NEW PUBLICATION

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F R E E   D H A M M A
P U B L I C A T I O N

T H E  B U D D H A

by

VENERABLE BALANGODA ANANDA MAITREYA

Buddhism is the doctrine expounded by the Buddha. It is not a dogma, nor a revelation made known by any supernatural agency. The Buddha, the expounder of this doctrine, was neither a god, a son of a god, an incarnation of a god or a prophet sent by a god. Then, who is the Buddha?

Buddhists whenever they visit a temple take flowers, incense and candles or oil to light lamps, as offerings to be made to a statue of the Buddha. They also practise the offering of food and drinks to the statue of the Buddha. This practice is called "Buddha Pooja". To the uninformed this practice may look like idol worship.  Then were the Buddhists idol worshippers?

In this book, the author goes into details to explain who the Buddha was and His special qualities. And as regards the ritual of worship, it has no place in the Buddha's teachings. 

One day, one of the Buddha's disciples who was deeply devoted and adored Him so much that he found it difficult to take this eyes away from Him. The Buddha knew of this adoration and advised him, "What is the use of looking at this body, a mass of flesh and bone etc., Go from here and look at the Dhamma (i.e. practise virtues, follow the path)."

 

Originally published under the title: Special Qualities of the Buddha and Other Essays by The Most Venerable Aggamahapandita Balangoda Ananda Maitreya Thero, the Venerable along with Venerable Narada Thero and Venerable Madihe Pannaseeha Thero was one of the great personalities of Theravada Buddhism in the twentieth century. He was famous for his achievements in Buddhist meditation. He was known to have practised both Samatha meditation and Vipassana meditation to a great extent and was considered to have a highly developed mind through his meditation. Many Buddhists have experienced his powerful spiritual blessings in many more ways than one. His teachings and life have been an inspiration to many aspiring monks and lay followers. His work and sacrifices with Anagarika Dharmapala was one of the steering forces of the upholding of Buddhism in Sri Lanka at one stage.

Venerable Balangoda Ananda Maitreya Thero passed away at 11:40 pm on July 18, 1998 at the age of 101.

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T H A N K   Y O U   and  S A D H U !    

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Who is the Buddha?
Here is the Best Explanation

by 

the late Ven. Dr K Sri Dhammananda

( 03:20 min )

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The Real Buddha 

by 

Venerable Ajahn Brahmali

(The Buddhist Society of  Western Australia)

( 58:50 min )

Beautiful in the Beginning, Beautiful in the Middle, and Beautiful in the End

 

by Students & Friends of Visu's class

Beautiful in the beginning, Beautiful in the middle, and Beautiful in the end. That's how we can describe the classes that was conducted by Bro. Visu at Inward Path.

His humble and slow approach to share his knowledge on the meditation techniques, namely Metta and Vipassana, created a conducive session for both beginners and experienced practitioners to practice the teachings of the Buddha. The meditation hall at Inward Path also created a very suitable environment for meditation as it is very spacious, quiet and well-equipped with meditation cushions and good PA system.

Each week on different days, he conducts a Metta meditation session and a Vipassana meditation session. He then gives a Dhamma talk before wrapping up the day. Many students were attracted to his talks because of its simplicity yet thought-provoking sense and makes the audience relate to their daily lives. Quotes from suttas, stories and even songs were used to express the topic that Bro. Visu focuses for the day.

For those who have joined the sessions, other than the learning experience, they also felt more enriching in getting to know more kalyana mittas (spiritual friends) who are supportive and sincerely walking the noble Path. With the mutual support, it creates a strong circle of friendship that motivates one another to practice and share the Dhamma — just as the Buddha told Ananda, his personal attendant, that having admirable friends, companions, and comrades is not half but the whole of the holy life [Upaddha Sutta; Samyutta Nikaya SN 45.2]

All in all, it was a pleasant experience to join Bro. Visu's sessions at Inward Path.

With deep appreciation, thank you Bro. Visu for your valuable teachings and may you be blessed with peace and happiness always.

Sadhu, Sadhu, Sadhu

The Place of Vipassana Among the Four Noble Truths and the Noble Eightfold Path

Dhamma talk given by Jotinanda Bhikkhu recently in Sabah.

Ven. Jotinanda is a Malaysian Theravāda Buddhist monk. He was ordained a sāmaṇera (novice monk) in Malaysia in 2001 and later a bhikkhu (full-fledged monk) in Myanmar in 2002. He is interested in Buddhist meditation, especially vipassanā meditation, and also the study of the Dhamma (teaching of the Buddha), particularly where it deals with the practice of vipassanā meditation.

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In the Dhammacakkappavattana Sutta (Saṃyutta Nikāya, Mahāvagga, Saccasaṃyutta, Sutta 11), the Buddha declared for the first time the basic foundation of his teaching: the Noble Eightfold Path and the Four Noble Truths.

The first noble truth is the noble truth of suffering (dukkhaṃ ariyasaccaṃ). In the Dhammacakkappavattana Sutta the Buddha gave a list of things which are suffering: birth, ageing, sickness, death, meeting with people and things that are displeasing, separation from people and things that are pleasing, and not to have one’s wish fulfilled. We can also add to this list sorrow, lamentation, pain, grief and despair. But at the end of the list in the Dhammacakkappavattana Sutta the Buddha said: “In short the five-aggregates subject to clinging are suffering.”

So the truth of suffering is, in short, these five-aggregates subject to clinging: the aggregate of materiality, feeling, perception, mental-formations, and consciousness, subject to clinging. If we simplify them we can say that they are mundane mental and physical phenomena (nāma-rūpa). They are the truth of suffering because they have the nature of being subjected to suffering.

The second noble truth is the noble truth of the cause of suffering (dukkha-samudayaṃ ariyasaccaṃ). The Buddha traced the cause of suffering to craving that leads to renewed existence or rebirth, that is accompanied by delight and lust, that finds delight here and there in one existence or another. It is this craving that compels and propels beings, at the time of death, to seek rebirth and so be embroiled into yet another cycle of birth, aging, sickness, and death, another cycle of suffering. And as long as craving is present the cycle of suffering will go on and on from one birth to another, each birth marking the beginning of another cycle of suffering.

The third noble truth is the noble truth of the cessation of suffering (dukkha-nirodhaṃ ariyasaccaṃ). Here the Buddha gave us hope. Even though there is suffering in the world there can also be an end to it. Suffering ceases, according to the Buddha, when there is the complete fading away and cessation of its cause i.e. craving.

Not only did the Buddha said that suffering can cease, he even gave us the way of practice, the method to bring suffering to an end. This is the fourth noble truth, the noble truth of the way that leads to the cessation of suffering (dukkha-nirodha-gāminī paṭipadā ariyasaccaṃ). This is the Noble Eightfold Path consisting of right view, right thought, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, and right concentration.

The Noble Eightfold Path and the Four Noble Truths, these are the basic foundation of the Buddha’s teaching. The Buddha taught in ancient Northern India for forty five years and all the discourses that he delivered during this time were, one way or another, based on the Noble Eightfold Path and the Four Noble Truths. But given that these are the basic foundation of the Buddha’s teaching, where does vipassanā comes in? Where can we place vipassanā in the scheme of the Noble Eightfold Path and Four Noble Truths?

Click Link to Read More: Reflection on the Dhamma

 

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