Key Points A monk may only ask for his needs if he receives pavāraṇā (invitation). Clear invitations—especially phrases like “any time” or “ever”—create ongoing permission. Invitations are not binding; they simply allow the monk to ask. Renewing the invitation often helps the monk feel comfortable and avoids misunderstandings. Introduction In the Theravāda Vinaya tradition for monks who do not use money, many lay supporters are not familiar with how invitations work1. Several Vinaya rules prevent a monk from asking for his needs unless he is given pavāraṇā (invitation).

Updated October 21, 2025 from the original in 2022. Introduction: Halloween is bad according to Theravāda because it involves dressing up, acting and embodying the costume one is wearing, often involving unwholesome characters. This can lead to a bad destination, and I will explain why. It is like Acting: Acting as a career, generally is not so wholesome. If there is any movie or play that is considered “good” by literature and Hollywood standards, there are going to be one or more of the five precepts broken. The content might consist of the actions listed below:

One of the most famous blessings given after a meal donation is from Dhammapada verse 109. It is well known across all traditions and in all countries—Sri Lanka, Thailand, Laos, Myanmar, and Cambodia. Dhammapada Pāḷi Verse 109 Abhivādanasīlissa, niccaṃ vuḍḍhāpacāyino, Cattāro dhammā vaḍḍhanti, āyu vaṇṇo sukhaṃ balaṃ. Translation For one who is respectful and constantly venerates the elders, four qualities increase: long life, beauty, happiness, and strength. This is one of the most famous blessings given by monks to laypeople after food is offered to the Saṅgha. It is chanted across all traditions and countries.

Many people think that the Noble Eightfold Path (Ariya Aṭṭhaṅgika Magga) and the Four Noble Truths (Cattāri Ariya Saccāni) are different. However, the Noble Eightfold Path is actually the Fourth Noble Truth (Magga Sacca) among the Four Noble Truths. The Four Noble Truths Dukkha Sacca — The Truth of Suffering Samudaya Sacca — The Truth of the Cause of Suffering Nirodha Sacca — The Truth of the Ending of Suffering Magga Sacca — The Truth of the Way Leading Out of Suffering (The Noble Eightfold Path) Summary Poem Some think the Truths and the Path are not the same, Because they don’t know all four by each name. Suffering is the first, while the cause is number two, The third is its ending, the fourth — a Path to do.

I explain the Triple Gem to Westerners who know nothing about Buddhism in an unconventional way. I use an analogy that helps them understand what the Buddha, the Dhamma, and the Saṅgha really mean — through something they already respect: Einstein and the laws of physics. The Buddha — The Discoverer When I talk about the Buddha, I say he’s like a scientist — but not just any scientist. He’s like Einstein in some ways.

Install Buddhist Compass Now How to Make Your Worship More Powerful If you know the direction of Bodh Gaya and align yourself with it when you pray, your devotion naturally becomes stronger. You don’t have to take my word for it—try and see for yourself. Muslims have known this principle for centuries through the practice of facing Mecca (qibla). Until recently, Buddhists did not have such a tool. Buddhist Compass makes it possible with just a simple app.

Introduction Many people are interested in learning how they can increase their sitting time. They ask: Bhante, what kind of exercises can I do? What stretches can I do in order to sit longer? Actually, the main reason you can’t sit for long periods is not because of the body. Instead, it’s because you don’t have concentration. The problem is not the posture — the problem is the mind. You need to focus on the quality of concentration, rather than how long you can sit. This is the most important thing. When you have concentration, you will naturally be able to sit longer and longer. To prove the point, how long can you sit in a chair meditating compared to how long you can sit in a chair watching a movie or doing your desk work? You can probably sit longer at a desk because you are focusing your mind.

Introduction Quite a few people believe that there is a special purification process that happens during the Pātimokkha recitation meeting done on the full and new moon days. They believe there’s some magical purification going on. While it is true that after the meeting the monks are considered pure, there is nothing magical. Why the Mystery? During the Pātimokkha, the recitation of the 227 rules, lay people are often kept out of the uposatha hall (or sīmā). That naturally leads to speculation. The hall is special and sacred, not because of magic, but because of legal Vinaya reasons. Think of it like a courthouse: you can’t just hold a trial under a tree or at someone’s home. Monks must carry out official acts like ordinations and the Pātimokkha in a formally designated sīmā. They must sit inside the marked area and be within an arm’s length from each other.

Introduction Many people think that hiri (moral shame) and ottappa (fear of wrongdoing) are too heavy for meditation. However, we will discuss not only why they are good qualities but beautiful ones too. These two mental factors are known as the protectors of the world (lokapāla-dhammā). Why Are They Beautiful? In a previous post and video, I discussed the sobhana cetasikas — the beautiful universal mental factors that arise in all wholesome states. There are 19 of them, and among them are hiri and ottappa (Moral Shame, and Moral Dread).

What Is the Buddhist Rainy Season? Understanding the Vassa and Kaṭhina Ceremonies Each year, Theravāda Buddhist monks all over the world make a determination to stay in a single monastery for a three month period of the Rainy Season also known as Vassa, or the Rains Retreat. You will hear the term “Vassa” often in this article, so please remember it. Traditionally, it starts the day after the Full Moon Day in July or the day after the Āsāḷha full moon known in the Pāḷi language. If your monks move around a lot and you need to rely on a teacher, you can expect the monks to stay at a monastery for a full three months without moving around. Some make determinations to practice harder, while others who already follow a steady practice simply continue their daily routine as usual. In this article, we will look at the origins of Vassa, the different types of Vassas, the allowances to leave the vassa on business, or by emergencies, if it affects the age of a monk, and what happens at the end of Vassa.

What does it technically mean to have a “beautiful mind” in meditation—beyond vague metaphores or mysticism. Defining the Beautiful Mind When modern teachers describe deep samatha (concentration) meditation as “beautiful,” they speak in mystical metaphors. However, real Theravāda Buddhism involves the Abhidhamma. The Abhidhamma is not for scholarly proliferation. It is for knowing how the mind works and applying the mind in that way. The Abhidhamma provides a precise definition: sobhāna cetasikā, or beautiful mental factors.

Monks Using Uber and Gift Cards: Allowable as a Kappiya Arrangement Summary Are Theravāda monks allowed to use Uber, PickMe, or gift cards? Yes, but only with a proper invitation from a donor or kappiya, in accordance with Vinaya rules. While these services offer convenience, they can reduce meaningful connections with supporters — an important aspect of monastic life. Read on to learn more. The Allowability of Ride-Hailing Services In modern times, ride-hailing apps like Uber or Sri Lanka’s PickMe or Grab in Myanamr and Thailand offer a convenient way to arrange transportation. Although monks are not allowed to use money directly, these services can still be used in accordance with vinaya rules if properly arranged through a kappiya or donor.

Introduction In this post, I introduce some of the key digital projects I’ve been working on to support the study, practice, and expansion of Orthodox Theravāda Buddhism. These tools are designed to make Pāḷi texts more accessible, enhance Buddhist study, and provide practical applications for practicing Buddhist teachings through technology. Read on to learn more about each project, and watch the video at the end of this post for a full overview. The video is a boring zoom presentation with screen shares, but it does the job. A list of the projects is found below:

Training the Mind to not notice things: It seems strange that mindfulness would be used to not notice things. However, there’s a famous psychological experiment—one that’s only 1 minute and 21 seconds long—that has surprised people for years. I won’t spoil it for you, but if you haven’t seen it yet, watch it first and let me know how many times the ball was passed by the players wearing the white shirts:

Introduction On January 2nd, 2025, I left The International Institute of Theravāda (IIT) . It was something I had planned since late September 2024 and something I had wanted to do within the first few months of first attending in December 2022. I patiently waited for things to change. The main reason I left was that it was just a little too intensive for me and different from what I originally signed up for. I signed up to learn the Pāḷi language and also to fulfill the requirements of Nissaya Muttaka.

Recently, I made a video explaining the common question I get asked in the West. “Do you believe in a creator?” It is a loaded question usually asked by devoted Christians. They are expecting me to say no, but I tell them “Yes”. The real answer is that kamma is the creator. I quote from the stock phrase below: “Kammassakomhi, kammadāyādo, kammayoni, “It is actions that I own, it is actions that I am heir to, it is actions that I am born from,

Introduction During the month of November, I stayed in Geneva, Florida, at a very small florida buddhist monastery near Orlando —or what you might call a typical small three-bedroom house. Normally, the place is dormant and empty, but I was able to awaken this once-dormant monastery by going for alms, as I did in Kaua’i, ordinations, visitors and with my enthusiasm for teaching. About The Place: The three-bedroom house is supported by a very small group of Myanmar people on roughly 4 acres of land. About 5-8 families are involved with the support but only one family lives within a suitable driving distance. Because there are no property taxes and the annual costs are low to keep, this place was kept alive. I was introduced to this virtually unknown place in May 2024 by Czech Ashin Sarana. We were supposed to live together at this monastery for one week, but due to circumstances, he had business elsewhere during that time, and I was left alone. Ashin Sarana eventually disrobed with the aspiration of pursuing a career in counseling, along with other personal reasons, and he is now a layman. During that week alone, I had many opportunities to teach, and I was invited back.

Introduction A Sayalay is an ordained nun in the Myanmar Theravāda Tradition. It is similar to a sāmaṇerī or 10-precept female novice monk. However, to be respectful to the Theravāda tradition, it is not connected or equal to a sāmaṇerī and it is not a stepping stone for a bhikkhunī ordination. In the Myanmar Theravāda tradition, ordaining as a Sayalay provides women with a distinct path to practice the Dhamma formally without stepping into the roles traditionally reserved for monks or fully ordained bhikkhunīs. The Sayalay lineage honors the essence of monastic life, allowing women to embody the teachings while maintaining harmony within the Theravāda structure.

Ven Beralihela Upali Thero made me a pocket and belt today. The story goes like this. I sent him a message asking him about a monk who was wearing rag robes that looked like a Westerner but was actually a native Sinhala monk. He knew about this monk, but not very much. Afterwards, I told him about my lower robe I once kept going for four years and it had many patches on it. However, not many people knew about it since it was covered by my upper robe. Afterwards, I don’t know why, but he asked if I needed any help with anything. Initially I said “nope” but then told him about my belt and pocket project that needed replacing.

Introduction One of the most famous Theravāda dhamma books would be The Dhammapada. It is a book of Buddhist Poetry consisting of 423 verses. It has been translated numerous times in English and might be the most widely translated Buddhist Book in the world. Some of the translated titles are below: The Teachings Of The Buddha Footprint Of The Buddha The words Of The Buddha The verses Of The Buddha YouTube Video Of This Article Free downloads You can find some translated versions of the Dhammapada text here (as shown in the video):

Below are two talks based on the Dhammapada verses 49 and 118 The verses 49 yathāpi bhamaro pupphaṃ, vaṇṇagandhamaheṭhayaṃ, paleti rasamādāya, evaṃ gāme munī care. As a bee gathers honey from the flower without injuring its color or fragrance, even so does the sage go on his alms-round in the village. 118 puññañce puriso kayirā, kayirā naṃ punappunaṃ, tamhi chandaṃ kayirātha, sukho puññassa uccayo. Should a person do good, let him do it again and again. let him find pleasure there, for being blissful is the accumulation of good.

Introduction My trip to America from April 29th to June 2nd was very fruitful, yet I was very busy. From Sri Lanka, I traveled to Chicago, Boston, Connecticut, and Orlando, Florida. The main reason for traveling was to see my mother and family for Mother’s Day during my break. However, I also wanted to check out two places that might be interesting if I need to stay in the USA for some reason or another.

Just a small “monk life” entry: IIT, Sri Lanka, June 23, 20204 Yesterday was the day after the Full Moon Uposatha Day. We didn’t get a lot of food from the village alms round. I went by myself on my usual route, and another monk went by himself on a different route that he sometimes goes to. I’m not sure what happened. Maybe the villagers were at the monasteries all night. But that day, I didn’t get much food. I got rice of course, but just a few curries. It was enough for me though. When I came back, the other monk was waiting for me because all he got was maybe one or two spoons of rice and one spoon of curry, a vegetable curry.

This video is about alms giving in Sri Lanka, also known as piṇḍapāta. I share my experiences of collecting alms in Sri Lanka and comparing them to alms giving in other countries like Myanmar and Thailand. In Sri Lanka, alms giving is a daily routine for monks. People wait outside their houses with rice and curries, and the monks walk by collecting food in their bowls. This is different from other countries where monks might go out in groups and collect alms together. In Sri Lanka, even when going alone, people are generous and provide a balanced meal to the monks.

donor and myself at Golden Market Introduction Going for alms (pindapata) is certainly possible in the USA. There are different methods such as house by house alms, farmer’s market alms, visiting known donor’s houses, and supermarket alms. While house by house can take time to grow faith in a community, supermarkets can be quite easy to develop, even on the first day. Watch the video on Archive.org Obtaining Permission When the supermarket is part of a shopping complex, you will need permission from both the store manager, and also the shopping center property manager. These days, it can be difficult to get permission from most large corporate owned shopping centers. However, when I was in Kaua’i, Hawai’i, Ching Young Village was more than happy to let me “hang out” in front of Big Save which also gave permission for me to go. Princevilled shopping center told me, “Not even the Boy Scouts are allowed on the property.” Below is a picture of me hanging out with permission while the other is me pacing on the public sidewalk.

Vesak is a Buddhist holiday that celebrates the Lunar Full Moon Day of May, commemorating the birth of our Bodhisatta, the night he attained enlightenment under the Bodhi Tree, and the day Parinibbāna was attained (His Final-Death). This holiday is celebrated by Buddhists all over the world, especially in Theravāda Buddhist countries such as Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, and Cambodia. This year, it will be on May 23rd, 2024. You can find the dates here at timeanddate.com

Summary: Yes, it is possible, but it is difficult to recommended because it can be very dangerous for saṅgha. Some monasteries will prohibit ordinations of openly gay men. Why? The short answer is that the monastic environment is specifically designed to be segregated for celibacy. Segregation of genders breaks when homosexuals are ordained and mix with other monks. This is true especially at large monasteries where there is less supervision.

This is Ven Indavimala. During my re-ordination in 2007, the ones who were previously ordained got to go first by previous seniority. This is to preserve previous order of seniority to those who lost it before, but the seniority only resides in our year of ordination (if that makes sense). Technically we are all the same monk age in years. We are all 17 years or vassa. However, the monk with the most experience will be ordained before the other and he will be senior sometimes by a day, an hour, or even by a mere second. It is sort of like twins, if they know who was “born” first. Ven Maggavihari is the baby of our year and was in the very last group to ordain with a Chinese monk in the next day. He has only ordained once which is how it should be.

Left: May, 2023, Right: Feb, 2024. Introduction I recently lost about 10 Kg which is over 20 pounds. I’d like to share with you how I gained weight and how I also lost it. It is common for senior monks to gain weight, perhaps due in part to aging, as seniority implies being older. Even though we don’t eat after Solar Noon, gaining weight still can happen. However, if we really want to, we can all easily lose weight…“if we want to”. A 36 minute video version of this post is found at this link below. It is different from this written post, and you migth like to read and watch both.

Recently, I have been making more posts in video format. I share personal stories along with the dhamma. While most of you might be more insterested in monk life than the dhamma, we will still be doing both. This Dhammatalk explores the Dhammapada verse 53 and the different aspects of making merit I think you will like it.

In this talk, I explore many details about the monk’s bowl, how it is made black, the parts of the bowl, and several other things. It should be interesting if you are interested in Theravāda Buddhist monks. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J_GhgfnptEg&t=2s

AmericanMonk.org has a new free home! I started the process last week and if you are a subscriber who gets this email, the task is 90% complete. There is still some refinement to do. Why Move? Originally, I was using a WordPress framework on a hosting company called NameCheap. While NameCheap sounds like a small company, they are one of the top ten names in hosting and DNS services (where you get a registered website name). My sister who started a cooking website called, CookingWithAlisa.com was so kind to host me for a few years on her own account. However, I started getting notification messages that my website was getting shut down, sometimes a few times per day. My sister’s website was fine and it was just my own site that was affected. NameCheap’s Tech Support claimed I was using too many resources and they were shutting me down. They told me that an address located on Amazon’s Web Services (AWS) was causing extensive amounts of traffic. They helped me block them, but I was still getting shutdown messages. My website does get a lot of traffic. As I said before, I got nearly 60,000 real person web page views in 2023. That is quite a lot for a small website account, so I’m not sure what the real reason for going beyond my resource allocation was. Was it an attack or was my site too heavy or was my site getting too much natural traffic? I don’t know, but I needed to take action.

In this talk, I explore the Cūḷakammavibhaṅga Sutta and share the story of reconnecting with my first meditation teacher after nearly two decades. The focus is on the seeds of kamma that we plant continuously through our actions. What kind of seeds are we planting right now? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iq7LED3zIJo

This Dhamma talk discusses the key elements of the Kāladāna Sutta in addition to three personal stories that show how donations can miraculously come back to you. Some of the stories can be found at my website at this particular webpage below with pictures of the original items: https://americanmonk.org/miracle-on-3-or-4-streets/ The video is below: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qy_h71a17Qo Miracle On 3 or 4 Streets If you have ever wondered how monks survive on miracles when things go wrong, read on! Five stories are included.

Here is a post with a video link on how I got permission from my parents. In early 2001, when I was in Myanmar, and traveling for 1.5 years, I called my parents and asked them for permission to ordain as a monk. I didn’t get permission at first and then I told them I would never see them again if I didn’t get permission. “If I am hurt alive or dead, you will never see me ever again. It would be better if I were dead because at least you would know.”

There are three stories of loving-kindness told in the video posted below. The first story is from Kaua’i, Hawai’i, when a person did not want me on “his” street. Through the power of loving-kindness, things changed. Another story was also from the island in 2015. There were children on bicycles who were yelling at us to go away on multiple days. Through the power of loving-kindness, things changed. The last story is from 2011 during a trip to India. The loving-kindness did not change the other, but a different outcome was the result.

Ven. Nepal Nāthaputta and I have been going for alms together for some time now. He usually comes with me the whole way on Saturdays and on Sundays, he forks right after the 2nd or 3rd house. However, recently, a new monk decided to join our route. Last week, Ven. Nepal Nāthaputta went off on his own on Saturday while the two of us went on my usual route (good for two monks). We did the same this Saturday. When we came back Ven. Nepal Nāthaputta showed me the contents of his bowl. It had 2 spoons of rice and a few bananas. While this was clearly not enough food for him, it made me so happy. But Why? I’m a monk, right? Why should I be happy that a friend didn’t get any substantial food?

This year, my AmericanMonk.org website was 504 short of 60,000 filtered views (that removes bots and other stuff). The number of users who visited was up to 36,000. Not so bad and better than the year before. The progress over the years is evident in the yearly chart. Simply by writing down things that inspire me, people became interested. Google seems to like my website and recommends my posts on a variety of specialized topics taking a majority of 29,000 search engine referrals from this year alone. My parents read most of my articles and it is a good chance for me to give them some of the teachings.

Palm leaf photo link wellcomecollection:1 Today I finished memorizing the Bhikkhunī Pātimokkha in Pāḷi (the 311 Theravāda nun’s rules). While I did not recite the whole lot in a single session, I did memorize in chunks until the total was completely memorized at one time or another. That means, I would recite a chunk of rules in front of a teacher by memory and then work on a separate adjacent succeeding chunk for memory. After finishing the new chunk, I would recite those new rules by memory in front of a teacher and then move forward to another adjacent succeeding chunk. While this is not the best or ideal method, the chunks were quite large at times.

During the Buddhist Rainy season, I was invited to go to Cambodia as part of a group to deliver some relics and see Angkor Wat. While most people don’t know much about Cambodia as a Theravāda Buddhist Country, it is actually 97% Buddhist, which ranks them as the most Theravāda Buddhist Country in the world. The trip ended up being more than 1000 times more powerful than we ever expected and it will be a memory for a long time to come.

The Wootens One of the few places I have been to in Sri Lanka besides Na-Uyana and The International Institute of Theravāda (IIT) is Spring Hill Forest Monastery located in the Hantanna Mountains above Kandy. My two donors from Kaua’i, John and Nandini Wooten were visiting Kandy and I decided it would be good to take a break from the IIT scenery and climate with a great inspirational place for the Wootens to visit me.

Probably the #1 question we get is, “Why did you become a monk?” That question has many factors and answers. However, a better question is, “How did I actually get the nerve to become a monk?” I had a lot to give up. I was a computer programmer and really enjoyed my job. It did not feel like work actually and I was also making more than 15 times what someone on minimum wage was making at that time. I had gone through the “Should I stay or should I go?” routine many many times but never really committed myself to monkhood. 

Introduction: Today we will have a short and brief introduction into the meaning of “Namo Tassa Bhagavato Arahato Sammāsambuddhassa”. We could easily say it is the most frequently chanted stanza of all Buddhist Pāḷi because this is said before any other type of chant. It is also chanted before every proper Theravāda dhamma talk. We will discuss the word by word meaning and the basic grammar. In short, the phrase means “Reverence to the Buddha.” Namo means reverence while the other words represent The Buddha. A video of this lesson can be found here.

Introduction: There was a moment in world history where the Buddha’s teachings greatly affected world diplomacy during the Peace Treaty of 1951. We can learn from this type of history and apply the solution in our daily lives. In short, we can stop hatred with loving-kindness. J. R. Jayewardene President J.R. Jayewardene of Sri Lanka exits from a helicopter and walks to his airplane for departure after a state visit.

When it comes to shaving heads, Theravāda Buddhist Monks might be the authority on this issue. It is second nature for monks to shave but perhaps unknown to the rest of the world. In this article, we will discuss the motivation, Buddhist culture and methods for shaving the head and how it is done. Simplicity Inspires But Also Saves Money: For those of you in the layperson world (man or woman) who aspire to become monks but cannot plunge into a monastery just yet, you might want to try cutting your hair very short before shaving it. The first and foremost advice is don’t pay anyone to shave or buzz your head. If you are getting your haircut so short that a buzz cut would not be much different, an electric trimmer would cost the same or less than a single visit. In the late 90’s I used to do that myself or had another person do it. It is really easy to do. First try it with the attachments, and as your Buddhist Renunciation grows, you can try to get rid of the attachments.1 It is difficult to find the real reason why monks shave their heads, but as you can see for yourself, it is a step towards simplicity in life and one’s looks. Below is a picture of a buzz cutter. In my lay person days, I used a $20 corded device. It is good to see that they still sell for the same price. It should be noted that scissors are not allowed for monks. It has been judged by some, that electric razors are indeed modern scissors because they are two blades rubbing against each other.

Autopsy Table found on Wikipedia. The table we saw did not have “containment walls” Is it true that forest monks actually attend autopsies? Yes it is actually quite common. After being a monk for perhaps more than 10 years, I remember a senior monk expressing surprise when he discovered I hadn’t seen one. He said, “You haven’t been to an autopsy yet?” “You haven’t been to an autopsy yet?” Senior Monk

A lay person named Chathuranga came to the International Institute of Theravāda looking to ordain in November, 2022. He is now a sāmaṇera (novice monk) and not yet a fully ordained bhikkhu. I thought that it would be interesting to show his path to monkhood to you. Stage 1: Regular Person First he was a regular lay person working as a construction assistant engineer in the Maldives and then made the transition to a devoted layperson. Here you can see he is more serious about Buddhism and cleaning an ancient Buddhist shrine.

CC BY-SA 2.5, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=190448 The most popular Buddhist book is the Dhammapada which contains 423 poetic verses in the Pāḷi language. What are the most popular verses? While there are some classic chants and everyone has favorites, nothing compares to what the monks chant and what is found in most chanting books. Here are the chants that are integrated into many different traditions and usually chanted after the pātimokkha. Dhammapadagāthā Verses from the Dhammapada

I spent a little over 30 days in Thailand and I learned a great deal about Thai Buddhist culture and how things things are for monks outside of the vinaya saṅgha. What did I learn? Uncle Sam’s Banana Farm Uncle Sam’s Banana Farm First of all, this trip was well needed. Sabai means to be comfortable and relaxed. I really needed to be comfortable and relaxed and the goal was achieved. I had spent the previous 5 months at The International Institute of Theravāda (IIT) and the learning and study demands had been very stressful. I spent most of my time visiting Uncle Sam who was a Thai supporter I met in Kaua’i, HI. In Hawai’i, we use the word uncle as a respectful prefix for older people. It has nothing to do with blood lines.

Ven Ananda with the two donors Recently, we received six new tables arranged by a monk’s two donors. The tables were nice but I didn’t think we needed them, so I asked the monk why. He said there was not enough room on the tables for his donors’ donations, so they decided to donate more tables so they can donate more. When his donors make donations, they are not small. Normally his group of donors are not ten or twenty, but sometimes fifty or sixty donors and sometimes more. They stay up the whole night cooking and then deliver the donations for breakfast and lunch. So after staying up all night and cooking the food for the monks, they found that the tables had less pārami (accumulated strength qualities) than their own pārami. So that was why they donated more tables. They are not just regular tables either. Take a look at the cover photo and see how nice they are.

Monk walking towards the world of the 5% If you are a Westerner and new to Buddhism, you might be surprised to learn that most monks use and handle money. I have calculated that around 95% use money while 5% do not use money. The general consensus of those I have consulted say that about 2 or 3 percent do not use money but I used a 5% number to be safe. In this article I will give an itemized number crunch and explain how I came up with those numbers and you can see if 5% is safe and maybe double my original estimate.

monks seated for the patimokkha recitation in Pa-Auk Mawlamyine Introduction One of the things that you may notice when you visit a Buddhist monastery is that the monks sit, eat, walk, and pay respect to each other in a certain order. This order is based on the principle of seniority, which is determined by the date of ordination, not by age, education, or social status. Whoever is ordained earlier is considered senior, and whoever is ordained later is considered junior.

Introduction Foreigner monk gets a COVID vaccine jab during the times of the new Myanmar government In this article, I want to share with you some of my experiences of living as a monk in Myanmar during the covid pandemic and the government change that happened recently. I also want to explain why I left Myanmar at the end of 2022 and what I am doing now. I am an American Buddhist monk who has been living in Myanmar for many years. I was first ordained in 2001 at Pa-Auk Forest Monastery and then later did a resetting ordination in Sri Lanka during 2007. I have spent the majority of my monastic life in Myanmar, learning mostly from Pa-Auk Sayadawgyi but I have also spent 6 years at Na-Uyana, Sri Lanka. Most of my monastic life was spent practicing meditation, but now I am studying at the International Institute of Theravāda (IIT) in Sri Lanka.

Buddha by Numbers Introduction The Buddhist teachings are often organized by various lists. Various matrices of interlinked lists to organize the teachings are one of the distinctive features of Buddhism. In my studies, I find myself learning many different types of lists for memory. By doing so, I can see the benefit and how they can be expanded and interlinked. While it may seem like dry minutia and uninteresting at first glance, the lists run very deep when you start to understand how the whole system works.1 It is a complete system, and once you understand the basics, you can understand that they are all connected to each other with only a few degrees of separation.

Monk at The Bodhi Tree located at International Institute of Theravāda Theravada (Theravāda) is one of the major branches of Buddhism and is often referred to as the “School of the Elders.” It is the oldest surviving Buddhist school and it is the predominant religion of Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, and Cambodia. Because of its age and orthodoxy, it can also be loosely translated as “Old School Buddhism” in some ways too. The Theravāda tradition emphasizes the study of the complete 3 baskets (tipiṭaka) of the Pāḷi Canon along with the ancient commentaries for those texts.

Alms Tray and Cambodia Monk’s Full Bowl Introduction: This article explains the essence of piṇḍapāta (alms) and why we go for alms, even in poor villages. On the weekends, I have some time to go for alms in the nearby village. However, you might ask yourself, “Why would a monk collect food from a very poor village during an economic crisis when the monastery is mostly supported by wealthy people? Isn’t this making it more difficult for the Sri Lankan villagers?”

ai generated art for this post I asked openai chatGPT to write a buddhist poem on loving-kindness in the style of Dr. Seuss. This is what I got. With open hearts and open hands, We spread loving-kindness across the lands. Like ripples on a pond, it starts with one, But soon it touches everyone. With each kind word and thoughtful deed, We plant the seeds of love, in hearts to breed. For in this world of joy and pain, Love is the balm to ease all strains.

Although Buddhist lay people might be interested in having a monk perform their marriage ceremony, it is not allowed and doing so is classed as a heavy rule (Saṅghādisesa). Such heavy rules have penalties and require the monk to lose his full status for a minimum of 6 nights1 and additional probation time if concealing the offense occurs. Image was created by AI DALL-E by OpenAI. All participants do not exist in real life.

Multi purpose hall at IIT After 3 years in Myanmar, I have moved to The International Institute of Theravāda. What is this place and why did I come here and what is mission? What is IIT? The International Institute of Theravāda (IIT) is a comprehensive training institute aimed at facilitating spiritual and academic development of Buddhist monks, based on Theravada teachings. It is inclusive and accommodative, irrespective of sects (Nikaya) and other differences within the Theravada Buddhist clergy. The IIT would disseminate the teachings of the Buddha as per the ancient Theravada texts, to Buddhist practitioners across the globe.

Pa Auk Monastery in 2014, Photo by Klaus The Pātimokkha is a set of 227 rules for the bhikkhus belonging to the Theravāda sect which is based on the Pāḷi language texts. The 227 rules are grouped into seven classes with the first two, Pārājikā and Saṅghādisesā considered as “heavy”. The first heavy group is also considered irrecoverable while the second requires official transactions to restore the full bhikkhu status to the offender. The seven classes are listed below:

Bowl with bowl stand (maybe Pa-Auk) There are certain characteristics of the Theravada Buddhist monk’s bowl that might be interesting to know, even though the information is quite dry. Enjoy! Material: The Buddha has allowed two different types of materials for bowls: iron and clay. When we say iron in Asia, we mean steel. Stainless steel is called steel. Is stainless steel allowed? This metal was not invented yet, but The Buddha left us with the great standards to judge if something should be allowable that was not mentioned during the time of the Buddha. Because it is strongly resistant to most rust, and still contains iron, it has been unanimously decided that stainless steel is allowed. Today, it is one of the most popular long lasting bowl materials used.

Tiptkata Pali Reader A new beautiful app written in Flutter for all Desktops and Mobile Devices. Download: (Windows Store) (Mac OS Store) (Flathub Store) TPR-AppImage sudo apt install libfuse2 libsqlite3-dev (Android Store) (iOS Store) What is new? Build 85+ Release — May 2025 for Linux AppImage, Android, and Windows: This release includes AI integration. You will need an AI API key from OpenRouter , but you can get one without a credit card and use the free API engines, which work reasonably well. However, GPT-4o or GPT-4.1 offer better performance.

Water Purification Diagram While the first step of meditation is called Sīlavisuddhi (Purification of morality), another important part of our monastery is the water purification system. We basically have our own industrial Reverse Osmosis water purification plant with enough capacity to supply a whole village with drinking water. However, since we normally have 500+ residents, we only supply our own monastery instead of going into business. Ven Kāruṇika is one of the worker monks who keeps our water filtration machine in tip top condition, or shall we say “purerr-ing” ? I took a bunch of pictures with him explaining how everything works.. However, it was long ago and now I forget how to explain things.

Recently, the doctor ordered some lemon juice for me to take as medicine, so I asked the office helper for some lemons. She went into the kitchen and then to the “walk-in refrigerator.” I just had to laugh and then snapped a picture. What does a walk-in refrigerator look like? How doe they make walk-in refrigerators in Myanmar Monasteries? Instructions: Take an eight by eight room, Lay the walls with tiles Insulation (optional) Put one or two air conditioners inside Pa-Auk Maymyo: Only 1 air conditioner. Maybe because of the cooler climate and insulation.

Introduction One of my childhood favorite board games made by MAD Magazine. Unlike other games, the object of the game was to lose all of your money. In the last post, it was mentioned that the majority of Theravāda monks use money even though it is clearly not allowed, is a form of disrespect and defiance to the Buddha wishes and because of the moment to moment accumulation nature of using money or things bought with money, it adds up just like the drops of rain fill rivers which in turn fill up the oceans. The Buddha had also paired the use of money with three other unallowable actions such as sex, use of intoxicants, and wrong livelihood to show how bad the kamma really is. Because of this, it should be very clear that the use of money by monks will almost surely lead to an unhappy destination.

A Money tree in Laos cc-by-attrib-sa https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Buddhist_money_tree_with_toilet_paper.webp Are Buddhist monks allowed to use money? The short answer is that monks are definitely not allowed to even touch money for all traditions; Theravāda, Mahayāna, and Tibetan. However, it is very common for monks to not only accept money from lay people without shame, but they even encourage lay people to offer the money. Nevertheless, it is still a rule and there are heavy consequences if this becomes a lifetime habit and a wrong mode of livelihood. In the Theravāda, you are likely to find less than 2% of monks who follow such rules. While 2% seems like very little there might be over 5,000 monks who follow such rules world wide.1

Sunrise behind clouds, free public domain CC0 image. Many people want to go to Heaven or at least be born in human worlds but most people do not know what is needed to go there, let alone how to achieve enlightenment. Previously, in a previous article, I explained what happens after death according to the Theravāda teachings. If you have not read it, you really should. It explains the five causes for the five effects to arise (rebirth). In short, your kamma, and wish determine your next birth, but it is often like a raffle. Where do you want to go and what do you need to do to get there?

Ven Sunanda (China) One of the Chinese monks named Venerable Sunanda recently had his birthday. For his birthday, he determined to offer 100 shoulder cloths to various monks and ended up making 123. What is a shoulder cloth? It is a small robe that monks often like to wear underneath their upper robe. from http://www.justwalkedby.com/2016/03/sweeping-monk/ creative commons attrib nc We have an abundance of robes in the storage room and with vassa coming up, we will get more and more. I think it was last year, I got a couple of robes for entering vassa and 8 or 9 robes at the end of vassa. So, this monk took many robes and cut them up and resewed them to the proper size for a shoulder cloth with included tie-strings to help keep them in place.

https://unsplash.com/photos/j3R9C-Xqe1w Warning: This is a long but clear and interesting religious post on what happens after death according to Classical Theravāda Buddhism. Key Points: The Fully Enlightened do not take a rebirth after death. Immediate rebirth takes place after the death moment for all other beings. Kamma is what determines your next birth. Lifetime and Momentary suffering. Be careful what you wish for. There is no such thing as a guaranteed intermediate stage (Bardo Plane). There is no such thing as Near Death Experiences. It is very rare to read or hear Buddhist talks in English about what happens after death because topics on the “after life” encroach into the category of Religion. Most Western Buddhists, including monks, only wish to explore the “here and now”, general psychology and philosophy which is included in Buddhism. However, that limited subject matter makes one an Atheist who likes some Buddhist teachings rather than a Theravāda Buddhist who likes the sum of the Buddhist teachings. Today we will put the “ism” back into Buddhism. The material spoken about in this article is usually complex and terse. Usually you don’t get to this type of material until you have memorized many lists and pivot tables. I have taken these complex readings and put it into clear and digestible format. I hope you find this interesting and useful. Although this article is long, it is really a shortcut to learning the basics of what happens after death.

6 Color Buddhist Flag Yesterday, on Vesak, I was invited to go with Sayadaw Kumarabhivamsa, the Tipitaka Sayadaw and one more monk to visit the three very large Buddhas in our monastery and then finally to give water to the Bodhi Tree. When we give water to the Bodhi Tree, it is not uncommon to give pure bottled drinking water to it. Yes, you read that correctly. Bottled drinking water is used to water a tree.

Sattigumba and Pupphaka Asevanā ca bālānaṃ, paṇḍitānañca sevanā; Pūjā ca pūjaneyyānaṃ etaṃ maṅgalamuttamaṃ. Avoid the Fools and Associate with the wise. Give respect to the respectable. This is the highest blessing. Maṅgala Sutta This small quote is from the first verse spoken by the Buddha when he was asked, “What is the highest blessing?” There are thirty-eight blessings listed and you can find them here. However, the first verse is the most important and we will only discuss the fools and the wise.

A couple of months ago, I was contacted by a professor of World Religions in the College of Religious Education at BYU named, Alonzo Gaskill. He had read my previous article on Buddhist Monk’s Robes Information and wanted to interview me for another Buddhist robes article for Patheos.com. We talked for quite a long time about Buddhism, my past, and why I ordained, and then the time was up. So we scheduled another call to talk about robes the next day to actually talk about the robes. The credits at the end of the article say “Interview conducted, transcribed, edited, and condensed by Alonzo L. Gaskill. Well, he certainly did condense the 3+ hours of interview time, but I think he did a great job at getting the key points.

Now the world is getting used to COVID-19 and many countries are announcing a new policy called “Living with COVID”. Now we are too. I will explain…. On March 17, 2022, Pa-Auk Pyin Oo Lwin literally started to live with COVID. On that day, there were 5 monks that were sick and tested positive. When lunch came, we were on high alert. Massive testing happened within the next few days and we went from 12 positive cases to 25 and then to 35 and now we are at 50 cases for the male size and 15 for the female side only one week later. It spreads quickly but I think the increase of numbers will go down. I have succeeded in testing negative for 2 tests in one week thus far.

Sayadaw holding one of his finished brooms Natural fiber brooms are quite common in Theravadan countries such as Myanmar, Thailand, Sri Lanka, Cambodia, and Laos. Since the plants that are used to make brooms grow in our monastery, one of our very senior monks takes pleasure in making brooms when he needs to stretch his legs after a long meditation. It is strange, but since our main job is to meditate, working can be a leisure activity!

From Knowing and Seeing Pa-Auk Forest Monastery video In 2005 I made a video called, “Knowing and Seeing Pa-Auk Forest Monastery.” This is about the Pa-Auk Main Branch in Mawlamyine. Sayadawgyi was young back then and used to climb the stairs to his mountain kuti twice per day. I will miss that. The title was meant to play with the name of Sayadawgyi’s famous book called, “Knowing and Seeing.” The book is referring to knowing and seeing the detailed Dhammas which were once thought impossible to know and literally “see”. He has since proved that all of this is possible. His original detailed 5 volume book set was rejected for printing locally by the national monk committee. To get around this, the book was printed in Taiwan and shipped to Myanmar as any other imported book. Like any banned book, or the Streisand Effect, it made the material and author more popular due to curiosity.

Yesterday, I recited the 227 rules of the Pātimokkha for 110 bhikkhus at Pa-Auk Meditation Center in Pyin Oo Lwin. When a monk recites the Pātimokkha, traditionally he does so by memory and not by reading. My recitation was not the best quality, but it was not so bad considering I only started when I was 47, and I have only done this 5 times now. However, the recitations get better and better each time I do it and I hope improvement continues until perfection.

Eating Hall Feb 7 2022 Today is my 21rst anniversary for when I first got ordained as a monk on February 7th, 2001. As you know there was a hiccup and I ordained twice (back to back) leaving me with an official age of 15 years. However, the total years is 21 and this is my blackjack year when I first got my name. There were many reasons why I wanted to ordain as a Buddhist Monk. The desire to reach Nibbāna was the main reason, but there were other reasons such as,

Monks walking up the monastery road near the library 2014. (Double umbrella) Excerpt from Going For Broke: Monasterynote5: Walkman Karaoke, 2004 Rainy Season is luckily my favorite and I love all five months of it. It is the perfect temperature also, not too hot, not too cold. It’s quiet and the noises around me get white washed out from the rain striking the metal corrugated roofing. We had over 350 Bhikkhus and a total of more than 600 residents this past Rainy Season (2004). One problem is that nearly everyone has the same brown or silver umbrellas. Surprisingly, up until last Rainy Season, everyone sort of knew which umbrella was theirs just by the markings. Some would put string on the handle while others might have some tape along the fabric to stop the leaks.

Copyright notice.. picture by Kim Traynor cc-by-sa Note: This post is not for everyone. Those who claim to be bhikkhunis and supporters of the movement, and monks and nuns in general will find this interesting. Did you know that bhikkhunis (nuns) are not allowed to sleep alone or travel alone and if they do, they are sentenced to 2 weeks of rehabilitation and lose their full status as bhikkhunis during this period? In my last article Are Theravāda Bhikkhuni Ordinations Valid?, we discussed whether or not the bhikkhuni ordinations are valid. In this article, we will assume that today’s bhikkhuni ordinations are valid and then explore the heavy rules and consequences that are at stake. You will learn that bhikkhunis who claim to be serious about the rules are likely to be already breaking some of the heavy rules of the bhikkhuni vinaya.

Robin Hutton cc-nc-sa https://www.flickr.com/photos/robinhutton/35838229270 What to do when someone “gives” anger? Today, December 26th is Boxing Day. It is on this day when people give gifts to the poor, perhaps the gifts you received on Christmas but did not want to keep. It is also a day to give money or boxes to employees. Happy Boxing Day! The Buddha has spoken about not accepting gifts in his famous sutta in regard to those who give “anger”. Below is the Buddha’s teaching to someone who was rude to him.

Accused of Being Psychic A brief video describing this story has been added to this post below. The longer story is below that. I think it was in 2003 or 2004 when I was at Pa-Auk Meditation Center when this event happened to me. I was at the mountain meditation hall during the meditation break and I saw a yogi dressed in white yogi clothes. His outfit basically looked like pajamas to most Westerners, but if you know the meditation scene and you know how the foreigners usually dress at Pa-Auk, then you would know that he was a serious yogi. He was wearing the white yogi clothes and it was clear that he has been to other meditation places. Pa-Auk was not his first stop of on his spiritual journey.

Very few people from the West know about what the monks use for their bath towels and their bathing soap. Monks use items that are much different than those found in the West, although commonly known in Myanmar and other Buddhist countries. Furthermore, the monks use these items because of the monk rules associated with them in addition to the abundance and low cost. Monks at Pa-Auk usually use small hand towels instead of normal “wrap-around” sized towels.

Pa-Auk Bowl Blackening Foundry (not a political picture) We have seen many Facebook selfies of politically active monks with their bowls turned upside down. What does this mean and is that proper? The answer is: What you see on Facebook is not proper for monks or nuns. What you see on the news with monks and nuns as protesters is not proper. Overturning a bowl is an official Buddhist act, but what you have seen on Facebook and on the news are not official acts of overturning a bowl. These monks or nuns are doing this purely to be political. The Buddha has specifically mentioned that “talks of kings” should not be engaged in. What more could be said about participating in political protests?

Title Page In America, the Rote Method of learning is belittled as “learning like a parrot” and rarely or never taught in the Western school systems. However, it is a useful brute force method for memorizing Pali texts and the only way to memorize longer word for word Pāḷi texts such as the Pātimokkha. This system is used extensively in Myanmar schools and Myanmar study monasteries. If you hear lots of noise in the classrooms, rote learning is what they are doing. This video explains both passive and aggressive Rote Methods for memorizing Pāḷi. May you be successful in your learning and practice!

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Amerikanische_Gro%C3%9Fschabe_1.webp Today I saved an upside down cockroach in my bathroom. I thought he was dead but then saw that he was still alive and moving. I was late for breakfast and decided I would save him after I came back, but I became very overwhelmed with guilt 10 seconds later and could not go further. So I grabbed a tissue and picked him up with care knowing not to squeeze too hard. He crawled out from my loose grip and stood on top of the tissue on the way to the door outside. Although the modern way to do things like this is to take a selfie with the cockroach before saving him, uh.. I didn’t do that. This picture up top is from wikimedia. The real roach was smooth oily and black! After my heroic event, I washed my hands and then went to breakfast with a happy mind.

I took a small poll among seasoned Buddhists to see who could list all eight factors of The Noble Eightfold Path in English from memory and not many did so well. How can one follow a Path that one does not know? These factors should be said to oneself daily if one truly wishes to walk on the Path. To help with Buddhist literacy, I made a basic video that helps people memorize The Noble Eightfold Path in English. May this help you in your Path. Click on the picture below to see in youtube, or click here.

My near-empty tube of Meswak next to the new one At Pa-Auk, we get different items throughout the year. Sometimes we keep them, and sometimes we give them away. I usually give my extra items away quickly so I don’t end up with a private Walmart inside my kuti. However, I do plan ahead sometimes. I prefer using strong fluoride toothpaste after lunch and then using a natural toothpaste in the evening after our 5 pm juice offering. To my surprise, I had given away my last tube of tube of Sri Lankan “Supirivicky” to a friend thinking I had another tube of Meswak in queue, but I didn’t. I was fresh out.

Irrawaddi River, Bagan, 2015 There seems to be quite a bit of confusion about what the Abhidhamma is all about. If I were to describe a river based on Suttanta values and then describe it again in terms of Abhidhamma and commentary values, Abhidhamma will be very clear in its validity and purpose. I don’t recall the Buddha explaining rivers in Suttas in the way I will explain them. However, I will try to explain them “as if” they were spoken in the Suttas and also “as if” they were mentioned in the Abhidhamma and Commentaries.

Various items for Kaṭhina It is quite common in Myanmar to offer robes at the end of the Rainy Season (vassa) in a ceremony called Kaṭhina. How long do monk’s robes last? A monk normally has a set of three robes; a lower robe, an upper robe and a double robe sometimes referred to as the outer robe. During Kaṭhina, a set of robes are offered, but usually just the lower and upper robes since the double robe or outer robe lasts a long time. I’m not sure how old my double robe is, but I think it may be seven years old. It is faded, but still quite strong. During this Kaṭhina, 2021, the monks at Pa-Auk got a whopping eight sets of robes and one set robes were offered at the end of vassa a week ago, totaling nine sets of robes! Various other items were offered too, like slippers, a blanket, a pair of socks, tissues, soap, sponges, a bowl bag, rope, etc. I was also offered various requisite slips. This year someone was collecting the slips for a Myanmar Tipitaka (set of Buddhist Scriptures). Now my 60,000 myk office requisite slips are gone. Easy come, easy go. Last year, I collected 27-28 slips (1,250,000 myk) to sponsor a meal arranged by the office. These days, I’m more joyful to give my slips for the set of scripture books rather than a meal arranged by the office.

Artistic digital recreation of Migalaṇḍika (an ascetic who looked like a monk) The Monastery Murder Massacre that happened in Vesālī during the time of The Buddha is not well known among lay people. It was because of this massacre that The Buddha made a rule about killing humans. For the first 20 years, there were no rules and this was the third rule that was ever created. Before this, the monks intuitively knew what was proper and there was no need for rules. As time went on, new problems arose and more rules were made. We have 227 rules that are recited every fortnight, but we actually have thousands of rules and variations of rules which were made over the time of the Buddha. The slightly abbreviated story below is mentioned in the first Pāḷi book of the Tipitaka translated from The Book of The Discipline (Vol 1), PTS, cc-by-nc:

Burmese Pāḷi I have made a list of the most basic Pāḷi terms which will help you in your Theravāda Buddhist Readings and listening to Dhamma Talks. I could have added more, but there are already 165+ terms. I have decided to sort the words in alphabetical order so I would not have to decide which were the most important. Grouping the words would have also given me the same dilemma. If you learn 10 words per day, it should not take long to master. You will likely know many of these terms already.

Only In The West, Only In Asia Different Cultures, Different Views Many Westerners don’t understand or appreciate the old Buddhist texts or teachings. They are very different from Asian culture and history. They find it hard to relate to them. Let me give you an example. This is a picture and story of a bidet (a device that sprays water to clean your private parts after using the toilet). A monk friend showed me his new bidet that he was going to install in his bathroom. I was curious and asked if I could take a picture of it.

Injection on Western resident monk Pa-Auk finally vaccinated 2000 of its residents across its branch monasteries with a privately sponsored SinoPharm vaccine. Pa-Auk Pyin Oo Lwin branch had its vaccines delivered on September 18th, 2021 with about half of the total population signed up. Vaccination was voluntary and provided by donors. While it did take a long time for us to get the vaccine, the government did invite us for the vaccine back in April or May 2021. However, for various reason, the vaccine was declined. Furthermore, since we had, and still have, a fairly strict lock-down and quarantine procedure, it was felt that Pa-Auk could wait until the information and situation were more clear. The decision needed a delicate balance that protects those who want the vaccine and also those who wish to rely on isolation.

Download Android App Download iOS App Recently I made a mobile app to help me know when the Solar Noon is approaching and past. Why Is the Sun Important for Bhikkhus? Why Is The Sun Important for 8 & 10 Precepts? If you are a monk, nun or a practicing yogi who has vowed to not eat after Noon, you will benefit from this app. The real Solar Noon is not 12:00 pm when it comes to the Buddhist rules because there were no clocks back then. Rather, the Sun was used to know when one should stop eating. In addition to the Noon time, the Dawn time is important to know because that is the time at which one can start eating. If one eats before Dawn, then one is eating when it is still considered night.

cc WTC 9/11, 2001 wikimedia Attribution: Robert J. Fisch “They always wanted to get that building” That was what I said when I first heard about 9/11 three or four days later. I once had a job interview at Merrill Lynch in The World Financial Center which was connected to The World Trade Center by a sky bridge. My goal was to eventually work at WTC, but luckily I didn’t get that job and it was the only job interview I didn’t get an offer on. I continued working at Bayer Diagnostics and then resigned due to an animal rights ethics problem with a blood analyzer I was working on.

cc0 picture https://pxhere.com/en/photo/489726 There is not much written in English explaining why bhikkhuni ordinations are rejected by the Theravāda Community of Monks. The English writings are a poor representation of the vast majority of Buddhist Scholarship and that is why there is “controversy” regarding the revival of the extinct Theravāda Bhikkhuni order. There is really no controversy to speak about once you know the full story. Many Westerners believe that women are not able to become nuns without such a revival, but that is not true. The extinct bhikkhuni ordination had rules that were numerous, restrictive, and heavy in consequence to protect their brahmacariya life. To give monastic opportunities to women, the senior monks created new lineages in Myanmar, Sri Lanka and within the Western Thai Tradition long before this “revival”. Not only that, these “new” traditions have been designed to simplify and remove many of the “difficult to follow” rules which gives more freedom to practice to attain the goals of Buddhist meditation. Pa-Auk allocates roughly half of its residential resources to female monastics with equal access to the teachers. Na-Uyana in Sri Lanka and Amaravati in England have similar arrangements. One of these nuns has her own international meditation center with donors to offer full autonomous support.

Einstein formula on blackboard see this [link for attributio](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Einstein_formula_on_blackboard_20190401.webp" >}}n The Mass–energy equivalence is one of the most famous physics equations known to the general population. Did the Buddha know this beforehand? We all know this formula as the explanation for how nuclear energy works, but we really don’ t know much more than that. For my one of my birthdays, I asked a monk who was once a nuclear engineer from Chernobyl to explain to me how it works. He was very kind and took the time to explain it to me in very simple terms I could understand. I was very happy for this birthday gift!

Myanmar Pali Script (credit at bottom link.. cc-sa-attrib) There are many different Pāḷi chants to learn, yet I wanted to list the absolute basic chants that one should learn. If you are interested in Pāḷi chanting, these are the first to learn. The most basic and essential chants for beginning lay people should know are listed in order of importance: Namo Tassa, Triple Gem with the 5 precepts, Bare bones Triple Gem chant of the 24 qualities of the Buddha, Dhamma and Saṅgha. Loving-Kindness sutta Namo Tassa Before any chanting or dhamma discourse, the monk and the group will chant “Namo tassa” together as a group. It is one line repeated 3 times and easy to remember.

15 Main Image Close Up, at the Mahabodhi Temple, cc-atrib-sa https://www.photodharma.net/India/Bodhgaya-Mahabodhi/Bodhgaya-Mahabodhi.htm Sometimes it is difficult to find free Buddha pictures. Even when Google shows you “free pictures,” sometimes, they require an account or were not really free in the first place. As a monk, even with our timeless Buddha, I still respect copyrights and encourage others to do the same. That is also one of the reasons why I use Linux as my main operating system.

Recently, I got a nice message from a monk friend telling me he was taking vassa (3 month Rainy Season Retreat) on July 23rd (the Full Moon Day) and wishing me a happy vassa before he goes offline for three months. However, we at Pa-Auk are taking the vassa today on July 24 (the day after the Full Moon Day). The calendars often say it starts on the Full Moon Day, but we don’t do that at Pa-Auk. So who is correct? Rainy Season from the back of the sima hall

Did the Buddha do intermittent fasting? The answer is: Yes. When I first became a monk, people were shocked about how I gave up eating after Solar Noon and I have not eaten dinner in over 20 years. Sometimes I switch to one meal per day, but I often find a light breakfast, mostly liquid foods or rice soup, with a full lunch works best for me. These days, many people are using intermittent fasting as a form of weight loss and when I describe my Buddhist monk diet, they give a nod and say “Intermittent Fasting… It’s Healthy.” I guess I’m always one step ahead of mainstream society!

Recently, I had a serious medical problem that had the potential to be extremely serious. Please don’t ask. In any case, I arranged permission to go outside and then arranged for someone to help me get to a clinic in Mandalay which had the proper technology to properly assess my problem. This article is not about going out. Instead this article is about coming back and staying in quarantine. Because we do not have monastery-wide vaccines yet, Pa-Auk is quite strict about letting people go outside because when you come back, you will need to be on a 3 week quarantine before testing for your release. It used to be 4 weeks, but recently changed this past month. Because the number of monks on quarantine was going out of control, 15-20 monks, a new protocol was arranged for incoming monks to stay in the empty quad kutis. In this way the quarantine monks can be kept in a single area, and food can be arranged more easily. It was not easy to deliver so many meals to all of the scattered individual kutis in the monastery. Below is picture of the entire male side of Pa-Auk. Remember there is a female side too with additional quarantine people. At the very bottom of the photo are some of the quad kutis. Some got cut off from the photo including the one I am living in.

cc0 picture Recently, there have been some instances in the news of monks who have been accused of rape or consensual sex. One monk appears to have supported a child with his money. While we won’t know the true outcome until an admission of guilt is made, we should investigate what is a rule and what is not a rule. Although it is appalling that the Catholic church allows its priests to continue in the order even after such admissions of guilt for sexual acts, the Buddhist rules across all Buddhist schools have a different approach.

If you go to a Theravada Buddhist forest monastery in Asia, you are likely to find a full skeleton or parts of a skeleton somewhere where it can be viewed easily. Some monasteries also have cemeteries inside the boundary like Pa-Auk Forest Monastery in Mawlamyine. Some other monasteries have a place were dead bodies are burned (with open wood fires), right on the premises, like Pa-Auk Mawlamyine and also Wat Pa Nanachat in Thailand. Wat Pa Nanachat has an enclosed glass case with a skeleton inside located in their main eating hall. Does that sound appetizing? Pa-Auk has a glass case near the entrance of the lower monastery, not far from the cemetery.

Recently, I have been getting a few messages wishing me safety and wellbeing with the current news floating around the world about events in Myanmar. I can assure you that our lives have not changed much even with the pandemic. Yes, we have been locked down for nearly a year or maybe longer, but monastery life is pretty much the monastery life. The only thing that is different is we wear masks around other monks who seem to care about masks and lately that mask population has been less and less. We have been on strict lockdown, so the odds are slim that Covid will come inside. So basically, we wear masks around the teachers and the Admin monks, and also when we get our food. Besides the masks, and the whispers that float around about politics, life is the same, if not better. Why would it be better? We are a monastery and it is best to “stay” in one. The teachers often do lots of traveling during normal times, but now they are stuck here with us. It is always nice to lock down a teacher and it has inspired many monks to continue with meditation.

India 2011 Can Buddhist Monks Pray For The Old And Sick? Recently, a life long friend of the family has been diagnosed with lung cancer, a tough break because she is not a smoker. My mother asked me if I could say a prayer for her. I can, and have, but there was more to say about what I could do for her. When I chant the Loving-kindness sutta for someone in person as a “blessing”, I usually explain what it means beforehand and then I chant it for them. Some people have cried afterwards because the meaning meant so much to them. In reality, it is a blessing to hear the teaching so one can put it into practice. I always tell people this. So look at the translation here and see what you can do with it. So what more could be said if you do loving-kindness prayers to yourself and others?

I’ve been looking forward to the Myanmar Internet being cut off, but it does not seem to be happening. I guess that is good for the people here. I will be taking a SIM break for about 5 days… Tuesdays are usually when I post things from the meditation hall because it is the day I have to manage the Tuesday cleaning crew. My job is to clean the Big Buddha (that is me below).

One of my earliest photos with messy robes My original ordination certificate Exactly twenty years ago today (February 7, 2001), I followed through with my decision to ordain with lifelong intentions. Although I am only 14 vassa because of a re-ordination ceremony, this day means more to me than my very own birthday. This day was also the day I got my name. Today, I not only have the monk name Bhikkhu Subhūti, but I also have an actual legal passport name of Bhante Bhikkhu Subhuti as well as other essential ID’s too. I remember when I came to Pa-Auk still dressed in white anagārika robes that I got at Wat Pah Nanachat in Thailand when Myanmar was still an embargo state. There were about 120 monks total at Pa-Auk and just a handful of foreigners. Today, (without a pandemic) that number has grown in Mawlamyine to a rolling average of 600 monks in addition to the monks at 60 or so branch monasteries.

Pa-Auk Main Gate (cc-by-sa) Pa-Auk Forest Monastery and Pa-Auk Sayadaw share the same names. Why is that? Some people might question why Pa-Auk Forest Monastery and Venerable Pa-Auk Sayadaw have the same names. Did the Pa-Auk Sayadaw name his monastery after himself to immortalize his name? Is this an ego trip? What is the who, what, were, when, why, and how of this story? Who? Venerable Pa-Auk Sayadawgyi (cc-by-sa) Venerable Pa-Auk Sayadaw’s real name is Sayadaw U Āciṇṇa. It means “habitual kamma” in the Pāḷi Language. If you ever meet him and know how he acts, you will see that he lives up to his name. He is very predictable because he does everything systematically according to the dhamma on a habitual basis. It is not polite to call a sayadaw by his Pāḷi name if he is given such a title. Likewise, when speaking to him, you would just simply address him as Sayadawgyi (big sayadaw). In my days, we just called him “Sayadaw.” However, after some time, many teachers became of age and also became “sayadaws” too. That was when he became known as “Sayadawagyi.”

This past year has been very fruitful for AmericanMonk.org. In this post, we will discuss the 2020 page view stats. Originally, the name of the website was americanmonk.org but can you remember that website url? Trying to think of an easy meaningful and descriptive name for Westerners to remember was not easy, but AmericanMonk.org was available and I took it. So how did things go in the year 2020? Below is a chart of the years up to today.

That is me going for alms on Aalona Street Kilauea. I have a Christmas story for you. I have tried to keep it short but it didn’t work out. When I was in Kaua’i on from 2017-2019, an 18 month run, I made it a point to go for alms by the house to house loving-kindness method on Tuesdays and Wednesdays as a way to get food. Early on, I was invited to Waiapua Road while standing in front of Hanalei Big Save which was my Monday stop. This lady offered me food from the store after I refused to accept money and explained how things are normally done in Thailand for house alms. I explained further that the supermarket is a another way to get food in the West. After I gave the blessing, she said, “Oh, you really should come to our neighborhood! My house is such and such with the two palms, etc.” And so an alms round was born. I went to her street for well over a year. Ironically, most of the time, we would not see each other. Houses in America are often isolated, and the residents often don’t know what goes on outside on their street.

What qualities make up the real Buddha Statues? There are certain qualities of a Buddha that makes one instantly recognizable from afar. There are many features that make the Buddha a Buddha besides the iconic drooping earlobes. From time to time, I see statues of the Buddha that are just not right. When you know the correct signs of The Buddha, you immediately know that something is wrong. While you cannot fool a Sri Lankan, you can fool others from all parts of the world. Some of these incorrect Buddhas have been donated here at Pa-Auk too! There are many features that are not correct in many different types of Buddhas, but today we will focus on the Head and the Feet.

In 1993, I visited China with five lucky School of Technology students at my University. Before going, I asked around for some cool things to say and “Chī le ma?” or “Have you eaten yet?” was the phrase I learned besides asking for the toilet. It does not mean what it literally says. Instead, it means a little bit like “How are you?”, but more casual like, “How’s it going?” It sounds funny in English and that is why I say it in English to my Chinese monastic friend when I see him.

In 2014, I came in contact with yogi Brahm at the Mawlamyine Branch of The Pa-Auk Forest Monastery during a 10-day fast with Venerable Mokkhita. He is a great photographer and I thought it would be cool to show him the Pa-Auk kitchen and let him capture how the meals are made for 1200 yogis each day. Take notice of the large quantities of food that are cooked on wood fired stoves. Instead of picking just a few pictures, I made a small video slideshow. Enjoy!

Of course I’m happy! On November 24, I helped make a nice breakfast and lunch for Pa-Auk Forest Monastery, Pyin Oo Lwin. I organized 28 monks including myself to be the donors for the whole day meals + fresh squeezed apple juice, for a full value of 1,250,000 Myanmar Kyat. It fed approximately 530 yogis across four sections in Pa-Auk Forest Monastery. But how is that possible for monks to donate money?

Does Ajahn Brahm Jhāna Have a Nimitta? Ajahn Brahm (“Ajahn Brahmavamso”) teaches about a samādhi nimitta. However, during jhāna, he says that there is no perception of light. He says that “The nimitta is the gateway to jhāna, but not the object of jhāna itself. Pīti or sukha are the objects of jhāna”. If you follow Ajahn Brahm, this article will help you follow his teachings better. If you follow another method, this article will help you distinguish the difference. Ajahn Brahm’s method does not follow the commentary texts of classical Buddhism, and Ajahn Brahm is quite open about his non-belief in such texts. If there is anything wrongly said about his method, please have the monastery of Ajahn Brahm contact me, or provide source references from recordings or books. Update: Nothing has been said since first published on November 19th, 2020.

These days, the lockdowns are in full swing. The question is, “What do you do with your time?” Perhaps you are out of work, or retired like my parents. What do you do? As a monk, lockdowns or “stay at home” orders are not much of a big deal unless a medical problem arises. Since April, we have been on a more serious lockdown to the point where it has affected the food variety to mostly long shelf-life food items. The monastery built a fence and gate to keep people out at the entrance, yet, 6 months later, I have yet to walk over to the boundary to see what it looks like. It does not bother me to be confined to a small area and it comes with monk qualities.

Today I turned fifty years of age. A few months ago, I was really happy about it but then as health problems piled up a few weeks ago (which ended up being a 2.5 week allergic reaction), I was unpleasantly reminded that our bodies were only given 40-year warranties and I was ten years overdue. As I told my parents this newly discovered truth that a birthday just means I’m getting older with more problems and eventually death, my father said, “Bhante, we have been 30 years ahead of you with this same stuff.”

Chinese congee Photo By Daiju Azuma - Own work, CC BY-SA 2.5, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=567814 Rice soup is most popularly known as Congee (Kahn-Jee). However in the Buddhist world, it is referred to as yāgu in the Pāḷi Language. It occurs many many times in the tipiṭaka (more than 500 times) and it is still eaten today in Asia and Southeast Asia. To make it, you simply boil and then simmer one part rice with eight parts water for one or two hours. Some rice cookers have a congee setting. You can put various items on it and salt to taste.

A venerable tending the fire for cooking dye Here are pictures about the natural dyeing process. The monks boil the ironwood tree bark chips for a long time (days). When a drop of dye is dropped in a glass of water, a ball will form and sink to the bottom. At that point, the dye master will empty that batch of dye into containers and then reboil the same chips with fresh water to make more dye. You can do this two or three times before the chips are used up.

Pabbajja Ordination in Pa Auk (8th April 2014) The short answer is: If you are looking for vinaya (places that don’t touch money), and you believe in the commentaries and Abhidhamma and want to meditate, you have two choices, Pa-Auk and Na-Uyana. If you don’t believe in the commentaries and Abhidhamma, you are best off at a Thai Forest Monastery like Ajahn Chah (Mahanikaya) or Ajahn Maha Boowa (Dhammayut) monasteries. There are other places that I might recommend too. I will mention them later.

I remember when I was living in Kaua’i in a tent propped up in the corner of my friend Uncle Gene Taylor’s property. I had just come home from my daily alms round and I popped into his room to say hello. He is old and has difficulty walking, yet he is usually quite cheerful. As part of the visit routine, he asked me how my day was and I smiled and happily said, “Today was a great day. I got enough food today.” I always get enough food, but that day, it was a little easier.

NOTE: Tipitaka Pāḷi Reader is the new Pāḷi Reading app. Click link below: Tipitaka Pali Reader A new beautiful app written in Flutter for all Desktops and Mobile Devices. If you are still interested you can read below: News: Developers are encouraged to join our Discord server for our 2.0 total rewrite called Ultimate Pali Reader June 21, 2022 Version 1.4.0 is now released (Win, Linux Snap) ( android 1.2.1) Full text search for vinaya/ sutta

It occured to me that people don’t know one type of Buddhist monk from the other and a post was needed to explain this. First a little bit of history. Theravada is the closest thing as one can get to the original form of Buddhism and is based on the Pali texts. The countries that have Theravada as their national religion are; Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Sri Lanka, and Cambodia. It dates back to the Buddha from 5th century BCE Later, came Mahayana - Chinese Buddhism of the 1st century BCE. The texts are based on Chinese and Sanskrit. It is most popular in Taiwan, South Korea, Japan and Vietnam. Tibetan Buddhism is from Tibet and also followed nationally in Bhutan. It is from the 7-9th century. Their texts are in Sanskrit and Tibetan.

Please note: this was written in 2020 but also applies to 2023. Vassa starts on August 1, 2023. There seems to be confusion about when vassa is this year. This year is a special year and Vassa starts the day after the full moon day in August. The full moon day is August 3rd and Vassa starts on August 4th. However, there are some traditions that believe that Vassa has already started with the full moon day of July 4th and Vassa on July 5th.

A friend of mine once told me his story about how he had a knife in his hand and was raging with anger. He was going to kill his wife and her new found lover. Below is a short retelling of the story in third person. The Story My friend from the former Soviet Union did his first Goenka meditation retreat in 1999. The retreat was free and was very popular around the world. (dhamma.org). Before that, he was already into martial arts and Taoism and although they talked about meditation and controlling the mind, he did not really feel there was a solid technique to practice. After his first 10 day Goenka meditation course, he felt that he had found a good technique to control his mind. He did about three of these meditation courses since.

Today, as I was washing my bowl, I saw a local Myanmar monk with a swastika tattoo on his arm. As an American and someone with Jewish bloodlines, I am still not used to this no matter how much I know. However, it is important topic for all of you who are new to Buddhism or even for some seasoned Buddhists. Was the monk a racist? No. Wikipedia says it is an ancient symbol which often means conducive to well being. The Monier Williams Sanskrit English Dictionary says that most scholars attribute it to represent the Sun, yet Cunningham, a famous scholar attributes it to one of the 24 marks of The Buddha which are found on his footprint. In this case, it is often associated with the Dhamma Wheel or the endless cycles of rebirth.

While I have said quite a lot to inspire people about life as a monk around the world. I should give you both sides of the story to be fair. When you think about living in Asia full-time or just for a visit, the first thought that comes to mind is, “Will I get sick?”. It can happen, and when you rely on volunteers and health standards that work “most of the time” but not all of the time, then problems can arise. And if you are a monk who goes house to house, you are at the mercy of every kitchen’s health standard in every single house.

A kuṭi is a small hut or lodging that a monk lives in and it is one of the basic four requisites: Robes, Food, Lodging, & Medicine. They come in various sizes and qualities and I have prepared a small showcase of pictures which can show more than just the words. We are supposed to reflect on the utilitarian purpose of the lodging, also called senāsana. Before we begin, here is a small sample of the morning chanting monks must chant everyday.

This video is an instruction on how to practice loving-kindness meditation. The simplest way is to repeat the Loving-Kindness phrases (mantras). The discussion goes into the details. I hope you enjoy this. May you be happy! May you be happy! May you be happy! https://youtu.be/GLDYNRdDKCE Repeat “May I be happy” over and over again (in your mind) until the timer goes off. Repeat “May you be happy” over and over again (in your mind) until the timer goes off.

Going for Alms at Pa-Auk The world has has begun to know about Covid-19 and unfortunately, some countries know it better than others. As a monk, I try to stay away from basic web internet except one day per week, but I still hear what goes on and as of today, April 6th, 2020, Myanmar has 21 cases and one death. The number grows slowly in the beginning as you all might know and it is uncertain what will become of the virus in weeks to come.

There are many people who are inside their homes, so I thought it would be good to make a small 10 minute video on how to do basic walking meditation inside the home. Here it is. https://youtu.be/e1MCuTxcf7A

(Republished from June, 2015) Having Fun At The Pa-Auk Dentist Clinic (Repost/refurbish from June, 2015*) Because dentists are very expensive in America and the Pa-Auk dental clinic has pretty good sanitary conditions (for Myanmar), I went for a checkup before my trip to Hawai’i. Usually in Asia, you only go to a dentist when there is pain but I had some sensitivity I wanted to get checked and I waited for the Saturday dentist who is known on the street as “the old retired dentist who takes his time and does a good job.” He is a volunteer like the other two dentists and two medical doctors who visit our in-house monastery clinic.

500+ monks at paauk main. Some slippers go missing so people mark them with different patterns as a passive way to prevent loss. However, the slippers in the center were not as passive. (Reposted and fixed lost picture from 2013) Look at the writing on the slippers “No for Your” (Not for you).

reposted from https://withmetta.net (2016) . When a Buddhist monk says “sabbe satta,” that is a shorthand for metta practice. “Sabbe satta” means “all beings.” One of my friend’s collects the leftover food and cakes and says or acts on this everyday after each meal at the Mudon Pa-Auk monastery. But in reality, even though he says “sabbe satta,” he really just seems to feed the birds with the leftover food and cakes.

At Theravada monasteries there is no eating allowed after Noontime. Some monasteries only give one meal per day, while other monasteries give 2 meals per day. Both meal plans are allowed by the Buddha. However, some monasteries have no meals brought to the monks and they need to go out in the village and collect it. This last case is very rare and usually done by the forest monks living in secluded places or ehem.. Kaua’i. At Pa-Auk, we get breakfast, lunch and an afternoon filtered fresh fruit drink, usually avocado juice. Life here is easier compared to the life in Kaua’i where collecting my meals and eating could take four or five hours and rarely would I get a hot meal to eat. Nevertheless, I have found that the difficulty of collecting food to be very rewarding. Because the food is brought to us, we have more time to focus on meditation.

The standing marble Buddha at Pyin Oo Lwin Pa-Auk On Feb 7th, 2001 I took my original ordination with The Most Venerable Pa-Auk Saydawgyi. It was the happiest days of my life and the most important one besides successfully being born as a human and surviving any serious death or injuries. Although there was a small hiccup, it has been 19 years total. I had just finished arranging my residential visa that was said could not be changed from a tourist visa without leaving the country. Since it was a Buddhist country and my desire to ordain was really strong, something worked out. After that, I was free to ordain any single day I chose. When Pa-Auk Sayadawgyi asked me which day I wanted to ordain, I told him that the full moon day would best. He said, “Awe.. that is a very busy day, we cannot do that day.” Not knowing what was really going on that day, I said, “Please?” and Sayadawgyi said that he would try to see what could be done. He rarely says, “no” and that is why he is so well loved.

The Pali Text Society has made its Vinaya, Sutta and Abhidhamma books available for non-commercial use since 2013. The Sutta books have been extracted from the Buddhadust Website which is still considered as “work in progress.” However, the work was good enough to reformat as eBooks in its current state. Stephen Torrence and myself did most of the work to reformat the web pages into eBook versions. There were thousands of webpages which required many scripts to remove the web content. We used the open source project called Sigil.

Swedagon Pagoda, Myanmar On November 4th, I left The States for Sri Lanka, Thailand and of course Myanmar which I now consider a home for myself. Shortly after the Buddhist Rainy Season had begun in Kaua’i, the support for inviting a second monk fell through and I was tired of being alone which meant I needed to leave. Around the same time, in late July or early August, my Lao/American supporter named Thongvanh, sent me brochure with a monk who was leading a “Spiritual Sri Lanka Trip” which included the Sri Maha Bodhi Tree in Anuradhapura. I looked at the brochure, rolled my eyes and then discouraged him from going because I have seen commercialized tours like this before. Instead, since I was looking to go back to Asia, I told him I would take him on a better more spiritual tour which included visiting living meditation centers and actually meditating too. After he agreed, my ex-monk Nepal friend / supporter from Australia sent Thongvanh the cash for my air tickets and we were ready for take-off.

My family I did a brief visit with my parents on the corner of October and November. Although I have stayed separately at my grandmother’s house on the previous last two visits in 2006 and 2008, I had arranged for the porch-sun-room to be modified as a “separate lodging” for me in 2019. If you do the math, that means I have not visited Connecticut in eleven years. This in-house lodging arrangement worked out and instead of being 60 miles away and only getting a few visits in with my folks, I was able to spend some good quality time with them during the majority of my week long stay.

Recently, I had a chance to go to a Lao Monastery in Elgin, Chicago, IL, USA for 12 days. I usually avoid American Theravada Temples like the plague because most of these places have monks who use money and much of the monk life is centered around collecting money. This is a typical standard not only in America but in most countries. This monastery however, is different. In 2015, the committee decided to stop being a useless, unwholesome temple that teaches wrong dhammavinaya (teaching and training — on wrong ways to give donation and wrong ways to make merit, and obviously wrong kamma and results). If that is not bad enough, they used to sell alcohol for fundraisers too (!). Unfortunately, I know of three other Lao monasteries in America that sell alcohol. The committee knew this path was in the opposite direction of The Buddhist Path and decided to change. They offered the resident monks to join them with a two year transition period and although the monks agreed such changes were wholesome, when it came down to the wire, they never changed and drove themselves across town in their own cars to another local Lao temple in 2017.

All-focus As the rest of the song goes.. “And I don’t know when I’ll be back again.” It has been almost 1.5 years living on Kaua’i. I have had an incredible experience here by doing an experiment to see if a monk can establish a monastery any place he travels to through the lost art of wandering for alms. A practice done in the name of the Buddha but rarely practised anymore. I’m not just talking about collecting food with a bowl (also rare in the West), I’m talking about travelling to an unknown, uncharted land and literally living in a tent and seeing what happens with the goal of starting a monastery some time in the distant future. Did I succeed or fail? Well, not yet, and I’m leaving without knowing when I will come back. However, a real estate offer of $100,000 cash was made on some land. I will explain the details at the end. But it is the other stuff which makes me feel confident about my travels to Kaua’i.

I recently turned 49 and I found some old pictures of myself that I thought I would share. It is very difficult to get older pictures of myself because it was before the digital picture revolution. In those days, we used to hire (through a helper) the man known as “photoman” who had a camera and would take one single picture and then sell the prints for about $1 each. It was very expensive for locals to develop a whole role of film and this was how it was done. The first picture exists only as a scan from a friend who had this on his website long ago. The second picture I still have (laminated) and the third picture was sent to me by a friend who spotted this picture frame hanging up at Sayadaw U Khundadhana’s monastery in Dawei, Myanmar.

This past July, I had an old friend named Ian Sloan (previously Venerable Visarada ) visit me in Kauai. He disrobed after being a monk for 25 years. He disrobed because of a conflict of philosophy about what happens at death. It was a combination of accounts from past life regressions in hypnotherapy, what he has read by Edgar Cayce, and the event of his father’s death. He seems to appreciate the Near Death Experiences which can still be explained partially with Buddhism, but he felt it was time to disrobe. 

Many people who have learned that I have re-ordained and actually know what that means have asked me why I did it. It is a long story, but I will try to be brief. During my first ordination in 2001, at Pa-Auk Main Branch with Venerable Pa-Auk Sayadaw as my preceptor, I was asked 13 questions. According to tradition, every monk is asked these 13 qualifying questions in the ordination ceremony twice. It is a requirement for the ordination that a monk gets taught about the 13 questions before he is officially asked these questions. Because this requirement needs to be verified, the “practice session” has become embedded into the whole ordination procedure. The first time the set of questions are asked, the sangha or group of monks can witness that the candidate was given a lesson. The second round of questions (only 3 minutes later) is for real and the sangha can officially hear the answers for each qualifying question. The official ordination chant called “kamma vaca” follows immediately. After that, the monk is “ordained” and then taught about the robes, food, lodging and medicine requisites.

A little while ago, I was asked what was the most important lesson learned and what was the most important thing that I taught. The answer spans two different videos and they are listed below: The first video gives a very technical answer, yet in very simple English that everyone can understand. However those who are into the deepest Dhamma and Abhidhamma will still appreciate what is said and how it is said.

Downloaded from https://www.needpix.com Interview 1 of 2 Note: Some edits have been made afterwards to make things clear or to protect the anonymity of people. I am sitting here now with one anonymous monk. He has sat for more than 24 hours in 4th jhāna and I wanted to interview him anonymously to inspire others. So we are here with Bhante (Note: All monks can be called “Bhante”). I want to ask a few questions. First is…. You are quite senior and I don’t think you were successful before in meditation. So what did you do in your early years? Did you study? Did you do try meditation, and what type of meditation did you do before to prepare for this? Are you fluent in Pāḷi? Can you elaborate on this?

New Update and Summary: Myanmar Visas in the USA now only take 4 business days (It used to be of 3 Months). See Religious Visa application for USA Embassy: http://www.mewashingtondc.org/sites/default/files/pdf/visa/Religious-Visa-Forms.pdf Visa cost is $50 valid for 3 months (arrive before 3 months) and stay permit of 70 days Sponsor letter, Payment, application form, work history, and passport are needed. Verify all of this at the Myanmar Embassy in DC at +1 202-238-9332 http://www.mewashingtondc.org/content/visa-and-permanent-residency What Is a Meditation Visa? Many people are not aware that there is a thing called a Meditation or Religious visa. This visa is renewable and allows one to stay for longer than the 30 days a tourist visa allows. Tourist visas are not renewable. If you would like to meditate for more than 30 days, a meditation visa is the way to go. Otherwise, a tourist e-visa is more appropriate. Follow the link here for a tourist e-visa and don’t go to any other place. The rest are third party sites trying to make money off of your ignorance. If you Google Myanmar Visa, you will get lost by all of the advertisement that pay Google to pop up first. If you forget the link or this post, remember to Google Myanmar Embassy. Google will hopefully automatically know your location and pick the right one for you.

Every so often on my alms rounds, or here and there, I encounter Christians who approach me. Usually within the first sentence, they announce themselves as Christians to me as if they were holding a cross near to my face. However, I listen to their questions and give them answers. Many times they are trying to convince me my path is wrong and since it is a predictable pattern for them, I can anticipate what they will say, and put logic into their own path. It took a while, but I’m getting better at speaking with them because I get a lot of practice as a stand out from the rest of the crowd. If they know the Bible and they are true to their religion, we can have an intelligent religious debate. Last week I was approached in this way at Ha’ena State Park by a Christian couple. The husband was very nice.

I recently found this video in my Google Drive. I had a layperson (probably UKZ) follow me around in the line to show what it was like for a monk to go through the alms food line at Pa-Auk Main Center, Mawlamyine, Myanmar. It is not easy to manage so many donors with big hearts to give. Most of the time, I am giving hand signals to get less food. You might want to play this at double speed. However, you can get a real time feel of what it is like, once one enters the food line. There are often 400+ monks waiting in line to get to this point too.

Recently, I ran into a very angry man who came out of his house yelling at me and coming closer and closer. Eventually, I won the fight with my two big weapons, loving-kindness and my commitment of being free from money for all these years. I have been going for alms in this neighborhood for a little over a year now, and while I did have two girls yell at me, they did not leave their property boundary. Later, I switched to a new street in the same neighborhood as I explained in my last story. However, things were different as this guy came out of his house with raging anger, coming closer and closer to me, I was unsure what would happen.

Koral’s Family Just about every Wednesday, I still find the time to continue with my Kilauea alms round1 (which used to include Tuesdays too). I take a one-hour bus ride from Lihue, and then set out on my alms round, wishing loving-kindness to the houses one by one as I walk along the road. In the beginning, people thought I was some weird homeless person who might be crazy, but after some time, some fearless people spoke to me and then word started spreading. “He’s okay, he is just blessing homes.” Then it took a little longer for people to figure out the food part too.

All-focus Things have recently changed Things have recently changed in my life. I have now moved to Lihue. Things were going well at the place where I was at before in Kilauea. The owner was happy with what I was doing for the community and I was happy and fulfilled with what I was doing for the community as well. Unfortunately, the owner’s son came for a visit. In short, he said, “I want to visit a monk. I don’t want to live with a monk.” He pays the remainder of the bills from what the renters do not cover and what he says goes. Although we did several thousand dollars of work on his land to pay things forward, that was long forgotten and I was out. I stayed there for 4½ months and it was nice while it lasted. We are still friends and I was there a few days ago for a visit.

My friend scheduled another interview with me and recently published it. The video discusses why should monks not touch money? Is there an exchange that takes place with the things you receive? The video includes stories on how alms works, the blessings that I give and how people benefit by giving. One story recounts how I went for alms close to the time where we cannot eat and how generous and beautiful the Myanmar people can be. Another story explains how a lady cried after I gave a blessing. The last story talks about some rubber tree workers who fed me daily for about a month in 2007.

Recently, I was interviewed from an old friend who was previously a monk with me in Pa-Auk, Mawlamyine, Myanmar. Nikita was a monk for about one year before disrobing. He asked me about what it is like for a monk without money to go for alms in Kauai, Hawaii, USA. I have been doing this for about one year now, and I tell a couple of stories which are fun to listen to.

I recently changed my name officially to Bhante Bhikkhu Subhuti. I have been wanting to do this for a very long time but, unfortunately, I was unable to do it because the name change process has to be done in the probate court where one has residency. Since I had spent most of my time in Myanmar and Sri Lanka, it was just not possible, until recently. After being in Hawaii for a while, I committed to staying for at least three months longer to complete the name change process. Today was a landmark, with the arrival of my new passport.

This is where I live Wow! Today is February 7th and another year has passed. I have now completed 18 years total as a monk and I am working on my 19th year. Of course, my monk age is 12 rainy seasons because I changed Nikayas after my 6th year. I have been living my monk life in Kauai, Hawaii for about 10 months now and things have been moving along. How long will I stay in Kauai, Hawaii? I’m not sure.

On a warm Hawaiian Christmas day in 2018, I was off to collect my alms in the village. I was in a rush and worried that I would not be able to find a ride to the village where I go for alms because so few cars would be on the roads. Luckily, I got a ride and as I stepped out of the the car, I did my usual baggage check.

![Radio Tower ](/images/Telecommunication-Tower-Wave-Radio-Broadcast–273x300.webp" >}} Here is the link to the 2015 KKCR radio show. We were interviewed on Kauai Community Radio for about one hour instead of the scheduled 20 minutes. We all had fun doing it. It will give you a good taste of what we did on the island in 2015 and what I am doing now. I often enjoy revisiting this recording, and I hope you do too.

![Thumbnail](/images/Thumbnail-finger.webp" >}} Last week I taught Fingernail Meditation. This is where one uses the fingernail(s) as a subject of meditation. Although this has probably never been taught before by anyone as a standalone meditation subject, it is a subsection of a meditation instruction that all monks are given on their ordination day. That is called, “The First Five Body Parts,” Yes, it is that well known, but rarely ever or even never taught. However, you might think, “Only a subsection, why not practice the whole thing?”

Here are a five remarkable stories of miracles to tell, but not all of them. There have been many miracles that have come my way when I needed them the most. For the Christians out there, they might say, “Doesn’t that make you believe in God?” My answer is, “It makes me believe there are heavenly beings (Devas & Devis)) who are looking out for me.”. There are other stories not included such as “My Watch Story”

Kauai Update #3 I have moved from the Botanical Gardens recently. I was able to stay there for 5 months and the majority of the time there was wonderful. However things were changing and it was time for me to look for another place and now I am staying in a new long term location in Kilauea. It all happened after a wonderful person picked me up on the side of the road holding my signs the day my parents, brother and in-law dropped me off (I’ll get back to that family-visit part later). So this guy I knew from before picked me up in Kapaa and asked me where I wanted to go. I told him I lived in Princeville but could be dropped off at the bus stop at the town before his road. He looked at me, smiled, and said, “I asked you where you want to go, because I’m going to drive you there.” He then showed me his bracelet which said, “What would love do?” Then he said he was driving me.

I often recommend a free 10-day vipassana meditation course found at https://dhamma.org . Is it possible that there would be a 10-day meditation retreat that gives you food and lodging for free? Not only that, but would they refuse to accept money prior to taking such a 10-day meditation course? Is that possible? Of course it is possible! You see, they refuse to accept payments before you attend the course but allow you to donate for the next group after you finish. You may donate any amount or nothing at all and still come back for another visit next time. In this way, you are attending the course supported from the gifts of others, and you are helping the next group of students. You never pay for yourself and that is what is so beautiful about this system. S.N Goenka says that when someone pays for you, you only have gratitude. This is why you never pay for yourself.

Below is a chart comparing special allowances by tradition which is useful for making a decision on where to ordain. If you need an explanation, read further. Dhammayut Wat Pah Pong Wat Khao Sanamachai (Hua Hin) Pa-Auk Cigarettes Allowed No Smoking No Smoking No Smoking Betel Nut Allowed No Betel Chewing allowed No Betel Chewing allowed No Betel Chewing allowed Cheese 7 Day (medicine) Cheese 7 Day (medicine) Cheese allowed before Noon Cheese allowed before Noon Dark Chocolate 7 Day Dark Chocolate 7 Day Chocolate allowed before Noon Chocolate allowed before Noon Bottled Juice 7 Day Bottled Juice 7 Day Fresh Juice Evening Fresh Juice Evening Soy Milk lifetime medicine Soy Milk lifetime medicine Soy Milk before Noon Soy Milk before Noon Tea/Coffeemix Allowed 7 days Tea/Coffeemix Allowed 7 days Tea/Coffeemix before Noon Tea/Coffeemix before Noon Requires shaving of Eyebrows Requires shaving of Eyebrows Most do not, optional Not allowed Tan robes Tan Robes Any allowable color Burgundy required Checks accepted (not money) Checks accepted (not money) Checks not allowed (money) Checks not allowed (money) Co-Signing Checks allowed Co-Signing Checks allowed in some places Signing checks not allowed Signing checks not allowed Exclusion of non-Dhammayut monks from Pātimokkha Exclusion of non–Wat Pa Pong monks (Thailand) All Vinaya-compliant monks welcome All monks are welcome Rejects Commentaries Rejects Commentaries (if scholarly) Accepts Commentaries Accepts Commentaries Rejects Abhidhamma Rejects Abhidhamma (in most cases) Accepts Abhidhamma Accepts Abhidhamma Believes Buddha Lives in Nibbāna (Ajahn Mun’s Biography) Some defend Ajahn Mun’s biography, others blame the author Buddha does not live in Nibbāna Buddha does not live in Nibbāna There are some allowances and differences among traditions. I have included four traditions to the best of my knowledge about certain “allowances” that are allowed in some places and not allowed in other places. Who is right? I believe that the two monasteries on the right (especially Wat Khao Sanamachai) are correct, while other monks will believe that the monasteries on the left are correct. You can read it and decide. Na-Uyana Monastery in Sri Lanka is not included but is similar to Pa-Auk. I explain a few differences for Na-Uyana within the explanation text.

Monk bowls are black because they are fired with sesame oil 5 times to protect it from rusting. There are two types of bowls allowed; Iron and Clay. Iron bowls need to be fired 5 times and clay bowls only need firing twice. Obviously, the clay bowls do not need to be black in color but are rare to find because they are fragile and very very heavy. Iron bowls are black from the baked-on sesame oil. The oil is also treated or burnt beforehand too.

How to Pronounce Theravāda Have you ever wondered if you were pronouncing Theravāda correctly? Read this article to find out how to properly pronounce Theravāda. Most of the resources out on the web mispronounce the word Theravāda, and Google has failed me when I did a search too. However, it was a good excuse to write this small article. The “Th” sound in Theravāda is not the English “Th” like “Them” or “Think.” It is a “T” sound with a puff of air. It is phonetically called an “Aspirated-T”. Sometimes the word that is given as an example is “Tough.” If it sounds, complicated, don’t worry, because most Americans actually aspirate their T’s anyway. Just make the beginning of the word with a single “T” and you will fake it better than most.

Downloads: Download PDF Listen to Audiobook Going For Broke: Travelogs On Becoming a Buddhist Monk is a compilation of travel stories. It is an anonymously written book about a lay person who quit his job in order to travel the world and then become a Buddhist Monk. Most people either love it and read it in a few days or never finish it. Here is the back cover: “Going for Broke” consists of travel stories written by a young American man who gave up his lucrative job to travel the world and decide if he would fulfill his lifelong dream of becoming a Buddhist monk. As he traveled, he sent accounts of his adventures as a backpacker in Hawaii, Fiji, New Zealand, Australia, Hong Kong, India, and Nepal and then about his life as monk in Thailand and Myanmar"

Free Book: Abhidhamma Lessons PDF Abhidhamma Lessons Here is a book I wrote long ago that relates the Abhidhamma to Computer Science. As a programmer from the nineties, I “clicked” with the abhidhamma after reading just a small amount. When I learned that the mind does only one thing at a time, it instantly clicked with a graduate class I had taken on digital circuits. It gave me the faith in the Abhidhamma early on which is very rare among Western Monks and Western Theravada Buddhist lay people. Most of the Western scholars are outspoken against the Abhidhamma. I am no scholar by any right, but I hope this can create an interest and restore some faith.

The Seeds From Long Ago I remember when I first learned how to meditate on my breath some time in 1990, during my university years. Back then, meditation was not so well known. The beat generation’s Zen trend in the 60’s had died out with disco in the 70’s. Barnes and Noble maybe had only a few shelves in a single bookcase labeled with “Eastern Philosophy” that covered all Eastern religions, including Buddhism. Ram Das’s cryptic book, Be Here Now was the only book I had read prior to reading my World Religions book, which had included a chapter on Buddhism for a class I took. It was different in the early 90’s. There wasn’t a world wide web, Google or even Yahoo. We didn’t have Idiot or Dummy books back then either. While there were books out there, you really had to explore a subculture, and you had to know someone in order to know what the subcultures were and where to find them.

Why do monks have one shoulder exposed sometimes and both shoulders covered other times? There is a very small rule about having the robes fully covered when we are in a populated areas (sekhiyā 3). Although it is a very small rule, it can say a great deal about the monk and his respect for the monastic code, especially in the afternoons or evenings. “Populated areas” refers to when we are outside of the monastery and outside of the forest. Buddhist Shrines in a city like Shwedagon Pagoda can be considered a “monastery” and it is OK and sometimes culturally proper to go bare shouldered inside. However, some may choose to stay to be fully covered if there are many women around.

Here is a dhamma talk with a very brief instruction for Four Elements. It is not complete, but gives a small taste of four elements. Loving-kindness is also included as usual. The recording is cleaner using some post processing with the same recorder.

NOTE: This is a very brief version of the 25 page PDF on the subject. The free 25 page pdf download on the third precept is here. Theravada Buddhism and Sex (extended) Summary: The third precept is defined as not having sex without the protector’s permission. It is that simple! However, the protector can be the parents, husband, guardian, brother, government, religious order, etc. You need the protector’s permission and often that is the parents in most cases. The woman’s age does not matter. The government would play a role in age, genetic proximity issues, and other illegal activities such as blackmail or rape.

 As a Buddhist Monk collecting alms in Kauai, USA for the past 4 months, the results are in. On Tuesday and Wednesdays as shown on the map above, I collect my food, wishing loving-kindness to one side of the street at a time. So how many houses have given food at least once? About 18 people from different houses have given me food at least once. About 4 or 5 cars have given to me, but they are not included in the 18 number. This also includes two businesses which support me from time to time and one person at the bakery.. It does not include the one person who tried to give me money and another person who took the time to thank me for what I have been doing. I have also been offered an opportunity to work in a garden to get my food too, but kindly opted out.

mp3 Dhamma Talk September 2, 2018 Another mp3 recording of a happy Guided meditation and discussion at Princeville, Kauai, Hawaii. Expect about 35 minutes discussion, 40 minutes of guided meditation. Topics included discussion on samadhi, chanting of the loving-kindness sutta, anapana guided meditation, loving-kindness guided meditation. For those who missed it and want to hear, here it is. It is best to use head/ear-phones to improve clarity. 128 kb/s You may download the MP3 here

Image not found. With only 5 minutes left before we were supposed to start, the security guard told us that someone else had the room booked and we would need to move to a smaller amd inferior room. It was a mistake on their part, and while I did ask to see the schedule book, I opted out because we were running out of time and needed to setup the room again. It was disturbing and noisy, but we had to make the best of it. During the process of being notified and moving our setup I said a few times, “I am a monk and we need to be passive……We are Buddhists and need to be passive.” I ended up speaking on a topic related to such an event. In the end we were right and the other group that took the room apologized to me. However, we did the right thing and represented The Buddha the correct way. Before we meditated, I coached them on how to meditate when noises are in the room. Had we refused to move there would be “no enjoyment” of our gains. The next time something happens to you like this, remember how a monk should act. We lost the room but in the end, the purpose was to lean about peace.

Bhikkhu Subhuti’s Blog has moved! pub domain monk seal from wikipedia The blog at https://Subhuti.withmettanet has moved to https://AmericanMonk.org The new title of the blog is American Monk: Bhante Subhūti Why change The Domain Address? The reason why I changed the name of the domain was to streamline my verbal website announcements to let them known how to find the monk in Kauai. Usually a conversation will start up with some new person in Kauai and then I say, “Hey, you can check out my blog at americanmonk.org .” I was in the Buddhist world when I picked that name and never realized it until now. When I spit out such a long name like that, the typical American will give me a confused look because they won’t know how to spell or remember the Pāḷi Language words. To solve this problem, AmericanMonk.org was available. I chose the .org over .net because that seems to be the proper way to do things even though there are many new Top Level Domains available. There are .blog and even .guru choices for one’s website name. While I am not an organization, I sort of fit into the noncommercial realm.

Sewing pattern from BMC 1 (creative-commons, Thanissaro Bhikkhu) Robe Information Few people realize that the Theravāda monk’s robes are actually a piece of rectangular cloth with no sleeves.1 If you see a Theravāda monk wearing his robes in different styles, then rest assured it is due to the art of “tying the robes” or “rolling the robes” — what I call “robe origami.”

If there was a book that had all of the Secret Teachings of Theravāda, The Path of Purification (The Visuddhimagga) would be that book. It explains all the good stuff, like how to attain samādhi concentration; how to attain psychic powers including knowing and seeing the past lives. Lastly, it includes the stages of insight and wisdom that one needs to reach Nibbāna. Books do not get more complete than this. You can read a free and condensed version called Knowing and Seeing by The Most Venerable Pa-Auk Sayadawgyi who teaches this exact method based on The Path of Purification.

September 11th and Jeremy Glick I have a personal story I want to tell you about Jeremy Glick and September 11, 2001. The short story is that my name is Jeremy Glick and I was a computer programmer. However, I had left my regular world in 1999 and people who have lost track of me remembered me when 9/11 happened. About seven months after I ordained as a Buddhist Monk in 2001, the famous 9/11 or September 11th event happened. During that time, I was living in Myanmar which was one of the 6 countries that were embargoed. Myanmar was specifically embargoed for Human Rights Violations and they were one or two slots above North Korea for human rights. There were full on malaria warnings (by the locals) and I had just given up a career in the computer field that used to pay me loads of cash to do a job I loved with passion.

That is me going for alms on Aalona Street Kilauea. Collecting alms, also known as piṇḍapāta by Theravāda Buddhists, is a legal activity in the USA. There are some restrictions though. I spoke with a lawyer who seemed to know civil liberties quite well, but there are no guarantees with what I say. However, this information should make sense and seem legal to you. It is legal to ring the doorbell of any house and preach to them or talk to them about politics under the freedom of speech rights. One can even ask them to support or give money to a cause. One can sell them vacuum cleaners too. However, if they have a sign that says, “No Solicitation” or “No Trespassing” or “Private Property,” or any other derivative, then one needs to stay clear away from the property lines or at least up to the sign location.

https://vimeo.com/276673429 Hawaii Update #3, June, 2018 It has now been almost 10 weeks on the island. My life is difficult, but it is very rewarding. I get a chance to teach all the people who donate rides and food to me. I teach very deep things like mind moments and kamma for each mind moment and they all seem to “get it” which is complex and is amazing. However, it feels right to move to different subjects according to the responsiveness of the donors and it all seems to work out. For some, I just say, “Hey you make your own blessings.. Do good things and good things will happen.” Other times, I get really deep and go into the intricate details of mind matter and its causes. I have also done some public teaching and just finished my 2nd talk today (Sunday) on Loving-Kindness. Life is good. It is so rewarding and such a blessing for me to have this opportunity to be on this lovely island.

The Concept in Breath Meditation The concept of the breath as it is used in meditation is not well understood. We will discuss this matter in this small article. There are many methods concerned with the breath, but The Ancient Theravāda Commentaries say that one should focus at one area above the upper lip and at the exit of the nostrils. However, if one just limited himself to that one single method, things can still get complicated.

Is the light a Nimitta and when should one look at it? When one practices meditation based on the breath, it is possible for the light to come and when that happens and it is stable one can use that light to enter samadhi absorption concentration. However, one should know when to look at the light and when not to look at the light. It is very important to know this difference because progress can stop. A long time ago, many teachers were telling their students to never look at the light. The teachers were not very developed and it was passed down from one teacher to another. Somewhere down the line, an experienced teacher gave the proper instruction of “not looking at the light” to someone who was not ready yet. This is proper, but if he had gone further and developed, he could have finally received the instructions to look at the light later on. So it was passed down from lay teacher to lay teacher and that was the general instruction long ago. That has changed, and now there is a push to look at the light as soon as it comes to the meditation yogi even though it is not stable yet. Ths can give little “highs"even if one is not ready, but that is not the way to practice and development will be hindered.

Aloha! It has been a little over a month since I have been on the island of Kauai. Things have been going well although my situation is still the same. I am still in a tent at Anini, but I have a new tent in Anini with a better view of the pristine Kauai shore! Things are dryer than the record rains we had last month.. and I guess if it were wetter than before a new record would be set. I have made somewhat of a schedule and I try to update my schedule on my phone calendar which synchronizes to the webpage calendar over here (in case you are interested).

Kauai Update April 22 Aloha! I have been in Kauai since April 9th. It has been a rough start but things are getting better everyday. If you have paid attention to the news, you may have noticed an unheard of 30" of rain in 24 hours. Actually, there were several days of incredible amounts of rain, but only the third day broke the records. See https:www.washingtonpost.com I was in a tent in Anini Park during that time and I am still in Anini Park. I am a little more dry now. On the record breaking day, I took a nap after my meal and when I woke up, I felt the floor and it was like a water bed. Luckily, I had a Thermarest that someone let me borrow. It became like a raft. When I looked outside my tent, there was water surrounding it. My tent was caved-in because the wind ripped some of the straps to hold it down. We all moved to a higher point and away from the wind. By then, the worst had come.

Muslim Imam giving dana. The short answer is, “Yes.” Of course we should be nice to Muslims, Christians, Atheist, animals, snakes and all beings. Sabbe Satta means all beings. In this long winded article, I speak about how the Muslims will win a majority in Myanmar and how Buddhism is already falling down in quality and quantity. Any “evil” actions like parochial schools, or large families were actually practiced in Myanmar by Buddhists only 20 or 30 years ago. They have continued with this practice, while Buddhism has slacked off.

A’capella Inertia Audio Story (free MP3 download) I have decided to make an audio version of this story. I started off by having a computer read this for the purpose of proofreading. Then I started reading it out loud. As I read it out loud with my own natural expressions, I thought that it might be better if an audio version were available.

A Tale of Love and Samādhi Explained: A’capella Inertia A little Valentines story for all of you. The topside title is just a description of what the story is generally about. However, the real title of the story is called, “A’capella Inertia.” This is not a short one, but I think you will like this one very much. It has received high marks and it will take about 30 minutes to read. Those who have successfully subscribed to the blog should already have this formatted story in their email inbox for offline reading. Written in my verbose yet lucid story telling style with a few usual side tracks in between, it tells the story of the first time I fell in love while the end of the story explains why I have decided to write it down as a monk for the general public. In short, there are similar meditation experiences that one can have like the one mentioned in this story. However, this particular “meditative” experience does not happen often no matter how hard you try. You just sort of “fall” into it. Meditation is recommended instead because it is more reliable, sustainable, repeatable, and perhaps, easier to live with. So, here is the story.

It seems like that time has come up again. Time surely does happen and so does my anniversary. Now it is 17 years! As usual, for the disclaimer, I am only 11 Vassa in official years. But Wow! Now it is finally starting to seem like a long time! I have been blessed with a wonderful adult life. I worked as a professional for only about six years, got paid like a doctor, and felt relaxed and at ease the majority of the time that I worked. Then I took a one and half year extended backpacking tour of the world and then renounced the world and ordained. Life has been a good ride so far, and I am still eager to continue to ride on the Bhikkhu train.

This is a small video on how to make a monk’s needle case from a used up disposable pen. It is one of the 8 requisites of a Buddhist monk. It is mostly intended for monks to view, but lay people might find it interesting. https://youtu.be/WwzeZHSz5r8

Vegetarianism and Theravāda Buddhism I have been asked to write a little something on vegetarianism and Theravāda Buddhism. I am qualified to be quite objective, and to see both sides of the issue because I was a vegetarian for a total of ten years as a lay person and I had vegetarian eyes. That meant that when I looked at meat, cooked or not, I saw a dead animal in front of me. Now that I am a monk, I am no longer a vegetarian although I have lived at vegetarian monasteries for many years, so I know both sides of the coin.

Inspire Means To Leave Facebook Much of what I write about is related to stories that happen to me that would charge me up and make me feel inspired. I would then write down what happened and share it with others. Often my stories are related to vinaya – the monks’ rules and living without money. These days it is special for a monk to live without money and I can inspire people simply by following the rules. However, it really should not be that way. I’m not really that special nor inspiring, but the times have changed, and simply being one who does not touch money seems to inspire people because it is rare.

When Ven. Devananda and I traveled to Kauai in 2015, we did not have a Kappiya (helper) to buy us food or even pay for our luggage. One can live without helpers, but it does take some pre-planning. We had a ticket from Yangon to Honolulu that was dirt cheap at only $854 for a round trip fare. However, it came with 12 hour and 6 hour layovers in China. I think the whole trip was over 40 hours. All meals would be provided on the plane that were within our eating times. We did OK with that, but there was a problem when we would transfer to Kauai via a domestic flight. These days, luggage is not included in the airfare and Hawaiian Airlines did not allow one to prebook luggage and pay for it in advance except during the last 24 hours. My brother was arranging everything for us and he was on vacation during the same time that we were travelling. Have you ever heard of Murphy’s Law?

Are You A Buddhist? Introduction Being a Buddhist is quite open because if you believe in certain aspects it is better than not believing in anything. We take what we can get. However, here are the more traditional aspects of being Buddhist. One should believe in The Triple Gem – ie**: The Buddha, The Dhamma and The Sangha).** This can be expanded to include The 4 Noble Truths. This can be expanded to include the Eightfold Noble Path as well. The Four Noble Truths also include a belief in cause and effect and past lives (aka **Saṁsāra).** Lastly, one should live by these ideals and follow the five precepts for morality, and follow the Eightfold Noble Path which includes meditation for the purpose of gaining Buddhist wisdom with the goal of reaching Nibbāna. If one is a Bodhisatta (Skrt. Bodhisatva), and wishes to attain full Self-Enlightened-Buddhahood, one should still have an ultimate goal of Nibbāna but delaying it to attain the full perfections. However, a Bodhisatta should strive to attain mundane insight knowledges while they are available in this lifetime. 

There were a few times when I have seen some yogis and or monks go crazy. One time I saw a possession case when I went to a Kandy forest monastery called, Ulpathkandha. It means Sprint Hill Monastery. I think it was 2010 when I went there. I wanted to use the Internet for the first time in a few years. I wanted to see what this Facebook thing was. I had my brother make me a Facebook account and I was going to see it for the first time. I thought this monastery had Internet because the main room had a computer. However, I later found out that the computer was broken from the lightening storm. Fortunately, they had a donor who invited monks to use his WiFi connection in his home and I made an appointment to go there after a few nights of living at the Spring Hill Forest Monastery, situated deep in the Mountains.

Ajahn Mun dark Did Ajahn Mun say the Buddha congratulated him on the night he attained arahant? His biography books says it for sure. Venerable Ācariya Mun Būridatta Thera is one of the most revered forest masters of the 20th century. He is the root guru of both the Dhammayut and Ajahn Chah monasteries. He popularized the monastic practice of living under an umbrella in the forest and his relentless energy is fascinating and inspiring. Although I quote controversial words from the book written about him, I still find his “way of life” inspiring. It is also not proven 100% that these are really the words of Ajahn Mun. On the other hand, I don’t believe his biographer would lie or is lying.

Here is a quick tip on how to make a filter in just a few minutes. Maybe as fast as one minute. This is useful for monks who want to put filters on their water taps. It is my own invention as far as I know, but I am sure other monks somewhere else also do the same. The Buddha did mention that if we did not have a filter, we could use the corner of our robes (that we are wearing). This was how I got the idea by using an old robe. Old robes are abundant and easy to find in almost any monastery. Be sure to clean the robe before officially using the filter. This one was washed twice, but still had a stain on it. If you are really lazy (like me), you can cut out the filter and then just wash that small piece of cloth in a very short time.

I Finally Did It! This Rainy Season (Vassa) I was able to learn the Pātimokkha (227 Rules) by heart. It is the first round and it takes me a long time to do it, and there are mistakes. Never the less, it is considered “learned” and “memorized” at this stage. I will hopefully recite the Pātimokkha for the full moon November 3rd if all goes well. I need to get my 2+ hours of recitation down to at least 1:15 minutes. Most people do the recitation in 45 minutes or less. Some can do it in 25 minutes! It is also very common for experienced chanters to make mistakes and or need prompting for certain rules but not as much as I need right now. It is a mother-load of text. I will recite the whole text daily and rework the sections I am slow and rusty on until it gets smoother and faster.

How Do Monks Say Grace Before Eating? Do Theravāda monks say anything before they eat? Do they give thanks? Who do they say thanks to? Or is it something else? Buddhist monks generally do a reflection and chant something before eating. In fact it is said that the monks incurs debt if they doe not reflect before eating. Actually, there are 4 reflections concerning the Four Requisites: 1. Robes 2. Food 3. Lodging 4. Medicine

Racism in Asia, Myanmar and Monasteries I remember when I came to Sri Lanka, in 2007 and I met a monk who said he was from Slovenia. “Slovenia? What kind of country is that?” I told him that I had memorized the world map in school, but I didn’t remember any “Slovenia.” There happened to be a large world map in the other room and he called me over to see it. He pointed to his country and a bunch of other new countries a few centimeters away. At that time, I had been a monk for 6 years and I didn’t own a television when I was a layman before that either. I’ve been out of the real world for some time and I asked why they would do such a thing. He told me:

The Buddha in the clouds Does the Buddha Live in Nibbāna? Many people believe that the Buddha is alive and living in some sort of transcendental realm called Nibbāna where he can hear your prayers and eat and drink the food and water that you offer to Him. We Buddhist monks smile when we hear that people have such beliefs because nobody lives in Nibbāna, not even a Buddha. This is wrong view, and any teacher or monk who believes and teaches this is surely not enlightened because permanently removing wrong view is part of enlightenment (in Theravāda). “So where is The Buddha then?” you might ask. The Buddha as far as a “being” is concerned dead and gone. There is only (dead) material form from his bodily remains that exist today. When The Buddha died, He did not take another birth. He achieved the final goal of Buddhism, which is to not be reborn ever again. His Arahant disiples have also achieved that goal too. There is no difference between a Buddha and an Arahant disciple after death. Any trace of them, is nowhere to be found. However, their physical remains may have been saved to represent the power of those who have achieved the final goal. There is no remainder other than that dead and lifeless material.

When should you give to Saṅgha? When should you give to individual monks? This is a question that is not addressed very often and it can cause lots of trouble for monks knowingly and unknowingly. Quite often, many monks blindly prompt donors to recite a line of pāḷi before they offer anything to them. “Bhikkhu Saṅghassa demi.” There are some variations, but that is the generic formula. It means, “I give to the community of monks.” This is done to give the donor more merit. He makes more merit when he gives to a community instead of one single monk. Even though the monk may prompt such a phrase to the donor, he is likely to be unaware of the procedures to properly handle a community donation.

Here is an instructional video on how to make a foot-rug from old and discarded monk’s robes. If you are a monk, perhaps you will be very interested in this. I made the video as I was making my very first rug. Ven. Khemavamsa is the one who helped in the end. It was his idea and I have never seen this before. The story from the texts is below:

Update Aug 5: I am back at Varansi Monastery , Mingaladone as pictured. This is a general update. There are many sublinks to look at. Enjoy! I have passed all of my exams and finished my Diploma Course at ITBMU and have elected not to continue further. I wish to do meditation and if I study, want to focus on Pali and the memorization of the 45 page Patimokkha rules in Pali. Both are going slow for me, but progress is chugging along.

Drone View. A Brief Return to Pa-Auk Maymyo (pyin oo lwin). In 2012 I had left my home at Nauyana, Sri Lanka to reconnect with my teacher Pa-Auk Saydawgyi in his spank’in new meditation center. It was built by a Myanmar Billionaire, and was still being finished as we were coming to the grand opening retreat. The climate was nice and cool and the food was exceptional. However one of the faults was that it was really close to a major road, in a spot where the truck shift gears and accelerate. They can be very loud and the sounds bounce off of the walls of the village lined kuties (monk houses). When I saw Sayadawgyi he asked me what I thought of the new place. I said that every monastery has its faults but it is overall really good. Then I told him, “If anyone ever offers you more land, buy the land on this side of your kuti.” His kuti was quite far from the road, and “this side” was further away from the road. He said, “Who will be the donor?” and I didn’t know, but I continued.. “If anybody offers more land, tell them this side.”

Why are most monasteries not allowable for vinaya monks? Today, I was Skyping my parents which is something we do once or twice a month now. I feel it is good for them to “see” me as a monk, rather than having them talk to me and visualizing their son from 1999. That was when I left home and things changed for me. We had a nice discussion. We spoke about possibilities for a visit, but I told them that finding a place was difficult, because the monks all use money and whatever they buy with that money becomes unallowable. I used an analogy for what some Jewish people call Kosher. Some very strict Jewish people will throw away plates and silverware if both meat and dairy had touched it. My parents were not like that, but some of the older generations of my family (I have heard) were like that.

I had the day off from school and went for alms today in a new area unannounced. I wanted to go down a side street near “shit- mile.” “Shit-mile” means “8 mile marker” in the Myanmar language. So Before I went there, I saw an alley on the right with a small food-stall setup. Because it was a new area and nobody knew I was coming for alms, I need to explore every opportunity to collect enough food for my lunch, a meal that would need to last me until the next morning. I walked past the stall and then found a row of 3 story buildings with some ladies outside. They saw me and started making a bunch a noise which meant that I would get food from them, but they did not tell me to wait, so I continued to walk to the end of the alley. When I reached the end, I turned around and the ladies were waiting for me and told me to wait. They came out with rice and some noodle mix and a banana-leaf treat. They wanted to give more, but that was all they had. As I was walking out to the main road, the lady at the food-stall asked me to stop and gave me and egg with some potatoes. One of the ladies who had just given 30 seconds earlier had followed me to the shop and also bought some chicken pieces for me and a plate of rice so a local boy could donate something too. Just in case you were always wondering: The egg came before the chicken.

“Singing With My Bowl” Today, after I Skyped my parents to say hello, I was doing my usual weekend schedule after: Go walking for alms, and then meditate at Swedo Paya (Tooth Relic Pagoda down the street from me). It is my favorite part of the week. It is where I can stop being a college student and be more like the monk I prefer to be. Near the end of my meditation in the Pagoda, a large Vietnam group came and did a chanting procession circumnavigating the inside of the pagoda. Afterwards, they sat down and did some more stuff. My watch beeped 8:00 am and it was time to leave. As I was walking, the Vietnam tour guide asked me to stop so he could take my picture. Then he upgraded my compliance and moved me towards the central Buddha Relic which I also agreed to do. He then asked me. “ You are from the USA, right?” “Yes” “Are you from the Takado (Myanmar language for university)?” “Yes.” “Oh we are going there in 5 minutes. We are going to offer money to all of the monks.” “Oh. I do not touch money. It is against the rules that The Buddha wished us to follow.” “Really?” He was afraid that nobody would accept the money he had arranged, so I told him the truth of the matter and said, “But most monks do not follow this rule and will accept the money.” “We will also offer rice today, and you can eat our rice.” “I collected my food from the village and I will eat separately.” “But how? What will you eat?” “Come and I will show you my bowl over here?” We walk towards my bowl. The vibe changed and he started asking me more questions like what I did before I was a monk and how many years I was a monk, etc. His voice was so filled with faith. It was different from when we first met. This was special and rare meeting for him. “What was your job before you were a monk?” he said. “I was a computer programmer.” “How could you leave your country with all of that wealth and come here?” “The Buddha also came from a rich family, No? I did not tell him how much money I had made in the 1990’s. It is still an American culture thing not to say that stuff. It was probably double or triple what he had imagined even in today’s dollar value nearly 20 years later. He disappeared and I started to wrap my robe around both of my shoulders. This is the proper way a monk should wear his robes at all times outside of shrines and monasteries. This style of wearing the robes is not just for the mornings while collecting food although it may seem like that.

To receive this by email, sign up at https://americanmonk.org/subscribe/ Last year, this picture (without the writing) went viral. The viral post seems to makes its rounds from time to time and every so often, someone tells me they saw my picture. It started when I was in Bagan for an 8 day trip with my friend Ashin Pannyagavesaka. We did a slow and thorough excursion and walked a good chunk of Bagan when rides were not provided. We were happy. I liked to roam about and my Bhante friend liked to take pictures.. often many candid pictures were taken of me too. We hit just about every major and medium sized pagoda. As we would enter each pagoda, a routine would settle in. I would walk in the compound and the vendors would try to get me to buy something. I learned the phrase, “Paisan ma khainboo” which means “I don’t deal with money (because it is bad).” I would say that and the vendors would respectfully stop their sales pitches to me, often with hands in prayer position (anjali). Going ahead of my friend, and into the pagodas, my friend would be asked many questions about me by the vendors. “Who is he, what country, how many years as a monk?”

This is a spoken English version of the Discourse on Loving-Kindness (Metta Sutta), mixed with the Pāi chanting of One Voice (EkaSara). I like it and I think you will too. Enjoy! If you get a chance, It is best listened with headphones. There is quite a bit of stereophonic separation included. Feedback welcome. The audio is uploaded here. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aMpSVv2ZdvI

[![bowl](/images/bowl.webp" >}}](/images/2016/10/bowl.webp" >}} I remember when I saw my grandfather before I left the world behind in 1999 for some travel and perhaps an ordination. He was in the hospital going through the first round of fighting lymphoma cancer. He asked about my planned one or two year journey and I told him about all of the places I would travel to. Then I said how I wanted to become a monk and that might happen near the end of the trip. He asked, “Why would do you want to become a monk?” I left out the Nibbāna part for him because he would not understand that.

Alms Inspiration is like a bright star that shines among the dim. In Monastic life, there are few monasteries or monks that really inspire people. Following the vinaya (or rules) inspires people. It is tried and tested. This was an old picture when I was in a vinaya monastery that follows all of the rules including the “basic ten rules” that a 7 year old beginner monk is supposed to follow. “Varanasi” is the name of the monastery which is a learning monastery that was started by an Ethnic Nepalese Myanmar community. If I do not return to Hawaii in June, I might consider going there to continue my studies after I my planned 6 to 8 week mediation retreat during April and May. The conditions of the monastery are secondary to being inspired by monks who follow the rules.

Here is a comparison of 5, 8 and 10 precepts. The Buddhist who follows five precepts is known as a regular lay Buddhist. The person who follows 8 precepts is known as a serious Buddhist yogi. The person who follows the 10 precepts is known as a novice monk. A bhikkhu follows 227 rules. It is important to know these classes to know which rules are more important to follow. It also can explain, what class of rules a monk is following. It is a unique way of looking at Monastic Morality. It is also important for lay people who take 8 precepts to really take real 8 precepts. If a lay person takes 8 precepts but knows they will not follow them, they are lying and not only breaking one of the first precepts and generating bad kamma, but they are practicing rights and rituals, something that is in the opposite direction as Enlightenment and what The Buddha preached.

[![birdseatingrice](/images/birdseatingrice.webp" >}}](/images/2016/12/birdseatingrice.webp" >}} Is it OK to feed uncooked rice to the birds? Recently, the subject about feeding animals in my post Sabbe-Satta-Metta was brought up and how it could end up hurting animals in the long run. I answered it as “hogwash,” and then questioned the validity of the myth of throwing rice at weddings since I see people feed birds with uncooked rice all of the time in Burma. If it killed the birds, we would surely know about it and stop doing it. C’mon, it’s seed. Birds eat seeds all of the time.

[![fetus](/images/fetus.webp" >}}](/images/2016/12/fetus.webp" >}} What do Theravada Buddhists believe in terms of abortion? Much of what has been written are liberal beliefs and overturning what is written down in the texts. They claim “Modern Buddhism” as a section heading, but there is no such thing as “Modern Buddhism” since there is no such thing as “Modern Kamma.” The rules of kamma do not change over time, and abortion has been around since the time of the Buddha. My job is not to make decisions or advice for others, but to give a “pure” classical Buddhist explanation on abortion.

[![television-144961_1280](/images/television-144961_1280.webp" >}}](/images/2016/11/television-144961_1280.webp" >}} I remember when I moved into my new place in Old Greenwich, CT. It was a duplex house and I had the bottom floor. I was within a Frisbee throw into the heart of the charming Old Greenwich village.. (not to be confused with “The Village” of Manhattan). I was also near the train station which would take me to Manhattan if I wanted. I could run to the beach park and back as part of my 4 mile exercise route. It was a nice place, I could afford it, and things were going well as far as lay people are concerned during my life back then.

A Story from 1993 from my college days, before the Internet was around. I remember all the way back in ‘93, when I was in college and I had just spent a few weeks in China for an academic scholarship. Because I was now some type of “International” student, I was asked to attend a “lunch hour” question and answer session with Helmut Schmitt. Although I had international travel experience, I was hardly experienced in “international issues,” and I did not even know who or what he was. What was a Chancellor anyway? I guess it was some type of president or something or another. In any case, I was told to think of some questions, because it was important for the students to have many questions for him so we could appear educated and not waste his time. In the mean time, or maybe even earlier, I was at a meditation friend’s house. When I entered his place, he had some music playing in the background. I was taken aback by its sincere beauty and asked my friend what was playing. He showed me the cassette tape cover and explained that it was a get-together between professional and amateur pianists. One of those pianists was even a politician. They got together and played Bach on piano during Bach’s birthday, and the recording was the result. I admired the energy of this tape and asked if I could borrow it and he said yes.

Calculation of odds. Do you believe in devas? Devas are the Buddhist equivalent to angels. Ok .. Here is the story. I was on alms round two weeks ago and a regular supporter invited us to ask for anything for our studies at school. I needed some pens, so I asked for some pens. He told me to wait and showed up with a huge pen gift-box. He opened it up for me and there was a fat and expensive Cross pen inside. It was probably worth over $100 and there was no way that I would accept it. I refused it a few times despite his insistence, and then he finally agreed to get me disposable pens the next day.

[![hang-glider](/images/hang-glider.webp" >}}](/images/2016/09/hang-glider.webp" >}} Below is a Wrigley’s TV commercial from the 80s which started my lifelong dream to hang-glide and a genuine excuse to get educated. Whenever I saw this commercial as a child, my jaw was to the floor. It was something I had always wanted to do. Thanks to youtube, I can trace it all back. I was never really college material, I took the SAT’s once and bombed on them. Luckily, there was a trend during that time to ignore the SAT scores because there was some evidence that it discriminated against some people who could perform well at school. Because of that short lived trend, I had a window of opportunity and I got into the only two colleges I applied to. I guess the trend was correct, because I graduated with a 3.54 cumulative average. My grades soared, (probably due to meditation) and I was able to literally soar through the air.

Download Free A4 format PDF Download Free A5 format PDF Tutorial on How to Sit Many times I have given advice to yogis on how to sit properly and I have received raving success. In fact, I asked one fellow student to model for the pictures you will see in this article and he was absolutely amazed at how comfortable he was as soon as he sat down. He spoke loudly with joy and excitement as soon as he was seated in the Samādhi-Sausage, which prompted other people to peek inside the room to see what all of the commotion was about. This document is long. The short answer is to roll up a blanket and curve it around your body as shown below. However, the rest of the document gives a full explanation on how it works so you are able to make the perfect seat, sit in it properly, and modify it for your own needs. (Note: The shirt was raised up and tied to reveal his posture and it is not normal for him to be like that!)

A 2 part Powerpoint presentation about what two monks did in Kauai, Hawaii during June to December 2015. The theme was propagation, but the propagation was done just from being monks who do not touch money, and collect their food the traditional Buddhist monk way. The vision, how it got started, stories and experiences were shared. About 50 people were in the audience. Running time is about 1 hour total for both. There is a comment added at the end of part two so make sure you do not quite when it seems like it is over.

[![pexels-photo-13918](/images/pexels-photo-13918.webp" >}}](/images/2016/07/pexels-photo-13918.webp" >}} [![hatredlove](/images/hatredlove.webp" >}}](/images/2016/07/hatredlove.webp" >}} This video clip below came my way and I would hate to say that not only is this guy is correct right near the end of his talk, but he is expressing the same thoughts as the Buddha and myself…well, at least the last part. This link will skip over to 3 minutes 38 seconds. Remainder running time is about 2 minutes. NOTE: There is more I say below after this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CceQISThDYQ#t=3m38s

Here is a sample video and written instructions for making a self-contained incense holder made from a plastic bottle. It is the coolest incense holder I have ever used. The idea is not mine. An American lay person had one at his dorm room and I thought it was the coolest thing since sliced bread. I made mine in minutes. The Problem: No matter how you slice it, incense holders often let the ashes fall outside of the “catching-base.” It makes a mess and might be a fire-hazard too.

[![IMG_20160703_121038](/images/IMG_20160703_121038.webp" >}}](/images/2016/07/IMG_20160703_121038.webp" >}} I had a really good day going for alms today. When it “rains it pours.” Although it rained today, I am talking about alms donations. I told myself, that if this village does not give (like usual), then I will skip it and find another one or stay with the shack village alone. After 3 weeks of only one donor in that village, I finally got some edible food…. However, I accomplished that by going down some other side-roads I had started to skip.. and then people started to stop me in my tracks.

[![Mala in Hand](/images/malahand.resized.webp" >}}](/images/2016/06/malahand.resized.webp" >}} The benefits of “Faith piṇḍapata”. This is a term that I learned either in Abhayagiri, Ca, or Wat Pah Nanachat or both. Probably brought to the West from Ajahn Pasanno who is/was the abbot of both. This means that when you go on alms, you make a determination to only eat the alms food you collect. When you do something like this (and I am not sooo perfect when I follow these things), you can learn a lot about yourself and the real Buddhist teachings. (Note: It is often not good to write about ascetic practices. However, I write about my life as a way to teach about Buddhism.)

Top: Ma Ba Tha conference Bottom: Reaching out to Muslims to show loving-kindness. Recently, I was convinced to go to a “seminar on peace” this past Saturday. Some of you may have seen my picture on Facebook in regards to a Ma Ba Tha conference I attended. I was told that I should not pay attention to the negative press and that they are a peaceful organization and the gathering was about peace. I was also told that I might have the opportunity to tell the organization that they should work for peace with the Muslims instead of separation and hate. They should not blame the Muslims for the exponential decrease in monastic Buddhism in Myanmar (which I will speak about later). That chance to speak never came, and when I got there, I noticed that it was a three year anniversary celebration of the organization rather than a conference on peace. Once I was there I was stuck. I was the token Western monk, and my picture was taken hundreds times by just about anyone with a camera who saw me along with several professional photographers. When the first person took my picture, I smiled. I knew there was nothing I could do about it. If I resisted getting my picture taken, they would have a picture of a monk resisting getting his picture taken. There is a monk at Pa-Auk who doesn’t like his picture getting taken, and everyday pictures are taken of him not being happy about cameras which enhances his dislike for cameras. Contemplating the check-mate scenario I was in made me smile like a father who says to his child with a toy gun, “You got me!”

Sima of Varanasi Monastery. A Brief Visit to Varanasi Monastery, Mingaladon I had a few more days before I was allowed to arrive at ITBM University (I am there now). Very close by is one of my favorite monasteries in the Yangon District. Actually, there are very few choices for monks who follow the monk’s rules (Vinaya) if you want to live with like minded vinaya monks. Even though Pa-Auk is a vinaya monastery, there is not the same consistency of monks who have vinaya in their hearts. Local monks often come for meditation retreats and often “temporarily” follow the rules “while they are there”, storing their unallowable items with their friends, family or even the bus station across the street from Pa-Auk. In this way, they can experience the life of not using money, but it is often not in their hearts when they arrive. In a positive way, Pa-Auk is often a transitional place where monks can taste the freedom of life without money, and then make the full commitment later on. There are of course many monks who follow vinaya at Pa-Auk and who have vinaya in their hearts, and that might make up the majority. Many people come to Pa-Auk for this reason. However, the attraction at Pa-Auk is Meditation and monks often come there for that reason. Pa-Auk is always on my list of places that follow vinaya and support vinaya monks. It too is a truly unique and wonderful place!

[![cooler](/images/cooler.webp" >}}](/images/2016/05/cooler.webp" >}} I remember when I went to America in 2008 with one of my monastic friends named Ven. Visarada. He was an experienced monk and had good ascetic practices. When we went to America, he did not have any luggage and brought everything he owned with him. Instead of using luggage, he used a simple cardboard box. It is simple, easy to get, easy to dispose of and also more suitable for a monk than fancy luggage.

 I cannot believe that I am writing an article that explains how the monks are fighting over food. It is very awkward to hear isn’t it? On the other hand human nature is human nature. We have six monks who sit at each table and sometimes there is not enough of the special items to go around. And that is when the fighting begins… But it is not what you think.

In the eight plus years that I have lived in Myanmar, I have never seen the Thingyan Water Festival festivities happening in the street. I normally spend my time in the monastery and normally, if I went on alms, it would be early in the morning. However, our Kyownpine monastery goes out on alms round a little later so we can collect real food to actually eat a little bit easier (so the donors have time to cook). Because of this, I was able to see the “License to Spill” in action for first time.

Kyownpine Pa-Auk Branch Monastery in Mudon, Myanmar. I have moved to Yorgo Sayadaw ’s new monastery called Kyownpine. The Yorgo Sayadaw read my first ordination transaction 15 years ago and invited me to come. He speaks no English, but we have fun together. Such a lovely place, lots of Metta here. Good views, cool at night (75 degrees), nice kuti. This place is suitable for foreigners to live at complete with proper vinaya (monks’ rules). The food is collected from village Pindapata. I have been helping collect the food with three other monks. A truck follows us and sometimes up to ten helpers to help sort and collect the food. Currently, about 50 monks are here. The villages that invite us (one village per week) are prepared to feed us by the hundreds.

Here is a video slideshow of my Bagan trip. We had scheduled 8 full days to travel around, and mostly on foot. We had a limited budget and it was a real joy. Basically, the less transportation you have, the more you can take in. However, you need time to do that. Ven Pannyagavesaka went with me. He likes to take pictures and I like to wander around. It was a good match. Many thanks for Sandeep who sponsored the bus tickets and anything else we needed and Snow and Sai wunna for providing transport fees. We did use some taxis, but it was limited according to our wish and travel style.

I recently made a Hawaii video slideshow. Here is the link. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2DjEHWNTHQ0

From the pamc lookout. I am back in Myanmar from Kauai, Hawaii. I will begin the Bus trip to Pa-Auk Meditation Center this morning. What a long transit back that was. Here is a picture taken from Pa-Auk Lookout point that friends and I had fun taking a while back. I will begin the Bus trip to Pa-Auk Meditation Center this morning.

[![blueroomtwo](/images/blueroomtwo.webp" >}}](/images/2015/12/blueroomtwo.webp" >}} I went to the sacred Blue Room cave today with a friend named Narayandass. Its waters are known for their healing powers. I made a recording of some chanting before we meditated there. It was a special time and extremely high on my “Before I Go” list. A recording can be found at https://archive.org/details/Blueroomkauai. The raw recording has nothing added but was trimmed at the beginning and end of the file.

[![Mangala3 audio](/images/Screenshot_2015-11-29-14-04-15.webp" >}}](/images/2015/11/Screenshot_2015-11-29-14-04-15.webp" >}} Here is a link for the Dhamma Talk on November 28, 2015. The talk was the third on the Mangala Sutta. This time, there was a high quality recorder. Talks are not edited. There are three parts. Lovingkindess and chanting. Part 1 Mangala sutta -who are the wise and review. Part 2 Meditation. Part 3

Loving Kindness Wins The Race (Adventures in Going for Alms in Hawaii) Last week we encountered a disturbing event while we were going for Alms in village in Kauai. There was a lady on a bicycle who approached us and asked us what we were doing. Her tone of voice was not so happy, but we enjoy telling people what we are doing because it does not happen so often and that is one of our goals when we stand in front of each house. So I replied with my canned response, mentally noting the cross around her neck by saying, “We are Buddhist monks, and we do not touch money. We are doing many things and one of those things we do is to collect food for our daily meal.” I usually then start to tell them about how we are wishing loving kindness to each house to keep our minds’ pure while we are waiting for people to figure the food thing out. However, this lady started to butt in with negative comments, like ,“Why don’t you get a job?” When I told her “spiritual practice” was our job. She sarcastically replied, “Oh, now isn’t that convenient?”

[![oasis radio](/images/oasis-radio.webp" >}}](/images/2015/11/oasis-radio.webp" >}} Easy but Low quality download and playback here (interview only, no music) Please try https://archive.org/details/oasis111518-2 http://americanmonk.org http://withmetta.net

[![some-wish-for-peace](/images/some-wish-for-peace.webp" >}}](/images/2015/11/some-wish-for-peace.webp" >}} Some wish for peace, I did something (story below) I thought I would repost this on my blog due to the recent events. We must strive for peace. Originally posted on WithMetta.net I just got back from inviting 2 Muslims to serve at the head of the meal line for Tomorrow’s lunch at Pa-Auk. Everyone thought I was crazy and that the Muslims would kill me or at least shout at me as soon as I entered the compound. Instead they sat us down and offered us apples, and fruit juice with a happy and warm welcoming smiles.

Yesterday, I had spoken about how someone took our pictures and who said something like, “I just wanted to tell you (her hand was now over her heart) how much …what you do means to me. I really want to thank you for what you are doing!” She drove off in her electric car that sounded like a vacuum cleaner. A few moments later, the same vacuum cleaner showed up again, and then she asked if she could take our picture. We said, “No problem.” And then she did not hear us correctly, so we needed to repeat that it was OK. We posed for her, but she asked us to turn around so she could snap a picture of us in action. So, we turned around and started wishing loving kindness to the same house again. Loving kindness has no limits.

Dear Friends, Here is the link to the kkcr radio show where we were interviewed on Kauai Community Radio for about one hour. It gives a good taste of what we did on the island: We will be on the radio on Sunday at 11:00 am Hawaii time. The radio station is kkcr and can be streamed at the main page below. http://www.kkcr.org Program 10am -12pm http://www.kkcr.org/djs/kamran.htm We will come on at 11am island time.

This might be the last Dhamma Talk for Kauai.???? [![Dhamma-Poster](/images/Dhamma-Poster.webp" >}}](/images/2015/11/Dhamma-Poster.webp" >}}

HERE IS AN UNEDITED version of the Dhammatalk on the Mahamangala Sutta #2. There is quite a bit of silence in the beginning, so please be patient. Download here [![mangala2](/images/mangala2.webp" >}}](/images/2015/11/mangala2.webp" >}}

[![IMG_20151028_112524](/images/IMG_20151028_112524.webp" >}}](/images/2015/10/IMG_20151028_112524.webp" >}} Yesterday, we got some pre-Halloween candy during our alms round at one of the houses. I thought that was very “sweet” of our donor. Halloween is a holiday on October 31, in America where kids dress up as, well, anything they want. They go around the neighborhood at night and ring the doorbells and say “Trick or treat!”. Then the person at the house would place some candy inside the ambitiously sized candy collection bags.

I made this video from 55 minutes of nearly silent footage. I cut it us and added a script to it. The titles in English are from the original and are misspelled in some areas. The monastery is more or less the same except a new health clinic which i had posted pictures of earlier. I finally got a higher resolution copy uploaded (in full) to YouTube, thanks to a wonderful Bhante who helped me upload it from the DVD Version. All other versions are made from the Vcd except for a failed upload from a friend of a donor. Help give this one the rankings over the others because 1) It is better quality 2) there are no ads

[![freespirit~01](/images/freespirit01.webp" >}}](/images/2015/10/freespirit01.webp" >}} We spend almost an hour at the library on Tuesdays when we wait for the Thai Restaurant to open. Ven. Dewananda signed this book out of the library called, “Free Spirit.” I was curious since “Free Spirit” was the name of my family’s sailboat when I was a kid. While I was flicking through the book, which by the way was well written, I came across this quote that struck me. I snapped a picture of it.

The website Http://TimeAndDate.com is a “must-know” and “must-have” for Buddhist monks, especially when they travel abroad. It calculates the Moon Phases and Solar Noon for a specific area. One thing that was very enlightening was how the Western calendars were off from the Buddhist calendars for the new and full moons. Why? Well… pick a place in the East, like Yangon and see when the full moon is. Then pick a place in the far West like Honolulu and see when the full moon is. Then you will see that the moons are moons anywhere in the world at one given time, and they do not pay attention to time zone differences. For instance, the new moon is on October 12 in Honolulu, but October 13 in Yangon. If you (from Hawaii) were to call someone in Myanmar on the phone in the afternoon of October 12, and asked them the date they would say it was October 13. They would also say it was a full moon day. That is why the Western or Eastern calendars are “off” by one day.

My friend Nikita (x ven Kippabinnya) made this flyer for our new location. There was a request to move to Kapaa which is more central. Golden Lotus seems like a nice place and they have cushions and chairs available. [![Old School Buddhism Dhamma Series](/images/Old-School-Buddhism-Dhamma-Series.webp" >}}](/images/2015/10/Old-School-Buddhism-Dhamma-Series.webp" >}}

[![kilaueafarmsSubhuti](/images/kilaueafarmsSubhuti.webp" >}}](/images/2015/10/kilaueafarmsSubhuti.webp" >}} [![kilaueafarmsdeva](/images/kilaueafarmsdeva.webp" >}}](/images/2015/10/kilaueafarmsdeva.webp" >}}I had to ask Bhante Devananda several times in order to go to the end of the road to see the ocean today. We have been at this location for six weeks now without ever going to the ocean at the end of our own road. However, after we got there, Bhante Devananda did not want to leave. Being the nice monk I am, I let us stay and we meditated on the mountain until it got dark. After all, it was our road and we knew the way back. Waiakalua, Kilauea Farms.

Here are links to the two parts of a Dhamma Talk on the Mahamangala Sutta givin at Princeville Community Center in Kauai. September 27th. The first part has Loving kindness The second part starts the main subject. (First 3 minutes were not recorded) The talk will be a series on the Sutta. This talk covered the introductory verses. The files are unedited and the breaks are recorded. Feel free to edit and resend them to me.

[![dhammatalk27th](/images/dhammatalk27th.webp" >}}](/images/2015/09/dhammatalk27th.webp" >}}

Here is an unedited file from the dhamma talk I gave. The first section on Loving kindness is missing. Soon I will add the first talk which has a similar first section. The two hours consists of: Chanting and loving kindness meditation 5 minute break An introduction and general overview of the Sabbasava Sutta. 5 minute break A brief meditation session, followed by Q/A and sharing of merit. The talk can be downloaded Here.

This video is probably the most beautiful and entertaining environmental message on Kauai, GMO and agriculture you will ever see. A “Wow!” for all 22:55 minutes! Subscribe to this blog to receive updates via email. https://vimeo.com/130279788

I am still happy to report that things are continuing to go well. However, we did have a small hiccup, OK, a big one. We moved. Yes, I know it was beautiful place we had, and maybe the most beautiful place in Kauai too. But something was just not right and so we decided to move out and we are in a new place on a three acre tropical fruit orchard. This arrangement should be temporary until we find a new place. I wanted to move to Anini which was my original plan, but our donor would not let that happen, so we are on her property now. Apparently, there are some rough people at Anini beach park and it has changed since I was last there 15 years ago.

[![grassmeditation~01](/images/grassmeditation01.webp" >}}](/images/2015/08/grassmeditation01.webp" >}} These days, most meditators meditate inside buildings on flat and hard surfaces. One should try to meditate outside on a nice grassy area that has a 20 to 30° angle. It does not take much to find such a place and if you do, you might feel there is no need for pillows or other bulky equipment for your comfort. Go ahead and give it a *try!

There is a Bodhi Tree on our property and we sometimes do a vandana (chanting) in front of this tree rather than at the gazebo. We did one tonight until a passing rain cloud sprinkled on us. From Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bodhi_Tree The Bodhi Tree, also known as Bo (from Sinhalese: Bo) and “peepal tree” in Nepal and Bhutan, was a large and very old sacred fig tree (Ficus religiosa[1])[2] located in Bodh Gaya, India, under which Siddhartha Gautama, the spiritual teacher later known as Gautama Buddha, is said to have attained enlightenment, or Bodhi. In religious iconography, the Bodhi tree is recognizable by its heart-shaped leaves, which are usually prominently displayed. Bodhi trees are planted in close proximity to every Buddhist monastery.

[![Lumahai Beach](/images/IMG_6591.webp" >}}](/images/2015/08/IMG_6591.webp" >}} Our third beach trip with chanting and meditation during sunset. Lumaha’i Beach. We walked to the center of the beach and then sat down on top of a sand ledge to do our chanting. Afterwards, we did our meditation until a small rain cloud started to sprinkle down upon us. We had a good Dhamma discussion with our driver who is eager to learn about Buddhism and meditation and often asks us when the next trip will happen. Such trips are a blessing for the both of us!

Report on Kauai I am pleased to write you with a very happy report on our trip to Kauai. We have been doing really good work and things have been working out well. My concepts and ideas about Kauai as a special place for monks to live and practice has met and and exceeded my expectations. I feel it is very good for my overall monk life and development. Instead of relying on a big monastery structure for my needs, I need to keep on my toes in order to survive. It is difficult, but rewarding. We are currently living in a very special and beautiful estate which is called “The Sanctuary”. It truly is a sanctuary and very beautiful and peaceful here. I will explain further on this later.

This is a picture of the Waimea Canyon Trail. I recommend going on the Canyon Trail Hike and going further beyond the small waterfall and then to the edge of the cliff where the top of another huge waterfall is. The view is so spectacular.

My view this morning after chanting and meditation. [![20150807_064958](/images/20150807_064958.webp" >}}](/images/2015/08/20150807_064958.webp" >}}

I forget how many rainbows I have seen this month. Maybe 7 or 8? This one was over our property. Today I saw 3 Rainbows in Hanalei, including a double rainbow. Such a beautiful Island, and I really have not explored much because it is so satisfying where I am already. Yesterday was our one-month anniversary. [![IMG_20150721_071616](/images/IMG_20150721_071616.webp" >}}](/images/2015/08/IMG_20150721_071616.webp" >}}

[![blogcovercanyon](/images/blogcovercanyon.webp" >}}](/images/2015/08/blogcovercanyon.webp" >}} I went to Waimea canyon today. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waimea_Canyon_State_Park I think it was the most beautiful place I had ever seen or tied to seeing the whales jumping out of the ocean at the 8 mile cliff campsite from the kalalau trail fifteen years ago. All that said, they are both found on Kauai. The pictures are great, but disappointingly flat. The last picture was Polihale beach.

Our kuti in Kilauea, Kauai.

Modern monks transcribing an ancient Buddhist Pali Grammar book (suttamala) in Kauai. [![IMG_20150703_133241~2](/images/IMG_20150703_1332412.webp" >}}](/images/2015/08/IMG_20150703_1332412.webp" >}}

[![kauai-bus-information](/images/kauai-bus-information.webp" >}}](/images/2015/07/kauai-bus-information.webp" >}} Our bus passes start on July 1. However, Kauai is easy to hitchhike on. To make things difficult, I do not want to use my thumb and just let people guess. The result? It is really easy and I regret having passes, although it is easy that way. Today we got a ride from someone who went to Kula High School where I used to teach in 2000. She knew our road and drove us door to door. She had mentioned that this road has beautiful places behind the gates and that she wanted to live on this road. I told her she might freak out when she sees our place. When she pulled into our driveway she said, “This is ridiculous!”

Thanks. I had long ago written about this scene as being the answer to the movie’s title theme which asks “What is beautiful?” and that most people incorrectly believe it was family. A person who was editing my writing found this link and I was grateful that I remembered it correctly and that someone else felt it was good enough to post on YouTube. God talking to me American Beauty

[![IMG_20150627_132010](/images/IMG_20150627_132010.webp" >}}](/images/2015/08/IMG_20150627_132010.webp" >}} [![IMG_20150627_131127~2](/images/IMG_20150627_13112721.webp" >}}](/images/2015/08/IMG_20150627_13112721.webp" >}} Where we chant and where I often meditate at “The Sanctuary” grounds where we live in Kauai.

Ven dewananda by his temporary lodging and some pics of “The Sanctuary”, the name of the place where we will have a cottage one July 1rst. The cottage that is very visible is not ours. It is the none that is hidden. We looked inside today. It is really nice. More pics later.

Kauai place

+Bikkhu Pannagavesaka​ just arrived to Yangon from Pa-Auk Main on a bus that says “Aloha”. Very Auspicious????

A nice story about a man who chooses a different kind of view, and sees the world in a better way. Please help! Only two more stories left. Everybody has a story or should do something to write one. A Different Kind of View ](http://withmetta.net/a-different-kind-of-view/) A Different Kind of View Several years ago, I was working with a client (I am a psychotherapist). He was a man in his late 50’s who was working with me around a number of issues including dealing …

If you have metal in your mouth and are concerned, you can read this page to feel better. It is mostly hype that causes fear and the dentist who restarted much of this had his license revoked. If you eat seafood one time per week, you are around 2-8 times the level of amalgam fillings. Dental amalgam controversy - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia ](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dental_amalgam_controversy)

????Thanks to my brother, our tickets are confirmed for June 22 to December 8th Yangon to Honolulu round trip. Amazing price at $852. Then we fly to Kauai the same day. Getting to hnl will take 33 hours, with two stops in China. My kind brother told me to give him three itineraries so I would not feel worried about the price, but I only gave him one. Ven Devananda, my monastic companion, is now the holder of a multi entry USA visa valid until 2020! However, he will probably only be able to do one entry. Unfortunately, in order to get a visa, you need to be a busy person who will not stay long in the usa. He will continue at ITBMU for his Masters Degree for 4 years starting in June, 2016. This was a key point for his visa acceptance. He got perfect marks on his past exams. Getting that visa took a great deal of work to put together 47 pages of supporting information from many different participants and two DHL deliveries. I am very grateful for this effort and result. The info packet turned out really nice and you did not need to read it to know it was a valid applicant. However, I was still nervous about the results since it was a private sponsorship. This is my 6th successful Western country visa packet I worked on for monks.

????Soooo. A while back, I said I had Hawaii on my mind and that a string of flowers was starting to look different. Today, the door just opened up. The USA visa was approved for my friend who will be my monastic companion. A “good friend” is a good friend in-deed. I smile when I hear or say the word Kauai. Soon we will walk and meditate inside that world. It is something I had dreamed of doing as a monk, long before I ever ordained.

32 parts, The Path Of Purification and The Grateful Dead If anyone would like to guess what 32 parts meditation looks like to the practitioner, it does not look like this, but it gives a good idea able about what is seen without any practice or hallucinogens. This website has several pictures in addition to the one shown. http://www.buzzfeed.com/natashaumer/fascinating-x-rays-that-will-change-the-way-you-look-at-t#.yywpr4maQ It should be noted that The Grateful Dead has dancing skeletons, and other skeleton motifs including the “Steal Your Face” taken from a classic narcotic song called “He’s Gone”

About two weeks ago, on my way to Yangon, I had a chance to see Kyaiktiyo Pagoda (Golden Rock) since my ride was going there. It is a major tourist attraction, yet after eight years total, it was my very first time to visit. I was very happy to be there. It is a very…

Getting Ahead in 3D Lately, I have been interested in the Free Open Source Software package called Blender. The software had a reputation for being difficult to learn and not so good. While it is still difficult to learn, the capabilities have grown in the past few years. I eventually want to make some stuff to explain Abhidhamma. Recently, this post came up. It is so real, you wonder if it is a real person pretending to be fake…at least until the end of the 20 second flick.

If anyone is interested in reading up on great organization. This one seems to be very good. I have read their newsletters for quite a while. There were some things I ethically opposed to and do not recommend, but for disaster relief (and that is my focus of praise), they are quite high. They are in Nepal now and often at every place where disaster strikes. I am most impressed in their way they deliver goods to victims. They bow their heads and offer. According to their newsletters, they don’t just leave when the hype dies down. They rebuild and manage for the longterm. Although Mahayana at heart, I say Sadhu to their humanitarian disaster relief efforts

Aren’t photo editors great? I remember when we used film and paper and had to pay for pictures! 

Gravity Payments founder Dan Price cuts his salary from $US1m to $US70k, doubles staff wages ](http://www.smh.com.au/business/world-business/gravity-payments-founder-dan-price-cuts-his-salary-from-us1m-to-us70k-doubles-staff-wages-20150415-1mlelj.html?&utm_source=social&utm_medium=facebook&utm_campaign=nc&eid=socialn:fac-14omn0013-optim-nnn:nonpaid-25/06/2014-social_traffic-all-organicpost-nnn-smh-o&campaign_code=nocode&promote_channel=social_facebook)

Thumbs Up For Hitchhiking Here is a story about receiving Metta when I was hitchhiking for the first time at age fourteen. We have only two more stories left in the queue to be published. Your stories may be short and simple and you may submit in unlimited quantity. Metta has no limits. Your stories help perpetuate the withmetta.net website. Thumbs Up For Hitchhiking ](http://withmetta.net/thumbs-up-for-hitchhiking/) Thumbs Up For Hitchhiking I remember when I was fourteen or so, some time in the mid eighties, when I started to test the realm beyond my parents’ advice. At that time, we had just moved to a new a…

Text posted by imron yousuf. At https://plus.google.com/117415869687509148486 “Very little has been said about this…..On December 2, Basque athlete Iván Fernández Anaya was competing in a cross-country race in Burlada, Navarre. He was running second, some distance behind race leader Abel Mutai - bronze medalist in the 3,000-meter steeplechase at the London Olympics. As they entered the finishing straight, he saw the Kenyan runner - the certain winner of the race - mistakenly pull up about 10 meters before the finish, thinking he had already crossed the line.

I am feeling really happy..like my feet are not really touching the ground today! My dream to be a monk and live in Hawaii, which specifically changed to Kauai, that started in 1999 might come true. I got the green light for air tickets and other things. I just need to get the visa for my Sri Lankan monastic friend who agreed to come. If this visa gets approved, I will be even more happy! So far three steps considered “impossible” have been cleared. Step by step one more to go. He has been to Australia and I did that visa application for him, so odds are not as bad, but still difficult. No, I will not go alone. So if the visa fails, or I cannot find another monk to come with me, the whole thing gets cancelled. I will go to Yangon quite soon to start arrangements.????

Original picture lost, but this one from Thailand will do. They might be Giants During this time, called, “The Water Festival” many “young and old” take robes temporarily. It is the “summer” equivalent like we have in the West. No School. Recently, a foreigner friend disrobed a few days ago. I think he was on his second or third year. He was the ideal monk, quite passive, talks only when you need him to, quiet most of the time and fairly progressed in meditation too (with pa-auk standards). However, things just did not go right. He was not happy with his situation, was sort alone with himself and he disrobed a few days ago. We will miss him.

Before and After Water Filter I have been using this water filter for about a month or so now. It is working well and I have not had brown water days yet! I was going to leave because of the water and my ear problems which has now turned into Tinnitus. That is not fun when you meditate as your main gig. I asked a friend of mine, U Jotika who had offered a filter for me long ago when he showed me around his new kuti which also had a filter. Although it was so long ago and he forgot that he offered me, he was happy to help via his parents who are local in Mudon. Sadhu! 

Trying second time to get picture.. I think this worked. Wide And Shining Eyes ](http://withmetta.net/wide-and-shining-eyes/) Wide And Shining Eyes It was in 2011 when I came with my ex-wife to Myanmar. In Yangon, there are many begging children that sell postcards on the streets and near the tourist areas. Knowing this…

Withmetta.net is back with a new interface! Only two stories left and I wrote one of those two! Here is a simple story about giving. I encourage you to write many stories. There is no limit and they can be simple in content or length. As you wish. http://withmetta.net/wide-and-shining-eyes Wide And Shining Eyes | With Metta Wide And Shining Eyes. It was in 2011 when I came with my ex-wife to Myanmar. In Yangon, there are many begging children that sell postcards on the streets and near the tourist areas. Knowing this beforehand, I used to carry some sweets with me to give them instead of money.

The Old Fashion Fire-Line Method Without a concrete truck, you need many volunteers to work in a concrete fire-line to pour concrete. Bucket by bucket, the task gets completed. I have never seen or heard of any other method used for any of the buildings at Pa-auk. This project is for Sayadawkyi’s new meeting room which will be attached to his newest kuti at Pa-Auk Tawya. His first kuti, made from bamboo has been torn down and replaced with a new three story 80 room dormitory. Sayadawkyi is expected to come to Pa-Auk Main in May and they have night crews working to finish it before he arrives. The donor does not expect the hall to get used often, and it might only get used only for a few days or weeks by Sayadawkyi. That will be enough for the donor’s satisfaction; a different mindset from the West.

2015 Pa-Auk Retreat in a new Maymyo Section? A 2015 retreat is rumoured to happen in Maymyo, Pa-Auk Branch with Venerable Pa-Auk Sayadawkyi. There are 3 Pa-auk Maymyo monasteries right next to each other. 1.). Old section 2.). Middle section 3.). Newest section (completely separated and independent from the other two sections) Supposedly, only the newest branch will be used for the 2015 retreat and the other two will not be used. If that is the case, I am doubtful the retreat will happen in only in the newest section according to schedule. The other option is to:

I Got Kauai On My Mind Monks have often lived in the King’s Parks during the time of the Buddha, yet few or maybe none actually do it these days. I have been thinking much about going to Kauai, Hawaii recently. Kauai ranks high on my list of “Beautiful Places” in the world. Next to relationships and my guitar, or maybe ahead of them, Kauai is my lost love in life and I can touch it too! (Women and musical instruments should not be touched by bhikkhus).

It really does take a truck load of rice to feed Pa-Auk Yogis Two large cargo trucks deliver truck loads of rice to the Pa-Auk rice storage building. 

My website account http://withmetta.net has been hacked and shutdown. 

From my oldest posts from GPlus in 2015, which are slowly being restored. A Counterfeit Mitsubishi Truck was found in Pa-Auk Forest Monastery. I had my doubts, so I asked the driver to open up the hood. It was in fact, a Toyota engine block. Consumers, please be careful! In the olden days there were very high taxes on cars. I think 200% tax which made used cars hold their value well. To avoid import taxes, it was common to make a village car. Here is the post I made.

Interesting Tiny Bubble Shelters Evelyne Adam builds tiny lime and hemp bubble shelters in France.

Myanmar has only Two Syllables Myan-Mar. From Wikipedia: mjɑːnˌmɑr/ myahn-mar, /ˈmaɪænmɑr/ or/ˈmjænmɑr ???? People often mispronounce Myanmar with three syllables, so I decided to make this little notice. !

Here is a story about a worker in an automobile assembly factory who was fearful about following through with his plans to go to Myanmar until he was inspired by his newly made friend, Nay Myo who also worked at the factory. The support and gratitude exchange is worth noting although it is not so uncommon for Myanmar people to go out of their way to make guests feel warm and welcome. Read more and share your own at http://WithMetta.net 

Venerable Pa-Auk Sayadawkyi in America at Abhayagiri Monastery.

This medicine was given to to the monks in the alms food line. I took it (to my kuti) just to make a picture of it. I will try to donate them to the clinic. I am just glad that Ken Kesey doesn’t donate…???? !

This is Awesome! You should read this! I can’t wait to sign him for our team! Top MLB prospect lives by his own rules – in a van ](http://espn.go.com/espn/feature/story/_/id/12420393/top-blue-jays-prospect-daniel-norris-lives-own-code) He throws 96. He’s the Jays’ No. 1 prospect. He signed for millions. And he lives in a VW camper. Meet Daniel Norris, the most interesting pitcher in baseball.

A small kuti on the way to the “learning center” where I keep my Sim. !

Here is a nice story to warm up your Winter. Lending A Hand | With Metta ](http://withmetta.net/lending-a-hand/) A car in the snow. By Adam Glick. This winter Boston set a record for snow and cold. We had nearly 5 feet of snow in 3 weeks and the temperatures were frequently below 0 degrees Fahrenheit. We live in the residential part of the city, so parking is typically a challenge.

That Little Itch Might Be Telling You Something A famous tagline when I grew up for the famous dandruff shampoo which can actually be a fungus. (The active ingredients of such shampoos are often antifungal) Albendazole is another remedy for itchiness at the other end of the body, usually at night, commonly called worms. The itchiness comes from the female worms who wriggle their way outside to lay their eggs.????

Here is a small storey on giving. Please send your stories! Everyone is very happy after they write and share. Sharing and Caring. | With Metta December 26, 2014. I want to share something that happened to me here this morning. I went to the dining hall as usual for breakfast. Lots of people today for tambun ( donating to the Sangha). I walked the lines of lay supporters getting rice and then got the rest of my food.

My mother sent me this for Valentine’s Day. !

Razors and Switchblades These are the types of razors that most monks use in Myanmar. I used one of these for about eight years with one of the sides modified so it did not having the safety bar. We called the sides; “safety side” and “dangerous side.” With the dangerous side, one can wait a week or even 4 weeks before shaving. The safety bar is what causes the blade to clog and the “dangerous side” removes “clogging” from the formula. Normally people shave their heads every week or every two weeks at Pa-Auk.

Dinner For One A simple story where a donation to a beggar on a New York City subway turned into a lasting memory that touched his heart. While not all donations turn into lasting memories, some do. It may not be immediately easy to see why it was important, yet we all have a story where it means more to you than others, for reasons of personal interpretation and circumstance. This story reflects on the joy of giving, encourages giving, and the idea of relinquishment. I hope that you have a similar story to share withmetta.net too. Please send it in!

It Looks Like It Is Bronze The Ashoka pillar has become the Pa-Auk logo over time and it was originally initiated by U Dhamminda for one of Sayadawkyi’s books when he was a monk in the 90’s. The pillar at Pa-Auk was originally a white plaster color, but that has been changed by an artist monk. During a time near 2003 or 2004, I remember a French/Armenian Ven. Jaruvanna, who used to be an artist, decided to repair one of the lions which had a broken jaw. While he was at it, he decided to do his signature artwork, by making fake things look real, and old too. This is how the Pa-Auk bronze look came to be. He also did amazing things to make a stone faced base, which was just a concrete/plaster mixture as well. However, that part has worn away in time. He did a good job! The first layer was tarnish green while the second layer was a bronze color. The idea was that as the statue gets older, the bronze layer will fade away, and the tarnish layer will be revealed…

With Metta Website. http://withmetta.net New website. Do you have a Metta story? Please Reshare! With Metta Website ](http://withmetta.net/index.html) With Metta Website. Personal Stories Containing Acts of Loving-kindness. This is a new website which is for posting personal stories containing acts of loving-kindness. Please send your personal stories which represent random acts of kindness to you or from you to the address in my Google Plus …

Today is my monk anniversary from February 7th, 2001. I reset my ordination in 2007. I am quite happy with my decision to ordain. This day is more important than my birthday.  !

Donation Day today at Pa-Auk. This is a time where all of the teachers come together from the 29 local Myanmar monasteries. There are 11monasteries abroad if you want to count the USA branch. This is also a time when large or huge amounts of donations are made. We filled 2.5 rice sacks with goods today! While most of it was superfluous goods, like washing powder, soap and notebooks, there are some special things as well. I gave away most of it including two sets of robes to Varanasi Monastery. The big pile is what I gave away and the small pile is what I kept.

Making the bowl black. I got mine recently done at the blacksmith shop! Pa-Auk Monastery, Mawlamyine, Myanmar

There are rumors that Venerable Pa-Auk Sayadawkyi will be coming to Pa-Auk Tawya main for the famous February meeting of teachers. Venerable Sayadawkyi is still in Vietnam and will continue to be in Vietnam until the Doctors say it is OK to leave. This information was confirmed today by Venerable Kumei Sayadaw, U Cando, and U Kumudha, directly to me. This picture is from 2004 and seems to be the Buddha that is housed in MettaVihari Female meditation Hall Pa-Auk Main, Mawlamyine, Mon State, Myanmar. The Buddha was hoisted onto the floor when it was finished. Then the rest of the construction took place around it until the building was completed.

A Monk Working In The Umbrella Repair Shop Kuti #1, The Kuti Village Pa-Auk Forest Monastery Main, Mawlamyine, Mon State Myanmar Quote from “Going For Broke”. (Different monk in picture. Almost all reconditioned umbrellas are double deckers) From 2004 Umbrellas surely break, and we now have an umbrella repair service station at kuti #1. I call the monk in charge of this “U THEE,” which means “Venerable Umbrella.” You can actually use “I’m sorry I was late, my umbrella was in the shop” as an excuse in this monastery. With this umbrella service, I was able to make my umbrella last almost two rainy seasons before giving it away to a visiting monk. Umbrellas really take a beating here, and my umbrella was in the shop three times! U Thee is a real pro. He can do anything with your umbrella, and there are plenty of parts available from the umbrella graveyard. Once there was a person who donated a few high-tech umbrellas from Brookstone, a nifty gadget retail store in the States. It has two umbrellas in one: an upper deck and a lower deck. It’s like an umbrella with a rain-fly. My teacher was offered one of these umbrellas, and shortly afterwards, many of the reconditioned umbrellas started to appear in the same style. Sometimes the simple life can get high-tech too.

Rote in Action The monk on the left was reciting while his friend checked to see if he was correct. Here, he made a mistake and his friend is pointing it out to him. Not only can the young monks read and memorize, but they do it at the same speed as the guy who reads the fine print at the end of a car lease commercial. Of course, in a third language. Many of these Ethnic Nepal/Myanmar residents grow up with a Nepal mother tongue and then learn Myanmar language. Pali will be their third language. Varanasi Monastery, Mingaladon, Myanmar.

I bet these flowers are expensive in the West! !

Comprehensive Manual of Abhidhamma, A - PDF eBook

A monk practices by rote memory in the learning hall. I call it “The Shouting Room” Take a listen to what the room sounds like. Here… https://archive.org/details/tmp_3492-TheShoutingRoom-1064581155 I have tried practicing in this room. It his quite intense and yes…probably better progress than doing it quietly alone. Ps. That is just a water bottle..not soda!

This is a picture of today’s Alms round at the villages surrounding Varanasi Monastery. The rice is put into the bowls and the curries are collected separately by the helpers or our young monks. The meals are given to the monks using this food and other supplementary food. It is a Buddhist tradition still active in Myanmar and also a way to support ourselves.

This is how monks or anybody traditionally learns something by rote memory. The monks will usually do this for eight or nine hours per day. This shot was from Varanasi Monastery in Yangon area.  This is how monks or anybody traditionally learns something by rote memory. The monks will usually d

This is what I knew and trusted when I invited the Muslims to come to Pa-Auk. I hope that all religions including Buddhists can denounce any violence done in their own name. By doing this, people will stop blaming the masses for a select few who unrighteously claim to represent them. Muslims Around The World Condemn Charlie Hebdo Attack ](http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/01/07/muslims-respond-charlie-hebdo_n_6429710.html) Muslims in France and around the world banded together on Wednesday to strongly condemn the deadliest terror attack the country has seen in the past two decades.

I can claim personally that meditation improved my academics. I did very poorly in school and SAT. However, after I meditated regularly, I graduated university with a 3.54 cumulative GPA at my university. I believe it helped me in the computer field as well. Of course, meditation changed my entire life altogether:-)  Meditation transforms roughest San Francisco schools At first glance, Quiet Time - a stress reduction strategy used in several San Francisco middle and high schools, as well as in scattered schools around the Bay Area - looks like something out of the om-chanting 1960s. Twice daily, a gong sounds in the classroom and rowdy adolescents, who normally can’t sit still for 10 seconds, shut their eyes and try to clear their minds. An impressive array of studies shows that integrating meditation into a …

Another novice monk at Varanasi Monastery. !

A novice monk carries water. !

The Cob Summer House ](http://naturalhomes.org/cob-summer-house.htm) This is a 9 step picture guide to building an tiny cob summer house.

I too had this problem when I flew to the USA on British Airways in 2008, but I have never delayed a plane for this problem. Actually, it was my monastic friend who was travelling with me who was put next to a woman. Unfortunately, although I made sure a note about seating was inside our reservations, the reservation notes do not get sent up to the plane. I am not sure why special reservation instructions do not get sent to the plane, but that is the policy, and take heed if you are a monk or you send your kid on a plane with fatal food allergies.

I am staying a Varanasi Monastery. It is a monastery that follows the rules closely. There are many adorable little monks here, about 25. There are about 15 adult monks too. This place is a Nepalese monastery with Nepalese immigrants. Some are several generations, but they have still retained their language. Teaching is done in Myanmar language. There are approximately 300,000 Nepalese people living in Myanmar today. The first photo is the planned monastery. The second photo is the sima hall designed by ven. Pannyagavesaka. The third photo is the new three story dormitory hall. They hope to house 200 monks after it is completed in six months.

A classic picture of the Pa-Auk novice monks from 2004. The young (and adorable) monks were moved to a center in Mahemyine. It is certainly one of my all time favorite top ten pictures from Pa-Auk. I am currently staying in Yangon at Varanasi learning monastery. There are many young samaneras here. I should snap some pictures before I leave. 

Otoscope In The Monk’s Clinic It is always nice to see something that I arranged being used in the clinic as standard equipment. I am sure the donor of the clinic itself feels a hundred times better. Btw: An otoscope is the standard device doctors use to look inside your ears. I have never seen a general practitioner anywhere in Sri Lanka or Myanmar have one of these on his/her desk. Only a regular torch or flashlight is used to look inside the ears. The ENT specialist is the one to see if you wish to have an otoscope used.

This video was so good, I had to verify it was available on youtube before giving it to friends A friend came here with this video predownloaded (as most downloads in Myanmar, with our connection speeds). It is absolutely one of the best videos on Myanmar, but only three minutes and forty-five seconds long :( It is amazing what people can do these days and it feels so 3D too.

The Construction of Mettavihari Female Meditation Hall I normally shrink the size of my posted pictures. However, I left this one as the original so you can play with it. Go ahead and zoom in and move around. The second picture is the finished product. Take note that concrete (the grey stuff) burns the skin on contact. The hall was designed by “Bobby,” who ordained after the project’s completion. He is now known as Venerable Pannyagavesaka almost ten years later.

A classic picture of Pa-Auk The details of the photo dates it in 2008, but I think that was just the date of the picture cd because I have seen this made into a vinal poster before I left in 2007. A good chunk of those buildings and kuties were built by a single donor from Canada/China.  !

Oily food anyone? Pa-Auk Foreigners are prepared special foreigner food because the local food often looks like this. However, unknown to most foreigners, the local monks do not get much curry with their full scoop of rice. The curried oil is often used to flavor the rice (“meal” and “rice” are the same words in parts of Asia). It is similar to flavoring popcorn with butter. However, the Western eating style is to eat the curry as the meal and then the rice, often eaten separately. This is equivalent to eating a spoonful of butter and then a small amount of popcorn…many foreigners have digestive problems, and often for this reason.

I recently saw a usa ten dollar bill! It looks different from 1999. !

A donor as the nuns resceive rice in Pa-Auk Village A few times per year, as part of a tradition, the whole monastery goes to the village to collect raw rice. The monks are assisted by school children who act as helpers since monks are not allowed to touch food that will be used for a later date. The nuns are allowed to collect rice directly. The rice is later relinquished to the monastery. 

Here is another picture of alms round in Intakkaw from last year.  !

Table for One-ness My friend fixed up a tree block and made a table and chair from it. Pa-Auk, Myanmar !

Utopian Avenue When I was seventeen, not long after I started to question life’s purpose, I wrote a song called “Utopian Avenue,” about a place where a road exists with people walking and talking. Where everyone is kind, Where there is no need for money, Where there is no need for weapons, Where there is no need for cold weather jackets, Where there is no need for raincoats, Where there is plenty of water.

Muddy Waters Blues Every so often the water tank on the mountain goes empty and the water looks like this! It is only iron oxide but it is a bit freaky especially when it is black color, which it was for a short time. I tried to capture the black, but I was a little late.:-) Maymyo area has calcium carbonate in its water. Nauyana, Sri Lanka has a mountain water spring….ahhh! 

Sunday night we had an English Dhamma-talk with Sayadaw U Kovida. The new FM Transmitters were used for simultaneous Vietnamese (102 MHz) and Chinese (101MHz) translations. We also used one transmitter for our weekly “monks’ rules” class for the Vietnamese group. I’m a happy camper! The idea was to have the translators speak quieter so the rest of the group can hear the original English speaker. There is still the noise of two or three translators speaking during the English, but they speak in a normal voice instead of speaking to a crowd of people. The Vietnamese translator likes it too. He says it removes much of the stress. sadhu! 

Robe Offering Last night was the recitation of the rules (patimokkha) for the Uposatha. These days, we get some type of gifts after the meeting. The Thai donors, who are often seen on the daily meal donation board came with a bunch of slippers (flip-flops) and custom made robes from Thailand for Pa-Auk. I would guess that 600 robes were offered last night since they are aware of our numbers. Pa-Auk robes are often custom made because the factory brand robes are often not sewn according to the monk’s rules, although that is changing. Sadhu for the Thai donors! This will be probably our tenth robe received in a year’s time. You might ask what we do with all of these robes. Here is a famous quote from the cullavagga.. As he was sitting down at a respectful distance, King Udena spoke thus to the venerable Ānanda: “Did not our concubines come here, good 1Ānanda?” “Your concubines did come here, your majesty.” “Did they not give anything to the honourable Ānanda?” “They gave me five hundred inner robes, your majesty.” “But what can you, honourable 3Ānanda, do with so many robes?” “I will share them, your majesty, with those monks whose robes are worn thin.” “But what will you do, good Ānanda, with those old robes that are worn thin?” “We will make them into upper coverings, your majesty.” “But what will you do, good Ānanda, with those upper coverings that are old?” “We will make these into mattress coverings, your majesty.” “But what will you do, good Ānanda, with those mattress coverings that are old?” “We will make them into ground coverings, your majesty.” “But what will you do, good Ānanda, with those ground coverings that are old?” “We will make them into foot-wipers, your majesty.” “But what will you do, good Ānanda, with those foot-wipers that are old?” “We will make them into dusters, your majesty.” “But what will you do, good Ānanda, with those dusters that are old?” “Having torn them into shreds, your majesty, having kneaded them with mud, we will smear a plaster-flooring.” Then King Udena, thinking: ‘These recluses, sons of the Sakyans, use everything in an orderly way and do not let things go to waste,’ bestowed even another five hundred woven cloths on the venerable Ānanda. Therefore this was the first time that a thousand robes had accrued to the venerable Ānanda as an alms of robes. ** Sometimes, if the time is right, we may use the robes for ourselves, give them to a visiting monk who has a different color and wants to blend in, or give them to a newly ordained monk. Often, we will also find a monk who is going to another monastery and we will donate our robes and other goodies there. Pa-Auk gets really good quality robes which are comfortable to wear and are according to the rules.

A Dying Breed As Myanmar modernizes and loses its culture, these pony-carts become more rare to see. In 2001, when I first came here, they were common to see. Now, I think I have seen this two or three times in Pa-Auk over the past two years. I remember the American monk who told me about Burma in 1999, when I was just starting my journey, and still in the continental USA. He said, “It is like no other country…They still use ox-carts!”

The Dragon Chair Not many people appreciate this chair like a Westerner would.  !

I just got 1 otoscope and 4 portable FM transmitters that I requested. Transport, as always, was the most complicated task! These should help make things easier. I love making great ideas come to life, especially my own ideas! (Merit). Currently, if we want a doctor to look inside our ears, we need to take a half day trip into Mawlamyine city to see an ear (ENT) specialist. The current volunteer doctors on Wednesdays and Sundays simply use a normal flashlight (UK “torch”) to look inside the ear. Sanitary, but not effective. There are also roughly 100 plastic funnels for the device too.

Kuti Construction Normally, a kuti is a small empty hut. However, these days, at Pa-Auk, many really-really nice kuties are being built. I grabbed this photo when I saw a monk fiddling with pictures of a kuti his family is building for him.  !

Alms Round in Intakkaw Here is a picture from my Intakkaw trip last year. The girl on the bicycle was actually a kitchen worker for the monastery. She helped prepare breakfast for us and also prepared the food we collected each day, mixed with some subsidized food from the Abbot’s family. She was probably on her way to the local market to get some fresh vegetables to add to our lunch that we were in the process of collecting. The lady making a donation is usually one of the first donors on our route.

A portrait of two monks and three kidneys. U Pandicca recently left…and then there were two.  !

A View Of The Sangha Hospital Here are some pictures of the Sangha Hospital Ward on Mawlamyine. The hospital does not smell like a hospital because of the open air design. The last picture is the dining hall. Sangha hospital is a free monk ward.

A Sidecar Scooter Made in Myanmar. I have seen 10 or more school children ride in one of these during my stay in Intakkaw near Yangon. Taxis can often be a 2 wheeled scooter where you and another ride on the back. You will be hard pressed to find the typical Indian Auto rickshaws in Myanmar. The picture was taken in front of the Sangha Hospital Ward during an out patient visit to the ENT Doctor.

What Halloween is like (Alms story inside) Since a good chunk of you are not American, I thought it would be fun to reshare this Halloween picture direct from my hometown in West Hartford, CT. The kids dress up as …. well anything they want, and then they go house to house and ring the doorbells and say “Trick or Treat!” After that, the person at the door is somewhat obligated by culture to give small sized candy bars to the kids. The bags, which are ambitiously sized in this photo, are used to collect the candy.

My friend U Pandicca recently came for a visit next door at Sayadaw U Obhasa’s kuti. He will he here for one week and then return to Yangon for his studies. He has recently returned from India where he and his friend gave a Kidney donations to those in need. Sadhu sadhu sadhu! Sayadaw U Obhasa attracts high-loving-kindness bhikkhus and I am happy to have him as my neighbor :-D

Quote on about Apples and Razors and the gullible who listen to the Media I remember my time as a youth inspecting and eating candy as though it were like I was eating fish with hidden bones. Wikipedia on “Halloween” subtopic “Foods” (2012 edition) … At one time, candy apples were commonly given to children, but the practice rapidly waned in the wake of widespread rumors that some individuals were embedding items like pins and razor blades in the apples.[50] While there is evidence of such incidents,[51] they are quite rare and have never resulted in serious injury. Nonetheless, many parents assumed that such heinous practices were rampant because of the mass media. At the peak of the hysteria, some hospitals offered free X-rays of children’s Halloween hauls in order to find evidence of tampering. Virtually all of the few known candy poisoning incidents involved parents who poisoned their own children’s candy.[52]

Since Halloween Is Approaching I thought I would mention that monks often get apples and razor blades when we collect our food at Pau-Auk.:-) 

The Wooden Sounding Block in front of the Sima on top of Cittalapabbata Hill Because there are so many pillars and a rear view photo would either put me off the cliff, or poke my eye out, I have included two pictures to show what the wooden hollow tree drum looks like from two angles. Taken with my tablet. This particular drumming was for the preparation of the Patimokkha meeting (recitation of the rules). It can be heard clearly all the way from my kuti. The drum is struck 15 minutes before every meditation session and at 3:30 AM for waking up. 

A notice I posted for our guest rice servers (Story Below) Someone asked me how things went with the Muslim guests since I did not make a followup so quickly. If you missed what happened, you can go to my profile and see the previous posts. The whole experience was surely positive for me. I was very happy and my happiness lingered for several days afterwards. Rev. Sa-Id and his group came with a happy faces and left with happy faces.

American Pa-Auk Center? Ven Pa-auk Sayadawkyi recently sent me a letter inviting me to go to America and support the “American Pa-Auk Center” in California, with one-way airfare included. I responded by expressing concerns about the conditions and the Center’s status as a “real” Pa-Auk center. I also have questions about who really “owns” and controls the place too. However, progress has been made. Up until recently, Sayadawkyi was unable to invite monks to the place. Who comes and who goes has more or less been decided by the owners often without asking Sayadawkyi. The local Myanmar community is not happy at all and the director has resigned from office due to similar and stronger concerns. He was the only “outsider” involved with the administration. His position lasted less than one year.

Mission Success! More later.. !

My family shared half the meals for approximately 1200 monks, nuns and yogis for lunch and breakfast on Oct 8th at Pa-Auk. !

Some wish for peace, I make it happen (story below) I just got back from inviting 2 Muslims to serve at the head of the meal line for Tomorrow’s lunch at Pa-Auk. Everyone thought I was crazy and that the Muslims would kill me or at least shout at me as soon as I entered the compound. Instead they sat us down and offered us apples, and fruit juice with a happy and warm welcoming smiles.

Malawmyine Sangha Hospital I went to the hospital for an OPT visit to get my ear checked at the ENT unit. We ate at the Sangha hospital ward which was fairly empty. It is an open air hospital and the place is very clean, quiet and comfortable. I remember when I stayed there in maybe 2003 for suspected malaria. They gave me the medicine for malaria even though I tested negative. The medicine is harmless and they did not want to “wait for me to get in worse condition.” After a few days, I was able to go back home to Pa-Auk. However, they had a special donor for the meals coming the next day and requested me to stay for an extra day. The hospital was so pleasant to stay at, I agreed to stay :-)

Ven Sayadawkyi’s kuti at Pa-Auk Main !

Humpty Dumpty is back together again (And it works too). In Myanmar, cars are often recycled many times over due to the high import taxes and the low salaries. Probably less than $150 to do all of that labour. We still have jeeps from 1950 running around with Toyota engine blocks inside.  !

The Message From Long Ago I was recently interviewed by Skynet television. The monk in charge of foreigners tracked me down for an interview. I originally refused to climb up the Mountain for an interview at the Bodhi Tree. “Too much trouble. Get another monk.” I said. Then he arranged for an easy location to be interviewed and he even sent a messenger to my kuti to make sure I would come.

The “Beverly Hills” Section of Pa-Auk This is my neighborhood. Over the years, the price of wood had skyrocketed, and concrete kuties have become the new standard. However, that does not stop them from laying teak floors inside. I think teak is quite inexpensive in Myanmar compared to the rest of the world. The same could be said about flowers and mangoes, let alone medicine and treatment. This neighborhood is quite old now and some other kuti donor/builders have really “gone out to town.”

Flower Art Served on a Bowl Cover The middle flowers go bad within a few hours. It is a good prop for the reflection on impermanence. “Sabbe sankhārā aniccā’ti" !

Which part is the car? Which part of you is you? A Buddhist classic to explain “The Self and Not Self Paradox.” The Pa-Auk Garage was working on the Pa-Auk SUV and I could not help myself.  !

3D Buddha I borrowed this Buddha from a friend’s kuti for a little while. The Buddha you see is actually a mold of a Buddha. The eyes create this 3D effect with the inverted statue that will always stare at you no matter how you look at it.  !

New Pa-Auk Thailand Monastery Picture of location in An-ton 2 hours from Bangkok. The sima was officially completed (by vinaya transaction) about 6 months ago. To complete a legal vinaya transaction, one needs the permission of the residing monks in the village. This could be a problem because monks often do not like newcomers on their own block, especially from Burma. To avoid such technicalities, the Thai donors who arranged this, picked a site in a village with only one monastery, which is abandoned. Most of the village is water. The mayor or equivalent, is connected with the owner which is leased on a long term contract. I think the land is officially owned by a Mahanikaya temple which makes everything to spec. About 36 Thai monks (plus two from Laos) are at Pa-Auk main now.

Knowledge of Microphones, Knowledge of Meaning The last two patimokkha recitations have been clear sounding without feedback (except when they were playing with the controls). All is due to my recent arrangement for a proper microphone. This makes me very happy and I can rejoice in my efforts when we have our meeting on the new and full moons. I learned about microphones from a monk at my Amaravati visit last year and a professional DJ/ambient music composer who visited Pa-Auk last April. I found out it is not how much the microphone costs, but the type of microphone one gets. It took quite a while to arrange, but it all worked out in the end! I have arranged for another microphone already. I think I will arrive in November.

Alter States of Mind ♥♥♥ If you look at the center of the picture, you will see a transparent pink heart! I did not notice this until I prepared this post. Very cool! ♥♥♥ This was going to be the post below: Alter States of Mind Chanting and setting up my alter is a good excuse to be beautiful. Beautiful is a group of mental ingredients (sobhanacetasika) contained in every wholesome mind. Sitting on the floor, I was just appreciating what I have, and I thought I would take a picture to show that moment. An Alter State of Mind.

Umbrellas – Excerpt from Going For Broke from “Walkman Karaoke” (2004) Rainy Season is luckily my favorite. I love all five months of it. It is the perfect temperature also, not too hot, not too cold. It’s quiet and the noises around me get white washed out from the rain striking the metal corrugated roofing. We had over 350 Bhikkhus and a total of more than 600 residents this past Rainy Season. One problem is that nearly everyone has the same brown or silver umbrellas. Surprisingly, up until last Rainy Season, everyone sort of knew which umbrella was theirs just by the markings. Some would put string on the handle while others might have some tape along the fabric to stop the leaks.

Little Wing Strikes Again My cardboard paper sign that goes around my 20L water bottle for refill identification was soggy from the rain, and so I threw it away a few days ago. I thought internally to myself, “Maybe I could ask the sangha computer room for a laminated sign before the next refill?”. However, that would be complex because it would be done with communal property for a private use.

News: I have been working on some old projects which need some detail but they are nearly finished. 1.Samadhi Chapter will be released in the next few days. Around..15pages 2.Paauk Chanting Book (already) translated by Ven Anandajoti has been 96% finished for almost a year! I hope to release it before 2015. Mahanamakara is already on his website ancient-buddhist-texts.net That will show the line by line style of the new book. 3. Third Precept Article: “Sexual Misconduct with A Multi-life View” will be released maybe the first or second week in September. It is around 25 pages.

Hepatitis Vaccination The whole monastery has been offered a Hepetitus-B vaccine (nuns and yogis included). I recently had my second dose. According to wikipedia, after the third dose, I won’t need any booster and I will protected for life. I could have gotten this when I worked at Bayer on the Advia blood meter, but it seemed like it would take too long and it was said at that time to only last a few years. The 3 dose schedule is only 6 months. 

This free software is awesome for making audio books from text files.  Balabolka ](http://www.cross-plus-a.com/balabolka.htm) Balabolka is a text-to-speech program (freeware).

Water Cooling Tea A common ineffective way to cool tea is to pour the tea back and forth into two cups. A better way is to use the thermal mass of water to cool your tea. By placing it in a bowl of water that is deep enough to submerge 80% of the cup, the tea can be cool very fast. If you stir the tea with a spoon while sliding the cup in a circular motion inside the water, you will add another exponential cooling factor. The water in the bowl will become warm or even hot due to the rapid heat exchange.

Cats really really really love nori seaweed We were served a huge bag of nori today (now a few days ago) which was impossible to finish. I gave the cats half. They really really really loved it. It looks like two out of four of her newest children (not shown) will survive. The elder daughter is eating with her mother.

A List Of The Foreigner Yogis Someone recently asked how many foreigners are here at Pa-Auk and could not find my old post. This is the list from last month. There are probably some more added since all of the nuns were asked to break their Vassa at Maymyo branch to come back here. I would imagine Pa-Auk would have the most consistent largest concentration of foreigner residents in all of Myanmar. I cannot imagine hotels in Yangon consistently having these numbers.

She’s Got A Ticket To Ride I remember when I was in Colombo, Sri Lanka taking a bus in order to renew my visa at the immigration office. In Sri Lanka, they have special coupons for monks to ride on the government “red buses” for free. However, the local buses in Colombo are rarely rarely government buses. A friend told me that if you walk on the first few steps before boarding and say that you do not use money, the conductor will usually let you on. He told me to look at the conductor’s face and see if he was really “OK” with letting me or not. If he did not look happy, I should not get on that bus.

Chanting, Flowers and Possible Origins I found what seems to be a perpetual flower source and have been doing chanting on a regular basis. I have been inviting other monks to join me in my kuti and it now looks as though I may have two regulars. One of the faults of Pa-Auk or Myanmar in general, according to most foreigners, is the chanting style. This is because they have a pronunciation scheme that is different from all other countries. All countries vary a little bit, but not as much as Myanmar. Of course, now that fault is removed:-)

This time I asked the lady who was giving out unlabeled pills in the alms food line what it was. “B12,” she said. I popped it in my mouth and woke up in the same Matrix just as before.  !

Tears Of Joy I had arranged for a pedometer for Sayadaw U Revata as an idea to get him to walk more. As Sayadaws become more busy and famous, they get driven in a car to where they need to speak or interview and then they sit and listen to interviews or speak for several hours. After that, they go to the next place in the same fashion. They often have willing assistants to take care of their daily duties so they can spend more time teaching. The less they are active, the more their bodies deteriorate. I call this Sayadawitis. Over the recent years, he started getting knee problems and therefore walking less and less. I was afraid his health would spiral downward, so I arranged for a pedometer to express his inactivity and to encourage more walking which pedometers are famous for doing.

Yogi Gregory (previously Bhikkhu U Dhaminda) recently came to deliver a new Sure sm58 microphone that should not give feedback loops to the PA system during Patimokkha. It was recommended by a famous South African DJ that came here to practice after I pulled him aside to talk shop. I arranged this via my supporter who was once a monk with me at both Pa-Auk and Nauyana. Yogi Gregory also delivered some other items as well, driving 6.5 hours from Yangon to do it in two days.

It Is Never Too Late Part II Venerable PannyaGavesaka was ordained at the age of 62 and is known as the Assistant Librarian and is often known as “everybody’s friend.” He went to Clifton College in the UK and did his postgraduate at New Castle University in England and was trained in Architecture. He got into Buddhist monastic life because his son ordained and eventually his two granddaughters became nuns too. In 2004, he donated his time to help with the design and construction of the Mettāvihāri female meditation hall project at Pa-Auk. He was responsible for its unique design blending the old Burmese style with modern Western architecture. He spent so much time here and after the project was finished, he decided to ordain himself. Eventually his son and his two granddaughters disrobed and he is the only one to remain in sangha. His skills in English are exceptional and he often helps with the editing of English Dhamma books also Myanmar works that need translations. He has also helps with the design of communal buildings at other Pa-Auk branches in Myanmar and around the world. He is now working on his 9th year as a monk.

Flowers From Long Ago I remember the one time in my lay life when a woman brought me flowers, and for no particular reason either. I had her over my place a few times to play guitar. She was just learning and I thought it would be fun to have her over to play guitar with her. We knew each other from an NGO that did some volunteer work with some kids at a housing project. We used to take them ice-skating or for other activities like mini-golf and pizza. I was a regular helper and so was she.

Early Morning Rounds A picture of another group of monks going on alms round during my own early morning alms in Intakkaw, Myanmar. November, 2013. One of my many reason for being a monk, besides Nibbana, was not touching money and collecting food with a monk’s bowl among other things. Life is good this way. I remember telling my grandfather that I wanted to become a monk and beg for food when he was in the hospital fighting cancer. While I should have used a different expression for “begging,” that was how it came out and he was not so happy to hear that. (And talk about bad timing….) Nevertheless, he was happy to know I would travel the globe. He recovered before I left home, but had a relapse later on. I am sure he enjoyed my stories from Kauai, Hawaii and I was only five months into my trip which did not have an end or destination in mind.

The Bhikkhuni Revival According To Orthodox Theravada Why Pick-shoo-me? Please see http://subhuti.net.tf/venaggacitta.html Here is a document I requested from Venerable Aggacitta of SBS in Malaysia. He wrote this long before things were starting to cook up back in 2004. I remember reading the original article long ago and felt that it addressed the issue of Theravada Bhikkhuni ordinations very well from a Theravada point of view. It is all according to the texts and covers all of the issues of why the Bhikkhuni Sangha is not accepted by most of the Theravada Communities.

The rain was falling hard this past evening. The electricity was out as usual. I was doing some chanting in my kuti and this was what it looked like.  !

I saw a newly ordained bhikkhu near the “Pre-leftovers” table. I asked him how he was doing and he said to me. “I am doing much better mentally, physically and energetically. No attainments for what I originally came here for, but things are good.” I told him, “You can be happy just radiating Loving-kindness all of the time. It will help with your meditation, but if you do not get any attainments, you still win.”. He smiled, asked me how I was and then we parted just before another heavy rain settled in. ADVANTAGES OF LOVING-KINDNESS DISCOURSE (Mettānisamsa-Sutta). Anguttara Nikāya (A.11:16) Translated by: Ven. Anandajoti

Cats Like To Eat Corn Did you know that cats like corn? Try it, or let them try it. Dogs really like corn too (leave it on the cob). Dogs like just about anything and can survive well on a vegetarian diet of leftover rice and curry. The picture is of my neighbour’s cat’s daughter eating my leftover corn removed from the cob at his kuti. !

Better Late Than Never Some people believe they are too old to become a monk. Venerable Ashin Nandasara ordained at age 55 and has accumulated 30 Rains which is very special among monks who ordain at any age. Currently, he is the oldest bhikkhu practicing today at Pa-Auk Meditation Center (Main) at Aged 85. He is a native of Kawkareik Township and remembers staying with Ven. Pa-Auk Sayadaw during “The Early Days” when Sayadaw was staying in a bamboo kuti where the 3 story dorm is now. A warm and friendly bhikkhu, who is often known for sharing all of his “special curries” with his fellow monks. I have an invitation to come to his kuti for such curries, but have yet to arrive.

Monks’ Robes This scene is easily recognizable to be the area close to the Upper Meditation Hall, located halfway up the mountain. Long ago, I camped out inside that hall for about two years with the “overflow bhikhus,” but that is another story. 

My friend from Ukraine came for a short visit. This was a picture in India. !

Monasterynote5: Walkman Karaoke Here is an excerpt from Walkman Karaoke, a story from a collection I wrote from 1999 to 2006 entitled, Going For Broke. Often, these stories would be sent out to family and friends I had long ago whome most were not Buddhists. The stories were just stories and electronic cameras were not common then. In fact, we had a photographer down the street who would come here and take a photo to make our visa or passport photos when we needed one and the color would not be so good because the electricity was never stable for the chemical processing. That was the way, even in 2005. Things have changed quite a bit since then and I guess I still do the same thing, but in a different format.

According to the Buddhist texts: After coming back from alms round, we should put the extra food we will not eat aside for the bhikkhus who come later and need it. They too can take from or donate to this bowl. It is quite useful and is used everyday by many monks. It reduces much waste and makes pre-leftovers edible, allowable and shareable. Monks cannot eat food that has not been personally offered by a donor. This food has been made allowable because it was offered during alms round. Novices and lay people cannot touch “already-offered-and allowable-food” unless a monk holds the edge of the bowl. If they do, it will need to be offered again because they will be assumed as the new owners. In this photo, some young novice monks who want some of that extra food ask a bhikkhu to touch the bowl as they take from it. Photos by Yogi Bram (Belgium) 

It is not just a job, it’s Right Livelihood. A kitchen worker makes an aspiration after delivering the day’s meal to the Pa-Auk Upper Monastery, Myanmar. Photos by Yogi Bram (Belgium)  !

The line for a single day’s meal at monks’ alms hall at Pa-Auk Main Monastery, Myanmar. Photos by Yogi Bram (Belgium) 

Future Posts I have been doing quite a bit of 3 finger pecking on my tablet lately. Enough pecking to finally borrow a Pa-Auk communal keyboard from the computer room, but only after completing 67+ pages of abhidhamma lessons! Wow, what a difference that makes. It is almost like having a laptop without the weight and trouble. And when I am done typing, I can give the keyboard back! Ubuntu is also possible due to “Complete Linux Installer,”

It really does take a truckload of food to feed the monks at the Upper Monastery. Pa-Auk Main Monastery, Myanmar. (about 60 percent of the residents are at the Upper Monastery. The Lower Monastery monks and Nun’s from Nun section get their food right in front of the kitchen) Photos by Yogi Bram (Belgium)  !

One of the four rows of bowl washing sinks at the monk’s eating hall at Pa-Auk Main Monastery, Myanmar. Photos by Yogi Bram (Belgium) 

Here are a few pictures of the wood and sawdust powered stoves used yo cook for 1000-2000 residents at Pa-Auk Monastery. Photos by Yogi Bram (Belgium)

The Whispers of Little Wing A few days ago, I read in Susan Blackmore’s book about how people believe that coincidental happenings are acts of gods, spirits, or even worse, something they themselves made happen. There were experiments cited to debunk this faith which were quite funny and I even repeated this information in reference to how cavemen became spiritual. (Consciousness: A very Short Introduction) The next day, I passed by some flowers growing on a bush on my way back to my kuti and thought to myself how wonderful it would be if I asked someone to pluck some flowers so I could have a flower offering to my Buddha in a Sri Lankan Style: on a plate like a Mandala. One or two days later (yesterday), I received a very large collection of white flower tops in a bag during the alms food line at Pa-Auk. I think it was the first time I had ever received such a large collection of loose flowers at Pa-Auk. It was special too, because the unfamiliar lady who I think was passing out mangos, turned away from me and then reached back from a special place and put the special bag on my bowl cover.

Delivery to Pa-Auk Kitchen. Photo by Yogi Bram (Belgium)

Often, different types of unlabelled pills land on our bowl cover plates while we are passing through the alms food line. Some are obvious like Flax Seed or Fish Oil, but this one has me stumped.  !

Can water be felt? An Introduction To Material Realities And The Sense Of Touch. You can try to read this post cold, or you may read the previous three posts at my page. http://www.buddhanet.net/pdf_file/abhidhamma.pdf Temporary Nature p 318 Atomic Theory History, p. 318 Four elements plus color taste, smell and nutriment pgs. 319-320 Top of page 330 mentions that flowing (apo) can not be felt and is inferred. Page 330 has a mention if cardio theory (mind in the heart). Lifetime of a Kalapa p. 334 Mind produced matter p. 343 Rupa (materiality) as groups (Kalapa) p. 354

During the kitchen preparation time, the females were meditating in their separate three story meditation hall. Work is optional and may need special permission to do so. 10 Precept Nuns can ordain here as monastics. Nauyana, Sri Lanka has a similar arrangement with Dhammika Ashram. This was only the first or second time that I have been in this hall during a meditation session. Pa-Auk Meditation Center, Mawlamyine, Mon State, Myanmar. Photos by Yogi Bram (Belgium)

The famous Tree House at Pa-Auk. Mawlamyine, Mon State, Myanmar. Photo by Yogi Bram (Belgium)

I had quite a bit of coconut oil on my robes after an Ayurveda Massage on the last day of my 10 night fast. About half of the robe was discolored Detergent and hot water did not remove the oil and it was still discolored. I asked a Sinhala monk if he knew a way and he told me to smear clay all over the robe and then let it completely dry in the hot sun. I was a little skeptical and the local Myanmar people won’t dig into a termite mound either. I arranged for clay from another source and later ended up with ten or twenty times what I needed (from a river). I did what was prescribed and much of the oil came out. I might try it again since I did not get a full drying done since rainy season is inching up. However, it is very satisfactory now compared to before. It was difficult to see where the oil was without wearing it. In retrospect, the camera shot reveals where I needed more clay. What a mess to wash! It did work to some extent though and might be useful for anyone to know about. 

Rice for Pa-Auk Forest Monastery. 2 steam generators for 4 steamers. Wood powered. The first two are door opened. The second two are hoisted by rope and pulley to open. Last picture is washing more rice (for another round?) Mawlamyine Mon State, Myanmar Yogi Bram and my photos too.

The women doing prep work outside the Pa-Auk kitchen. Different groups, different minds. Mawlamyine, Mon State, Myanmar. Photos by Yogi Bram (Belgium)

Some more worker portraits from the Pa-Auk kitchen. In general, the guys are paid workers and the women are volunteers. Mawlamyine, Mon State, Myanmar Photos by Yogi Bram (Belgium) 

A few nuns sorting through the rice. (Probably to remove stones). Photos by yogi Bram (Belgium).

Meet the Happy Cook ! Pa-Auk Forest Monastery Kitchen, Mawlamyine, Mon State, Myanmar. Photo by Yogi Bram (Belgium)  !

Kitchen for 1,000 to 2,000 Residents Overview A layperson and myself took a trip to the lower monastery to take some pictures of the kitchen process. I will be sharing several posts from time to time featuring this kitchen experience which was amazing, at least in person. The central wood fired oven stove (yes, that’s right, wood) is seen in this picture. Another stove on the side was in operation too. There is another separate room which steams rice with four custom made steamers and steaming racks. All powered by wood and sawdust. Lastly, the central stainless steel table for prep work is shown in this picture. Some nun’s work in the kitchen, but most nuns and laywomen are free to meditate as much as they wish. The workers in the kitchen are paid staff and volunteers as well. This is just one picture from my tablet. Most pictures were taken by a layperson in still and or video with a high quality camera. 

Although I do not see myself posting anymore on the Buddhist and Spiritual Communities, you are welcome to reshare my posts in your communities or your gplus pages yourself. These will be posted on my gplus circles and made public with sharing enabled. The first Abhidhamma Post has been shared to several groups except Buddhism and Meditation and it was tiring to do. The second Abhidhamma post on the singular mind with an example on mercy killing has not been shared to any Buddhist and Spiritual communities to date.

Kuti portrait at Pa-Auk Forest Monastery, Mawlamyine, Mon State, Myanmar 

3-Year-Old Remembers Past Life, Identifies Murderer and Location of Body - The Epoch Times ](http://m.theepochtimes.com/n3/681034-3-year-old-remembers-past-life-identifies-murderer-and-location-of-body/) A 3-year-old boy in the Golan Heights region near the border of Syria and Israel said he was murdered with an axe in his previous life. He showed village elders where the murderer buried his body, and sure enough they found a man’s skeleton there. He also showed the elders where the murder …

A small view of the Pa-Auk Nun’s Kuti Village. !

I liked this idea! Anonymous Saudi Man Has A Beautifully Simple Idea To Feed The Poor ](http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/05/08/saudi-man-poor-charity-fridge_n_5290533.html) Sometimes, making a difference can be shockingly simple. A man living in the city of Hail, Saudi Arabia, came up with a brilliant idea to feed needy people in his neighborhood while sparing them the “shame” of begging, according to Gulf …

Cooking With A Paddle During our mahadana (big donation day) celebration at Pa-Auk Meditation Centre in February, the population was over 3,000. Our kitchen was in overflow mode and moved outside. I have included another picture of the pot in case you thought it was the camera angle.

Sayadawgyi finished his six day Dhamma Talk series in Myanmar Language on The Brahmanimantanika Sutta. His first words were about America and the wrong views about Buddhism there. He shouted his lion’s roar and several thousand devotees came to see him. Venerable U Dhammasena was recruited to continue the translation. It was amazing how he was able to translate Sayadaw’s bullet train Dhamma talk style in realtime. It was stressful but he was grateful for the opportunity. The big problem was too much energy afterwards. I know the feeling. I was charged. About 100 to 150 people could tune in to the translation for the first time. We do not know the exact numbers since it was transmitted as a radio station. Uncountable listeners and uncountable merit.

Sayadawgyi scheduled one day for English Q&A. I was chosen by Saydawgyi impromptu to sift through all of the questions and rephrase them so they could be understood. Not an easy task, but I was happy to help!

Here is a picture of the translation of Ven. Pa-Auk Sayadaw’s Dhamma talk with the fm mic. We used the mic from Thailand with a 100 ft range. Just anybody in the hall could passively tune in with their telephone or mp3 player’s FM radio component. 90.9 MHz. There is was virtually no disturbance or awareness of this project going on inside the hall. Sadhu to Donors for helping me realize this concept started 8 or so months ago.

Sayadawgyi is at Pa-Auk Tawya. We are so glad to see him back! Population has grown to 2000 from 1000 in the past month. Sayadawgyi, and many others will leave after the water festival ends. !

Here is a picture of a temporary novice monk (Samanera) from Scotland at our roadside Bodhi Tree. Pa-Auk is one of the few places in the world that follows the vinaya (code of rules) that will ordain foreigners for a short period of time without any commitment. It is part of the Myanmar Monastic Culture. When local people come for a retreat, quite often, they ordain as full monks (Bhikkhus) for that time. Sometimes, meditation goes well or something else becomes desirable for them to stay in robes…and they do. One monk named U Dhammapala made it 13 years from from his initial 45 day retreat. He later went to teach The Pa-Auk Method in Vietnam and then eventually disrobed last year. Currently, there are more than 80 Vietnamese residents at Pa-Auk which may be a result of this effort. Another friend of mind also did a 45 day retreat. He was a doctor before and now he appears to be training to become a meditation teacher. He is now on his third year. Once a full monk (Bhikkhu), he can stay in robes for as long as he wishes and nobody can force him to disrobe as long as he does not defeat himself. 

Here is an awesome picture showing the typical patimokkha recitation at Pa-Auk Meditation Center (from February). The patimokkha is roughly a 45 page book of 227 rules that the monks must follow. They are chanted (by memory) by one skilled in memory.  !

Patimokkha picture from February.

My father asked me what the food was like. Here is a small video going through the alms-line at Pa-Auk I’m not sure what year this was. I think sometime around 2015

A few days ago, a friend showed me a trick he “discovered.”. The side panel of our monk bags are usually double layer and are sewed in a way that a simple cut and hem will create a nifty water bottle compartment. It took me 13 years to learn this one! It takes five minutes or less to complete. !

3 Story Dormitory @ Pa-Auk. 80 kuties with private bath. The last picture is the Solar Clothes Dryer (no carbon credit)

Natural Dying at Pa-Auk. (tree bark) Picture List: 1. Wood stove made from a steel barrel. 2. Feeding the stove. 3. The Brew. 4. The brew2 5.Pouring. 6.Rolling. 7. Rolling Vid New batches are made daily for the monastery’s 500+ monks. If anybody knows about mordants, especially iron infused water and how to make it please let me know. 

This photographer came to Pa-Auk recently to shoot some pictures. He is really goooood. One or two pictures from Pa-auk will be added next month. Jon Kolkin Fine Art Photography When someone is searching for happiness, I believe what they are really seeking is a sense of Inner Harmony. This comes from a desire to achieve fulfillment, inner peace, and a feeling that we are connected to something greater than ourselves. It is so tempting to look externally to find …

Sayadaw U Revata is my favorite teacher (Next to The Most Venerable Pa Auk Sayadaw (U Acinna) ) http://revata-bhikkhu.org This site looks like it was created by Thai Devotees another site http://www.bhikkhu-revata-paauk.com looks like it was created by Myanmar Devotees. Sayadaw U Revata is currently in Thailand by invitation doing a meditation retreat for two weeks. !

Repost of one single vid small size. 13mb The new Meditation Hall for Lay Yogis in The Middle Monastery of Pa-Auk Forest Monastery. Work days are rare and voluntary at Pa-Auk, so lots of preparation is done to make it worth everyone’s time. About 500-600 people showed up by my estimates. 4 mixing stations constantly going to feed the fire line, Gloves to protect the hands, a crew to wash the gloves, a crew for drinks, a crew to deliver drinks, a crew to carry sand and rocks and cement to the mixing stations, a crew to give the rocks and sand, etc to the mixing stations, a slide and crew to return the empty buckets, and of course a huge fire line of monks, nuns and laypeople to bring the cement to the second floor. I worked the sand pile for a little bit and then I started taking photos of the event when there were more workers than work. In the fire line, one monk motioned me to come and help, so I quickly got some gloves and joined in. Then he motioned me to come where he was standing. An oversight in preparation left the temporary staircase under a roof which was being poured at that time. He was getting a concrete shower from the excess water that was dropping through, but still had a smile on his face. No, I was not that ambitious, but I was close enough to him to get a few drops on my head. Later, I caught a picture of him before he rinsed off. Concrete an “burn” the skin if not rinsed quickly. photos and videos are enclosed. 

Repost of pic only of construction at paauk.

More on the pariyatti cave monastery.

February 14th, Mahadana Day. We had approx 1300 Bhikkhus visiting. 667 monks stayed for patimokkha. Here is a picture of some monks who were early and waiting for the ceremony to begin. !

Pariyatti (study) monastery near Nauyana, Sri Lanka !

3 pics on transportation in Myanmar. 1. The taxes on cars are less expensive than before, but still expensive. For example, a used (legal) Toyota Land Cruiser may have cost $200,000 USD in 2001. To get around this, it is now very common to buy a tractor engine and make a truck out of it. They are used for hauling just about anything, including school children. Myanmar was once known as a place where you could still see ox and pony carts, but they are quickly becoming a thing of the past.

Today, February 7th, is my ordination anniversary from 2001. I ordained under Venerable Pa-Auk Sayadaw on the February full moon day for the purpose of liberation. I can still remember burning my credit and bank cards the day before hoping to never to touch money ever again. I was so scared, but I knew it was the right path for me. So far, so good. In 1999, I left home to travel the world and possibly following my dream of becoming a monk, and that is exactly what I did. (I reset my ordination in 2007, so I am only 7 monk years old) 

I just recieved a box of goodies from Thailand for the FM translation system. It has a new fm mic for our translation system along with 15 adapters and 10 extra headphones. The adapters will allow one radio to support two sets of headphones. The new microphone has a range of over 100 feet (200 ft circle). I get so happy every time there is a translated talk!

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Pa-Auk near the bottom. !

20 percent of 500 acres at Pa-Auk !

Inside my kuti.#photography !

My neighborhood video. Better. My neighborhood video. Better.

My Neighborhood

Here is a picture of my old kuti (#123) from 2001 to 2005. At that time nearly all kuties were what we now call “Black Kuties.” They are black because they were painted every so often with a new coat of used engine oil to keep the bugs out and to “finish” the wood at the same time. Sayadaw U Punnyananda was living there before I moved in. He must have been two vassa then. Sayadaw U Revata was in #125 down the road.

Path at Pa-auk.

These are some stats on Pa-auk.

In the early days of Pa-Auk, Sayalay Daw Ma (Shan) Canda used to give fruti to some of the regular monks when it was difficult to come by without private supporters. Nearly every day, she was seen helping out in the almsfood line. She had medical problems, but it was difficult to know by her cheerful attitude and success in meditation. She died about a year ago. The packets still continue and eventually the name on the packages changed to the living Sayalay Yathawati (Rasavati) who manages the dana in her memory.

This is where I eat lunch everyday at Pa-Auk Forest Monastery. (My kuti) !

Pa auk is now well into the 600 monk range (bhikkhu + samanera).

Itbmu pics. I leave tonight.

OK, This was the first question for English competency. Try to figure out what to write! Yes, you bet I asked and so did a lot of others. I should pass both the English and Buddhism sections. About 4 hours of continuous writing in two sessions. This year they did not ask any questions with technical grammer labels from my 6th grade english books I am no longer familiar with. Tomorrow is the oral exam, though we have not been told when or where! I have seen the exams from real classes and they look more lugit. It might be fun to be a student again. If I pass and I am accepted, I will have the option to attend without obligation and I can also take leave for meditation as I wish.

It looks as though I will sit for an entrance exam for ITBMU. I am here because of a medical problem and needed a place to stay in Yangon while I get some diagnostic tests done. The test is tomorrow, and I felt it was auspicious timing. I just met with the Prorector and have permission to sit the exam. !

I asked my Kappiya (a monk’s helper) if he wanted a pillow. He held up a Coke can and said, “No thanks.” After this picture was taken, he was soundly sleeping! U Khin Zaw with a pillow

Here is Paauk. Click on the google earth to see the kutis.

I just finished reading this book (slow). I recommend it highly. Thinking, Fast and Slow by Kahneman, Daniel (1st (first) Edition) [Hardcover(2011)]: Daniel Kahneman: Amazon.com: Books ](http://www.amazon.com/Thinking-Kahneman-Daniel-Edition-Hardcover/dp/B00BR9XU96/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1388884186&sr=8-2&keywords=thinking+fast+and+slow) Thinking, Fast and Slow by Kahneman, Daniel (1st (first) Edition) [Hardcover(2011)] [Daniel Kahneman] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. This book is readable, wise, and deep. Buy it fast. Read it slowly and repeatedly. It will change the way you think

Pa-Auk Forest Meditation Centre (Meditation hall), Mawlamyine, Mon, Myanmar (Burma) - Google Maps ](https://maps.google.com/maps?q=Pa-Auk+Forest+Meditation+Centre+(Meditation+hall),+Mawlamyine,+Mon,+Myanmar+(Burma)&hl=en&ll=16.380895,97.680119&spn=0.003649,0.006539&sll=1.327979,103.909155&sspn=0.007605,0.013078&oq=pa+auk+&t=f&hq=Pa-Auk+Forest+Meditation+Centre+(Meditation+hall),&hnear=Mawlamyine,+Mon,+Myanmar+(Burma)&z=18&ecpose=16.37851612,97.68012038,563.34,-0.032,28.38,0&iwloc=A)

I remember Ven. Jinasiri when he was at Na Uyana. I learned a few things from him and spent a couple of nights in the open forest (no net). Only a couple of nights, while this is his life. He was impressive and I wish him well. Jason Chan – the walking monk - Simple Lives ](http://simplelives.com.au/jason-chan-the-walking-monk/) After leaving Mackay, I wanted to explore simple living in spiritual traditions, especially Buddhism. But I’d left it too late. We were way behind schedule, which meant we didn’t have time to detour from the highway. Somehow, I’d have to find a genuine simple living Buddhist on a busy truck …

On December 14th I returned to paauk main Mawlamyine. There was a Hawaiian drink on the day I arrived; Noni. In Hawaii, this fruit, by the same name, is known as, “Even if there is a famine…” If you know the fruit, you will know the rest of the quote. Never the less, it is good medicine and there is no grey area for monks to push for this one. It is medicine and you will know it when you taste it. When you drink it, you will notice it is slightly (not much more) easier to get down the hatch as urine. If that last sentence seems like a tall tale, google “Urine Therapy.“

This was from Pa Auk Mawlamyine befire I left for Intakaw. With over 500 monks, a fully operational clinic is possible. Western Medicine Doctors come twice per week. A Dental Surgeon two or three times per week. And of course, Local Myanmar Medicine one day per week. Most medicine is usually donated an available “in-house.” Malaria testing is available “in-house” too. Much has changed since 2001! Sadhu!

This was the picture to the link I posted yesterday !

New door. Custom Stainless steel. 

Just got 4 new toy fm microphones delivered. It is an idea I had to make simultaneous translations easier. 15 feet range can accommodate 30 or so listeners. The translator can whisper into the mic and the listeners can listen with an fm tuner and headphones. I hope this idea works. The mic ws $6. USD ea !

With only a gate on my door, I am hoping this will keep my snake away. It cuts the kuti frog population in half. Frogs jump on top of the board and then sometimes get confused, or they are waiting for me to open the gate. I still use the net. !

Good for my new visitors. !

This non-legged creature was found in my kuti. The picture was shot from my bed about 6 feet away. As you can see, he came from the widely spaced floorboards. Sorry about the photo quality, I might have been shaking. One time when I described a craite snake (found inches from my bed) to Venerable Pa Auk Sayadaw, he said to me, “Don’t worry. It’s not dangerous but VERY poisonous.” He meant it won’t chase you. Snakes are usually slow moving, or at least the ones I live to tell about.

A kuti is a monk’s residence.  !

For those of you who do not know what an Asian shower room looks like! This one is luxurious with a stainless steel water bowl! Ahhh! I often prefer this method over a shower head (This shower room does not have one, but if it did I would still prefer this method). A long time ago, Westerners did this too. The toilet is inside the same room too, not shown.

Here are some natural motifs done with rocks instead of tiles. The big one is my steps and the small one is my washroom. Maybe only suitable for wet areas (for cleaning).

Call me slow, but a local put his peels under his meditation cushion. When we asked why, he said it would scare away the bugs. Then the thought occured to me that this similar to citronella oil. !

I like this book. I am at his monastery now. https://archive.org/details/UPNDAnapanasatifirstEdition

Read the messgage. Nice to see things change, although it will twist the culture.  !

Alms round in indakkaw.

Here is a link to a different English translation of the vissuddhimagga. https://archive.org/details/pathofpuritybein01budduoft/mode/2up

Tea is considered a medicine in most Theravada traditions and allowable after NOON. At Pa Auk, we are NOT allowed tea after NOON because “medicines” should be for medical purposes. Green tea is often pickled and served with meals, called lapet. In contrast, fresh juice drinks are allowable after NOON for a single evening in all Theravada traditions. Yesterday was fresh squeezed (and chilled) sugar cane juice. “If god gives you lemons, make lemonade.” Sometimes that comes on other days. Note: The bottles are recycled. 2nd note: Notice the stray dogs in the road. I estimate about 50-80 canine residents. Dogs can survive very well on vegetarian people food. People can survive very well on vegetarian people food too :)

Dentist and dental chair several times per week !

80 foreinger monks attend weekly vinaya class by sayadaw u candima.

About 20% of 1006 residents are foreigners. Image not found.

Traditional alms round, house by house. If it were not for the dogs and children(to tell the mothers), we would starve

Every Wednesday and Sunday at Pa auk Main, Myanmar. No insurance required. !

very beautiful video A Glimpse of Na Uyana Forest Monastery ](https://plus.google.com/+BhikkhuSubhuti/posts/BhwWywVfEk4) This was shot at Na Uyana Forest Monastery, Sri Lanka in 2011 by Shanker Raman, Chasing Tales (India