Here I discuss some things about the support that came as a result of using my alms bowl.

I will be going to the USA in a few days. I was thinking of all of the anger that is on the left these days. When the left is in control, it is the opposite. Loving-kindness is a good thing and should be practiced often.

Update March 19, Protections, Leaches, Monks and Khandha Paritta. Here is a small \"walk and talk\" update while on my way for alms. This time, I had a friend who came with me and was willing to film me while I talked. (Ven Anandajoti translation.) “Virūpakkhehi me mettaṁ, mettaṁ Erāpathehi me, “I am friendly with the Virūpakkhas, with the Erāpathas I am friendly, Chabyāputtehi me mettaṁ, mettaṁ Kaṇhāgotamakehi ca. [01] I am friendly with the Chabyāputtas, and friendly with the Kaṇhāgotamakas. Apādakehi me mettaṁ, mettaṁ dipādakehi me, I am friendly with those without feet, with those with two feet I am friendly, catuppadehi me mettaṁ, mettaṁ bahuppadehi me. [02] I am friendly with those with four feet, with those with many feet I am friendly. Mā maṁ apādako hiṁsi, mā maṁ hiṁsi dipādako, May the one without feet not hurt me, may the one with two feet not hurt me, mā maṁ catuppado hiṁsi, mā maṁ hiṁsi bahuppado. [03] may the one with four feet not hurt me, may the one with many feet not hurt me. Sabbe sattā, sabbe pāṇā, sabbe bhūtā ca kevalā, May all beings, all living creatures, all who are born, in their entirety, sabbe bhadrāni passantu, mā kañci pāpam-āgamā. [04] may all see prosperity, may nothing bad come to anyone. Appamāṇo Buddho! The Buddha is measureless! Appamāṇo Dhammo! The Dhamma is measureless! Appamāṇo Saṅgho! The Saṅgha is measureless! Pamāṇavantāni siriṁsapāni, ahivicchikā, satapadī, uṇṇānābhi, sarabū, mūsikā. Measurable are creeping things, (such as) snakes, scorpions, centipedes, spiders, lizards, and rats. Katā me rakkhā, katā me parittā, paṭikkamantu bhūtāni! I have made this protection, I have made this safeguard, may (all these) beings go away! Sohaṁ namo Bhagavato, namo sattannaṁ Sammāsambuddhānan”-ti. I revere the Fortunate One, I revere the seven Perfect Sambuddhas.”

In this video we discuss how monks greet each other. There are three parts. 1) Paying respect 2) Mutual sharing of merits 3) Mutual apologies Here is the Table of Contents: 0:00 Introduction 1:29 Demonstration with Ven. Upali and explanation 5:43 Paying respect and seniority 14:33 Rejoicing in merits 22:42 Forgiveness 28:09 Recap and Conclusion 32:15 Special merit sharing for a monk's deceased mother In the Sri Lankan Tradition, we have a tradition when we see first monks and when we say goodbye. We say this pāḷi phrase: (Sādhu means well done) Junior: Okāsa, vandāmi, Bhante. Please allow me this opportunity, Venerable Sir, I venerate pay respect to you. (bow once) Elder: Sukhī hontu, Nibbāna-paccayo hotu. May you be happy, may this be a cause for you to realize nibbāna. Junior: Mayā kataṁ puññaṁ Sāminā anumoditabbaṁ. May the master rejoice in the merit that I have made Elder: Sādhu! Sādhu! Anumodāmi. Sādhu! Sādhu! I rejoice in your merit. Junior: Sāminā kataṁ puññaṁ mayhaṁ dātabbaṁ. May the master share with me the merit that he has made Elder: Sādhu! Anumoditabbaṁ. Sādhu! You should rejoice in my merit. Junior: Sādhu! Sādhu! Anumodāmi. Okāsa, dvārattayena kataṁ sabbaṁ accayaṁ khamatha me, Bhante. Sādhu! Sādhu! I rejoice in the merit that venerable has made. Please allow me this opportunity; Venerable Sir, forgive me for all deeds committed by me through the three-doors of body, speech and mind. Elder: Khamāmi, khamitabbaṁ. I forgive you, you should forgive me also for all that I may have done. Junior: Sādhu! Okāsa, khamāmi, Bhante. Sādhu! Please allow me this opportunity; Venerable Sir, I forgive you for anything that you may have done (bow three times) Elder: Sukhī hontu, Nibbāna-paccayo hotu. May you be happy, may this be a cause for you to realize nibbāna.

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. We talk about the troubles of being a senior monk, Buddhist Monk rules (vinaya), Buddhist Monk reflections on eating, and habits. Lastly, we talk about how the difference between the difficulty in losing weight compared to the ending of all suffering. In short there is no comparison.

A tour of my kuti in Spring Hill, Hantanna

A small video on the towels and soap that monks use.

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.

How to make a monk's needle case from an old pen. It takes a few minutes and all you need is a candle and a used up pen with a front pen tip cover that screws off. This is one of the few things I can make myself and donate to other monks without asking my donors to do the job.

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. If you are a lay person, it might be interesting to see the commercial strength bowl washing sink where we wash our bowls. 3:15 minutes in length. Enjoy!

This is a instructional Video on how to make a foot-rug from old robes. Mostly only monks would be interested in this.

A 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 Buddhism monk way. The vision, how it got started, stories and experiences were shared. http://AmericanMonk.org

Part 2 of A 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 Buddhism monk way. The vision, how it got started, stories and experiences were shared. http://subhuti.withmeta.net

Trip to Bagan by Ven Pannagavesaka and Bhikkhu Subhuti

Monks visit to Kauai. Photo slide show.

Life at the Pa-Auk Forest Monastery in Mawlamyine, Myanmar. This version was built from the DVD version. All other YouTube versions (that I know of are built from the Vcd low resolution. I originally made this video for my brother in 2005 from a silent 55 minute video shot by the England group in 2003. If you think this video is long winded for people with long attention spans...uh.. you better look at the original. As I was doing an audio comment, \"um this is the clinic.\" a friend told me to add some background noises. Later came a script with a \"narrator's voice.\" (which some do not like, but it was the best I could do.).