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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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. 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.

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.

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.

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”.

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).

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 The Seeds From Long Ago 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.

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!

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.

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.

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).

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.

Palm leaf photo link wellcomecollection:[mfn]CC 4.0 iiif.wellcomecollection.org/image/L0031774/full/760%2C/0/default.webp[/mfn] 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.

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.

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.

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.

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?”

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.

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.

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.

Buddhist Compass - Apps on Google Play An App For locating the Buddhist Locations Why Another App? While traveling in Thailand, I had an idea where I would like to know and face the direction where Bodh Gaya is similar to Qibla, and how Muslims like to face Mecca wherever they are. I find it very wholesome to know where Bodh Gaya is in reference to my room and where I live and maybe you will too.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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?