An Interview with Daw Shwe

Voice: “How long have you been here?”
Mdm Shwe: “Four years?”

Voice: “You’re alone here. Don’t you feel boring?”
Mdm Shwe: “I’m alone. This is peace.”

Voice: “What was your job?”
Mdm Shwe: “Washing clothes. That was my livelihood.”

Voice: “How is your health now?”
Mdm Shwe: “I’m healthy. Nothing wrong. But sometimes I feel dizzy. My doctor comes to me every Sunday. I don’t go to doctors because I want to save medicine. Medicine should be used for other people. My eyes and ears are still sharp. Especially my ears are very sharp. I don’t know why.”

Voice: “Do you have relatives?”
Mdm Shwe: “Yes, I have. I gave our house to one of my brothers when he married. Now I am here.”

Voice: “Do they come here?”
Mdm Shwe: “No, they don’t.”

Voice: “Do you need an assistant when you go to toilet?”
Mdm Shwe: “I can do it myself. Carrying a torch light.”

Voice: “What is the reason why you are so healthy?”
Mdm: “I meditate. I practice the Dhamma. Saying prayers. Keeping Sabbath. I’ve been doing these since I was 20. Going to temple. I’m flexible. I never go against my environment. I’m always happy.”

Voice: “How is your relationship here?”
Mdm Shwe: “We’re sharing our snacks with one another. We give. And we accept. We help one another.”

Voice: “How are you using the cash donation accepted?”
Mdm Shwe: “I donate it again. I donate to our Sayadaw coming to us on Sundays. And I’m saving some money for my health. Recently I donated MMK 20, 000 for water. We’re going to offer Waso robes. Not using the entire cash donation accepted. We’ll donate.”

Voice: “How are you keeping your mind?”
Mdm: “We don’t know when we’ll meet death. Tomorrow? Or the day after tomorrow? At present we must have pure mind. If our mind is wholesome, we can be living long life. Our life span is shortened due to our mind in bad mood.”

Voice: “Grand mom must be tired by answering my questions. Thank you, Grand mom. Please accept our obeisance.”

-----
Comment:
Min Myo and Zay Nway Tun interviewed Daw Shwe, aged 106, who is living at
NATURE, home of aged people, Thanlyin Township.
The interview was mentioned in “The Voice Journal”
(Vol 8 – No 29, 9/7/12 – 13/7/12, Page 36).
Translation is ours.

:)
Shin Acara

Kathina Benefits

Q 1)  Why Kathina Robes only offered between the days following the full moon of October to the full moon of November?

Q 2)  Seems like most temples having it on 16th October. How is the date chosen annually?

Q 3)  Why Kathina Robes are offered to the Sanga and not to any individual monks?

Q 4)  What are the 5 Kathina benefits for monks?

Q 5)  Why these 5 benefits for monks only for 5 months?

Q 6)  It's mentioned benefits for donors are in every existence? Does this mean donors will get these benefits in this life and future lifes? If so, why monks only benefit for 5 months and donors in all lifes?

Q 7)  Any evidence to prove that donors do get these 5 benefits? Somehow I feel the benefits stated are a little bit exaggerating. :-p

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Answers many be found in the following. :)

At the time of the Buddha, the Kathina season began at the end of rains-retreat and it lasted for one month (as it is today). The early Kathina was simply a robe-making activity of the monks. During the three months of rains-retreat, pieces of cloth would be collected by the monks. At the end of the rains-retreat, the primitive monks celebrated the Kathina by making a Kathina robe with their combined effort from the pieces of cloth collected. Thus, the robe should be a common property of the monks. A worthy monk among the monks would be nominated to receive the robe. It is believed at that time the lay devotees did not participate in the monks' Kathina celebration (robe-making activity). This explains why there is no evidence to prove that donors do get Kathina benefits. In the Theravada Tipitaka texts, Kathina benefits for lay devotees are not found!

One month Kathina season is ascertained according to the Vinaya and it cannot be changed. But any day of the month can be chosen to conduct Kathina celebration.

With or without Kathina celebration, during the Kathina season (one month), monks are entitled to enjoy the five Kathina benefits. The period of Kathina benefits is extended from one month to five months by celebrating Kathina. By enjoying the Kathina benefits, monks do not need to practice some Vinaya rules. This period (1 or 5 months) of release should not be very long.

Kathina benefits for monks are:

(1)   going to families without informing other monks in their vicinity;

(2)   going on tour without carrying the heavy double-layered robe;

(3)   having a group meal, (group meal is food accepted in improper way. For example, when a lay devotee offers food to a monk it should be said: "I offer this alms-food" or "This is alms-food" so that the food is properly accepted. Similarly to be said: "alms-cake, alms-apple, etc" by adding the formal term "alms".);

(4)   using as many robes as one desires;

(5)   sharing the robes of Kathina benefit among the particular monks who are entitled to enjoy the Kathina benefits.

As said earlier, Kathina benefits for lay devotees are not found in the Theravada texts. Thus, Kathina benefits for lay devotees are assumed and often exaggerated too much.

Here is an assumption: According to the Bhojana Sutta of the Anguttara Nikaya, one who donates alms-food donates the following five elements - life, beauty, happiness, strength and wisdom. In return, the donor gets the same benefits - “life, beauty, happiness, strength and wisdom.”

Similarly, Kathina donors offer the five Kathina benefits to monks by making Kathina donation and thus there should be corresponding Kathina benefits for them.

The donor of Kathina robe donates monks these five chances: the chance to go round without informing other monks, the chance to go round without carrying the heavy double-layered robe, the chance to eat group meal (explained above), the chance to use or keep extra robes, the chance not to share the robes of Sangha’s property with other monks who do not participate in the Kathina.

As such, the donors of Kathina robe will enjoy these five corresponding benefits:

1)    there will be no disturbance and danger wherever they go;

2)    their belongings will not be destroyed by enemies even when the belongings are away from them;

3)    they will have plenty of sumptuous food and will not have poisonous food;

4)    their property will be kept safe even if being left forgotten for a long time;

5)    they will gain greater profits than others on their commercial undertakings including winning lottery.

(Assumption of U Ariya, Nyaung Lay Bin Forest Monastery, Myanmar)

:)

Ashin Acara

Bodhi-puja - ေဗာဓိပူဇာ

We (at Mangala Vihara Buddhist Temple, Singapore and some other temples and monasteries in the world, especially in Sri Lanka) pay homage to Bodhi-trees. The prominent reason is that the Ascetic Gotama attained Enlightenment under the Bodhi-tree. Is Bodhi-puja or paying homage to the Bodhi-tree, simply, a kind of tree worship? Frankly speaking, previously I did not pay homage to Bodhi-trees. But now I need to follow my temple’s tradition. I must pay homage to the Bodhi-tree at the temple, every day. When I need to do this, I need to define the meaning of what I’m doing. And thus I explored the Theravada Buddhist texts to find the following.

In the Nidhikanda-sutta-vannana of Khuddhakapatha-atthakatha, three kinds of cetiyas are stated: paribhoga-cetiya which is pagoda or sacred monument used by the Buddha, for example a Bodhi-tree; uddissaka-cetiya which is Buddha image or statue; and dhatu-cetiya which is pagoda or stupa where the Buddha’s relic is enshrined.

Moreover, Bodhi-tree is a symbol representing the Buddha himself. This symbolism was confirmed by the Buddha himself when he recommended the planting of a Bodhi-tree at Jetavana Monastery for worship and offerings during his absence (Kalingabodhi-jataka-vannana).

According to the commentary of Samannaphala-sutta etc., a monk who enters the courtyard of a Bodhi-tree should venerate the tree, and he should behave with all of his modesty as if he were in the presence of the Buddha.

In the Tipitaka, we find different kinds of Bodhi-pujas done by the disciples of Gotama Buddha in their previous existences. Following are some of the Bodhi-pujas. Vimala Thera: In the time of Kassapa Buddha, he watered the Bodhi-tree with scented water and he made a wish: “In my future may I be born with the body without stains, but clean and pure” (Vimala-tthera-gatha-vannana, Khuddaka Nikaya). Jambuka Thera: In the time of Tissa Buddha he paid homage to the Bodhi-tree and he fanned the tree with a fan in the manner of veneration to it (Jambuka-tthera-gatha-vannana, Khuddaka Nikaya). Sihasana-dayaka Thera: In the time of Padumuttara Buddha he offered a jeweled throne to the Bodhi-tree and he offered flowers and joss-sticks to the tree (Sihasanadayaka-thera-apadana-vannana).

Today we pay homage to the Bodhi-tree and we offer it flowers, candles, joss sticks etc. And we occasionally circumambulate the Bodhi-tree once or thrice to pay respect to it. The act of circumambulation is a Buddhist traditional way of paying respect to those worthy of respect. For example, at the end of Samannaphala-sutta, King Ajatasattu, delighting and rejoicing in the Buddha’s words, rose from his seat, bowed down to him, and left only after circumambulating the Buddha.

From the above it should be concluded that Bodhi-puja, paying homage to the Bodhi-tree, is Buddha-puja, paying homage to the Buddha.

Some Monks

Proud man has no heaven;

Envious man has no neighbour;

Angry man has not even himself.

(Chinese philosophy)

Taken from the facebook wall of Dhamma Garden (2 August 2011)

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A proud monk followed by foolish devotees has everything.

A foolish monk following proud devotees has everything.

Those envious monks holding everything have lost everything.

:)

(Anonymous Shin Acara)

A Good Friend

A trusted friend is the best relative.

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Ven Ananda (to the Buddha):

“Venerable Sir, friendship with the good, companionship with the good, inclination towards virtue can bring about half-fulfillment of the practice of the life of purity.”

The Buddha (replied):

“Don’t say so, Ananda; don’t say so Ananda! Friendship with the good can bring about complete fulfillment of the practice of the life of purity.

Indeed, Ananda, through me as a good friend, beings who are subject to rebirth escape from rebirth; beings who are subject to aging escape from aging; beings who are subject to illness escape from illness; beings who are subject to death escape from death; beings who are subject to grief, lamentation, pain, distress and anguish escape from grief, lamentation, pain, distress and anguish.

Having a good friend can bring about complete fulfillment of the practice of the life of purity.”

----------

Eight qualities of a good friend are:

- Confidence

- Morality

- Knowledge

- Generosity

- Diligence

- Mindfulness

- Concentration

- Wisdom

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Five duties of a good friend are:

- to be generous

- to speak with courteous

- to be helpful

- to be impartial

- to be sincere

----------

A Good Friend

- Gives what is difficult to give.

- Does what is difficult to do.

- Pardons what is difficult to pardon.

- Shares his/her private affairs to his/her friend.

- Hides private affairs of his/her friend.

- Does not leave a friend in trouble.

- Does not show disrespect to a poor friend.

- Is loveable and agreeable.

- Is reverential.

- Develops the heart of his/her friend.

- Gives advice.

- Accepts advice.

- Shares insightful and reflective thoughts.

- Does not encourage his/her friend to be involved in inappropriate acts.

:)

Shin Acara

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Ref:     - Dhammapada 204, Sukhavaggo, Kuddaka-nikaya

- Kalyanamitta-sutta, kosala-samyutta, Samyutta-nikaya

- Anguttara-tika, Anguttara-nikaya etc.

- Singala-sutta, Pathikavagga, Digha-nikaya

- Mitta-sutta, Anguttara-nikaya (3)

- Pathama-mitta-sutta, Anguttara-nikaya (7) 

- Ditiya-mitta-sutta, Anguttara-nikaya (7)

Picture from (1 June 2011): 

http://www.carmenguedez.com/greeting_cards/friends-painting-card.html

Notes on U Budh

This is my note from a book I read. (I tried to translate it into English now.) It is my carelessness to take no record of the printing history of the book. Now I even cannot remember its title and the author. Fortunately, the note is kept on my computer. It is about Sayadaw U Budh (a well-known Burmese Buddhist monk). How can this information from the time of palm-leaf inscription be valued in this IT age? It depends on the reader. Let us have a look.

Sayadaw U Budh was a well-known Myanmar Buddhist monk in the later time of Ava Dynasty and in the early time of Konbaung Dynasty. He was one of the king’s teacher monks. Myanmar Buddhists often say that there were three Budhs: “the Beginning Budh, the Middle Budh, and the Last Budh” respectively referring to the Lord Buddha, Commentator Buddhaghosa and Sayadaw U Budh. By this, the Sayadaw’s morality, concentration and wisdom are highly honoured; especially his dhamma knowledge is honoured.

He was born in 1149 ME. His native was NyaungKan Village (Maung Htaung), Budalin Township, Upper Myanmar. His parents were U Oe and Daw Hmway. His childhood name was Maung Pope. Later his name became Maung Budh (Mr Wisdom) because he was very bright. His monkhood name was Shin Cakkinda. But he was well known as U Budh when he became, in 1192 ME, a royal tutor monk of King Sagaing and his chief queen named Mel Nu.

Mel Nu Brick Monastery, Ava

The First Admonishment to the King

Today there is a well-known antique monastery in Ava near Sagaing, Upper Myanmar. It is Maha Aung Myay Bon San, Mel Nu OkeKyaung (Brick Monastery Donated by Mel Nu), a donation of the royal family. It was donated to Sayadaw U Budh in 1192 ME. On the day of monastery donation ceremony, the king and his queen requested Sayadaw U Budh to give a dhamma talk. Briefly he preached:

“We do not need to admonish you if you fulfill the duties of a good king. Unless you’re a righteous king, it is not our business. That would be the business of Avisi Niraya, the severest hell.”

The Last Admonishment to the Queen

The king was paying more attention to religious and meritorious affairs and less attention to his kingly tasks. Moreover, he became unhealthy since 1196 ME and thus, administration of the country was taken over by the queen, her brother U Oh and the viceroy, the king’s younger brother. Gradually, the queen and the viceroy fought in secret for power which resulted in two groups being formed.

Moreover, during that time, there were dissatisfactions in the palace. The reason was because the queen was not from a royal family. She was but a village lady. Her native was Phalankhon Village, Shwebo District, Upper Myanmar. Thanks to her father and aunt who were serving the king, the father of Sagaing King, she became an attendant to the king and queen. At that time, King Sagaing was a viceroy and he was attracted by the splendid beauty of Mel Nu and decided to take possession of her. When the viceroy became a king, his chief queen was Hsin Phyu Mel who died after giving birth to a son (Sakyar Min) in 1174 ME. Thereafter, Mel Nu became the chief queen of the king. Everybody at the palace was displeased because the chief queen was just a village lady and not from a royal family. The father of the late queen (Hsin Phyu Mel) and her uncle were leaders of Mel Nu’s opposition group. But the dissatisfactions were suppressed when the opposition leaders were killed by the new queen (Mel Nu) and her followers.

In 1198 ME, the queen and her team tried to seize and imprison Prince Tharyarwady, the viceroy and younger brother of the king. However, the prince together with his followers escaped and they ran away to Shwebo where he settled down and formed an army. He rebelled and finally defeated his brother king in 1199 ME. Though he took the throne, he did not kill his brother and the queen, Mel Nu. Instead, he just demoted them.

In 1201 ME, Mel Nu and her old ministers attempted to dethrone King Tharyarwady. They rebelled but the attempt was unsuccessful and they were defeated by the king. Many people who were involved in the rebellion were killed and the king ordered his mayor to execute Mel Nu by drowning. Prior to the execution, Mel Nu requested the executioner to let her pay her last respect to Sayadaw U Budh. Her request was granted and she was brought to the Sayadaw. She miserably said to the Sayadaw:

“Venerable Sir, I am going to be executed by King Tharyarwady who is more powerful than me now.”

The Sayadaw just replied: “Mel Nu, you must pay for your debt.”

Benefit of the Queen’s Charity

Queen Mel Nu was fond of contributing to charity. One day, in front of Sayadaw U Budh, she counted her meritorious deeds and asked him what will be the benefits of her charity works. The Sayadaw asked her to bring a cup of water. She brought a cup of water to the Sayadaw who told her to throw away the water again. Then he said:

“The amount of water you threw away should be compared to the wealth you gave in charity. The amount of water remaining in the cup should be compared to the benefit of your charity works.”

The Saydaw wanted to say that the queen’s charity works were not very much appreciated because she made them for her own gain and fame.

Pathamakyaw Decision

Pathamakyaw was a Buddhist oral examination of ancient Myanmar. Student monks had to learn the Buddhist texts by heart so that they can sit for the exam. In the yearly examination, the best student chosen among the student monks from all over the country was offered the title of Pathamakyaw (Pathama, first; kyaw, famous). One of the years, it was greatly wished that the winner of the title would be a bright student monk learning at the monastery supported by Prince Tharyarwady, the viceroy and the younger brother of the king. Thus U Oh, the queen’s brother, approached the chief monk of the monastery and requested the venerable to allow him to bring the student monk to the monastery he supported. He was allowed and so he was happy thinking that the monastery supported by him would be famous for producing a Pathamakyaw student monk. However, this matter was exposed prior to the examination and was reported to the king who did not give any judgment but handed over the matter to the monks for arbitration. None of the monks dare to make any decision because the dispute was between the two influential men, the viceroy and the queen’s brother. At last Sayadaw U Budh decided:

“This is not the king’s business. And this is neither the queen’s business nor her brother’s business nor the viceroy’s business. This is but the monks’ affair. The chief monk of the monastery supported by U Oh persuaded the student monk, others pupil. Thus, this is an offence of wrongdoing for him according to the Vinaya rule: ‘Na bhikkhaveannassaparisaapalaletabba, yoapalaleyaapattidukkatassa.’ He must disclose his offence. Any monk near him must accept his confession. The student monk went onto the wrong course of passion by following the persuasion. Thus, he must not sit in the examination this year. Let him go back to his native village.”

A Little Thing

Being quiet is one of Sayadaw U Budh’s distinguished characteristics. He was usually concise and precise in his speech. One day the king and the queen made a cause to let him speak out. They went to his monastery together with their young daughter named Tilokamyatswar who later became the chief queen (Hsing Phyu Ma Shin) of King Mindon. At the monastery, they paid homage to the quiet monk who was then reading and writing. Intentionally, they let the child go off around the monk as she wished. As a child, she was playful and fearless. She was taking things and throwing them away and putting everything in disorder. Finally, she was playing with the monk’s palm-leaf inscriptions. Seeing this, the venerable asked: “Who is the little thing?” The king answered: “Our daughter princess, venerable Sir.” He continued his reading after making the remark: “If so, she’s mischievously playful.” The king and queen took their child and quickly went back. The king laughingly said to his queen: “The venerable doesn’t speak to us but he loves to talk with our daughter.”

Sayadaw U Budh paid attention to his works only. He did not entertain his devotees even if they are king and queen.

I am Living in the Buddha’s Dispensation

In 1194 ME, the king and the queen made Kathina donation to Sayadaw U Budh’s monastery. During the Kathina ceremony, in the presence of the invited monks, Sayadaw U Budh gave the Kathina robe to a monk in poor robes. Seeing this, one of the invited monks said to Sayadaw U Budh:

“The queen offered this expensive robe to you. She will be unhappy that you gave the robe to a student monk.”

Sayadaw U Budh replied the monk by questioning him:

“Are you, venerable Sir, living in the Buddha’s dispensation or the queen’s dispensation?”

Son of Buddha or Son of the King?

In 1145 ME when Sayadaw U Budh was a royal tutor of King Tharyarwady, the son of the king invited Sayadaw U Medha of Nyaungkan Village, U Budh’s native, to the kingdom. Thus U Medha became the royal tutor of the prince. U Medha went to Sayadaw U Budh to show his respect to the later as soon as he arrived at the kingdom. Upon seeing Sayadaw U Medha, Sayadaw U Budh admonished him by calling his childhood name and said:

“Maung Gyi, now you’ve become a royal tutor. If you behave according to the Buddha’s will, you’ll be a son of the Buddha. But you’ll be a prince, the son of the king, if you behave according to the king’s will.”

:)

Shin Acara

Ref: Forgetfully unrecorded pages of a forgotten book by a certain author

Picture from (30 May 2011): https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLrSusdYqI3wyYszSoUQy0ebQOSF5JQgMZtTDuVpFZnqpTi4DBm_kmzg34wpwmMDW1Tgg16PDp7Iq-TQjh6S036wbfdSzgYoYe9sDOykIQyjLSXS67askx09amGXWTPxeax0dUFdgp2nYd/s1600/IMG_0768.jpg

Element Meditation

“I instruct you to note the movement in the abdomen, which is prominent and easiest to note while you are seated. The tightness and movement in the abdomen is the Air Element (vayo-dhatu). I instruct you to note the Air Element by saying mentally "rising, falling" in ordinary language.

Practitioners (yogi) who have respectfully followed this instruction have achieved deep concentration (samadhi) within seven days. Having achieved a pure mind (citta-visuddhi), many thousands of them can discriminate between matter (rupa) and mind (nama) with direct knowledge.

Moreover, there are many thousands who, by means of direct knowledge, can distinguish cause and effect and understand the nature of arising, passing away, impermanence (anicca), suffering (dukkha), and no-self (anatta). When their insight-knowledge (vipassana-nana) is mature, they observe the process of phenomena as they appear to the Six Sensory Doors (dvara). Assuredly, there are many thousands of practitioners who have attained the perfect knowledge of insight (vipassana-nana), which is said to be the perfect knowledge of Magga and Phala.”

--------------------

Ref:

p 46, Sakkapanha-sutta (ebook), Mahasi Sayadaw; Translation is mine.

Picture from (28 May 28, 2011): http://www.appamada.net/mahasi.html

Beginning of the Insight Meditation

This is an occasional complaint: “Venerable Sir, I practise Insight Meditation (Vipassana). However, when I meditate I don't see anything.”

Your mind observes but nothing is observed. If this is so, look again at the mind that is not observing anything. A mind that observes nothing passes away without observing anything. With your wisdom (nana) again observe the mind that observes nothing. The unknowing mind passes away. Observe it to understand this passing away. This passing away is known as "impermanence" (anicca). Knowledge of this passing away is known as the "path" (magga). If you cannot practise Insight Meditation, then meditate on the mind that is unable to do so. 

You may think this is very strange. But it is perfectly normal. You see the object of meditation but you don’t know how to meditate. Thus I have to teach you. You say you cannot meditate although the object of meditation is present. Your mind is looking at the meditation object but its passing away is not noticed. When you practise Insight Meditation, the unknowing mind may arise in you. That mind should be noticed by wisdom (nana). When you observe it, it has already disappeared. As mentioned earlier, the passing away of the unknowing mind is “impermanence (anicca).” Knowledge of this passing away is the "path" (magga, i.e. lokiya-magga, vipassana-magga).”

What is this meditation method? This is a method in accordance with the Buddha’s teaching: “Samohacittam samohacittanti pajanati, Comprehend the consciousness accompanied by ignorance (moha) as it is.” Understand? When you cannot meditate on anything, when you cannot observe anything, ignorance (moha) is taking place in you. Make this consciousness your meditation object. You can observe it though it cannot observe anything.

What kind of meditation is this? This is “cittanupassana.” This is “dhammanupassana.” Knowing the dissolution of unknowing mind is “cittanupassana.” Knowing the mind in trouble is “dhammanupassana.” All are included. Now can you practise the Insight Meditation?

Please note that the beginning of the Insight Meditation is knowing the unknowing mind.

------------------------

Ref (25 May 2011):

(“၀ိပႆနာအစ မသိတဲ့စိတ္က စ၍ ႐ႈရပံု အလုပ္ေပးတရားေတာ္”၊ မိုးကုတ္ဆရာေတာ္၊ အလုပ္ေပးတရားေတာ္ အမွတ္စဥ္ - ၂)

“The Beginning of the Insight Meditation is the Unknowing Mind”, Moegok Sayadaw,

http://dhammadownload.com/MP3Library/Mogok-Mp3-Ver2/AlotePayTaYar/AlotePayTaYar-D02/001-MoGokSayaDaw-INSIGHT-MEDITATION-BASIC.mp3

Picture from (28 May 2011): http://alinsek.blogspot.com/2010/08/blog-post_833.html

Translation is mine.

Benefit of Mere Listening to Others Chanting

Benefit of Mere Listening to Others Chanting

Making Merit for the Benefit of Others - သူတစ္ပါးအတြက္ ကုသိုလ္ျပဳလုပ္ျခင္း

Making Merit for the Benefit of Others

Vedana and Tanha - ေ၀ဒနာ ႏွင့္ တဏွာ

Q: Venerable Sir, a friend of mine said: “to eliminate craving (tanha) one must eliminate feeling (vedana)." He was referring: “craving is ceased on the cessation of feeling (vedana nirodha tanha nirodho)” of Dependent Origination.

I told him that as long as there is consciousness (citta) there will be feeling (vedana), and consciousness (citta) will be there throughout the life circle of a person (samsara), except on two occasions – when the person enters into nirodha-samaapatti which is attainment of cessation of consciousness and cessation of matters caused by consciousness, and when the person attains final liberation (nibbana).

The problem is I maintain that feeling (vedanaa) cannot be eliminated. My friend maintains that feeling (vedanaa) must be eliminated so that craving (tanha) will not arise. Can you tell us who is right and who is wrong?

Respectfully,

Dr Han Tun

A: Dr Han Tun, both of you are right. Feeling arises in all conscious beings. Because feeling is a universal mental property (sabbacittasadharanacetasika) associating with all types of consciousness. Where there is consciousness there will be feeling. And, according to the Dependent Origination, craving ceases on the cessation of feeling. Moreover it is true that craving arises depending on feeling.

In this case "feeling and craving" should be focused. And I understand that the most important thing is "cessation of craving."

As said above, craving arises depending on feeling. However this is a general truth. In other words, this is true for ordinary people. Actually craving can never arise in arahants who have eradicated inherent tendencies (anusaya). In this regard feeling is a condition for craving, but it (craving) cannot arise without inherent tendencies.

As for meditators, a feeling can be a meditation object (vedananupassana). For them, liberation is possible when feeling is meditated with mindfulness and wisdom. If they are successful in this meditation, any kind of feeling will never be a cause of craving. But a certain feeling can lead them to the attainment of the highest wisdom (arahatta-magga-panna) with which they attain the final liberation (nibbana).

Suppose you are practicing Vipassana meditation and you are making notes of your present feeling. For example you have a pleasant feeling and you make notes of this feeling. You note: "feeling, feeling, feeling . . ." By this, you understand that this feeling arises and disappears. You see the true nature of this feeling. But you do not have craving for this feeling. This is your momentary success.

This subject matter is a part of the Dependent Origination which is profound. You are recommended to learn more about the Dependent Origination.

With Metta,

Ashin Acara

Taken from (25 January 2011): http://www.mangalavihara.org.sg/Questions%20and%20Answers/GP01/GP01%20QA07.html

Picture from (25 January 2011): http://wanderingmist.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/love_those_thick_impasto_details_on_geological_abstract_painting_ishrath.jpg

Chanting Practice of Theravada Buddhists - ေထရ၀ါဒဗုဒၶဘာသာတို႔၏ ရြတ္ဖတ္ပူေဇာ္မႈ

The Chanting Practice of Theravada Buddhists

Full Moon and New Moon - လျပည့္လကြယ္

Buddhist Full Moon and New Moon Days

Reincarnation - လူ၀င္စား

Image taken from (19 Oct '10):http://unitedmindset.com/dimi_arhontidis/wp-content/uploads/2008/12/drug-free-zone-david-fuhrer.jpg

Bhante, recently I received an email with a link to view reincarnation. I'm very amazed and and wished to understand it better from a Buddhist point of view. How do we explain reincarnation? Is it cuti-cittas or some other things that lead to the reincarnation? Would appreciate if Bhante could enlighten me on this subject.

 With metta & mudita

Uttara Chiam

According to the Dictionary reincarnation is defined as "Rebirth of the soul in another body." As you know, according to Buddhism, there's no soul. That is why there's no reincarnation in Buddhism. However, according to Buddhism, all beings are to die and to be reborn in samsara which is the circle of death and rebirth, before they attain nibbana. There are those who can remember their previous lives. Thus this reincarnation can be defined as "Rebirth of a person who can remember his/her previous life or lives."

Remembering previous life is called pubbenivasanussatinana in Pali. This supernormal knowledge (abhinnana) is obtained by meditation. It is through this knowledge that  the Buddha saw His previous lives and others’ in samsara. Many discourses of the Budddha showed different kinds of past lives lived by different beings, for example jataka stories, thera stories, theri stories and peta stories. These were discovered by the Buddha and his disciples who possessed supernormal knowledge.

Moreover, previous life or lives may be discovered by ordinary people with a knowledge known as jattissaranana in Pali. This can be translated as  “knowing previous life.” This is not supernormal but normal, only rarely found.

In the Tipitaka we find several people who can remember their previous lives and those who can see the previous life or lives of other people. Here are some examples. In the Dhammapada-atthakatha (Sukarapotika-vatthu, verses 338-343), Maha Anuruddha, resident monk of Kotipabbata Monastery, and other monks went round for their alms in Maha Punna Village. Then, on seeing a Lady named Sumana, wife of a minister, he told other monks: “Friends, it is wonderful that a young female piglet can become wife of a minister.” When she heard the Venerable, the lady remembered her 12 previous lives including a Brahma, human being, hen and female pig.

And in the Manorathapurani (Annatitthiyasuttavannana, Anguttara-nikaya-atthakatha), a baby boy was born with the knowledge of his past life (jatissaranana). He always cried loudly whenever he was touched by his mother because he knew that he was killed by her in their four previous lives. Thus he was brought up by his grandmother. In a past life, the son and the mother were husband and wife. Then the wife committed adultery with her brother-in-law, the younger brother of the husband. To hide their wicked act, they assassinated the husband. The husband was reborn as a snake in the house of his ex-wife due to his attachment to her. The snake always attempted to get physical contact with her by falling down upon her. Finally it was killed by her. Again, it was reborn in the house as a dog and it followed her wherever she went. Finally it was also killed by her. Again it was reborn in the house as a calf (a young bull) and it also followed her all the time. It was again killed by her. Finally, when the husband was conceived in the womb of his ex-wife, it was the grandmother who discovered the reason for his crying whenever his mother touched him.

The attached link captures yet another story of a boy who knew about his previous life. However, majority of the people cannot remember their previous lives. Why is it so? It is explained that experiences of their past lives were forgotten due to the severe experiences they encountered when they died or when they were in their mothers’ wombs or when they were born. This explanation is logical. Some people do forget the earlier experiences of their present lives after being traumatized in severe accidents such as a traffic accident. Some, however could still remember their previous lives despite their encounters. The reason is that their previous lives' experiences had such great impact that they cannot be forgotten. The ability to remember the past experiences must be supported by other conditions such as "reminders". As in the above story of Lady Sumana, she was reminded of her previous lives by Thera Maha Anuruddha.

It should be noted that two persons in two successive lives are neither the same nor different. At that moment of re-linking (patisandhi), the earliest moment of a new life, mind and matter (nama and rupa) occur. Mind and matter of a person are not transferred from one life to another. They arise anew in the present life, but they are conditioned by past kamma. Relationship of the two persons is compared with that of sound and its echo, and object and its reflection in a mirror.

With Metta,

Ashin Acara

Taken from:

http://www.mangalavihara.org.sg/Questions%20and%20Answers/GP02/GP02%20QA06.html

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