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Source Banthe Sri-Lanka

Friends:

The 10 Contemplations is Buddhist Routine!



The Blessed Buddha once said:
Bhikkhus & friends: There is one contemplation, which when often
practised and developed leads to the complete turning away from
the world, to detachment, to stilling, to ceasing, to Peace, to final
penetrating knowledge, to Enlightenment, and thus to Nibbāna...
Any Noble Disciple who by progress have understood the Dhamma
dwells frequently in this state. Which is that unique contemplation?
It is reflecting over the qualities of own charity exactly like this:
A Noble Disciple reviews & recollects his own generosity Cāga thus:
Truly, blessed am I, highly lucky: Among beings all polluted by evil,
stingy and mean niggardliness, I am living with a mind freed from
avarice, open-handed, liberal, in high-minded largesse, inviting all
beggars, always rejoicing in giving & sharing all I have with others!
Source: AN 6:10

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To all or none,
From Banthe Sri-Lanka
Friends:

What are the 3 kinds of Buddhist Gifts?

Three kinds of gift are mentioned in Buddhism, namely:
1: Amisa dāna: The gift of material things,
2: Abhaya dāna: The fearless gift of life,
3: Dhamma dāna: The gift of real Truth...

Amisa dāna: – or the gift of material things is practised by people
of all religions and is very common. Food, clothes and houses are
given to people of little means or to refugees through various
religious and social organizations. It is, no doubt, a good thing to
satisfy the hunger of the starving & the yearning of the thirsty.
This type of donation is highly recommended in Buddhism and
is called the Amisa dāna. (The donation of material things).

Next comes the Abhaya dāna: - or giving life to those whose lives
are in danger caused by fire, water or enemies. Sometimes we
hear of people, who are about to die due to lack of blood.
To donate blood and save another human's life is indeed a great
thing. Donation of eyes and kidneys is also highly appreciated
and comes under Abhaya dāna – fearless donation of life.

The last one: Dhamma dāna: - or the gift of Truth of the Doctrine
is said to be the highest of all donations on earth. Why so?
Because it opens the Door to the Deathless Dimension!
There is no other giving, which is even remotely comparable.


Openhanded Giving is the 1st Mental Perfection...

Sabba dānam Dhamma dānam jināti
Sabbam rasam Dhamma raso jināti
Sabbam ratim Dhamma ratī jināti
Tanhakkayo sabba dukkham jināti

The gift of Dhamma surpasses all other Gifts.
The flavour of Dhamma surpasses all other flavours.
The delight in Dhamma surpasses all other delights.
He who has destroyed craving overcomes all sorrow.
Dhammapada 354

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Text sent by Banthe of Sri-Lanka,banthe's name is Bhikkhu Samahita.Very Theravadin minded.

Friends:

What 4 Objects of Thinking are always Advantageous?


Once in Savatthi the Blessed Buddha said this:
Bhikkhus do not accept to think any evil disadvantageous thought such as:
1: Thoughts mixed with Sense-Desire...
2: Thoughts mixed with Ill Will or Anger...
3: Thoughts mixed with Harm & Violence...
Since all these thoughts are irrelevant and even detrimental to the basics of
the Noble life & they furthermore do neither induce revulsion, nor disillusion,
nor ceasing, nor Peace, nor any true knowledge of Enlightenment or Nibbāna!
When you think, Bhikkhus, you should only think thoughts like these:
1: This is Suffering;
2: This is the Cause of Suffering;
3: This is the End of Suffering;
4: This is the Way leading to the End of Suffering...
Why so?
Such thoughts are of prime relevance and highly advantageous to the basics of
the Noble life & they furthermore gradually induce both revulsion, detachment,
stilling, Peace, and direct knowledge of Enlightenment & Nibbāna. Therefore,
Bhikkhus, an effort should be made much of so to completely understand:
This is Suffering; This is the Cause of Suffering; This is the End of Suffering;
This is the Way leading to the End of Suffering... An effort should be made to
understand, comprehend, penetrate, recognize & realize these 4 Noble Truths!

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To all or none
Text By Banthe.

Friends:

How is a Friend Good?


The Blessed Buddha once explained:
Who is welcoming and friendly,
Generous, open and unselfish,
A guide, an instructor, a leader,
Such one will gain much honour!
Digha Nikāya 31



The friend who is a helping companion,
The friend both in happiness and misery,
The friend who gives good & sound advice,
The friend who really cares & understands...
These four, the clever knows as good Friends!
These 4 heroes, one should cherish devotedly,
as a mother nurses her own only child.
Digha Nikāya 31
If one finds a wise and intelligent friend,
who lives a good, correct & fully pure life,
Then, overcoming all obstacles, one should
always keep his joyous and alert company...
Dhammapada 328

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By Banthe

Friends:

Profound & Wisely Ballanced Ontology:


Buddha once explained existence as a chain of dependent emergence:

Some recluses & priests declare these excessively speculative views:
'Everything Exists'; which is the one extreme (Sarvastavadin Eternalism).
Other recluses & priests declare a just as hypothetical opposite extreme
view: 'Everything does Not Exist' (Sunyatavadin Annihilationism).
Avoiding both these extremes the Well-Gone-Beyond Buddha teaches
this Dhamma from the Middle:

When this is present, that also exists.
When this emerges, that also arises.
When this is absent, that neither exists.
When this ceases, that also vanishes.

From ignorance arises mental construction.
From mental construction arises consciousness.
From consciousness arises naming-&-forming.
From name-&-form arises the six senses.
From the six senses arises contact.
From contact arises feeling.
From feeling arises craving.
From craving arises clinging.
From clinging arises becoming.
From becoming arises birth.
From birth arises ageing, decay, sickness & death.
From ageing, decay & death arises Suffering!
This is the origin of this entire mass of Pain...
When ignorance ceases, mental construction stops.
When mental construction ceases, consciousness stops.
When consciousness ceases, naming-&-forming stops.
When name-&-form ceases, the six senses stops.
When the six senses ceases, contact stops.
When contact ceases, feeling stops.
When feeling ceases, craving stops.
When craving ceases, clinging stops.
When clinging ceases, becoming stops.
When becoming ceases, birth stops.
When birth ceases, ageing, decay, & death stops...
When ageing, decay & death ceases, Suffering stops!
This is the Disappearance of this entire mass of Pain...
This - only this supremely stilled silence - is Nibbāna!

loong the messenger

To all or none,
text by Banthe



Friends:

Infinite Loving-Kindness is an Exalted State!


The Blessed Buddha once explained Loving-Kindness (Mettā) like this:
This is what should be done by a clever one to arouse the advantageous:
Having attained a peaceful state: He should be capable, straight, and very
upright, easy to speak to, gentle and not proud, contented & easy to support,
with few duties, living simple, with calmed senses, devoted, and neither angry,
nor greedy. He should not do any mean thing, which wise men would criticize.
He always should wish: Let all beings be happy, joyous, glad, safe and secure.
Whatever living creatures there exist, still or moving, small or large, seen or
unseen, far or near, already existing or coming into being, let all these living
beings without any even single exception be perfectly happy!
One should never despise anyone anywhere, nor humiliate anyone anywhere,
nor ever wish for any being misery or harm, because of anger or irritation.
Just as a mother would protect her only little son even risking her own life,
exactly so should one cultivate an unbounded mentality towards all beings;
loving-kindness towards all in this universe. One should cultivate an infinite
mind, above, below and across, without barriers, without enmity, matchless.
Whether standing, going, sitting, or lying down, even when slumbering should
one practise this exalted infinite goodwill. This is said to be a Sacred State!


loong
the messenger

To all or none,
One day Buddha was walking in a field with a farmer,plowing his field.
He saw that when the soil was turned,there would be halves of worms.He said that not Killing (the first precept),was not always possible.Walking on the grass,squashing ants and other insects ,could and would happen.
The first Precept states,that one shall not kill willingly,may they be humans or all forms of Sentient Beings.

Watch where you put your feet :-)

loong

To all or none,
Text by Banthe



The Buddha once said: What mental fermentations (āsava) should be
overcome by development? When a Bhikkhu by careful & rational attention
develops the Joy Link to Awakening based on seclusion, on disillusion,
on ceasing, & culminating in relinquishment, then can neither any mental
fermentation, nor any fever, nor discontent ever arise in him. MN2 [i 11]

In one who has aroused enthusiastic energy, there arises a joy not of
this world & the Joy Link to Awakening emerges there. He develops it,
& for him it goes to the culmination of its development. MN118 [iii 85]

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All texts by Banthe are Theravadin origins

To all or none,

Friends:

Relinquishing what is Not Ownable produces Calmed Ease!



The Blessed Buddha once explained:
Bhikkhus, leave whatever is not yours, give it up! Leaving it, relinquishing
it and in every respect releasing it all, will lead to your lasting welfare,
ease and happiness! And what is it, Bhikkhus, that is not yours?
The eye is not yours... Forms are not yours...
The ear is not yours... Sounds are not yours...
The nose is not yours... Smells are not yours...
The tongue is not yours... Tastes are not yours...
The body is not yours... Touches are not yours...
The mind is not yours... Mental States are not yours...
When you have left it, given it up, relinquished it, and fully released it, then
that will indeed lead to your welfare, ease and happiness for a long time...
Imagine, Bhikkhus, that people were to carry off any dry grass and sticks
in this entire forest and then burn it all to ashes! Would you then think:
'People are carrying us all off, and burning us all up into nothing...'?
No! Why not? Because that grass is neither our self, nor belonging to us!
Exactly so too, Bhikkhus: The eye is not yours. Forms are not yours.
The ear is not yours. Sounds are not yours.
The nose is not yours. Smells are not yours.
The tongue is not yours. Tastes are not yours.
The body is not yours. Touches are not yours.
The mind is not yours. Mental States are not yours.
These are neither your self, nor what you are, nor belonging to any other self!
When you have left all these, given them all up, released them, and relinquished
them, then that will indeed lead to your welfare, safety, ease and happiness
for a long, long, long time forward...

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LAZYNESS

Friends:

How does Lethargy & Laziness Suppress Mind?



A Brahmin Priest once asked the Blessed Buddha:

Master Gotama, what is the cause of being unable to remember even
something that has been memorized over a long period & also that which
has not been memorized?

Brahmin, when mind is retarded by lethargy & laziness, dimmed, detained
& dominated by lethargy and laziness, and one does not understand any
actual safe escape from this arisen lethargy and laziness, in that very
moment, one can neither see, nor understand, what is advantageous,
neither for oneself, nor for others, nor both for oneself and others.
Consequently, whatever have been memorized, cannot be remembered…
Why is this neglect so? Imagine a bowl of water covered with moss,
water plants and algae. If a man with good eye-sight were to inspect
the reflection of his own face in it, he would neither see, nor recognize
it, as it really is! So too, brahmin, when mind is slowed down by lethargy
and laziness, dimmed, detained and handicapped by lethargy & laziness,
on such occasions even texts long memorized do not recur to the mind,
not to speak of those texts, events and information, that have not been
actively memorized at all
SOURCE BANTHE
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