THE POWER OF MIND

by the late Venerable Dr K Sri Dhammananda

14 August 2002   •   Sabah, Malaysia

PART 01

PART 02

PART 03

PART 04

PART 05

PART 06

PART 07

PART 08

PART 09

PART10

PART 11

PART12

PART13

PART14

THE END

SADHU! SADHU! SADHU!

End Rohingya Massacre!

OPEN LETTER 
from

YOUNG BUDDHIST 

ASSOCIATION OF MALAYSIA

(YBAM)

&

MALAYSIAN NETWORK OF

ENGAGED BUDDHISTS

(MNEB)

  

Posted by Young Buddhist Association of Malaysia

Aug 16, 2012 on www.malaysiakini.com

On behalf of the concerned community of Malaysian Buddhists, we would like to highlight the cause of the minority Rohingya people in Burma's Arakan province.

We have been following with deep concern and sadness on the Amnesty International (July 19, 2012) report on the ongoing oppression and massacre of the Rohingyas by both the Rakhine and security forces.

The human rights violations that include physical abuse, rape, destruction of property, and unlawful killings, are urgent calls for attention for Buddhists in Malaysia as the minority  Rohingya people suffer loss of lives and the extensive damage of property.

On July 11, Burma's National Human Rights Commission reported that at least 78 people have been killed since the violence began, but unofficial estimates exceed 100; with Amnesty International reporting up to 90,000 people have been displaced. 

This open letter is by both the Young Buddhist Association of Malaysia (YBAM) and the Malaysian Network of Engaged Buddhists (MNEB), in representing the Buddhist community in Malaysia, to call for three actions:-

• The immediate ceasing of all violence and all further bloodshed in Arakan, with a call to all parties involved to seriously seek resolution through peaceful, non-violent means.

• For the government of Burma and opposition parties to lead immediate intervening efforts to halt further violence on the people in Arakan province through the fair implementation of the democratic law.

• For the government of Burma to grant immediate access to independent and international humanitarian agencies and humanitarian aid workers into the affected areas to offer the necessary assistance to stop further bloodshed in and around the Arakan region.

We fervently pray that peace returns to the province of Arakan and for all to join us in this prayer.

MAY ALL BEINGS LIVE PEACEFULLY
MAY THEY BE FREE FROM SUFFERING
MAY THEY BE WELL AND HAPPY ALWAYS 

PART ONE

PART TWO

PART THREE

PART FOUR

THE END

MINDFULNESS IS USEFUL EVERYWHERE

"But mindfulness, 

bhikkhus (monks), 

I say is always useful."

~ BUDDHA (Samyutta Nikaya V, 46, 53)

Kim Jang-Mi says: 

Buddhist mindfulness training 

won her an Olympic Gold 2012

An Article News from www.examiner.com

Last week Sky Sports reported that South Korean teenager Kim Jang-Mi beat reigning Olympic champion Chen Ying of China with her final round to win a gold medal in the women's 25m air pistol. The 19-year-old set an Olympic record in qualifying. Then in the final, she shined with a five-shot final round of 51.8, including a perfect bullseye of 10.9, to beat Chen from Beijing.

On August 7, 2012 Emi Hailey Hayakawa reported for The Buddhist Channel "Kim Jang-Mi credits Buddhist mindfulness training for Olympic gold." It is said in Buddhism that athletic activities pull you into a natural state of mindfulness. When you engage in sports with your full attention it becomes a form of meditation.

Buddhists who participate in the Zen Way of Shooting Sport generally prefer the pistol / handgun target shooting events and competitions because the barrel lengths are shorter. Therefore there is typically a greater emphasis on body control, for which meditation serves as a great aid for better performances. And so Buddhists who participate in shooting sports generally prefer the pistol events.

After winning the gold medal Kim commented to Reuters "The men are really good but the last time the women won a gold was 20 years ago so before I came to London I wanted to show that the Korean men and women were equally competitive." Buddhist mindfulness training helped Kim make her point as a gold medal winner in the Olympics.

"Mindfulness meditation is a great foundation to develop insight as well as developing skills to improve your meditation practice. Its really a "Jack of all trades" meditation as it explores all aspects of the mind and body and can be used to develop deeper concentration and has a lot of hidden benefits on the side such as being a helpful anchor to prevent the mind getting lost in thoughts and feelings and skills to improve life quality. Here's a basic way to start and how to develop it." ~ WIKIHOW

"I'll use the term 'mindfulness' to refer to keeping one's consciousness alive to the present reality (11) . . . keep your attention focused on the work, be alert and ready to handle ably and intelligently any situation which may arise-this is mindfulness. There is no reason why mindfulness should be different from focusing all one's attention on one's work, to be alert and to be using one's best judgment. . . . Mindfulness is the miracle by which we master and restore ourselves . . . it is the miracle which can call back in a flash our dispersed mind and restore it to wholeness so that we can live each minute of life. . . Thus mindfulness is at the same time a means and an end, the seed and the fruit. . . . mindfulness itself is the life of awareness . . . Mindfulness enables us to live" ~ Thich Nhat Hanh, The Miracle of Mindfulness

ASALHA PUJA, VASSA, PAVARANA & KATHINA

A S A L H A    P U J A 

August 2, 2012

Sometimes called "Dhamma Day," Asalha Puja commemorates the first sermon of the Buddha. This is the Dhammacakkappavattana Sutta, meaning the sermon of the Buddha on setting the Wheel of Dhamma in motion. In this sermon, the Buddha explained his doctrine of the Four Noble Truths.

V A S S A 

August 3, 2012

Vassa, the Rains Retreat, begins the day after Asalha Puja. 

Rains Retreat, is the traditional retreat during the rainy season lasting for three lunar months. It usually begins on the first day of the waning moon of the eighth lunar month (usually in July) and ends on the full moon of the eleventh month (usually October). 

For this year (2012), the vassa begins on August due to the leap year, where there is extra one lunar month on the calendar. 

During this time Buddhist monks remain in a single place, generally in their temples. In some monasteries, monks dedicate the vassa to intensive meditation practice. During vassa, Buddhist laypeople participate by bringing food and other necessities to the monks. Some of them reinvigorate their spiritual training and adopt more ascetic practices, such as giving up meat, alcohol, or smoking (vassa is sometimes known as "Buddhist Lent"). And in countries such as Thailand, the laity will often take monastic vows for the vassa period and then return to lay life. Commonly, the number of years a monk has spent in monastic life is expressed by counting up the number of vassas he has observed.

P A V A R A N A 

October 30, 2012

Vassa concludes with the pavarana ceremony, in which every monk, irrespective of rank or seniority, agrees willingly to receive instruction from any other monk in the monastery if he has acted improperly.

 

K A T H I N A

October 31 — November 28, 2012 

Kathina is a Buddhist festival which comes at the end of vassa. A monastery may choose any convenient day within this one lunar month time period to celebrate this festival. It is a time of giving, for the laity to express gratitude to monks. Lay Buddhists bring donations or requisites to temples, especially new robes for the monks.

FOUR NOBLE TRUTHS

FOUR NOBLE TRUTHS

"This book will take you deeper in 

your understanding of 
the Four Noble Truths,
not just intellectually but 
in practice itself.
Sayadaw U Khema draws 
the thin line between 
understanding and realisation.
An dispensable reading for
all who seek 

understanding of suffering and 

cessation of suffering."

This book provides you with the essence of the teachings, rich with wisdom, offered with a spirit of generosity of the heart, expounded through Sayadaw's own experience:

• the natural self awareness and the self centered awareness
• two types of Dukkha — one caused by Nature and one caused by our own doings
• the conditioned and the unconditioned states
• how do defilements arise in the mind?
• why we cannot see Tanha (craving) and how to recognise it
• two kinds of consciousness that we should be aware of — the original consciousness and the corrupted consciousness
• what we need to do to cut the links of dependent origination — four simple steps
• three basic steps to practise the Noble Eight Fold Path so that we do not side tracked
• the importance of Right View
• landmarks in the Four Noble Truths — a useful guide for all meditators

AND MORE!

 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

The Venerable Sayadaw U Khema Wuntha, Maha Thera holds a BA (Law) and LLB degree from the Burmese University in 1970 and 1971 respectively and was called to the Bar in 1972 and was admitted as an advocate and solicitor. He worked as a government law officer (Burma) from 1972 to 1976. He then practised as a lawyer and migrated to the US in 1983. He was ordained in America as a Bhikkhu in 1985 under  the Most Venerable Sayadaw U PAÑÑĀ VAMSA, Chief Monk of Dhammikarama Burmese Buddhist Temple Penang and Chief monk of the Burmese Buddhist Temple in Los Angeles, America.

In 1990 Venerable Sayadaw U Khema Wuntha Maha Thera was stationed about a year in Toronto Burmese Temple giving talks and  conducting Meditation retreat  and  thereafter was stationed back to Los Angeles.

Venerable Sayadaw was the Chief Resident Monk in Dhammikarama Buddhist Temple in  Penang from 1996 to 2004. During that period Venerable was conducting meditation classes, Abidhamma study, Dhamma talks and mass ordination of novice monks and samaneras.

Venerable Sayadaw was the Chief Resident Monk in Ratana-Rama Buddhist Temple under  MMBA, Kuala Lumpur. Venerable Sayádaw conducted meditation classes, conducted ordination, taught Abhidhamma and gave Dhamma talks during his stay there.

Venerable Sayadaw also gave dhamma talks, discussions and conducted meditation classes at Chempaka Buddhist Lodge, Section 24, in Petaling Jaya and many other meditation centres including those in Miri and Sibu.

Venerable Sayadaw was based at Sásana Ramsi  Buddhist Temple in Frankfurt, Germany between 2007 and 2008,  helped to  establish the temple, also to conduct meditation classes and Dhamma talks.

In April 2008, Venerable Sayadaw was stationed back in Dhammikarama Buddhist Temple in Penang as the Chief Resident Monk.

Presently, Venerable Sayadaw is the Chief Resident Monk at Burma Buddhist Monastery in California, USA.

Venerable Sayadaw also attended a number of Buddhist conferences, and travelled widely throughout the world.

You can reach Sayadaw U Khema Wuntha at

• Cell Phone:  63099136609 
• Email:  kwuntha@yahoo.com

THE PATHLESS PATH
TO LIBERATION

BUDDHISM AND LIBERATION