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!

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.

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.

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.

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).

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”.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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).

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.

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.

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.

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.

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. It is an ancient symbol which often means conducive to well being.

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

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.

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. [archiveorg id=BhanteSubhuti2018Sept9 width=520 height=140]