Its indirect enemy is 

misery involving emotional feelings, 

when seeing hapless being in pain. Being 

emotional just does not help anyone. 

The Sympathetic Joy is the feeling of 

genuine happiness at other’s joy and 

happiness. It is not at all easy to be happy 

about other’s success or achievement 

if one’s mind is full of jealous thoughts 

about others success. One should be 

able to appreciate the gains, fame 

and reputation, honor and success in 

various matters in connection with the 

lives of others. Most people are happy 

with the success of their dear and near 

ones, not with those of others. However, 

there should not be any limitations 

or boundaries in the practice of this 

virtue. It is important to train oneself 

to feel happy with the success of others 

whether they are one’s relatives, friends 

or otherwise. Jealousy is known as the 

direct enemy of sympathetic joy. Elation 

is known as its indirect enemy. 

The Equanimity is mental 

composure. It is not easy to acquire 

equanimity if one’s mind is easily 

occupied with the extremes of 

attachment for again, good reputation, 

blame and pain. A mind with equanimity 

will embrace all good or bad and positive 

or negative phenomena, without any 

distinction. The ability to maintain 

serenity of mind, without being effected 

by those two extremes is genuine 

equanimity. This works in different levels 

at different stages. When other virtuous 

qualities are pervaded with equanimity, 

they will get matured soon. The direct 

enemy of this is attachment to the good 

and resentment of the bad. Its indirect 

enemy is lack of concern due to delusion. 

The learnt a method of leading a 

meaningful life, they no longer cared 

about the past. They certainly did learn 

important lessons from the past, but 

they didn’t wallow in thinking about the 

past. If you are not captive to the past or 

to the future, but live constantly in the 

present. The past has gone, never come 

back again. The future is yet to come. 

So, why obsess about both that don’t 

exist at the present moment? Worrying 

or repenting about past won’t change 

the past one bit. It will only make you 

more depressed and angry. Likewise, 

obsessing about the future won’t help 

you at all. After all, no one knows for sure 

what’s going to happen in the future, not 

even in the next second. Nothing at all 

about the future is really predictable 

and so all the fears and fantasies you 

wallow in about the future may well 

turn out to be completely unfounded. 

Right vision or right understanding 

is the knowledge of the four Nobble 

Truths: unsatisfactoriness, the cause 

of unsatisfactoriness, the cession of 

unsatisfactoriness and the path leading 

to the cession of unsatisfactoriness. 

Right thought consists of dispassionate 

thoughts, loving thoughts and 

compassionate thoughts. 

You’re agonizing about it can only 

lead you to fear and sorrow. Life itself 

is unpredictable, uncertain. You don’t 

know what is going to happen after half 

an hour you may die, you may continue 

to live, all kinds of things can happen. So, 

it is as absolutely useless to brood over 

the future as it is to wallow in guilt and 

remorse for the past. Live in the present. 

“Forget 

the past… 

Live in the 

present”…. 

Metta is universal loving kindness that 

we have been discussing. It is said that 

numerous benefits accrue from the 

practice of metta. What are these? It 

is said that one who practices metta 

sleeps well & happily, wakes up happily 

does not suffer bad dreams, is dear to 

human beings, is dear to non-human 

beings as well, the gods protect him, no 

fire or weapons or poison injures him, 

his mind gets quickly concentrated his 

features are bright, he dies unperturbed. 

So, the regular practice of metta brings 

several practical benefits to one in her 

or his daily life. They are very important 

benefits. Metta can neutralize all these 

negative tendencies completely. So, in 

this manner, metta both is freedom of 

the mind and it can also bring about 

freedom of the mind. When you cultivate 

unselfish love and universally apply it 

towards all creatures, you develop a 

mind which is benevolent, loving, kind, 

forbearing and forgiving. You don’t 

remember the past. Metta saves you, so 

practice it ardently and sincerely. 

Taiwan 

The Former President of 

Chinese Young Buddhist 

Association in Taiwan 

(CYBA) & the Honorary 

Vice President of the World 

Alliance of Buddhists (WAB) 

and Former President of 

the Outstanding Women in 

Buddhism Awards 

Most Venerable Bhiksuni 

Dr. Ming Yu 


A 

Family of Taoist History, a Strict 

Father and a Reputed Master, 

Master Tony Lim, who is the 

current Chief Master of Tien 

Sen Tua Temple comes from a Taoist 

family. Build on the foundation he has 

learn from his late father, he went 

under the wing of a famous “San Tan” 

teacher, and successfully mastered the 

mystical skills of the “San Tan”. With the 

foundation and knowledge from his late 

father and teacher, through decades of 

hard work and perseverance, Master Lim 

have established “San Tan Xuan Men” in 

The Grand Master Tony Lim of 

San Tan Xuan Men…. 

2010, practicing Taoist rituals officially as 

“San Tan Xuan Long Fa Tan”. Up to today, 

Master Tony Lim have about a hundred 

students and disciples in Singapore, and 

the numbers are increasing by the day. 

He selects his students with stringent 

requirements, looking at their innate 

quality, perseverance, and diligence. 

With his incessant effort in providing 

training to the disciples, Tien Sen Tua 

Temple is also known as the Taoist 

temple in Singapore to have the most 

number of mediums. He is also sincere, 

righteous, well-loved and trusted by the 

devotees, both locally and overseas. 

Exchanging Experience with 

Overseas Counterparts, Learning is 

Boundless, To promote Taoism and the 

temple, Master Tony Lim have visited 

Mainland China, Taiwan, the Philippines, 

Malaysia, and Korea, to keep in contact 

with other Taoist organizations exchange 

knowledge with each other, to foster 

the relationship with them. Master Tony 

Lim was nicknamed the “Dragon of His 

Excellency Bao”, the first to enjoy such 

an alias connected with His Excellency 

Bao in the local Taoist fraternity. Even 

though a nickname is meant to sneer, 

it is used with utmost respect in this 

case, as His Excellency is one of the 

most revered figure in Chinese history. 

Therefore, a nickname connected with 

His Excellency Bao is in reflection the 

high integrity of the person being so 

named. Today, the temple develops into 

a majestic four story building, much to 

the credit of the late Mr Lim Teck Lian, 

the former chairman. The current Chief 

Master of Tien Sen Tua Temple is Master 

Tony Lim, who comes from a Taoist 

family. As the main deity worship in Tien 

Sen Tua Temple is His Excellency Bao and 

being the chief medium, Master Tony 

Lim is also nicknamed “Dragon of His 

Excellency Bao”. 


After the visit to Singapore 


The 

Amazing 

Relaxation 

Zen…. 

Let’s practice the relaxation Zen. 

What is relaxation? Relaxation is 

no attachment. Let all of the stress 

disappear from your body. Let your 

body be air, be light, so easy, so soft. It’s 

like you melt into the universe. When we 

practice relaxation, we may either stand 

or sit. Before we practice relaxation, let’s 

adjust our bodies and minds. Visualize 

our bodies are as flexible as sponges. 

When we squeeze a sponge, it becomes 

small and tight. When we release the 

sponge, it immediately returns to its 

original shape. 

To practice relaxation, we first start 

from our bodies’ support posts. Let’s 

relax our skeletons. To relax the skeleton, 

we begin with our skulls. Let them be as 

soft as sponges, floating in space. No 

pressure, very comfortable, very soft. 

Next, let our jaws drop, let the facial bones 

be as easy as a baby’s, smiling naturally. 

Then, let’s loosen our neck bones one 

by one. Our neck bones are very, very 

soft. And full of air, very comfortable, 

no stress. Next, let’s drop our shoulders. 

Vacuum out all of the stress. Let them 

float comfortably. Now, let’s relax our 

arms, hands, palms and fingers. Let them 

fall softly down. Let all of the weight 

drop to the ground and fall to the center 

of the earth. Now, our arms are relaxed. 

Now, let’s relax our rib bones. They are 

very soft and very relaxed. Each rib is 

fi l l ed wi th ai r, h an gi n g ab ove o u r o rgan s . 

Let’s drop our shoulder blades, too. 

Completely loosen them and release 

them. And fill our spines with air, from 

top to bottom; loosen every disc; let 

them float. Then, our hip bones, thigh 

“You are 

standing in 

the universe’s 

brightness”…. 

bones, knee caps, calf bones, foot bones 

and toe bones -- every bone is full of air, 

relaxed completely. Now we are standing 

on the earth. Let’s give all our weight to 

the earth. Then, melt into it. Next let’s 

relax our skin, and muscles. Let’s begin 

with the skin and muscles of our heads. 

Visualize the muscles of our heads are 

balloons; full of air, very soft, light, and 

relaxed. Our facial muscles are relaxed 

and perfect; just like a baby’s, smiling 

forever. Our necks are very soft, relaxed, 

and comfortable. Our shoulders, arms, 

hands, palms and fingers are completely 

relaxed. Feel your arms floating. You are 

swimming in air. Your chest, abdomen 

and the sides of your body are also 

relaxed totally. You can feel air coming 

in and going out from every inch of your 

skin. Every inch of your skin is full of air 

and very relaxed and soft. 

Your back, waist, hips, thighs, 

knees, calves, feet and toes are all 

relaxed completely. Now you are a 

balloon full of air. Now the body is so 

comfortable, so light, floating without 

pressure. Next, we are going to relax 

our inner muscles and organs. First, 

let’s begin with our brains; relax from 

the center of our brains. Release all of 

the stress. Let every cell of the brain be 

like a bubble, pressureless. Release from 

inside to outside. Every part of the brain 

is relaxed. Then, our eyes, relax from 

inside of our eye balls. Let the white 

of your eyes be as blue as an ocean, a 

baby’s eyes. Then, let’s relax our ears 

from inner ears to middle ears to outer 

ears. Completely released and relaxed. 

Relax our noses from inside to outside. 

Our breathing systems are clear and 

comfortable. The air goes through every 

part of our organs and cells smoothly. 

Our mouths, tongues and teeth are all 

relaxed. Our throats are relaxed from 

inside to outside, our shoulders, arms, 

hands, palms, and fingers, are all relaxed 

from insides to outsides. 

They become soft and without 

pressure. Our chests, abdomens, hearts, 

livers, spleens lungs, stomachs, and 

intestines are all relaxed completely. 

We can feel they are breathing by 

themselves, very light, very gentle, 

without the slightest stress. Our backs, 

waists, kidneys are all relaxed. Hips, 

thighs, knees, calves, feet and toes -- all 

of the muscles are completely relaxed 

from inside out. You can feel every cell 

is breathing. Every pore is open. Air goes 

through your body, in and out, freely. All 

of the air, inside of your body and outside 

of your body, is one. Now we are going to 

transform the body, raise the energy of 

life. Now, let’s visualize every cell of our 

bodies is completely relaxed. They are all 

breathing happily. There is no stress on 

any cell. Every cell is as light, and soft as 

a snow flake, very light and soft. In the 

clear blue sky, the sun is shining brightly. 

The lights are shinning on your body. Your 

body is melting, turning into crystal clear 

water, without any pressure. Your hair 

is also turning into crystal clear water. 

Your skull and brain are also turning into 

crystal clear water. 

Your eyes, ears, nose, and mouth 

the whole head is turning into crystal 

clear water. Your neck, throat, shoulders, 

arms, hands, palms, fingers are all 

becoming crystal clear water. Your chest, 

abdomen, heart, liver, spleen, lungs, 

stomach and intestines are all becoming 

crystal clear water. Your back, waist, and 

kidneys -- the whole upper body turns 

into crystal clear water. Your hips, thighs, 

knees, calves, feet and toes are becoming 

crystal clear water, too. Now you become 

crystal clear human-shaped water. Now 

the bright sun light is getting brighter. 

Every part of your body is getting lighter. 

Now the body is not just turning into 

water, but evaporating into air. Now your 

hair is turning into air. No pressure at all. 

The skull, brain, eyes, ears, nose, and 

mouth -- the entire head is becoming 

air. All of the pressure disappears. Your 

throat, neck, shoulders, arms, hands, 

palms, fingers are all becoming air. You 

melt into the air. 

Your chest, abdomen, heart, liver, 

spleen, lungs, stomach, intestines, back, 

waist, and kidneys are all becoming air. 

Hips, thighs, knees, calves, feet, toes 

are all becoming air. Now the pressures 

are all released. The body is becoming 

air. Your body is joyful. The energy 

level moves up. Now the whole body is 

turning into bright light. It’s as unreal as 

the rainbow, and as clear as crystal. Your 

body is the bright sun in the clear blue 

sky. Your body is becoming transparent 

and glittering. Your hair is becoming 

bright sunlight. Your skull, brain, eyes, 

ears, nose, mouth, the whole head is 

becoming bright sunlight. Your throat, 

neck, shoulders, arms, hands, palms, 

and fingers are becoming bright sunlight. 

Your chest, abdomen, heart, liver, spleen, 

lungs, stomach, intestines, back, waist, 

and kidneys are all becoming bright sun 

light. Your hips, thighs, knees, calves, 

feet and toes are all becoming bright 

sun light, as clear as crystal, shining on 

the universe. The universe is also shining 

back onto you. 

Now, it’s not just your body which 

is bright and clear; the universe is bright 

and clear, too. Now you are standing 

in the universe’s brightness. Your body 

is shining the endless bright light on to 

the universe. And the universe is also 

shining the endless bright light on to you. 

The universe is transparent, and bright. 

Now, your body is very comfortable and 

blissful. There is no stress. And your 

thoughts are becoming clearer and 

clearer. You notice that the past thoughts 

have passed. The future thoughts are 

not yet here. You don’t have to think 

about it. The current thoughts -- one 

after one -- are very clear, and you can 

see the thoughts better and better, until 

finally, there are no thoughts, not even 

the thought of brightness. There is no 

imagination in the entire body or mind. 

You and universe are one. The one shines 

the bright lights by itself. Your mind is 

completely empty and enlightened. 

You are aware of everything. It is like a 

mirror. It is clear and reflects everything 

clearly. You are bright, empty and full of 

peace. 

Now, let allow our minds to 

come back to the normal state; put the 

universe’s bright light into our hearts. 

Open your eyes. Slowly move your bodies 

from side to side; gradually increasing 

the action. Slowly bring your bodies and 

minds back to the normal state. Now 

your bodies and minds are full of power, 

full of energy. And full of brightness. 

Everything is perfect and peaceful. 

Thailand 

The World Famous Buddha 

Painting Master, Earth 

Zen Person, International 

Meditation Teacher, Founder 

of Enlightening Earth 

Association, Buddha Cultural 

& Bodhisattva Association in 

Taiwan 

Most Venerable Master 

Chi Sung Hung 


What are Miracles - The 

word miracle is defined 

in Oxford Dictionary as 

follows, “An extraordinary 

and welcome event that is not 

explicable by natural or scientific laws 

and is therefore attributed to a divine 

agency”. In Marghadi language the 

word used is Prathihar. This too means 

something that is ordinary not capable 

to do. In the teachings of Enlightened 

One, the Dhamma there are three 

types of miracles, 01 - Irdhi Prathihar. 

02 - Adesana Prathihar. 03 - Anusasana 

Prathihar. 

Irdhi Prathihar - This is the ability 

of a human to do things that cannot be 

done ordinarily or even with any kind 

of instruments. For example, we know 

that to launch a rocket into outer space 

enormous amounts of money is spent, 

yet at times with negative results such 

as explosion of the rocket where in some 

cases even the astronauts too lose their 

lives. However, in the past (may be even 

now) people who had attained the eight 

Dhayanas had the ability to either go 

by air, walk over the water or dive into 

the earth. Enlightened One abhorred 

this practice and ordered that no Bhikku 

should do this (Enlightened One Buddha 

and many Arahath Bhikkus were able to 

perform this miracle). 

With the power of the Dhyana, 

these people had the ability to ensure 

that the somatic body is of the level 

as of the mind with the somatic body 

being visible from outside and able to 

walk over water, able to go in the air or 

so fine that it can dive into earth. When 

a certain god came to see Buddha one 

night at Sravasthi in Jetha Vihar, and 

unable to stand on the earth as his body 

was sinking into earth, Buddha told the 

god to make the body dense with his 

godly power. As stated earlier, Buddha 

imposed rules that prevented any Bhikku 

from doing such miracles. 

Adesana Parthihar - Here people 

with these Dhayanas had the ability to 

read others minds. It should be known 

that consciousness of people that is 

illustrated with the four Maha Bhuthas 

and thus with name-form/perceptions 

leads to mind formation. With the 

supernatural power arising from the 

Dhayanas such people have the ability 

to read others minds. Here too Buddha 

abhorred this practice and in both the 

case of Divine power as well as the Mind 

reading power he ruled that if any monk 

were to do that such person will have 

committed Dukula Evatha, a serious 

offense. 

Anusasana Prathihar - The 

Enlightened One fully endorsed this 

miracle. What is Anusasana Prathihar? 

It is these 6 fold qualities, 01 - Think 

of these and do not think of these 

02 - Contemplate these and do not 

contemplate these. 03 - Jettison these 

and cultivate and practice these. 

First Quality – Think these and not 

these 

In the eightfold noble path, the 

second factor is Right thoughts. What 

are these? It is relinquishing or nonattachment, 

not having hatred and not 

harming any others. In fact, these three 

not only apply to others but to self as 

well. 

To relinquish, does not mean to 

leave one’s abode, and all things and go 

to a forest. Of course, those ordained 

as Bhikku needs to give up all that and 

yet a lay person can also practice these 

aspects where one looks to give without 

attachment, be of no aversion towards 

others and even to self and do not harm 

in any way others as well as have harmful 

feeling to self. As can be seen today in 

abundance great number of humans 

The 

Miracles…. 

seem to have enmity towards self from 

the amount of suicides and harm that 

people are causing self. 

Second Quality – Contemplate 

these and not these 

In great many discourses Buddha 

would extoll Bhikkus to listen well and 

to contemplate well. In wisdom there 

are three aspects, wisdom arising from 

reading Dhamma or listening Dhamma, 

Wisdom from contemplation of 

Dhamma and wisdom from Meditation. 

Thus as can be observed contemplation 

of right things leads to wisdom. On the 

contrary, contemplation of hate, anger, 

causing harm to others, desire to commit 

immoral acts, desires to break the 5 

precepts all should not be indulged in as 

that only cause harm to self. these and 

Third Quality - Jettison these and 

cultivate and practice these 

One must know that all the ten 

Akusala should be jettisoned. Killing, 

stealing, sexual misconduct which are 

bodily actions, telling lies, divisive talk, 

harsh speech and frivolous talk which 

are verbal actions and covetousness, 

ill will and wrong view which are mind 

actions. 

Armed with these ten unskilled and 

unwholesome traits no one can walk on 

the path to purification. Thus these must 

be jettisoned and one must abstain from 

doing these actions. The abstinence and 

the development of wholesome actions 

are the right actions. One can find the 

skilled Kusala karma that one should 

practice in the Karaniya Meththa Sutra 

and also in Maha Mangala Sutra. In fact 

these sutras are there not to be recited 

during various worldly ceremonial 

occasions to bring protection to the 

mundane people, but to be practiced all 

the time. 

For example, the first stanza 

in Maha Mangala Sutra says, not to 

associate lowly, but to associate wise, 

to venerate those who should be 

venerated. Sadly, though great majority 

has misinterpreted the meanings and see 

certain people as lowly, certain others as 

wise and certain people to be venerated. 

But if one delves into the stanza with 

wisdom, what the 

Enlightened One meant was not to 

be associating those things that defile us, 

to associate and develop those actions 

that will cleanse our minds and by doing 

so such a person/s will become worthy 

of veneration by others. If one were to 

mean that the stanza refers to persons, 

then Angulimala was a lowly person as 

he did kill many. Yet, he had the skill or 

Kusala to become an Arahath. Cleansing 

and defiling is done by self and not one 

by another. (Suddi asuddhi pachchathan, 

naanna manna visodaye). 

While a Dharma Anusasana may 

be done by a Bhikku or a lay disciple, the 

“Wisdom arising 

from Dhamma”…. 

Anusasana Prathihar is done only by self 

and not by another. It is only such people 

who walk on the path to purification 

shown by Enlightened One Buddha. 

Also this Anusasana Prathihar is 

clearly evident in the stanza that we often 

recite in the veneration of Dhamma. 

Swakkatha means that which is properly 

and well expounded. The opposite of 

this is Durakkatha or wrongly spoken 

or expounded, where those who strive 

cannot find. Sandittiko means seen here 

and now while the opposite Samparyika 

means after this life. Akaliako means also 

now and not previously or later and thus 

is Ehipassiko meaning one can come and 

see. Opanaiko means gradually and step 

by step, and pachchathan vedithabbo 

vinnuhiti means the wise realizing by 

self. Thus it is well evident that the whole 

process leads one to experiential wisdom 

Thus, while it is a good and 

meritorious act to sponsor Dharma 

discourses in Electronic Media, Radio 

or at temples or other places, the most 

important things for people to know 

is that by doing so one cannot find the 

ultimate truth of nirvana. But those 

with Anusasana Prathihar are certainly 

on the path to ultimate liberation of 

Nirvana as they are in the correct path 

to experiential wisdom. Such people 

having realized that experiential wisdom 

can now give that to others as they now 

in the knowledge of the truth. 

Sri Lanka. 

Formerly Senior Commercial 

Manager at Sri Lankan 

Airlines and presently 

Consultant to Air India 

GSA in Sri Lanka. 

Sugath Rajapakse 


Most 

Venerable 

Master Hui 

Hai.... 

Most Venerable Master Hui 

Hai, Born in Chao Shan, 

China, Ven. Master Hui Hai 

received his primary and 

secondary school education in Malaysia 

and subsequently went to England in the 

60’s for his tertiary education. He held a 

Bachelor Degree in Science and Double 

Master’s Degree in Computer Science 

(MSc) and Management Business 

Administration (MBA). Master Hui Hai is 

honored to be one of the First Malaysian 

to receive the Associate Fellowship of 

“The massive 

characters make the 

world as the best”…. 

The Institute of Mathematics (AFIMA) 

as a Mathematician, and was elected 

Member of The British Computer Society 

(MBCS) as a qualified expert Computer 

Systems Analyst during early 70’s. 

Returning from England with 

a solid educational background, 

Master Hui Hai has the compassion for 

propagating the Teachings of Buddhism 

and the Compassion in educating youth 

especially in Humanistic Buddhism. He 

has a unique approach in planning and 

execution of Buddhists events, Dharma 

Talks, charitable as well as cultural 

activities. He is an influential figure 

among Buddhist Monks on development, 

cultivation and propagation of Buddhism 

in Malaysia. He has written 16 books and 

one of his notable quotes say: “There is 

no success without obstacles ”. 

With his persistence and 

perseverance, he has created many 

marvels: 

In 1994, he launched the 1st 

Buddhist Hymns in karaoke edition that 

was well received by young Buddhists. 

In 1996, he initiated and organized a 

massive Master Hsing Yun Dharma Talk 

in Shah Alam Stadium, Malaysia, which 

was attended by 80,000 strong crowds. 

In 1998, he founded Yayasan Humanistic, 

which hosted uncountable charitable 

activities and events benefiting the less 

fortunate in the society. 

In 1999, he started the adoption 

for needy students. To date, this plan has 

benefited 340 students who received 

at least RM300 monthly allowance and 

many of them have completed university 

education who in turn help in supporting 

the less fortunate in the programme. In 

2000, he kicked off the “ Moral Education 

Examination” which was participated by 

over 22,000 students. 

In 2001, he launched the “ 

Humanistic Buddhism Unified Test ” over 

6,000 people took part in the test and it 

was recorded with the highest Buddhist 

Tests for that year. In 2002, he initiated 

a massive Buddhist Charity Performance 

which he composed over 20 Buddhist 

songs and published 2 compact discs. 

He is one of the well-known calligraphy 

masters in Malaysia. His masterpieces 

were exhibited locally as well as overseas 

including France, Italy and China. The 

Group Artists of Domaine de la Source, 

Sain Domain au Mount d’Or, France has 

certified and commented Ven. Master’s 

calligraphy as “ Modern Creative 

Calligraphic Art Master “ in Paris, France. 

Tokens raised from his calligraphy were 

donated for school education fund. 

Founded Humanistic Publication which 

published 3 Buddhist Magazines and 

over 16 books which were used by many 

Buddhist Associations in the country as 

important teaching materials. 

Over the years, many International 

and local exchange events. For example: 

“ the White Horse Temple (in China) 

International Calligraphy and Art 

Exhibition” in Malaysia. Founded the 1st 

Buddhist Monastery in Pahang, Malaysia 

which acts as a “cradle” for sanghas. In 

2005 founded Dharma Buddhist Uni with 

registered student population of 8000 to 

date. 

“Mettavalokanaya”, the Sri Lankan 

Most Popular & Leading monthly 

International Buddhist Magazine and 

Buddhist website wishers to Most 

Venerable Master Hui Hai, to long live 

and engage more dhamma effort to the 

Buddhist world. Each day you make the 

world a better place with your patience, 

your knowledge, and all the care and 

dedication you put into teaching. You 

help shape the minds of the people of 

tomorrow, and for that we all thank you. 



The 

Techniques 

of Buddhism… 

“The Buddha 

is the Teacher 

of Gods and 

Men”…. 

should look around in in all directions and 

upwards to the stars and constellations. 

Then by doing so, it is possible that your 

drowsiness will vanish. 

If your drowsiness still persists, 

you should attend to the perception 

of light, resolve upon the preception 

of the day light as by day so at night as 

at night so by day. Thus with an open 

and unencumbered heart, you should 

develop a luminous mind. Then it is 

possible your drowsiness will vanish. 

If your drowsiness still continue to 

excites, then your senses turned inward 

and your mind not straying outward, you 

should take to walking up and down, 

being aware of going up and down, 

To achieve the second factor 

of distancing from anger and 

hatred is by the development 

of thoughts of loving kindness. 

“So metta pubbabhagato pattaya yava 

patamajjhnm”. This loving kindness can 

be separated in to three types, loving 

kindness in deeds, loving kindness in 

words and loving kindness in thoughts. 

When we meditate, thoughts of loving 

kindness are generated. The thoughts 

such as may I be free from suffering or un 

satisfactoriness, may I be healthy, may I 

be happy, may I be free from cravings, 

hatred and delusion, may I have a happy 

life will extend loving kindness right 

through our entire body. 

“Many benefits 

of real Loving 

Kindness”.... 

sleep well and wake up well; also will 

not have bed dreams. “Manussanam 

piyo hoti” - meditators will be well liked 

by others. “Amanussanam piyo hoti” 

they will be liked by non humans too. 

“Devata rakkati” - will be protected by 

deities. Also, they will not be harmed 

by poison or weapons. They will be 

easily saved from such incidents. Their 

faces will be pleasant and they will 

not need various applications to look 

good. “Muka vanno vipasseedati” - A 

person will be very pleasant due to the 

strength of this. 

Also, the Buddha has stated 

that the mind of such a person can be 

brought to focus and concentration 

The Buddha changed his technique 

of instructions in consideration 

of the problem confronting the 

individual student concerned. 

For example, in the case of Venerable 

Sona Kolivisa, the method adopted was 

just only the reminding of his former 

skill he had in producing music from 

the lute. The Venerable Sona Kolivisa, 

in solitude apart, thought; “The exalted 

one’s disciples live in active energy and 

I am also one of them. Yet my heart is 

not detached and free from the cankers. 

My family is rich and I can enjoy riches 

and do good. What if I were to give up 

the training and revert to lay life, enjoy 

riches and do good” 

The Buddha coming to know what 

he thought, appeared before him and 

questioned him and revealed what he 

thought. Venerable Sona Kolivisa, replied 

in assent. Then the Buddha questioned 

him further; 

“Sona, were you not, in the old 

days at home, clever at playing lute?” 

Now Sona, when your lute’s strings were 

over strung was your lute then tuneful 

and playable? When your lute’s strings 

were over lax was your lute then tuneful 

and playable? But, when Sona your lute’s 

strings were neither over strung nor 

over lax but, keyed to the middle pitch 

was your lute then tuneful and playable? 

Even so Sona, if energy is applied too 

forcefully it will lead to restlesssness; if 

energy is too lax, it will lead to idleness. 

Therefore, Sona keep your energy in 

balance keep your spiritual faculties in 

balance and seize your object” 

Venerable Sona Kolivisa, who 

benefited from the instrcution given to 

him, attained Arahanthood and visited 

the Buddha to declare his achievement. 

It is interesting to see how the 

Buddha gave a graded sequence of 

instruction to overcome drowsiness 

of Venerable Mahamoggallana. The 

Buddha having seen with his divine eye 

that Venerable Mahamoggallana was 

nodding while meditating, appeared 

there and asked him, “Moggallana are you 

nodding?” Venerable Mahamoggallana 

said, “Yes lord”. Then Buddha continued, 

“Well then, Moggallana you should 

not give attention to that throught 

or dwell on it. Then by doing so, it is 

possible that your drowsiness will vanish. 

But, if by doing so, your drowsiness 

does not vanish, you must ponder over 

the Dhamma as you have learnt and 

mastered it, you should examine it and 

investigate it closely in your mind. Then 

by doing so, it is possible that your 

drowsiness will vanish.” 

But, if by doing so, your drowsiness 

does not vanish, then you should recite 

in detail the Dhamma as you have learnt 

and mastered it. Then by doing so, it is 

possible that your drowsiness will vanish. 

But, if by doing so, your drowsiness does 

not vanish, then you should pull your two 

ear lobes and rub your limbs with your 

hands. Then by doing so, it is possible 

that your drowsiness will vanish. 

If your drowsiness still does not 

vanish, you should get up from your seat. 

After washing your eyes with water, you 

being aware of going to and fro. Then it 

is possible by doing so, your drowsiness 

will vanish. 

But, if still you are overcome by 

drowsiness, being mindful and clearly 

comprebending, you may lie down, in 

the posture of lion, on your right side 

placing one foot on the other, keeping 

in the mind the thought of rising and 

on awakening I must not indulge in the 

pleasure of resting and reclining in the 

pleasure of sleep. 

Then the Buddha before departing, 

continued to instruct him as to how a 

monk should should keep company with 

the laity and the personal conduct of 

monk. 

The Principal of Buddhist 

and Pali College of Singapore 

and Chief Abbot of Ti-Sarana 

Buddhist Association in 

Singapore 

Most Venerable Dr. 

Pathegama Ganarama Thero 

Singapore 

Meaningful 

Metta 

- Loving 

Kindness…. 

Such established loving kindness 

may be extended to our loved ones, 

parents, children, spouse and teachers. 

Then we must have sufficient strength to 

extend the loving kindness to beingsthat 

are not in good terms with us due to 

our own mistake or theirs. We come 

across beings that do not fall into those 

extreme categories and we have no 

association with any of them. We must 

extend loving kindness to all of them 

right across the universe. Such deeds 

and practices are called “metta mano 

kamma”. When metta or mano kamma 

become strong such a person will never 

harm anyone will always speak with 

loving kindness. The Buddha never used 

any words without loving kindness; he 

had no words without compassion. In 

Buddha’s words and deeds there was 

always compassion and loving kindness. 

That is metta vaci kamma. 

In metta kaya kamma there will be 

no harm done or ill effects of such deeds. 

It will be immensely fortunate to live in 

an environment where there are people 

who practice such thoughts, words and 

deeds of loving kindness. There will never 

be any differences or misunderstandings 

in such environments. The Buddha has 

said that there is a lot of merit if a person 

practices throughts of loving kindness or 

meditation on loving kindness. 

There are many benefits here. First 

is “ukan supati”- one will be able to sleep 

comfortably which is a great blessing. 

We know that there are many people 

in our society who suffer from sleeping 

disorders. They are unable to have a 

good sleep at night. Also there are a lot of 

people who suffer due to a lack of sleep. 

The Buddha has said that a person should 

meditate “yava tassa viggaha middho” 

until the time to sleep. That person will 

sleep well. 

A person who practices loving 

kindness meditation will not have any 

sleeping disoders. He will not need any 

medication for a good night’s sleep. 

According to the Buddha, such a person will 

(samadi) quite easily. “Tuwatam cittam 

samadhiyati”. In case one is not able to 

achieve Nibbana during this life time, 

one will be able to attain a higher state 

in the next life. 

Therefore, all of us must try to live 

with loving kindness. It will then keep 

us away from evil the consequences 

of hatred and will be able to reap the 

benefits of metta. 

The Chief Prelate of the 

Malwatta Chapter of the 

Siamese Sect in Australia, 

Chief Incumbent of Sri Lanka 

Buddhist Vihara, Lankarama, 

Schofield, Sydney, NSW, 

Australia. 

Most Venerable Royal 

Pundit Meegahakumbure 

Dhammagavesi Thero 

Australia. 


Comfort 

Zone…. 

“trying new 

things for 

better”.... 

Comfort zone as emotional 

boundary - Comfort zone is 

the emotional boundary that 

we set so that we would not 

feel insecure and threatened. It was in 

February 1999 that I happened to talk 

about in at Los Angeles Mission College 

where I conducted a mindfulness 

meditation session. Almost everyone 

asked me questions about it. Ever since 

it is a term that I hear and use on daily 

basis. I as a guidance counselor noticed 

that comfort zone is more often used in 

the West. However, during a recent visit 

to Sri Lanka I heard people often mention 

it. People talk about their comfort zone 

more than ever before. The situation is 

due the fact that the world nowadays 

is a global village fed by social media 

and bleeding-edge technology that 

emotionally suffocate people instead 

of comforting them. However, we 

cannot put the blame on social media 

and technology. We must choose our 

needs wisely. Let us first look at the Pali 

canonical reference to comfort zone. 

Pettika-visaya, the Pali term - We 

come across a Pali term, ‘pettika-visaya,’ 

in the Sakunagghi Sutra of the Samyutta 

Nikāya. First let us see the story behind 

pettika-visaya prior to defining it. The 

story is about a hawk and a quail. Once a 

quail who had been advised by its mother 

to never wander out of its proper range 

and into a territory of other, went against 

its mother’s advice and flew out of its 

range. Suddenly, a hawk swooped down 

on the quail and caught it. Being carried 

off to death, the quail begged hawk 

for life. The quail lamented its unwise 

decision and thought that it should not 

have its own ancestral territory. However, 

the story ends with the quail being freed 

by the hawk. The quail learned an ample 

lesson of its comfort zone. Not everyone 

is lucky. In most cases there is no U-turn. 

Comfort zone as ancestral milieu 

- Ancestral milieu is our genetic, cultural 

and social environment that we we were 

born into and acquired our upbringing 

from. Parents and or family is the nucleus 

of comfort zone. While we are free to 

assimilate with and expand our comfort 

zones, we need to educate ourselves 

that the nucleus of our comfort zone can 

never be outside of our ancestral milieu. 

In my counseling sessions I have come 

across people traumatized with what is 

called identity crisis. Such crisis is due 

to a dormant urge in our psyche that 

we find solace in our ancestral milieu. 

The quail eventually remembered the 

advice its mother gave him. In a recent 

research I did on Facebook, 98 per 

cent of Facebook users traumatized by 

relationship breakups wrote kudos to 

their mother of either parent who would 

accept their children back to the family 

no matter what. In case 

Fetal position (gabbha-seyyā) - It 

is typical of those who lost their comfort 

zone to lie in fetal position. Most of 

them that I spoke with claimed they 

woke up in the middle of the night and 

found themselves lying in fetal position. 

That is their biological indication that 

they either feel like going back into 

the mother’s womb or subconsciously 

calling their mothers for help. Fetal 

position is a psycho-biological indication. 

By accurately interpreting it, the kind 

of remedy can be determined before it 

is too late. In certain cases, they dream 

of their parents coming to their rescue, 

even if the parents are no more. Mostly, 

it is not a supernatural dream but an 

anxiety dream. 

Choices made mindfully - Despite 

our talents, strengths and experience, 

one can easily be prey to hawk-like 

others. In general, people are not 

aware of risks associated with their 

choices deemed necessary to expand 

their comfort zone. Mindfulness needs 

to be used in trying new things so that 

damage can be avoided or minimized. 

Oftentimes, people are not happy 

with the outcome of their choices and 

complain that they should not have 

made those choices. Choosing mindfully 

is a difficult task since we have a builtin 

tendency of only looking at the 

comfort anticipated therein but not the 

consequences thereafter. People need to 

pre-educate themselves in a universally 

psychological pattern of fallback that the 

Buddha has taught. The pattern is called 

adhesion (anuruddha) and aversion 

(pativiruddha). In adhering there is an 

almost inevitable chance of aversion. 

It is mindfully made choices that bring 

us joy from our adhesion. Otherwise, 

consequences are clearly inevitable. 

Two types of comfort zone - To 

some their comfort zone needs to be 

expanded by trying new things. To some 

their comfort zone need not be expanded. 

Based these two tendencies there are 

two types of comfort zones, introspective 

and extrospective. Introspective people 

feel that their comfort zone need not be 

expanded however narrow it is, while 

extrospective people feel that expansion 

of it essential. In both case there is a risk. 

The Type One people must make sure 

that they never be like quails flying freely 

but being blind to dangers. In other 

words, freedom of choice must follow 

accepted ethical and legal boundaries of 

the society or country we live. The Type 

Two people must make sure that they 

do not marginalize themselves. In other 

words, must be mindful enough to never 

lock themselves up in an emotional dark 

room. 

Self-mettā as a remedy - As 

recommended by the Buddha we need 

at least one trustworthy friend (kalyānamitta), 

who is capable of understanding 

our emotions. In case such a friend 

is unavailable we would rather live 

in solitude but practicing self-mettā 

(unconditional love towards oneself). 

Such life in solitude is called the lifestyle 

of a rhino in the Khaggavisāna Sutra 

(discourse on the rhinoceros behaviour. 

Self-mettā helps avoid codependency 

that is a mental tendency of relying on 

others especially on those we have lost 

connection with. Relationship breakup 

and divorce often lead to codependency. 

In self-mettā we trust ourselves and 

move on as opposed to imprisoning 

ourselves in an emotional prison. In case 

the comfort zone is already lost, it can be 

reset with the assistance of a kalyānamitta 

and self-metta. Complaints against 

oneself or those who victimized one 

only further drains one’s energy. Leave 

complaints behind and move on. 

USA 

The Chief Sanghanayake of 

North America at Asgiriya 

Chapter, Chief Incumbent 

of Life Coach, Mindfulness 

Instructor, USA 


Dedunupitiye Upananda 

Thero 


Buddhist Sangha 

Health Care 

Foundation held 

huge Dharma 

Assembly in 

Taiwan…. 

The “Buddhist Sangha Health Care 

Foundation” annually arranges 

special huge Dharma Assembly 

in Taiwan as their great event. 

On this time they held another one 

huge Dharma Assembly on December 

01, 2018 at International Exhibition 

Center premises, in Taiwan. The Dharma 

Assembly held under the blessings & 

leading by the Pure Land Temple Chief 

Master, Most Venerable Master Shih 

Tsu Cheng and Buddhist Sangha Health 

Care Foundation Founder Hui Ming 

Shih conducted the whole program as 

singing Ode to the Three Jewels, Practice 

Chanting Amitabha Buddha, Chanting 

Kṣitigarbha Bodhisattva Pūrvapraṇidhāna 

Sūtra and Chanting Merit of Praising the 

Sangha Sutra. Master Shih Tsu Cheng’s 

chanting is very popular in Taiwan. More 

than 5,000 Buddhist Monks and Nuns 

also participated the event. Founded in 

1988 till now, Buddhist Sangha Health 

Care Foundation has been working for 

the improvement of sangha’s physical, 

mental and spiritual overall health and 

providing of medical or nursing services. 

They have now gathered around 

hundreds of medical professionals 

and volunteers in this service, sharing 

the same hope that an act of kindness 

may inspire more people (including 

volunteers and professionals) to join in 

the task for the continuity of Buddha’s 

teachings. 


After the visit to Taiwan 

Official Photographs by Lin Chun Chieh 


Developing 

the mind 

ability …. 

Bringing attention to the quality of 

our actions and speech reduces 

stressful interactions with others. 

Given our responsibilities and 

the pressures upon us, feeling a certain 

amount of stress is probably inevitable. 

It is not always a bad thing, and hard to 

imagine how making positive changes in 

our life, abandoning old unwise habits, 

could be possible without any stress at 

all. If we are unable to deal with stress 

or feel we should not have to deal with 

it, we may fail to realize important goals 

in our life. Nevertheless, it is possible to 

radically reduce the amount of stress we 

experience. It helps to simplify our lives 

as much as we can and learn to slow 

down a little; trying to fit too much into a 

day is needlessly wearing. 

A more judicial use of resources 

reduces stress over personal finances. 

Regular exercise, especially yoga and 

tai chi (because designed to affect the 

nervous system), alleviates much physical 

tension, and teaches us to breathe more 

naturally. Regular meditation practice 

gives us the skill to recognize and let go 

of the toxic moods and thoughts that 

underlie chronic tension. Unrealistic 

expectations of ourselves and those 

around us, for instance, can be crippling. 

In daily life, taking regular short breaks to 

calm and center the mind prevents stress 

from gradually accumulating throughout 

the day. These breaks might take the 

form of a sixty-second breath meditation 

in front of a computer or simply taking 

a few deep grounding breaths before 

picking up a ringing phone. 

Developing the ability to come back 

to the present moment and re-establish 

a state of calm alertness on a regular 

basis throughout the day can make 

significant changes to the quality of our 

life. Altruism lies at the very heart of the 

Buddhism tradition. The blossoming of 

compassion is seen as the measure of an 

awakening mind. The two pre-eminent 

virtues possessed by the Buddha were 

wisdom and compassion. The Buddha 

was enlightened through wisdom and 

shared his path of awakening with others 

through compassion. In Buddhism, 

wisdom and compassion are considered 

to be inseparable, like the two wings of 

an eagle. The wish to make others happy 

or to relieve them of their suffering is 

a wonderful jewel of the human mind. 

But for noble feelings to lead to effective 

action, wisdom is needed. People with 

good intentions but lacking sensitivity or 

respect for those they are determined 

to help can do more harm than good. 

Conceit, impatience, hesitation, saying 

the wrong thing, or saying the right thing 

at the wrong time—there are so many 

lapses of judgment, so many character 

flaws, that can undermine the best 

efforts of the kindest person. 

Moreover, and perhaps most 

importantly, people sometimes don’t 

want to be helped or are not ready for 

it. The Buddha taught that ripeness is 

all. The wise person understands that all 

beings are the “owners of their kamma”. 

In expressing the compassion that flows 

“Conflicts make 

actions and 

speech,”…. 

from wisdom and is informed by it, 

the wise try to help others when they 

can, never forgetting that there is no 

guarantee their efforts will be successful. 

As a result, they do not indulge in 

disappointment or despair when things 

do not work out. If they are frustrated in 

their efforts to help others they dwell in 

equanimity, ready to try again whenever 

the prevailing conditions allow. The 

Buddha said that minds free from toxic 

mental states make the most intelligent 

long-term decisions. Greed, selfimportance 

and prejudice arise within 

individual minds and, if unattended to, 

can have enormous consequences for 

communities and nations. 

Chief Sangha Nayake Thero 

of African Continent and 

Chief Abbot of Buddhist 

Temple & Meditation Centre 

in Tanzania - South Africa. 

Most Venerable Dr Ilukpitiye 

Pannasekara Thero 

South Africa. 

The stages 

of meditative 

absorption …. 

All of the Buddha’s teachings are 

encompassed within what are 

called the Four Noble Truths, 

in the same way, he explained, 

as the footprints of all the animals 

in the jungle fit into the footprint of 

the elephant. These Truths reveal the 

fundamental problem of our existence 

and its resolution. 

01 - There is dukkha - Dukkha is 

generally translated as “suffering”, but 

in fact has a far more profound meaning 

than is implied by that word. Dukkha 

refers to the chronic un satisfactoriness 

of unenlightened existence. It covers 

the whole spectrum of experience, from 

severe physical and emotional pain to 

the subtlest sense of unease and lack. 02 

- There is a cause of dukkha - Dukkha is 

not our unalterable human predicament. 

It is dependent upon certain causes 

and conditions, in particular upon the 

cravings that arise through a fundamental 

misperception of our human nature. 03 - 

There is a cessation of dukkha - There 

is a complete ending of dukkha, a state 

of liberation and true happiness. 04 - 

There is a path leading to the cessation 

of dukkha - Dukkha is comprehended, 

its causes abandoned, and its cessation 

realized through cultivation of the Noble 

Eightfold Path. This path involves an 

education or training of every aspect 

of our lives, inner and outer. The eight 

factors are as follows 

01 - Right View. 02 - Right 

Intention. 03 - Right Speech. 04 - Right 

Action. 05 - Right Livelihood. 06 - Right 

Effort. 07 - Right Mindfulness. 08 - Right 

Concentration 

The Eightfold Path is the holistic 

education or training of body, speech 

and mind that culminates in awakening. 

Right View refers to beliefs, views, 

ideals, values that are in harmony with 

the way things are. Initially its most 

important elements are confidence in i) 

the human capacity for enlightenment, 

and the law of kamma. Right Thought 

refers to thoughts consistent with Right 

View. These are characterized by a 

freedom from all kinds of toxic thinking, 

in particular that which is sensual, 

hostile or cruel. Right Thought includes 

the aspiration to be free from all inner 

affliction, and thoughts of kindness and 

compassion. Right Speech is true, useful 

and timely speech that is polite and 

kindly in intent. It is speech free from 

lying, harshness, slander and idle chatter. 

Right Action refers to actions that do not 

harm self or others. At its most basic it 

refers to refraining from killing, stealing 

and sexual misconduct. Right Livelihood 

refers to livelihood that does not cause 

harm to self or others. Wrong livelihoods 

listed in the texts include the selling of 

weapons, living beings, meat and fish, 

intoxicants and poisons. 

Right Effort refers to the endeavor 

to prevent unskillful thoughts and 

emotions that have not yet arisen in the 

mind from arising. reduce and eradicate 

unskillful thoughts and emotions 

that have already arisen in the mind. 

introduce into the mind skillful thoughts 

and emotions that have not yet arisen. 

sustain and further develop skillful 

thoughts and emotions already present 

in the mind. Right Mindfulness refers 

to maintaining an alert, even-minded 

and committed awareness of present 

experience, in particular: the physical 

body the affective tone of experience: 

pleasant, unpleasant or neutral the state 

of mind mental phenomena as they 

relate to the Buddha’s path of awakening 

Right Concentration refers to the inner 

stability, clarity and peace experienced 

in four stages of “meditative absorption” 

or “jhāna”. 

The first jhāna is characterized 

by five ‘jhāna factors’: an initial and 

sustained attention to the meditation 

object, zest, bliss and one-pointedness 

of mind. As the mind becomes more 

refined the coarser jhāna factors fade 

away. The second jhāna is reached with 

the shedding of initial and sustained 

attention. The disappearance of zest 

signals attainment of the third jhāna. 

With the loss of bliss the mind enters 

the fourth and most subtle level of 

jhāna, distinguished by unshakeable 

equanimity. 

“Attention to the 

Meditation”…. 

The Chief Sangha Nayaka 

of Canada, the Founder 

and Chief Abbot of Ottawa 

Theravada Buddhist Vihara 

and Cultural Centre in 

Ottawa, Canada. 

Most Venerable Kakanadure 

Hemalankara Nayaka Thero 

Canada 


The 9 th 

International 

Conference 

on Art & 

Culture 

Network 

(ICAC) - 

Thailand.... 

The 9th “International Conference 

on Art & Culture Network” (ICAC) 

held at Nakhon Pathom Rajabhat 

University in Thailand on 

February 11 - 13. 2019 .This year held this 

conference under the topic of “Dvaravati: 

The Way of Life, the Way of Dhamma, 

Wisdom in the Creative Economy”, is 

due to the cooperation of the network of 

arts and culture departments in various 

universities throughout the country 

which aims to promote. The special 

invitees participated for this conference 

from selected countries and share 

their expereince and ideas for promote 

international arts and culture. This 

was the stage for exchange of learning 

and develop knowledge about the 

international arts and culture. 

Dr. Lye Ket Yong, the President, 

Middle East Meditation Center, 

Secretary General, World Alliance of 

Buddhists (WAB), Advisor, Pali University 

of Sihora, Nagpur, India as the keynote 

speaker for the 9th “International 

Conference on Art & Culture Network” 

deliverd the special ideas under the 

topic of “Buddhism approach towards 

a sustainable Peaceful Society”. This is 

full keynote speech that he deliverd at 

the conference. 

“It gives me great pleasure and 

honor to present this keynote address 

on the special annual events of the 

9th International Conference on Arts 

and Culture Network and International 

Forums with an auspicious theme 

Dvaravati: Local Ways with Dharma Ways 

Causing Wisdom to Creative Economy, 

for promoting World Peace. Indeed, Arts 

and Culture which commonly interacted 

with Religions plays an important role in 

the happiness and peaceful co-existence 

of society in each and every country. 

Thailand is a country with a rich history 

of traditions and culture, also known as 

the “Land of Smiles”. I am very happy 

and thankful to the Organizers and 

hosts namely, Thailand Universities Arts 

and Culture Network- which consisted 

of a consortium of 15 Universities 

nationwide, Nakhon Pathom Rajabhat 

University, in collaboration with the 

Government of Thailand for organizing 

and promoting this auspicious event 

with an objective of promoting and 

realizing World Peace. 

Religions define Peace in different 

ways; A biblical concept of Peace is 

“to be complete” or “to be sound”, or 

in other word, is to be one with God. 

Most theist religions normally refer to 

Peace as a supreme fulfillment by the 

divine. Buddhism, however, look at 

peace differently. To quote from the Lord 

Buddha “Natthi Santi Param Sukhang 

in Pali, which means, there is greater 

happiness than peace”. The UNESCO 

Constitution’s preamble declares that 

“since wars begin in the minds of men, it 

is in the minds of men that the defenses 

of Peace must be constructed.” The Lord 

Buddha proclaimed “When the water is 

muddy, any creatures or even precious 

gems cannot be seen. When the water 

is clear, any creatures or precious gems 

can then be seen. Just like the human 

mind, when it is clouded, one cannot 

distinguish between good or bad. 

However, with a clear mind, one could 

easily tell good from bad.” “Sati and 

Samadhi” meaning Mindfulness and 

Concentration are two important tools in 

bringing about the clarity of the mind. To 

achieve “Sati and Samadhi”, one needs 

to practice Meditation which purifies the 

mind to brings about inner Peace and 

Happiness. 

Peace and happiness are the core 

philosophy of Buddhism. The prime 

objective of Buddhism is to bring about 

the well-being and happiness of mankind 

as a whole (“bahujana-hitaya, bahujanasukhaya” 

in Pali). For this purpose, the 

Lord Buddha preached the doctrine 

which is morally good in outset (“adikalyana”), 

morally good in body (“majjhekalyana”) 

and morally good in conclusion 

(“pariyosana-kalyana”). With the wellbeing 

and happiness of the mundane 

world in mind, ultimately Buddhism has 

focused to show the path of attaining 

higher peace or ultimate happiness 

(parama-sukha). The practical approach 

to achieving higher peace is based 

on one’s development on Generosity 

(Dana), Morality (Sila), Mindfulness and 

Concentration (Sati and Samadhi) and 

Wisdom (Panya). Morality (Sila) or good 

conduct is the foundation of the Buddhist 

ethics. Therefore, the combination 

of Generosity (Dana), Morality (Sila), 

Mindfulness and Concentration (Sati and 

Samadhi) together with Wisdom (Panya) 

brings forth Inner Peace and happiness. 

If each and every member 

practices Meditation to achieves their 

individual Inner Peace, practices Lovingkindness 

and has good ethics and 

morals, happiness in a society can be 

realized. However, in order to have a 

sustainable tolerant and peaceful coexistence 

in Society, would require each 

and every member to be virtuous, kind, 

generous, considerate, responsible, 

discipline, tolerant, considerate and 

respectful. These virtues and positive 

values need to be ingrained by both 

mental realization and physical habits 

development. In order to cultivate these 

values, every member of Society must 

be trained to develop the good habits of 

“Universal Goodness” which comprises 

of “Cleanliness, tidiness, politeness, 

punctuality and mental concentration 

through Meditation”. These daily 

practices of Universal Goodness shall 

lead to the development of selfresponsibility 

which will ultimately lead 

to empathy and many other characters 

of Peace. 

The more a person is trained with 

their bodily, verbal and mental actions 

through Universal Goodness, the more 

a person will develop their character of 

peace. World Peace is therefore not too 

hard to achieve. The timeless teachings 

of the Lord Buddha must be practice in 

our daily life. Peace cannot be achieved 

with a single effort or dialogue. It is only 

when every person has achieved their 

inner peace, then only the world can be 

at peace. May all of you have a successful 

Conference, stay Meritorious, be well 

and happy. Thank you. In conjunction 

with the 9th International Conference on 

Art & Culture Network held the special 

Holy Buddha’s Relics procession parade 

& Consecration Ceremony at Nakhon 

Pathom Rajabhat University premises on 

February 11, 2019. 


Photographs by Nakhon Pathom 

Rajabhat University and Pensiri 

Mahasutthikul (Noomnim) 


“The gain 

to all with 

respectafully”…. 

Gain, 

Honour and 

Praise…. 

According to the Labha Sakkara 

Sutta, “At Savatthi... ‘Bhikkhus, 

dreadful are gain, honor, and 

praise; bitter, vile, obstructive 

to achieving the un-surpassed security 

from bondage. Suppose a fisherman 

would cast a baited hook deep into a lake, 

and a fish on the lookout for food would 

swallow it. That fish, having swallowed 

the fisherman’s hook, would meet with 

calam-ity and disaster, and the fisherman 

could do with it as he wishes. “‘Bhikkhus, 

‘fisherman’ is a designation for Mara the 

Evil One. ‘Baited hook” is a designation 

for gain, honor, and praise. Any bhikkhu 

who relishes and enjoys the aris-en gain, 

honor, and praise is called a bhikkhu 

who has swallowed the hook, who has 

met with calamity and dis-aster, and the 

Evil One can do with him as he wishes.1 

“‘Bhikkhus, once in the past there was a 

large family of turtles that had been living 

for a long time in a certain lake. Then one 

turtle said to another: ‘Dear turtle – do 

not go to such and such a region.’ “’But 

that turtle went to that region anyway, 

and a hunter struck him with a corded 

harpoon. “’Then that turtle approached 

the first one, and when he saw him 

coming in the distance he said to him: 

‘I hope, dear turtle, that you didn’t go 

to that region.’ “‘I did go to that region, 

dear.’ “‘I hope you haven’t been hit or 

struck, dear.’ 

“‘I haven’t been hit or struck, but 

there is this cord constantly following 

behind me.’ “‘Indeed you’ve been 

struck! Your father and grandfa-ther 

also met with calamity and disaster on 

account of such a cord. Go now, dear 

turtle, you are no longer one of us.’ 

“‘Bhikkhus, ‘hunter’ is a designation for 

Mara the Evil One. ‘Corded harpoon’ 

is a designation for gain, honor, and 

praise. ‘Cord’ is a designation for delight 

and lust. Any bhikkhu who relishes and 

enjoys the arisen gain, honor, and praise 

is called a bhikkhu who has been struck 

with a corded harpoon, or who has met 

with calamity and disas-ter, and the 

Evil One can do with him as he wishes. 

“‘So dreadful, bhikkhus, are gain, honor, 

and praise; so bitter, vile, obstructive 

to achieving the unsurpassed se-curity 

from bondage. Therefore, bhikkhus, 

you should train yourselves thus: ‘We 

will abandon the arisen gain, honor, and 

praise, and we will not let the arisen gain, 

honor, and praise persist obsessing our 

minds.’”2 Ananda recites several more 

discourses until dana, which is being 

hosted by King Ajatasattu’s wife, Queen 

Vajira. She is the mother of his son, 

Prince Udayibhadda, and the daughter 

of King Pasenadi of Kosala. 

When the senior arahants 

approach the dana pavilion they notice 

the profusion of floral arrangements that 

abound throughout the enclosure. It is 

as if the queen has brought the entire 

contents of her palace garden to grace 

her offering to the monks. The flowers 

are of every hue and va-riety, and there 

are even individual bouquets in front of 

each of the five hundred seats for the 

arahants. Special arrangements of pure 

white lotus flowers are also placed on the 

banana leaf plates of the nine members 

of the sub-committee. Maha Kassapa, 

Ananda, and other elders approach the 

hall where the queen stands with her 

group of female attendants to greet 

them. “Is there a single flower left 

blooming in your garden?” asks Maha 

Kassapa as he approaches the regal 

personage of the queen, who is dressed 

in a flowing white sari trimmed in gold. 

“Not one, Venerable Sir,” answers the 

Queen as she bows low to pay her 

respects. 

“My husband the king requested 

that I offer every blossom to his 

esteemed guests to express his gratitude 

for showing him such great compassion 

two days ago. For the first time in years 

he was able to sleep well last evening, 

after having spent the previous night 

alone on top of this mountain. He said 

that his spirit has been refreshed by 

the experience of participating in your 

candid discussion, and he wanted me to 

tell you that he is re-inspired to dedicate 

the rest of his life to making his kingdom 

bloom for the greater glory of the 

Sasana.” Maha Kassapa and the other 

arahants smile at the queen, pleased 

that King Ajatasattu has benefitted from 

his excruciating emotional or-deal before 

the sub-committee. “King Ajatasattu has 

become a good man,” begins Ananda, 

“and I am sure that he will become an 

even better king, given his new understanding.” 

The queen bows in thanks 

for the kind compliment to her troubled 

husband. The arahants are escorted to 

their seats and Maha Kassapa begins the 

chants of blessing. That evening in the 

chairman’s torch-lit cave chamber the 

nine members of the sub-committee and 

ten memory monks gather to con-tinue 

their work. 

“I’m glad you chose to spare King 

Ajatasattu from this part of the Devadatta 

discussion,” says Ananda to Maha 

Kassapa. “I felt that he could be spared 

the ending of this tale, given what he 

went through two days ago,” responds 

the chairman. “Besides, apart from 

assisting Devadatta in two misguided 

attempts to murder the Buddha, the king 

had little to do with the way it ended.” 

“Perhaps I should preface this discussion 

with a quote from the Devadatta Sutta, 

which foreshadows his demise,” says 

Ananda. “Please proceed, Venerable 

Sir,” says Maha Kassapa. Ananda pauses 

for a moment and then begins: “’As 

its own fruit brings destruction To the 

plantain, bamboo, and reed, As its 

embryo destroys the mule, So do honors 

destroy the scoundrel.’” 3 “That verse 

so completely describes the fate of 

Devadatta after he succumbed to gain, 

honor, and praise, just as the fish by the 

fishhook and the turtle by the corded 

harpoon,” says Punna. After a moment 

Maha Kassapa says, “Going back to our 

recollec-tions, Devadatta was frustrated 

and enraged by the Buddha’s public 

re-fusal to allow him to take charge of 

the Sangha. Before he carried out his 

murderous attempts on the Buddha’s 

life he tried one last time to gain honor, 

praise, and power, which resulted in a 

schism in the Sangha.” 

“I heard that Devadatta consulted 

with a number of religious lead-ers from 

other sects that are still popular in this 

area. Many of them have harsh rules 

for members of their orders; one of 

them even forbids walk-ing on the grass 

because it might kill harmless insects. 

I think that’s how he came up with the 

idea that imposing new and constricting 

rules on the monks might gain him a 

greater following,” said Punna. “His 

ego was the sort that demanded there 

always be followers behind him.” “Even 

though he was no longer really welcome 

in the Sangha, Devadatta actually had 

the nerve to approach the Buddha again 

– and to make five new demands,” says 

Upali. “They were proposed additions 

to the Vinaya code of discipline that 

he used as a ruse in his attempt to divide 

the Order.” “Since this area is your 

specialty, Upali, why don’t you tell us 

about those five demands, as well as 

the Buddha’s responses,” requests 

Maha Kassapa. Upali sits up straight 

and begins, “Devadatta’s first request 

was that monks should live in a forest 

hermitage all their lives. He said that 

any monk who lives in a monastery near 

a village would be guilty of an offense.4 

“His second request was that all monks 

should only eat food they collected on 

alms rounds; any monk who accepted 

an invitation from lay people would be 

guilty of an offense. “The third new rule 

was that all monks should only wear 

robes made from old rags sewn together. 

He proposed that a monk who ac-cepts 

new robes offered by laypeople would 

be committing an offense. “Devadatta’s 

fourth new rule was that all monks 

should always dwell at the base of trees, 

and that any monk who goes and lives in 

a monastery would be guilty of breaking 

the code of discipline. 

USA 

Chief Sangha Nayake Thero 

of America and President 

of USA & Canada Sanga 

Council, Chief Abbot & 

President of Dharma Vijaya 

Buddhist Vihara, Los Angeles, 

California, USA. 

Most Venerable Aggamaha 

Pandita Dr. Walpola 

Piyananda Thero 


WAN FA MONASTERY 

-TAIWAN - 

The Excellent Buddhist 

Temple in Taiwan…. 

Wan Fa Monastery is Most Popular 

Meditation Centre in Taiwan located at 

Pingtung Country in Taiwan. The 

Monastery built by Most Venerable 

Bhikkhuni Shih Jian Yin - The Secretary 

General of Taiwan Buddhist Association, 

Secretary General of the World Buddhism 

Bhikkhuni Association & the Chinese 

Buddhism Bhikkhuni Association, Abbess 

of Miau Kuang Chan Monastery, Wan Fa 

Monastery, Zhi Cheng Monastery, Tai Ming 

Monastery & Zheng Jue Chan Monastery. 

Buddhika Sanjeewa, as the Founder, President & Chief Editor of Mettavalokana Buddhist Publications Centre, I printed and published this “Mettavalokanaya” Buddhist Magazine as 

46 l Mettavalokanaya a publication of Mettavalokana l October l 2018 Buddhist l www.mettavalokanaya.com 

Publications Centre on March 20, 2019 at M. D. Gunasena & Co (Pvt) Ltd, No.20, San Sebastian Hill, Colombo 12, Sri Lanka. 

Registered at Department of Post in Sri Lanka - QD/193/News/2018

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