Mettavalokanaya_International_Buddhist_Magazine_September_2019

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Dignified Adviser 

Mahopadyaya Most Venerable 

Dr. Pannila Sri Ananda Thero 

Chief Prelate of the Aththanagalla Sri Arahantha 

Rajamaha Viharaya, Houston Buddhist Temple - 

America, First Theravada Buddhist Temple - Taiwan 

and the Secretary of the Los Angeles Dharma 

Vijaya Buddhist Temple - America, the Chief High 

Prelate of the Seenadi Sivu Korale Chapter 

Founder / President / Chief Editor 

Buddhika Sanjeewa 

Creave Director 

Wijaya Wagaarachchi 

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“The mind 

keep with 

deep wisdom 

& great 

compassion 

utmost joy”…. 

- Most Venerable 

Bhikkhuni Shih 

Ming Dao – 

2 l Mettavalokanaya l September l 2019 l www.mettavalokanaya.com www.mettavalokanaya.com l 2019 l September l Mettavalokanaya l 3

"Possesses the 

root of wisdom"…. 

Meditation 

for awakening 

path…. 

First, fulfill the restraint of sensefaculties 

(indriya-saṃvara-sīla) by 

exercising control over the sense 

organs. Develop the first jhana 

(a stage of meditative absorption) by 

practicing Ānāpānasati” (mindfulness of 

breathing) so as to abandon restlessness 

(uddhacca) and dullness(thina-middha). 

Meanwhile, develop contemplation 

on the unpleasant (asubhānupassin), 

loving-kindness (mettā-saññā), the six 

recollections (cha anussatiṭṭhānāni) 

and the six things conducive to true 

knowledge (cha vijjābhāgiyā dhammā). 

Cultivate the enlightenment factor 

of mindfulness (satisambojjhaṅgo): 

discerning, as it actually is, the Twelve 

Factors of Relevant Influencing(Paṭiccasamuppāda) 

is the core meditation 

method, which is alternatively expounded 

with the other nine meditation methods, 

namely, contemplating the arising and 

cessation of the Four Foundation of 

Mindfulness (satipaṭṭhāna), of the Five 

abstruseness (aggregates), of Six Bases for 

Contact (channaṃ phassāyatanānaṃ), 

of the World (loka), of the body in Being 

(sakkāya), of the four kinds of Nutriment 

President of Buddha's 

Sangha Association, 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 

China 

(cattārome āhārā), of the base of power 

endowed with concentration founded 

on discrimination and the fabrications 

of exertion (vīriyasāsamādhippadhāna 

saṅkhārasamannāgataṃ iddhipādaṃ), 

of the aging-death, and lastly 

contemplating the truth of suffering, the 

arising and cessation of suffering during 

the first round of the four noble truths. 

Practice the most crucial parts of the 

contemplation of Relevant Influencing -- 

the 'Seven stages of insight meditation', 

'The Forty Four Contemplation 

methods', and the 'Ninety-Two Arising 

Manifestation' which leads to clarity that 

the five abstruseness (aggregates) are 

the phenomena of Relevant Influencing 

(paṭicca-samuppanna-dhamma), and 

therefore phenomenon of Relevant 

Influencing (paṭicca-samuppannadhamma) 

is impermanent (anicca), 

non-ego (anattā) and is not of mine, 

and consequently learn that from birth 

comes suffering (dukkha). 

After seeing clearly that the 

five abstruseness (aggregates) are 

phenomena of relevant influencing 

(paṭicca-samuppanna-dhamma), one 

realizes that craving is a trouble-maker 

which leads to suffering, dissipation 

of craving is the path to cessation of 

suffering. The right view that 'with 

the dissipation of craving for the five 

abstruseness (aggregates) comes the 

cessation of suffering' is obtained. Thus, 

one sees, as it actually is, how 'the five 

abstruseness (aggregates) relevantly 

arise and annihilate'; or sees, as it 

actually is, the 'arising and cessation 

of the Twelve Factors of Relevant 

Influencing (Paṭicca-samuppāda)', as 

expounded by the Buddha: 'from the 

attainment of the knowledge of relevant 

influencing (dhammaṭṭhitiñāṇaṃ) comes 

the knowledge of Nibbāna', and possess 

the seventy seven types of knowledge; 

thus dispel ignorance, ego, and doubt; 

and consequently acquire indestructible 

confidence in Buddha, Dhamma and 

Saṅgha; falling no more into the three 

evil realms, thus possesses the wisdom 

for liberation. 

Practice the 'enlightenment factor 

of discrimination of Dhamma' (Dhamma 

vicaya) as follows: By seeing, as it actually 

is, how 'the five abstruseness (aggregates) 

relevantly arise and annihilate'; one thus 

clearly sees, as it actually is, the path 

leading to annihilation of birth, death 

and suffering—the Eight-fold Path. This 

is also known as 'seeing the noble path 

as it actually is', and possessing the forty 

four types of knowledge. Thus, one has 

clarity of the first four aspects of the first 

round of the four noble truths, dissipates 

the views of distorted grasp of rules and 

vows, and possesses the root of wisdom 

and the root of faith, and is definitely 

ledto samyak-sambodhi. 

Practice the 'enlightenment factor 

of diligence (viriya) as follows Having 

possessed the clarity as a result of the 

first round with the first four aspects of 

the four noble truths, then by dwelling in 

the right mindfulness and wisdom, one 

should cultivate diligently the Six Bases 

for Contact(channaṃ phassāyatanānaṃ) 

(i.e. the five abstruseness[aggregates]) 

in accordance with dispassion, aversion, 

and cessation that lead to liberation, 

sequentially practice the holy, can 

kerless (Anāsavā) and supra-mundane 

Eight-fold path, which is also known 

as 'the unexcelled development of the 

faculties in the discipline of a noble one. 

Thus, apply the root of wisdom to the 

development of the root of diligence, 

the root of mindfulness and the root of 

concentration respectively, one practices 

in such a way is destined for cessation 

of suffering, liberation, and samyaksambodhi. 

In accordance with the sequence of 

the Seven Factors of Enlightenment (Satta 

Bojjhaṅgā), instructions on 'the fourteen 

essential methods on the development 

of wisdom and the cessation of craving 

will be given. Practice the 'enlightenment 

factors of Joy (pīti), Tranquility 

(Passaddhi) and Concentration 

(Samādhi) as follows: By dwelling in 

the right mindfulness and wisdom, 

cultivating diligently the Six Bases for 

Contact (channaṃ phassāyatanānaṃ) 

for dispelling craving and the bond of the 

five abstruseness[aggregates]), one who 

practices as such will possess sympathetic 

joy from superior renunciation 

(enlightenment factors of Joy). 

Sympathetic joy gives rise to tranquility 

of body and mind (enlightenment factors 

of Tranquility); which subsequently leads 

to the disengagement from joy-abiding, 

thus, enabling pure one-pointedness 

concentration (enlightenment factors of 

Concentration). 

Thus, in accordance with clear 

vision as the result of the first round 

of the four noble truths, sequentially 

practice fulfilling the supra-mundane 

Eight-fold path, which consequently leads 

to the attainment of right concentration, 

detachment from craving and hatred, 

the disconnection from the nutriment 

of consciousness(viññāṇāhāro), 

and liberation. By so achieving, one 

completes the second round with the 

four aspects of the four noble truths, 

and possesses the root of exertion, the 

root of mindfulness and the root of 

concentration. 

Practice 'the enlightenment factor 

of equanimity' as follows: Upon the 

attainment of right concentration, one 

sequential attains the Five Roots, namely, 

the root of wisdom, the root of faith, the 

root of exertion, the root of mindfulness, 

and the root of concentration. Thus, 

dissipation of ignorance, craving, and 

hatred, the attainment of liberation 

with thorough knowledge and vision 

of liberation (vimuttamiti ñāṇaṃ hoti) 

normally proclaimed as 'Destroyed is 

birth, the holy life has been lived, what 

has to be done is done, there's no more 

this state of being 'is achieved. This is the 

completion of the third round with the 

four aspects of the four noble truths. 

Practicing the seven enlightenment 

factors in such a way is the integrated 

manifestation of all the noble teachings 

of Buddha Sākyamuni of his lifetime. 

By so completing the practice of the 

'seven factors of enlightenment', the 

three rounds with twelve aspects of the 

Four Noble Truths is so achieved, thus 

possesses enlightenment, dispassion, 

the Four Immeasurable Attitudes (viz. 

loving-kindness, compassion, joy and 

equanimity), liberation (Mokkha), and 

Anuttara-samyak-sambodhi. Utmost 

applications of the Four Noble Truths: 

the most important teachings will be 

given to the disciples by the master 

verbally. 

Original Buddhism Society - The 

Sambodhi Saṅgha adheres to the Suttas 

collected by the First Buddhist Council. 

It follows the fundamental practice of 

the Noble Saṅgha before the Buddhist 

schism, and continues transmitting 

the Suttas from the ancient tradition 

of Ānanda lineage and Upāli lineage. 

The Saṅgha abides by the Vinaya and 

reinstates an orthodox Saṅgha that 

follows the Sutta and Vinaya. The Saṅgha 

establishes Original Buddhism Societies 

in Taiwan, USA, Australia and Malaysia 

to guide the people to rediscover the 

Buddha’s path. The societies promote 

and transmit the true teaching of the 

Buddha in accordance with Causation 

and Four Noble Truths. It is Humanistic 

Buddhism that is applicable to both the 

mundane and supra-mundane worlds. 

The objectives of Original Buddhism 

Society are to rediscover the Buddha's 

original teachings; to support a Saṅgha 

that abides by the Buddha’s original 

teaching and Vinaya; to adhere to the 

Sutta and Vinaya, respect the Saṅgha 

and unite lay devotees, uphold equal 

rights in gender and segregate religion 

from politics. 

Sambodhi Sangha - Sambodhi 

Sangha's practice and cultivation is 

based on the seven Saṃyuttas common 

to the Southern lineage Theravada's 

Saṃyutta Nikāya and the Northern 

lineage's Saṃyukta-Āgama. The seven 

Saṃyuttas are the earliest recorded 

teachings of the Buddha from the first 

council. The practice of Sambodhi 

Sangha emphasizes the right view of 

“condition arising” and the insight into 

the body and mind, putting into practice 

the liberation from greed. The monks 

and nuns’ communities of Sambodhi 

Sangha practice by meditate throughout 

the year. The monks and nuns do not 

accept, accumulate or use money, nor 

are there any attendants who manage 

money on their behalf. Sambodhi Sangha 

propagates the original teachings of the 

Buddha in Taiwan as well as to other 

places around the world all year round, 

teaching the practice of Seven Factors of 

Enlightenment, and to attain in stages the 

three rounds and twelve aspects of the 

Four Noble Truths which put Buddha's 

teaching into real-life application, solving 

daily practical problems and leading 

towards a bright and successful life. 


The Essence 

of Zen 

Meditation…. 

Zen is simply your Ordinary Mind. 

Keeping nothing in your mind, you can 

then be as productive and creative as you 

could be! Zen is life itself. If you want to 

make your life blossom and open up, you 

need to do Zazen. Zen is actually the full 

blossoming of your own beautiful life. 

Zen gives you a wonderful perspective on 

the panorama of Life. Zen's essence itself 

is primordially perfect and complete. 

You can't find any faults or 

imperfections in it. And your life is of 

course very rare, wonderful and utterly 

precious. You should seize and savor 

this precious human life to seek for the 

(Chan Master Hsin Tao) 

Founder of Museum 

of World religion, Ling 

Jiou Mountain Buddhist 

Society, Museum of World 

Religions (MWR), and the 

Global Family for Love and 

Peace (GFLP) 

Most Venerable Dharma 

Master Hisn Tao 

Taiwan 

Ultimate Wisdom of Zen. When you 

attain Zen, you can control your life and 

death. Unlike the fleeting and eroded 

sand and soil, you can now master your 

mind and your life. I am promoting 

Zen in overseas countries nowadays. 

Many westerners are very interested 

in Zen meditation. I introduced them a 

special type of Zen practice that I called 

"Peace Zen" - which has a very clear and 

systematic four steps in its practice. 

The preliminaries and the results 

of this Peace Zen are very clear and 

productive, and they can practice it 

with unwavering faith and one-pointed 

diligence. This systematic approach 

enables them to understand, practice 

and realize the essence of Zen in a 

simpler and more humanistic way. 

Ultimately speaking, Chinese Zen (Chan) 

has no gradual steps. Either you get it or 

not - that's all. There's no way or method 

no practice Zen. Since Zen has no specific 

steps and gradual methods, it can use 

All kinds of methods and approaches. 

Its exclusiveness lies within its flexibility 

and inclusiveness. Zen is forever lively, 

flowing and dynamic. 

But no understand the essence of 

Zen, you must have a very sharp and 

receptive mind. If you are slow and 

dumb, then you will need more time and 

efforts in getting to realize the essence 

of Zen. So, from my own practical 

experience, I've now designed Peace Zen 

in a very systematic and approachable 

way. If you enter into the practice of 

Zen in this way, whether you are sharp 

or not, you can be assured that you 

would realize its essence very easily and 

systematically. Actually, the essence of 

Zen is within everyone's mind. It's in you 

as well, just that you didn't know how to 

recognize it. It will be such a waste if you 

miss this treasure of Mind within your 

own self! You see, our mind is really very 

wonderful and amazing. 

You must utilize the energy and 

function of your meditation to look at 

your own mind. By doing meditation, 

you're introduced to your own mind. You 

are given a chance to understand your 

mind so that you could get along with it. 

By and by, by knowing your own mind's 

characters and nature, you can then use 

this very mind to practice the Dharma and 

to gain Enlightenment. The Great Buddha 

has the same mind as ours as well. He had 

nothing besides his own Enlightened and 

Pure mind. When the Buddha attained 

supreme Enlightenment, all phenomena 

were transformed into the world of 

Avatamsaka (Flower Adornment). 

But what is this Avatamsaka 

World? The world of Avatamsaka is 

nothing but our wonderful, glorious 

and splendid mind. So in order to attain 

Enlightenment, we must begin with 

knowing and understanding our own 

mind. Zen is mind and mind is Zen. From 

the practice of Zen, you will find your 

True Mind and from this True Mind, 

you'll obtain Ultimate Wisdom. The Zen 

way is the way to reduce or eliminate 

“The Zen control 

your life”…. 

the burdens and hang-ups of your 

mind - not to add or increase anything 

whatsoever. A man said to a Zen Master, 

"I want Happiness." Zen Master said, 

first remove "I", that's ego, then remove 

"want", that's desire - See now you are 

left with only Happiness. From the story 

above, you know that it is a fallacy to 

be getting something out of your Zen 

meditation. No, you won't get anything 

in the beginning. 

The very purpose of Zen is to know 

the Nature of your own mind - which is 

egoless, desire-less, devoid of “I” and all 

or her relative labels and boundaries. By 

knowing the egoless-ness of this mind, 

or by eliminating our discursive thoughts 

and negative emotions, our True Mind 

will shine brightly and sharply; chasing 

away all our darkness, ignorance and 

problems of life. Zen is a direct way in 

penetrating into the core of our mind. 

Zen meditation can help you understand 

the nature of your essence - just like 

peeling the onion, layer by layer, you will 

find NOTHING at the end, and nothing is 

left in your hands. That nothingness or 

emptiness is the source of all. From here 

everything begins or has the possibility 

to manifest itself - beautifully and 

intricately. 

The purpose of Zen is to be 

peaceful with your own self. Zen helps 

you to eliminate all outer complications, 

and it will help you to bring your mind 

HOME. When you go back to the Home 

of your True Nature of Mind, you let go 

of all stress, worries, fear and negative 

emotions. You become very relax; you 

are AT HOME - finally and ultimately. You 

become very at ease. 

You are comfortable, joyful and 

cozy. True relaxation happens when you 

return to the Home of your True Mind, 

your ultimate refuge and your true 

'comfort zone'. When you practice Zen 

meditation, you are actually enjoying a 

wonderful journey going back to your 

hometown, your motherland or your 

sweet 'comfort zone'. This is the most 

wonderful enjoyment you could get, and 

it is definitely a great treat to yourself 

- simply because you deserve it! You 

become easily confused, tired, stressed 

and irritated when you are overwhelmed 

by busyness and speediness in your 

complicated day to day personal and 

business lives. 

Hence, Zen is the best remedy the 

best way to reward yourself if you really 

know how to love to treasure your body 

mind and brain BMB. In the modern 

age of IT, Zen meditation is the easiest 

and most organic method in bringing 

balance, peace and fulfillment into your 

busy and hectic life. 


The Image of 

Monastic 

Education…. 

The Tipitaka literature (esteemed 

Buddhist scriptures) was brought 

to Bagan from Thaton by King 

Anawratha (Aniruddha) with the 

help of Thera Shin Arahan in 1044 A.D, 

the Bagan period. The king encouraged 

the people of his country to establish 

monastic schools to enable their children 

to study these significant works (Mon, 

2014). 

That shows the laudable motivation 

of King Anawratha to facilitate children’s 

learning in monastic schools. In addition, 

it saved on the country’s expenditure 

as no salaries were needed to pay the 

teachers as they were Buddhist monks. 

The education status of the nation also 

reached its peak at this time because the 

monastic schools in every village were 

led by scholarly monks. 

Thanks to monastic education, 

both spiritual and secular scholars 

evolved in the Bagan period. Then in 

the Ava period, eminent monk literary 

scholars such as Shin Mahasilavamsa 

and Shin Maharatthasara and lay literary 

scholars like Myawadi Min Gyi U Sa and 

Yaw Mingyi U Pho Hlaing in Konbaung 

period emerged. 

Even after the dethronement 

of the last monarch, King Thibaw of 

the Konbaung dynasty in 1885, the 

State Advisor, Aggamahasaddhamajotikadhaja, 

President Excellent Award, 

President, Phaung Daw Oo 

International University, 

Mandalay, Myanmar. 

Most Venerable Nayaka 

Maha Thero 

Myanmar 

monasteries remained intact as the 

schools with all the necessary resources 

for children to learn. Sir Arthur Phayre, 

the first chief commissioner of Burma, 

attempted to incorporate the secular 

education system with monastic schools 

after seeing the facilities and wide spaces 

of their monasteries. There were four 

thousand nine hundred and nineteen 

(4919) monastic education schools in the 

British colonial period. 

When prime minister U Nu widely 

supported the monastic school education 

system at the inception of independence, 

called the Anti-Fascist People’s Freedom 

League (AFPFL) period, there were up to 

five thousand five hundred and forty-five 

(5545) established monastic education 

schools. 

After 1962, during the Socialist 

era, the karma of monastic education 

schools fluctuated up and down under 

the then government. Eventually, in 

1982 all monastic schools were subject 

to closure. A decade later, in response 

to petitions by the senior monks of 

the State Sanghamahanayaka Council, 

the military government reopened the 

monastic education schools in 1992. 

In Myanmar there are currently 

one thousand five hundred and eightyone 

(1581) monastic education schools 

"The Buddhist 

education creates 

meaningful world”…. 

of all levels i.e. elementary, postelementary, 

secondary, and tertiary. In 

order to develop and make progress in 

monastic school education, the Monastic 

Education Development Group (MEDG) 

has been providing teacher training 

and administrative courses for monastic 

school staff. 

The Education System in Myanmar 

- The headwaters, from which the 

mainstream of Myanmar education has 

formed, are monastic education schools 

led by Buddhist monks. “The beginning 

of Myanmar education is from Monastic 

schools” as the saying goes. The position 

of Myanmar education today is still 

lagging far behind that of international 

education, so there is strong support for 

the KG+12 education reform plan that 

has been initiated by the Ministry of 

Education. The scourge of the current 

education system in Myanmar is “rote 

learning”. The following reforms to 

change this system are desperately 

needed: 

Reforming the Entire Education 

System - As mentioned above, Myanmar 

education is seriously deficient 

compared to international provision. In 

fact, the present education system of 

Myanmar has been inherited from the 

British, although that system no longer 

exists in Britain as it has long since been 

reformed. The timely initiation of the 

Ministry of Education to embrace the 

formation of a KG+12 system is fully 

appreciated. In the 2019/2020 academic 

year, it is heartening to know that Grades 

1, 2, 3 and 6 have already been reformed. 

However, when it comes to 

the higher education sector there 

are still many aspects to reform. In 

national education law, the autonomy 

of universities has been enacted by 

the Union Parliament. Accordingly, 

universities registered in Myanmar have 

the right to autonomy, but criticism exists 

concerning the limitations surrounding 

increased efficiency and competitiveness 

(University World News, 2018). 

Reforming Teaching Methodology 

- At present, the only teaching 

methodology applied in Myanmar 

education is “rote learning” which pays 

most attention to memorizing facts. In 

modern teaching systems the students 

are taught how to analyze the facts 

and to create new entities based on 

those facts. When Myanmar students 

see a reading passage, they think it has 

to be memorized, while students of 

other nationalities know it needs to be 

analyzed. Myanmar students will receive 

high marks if they give specifically 

memorized answers in the examination 

rather than attempting to answer the 

questions themselves. 

Visits to many countries to observe 

their education systems have revealed 

very different approaches. For example 

a trip to the United World College 

(UWC) in Singapore, witnessed Grade 8 

students sitting an examination looking 

at a projector screen displaying the 

comment “Facts are important, but if 

you do not analyze, they are useless”. 

The students were using the facts on 

the screen and applying them to present 

their own views. Given that this situation 

is happening worldwide, Myanmar 

must urgently reform the teaching 

methodologies used by teachers in all 

schools. 

Reforming Assessment - The 

present assessment practice in Myanmar, 

with matriculation at the end of the 

education process, is the legacy of the 

British. Britain has reformed its national 

education assessment systems many 

times since the end of the Second World 

War. It is astonishing that Myanmar has 

been using the same education system 

until now. Daily assessment of the 

activities for each and every student is 

routinely used in classrooms globally. 

Students respond well to this system as 

they feel their activities are recognized 

and appreciated. These regular 

assessment records show the real 

capabilities of the students and whether 

to upgrade them to the next level yearly. 

Examinations only imposed at the end of 

an academic year often fail to determine 

the real quality of a student. ‘There 

are no national tests for pupils in basic 

education in Finland’ (FNAFE, 2018). It 

has often been purported that ‘Finnish 

has one of the best education systems in 

the world’ (Jackson, 2016). 

In Myanmar, holding summative 

examinations for Grade 4 (at township 

level) and Grade 8 (at district level) is 

really like giving the wrong treatment to a 

patient. Deciding the abilities of students 

just by holding external summative 

examinations is committing a huge 

mistake on the part of those innocent 

children. Only the teachers who closely 

look after the students will accurately 

know their real capabilities and levels 

of attainment. Worst of all is the terrible 

waste of human resources that results 

from failing 70 percent of Grade 10 

(university entrance level) students. 

In Australia, students of Year 12 can 

apply to their preferred universities with 

a score that takes 50 percent from their 

school assessment record and the other 

half from external examinations. As 

the universities are granted autonomy, 

they also have the right to admit their 

preferred students. A “No pass, no fail, 

all completion” system is exercised at 

Year 12 in Australia. 

Therefore, given the holistic nature 

of international education, we suggest 

that the students who pass Grade 10, 

as per the status quo, should enter 

university directly. Those students who 

complete the courses under standard 

assessment should be awarded a 

completion certificate, then they should 

have the chance to apply to their 

preferred university and sit an entrance 

exam for that university. Alternatively, 

there should be another system for 

students who have gained a completion 

certificate, in so far as they could attend 

a particular diploma program and when 

they meet the entry requirements, 

they could continue their education at 

university level. Such a process would 

effectively develop the human resources 

of Myanmar, whilst simultaneously 

the entire education system would 

be significantly improved; altogether 

creating a better educated society. 


Women’s role in 

Buddhism…. 

The Chief Abbes - 

Songdhammakalyani 

Bhikkhuni Arama and The 

Medicine Buddha Vihara, 

Nakhonpathom, Thailand 

Most Venerable 

Bhikkhuni Dhammananda 

(Dr.Chatsumarn 

Kabilsingh) 

Thailand 

There is no direct record from the 

Buddha’s time, partly because 

when the Buddha allowed 

women to join the Order, it 

was the Queen Maha Pajapati who 

approached him. Because of their close 

relationship even if some monks may not 

have approved of the decision, no one 

made it known to be sufficient evident 

for recording. But at the First Council only 

three months after the Buddha’s passing 

away, with Maha Kassapa presiding over 

the council, discontentment was made 

known for admitting women to the 

Order by asking Ananda to confess that 

it was his offence for being an important 

mediator to approach the Buddha on 

behalf of women and finally got them 

admitted to the Order. Venerable Ananda 

clearly made his point that he did not see 

his intervention as an offence, but with 

respect to the Sangha he confessed. 

An interesting incident to be 

mentioned in this connection is that 

Maha Kassapa who presided at this 

historic council, was not on good terms 

with the bhikkhunis. We found an 

incident recorded when he went to give 

teaching to the bhikkhuni Sangha, he 

was ridiculed by them as the bhikkhunis 

expressed their doubts as to how 

could he know of any dharma with his 

brahminesses background. Apart from 

that, the bhikkhunis also made clear 

their preference for Ananda’s teaching. 

This caused Maha Kassapa to be much 

displeased and again Venerable Ananda 

had to intervene asking for forgiveness 

from Maha Kassapa on the behalf of the 

bhikkhunis. This background incident 

implies the already existing unpleasant 

feeling between Maha Kassapa and the 

bhikkhuni Sangha. What followed at the 

First Council is understandable. When 

the Buddha allowed women to join 

the Order, a large number of women 

welcomed the opportunity given to 

women for the first time in Indian history. 

Some wanted to join the Order to escape 

the dreadful life of having to remain in 

the kitchen for most of their time, some 

wanted to escape from a meaningless 

life of widowhood, some were doing it as 

a fashion, or simply followed their close 

relatives. In the latter case, some of them 

proved to be trouble for the Sangha, 

but for most of the cases, these women 

were sincere in their spiritual search as 

it was the first time they enjoyed such 

freedom. 

There were bhikkhunis who were 

recognized by the Buddha as being 

foremost in the Vinaya, teaching dharma, 

etc. They were active in propagating 

the teaching of the Buddha in the 

same manner as the bhikkhus. Some 

bhikkhunis were well known in preaching 

and were popular among ministers 

and noble families. Once a king asked a 

learned nun to explain certain dharma 

and later asked the same question to the 

Buddha. He was surprised to find that 

the bhikkhuni expounded the dharma 

topic the same way as the Buddha. He 

was happy and convinced that in fact 

the teaching of the Buddha had taken 

root properly. The Tripitaka mentions 

500 and more. There were 13 who were 

singled out and received praise from the 

Buddha with their different distinctions: 

Maha Pajapati was praised for her 

long standing as the first bhikkhuni 

KhemaTheri, former queen of King 

Bimbisara was praised for her wisdom, 

Upalavanna Theri was praised for her 

achievement in performing miracles, 

Patacara Theri was praised for her good 

memory on the Vinaya Dhammadinna 

Theri was praised for being capable in 

teaching Nanda Theri was praised for 

meditation, Sona Theri was praised for 

her patience, Sakula Theri was praised 

for having divine sights, Kundalakesi 

Theri was praised for achieving sudden 

enlightenment, Bhadda Kapilani was 

praised for remembering past lives, 

Bhadda Kaccana (Princess Yasodhara) 

was praised for her Great Abhinna, Kisa 

Gotami was praised for wearing coarse 

robes Sigalamata was praised for holding 

fast to faith. 

In Patidesaniya, one section in the 

Patimokkha, we find such a prohibition. 

Checking in the Vibhanga, where we 

learn the historical context of the rule, 

we found an interesting story. An elder 

bhikkhuni of 120 years old went for 

aims in the city at the distance of 4 to 

5 kms. Upon her return a young monk 

was waiting with his empty bowl. Out of 

respect for monks as prescribed in the 

Garudharma, she reverently offered him 

her alms received for that day. The young 

monk got an idea of not having to go all 

the way for alms himself and received 

alms from the same nun on the following 

day also. On the third day, the bhikkhuni 

went for alms in the city. While roaming 

in the city a chariot passed near her path. 

She took a step aside, fell down and 

fainted. The millionaire who was riding 

that chariot came out to make inquiry 

and learned from her that she fainted 

out of hunger and tiredness, as she had 

not eaten for three days. Upon learning 

the reason, the millionaire criticized the 

young monk and later brought this to 

the attention of the Buddha. From then 

“Buddhism is 

free from gender 

bias”…. 

on, to protect the nuns from being taken 

advantage of, the Buddha laid down the 

rule for the monks not to receive alms 

from bhikkhunis. 

I have already given you the 

picture of what the bhikkhunis did in 

the previous pages. Here I would like to 

mention the role of Visakha as a case 

study reflecting on the positive role of 

women in Buddhism during the Buddha’s 

time. Visakha was born in a Buddhist 

family. As a child she used to follow her 

grandparents to listen to the teaching 

of the Buddha. She was married to an 

equally wealthy family. Not only was she 

herself interested in Buddhism, she was 

also successful to influence Singala, the 

millionaire who was her father-in-law to 

convert to Buddhism as well. Because of 

this, sometimes people addressed her as 

“Singalamata” or “mother of Singala” to 

honor her. 

She had been so involved in 

Buddhist circle from childhood that she 

was known both to the Buddha and the 

Sanghas. Her role was not limited only 

to following the teaching of the Buddha 

but she also played a significant role of 

consultant as well as regular supporter. 

Furthermore, she was equally well 

versed both in the Dharma and Vinaya. 

When she noticed that some monks 

were not behaving well she brought it 

to the Buddha’s attention and as a result 

rules were laid down at her request. 

Two Aniyata rules came into existence 

because of her suggestion. Bathrobes 

for the monks also became a monastic 

requirement as suggested by her. 

In the role of a consultant to the 

Sangha, there was a case of pregnant 

bhikkhuni who was expelled by Ven 

Devadatta. But this bhikkhuni appealed 

to the Buddha and insisted upon her 

purity. The Buddha ordered the Sangha 

to reinvestigate and Visakha was invited 

to the newly appointed committee 

to give advice to the Sangha. Visakha 

came from a large family. She herself 

had many children and grand children, 

hence an experienced householder. 

Upon her investigation she found out 

that the bhikkhuni was pregnant before 

being ordained. When the purity of this 

bhikkhuni came to light, the Buddha 

allowed her to remain without having 

to disrobe and the baby was later 

adopted by the royal family. Visakha 

played a very significant role as a lay 

female disciple; she indeed met the 

requirement of an established Buddhist 

who was responsible for propagating 

and establishing Buddhism in the early 

period. 


“Blessed is the birth of the Buddhas; 

Blessed is the enunciation of the sacred 

Teaching; Blessed is the harmony of the 

Order and Blessed is the spiritual pursuit 

of the united Truth-Seekers.” 

I have always liked this verse from 

the Dhammapada (No. 194) because it 

shows the importance of harmony in the 

Sangha and points out that maintaining 

a united effort in the pursuit of spiritual 

goals is essential for achieving success. 

Since I ordained as a samanera at the age 

of twelve, I have witnessed instances of a 

lack of unity and harmony among groups 

of Sangha members in my homeland 

and in countries throughout the world. 

Problems arising from disagreements 

and misunderstandings occur among 

people everywhere; not being able to 

get along is nothing new, but during the 

Buddha’s forty-five years of traveling and 

teaching the Dhamma there is only the 

following example found in the suttas of 

such behavior. The Buddha had planned 

to spend the rains retreat in Kosambi 

when the Vinaya master and the 

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. 


Aggamaha Pandita Dr. 

Walpola Piyananda Thero 

USA 

Unity in the 

Sangha…. 

Dhamma master had a disagreement. 

The remaining Sangha members got 

involved by taking sides escalating the 

problem. They adamantly stood their 

ground and refused to listen anyone. The 

Buddha knowing, they would not listen 

to reason, left the monastery to spend 

the rains retreat alone. 

The lay disciples of Kosambi heard 

that the Buddha had left to spend the 

rains retreat alone. The two factions 

came to their senses when the lay 

disciples asked them why the Buddha 

had left, and they eventually made peace 

with one another. Since the Buddha was 

off in the forest for the duration of vasssa, 

they had to wait for his return in order 

to confess their wrongdoing. When 

the Buddha returned to the monastery, 

he told them that they were behaving 

as if they were going to live forever and 

reminded them that they were all going 

to die one day therefore it was foolish to 

hold grudges. In the Samyutta Nikaya II, 

189-190 he says, “Brethren, it is not easy 

to find a being who has not formerly been 

your mother…father…your brother… 

your sister…your son…your daughter in 

a previous life of this beginningless cycle 

of lives…So it is unjust for me to harbor 

anger for him merely because of some 

disagreeable thing done to me in this 

life.” The Buddha also said that samsara 

is a dangerous human condition, so don’t 

waste time arguing! The lesson for all of 

us is that impermanence exists, and we 

should learn to get along. There can 

be no spiritual or secular advancement 

without unity and harmony. The Buddha 

realized that happiness means different 

things to different people: material 

riches, sensual delights, and good food. 

The Buddha told the Sangha, “These 

pleasures do not get you out of the 

round of rebirths. In this world, these 

constitute true happiness: the arising of 

a Buddha, the opportunity to hear the 

Teaching of the Sublime Truth, and the 

harmony among monks.” 

Presently, I can think of several 

instances of disagreement and 

disharmony between Sangha members 

in every country where Buddhism 

exists – including Western countries 

where Buddhism has spread. These 

rifts damage all involved – including 

temple lay members who are often 

called upon to take sides. Arguments 

cause animosity and confusion between 

people that can last for generations. 

Looking in the Sanskrit dictionary the 

word “Sangha,” translates as “close 

contact or combination,” “a multitude of 

sages,” “a society, association, company, 

community, clerical community,” and 

“the whole community or collective 

body or brotherhood of monks.” In the 

Pali dictionary we find that it has similar 

meanings, and also translates as “unity,” 

and “working together.” 

In Sanskrit the term,”bhikkhu” or 

“bhikkshu,” has its origins in the word 

“bhiksh,” which means “to wish to share 

or partake.” In Pali bhikkhu translates 

as “sharing things with each other.” In 

both cases it refers to members of a 

Sangha who live communally sharing 

everything with one another, both 

material and spiritual. This can also 

be applied to working together to 

achieve a community’s shared goals and 

intentions. In North America, I am happy 

to see the Sangha members of the over 

100 Sri Lankan temples getting along 

harmoniously. The North American 

Thai Sangha is also quite peaceful and 

harmonious. Currently in Sri Lanka there 

are some strong external forces that seek 

to sow dissention among the Sangha. 

Attacks on the Sangha come from 

Fundamentalist religious groups, NGO’s, 

political organizations, and meddling 

foreign governments. To prevent the 

success of these groups Sangha members 

must stay united. If they are to protect 

both themselves and the country, they 

must not let the external forces divide 

their unity and harmony. 

During the conflict regarding the 

water of the Rohini River, the Buddha 

"Buddhist 

Sangha needs 

to be up to 

the task”…. 

addressed the generals of the opposing 

armies with a parable that I would like to 

quote here: “Long ago there lived a very 

wise quail. He taught many important 

practical lessons to his great family of 

birds, and as a result, they called him the 

Sage. This quail family lived together in 

a beautiful green forest with everything 

they needed. They lived happy, 

contented lives. “One day a hunter came 

into the forest and tricked the quail with 

his clever bird calls. Thinking he was one 

of them, they came near him. In the blink 

of an eye he tossed his net over them 

and caught them. He scooped them up, 

put them in his basket, and took them 

to market to sell. “The quail hunter did 

this every day, capturing many of the 

members of the quail family. Becoming 

disturbed and very fearful they decided 

to go to the Sage and ask him what to do. 

“The quail Sage thought about it and told 

them, ‘As soon as the net gets thrown 

over you stick your necks in between one 

of the rope squares, flap your wings, and 

fly up into the sky. If you work together, 

your combined strength will let you fly to 

the nearest bramble bush where you can 

let the net drop in a tangled heap. You 

can scurry out from under it to safety.’ 

“The next day the hunter came and 

used his bird calls, he trapped a covey of 

quail under his net. Much to his surprise, 

the birds poked their heads through the 

holes and flew away with the net. He 

watched them disappear with great 

frustration. He followed the flying birds 

to retrieve his net from a bramble bush, 

tangled and torn. “For many days he kept 

trying to capture the quail, but the birds 

kept together as a unit and thwarted his 

efforts every time. The hunter continued 

trying because he knew that one day the 

birds would stop cooperating with one 

another. They would lose their mutual 

trust and be back in his basket again. “It 

wasn’t long afterward that two of the 

birds quarreled. A silly incident caused 

it, but neither one was willing to let it go 

and make peace. They kept on bickering, 

allowing the petty disagreement to 

escalate until many of the quail nearby 

joined in the argument. “The Sage leader 

of the quail overheard the birds fighting. 

He knew that in such a state of mind they 

were in grave danger because they were 

no longer in the mood to work together. 

He spoke to the rest of the flock and said, 

‘Those of you who want to join me and 

live together in peace and in a spirit of 

mutual cooperation – follow me. Those 

who don’t – you’re on your own, but 

beware.’ “The next day the hunter came 

upon the group of quail that had been 

bickering. He threw his net over them 

and the two immediately started arguing 

again. One of them said, ‘You never do 

your share of the work!’ The other one 

shot back, ‘I do more than you!’ While 

they were busy arguing the hunter 

quickly bundled them all up in his net 

and stuffed them into his wicker basket. 

“After telling the story the Buddha 

said to the generals, ‘Even in ancient 

times, those who survived were the ones 

who learned to work together and settle 

their arguments peacefully. Those that 

didn’t learn this lesson perished.’ There 

are many challenges facing us in the world 

today, and I feel that the united Buddhist 

Sangha needs to be up to the task of 

overcoming them. Issues such as climate 

change, poverty, racism, corruption, 

addiction, and wealth disparity must be 

addressed, and we Sangha members 

need to do our part in order to remain 

relevant to our respective communities 

and the global society at large. I urge 

all of my fellow Sangha members to 

develop the practice of putting aside any 

personal or philosophical differences 

they may have with their brothers and 

sisters in the community. We must work 

together in the face of global change and 

upheaval, for if we don’t, then we will all 

perish alone – much in the same way the 

poor quail were trapped by the clever 

hunter. 


Do you 

need 

happy?…. 

If you want to happy, you need to 

plant the karmic seed of happiness. 

Gradually accumulating virtue and 

acts of kindness raise a kind heart and 

do kind deeds. Let it all start from giving 

then you will find yourself becoming 

happier and happier. From the time we 

begin studying Buddhism our state of 

mind should start to show corresponding 

changers. 

If we stop pointing the finger at 

others we will be surrounded by many 

kind and harmonious people. When we 

are walking on the path of bodhichitta 

we will be more and more similar to 

bodhisattvas, thus becoming more and 

more popular amongst people. 

Don’t use Buddhist Dharma as a 

magnifying glass, always picking on the 

shortcomings of others. Just focus on 

your own shortcomings and problems, 

correcting them one by one. Truly reduce 

your pride and learn to be modest. 

Don’t talk about the business of 

others and don’t look at the mistakes of 

others. Most important is to constantly 

observe your own mind daily. All 

Dharmas are impermanent, one’s life 

and a precious human body are also 

impermanent. Therefore, utilize the 

leisure and endowment of human 

life, albeit brief and impermanent, to 

The President of Life TV, 

Abbot of Hong Fa Zen 

and other Monasteries in 

Taiwan 


Master Hai Tao 

Taiwan 

“The mind start 

to show the 

true”…. 

diligently cultivate. Never look for an 

excuse to procrastinate. 

Desirable or undesirable karma 

can both be altered, and this is also a 

reason for which we practice Buddhism. 

Change the cause and conditions, then 

the resulting effect can change. Realize 

that all suffering arises from various 

karmic forces within our minds. In order 

to cease suffering and attain bliss, one 

must watch over the mind, give honest 

credence to the law of cause and effect 

and have boundless compassion towards 

living beings. 

If one attempts to posses all that 

one fancies, reject all that one hates and 

fret over gains or losses, this not only 

causes vexations, but also creates karmic 

causes for descending into the cycle of 

reincarnation. Visualize yourself reciting 

the Buddha’s name in a place where 

there is the most suffering. A lotus flower 

blooms with each recitation of Amitabha 

Buddha and living beings are able to gain 

deliverance. Recite the Buddha’s name 

without separation from Bodhicitta, so 

the recitations do not become apathetic 

numbers. 

A kind heart like a piece of fertile 

ground, if there is no sowing of seeds, 

irrigation and tending the soil it will be 

covered with weeds. Therefore, wisdom 

and compassion can’t be just kept in 

the heart, we must take action for 

the purpose of benefiting oneself and 

others. 

Merit is not something anyone 

can pass on to you, it can only be 

accumulated by yourself. The wisdom 

taught by the Buddha is like a method 

of cultivation for great harvest taught to 

the farmers. It is not enough if we only 

know the method, it needs us to take 

action in cultivating our own land. 

Do not forgo practicing good deeds 

that are considered minor. Good deeds 

in the from of mindfulness or in efforts, 

regardless of however minuscule are 

seeds that may be nourished through 

cultivation into significant merits that are 

hundreds of thousands times greater. 

Buddha Dhamma is an absolute 

truth; believe in cause and effect, so you 

can know the truth and accept it. Know 

the truth about the universe, so we can 

repent sincerely. Eradicate all that is bad 

and do all that is good; be deliberate in 

your behavior and what you are saying 

and have a wonderful and good life. 

The way you treat others is a 

reflection of the way you treat yourself, 

because the Master of our lives are 

not deities, geomagnetic omen or the 

eight characters of a horoscope; it is 

our behavioral reaction which comes 

from our patterns of behavior, the way 

of speaking and the way you treat others 

those all led by our heart. 

Only when we have achieved 

wisdom will we realize that all the things 

we were chasing after in the past were 

all troubles brought about by ourselves. 

All the worries and sufferings that we 

experience are all brought about by 

ourselves. 

A simple thought of wholesome or 

evil, when amplified by the omnipotent 

network of the internet, surly would have 

influence over countless numbers of 

people; thus the karma in consequence 

could be unimaginable. Therefore, 

maintaining a wholesome frame of mind 

while going on line is the particular 

importance. 

Our body is servant to our heart. 

It can commit either good or bad deeds. 

You can make use of this body as a tool 

for liberation or it can plunge you deeper 

into samsara. Please take advantage of 

all your existing opportunities to meet 

your guru and practice dharma. 

The reactions of your body are 

reflections of your thoughts. Always 

keep a compassionate heart and your 

life, your body and the world will follow. 

There will always be surprises 

in your life, so forgive those who are 

different and ease your burdens. Aspiring 

to change others leads to dissatisfaction 

and misery. 

Effective advise should begin with 

caring words. However, words alone, 

regardless of how skillful it could have 

been said, would be useless if your 

advise was given without all due respect 

for the self-esteem of others. 

Impermanence governs the world, 

whilst bygones are bygones forever. 

Being born as a human is extraordinary 

and then it is equally precious to have an 

opportunity for the learning of Buddha 

Dhamma. But, it would be a pity to forgo 

this opportunity of a life time to immerse 

oneself in the drift of mundane pleasures 

everyday. 

If the course of life is compared 

to a road then the Buddha’s teachings 

are like a roadmap showing the way to 

arrive at the shores of safety and felicity. 

The key is whether or not we follow the 

directions and cultivate diligently. 

In order to deliver and save all 

living beings, we must first let go of 

weighing pros and cons for ourselves. 

The exemplification of compassion is to 

always have consideration for others, 

understanding their needs and their 

current situations, while gently guiding 

them step by step with warmth and 

kindness. 


Bhaddanta Pandavamsa 

Maha Saddhama 

Jotikadhaja, Honorary 

President of WAB 

and Chief Abbot 

of Aungzabutawya 

Dhammayeiktha 

Monastery, Yangon 

Most Venerable Sayadaw 

Aungzabu Maha Thero 

Myanmar 

A story of 

kingdom of 

Kosala…. 

“The Buddha once visited a small 

town called Kesaputta in the kingdom 

of Kosala. The inhabitants of this town 

were known by the common name 

Kalama. When they heard that the 

Buddha was in their town, the Kalamas 

paid him a visit and told him: “’Sir, 

there are some recluses and brahmanas 

who visit Kesaputta. They explain and 

illumine only their own doctrines, and 

despise, condemn, and spurn others’ 

doc-trines. Then come other recluses 

and brahmanas, and they, too, in their 

turn, explain and illumine only their own 

doctrines, and despise, condemn and 

spurn others’ doctrines. But for us, Sir, 

we have always doubt and per-plexity as 

to who among these venerable recluses 

and brahmanas spoke the truth, and 

who spoke falsehood.’ 

“The Buddha replied, ‘Of course 

you are uncertain, Kalamas. Of course, 

you are in doubt. When there are 

reasons for doubt, uncertainty is born. 

So in this case, Kalamas, don’t go by 

reports, by legends, by traditions, by 

scripture, by logical conjecture, by 

inference, by analogies, by agreement 

through pondering views, by prob-ability, 

or by the thought, “This ascetic is our 

teacher.” When you know for yourselves 

that, ‘These qualities are unskillful; these 

qualities are blameworthy; these qualities 

are criticized by the wise; these 

qualities, when adopted and carried out, 

lead to harm and to suffering’ – then 

you should abandon them…By the same 

token, when you know for yourselves 

that, ‘These qualities are skillful; these 

qualities are blameless; these qualities 

are praised by the wise; these qualities, 

when adopted and carried out, lead to 

welfare and to happiness’ – then you 

should enter and remain in them.” 

“’Kalamas, one who is the disciple 

of the Noble One, free from lust, free 

from hate, free from confusion, intelligent 

and aware, abides with a heart 

full of selfless love, compassion, joy 

and equanimity. He abides in the entire 

boundless cosmos, covering with a heart 

full of selfless love, compassion, joy and 

equanimity, broadened and expanded, 

free from limitations, without enmity, 

without hatred.’” Ananda goes on to 

recite the rest of the powerful sutta, 

putting em-phasis on the following 

stanzas: “‘Now, Kalamas, one who is a 

disciple of the Noble Ones – his mind 

thus free from hostility, free from ill 

will, undefiled, and pure – acquires four 

assurances in the here-and-now: 

“‘If there is a world after death, if 

there is the fruit of ac-tions rightly and 

wrongly done, then this is the basis by 

which, with the break-up of the body, 

after death, I will reappear in a good 

destination, the heavenly world.’ This 

is the first assurance he acquires. “‘But 

if there is no world after death, if there 

is no fruit of actions rightly and wrongly 

done, then here in the pre-sent life I 

look after myself with ease – free from 

hostility, free from ill-will, free from 

trouble.’ This is the second as-surance he 

acquires. “‘If evil is done through acting, 

still I have willed no evil for anyone. 

Having done no evil action, from whence 

will suffering touch me?’ This is the third 

assurance he acquires. “‘But if no evil is 

done through acting, then I can as-sume 

myself pure in both respects.’ This is the 

fourth as-surance he acquires.’”1 

At the end of Ananda’s recitation 

Maha Kassapa stands and says to the 

council, “We generally don’t discuss the 

content of any of the suttas after hearing 

them, but I sense that there are things 

that some of you would like to say about 

the sutta to the Kalamas. In my opinion, 

it is a very important discourse.” The 

arahants in the assembly hall nod their 

heads in approval of the chairman’s 

suggestion. Punna stands and says, “I 

agree with you, Venerable Chairman. 

Hearing Venerable Ananda recite the 

Kalama Sutta today reminds me how 

revolutionary the Buddha was in his 

thinking. No one ever before had dared 

to say that one’s direct experience of the 

truth was valid; most claimed that their 

views, derived from scriptures, hearsay, 

or teachers were more valid than the 

individual’s direct experience.” 

“If I may add,” says Kumara 

Kassapa, standing, “the statements in 

this sutta prove that the Buddha had 

such confidence in his Dhamma that he 

knew it would stand up to scrutiny of any 

kind – including that of the individual’s 

direct experience. The Dhamma needs 

no validation from scriptures or teachers; 

it validates itself in the lives of those who 

live it!” Revata stands, “The freedom of 

thought encouraged by the Bud-dha is 

unprecedented, and simply unheard of 

prior to his appear-ance. The freedom he 

teaches is absolutely essential because 

emanci-pation or enlightenment 

depends upon the individual’s own 

realiza-tion of Truth – and not upon 

his belief systems. There are countless 

things in which to believe, including 

a creator being, the efficacy of doing 

good works, or the concept of grace; but 

none of them leads to Nibbana. In other 

words, whatever one believes in, or no 

matter how many times one supplicates 

a man-made anthropomorphic god, 

it won’t make any difference in terms 

of achieving the ultimate goal of 

arahantship, or enlightenment.” 

“The mind 

thus free from 

hostility”…. 

Sunita raises his voice to say, “Thank 

you, Venerable Ananda, for putting your 

emphasis on the ‘life after death’ issue 

covered in the sutta. By the Buddha’s 

repeated refusal to answer this question 

and ei-ther confirm or deny its existence, 

he made it very clear that the most 

important thing is how we live our lives 

now. An afterlife may or may not exist, 

and the Buddha didn’t totally rule out 

this possibility; how-ever, the ‘here and 

now’ is what really matters, as are the 

choices we make and the commitments 

to do that which is wholesome. Things 

will still be ‘as they are,’ and one needs to 

cultivate the ability to see things clearly 

in order to be free from suffering. This 

was a completely revolutionary idea, and 

it will have repercussions for millennia, I 

am sure.” 

Culapantaka, a gifted arahant who 

at one time couldn’t even memorize 

a four-line stanza after four months of 

trying, rises from his seat saying, “The 

Kalama Sutta clearly says a number 

of things on the subject of truth and 

scriptures. First of all, the Buddha says 

in essence, ‘Do not take anything as 

true without thorough investigation.’ 

He also says, ‘Use your own judgment; 

scripture is only an aid, not a substitute 

for thinking.’ Upavana, who was blessed 

with having fanned the Buddha before 

his parinibbana, adds, “This Kalama 

Sutta also says that one should stay 

focused on one’s inner experiences 

and their consequences, rather than on 

conceptual ideas of truth and falsehood.” 

This story very useful for understanding 

reality of the mind and words. 


“Ethics adopt the 

philosophical 

approach”…. 

Ethics Connotations 

and Classification…. 

Positive ethics, obligation ethics, 

and descriptive ethics - The 

rationale for why an individual or 

a society actually believes how a 

person should behave or live (although 

it may not be realized) is called positive 

ethics (or positive morality). The ideals or 

principles that an individual or a society 

should believe in regarding how a person 

should behave or live, is called obligation 

ethics (or obligation morality). 

Descriptive ethics, which places 

emphasis on the study of history, 

anthropology or sociology, uses positive 

ethics as its research object. That is, it 

investigates the practical connotation 

and ethical ideology of human society 

in actual practice, as well as its historical 

causes and social backgrounds. The 

study of ethics is philosophically 

inclined to go further in questioning the 

reasons behind positive ethics; that is, 

investigating the principles of morality. 

The process may involve criticism or 

reflection (and moral judgment) on 

positive ethics. In other words, this is a 

study that, based on its observation and 

analysis of positive ethics, constructs a 

theoretical system for obligation ethics. 

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 


Bhikkhuni Chao 

Hwei Shih 

Taiwan 

For example, the study of Chinese 

feudal concepts of women during 

the Middle Ages and its influence is 

an example of descriptive ethics that 

is historically inclined. To record the 

practical influence of the feudal concept 

of women in a particular village, or the 

differences in its influences in urban 

and rural areas in Taiwan at present, 

is a descriptive ethics that adopts a 

sociological or anthropological approach. 

To further investigate the origin of 

the feudal concept of women, which 

may also involve rational criticism and 

reflection on the ideology, is a normative 

ethics and metaethics discussion, which 

takes the philosophical approach. 

Normative ethics and metaethics 

- Normative ethics and metaethics 

are two ethical studies that adopt 

the philosophical approach. The 

relationship between normative ethics 

and metaethics are like the relationship 

between a language and its grammar. 

Normative ethics - Normative ethics 

investigates the basic principles of the 

norm of our conduct, as well as ethical 

judgment in daily life when we are 

confronted with morality issues. This is a 

study of the wholesomeness (good) and 

unwholesomeness (evil) of our conduct; 

the right and wrong of our behavior. 

What normative ethics wishes to discuss 

is the obligation principles of the ethical 

behavior. However, it is not telling us 

‘what we should do’, but investigates 

the various systems of thought, and the 

reasoning behind why we should do it. 

A concrete ethical judgment (for 

example, Mr. San should not kill Mr. 

Si) and an abstract moral principle (for 

example, do not kill), together form an 

‘ethical sentence’. Normative ethics is a 

study based on the meaning of obligation 

ethics, which forms and proves these 

‘ethical sentences. Contemporary 

analytic philosophy systematically 

investigates which types of mind-sets 

and behaviors are ethical and which are 

not. What are the reasons behind them? 

Are there adequate ethical reasons? This 

study that researches the principles of 

morality is called the study of normative 

ethics. The study of normative ethics can 

be further subdivided: 

First is fundamental ethics, which 

investigates the fundamental theories 

of normative ethics. This includes a 

set of moral rules that is complete and 

applicable to everyone. These are rules 

that help to justify the rightness and 

wrongness of our behavior. The second 

type is applied ethics, which apply moral 

rules investigated by fundamental ethics 

to various practical areas in life. They 

help to clarify and solve specific moral 

issues confronted in practical life. 

Metaethics - This ethical study 

takes ethical justification and morality 

rules as its research objects. It is a study 

that analyzes the meanings and special 

characteristics of ethical phrases or 

words (for example, wholesome) and 

the ethical sentences formed by ethical 

phrases (for example, helping others is a 

wholesome act). This is called the study 

of metaethics. 

What metaethics is concerned 

with is not the structure or proof of 

ethical phrases and sentences, but 

about whether these ethical phrases and 

sentences can be defined. In addition, it 

also examines whether moral judgment 

is a subjective, emotional view or an 

objective truth. In other words, it is 

trying to find out whether the nature of 

ethics as described by ethical phrases is 

objectively real and can be recognized. 

Or is it unreal, and therefore unable to 

be recognized? 

Metaethics developed after the 

rise of the contemporary study of 

analytical philosophy. The traditional 

study of normative ethics already 

presumed the objective values of moral 

truth. Thus, what traditional normative 

ethics researchers investigated was not 

whether ethical principles had objective 

foundations or were reasonable. Rather, 

their research was based on what the 

objective foundations or valid reasons 

that support ethical principles are. As 

such, the traditional normative ethics 

researchers tended not to doubt the 

pre-set objective values. They were 

inclined to objectivism and neglected 

the subjective implication of the moral 

truth. 

In this book, we will focus our 

discussion on a normative ethics study 

of Buddhism. We may adopt the ‘meta’ 

approach of analysis to explore the 

ethical phrases if so needed. However, 

that is not the core aim of this book. 

Thus, we will not be setting aside specific 

chapters for a complete and systematic 

discussion of Buddhist views with 

respect to a metaethics approach. 

Religion, Ethics and the Study of 

Religious Ethics - From ancient times to 

today, ethics has not necessarily relied 

on religion to exist. People who believe 

in religion and people who do not 

believe in religion still have their norms 

of conduct on how they should live and 

how they should treat others. 

On the contrary, must religions, 

including Buddhism, touch on issues of 

ethics or morality? Or, could religions 

narrow the scope of ethics and allow their 

members to only concern themselves 

with individual ethics (ethics that are 

related to an individual’s situation in life), 

and not touch on individual-public ethics 

(ethics that are related to others and the 

public) and environmental ethics (ethics 

that are related to the world one is living 

in) at all? This is what we discuss here in 

this section. 

In Christianity, there is a debate 

over the ideas between ‘spiritualbelonging’ 

and ‘world-belonging’. In 

Buddhism, there is also an argument 

between two paths of practice, ‘other- 

worldly’ or ‘world-integrated’. This is an 

old, controversial topic of discussion. 

However, back to our question, even 

for hermits who emphasize cultivating 

‘spiritual-belonging’ or ‘other-worldly’ 

practice, for them to stand in this 

world and fulfill their wish of benefiting 

themselves, they cannot avoid taking into 

consideration individual-public ethics 

and environmental ethics. Otherwise, 

they may encounter great rejection, or 

even disturbance from society. As such, 

they will find themselves in difficult 

situations, making it impossible to 

practice in seclusion. 


"Buddhist medicine culture was 

regarded as a feudalistic superstition 

in the past. Infect that wasn't the case. 

Dhyana Medicine holds a holistic view 

while the western medicine holds a 

partial view and emphasizes the results. 

For example, a doctor can clearly know 

whether there is a tumor and the size 

of the tumor from a laboratory test 

report. Buddhist medicine attaches 

importance to causes and effects as 

well as their connections. Is the illness 

in the liver related to the kidney? The 

Health and 

Buddhism…. 

The Chief Abbot 

of Ananda Temple, 

China, Head of Shaolin 

Pharmaceutical Bureau 

at Shaolin Temple Prison, 

China 

Most Venerable Master 

Shi Yan Lin 

China 

western medicine only pays attention to 

the presentation. However, no illness is 

caused by a single reason. Psychological 

treatment should be applied first, for 

psychological anxiety occurs first. 

Traditional Chinese medicine 

attaches importance to balance the 

yin and yang among Wu Xing (the five 

elements). In case of illnesses caused 

by imbalanced diets, we then should 

balance our diet. A man is an integral 

whole. The Buddhist medicine and the 

traditional Chinese medicine happen to 

have the same view on this." Man comes 

from the nature and should grow in the 

nature. Human death is a kind of energy 

transfers through nature. If someone can 

get rid of worldly annoyances, follow the 

law of nature in his diet and living habits 

filling himself with positive energy, all 

serious illnesses (pathogenicqi) will keep 

far away from him. 

Therefore, Buddha dharma is the 

Rule of Living for all beings. Dhyana 

Medicine notes that "the best medicine 

nips the illness in the bud; better 

medicine cures illness; the common 

medicine treats illness." The common 

is health maintenance; the better is 

nourish ng the qi; the best is nourishing 

the heart. If one feels peace in the 

heart, he will have enough qi, resulting 

in human life and growth in nature. In 

brief, the source of "physical illness" lies 

in unsmooth and deficient qi and blood; 

the source of " psychological illness" lies 

in psych ataxia and dyspareunia. 

What is health maintenance about 

in Buddhism? For example, in Dhyana 

Medicine, a doctor can cure hundreds 

of illnesses. Why? Here the medical 

essences are qi and blood. People get 

ill because of stagnation and congestion 

of qi circ ul at ion. Traditional Chinese 

Medicine devotes particular care to 

channels and collaterals. There are many 

switches in the human body, which 

can be turned on and off easily, just 

like lamps. An unhealthy diet will lead 

to channel and collateral congestion. 

Hitting at certain acupoints can help 

dredge the channels and collaterals and 

smoothen qi and blood. The best doctor 

for the human body is itself. Modern 

medicine merely serves as an assistant." 

"In front of natural disasters, human 

beings are insignificant. Buddhism always 

says everything is impermanent and 

impermanence brings pain. Life might 

have been happy a moment ago but may 

well collapse in a second. For this reason, 

we are determined to escape from the 

mortal world and find salvation." 

I feel peace and joy in my mind. 

That's enough." where I could find the 

best Dhyana Medicine, psychological 

treatment. "Human beings come 

from the bhassara Worlds. Beautiful 

music can cure psychological disease." 

Happiness and a good heart are the best 

psychological treatment. 

How on earth is it related to 

traditional Chinese medicine? Yanwu, a 

monk doctor with a bachelor's degree 

in Traditional Chinese Medicine said. 

"Traditional Chinese medicine and 

Buddhist medicine are two systems 

before Buddhism was introduced 

into China. However, after that, the 

theoretical system of Buddhist medicine 

was integrated into traditional Chinese 

medicine. A new theoretical l subject 

therefore forms on the basis of traditional 

medical theories and in combination 

with theoretical guidance of the Buddhi 

medicine:· "Harmony in diversity" an be 

used to explain the differences between 

Buddhist medicine and traditional 

Chinese medicine in pathology. Yanwu 

put it that the pathology of traditional 

Chinese medicine highlighted internal 

causes, external causes, non-internal 

and nonexternal causes. In case of 

lack of harmony among these three, 

people will fall ill. Internal causes refer 

to physical changes caused by emotion 

changes (happy, joyful, distressed and 

sad); external causes refer to wind, 

coldness, summer-heat, damp, dryness 

and heat; non-internal and nonexternal 

causes refer to accidents and wounds 

from insect or rat bites. 

In Buddhist medicine, internal 

causes emphasize the three poisons of 

"ignorance, attachment and aversion"; 

external causes highlight unanimousness 

in four elements, namely imbalanced 

earth, water, fire and wind while 

traditional Chinese medicine stresses 

inharmoniousness in Wu Xing, i.e. wood, 

fire, earth, metal and water. "Before the 

“Buddhism, 

happy to do 

good turns”…. 

two met in China, they had something in 

common. All religions have a common 

understanding of the ultimate fate of the 

universe, but they have different means 

of expression." 

The medicines when exposed 

under the sun or in the rain. Even ice and 

fire can be used to make medicines. The 

essence of medicines is the happiness 

of the herbs. Herbs are the home of 

happiness. The best medicine is the 

happiness that we call psychological 

medicine." Medicine, the cycle of causes 

and effects. 

The music help cultivate one's 

moral characters and rejuvenate a 

country; music can help drive away 

evils, cheer oneself up physically and 

psychologically and keep fit. Musical 

treatment and self-cultivation with 

music should be integrated into one. 

In the Records of the Grand Historian 

is written, 'Music can intensify the 

circulation of blood in vessels, smoothen 

the spiritual communication and soothe 

the temperament. Therefore, Buddhism 

is the real treatment for our mind always. 


當實相妙音從空性中注入心中 

我在奧地利的林茲看到大佛遇見莫 

扎特這是超越音聲的旅程充滿最美 

妙的樂音滑入了所有的宇宙用銀河 

的光芒成了小提琴的弦莫扎特在夢 

中彈奏出最喜樂的塵星當時間停止 

時時在何處 ? 當空間消失時那來宇 

宙 ? 當我心止思何處尋覓你我的心 

超越萬有這絶美的樂音就是真、善、 

美、聖尊深寂靜演虛空莫扎特在不 

滅中聽聞了覺性妙音我們的心觸動 

了美麗的虹霓這是莫扎特幸福的心弦 

當下聽心聽聽最淨美的樂音莫扎特 

為大佛所彈奏最清麗的樂聲 . 

When the truth music 

drips into my heart from 

emptiness, I see the Great 

Buddha meeting Mozart in 

Linz, Austria. It’s a trip of soundlessness, 

but, full of the most beautiful music, 

It slides into all the cosmos, Using the 

lights of the Milky Way as the strings 

of violins. Mozart plays the joyful stars 

in his dream. When time stops, where 

is time? When space vanishes, where is 

the universe? When our minds cease, 

where are our hearts? Beyond all, the 

perfect music is truth, goodness, beauty 

and sacred. The noble silence is dancing 

in the sky. Mozart hears the awakening 

music, forever. Our hearts touch the 

beautiful rainbow. It’s the strings of 

Mozart Happiness. Now, listen to our 

minds, we will hear the gorgeous music. 

Mozart plays for The Great Buddha. 

The heaven music is sounding in the 

sky. The heaven drum is heard from the 

sky, Mozart’s heart’s rhythm is silence. 

We hear nothing from soundlessness, 

The Requiem is played by Amadeus’s 

The World Famous 

Buddha Painting Master, 

Earth Zen Person, 

International Meditation 

Teacher, Founder of 

Enlightening Earth 

Association, Buddha 

Cultural & Bodhisattva 

Association in Taiwan 

Master Chi Sung Hung 

Taiwan 

Great 

Buddha 

meets 

Mozart…. 

mind. I am just thirty-five years old. 

Buddha and Mozart say the same word. 

Buddha is enlightened by himself and 

sees through the universe. They just look 

forward to each other’s hearts. So calm, 

so quiet, all beautiful music plays in the 

silent heart. Thirty-five is a magic time. 

Siddhartha becomes Buddha and Mozart 

sings the Requiem. The enlightening 

light from The Great Buddha brightens, 

Mozart’s playing of the Requiem to 

help people beyond death. Oh, Mozart, 

Amadeus, through the string of time and 

space, we meet in Linz. 

When the Great Buddha meets 

Mozart on the side of the beautiful blue 

Danube. Mozart uses the Requiem to 

touch every body’s mind to the heaven. 

And the Great Buddha is enlightening all 

beings to be Buddha. Oh, please play the 

song of Buddhall, all are Buddhas. The 

enlightening symphony is playing, all 

beings play Instruments made from all 

kinds of things from the world and sing 

the peace earth. The Great Buddha and 

Mozart play the earth, water, fire, wind, 

and emptiness instruments to join us. 

It’s the time for enlightening and peace 

earth. The earth spacecraft will travel 

to deep space and shine in the universe 

forever. 

Sitting in the sky, the Great Buddha 

and Mozart meet and smile. They talk 

about music and heart. So, music is 

earth. Music is water. Music is fire. Music 

is wind. Music is empty. And music is 

our deepest heart. Playing music in 

the sky, sun, moon and stars are our 

instruments. We play and combine 

them to be a symphonic poem. Time 

“The silence 

is the 

happiness”…. 

and space are our hearts’ strings, Music 

travels all around our body, breath and 

mind. We are echoes of the cosmos 

and the universe is our reflection, then 

mutual mirroring each other, and music 

understands all. Mozart takes his harp, 

wants to play the Concerto for Flute, 

Harp and Orchestra (K 299-C). 

The Great Buddha enjoys this 

and takes his Vaidury Konghon, just 

like shining rainbow glass, and wants 

to play with Mozart. So harmonious, so 

awakening, Mozart plucks the first string, 

and, at the same time, the Great Buddha 

plays the first string of Konghou as the 

same string. Oh, it’s the chord of peace. 

The earth hears the beautiful music 

and is singing in harmonious chorus to 

be peace earth. They play the second 

string, at the same time. The sound 

of truth echoes in the world. The third 

string plays by itself, goodness full of all 

beings’ hearts. The most beautiful music 

is music itself. 

The Great Buddha and Mozart 

smile to each other and pluck the 

fourth string. All the universe is beyond 

everything to holy purity, the fifth string 

clears all our hearts and our eyes are 

cleansed by the pure tears. The sixth 

string from emptiness, Buddha, in the 

empty meditation, uses the middle 

finger to pluck the sixth string. It’s just 

liked the mirror reflection, Mozart in the 

same time plays the enlightening wisdom 

string. Now, all of us are free people, 

beyond all confusion. All are in clear 

mind and full of peace and happiness. 

Benevolence is from emptiness 

and wisdom. When you are in the depth 

empty samadhi, and all awakening, there 

is only one thing going to show in your 

heart. It is the greatest Benevolence, no 

beginning no ending. In Great Wisdom, 

will be one thing arise in your heart, 

it’s the greatest Benevolence showing 

itself, no beginning no ending. It fills 

your heart, no object and no subject, 

it is just this. Buddha and Mozart pluck 

the seventh string as one as emptiness. 

Suddenly, they see all beings are 

Buddhas in whole emptiness. It is the 

rhythmic poem of the cosmos. So joyful, 

they play glissando to combine all hearts 

to join the whole enlightening music. 

Only silence of happiness, Oh…… 

天樂鳴空天鼓的妙聲傳自天際 

莫扎特寂淨了心中的旋律我們從大寂 

中聽聞了音靜莫扎特的心奏出吉祥的 

安魂曲我剛好三十五歲佛陀與莫扎 

特說出了同樣的話佛陀開悟了澈見 

了宇宙的真實他們相視著對方的心境 

那麼的安寧、那樣的寂靜至美的樂章 

發自最靜的心三十五歲真是幻化的時 

境啊悉達多成了佛而莫扎特唱出了 

安魂的曲聲大佛用覺性的光明照亮 

了莫扎特當下奏出的安魂曲導引眾 

生超越死亡啊莫扎特 , 天所佑者透 

過了時空的因緣我們在林茲相遇當 

大佛與莫扎特會遇在美麗的藍色多瑙 

河畔莫扎特用安魂曲輕撫著每一個人 

心進入天堂而大佛開悟眾生成為佛陀 

啊 ! 請奏出全佛之歌所有眾生全是佛 

陀開悟的交響樂章己響起一切生命 

彈奏著以世間萬物所成的樂器並唱 

出和平地球的樂章大佛與莫扎特奏起 

地、水、火、風、空的樂器融入大眾 

這是開悟與和平地球的時節地球太空 

船將航至深邃的太空在宇宙中散發出 

永恆的光明 


The 

directions of 

pure mind…. 

Cultivating the Path of the 

Bodhisattva combines the 

merits of the Paths of Man, 

Devas and Self Liberation. This 

path seeks more than to establish good 

karmic relationships in the human 

world. It entails all sentient beings in 

the ten directions of the past, present 

and future, as objects of their service, 

contribution, concern and care. In 

addition, the performance of wholesome 

acts is not for the sake of positive karmic 

results. Mahayana Buddhism always 

encourages the cultivation of the Path 

of the Bodhisattva. The path of the 

Bodhisattva, however, must begin with 

making wishes, generating vows and 

fulfilling them. 

When we train the mind, it’s not 

just a question of using a meditation 

technique to bludgeon the mind into the 

present moment. If that’s our approach, 

the mind is going to start rebelling, 

finding ways of slipping around our 

defenses, because there are times when 

the meditation technique is right for the 

situation and times when it isn’t. The 

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 


Bhikkhuni Shih Jian Yin 

Taiwan 

times when it isn’t: That’s when the mind 

is going to rebel if you single‐mindedly 

use just that one technique and don’t 

have other techniques or approaches up 

your sleeve as well. 

Meditation is not just a question of 

technique. In training the mind, you have 

to remember there’s a whole committee 

in there. In the past the committee has 

had its balance of power, its likes and 

dislikes, and the politics among the 

various voices in your mind. Each of them 

has different tricks for pushing its agenda 

on the rest. So just as these defilements 

have lots of tricks up their sleeves, you as 

a meditator need to have lots of tricks up 

your sleeve, too. 

One really basic trick is for when 

the mind says, “I’ve got to do this. I want 

to do that. I don’t want to meditate.” 

You’ve got to ask, “Well why?” And 

play kind of dumb, so that the mind 

really has to explain itself. It’s like lesson 

number one in any journalism class: If 

you really want to get a good interview 

out of people, you have to play dumb, 

ask stupid questions, so that they think 

they have to explain things to you very 

carefully. And oftentimes they reveal 

all kinds of things they wouldn’t have 

otherwise. 

It’s the same with your own mind. 

When greed, anger, and delusion come 

into the mind, they usually barge in 

with a lot of force and expect to push 

you right over. So one thing you have 

to do is to ask, “Well, why? Why should 

we follow that? Why should we want 

instant gratification?” And there will be 

an “of course‐ness” to their answer the 

first time around. “Of course you want it 

this way. Of course you want it that way.” 

“Well why?” If you’re persistent in being 

block‐headed like this, all the defilements 

will start revealing themselves. You’ll see 

how shabby they are. You’ll be able to 

get around them more easily. 

It’s like training a little child. 

Sometimes you have to be strict with 

the child, other times you have to offer 

rewards, patiently explain things. Other 

times you have to make up little games. 

In other words, you have to use your 

full psychology with the mind. But this 

time around you’re not using it for the 

purpose of deception, which is what the 

mind ordinarily does with itself. You’re 

using it for the purpose of truth and 

honesty, for what’s really in your own 

best interest. 

What does the wandering mind 

do for you? It gives a little bit of instant 

gratification and then that gratification 

goes, with nothing left to show for itself. 

If you keep allowing this to happen, 

where are you going to pick up the skills 

you’ll really need when aging, illness, 

and death hit with full force? This is 

why the Buddha stressed the principle 

of heedfulness all the time. We can’t 

just spend our time sniffing the flowers 

and looking at the sky. There’s work to 

be done. When the mind is untrained, 

it causes us a lot of unhappiness. If the 

mind is well trained, if it’s more tractable, 

it can bring a lot of happiness our way. 

In order for that to happen, you 

have to learn how to psyche yourself 

into the mood to meditate. Once it starts 

meditating and begins to see the results, 

it gets more willing and tractable— 

most of the time. Then there are times 

it starts rebelling all over again, totally 

irrationally. So you’ve got to sit down 

with it again, work things through with 

it again, to see exactly what issue got 

covered up the last time around and is 

only now getting exposed. 

This is one of the ways in which 

you learn a lot about your defilements. 

It’s not that you have to wait for a totally 

solid concentration before you can see 

the defilements clearly. A lot of learning 

about the defilements lies in learning 

how to struggle with them as you bring 

the mind to stillness. You begin to see: 

“Oh, this is how greed works, this is how 

aversion works, this is how I’ve fallen for 

this stuff before in the past. Well, this 

time around I’m not going to fall.” 

Sometimes it’s like a battle. Other 

times it’s more a question of learning 

how to work together in a way that’s 

for your own best interests: how to be 

a mediator, a negotiator, or a patient 

teacher. You’ve got to have lots of ways 

of relating to the different elements in 

your mind. The times when you can win 

the defilements over to your side: That’s 

when it’s best. Your desire turns into a 

desire to practice. Your hatred turns into 

a hatred of the defilements. You learn 

how to use the energy of these things for 

your own true benefit. 

That’s when you can be said to 

be a discerning mediator. You can’t 

gain insight simply by following the 

rules. Somebody says, “For insight you 

need to do one, two, three, four, five, 

six, and seven. So you do one, two, 

three, four, five, six, seven without any 

thinking, without any reflection on what 

you’re doing, and yet that doesn’t give 

you any true insights. It gives you preprogrammed 

insights sometimes, but 

the actual startling new understandings 

that can come through the meditation 

don’t happen because you’re too busy 

following the directions. 

The directions are there for you to 

apply to the mind and then to observe, 

to look at what happens, to reflect on 

what happens, to make adjustments. 

Make the meditation your own and not 

just somebody else’s bulldozer running 

through your head. After all, the big 

issue is how you relate to yourself, 

how you relate to the body, how you 

relate to feelings, perceptions, thoughtfabrications, 

and consciousness. Thatʹs 

the area where you’re causing yourself 

suffering, so that’s the area where 

you’ve got to gain sensitivity and insight. 

Nobody else can get into your head and 

straighten these things out for you. You 

use the techniques of meditation to see 

what they reveal about the mind. Then 

you build on those lessons so that the 

meditation becomes your own. 

“Make the meditation 

your own”…. 


2019 


Buddhist 

Conference 

& Maha 

Sanghadana 

Taiwan…. 

The "2019 International 

Buddhist Conference and Maha 

Sanghadana was held at the 

National Sports University at 

Linkou, Taiwan on August 25, 2019 

hosted by Chung Hwa International 

Merits Society of Buddha Puja and 

Sangha Dana Society in Taiwan. More 

than 7000 Buddhist Monks and Nuns 

from all districts in Taiwan and overseas 

with more than 10,000 devotees 

participated this grand occasion. The 

Sanghadana held under the blessings 

& leading by high Buddhist Masters in 

Taiwan. The President of Chung Hwa 

International Merits Society of Buddha 

Puja and Sangha Dana, Mr. Chen Chia 

Uny & Madam Wang Shue Yu, the CEO 

and General Secretary of Chung Hwa 

International Merits Society of Buddha 

Puja and Sangha Dana Society in Taiwan 

were coordinated this mass merit event. 


After the visit to Linkou, Taiwan 

Official Photographs by 

Lin Chun Chieh 官方照片林群傑 

– Taiwan 


The 16 th International 

Sakyadhita Conference 

- Australia 

The 16th International Sakyadhita 

Conference held at Blue 

Mountains, Sydney, Australia. 

under the concept and 

supervision of Most Venerable Bhikkhuni 

Jetsunma Tenzin Palmo, the President, 

Sakyadhita International. “New Horizons 

in Buddhism” was this year them of 

the conference and explores changes 

within Buddhist circles worldwide. Also, 

included talks, workshops, meditations 

and discussions led by women from 

across the world, engaged in Buddhist 

practice, learning and service. Lot of 

Bhikkhunis & devotees also participated 

this grand occasion. 


After visit to Sydney, Australia 

Official Photographs by Olivier Adam 


CYBA 30 th Anniversary & 

WAB 06 th EXCO in Taiwan…. 

Chinese Young Buddhist 

Association in Taiwan (CYBA) 

celebrated 30th anniversary 

& World Alliance of Buddhists 

(WAB) 06th Executive Council Meeting 

(EXCO) held successfully at Ci Fa temple 

Premises in Taipei, Taiwan on September 

01, 2019. This ceremony held under 

the leadership by Most Venerable 

Master Shih Ching Yao, The President 

of CI-FA Buddhist Temple & Most 

Venerable Palawadhammo (Dr. Pornchai 

Pinyapong), the President of World 

Alliance of Buddhists (WAB) & jointly 

hosted by Most Venerable Bhikkhuni 

Dr. Ming Yu, the Former President of 

CYBA & Most Venerable Bhikkhuni Kai 

Shan President of CYBA. International 

Organization’s Esteemed Executive 

Council members participated this 

meeting at Taipei, Taiwan. 


After visit to Taipei, Taiwan 

Official Photographs by Pongpan 

Ratithammakul (Zung D’voice) 


Successfully 

Transferring 


Knowledge…. 

Teaching is not a precise science; 

it requires a certain flair or 

charismatic qualitythat enables 

the teacher to communicate in 

a way that captivates the attention. of 

students and commands their respect. 

Having a sound academic record of 

achievement or knowledge does not 

automatically qualify an individual to 

become a good teacher. For example, you 

may have two cooks, equally talented in 

baking a delicious cake. If students taste 

the two cakes made by these cooks, but 

without seeing the cooks, they would not 

be able to tell one cake from the other. 

However, if the two cooks take separate 

classes of pupils and try to teach them 

how to bake this delicious cake, one 

group of students might succeed in 

learning the technique and proceed to be 

able to copy exactly the taste and quality 

of the cake, while the other group may 

fail dismally to remember the process 

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 

Bhikkhu) 

Thailand 

of combining the ingredients, and fail to 

acquire the knowledge and technique 

needed to replicate the quality and taste 

of the original cake. 

Both cooks have the same skill 

and knowledge to make the cake but 

only one is able to pass on that skill 

and knowledge effectively to the pupils. 

Let us consider why. One cook looks 

the part, neat, suitably attired, well 

prepared, clear and precise with the 

instructions, plus displays an obvious 

and genuine enthusiasm to pass on the 

secret of making the delicious cake, so 

the students are attentive and absorb 

both knowledge and method. 

On the other hand, the second 

cook looks dishevelled, is ill-prepared, 

muddles the instructions and is 

unenthusiastic in the process of teaching. 

The recipe and method applied to make 

the cake may be the same, but the quality 

and effectiveness of the teaching is not, 

and the pupils are not so attentive and 

therefore not absorbing the knowledge 

and method as intended by their teacher. 

The teacher who possesses the traits of 

a good teacher passes on knowledge 

whereas the teacher who does not 

possess the traits of a good teacher has 

the knowledge of the subject but not the 

ability or traits required to pass on that 

knowledge. 

Hence, teaching is an individual 

skill, which requires the trainer to pass 

knowledge to students effectively and 

completely. The best type of teacher 

“Buddhism 

understand 

and learn 

thoroughly”…. 

is the one who can not only teach 

but also can guide, advise, direct and 

demonstrate directly and indirectly so 

that students can understand and learn 

thoroughly. This requires trainers who 

have not only the first level of wisdom, 

which is from memorization, but also 

from the second and third levels, which 

come from experience and inner light. 

The Lord Buddha’s limitless source 

of knowledge and wisdom was achieved 

without external teaching, through 

the power of self-enlightenment to the 

reality of all things via the process of 

meditation. Enlightenment is the state of 

realization and understanding that leads 

to the permanent cessation of the cycle 

of rebirth by transcending all human 

desires and suffering. 

When people lack knowledge and 

concepts of self-awareness, the world 

about them and the effect kilesa will have 

upon their lives, their education will tend 

to focus on academic studies, academic 

achievements and academic standing 

among their peers in their professions 

or careers. With no attention to moral 

application of their learned knowledge, 

the consequences of their thoughts 

and actions may lack honest application 

and good intent. Through incomplete 

or flawed education, the results may 

prove to be harmful to themselves, the 

population and the environment, and 

no matter how high personal academic 

achievements may be, great personal 

and collective suffering will occur. 

Inadequate management of 

national education causes immeasurable 

problems; the system produces people 

with knowledge but who lack good 

judgement, and causes problems that 

lead to them being labelled as fools, 

tyrants and people of evil or destructive 

intent. This is because they have not 

been taught to distinguish between good 

and bad, right and wrong, should and 

should not, having no concept of boon 

nor of baap (impure energy). 

An ideal education is one that 

appropriately depending on their age 

and gender, enables students not only to 

acquire knowledge to survive and engage 

in their future professions or careers, but 

also to be protected and empowered 

with the understanding to eradicate 

the defilements of thought, word and 

deed that lead to suffering, in other 

words to overcome what is referred to 

in Buddhist Dhamma as kilesa. Students 

must be educated to know and combat 

kilesa as part of a balanced moral and 

academic system of education. Students 

must be made aware by their teachers 

the benefits of being both smart and 

virtuous. 

This is achieved by teachers having 

a sound knowledge of their subject and 

the ability to instil virtuous practice and 

behavior in their pupils by guidance, 

tuition and their own self-example. 

Creating the framework of virtue and 

morality requires the pupil to understand 

and accept their own self-responsibility 

for their thoughts, words and actions. 

They must understand the 

importance that refraining from killing, 

stealing, sexual misconduct and lying 

will have on the quality of their lives 

and those around them. In developing 

self-responsibility, this must be achieved 

through right thought without bias, 

otherwise wrong views will be formed 

towards society. Developing a sense 

of socioeconomic responsibility is also 

essential. The so-called ‘Roads to Ruin’ 

is a delusional concept of pleasure and 

possession. The term translates directly 

from the Pali word, Abayamukha, 

which explains the six self-destructive 

behavioral vices as drinking, nightlife, 

too much indulgence in sensual 

pleasure, gambling, associating with bad 

company, and laziness. These actions 

may not necessarily be considered as 

bad action in themselves, but they are 

starting points of self-destruction when 

one starts committing to any, some or 

all of them and becoming addicted. 

As a result, we should avoid entering 

through this gate as we might otherwise 

soon find ourselves succumbing to the 

accumulation of unnecessary wealth or 

position, consumption of alcohol and 

drugs, frequenting unseemly places at 

unseemly hours, visiting dubious places 

of entertainment, gambling, associating 

with fools and bad company, wasting 

time and being lazy. The ‘Roads to Ruin’ 

lead travellers to worship money as a 

means to fulfil a self-destructive lifestyle. 


The search for a spiritual path is 

born out of suffering. It does 

not start with lights and ecstasy, 

but with the hard tacks of 

pain, disappointment, and confusion. 

However, for suffering to give birth to a 

genuine spiritual search, it must amount 

to more than something passively 

received from without. It has to trigger 

an inner realization, a perception which 

pierces through the facile complacency 

of our usual encounter with the world 

to glimpse the insecurity perpetually 

gaping underfoot. When this insight 

dawns, even if only momentarily, it can 

precipitate a profound personal crisis. It 

overturns accustomed goals and values, 

mocks our routine preoccupations, 

leaves old enjoyments stubbornly 

unsatisfying. 

At first such changes generally 

are not welcome. We try to deny our 

vision and to smother our doubts; we 

struggle to drive away the discontent 

with new pursuits. But the flame of 

inquiry, once lit, continues to burn, and 

The world-famous 

American Author, New 

York, USA 


Bhikkhu Bodhi 

USA 

The 

suffering…. 

if we do not let ourselves be swept away 

by superficial readjustments or slouch 

back into a patched-up version of our 

natural optimism, eventually the original 

glimmering of insight will again flare 

up, again confront us with our essential 

plight. It is precisely at that point, with all 

escape routes blocked, that we are ready 

to seek a way to bring our disquietude 

"Remove the 

suffering at it's 

source "…. 

to an end. No longer can we continue to 

drift complacently through life, driven 

blindly by our hunger for sense pleasures 

and by the pressure of prevailing social 

norms. A deeper reality beckons us; we 

have heard the call of a more stable, 

more authentic happiness, and until we 

arrive at our destination, we cannot rest 

content. 

There are two interrelated flaws in 

eclecticism that account for its ultimate 

inadequacy. One is that eclecticism 

compromises the very traditions it draws 

upon. The great spiritual traditions 

themselves do not propose their 

disciplines as independent techniques 

that may be excised from their setting 

and freely recombined to enhance the 

felt quality of our lives. They present 

them, rather, as parts of an integral 

whole, of a coherent vision regarding 

the fundamental nature of reality and 

the final goal of the spiritual quest. A 

spiritual tradition is not a shallow stream 

in which one can wet one's feet and then 

beat a quick retreat to the shore. It is a 

mighty, tumultuous river which would 

rush through the entire landscape of 

one's life, and if one truly wishes to travel 

on it, one must be courageous enough to 

launch one's boat and head out for the 

depths. 

The second defect in eclecticism 

follows from the first. As spiritual 

practices are built upon visions regarding 

the nature of reality and the final 

good, these visions are not mutually 

compatible. When we honestly examine 

the teachings of these traditions, we 

will find that major differences in 

perspective reveal themselves to our 

sight, differences which cannot be easily 

dismissed as alternative ways of saying 

the same thing. Rather, they point to 

very different experiences constituting 

the supreme goal and the path that must 

be trodden to reach that goal. 

Hence, because of the differences 

in perspectives and practices that the 

different spiritual traditions propose, 

once we decide that we have outgrown 

eclecticism and feel that we are ready 

to make a serious commitment to 

one particular path, we find ourselves 

confronted with the challenge of 

choosing a path that will lead us to 

true enlightenment and liberation. 

One cue to resolving this dilemma is to 

clarify to ourselves our fundamental 

aim, to determine what we seek in a 

genuinely liberative path. If we reflect 

carefully, it will become clear that the 

prime requirement is a way to the end 

of suffering. All problems ultimately can 

be reduced to the problem of suffering; 

thus, what we need is a way that will end 

this problem finally and completely. Both 

these qualifying words are important. 

The path has to lead to a complete end 

of suffering, to an end of suffering in all 

its forms, and to a final end of suffering, 

to bring suffering to an irreversible stop. 

But here we run up against another 

question. How are we to find such a path 

— a path which has the capacity to lead 

us to the full and final end of suffering? 

Until we actually follow a path to its goal 

we cannot know with certainty where 

it leads, and in order to follow a path to 

its goal we must place complete trust 

in the efficacy of the path. The pursuit 

of a spiritual path is not like selecting a 

new suit of clothes. To select a new suit 

one need only try on a number of suits, 

inspect oneself in the mirror, and select 

the suit in which one appears most 

attractive. The choice of a spiritual path is 

closer to marriage: one wants a partner 

for life, one whose companionship will 

prove as trustworthy and durable as the 

pole star in the night sky. 

Faced with this new dilemma, we 

may think that we have reached a dead 

end and conclude that we have nothing 

to guide us but personal inclination, if not 

a flip of the coin. However, our selection 

need not be as blind and uninformed as 

we imagine, for we do have a guideline 

to help us. Since spiritual paths are 

generally presented in the framework 

of a total teaching, we can evaluate 

the effectiveness of any particular path 

by investigating the teaching which 

expounds it. 

In making this investigation we 

can look to three criteria as standards 

for evaluation: (1) First, the teaching 

has to give a full and accurate picture 

of the range of suffering. If the picture 

of suffering it gives is incomplete or 

defective, then the path it sets forth will 

most likely be flawed, unable to yield a 

satisfactory solution. Just as an ailing 

patient needs a doctor who can make a 

full and correct diagnosis of his illness, 

so in seeking release from suffering we 

need a teaching that presents a reliable 

account of our condition. 

(2) The second criterion calls for 

a correct analysis of the causes giving 

rise to suffering. The teaching cannot 

stop with a survey of the outward 

symptoms. It has to penetrate beneath 

the symptoms to the level of causes, and 

to describe those causes accurately. If a 

teaching makes a faulty causal analysis, 

there is little likelihood that its treatment 

will succeed. 

(3) The third criterion pertains 

directly to the path itself. It stipulates 

that the path which the teaching offers 

has to remove suffering at its source. 

This means it must provide a method to 

cut off suffering by eradicating its causes. 

If it fails to bring about this root-level 

solution, its value is ultimately nil. The 

path it prescribes might help to remove 

symptoms and make us feel that all is 

well; but one afflicted with a fatal disease 

cannot afford to settle for cosmetic 

surgery when below the surface the 

cause of his malady continues to thrive. 

To sum up, we find three 

requirements for a teaching proposing to 

offer a true path to the end of suffering: 

first, it has to set forth a full and accurate 

picture of the range of suffering; second, 

it must present a correct analysis of the 

causes of suffering; and third, it must give 

us the means to eradicate the causes of 

suffering. 

This is not the place to evaluate 

the various spiritual disciplines in 

terms of these criteria. Our concern is 

only with the Dhamma, the teaching 

of the Buddha, and with the solution 

this teaching offer to the problem of 

suffering. That the teaching should be 

relevant to this problem is evident from 

its very nature; for it is formulated, not 

as a set of doctrines about the origin and 

end of things commanding belief, but as 

a message of deliverance from suffering 

claiming to be verifiable in our own 

experience. Along with that message 

there comes a method of practice, a 

way leading to the end of suffering. 

This way is the Noble Eightfold Path 

(ariya atthangika magga). The Eightfold 

Path stands at the very heart of the 

Buddha's teaching. It was the discovery 

of the path that gave the Buddha's own 

enlightenment a universal significance 

and elevated him from the status of 

a wise and benevolent sage to that of 

a world teacher. To his own disciples 

he was pre-eminently "the arouser of 

the path unrisen before, the producer 

of the path not produced before, the 

declarer of the path not declared before, 

the knower of the path, the seer of the 

path, the guide along the path" (MN 

108). And he himself invites the seeker 

with the promise and challenge: "You 

yourselves must strive. The Buddhas are 

only teachers. The meditative ones who 

practice the path are released from the 

bonds of evil" (Dhp. v. 276). 

To see the Noble Eightfold Path as 

a viable vehicle to liberation, we have to 

check it out against our three criteria: 

to look at the Buddha's account of the 

range of suffering, his analysis of its 

causes, and the programme he offers as 

a remedy.. 


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屏東縣慈善團體聯合協會」。經半年 

籌備 , 於 96 年 6 月 17 日正式成立 , 首 

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同年 8 月 3 日向屏東地方法院申請登 

記成立「社團法人」, 自此後以「資 

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The 

Mindfulness…. 

To make the sense of doubt 

pervasive, we have to first devote 

ourselves to being mindful of the 

huatou and focus on the sense 

of doubt. Being mindful means firmly 

fastening our whole being to the huatou, 

making the two inseparables. It is like a 

woman who is fully occupied with the 

memory of her beloved living far away, 

as described by a well-known Chinese 

poet Li Qing Zhao (c.1084-1155). We 

have to keep the sense of doubt all the 

time. According to the chapter in the 

Shurangama Sutra, “Bodhisattva 

Mahasthamaprata’s Perfection 

in the Mindfulness of the Buddha,” to 

keep being mindful is to “focus the six 

sense organs on mindfulness and purify 

the mind-stream.” In other words, we 

don’t “shut” our sense organs, but direct 

them all to the object, knowing it clearly 

without discrimination, attachment or 

yearning for deluded thoughts. 

Letting go of all the sensations and 

feelings of body and mind, we simply 

practice the huatou by keeping up the 

inquiry. If we can purify our mind-stream 

this way, the sense of doubt will naturally 

become pervasive. In the same chapter, 

mindfulness is likened to the constant 

memory between mother and son, 

whose deep affection makes them keep 

each other in mind, even though they 

live separately. We should always keep 

the same mindfulness in huatou practice, 

devoting ourselves to the questioning, 

to the sense of doubt, until there are 

no forms or feelings of body and mind. 

At this moment we have no idea where 

we are. We have nothing to do with 

whatever is around us in the external 

world. We have no other thoughts but 

a clear sense of doubt in the mind. Only 

with this mindfulness can we make the 

huatou pervasive and expansive. If we 

practice the method well, eliminating 

all deluded thoughts, attachment, 

argument and discrimination, we can 

then realize what the Buddhist scriptures 

describe as the certainty of seeing the 

Buddha – in the present or in the future 

– simply by being mindful of the Buddha. 

Here, “the Buddha” refers to “the pure 

reality,” namely our true mind of purity. 

And being mindful of the Buddha does 

not only mean reciting his name; as long 

“Mindfulness 

and purify the 

mind-stream”…. 

as we connect with our pure mind, any 

method will do. For example, when we 

have difficulty in sitting meditation, we 

can do prostrations until we feel peaceful 

and at ease in body and mind; we can do 

this until we have no deluded thoughts 

or distractions. 

That is also being mindful of the 

Buddha. If we always keep the Buddha 

in mind, we will then have no deluded 

thoughts and our pure mind will 

naturally emerge. Then we are sure to 

see the Buddha, or our true nature of 

purity, now or in the future. Even though 

we remain in the burning house of the 

three realms of cyclic existence, we can 

be as nice and cool as lotuses in a muddy 

pond. 

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Stay conformable at Buddha's Holy Place in 

Bodhgaya, India.... 

Most 

Venerable 

Da Xing Fa 

Shi 

Leader Chan 

Monk for 

Retreats & 

Patriarch 

Meditation…. 

of a martial arts studio in Genoa. 

While training in martial 

arts around the world, he had the 

opportunity to encounter Buddhist 

teachings, and soon decided to further 

investigate Buddhism. In fact, Da Xing 

Fa Shi started his studies, took refuge, 

and received the Five Precepts under 

Venerable Master Tae Hye Sunim. He 

continued his learning throughout Asia 

and United States, where he attended 

several intensive Chan retreats under 

the guidance of Venerable Master Sheng 

Yen, and other rigorous retreats at the 

City of Ten Thousand Buddha in Northern 

California, founded by Venerable Master 

Hsuan Hua. He spent significant amounts 

of time at the Berkeley Buddhist 

Monastery, where he studied Buddhism 

with the Abbot Venerable Heng Sure. 

During these years, he also led solo 

retreats of various durations. 

In April 2005, after becoming 

a novice monk in Taiwan under the 

guidance of Venerable Master Sen 

Guang, Da Xing Fa Shi received the full 

Mahayana monastic ordination under 

the supervision of Venerable Master Wei 

Chueh at Chung Tai Chan Si Monastery in 

Central Taiwan. 

In 2011, Da Xing Fa Shi had the 

great opportunity to meet his current 

teacher, Chan Master Guo Ru, who is 

the great disciple of Master Sheng Yen 

carrying on the Chinese Chan Sudden 

Approach Teaching. From that time on, 

he has continued to follow Master Guo 

Ru’s instructions to practice Sudden 

Chan Approach. Nonetheless, Da Xing 

Fashi has been appointed by Master Guo 

Ru to assist in teaching and spreading of 

Chinese Chan Sudden Approach in China, 

and across the world. Now he travels in 

different countries conducting retreats 

and workshops, determined to practice 

Buddhadharma, and to propagate the 

Chinese Chan Sudden Approach to 

anyone interested in Buddhism. 

Moreover, Da Xing loves Chinese 

Tea Culture, and started to practice 

and teach a method of meditation 

involving mindful appreciation of tea: 

The Tea Chan, which is a significant and 

captivating way to teach Buddhism. 

Fascinated by Chinese language and 

Chan poems, Da Xing is also practicing 

the Chinese language and writing. In 

fact, Da Xing Fa Shi is fluent in speaking 

Italian, English and Chinese. 

ANUKUL GUEST HOUSE 

Da Xing Fa Shi *was born and 

raised in Genoa, Italy, in a typical 

Catholic family. From a young age 

Da Xing Fa Shi started to learn 

Chinese martial arts and Qi Gong and 

was trained to become Shifu (Master) of 

the sixth generation from the founder of 

the Yang Style Tai Ji Quan. Years later, Da 

Xing became accomplished in Asian and 

Western martial arts. For many years, he 

was the owner and the leading teacher 

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Happiness 

to be true 

and lasting…. 

which resolves might be harmful. 

Some of them involve wanting 

to commit outright violence to other 

people, or having ill will for other people. 

Some of the them involve being attached 

to sensual desires— because, as the 

Buddha once said, even if it rained gold 

coins, we wouldn’t have enough for our 

sensual desires. If that’s where we’re 

looking for happiness, there’s no end to 

it. And how many showers of gold coins 

have you seen? 

And how many showers would 

we need to satisfy every person, every 

animal on earth? With no sense of 

satisfaction, we’re bound to get into 

conflict with one another over what few 

gold coins there are. There’s no way that 

a true happiness can be found that way. 

So you try to learn how to wean yourself 

away from sensual desires. 

President of the 

Outstanding Women 

in Buddhism 

Awards (OWBA), President 

of the Chinese Character 

Education Promotion 

Association, Deputy 

President of the World 

Alliance of Buddhists 

(WAB) 


Bhikkhuni Dr. Ming Yu 

Taiwan 

“We’re looking 

for a harmless 

happiness”…. 

developing clarity in the mind. 

When our pleasure depends on 

harming other beings, we tend to have 

big blind spots around the harm we’re 

doing. We can think of all sorts of ways to 

justify the harm we cause to other beings 

or to other people in the course of our 

quest for pleasure. In doing so, we built 

Association of 


Tour Operators (ABTO) 

Asian Festival Expo - 2019 

The 2 nd 


Buddhist Travel 

Mart (IBTM) 

December 

10 - 12, 2019 

in Buddha Gaya 

India 

Join Together ! Work 

Together !! Explore 

Together !!! 

At least Once !!!! 

We’re doing as we meditate: 

We’re looking for a 

harmless happiness. This 

is a very important way 

of being kind to others. Sometimes 

meditation is denounced as a selfish 

activity because you seem to be just 

looking after yourself. But people who 

know how to look after themselves are 

less of a burden on other people. 

That’s why these skills are an 

expression of kindness. There’s a passage 

where the Buddha says that right resolve, 

which is one of the factors of the path, 

finds its highest expression in doing right 

concentration. In other words, you have 

to reflect on the fact that your quest for 

happiness is going to have to depend on 

your own actions, and you don’t want to 

harm anybody else in the course of the 

quest. Because your actions come from 

your resolves, you have to reflect on 

And the best way to do that is to find 

a sense of pleasure within. This is why 

the Buddha taught right concentration. 

It’s not just that you focus on your mind, 

but you focus in a way that gives rise to a 

sense of ease, a sense of rapture. In this 

way you satisfy your immediate need for 

pleasure at the same time that you’re 

up huge areas of denial and ignorance in 

our mind. 

But when your pleasure depends 

on things that are causing no harm at all, 

you can be clearer about where there 

is harm in the world, where there is 

conflict, because your happiness doesn’t 

depend on that harm or conflict. 

The platform of Tourism with Buddhism.... 

Come & Join with us Contact now.... 

Dr. Kaulesh Kumar 

Secretary General 

ABTO Head Office, Hans Plaza, Block Road, Rajgir, Nalanda (Bihar) , Pin-803116, India. 

+91-9472309246, iabto2016@gmail.com / sangha@abto.co.in 

www.abto.co.in / www.buddhisttravelmart.com 


Now 

“Buddha 

in the air”…. 

We are in Europe 

Germany.... 

“Pathamam bodhi pallankan 

Duthiyansa animissan Thathiyanthan 

samnan settan” - First week at the base 

of Bodhi, second week looking at Bodhi 

without blinking the eyes and third week 

Buddha realized that the gods were 

uncertain as to whether he had attained 

Enlightenment. To dispel their doubts 

Buddha spent the third week walking in 

one direction walking on a golden plank 

he had created with psychic powers in 

the air, while another Buddha created 

with the supreme psychic powers of 

Enlightened walked in the opposite 

direction, where too that Buddha also 

walked on a golden plank that had been 

created by Buddha in the air. Why is it 

Third 

Week after 

Enlightenment…. 

that both Buddha did not walk in one 

and the same direction? 

To find the answer with Dhamma 

one needs to go to Dwayathanupassana 

Sutra (contemplation of Dyads), where 

the stanzas are in pairs. We the mundane 

people think we are alone, say when 

staying with no one around. But they 

are mistaken because in our inglorious 

traversing of this Sansara we are never 

alone, but with a second person, that 

of craving. Even now this second person 

craving is with us pushing and pulling us 

in all directions. 

“Thanhaya duthiyo puriso 

digamaddhana 

sansaran, 

Iththabaannanthabhavan sansarn 

nathivaththathi” - “With craving as the 

second person, all beings will for very 

long time will traverse the inglorious 

samsara becoming as this and as that 

and will never overcome to escape from 

it.” Thus, we the beings be they human 

or gods are always with a second one, 

that of craving all the time until one 

finds total liberation of Nirvana where 

the consciousness is non-illustrated. 

But the Enlightened Ones are all 

by themselves having extinguished 

craving and their consciousness is nonillustrated. 

Thus, even two Enlightened 

One are not together. Buddha to show 

this fact to the beings, be the Gods or 

Brahma and to Humans did so in the 

third week after Enlightenment. In the 

peons of joy Buddha expressed soon 

after Enlightenment, he said that craving 

is fully eradicated. 

Thai Sumeda 

(Pvt) Ltd. 

Formerly Senior 

Commercial Manager at 

Sri Lankan Airlines and 

presently Consultant to 

Air India GSA in Sri Lanka. 

Sugath Rajapakse 

SRI LANKA 

Manufacturers, Distributors & Exporters of Incense 

Sticks, Incense Powder & all Incense Products 

WEB - www.thaisumeda.com | E-MAIL - thai.sumeda@yahoo.com 


Lord Buddha the Supreme 

Omniscient self - English hood one 

has taught thus: To the truly devout 

disciples who held in venerable 

the overcome the immoral mental 

concomitants or papanca dhamma, 

such as sensuourdesires ancient urog 

views, the agga savaha the most learned 

disciples, will surely enjoy the blessings 

and benefits which will indeed be 

beyond reclosing. 

Therefore, it is highly meritorious 

to hood in venerable the sacred relics of 

the Buddha who had attained nibbana. 

Every devotee present hence will know 

the Theravada Buddhism which had 

enlightened the Myanmar nation and 

its people since the Bagan daily, all 

though the succeeding epochs such 

as Innwa, Pinya, Touugoo Amarapara. 

Tatanapura, Konebaug is been reviewed 

and sustained up to the present moment 

with added aura and auspiciousness. 

The teachings of Lord Buddha 

(Buddha Sasana) comprises of three 

aspects, pariyatti sasana - Doctrine 

aspects, palipatt sasana - practical 

meditation, pativada sasana - penetrative 

insight into the four Noble Truths 

It is a useful able fact that the sacred 

relics, images, repositories of their relics 

such as pagodas, temples, caves and 

monasteries were initiated by the most 

Dr Bhaddanta 

Ariyavamasa Agga Maha 

Pandita, Agga Maha 

Thaddamma Zawtikadaza, 

Maha Thaddamma 

Zawtikadaza,Pariyatti 

Sasana Hitadara,The 

Republic of the Union 

of Myanmar President's 

State Excellence award 

holder, Chancellor of 

Alodawpyei Monasteries 


Alodawpyei Sayadaw 

Thero 

Myanmar 

Penetrative 

insight into 

the four 

Noble 

Truths…. 

revered and venerable shin Arahan. He 

had converted King Anawrahta emperor 

of the first Bagan empire into Buddhism. 

Thus, all attributes and manifestations of 

Buddhism in the form of these importing 

structures were constricted during the 

Bagan period. It was in these holy that 

the laughs had resided ad perpetrated 

the canonical scrip hues of Buddhist 

teaching. It was in deeded the era of the 

enlightening of Buddhism. 

There were four sacred structures 

or objects of worship and veneration 

that Lord Buddha had ordained for the 

entire 5000 years of Buddha sasana. They 

are (1) Dhatin Ceti (2) Dhamma Ceti (3) 

Udissa Ceti and (4) Paribogha Ceti. Ceti 

is herein defined in Pali, the language of 

the scriptures as follows. 

"Cayi tabbam, Pujetabbanit 

Cetiyani, Jihtakadihi, Citatthava, Ceti 

yam., Ceti is defined thus because it is 

worthy of praying and veneration OR the 

holy structure which is constructed with 

stones, brick etc is called ceti. Ceti is such 

a venerable symbol of worship by human 

celestial beings. 

To further elaborate on the 

explanation Dhatu Ceti is a repository 

of the most sacred relies of Buddha. 

pacieba Buddha, Aeahat, and sakkra 

ruler of the four continuity Dhamma 

Ceti is a compendium of the sacred 

teachings of Lord Buddha which include. 

Paticca samuppada (law of Dependent 

Origination) and causal relation the 

maha satipalthana and other dhamma 

teachings inscribed on palm leaves, gold 

and silver slabs, stone and inscriptions, 

etc. The Pariboga Ceti sacred requisites 

of Lord Buddha namely. The sacred 

Bodhi tree where Buddha attained 

Enlightenment; sacred robes. Again, 

the teaching have been dined into their 

collection or three barkers, commonly 

known as Tipitaka in Pali Script, names 

So, Sutta pitaka meaning the convention 

teaching and discourses, Vinaya pitaka 

meaning the authoritarian teaching 

which embody the ruler disc plain 

highest codes of ethics, Abhidhama 

pilaka meaning the highest teaching 

which include the ultimate, reality, 

(paramaltha) and nibbana, the ultimate 

cessation. 

"The convention 

teachings” …. 



The 

Harmonious 

Society…. 

We all know Buddhism is one 

of the oldest religions in 

the world. It is more than 

two and half millennium 

development; the contribution of 

Buddhism towards world culture is 

indeed great. I am being a humble 

Buddhist monk; few points will be put 

forward in the context of this occasion 

will be mostly in Buddhist perspective. 

I am though conscious of the fact that 

all religions have served humanity for 

centuries. What I will say will be primarily 

to make aware the positive aspects of 

Buddhism and like to recapitulate the 

“Lovingkindness 

is not 

mere religious 

brotherhood spirit 

either ”…. 

today’s global scene. 

As human beings, we have achieved 

a high level of material progress we 

would not have even dreamed of barely 

a century ago. The marvels of modern 

technology have given us enormous 

power over the forces of nature. Despite 

the miraculous achievement made by 

scientists and technologists, the suffering 

and miseries of humanity have not 

become less. On the contrary, violence, 

aggression, confl ict, hatred, mistrust 

have manifested at an alarming rate. 

Countless human beings are tortured 

and killed every day across the world. No 

day goes by without fi ghting and killing. 

50% of the world’s economic resources 

are being spent for manufacturing war 

equipments for destructive purposes. At 

the same time, it is estimated that about 

40,000 children die of hunger or hunger 

related disease every day, and more 

than 700 million people in the world are 

malnourished. Now we are competing in 

producing nuclear weapons, which is a 

plan to destroy the whole world - global 

destruction. 

In the past, wars were fought to win 

but now in the nuclear wars, there will 

be no winner or loser left, all of us will 

perish. Despite amazing breakthroughs 

in medical science, diseases like AIDS 

are threatening to swamp mankind. 

Mental illnesses, stress and loneliness 

are some of the serious problem we 

now face in our modern society. To 

satisfy human greed, most of the world’s 

forests are mercilessly beings destroyed. 

Industrialists are polluting the air, rivers 

and oceans everywhere in pursuit of 

profi ts. They are ready to pollute and 

destroy the whole environment for their 

own selfi sh ends. This has resulted in 

weather conditions and the ecological 

balance being disturbed. Global warming 

(the direct result of deforestation and 

toxic emissions) has resulted in the rise 

in global temperatures, and the icecaps 

and glaciers are melting very quickly. 

Some parts of the world are experiencing 

deadly fl oods while other areas are 

crippled by drought. Innumerable 

species of wildlife have been driven 

to extinction because of man’s lack of 

consideration and thought for others. 

In short, the growth mania has led to 

intensive depletion of natural balances 

and has upset the ecosystem resulting an 

insurmountable man made Dukha. 

Building a Harmonious Society 

- The Universal Loving Kindness and 

compassion is the only Panacea for the 

ills of today’s world. The development of 

loving kindness softens people’s hearts. 

In the organizations of nations, instead 

of providing military aid, we should 

give the pure aid of loving kindness to 

the helpless world. It is defi ned as the 

sincere wish for the welfare and genuine 

happiness of all mankind without 

distinction between others and us. “Just 

as a mother protects her only child 

even at the risk of her own life, even so 

one should cultivate boundless lovingkindness 

towards all living beings.” This 

is the advice of the Buddha. Therefore, 

loving kindness is not the passionate 

love of mother towards her child. Even 

so, our love towards the other nations, 

countries must be a sincere wish and 

pure love for the genuine peace and 

welfare of the world. We should extend 

the boundless universal brotherhood 

spirit embracing all nations, all races, all 

classes, and all countries without barriers 

in the differences of political views. 

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 

INDIA 


The World’s Largest International Maha 

Sanghadana Linkou,Taiwan - August 25, 2019 

Chung Hwa International Merits Society of Buddha Puja and 

Sangha Dana Society in Taiwan 

Official Media Partner - Mettavalokanaya 

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

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

Centre on September 10, 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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