Late term abortion, there's no controversy. You have a living being, you have perception that it's a living being, you have desire to end the life of that living being. You make an effort by signing consent forms and giving commands to the doctor. The doctor is also involved with this and that unborn child dies. So we have five factors. So the question is, what about an early term abortion? So in Theravada Buddhism, life starts with Patisandhi. This is the rebirth linking consciousness. Basically, when the egg becomes fertilized, that is when life begins. 96% of biologists believe that life begins at fertilization. Although many might not believe that it's really fully a human, they probably believe it is alive, more than a plant. We have a commentarial story in Prajika called the Elaka Chatuka. Elaka means goat and Chatuka means the four stories related to the goats. There's a person who sees an image in the dark, let's say a hunter, and he decides he wants to kill that image. But he thinks it's a goat and he kills that living being. Later the lights come on and he sees that it's his mother who is on all fours or under a blanket. His intention was for a goat. It turned out to be not only human, but his own mother. The severity of the kama is with the reality of what actually died. So it doesn't matter whether you believe that it's some type of animal or whether you believe it's some type of whatever. If you have all five factors, then the reality is that it's human. And that's how the kama is. And that's why monks have to be very careful about how they give advice. So it's very important.

So euthanasia. There's a person, let's suppose he's terminally ill. He's got a painful cancer and he's not going to live more than a month. And he's in lots of pain. And the family, including him, decides that they want to end the life. We have object, perception, intention, effort, and result. So we have the object, we have living beings, the patient, the cancer patient. You perceive him as living. You want to destroy the life so you can end its suffering. You tell the doctors to do whatever they do to end the life and they do that. And then he dies the result. So we have all five factors for this. Now you might say, well, he's going to die in a month or in a couple of weeks or tomorrow. Or even a minute from now or even a second from now. The thing is, it doesn't matter because we are all going to die anyways. But where do we draw the line? We draw the line when you do an effort with intention, with perception to end the life force before it's going to end on its own. That's where we draw the line. You might think that you have a wholesome mind. You might think that you have a wholesome mind when you're ending the life because there's suffering, mind of compassion. The thing is that when the action of giving the command or actually killing something is done, it's an unwholesome mind. There's no mixing of minds. There's no wholesome and unwholesome at the same time.

Here we talk about the kamma of manslaughter as it relates to the first precept of killing. The short of the short video answer is, \"while there is not kamma for killing, there is other kamma for drinking and negligence.\" Even though you would go to jail, the kamma of killing is not complete because the five factors are not there.

(2:00) Self-defense in the social justice system normally allows you to escape punishment if it was a case of self-defense. Even protecting yourself or protecting your family is very clear. You have people with guns who have already killed a couple of people and they're ready to kill you. You happen to have a gun and you kill them before they kill you. This is clear-cut. In self-defense, if you have Facebook glasses on and you're recording everything, it's going to go to court, they're going to mark it as self-defense, and you're not going to go to jail. Most of the time, we never know: how does this happen with karma and the five factors? Well, this person who's creating a lot of trouble has already killed someone, he's ready to kill you, and he's got a gun pointed at you. You pull your gun. He's a living being; you see him as a living being. Yes, then you want to kill him—you literally want to kill him; you shoot to kill. Yes, so you want to destroy the life force. Then we have the effort: you fire a gun. And the result: he dies. So, in terms of kamma, this is killing. This is still killing, even though the social justice system would let you off the hook. Kamma would not let you off the hook. And so this is where the law of dhamma, the law of kamma, is not necessarily fair—it is the law of Saṃsāra. Saṃsāra is not fair. It's always there to trap you; it's always there to keep you suffering. And so this is how we judge self-defense. The best thing to do is run away, and don't carry guns. Don't carry guns; you get into trouble.

(2:02) In the commentary to the Sammādiṭṭhi Sutta, which is the discourse on Right View, it explains that we have the Pañca Sambhāra. These are the five factors needed to make the kamma complete. As I said before, we have the object, perception, intention, effort, and result. The object is a living being. The perception is the perception of a living being—knowing it is a living being. Then we have intention, the intention to destroy that life. Next, we have the effort, whether this is a physical action like shooting or stabbing, or even arranging for a hired assassin, setting booby traps, digging a pit, or doing anything else that will result in death. It also includes giving a command, giving the okay, or giving consent. So, we take these five factors and apply them to murder, which is very easy to see, whether the victim is a human, an animal, or an insect. Let's suppose someone wants to shoot and kill another person, like an assassin. He sees a man and wants to shoot him. He perceives him as a living being. He wants to destroy the life force of that living being. He makes an effort by firing a gun. He shoots, and the person dies. Now, sometimes the result happens later, but when the result happens as a direct cause of the previous four factors, then the kamma of killing is complete.

What about cats? We have outdoor cats, and they kill mice, birds, cockroaches, and many other things. Some people assume that because killing is part of an animal’s nature, there are no karmic consequences for the animal. But that is not the case. The Buddha taught that it is extremely rare to encounter a Buddha, and it is equally rare for the opportunity to be born as a human being to arise. We must truly understand how extraordinarily rare human birth is. When a being is born as an animal, it is very easy to spiral downward even further—that is why we speak of “spiraling down.” Cats, for instance, are constantly killing because they are hungry and need food. They will pursue and take the life of what they perceive as an inferior species, catch it, bite it, kill it, and eat it. When a cat targets a bird, there is a clear object: a living being. The cat recognizes it as alive, desires to kill it, desires to eat it, jumps on it, catches it, bites it, kills it—and the creature dies. All five factors of intentional killing are present in that sequence. This is precisely why the cat will experience suffering as a result of that kamma. However, it is possible to keep an indoor cat and avoid this outcome. Feed it food that is already dead, prevent it from going outside, and ensure there are no cockroaches or other creatures in the house for it to kill. In such conditions, the cat does not accumulate the karma of killing. Moreover, it enjoys positive association with humans, which may give it a better chance for future improvement. A dog kept in similar circumstances might have an even greater opportunity. The essential point remains: human birth is extraordinarily rare, and we should never take it for granted.

This morning I helped distribute meal donations to local villagers who were displaced by the recent floods. The community prepared nearly 500 breakfast packets, using 250 loaves of bread—just enough for everyone. We kept delivering more and more packets, going from one village to the next, but eventually we ran out. There are still so many people who need food, regardless of whether they are rich or poor, Buddhist, Christian, Muslim, or anything else. In times like this, we simply give. As we visited different neighborhoods, people were busy drying their belongings—stuffed animals hanging outside, mattresses in the sun, clothing scattered everywhere. Many homes looked like they were having a yard sale, but in reality they were just trying to recover what could still be used. The last village was especially heartbreaking. It reminded me of the final scene in Schindler’s List—you help so many, yet you still think of those you couldn’t reach. The Buddha spoke of five timely gifts: – a gift to a visitor, – a gift to those on a journey, – a gift to the sick, – a gift given during a time of famine, – and a gift from the first harvest to those who live ethically. Today’s offering of food is one of these timely gifts. May all who are affected by the floods find safety, support, and strength. May generosity and compassion continue to flow to those in need. Sādhu, sādhu, sādhu.

I’m very happy to announce a new update for the Buddhist Sun app on both the iOS App Store and Google Play Store! For those who haven’t tried it yet, Buddhist Sun helps you keep track of solar noon, moon phases, uposatha days, and dawn rise—all calculated accurately using your GPS location. This is especially helpful for laypeople who observe the Eight Precepts, since the rule is to finish eating before true solar noon, not 12:00 PM on the clock. The app calculates this down to the minute. There’s also a countdown timer so you can eat peacefully without guessing how much time is left. The app was originally made for monks, since in the Buddha’s time there were no clocks and solar noon was judged by the shadow’s length. Now the app does all of that for you automatically—no calculations needed. You’ll also receive optional notifications for upcoming uposatha days and moon days to support your practice. I hope this update makes it even easier to follow the daily discipline and stay connected with the ancient way of marking time. May this be of benefit and help you progress toward Nibbāna. Sādhu, sādhu, sādhu. — Bhante Subhūti

Summary: When monks chant blessings, we’re reminding you of cause and effect. Dana is already wholesome — because there is non-greed and non-anger present in the moment of giving. But when you give with wisdom — knowing the cause… knowing the effect… it becomes triple-rooted. Alobha, adosa, and amoha (paññā). This is why intention matters. Giving with wisdom multiplies the power of merit. Transcription: What's special that happens when we give the blessing? The thing is that we're reminding you about cause and effect so that we can add paññā, wisdom, to the quality of the donation. When you give, there's always alobha, adosa. This means non-greed, non-hatred, non-anger. So alobha, adosa, non-greed, non-anger. So these are wholesome things because they're the opposite of greed and anger because it's never present when you're giving a gift. Even if you're angry before, at that moment you're giving, at least you might not be happy, but there will be a neutral feeling associated with that. And then you might go back to being angry at someone. We always say that if you're angry at someone, give them a gift. But in any case, it's always a wholesome mind. But sometimes a lot of times you give and you're not thinking about cause and effect. And not only that, you might not be thinking about being respectful. And so when we do that chant, actually people are like this, they're very, very respectful when we give this chant. And so they're thinking about cause and effect and they're being respectful. And of course these four qualities will come. And triple-rooted, we say. Triple-rooted. Aloba, adosa, amoha. Amoha is the same as paññā. It means wisdom.

What comes around goes around. We have cause and effect. This is the law of kamma. Whatever you do — bodily action, verbal speech, even thinking — it all has kamma. Whatever you give out will come back to you. So when people offer food… long life, good complexion, happiness, strength — those results come from kamma. It’s not magic. It’s cause and effect. But why do we give this blessing if you will get results anyway? Because this is to remind you of cause and effect — so that we can add paññā, wisdom, to the quality of the donation. So when the results come back to you — your benefit is not just ordinary kamma result… but it is coupled with wisdom.

Many people are interested in learning how they can increase their sitting times — what exercises they can do, what kind of stretches they can do — so they can sit longer. Here is a simple idea. This is a meditation seat. There is an angled pillow with medium rubber foam at about a 30-degree angle, which is ideal. And then, in front, I have what is called a bed laptop desk. This helps you get used to sitting on your meditation seat, but you can still do your work whenever you need to work. So instead of only getting one hour or two hours of practice time to stretch your tendons in the meditation posture, you can sit on your meditation seat while doing your work — and your legs will slowly get used to the meditation posture.

When you sit on the floor, it’s very important that you don’t wear your shoes inside the house, or at least the room where you sit on the floor. That’s very important because when you sit on the floor, the floor becomes your furniture. And if you’ve had a good mother or good father, they tell you don’t put your shoes on the furniture, right? So you want to have the floor nice and clean. It’s very important that you have a space where you don’t wear your shoes. In Asia, very few people wear their shoes inside the house. They take the shoes off. You don’t want to bring the outside world into your house, or into your meditation room, or your work room. After you do this for a while, you think it’s sort of dirty to actually bring your shoes inside the house. So I hope you can also practice this, and make your place more sacred, and make your place more clean. — Bhante Subhuti

The main reason you can’t sit for long periods of time is because you don’t have concentration. So the problem is — you need to have concentration. Focus on concentration… not how long you can sit. This is the most important thing. When you have concentration, you’ll be able to sit longer… and longer… and longer. There are people who sit for five, six, seven hours. It’s quite common with people who have samādhi and Jhāna concentration.

From httpa://americanmonk.org People thought we were trick-or-treaters and gave candy, but it turned into one of the best alms days. One time I was in Kauai with one of my senior friends. I think it was 2015. We would go for alms, and we would wish loving-kindness in front of each house — not too long, not too short — just enough time so they could look outside, see who we were, and we could radiate mettā. A lady finally came out and said, “Oh… what do we have here?” Almost like you might say to kids going trick-or-treating. Eventually she understood we were actually monks… but she still gave us Halloween candy. That day actually became one of our best days in terms of getting food from the local houses. The Thai community also regularly came to where we walked — they always knew which roads we would be on and offered alms frequently. The local American people… sometimes yes, sometimes no. But on Halloween day — we definitely received a lot of candy. And of course — this was during proper alms round time… not at night.

A short Dhamma reflection on the subtle power of intention — even in something as simple as a Halloween costume. When we take on a role, we embody it; when we make a wish, we shape our future. This talk reminds us to be mindful of what we imitate and what we wish for, because the mind transforms with every thought, action, and aspiration. Transcription: And even if you have a wholesome costume one year, you might end up with an unwholesome costume the next year. And that's why it's a bad habit. You might be the good fairy one year, and then the next year, death zombie. So this is not very good, not very good at all to do. Because when one acts, one is transforming their mind and body, they're embodying that character if they're really good. And when one dresses up, one makes a conscious or unconscious wish to have that come true. And anyone who has done the Dichu Samapada the correct way according to the commentaries — knowing about the past lives, the present life, and what could happen in the future — they would tell you, be careful what you wish for, because you might just get it. And so when you wish for something, it's like — how does that give you a new life? How does that result in a new life? But the problem is, when you paint a picture in the sky, it doesn't work. You need a medium to paint on. So when you wish to operate on someone, you might become a doctor. If you wish you could kill someone, you imagine yourself killing someone, you might end up as that same person who kills someone.

Three Major Karmas for Next Life There are three major factors that contribute to the near-death moment — the moment just before death — which decide how you are born in the next life. The weight of the kamma The frequency of the kamma The proximity to death — how recent or fresh the kamma is in your mind These three conditions can determine how the results of one’s kamma will manifest in the next life, in the future khandhas (groups of existence). The reason I originally wrote about this was because of a terrible accident in Seoul, South Korea, in 2022. There was a kind of stampede — a massive crowd where the people in front couldn’t move while those behind continued to push forward. Many suffocated and were trampled to death. It was during a Halloween festival, and people were dressed in costumes — goblins, death zombies, or serial killers. Can you imagine dying in such a situation, dressed as one of those things? That proximity to death coming to fruition under such unpleasant conditions is very dangerous. It’s an unpleasant way to die — dressed up as a goblin or whatever. It’s very terrible. I remember in Na Uyana we had one lady who offered food to the monks. Just moments after she gave the meal, she passed away. She came to the monastery, gave the offering, and then died shortly after. It’s not something to laugh about — I was just thinking about cause and effect when smiling. She died just moments after her meritorious act of dāna (generosity). We never want anyone to die, of course. Please try to live as long as possible. But we might guess that there were favorable conditions for her next life.

How to know where Bodh Gaya Is? You can use the Buddhist Compass App. This will let you know the direction easily and quickly.

It might be a mystery as to why the Earth Kasina was taught first in the great and ancient meditation manual called the Visuddhimagga. Here, in this short video, you can see that we sometimes forget what it was like during the time of the Buddha.

How to remove a leech without harming the both of you. it is best to flick them off when they are bunched up together, head to toe. However he I did not use enough flick force because I was hold the phone, so he attached to my finger. eventually I had to put down the phone and do the same process.

Workers are not with us during lock-down. So it was time to pour concrete the old fashion way for the Junior Monks' Pathway under the new rain cover for rainy season. This way the junior monks won't get wet after they collect their food. The work is quite tiring. I did some work shovelling rocks and I was completely tired after only one hour. The work started after lunch and continued into the night until about 7:30 pm. The nun doing the final pouring at the end of the fire-line is Daw Gunagavesi. She is a Myanmar medical doctor and in charge of the kitchen staff.

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 video confirming that it is OK to feed birds uncooked rice on the topic of throwing rice at weddings.

This shows how an incense holder made from a bottle. No ash escapes. Although it is probably safer than a normal holder, use with care at your own risk!