What Is An Ordained Sayalay?

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.

New Belt And Pocket

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.

About The Dhammapada

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):

Dhammapada 118 Giving Again And Again

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.

My Trip To America In 2024

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.

Alms Is Never A Sure Thing

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.

About Alms In Sri Lanka

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.

Supermarket Alms In America

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.

What Is Buddhist Vesak?

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.

Can Homosexuals Ordain as Buddhist Monks?

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.

my-ordination-brother-visits

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.

How to Lose Weight as a Buddhist Monk

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”.

Making Garlands of Merit

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.

A Talk On The Monk's Bowl

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

American Monk Website Has A New Home

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).

Planting Wisdom: Reflections on the Cūḷakammavibhaṅga Sutta and a Meditation Journey

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.

The Power Of Timing In Donations

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!

How I Got Permission From My Parents

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.

Three Stories Of Loving-kindness

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.

Why A Monk's Empty Bowl Made Me So Happy!

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).

2023 Year Stats In Review

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.

Memorizing The Bhikkhunī Pātimokkha

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.

Cambodia Was More Than 1000 Times We Expected

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.

A Brief Stay At Spring Hill Forest Monastery

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.

Why did you become a monk?

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.

What Does Namo Tassa Bhagavato Arahato Sammāsambuddhassa Mean?

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.

How The Buddha's Teachings Saved Japan

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.

Theravāda Buddhist Monk Head Shaving: Traditions, Stories, and Techniques

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.

Monks Goings To Autopsies

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?”

Changing The Cloth: The Process To Become A Monk In Sri Lanka

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.

The Most Common Dhammapāda Chants

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.

My Sabai Thai Trip

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 App: Made 90% With Chat GPT

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.

Intelligent Donations: Turning The Tables

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.

Percentage of Monks Who Do Not Use Money

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.

The Order of Monks: How Seniority Shapes the Buddhist Monastic Life

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.

Living as a Monk in Myanmar During Covid and Government Change

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.

Buddhism and Lists

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.

What is Theravada Buddhism?

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.

About Piṇḍapāta: Why Do Monks Go For Alms in a Village?

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?

What does AI think of Loving-Kindness? Here is a poem.

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.

Are Monks Allowed To Perform Marriage Ceremonies?

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 nights[mfn]mānatta[/mfn] 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.

International Institute of Theravada

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.

What Is The Bhikkhu Patimokkha or Buddhist Monk Rules?

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.

Why Is Halloween Bad According To Theravada Buddhism?

Introduction: While I’m sure most religions do not particularly like the tradition of Halloween, I thought it would be good to explain why Halloween is not good according to Theravāda Buddhism. Celebrating Halloween in modern times, regardless of the reasons why it was started in the first place, consists of dressing up in costumes. In celebration, you either dress up or you praise other people’s costumes. It is mostly bad karma for the one dressing up and if you praise that, it is not good either.

The Buddhist Monk's Bowl

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.

Tipitaka Pali Reader

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 82+ Release November, 2024 for Win, Mac, Flathub, Appimage, Android (iOS package in App store review) This release is our most stable release yet. It also includes many of the dpd extra features.

Water Purification

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” ?

A Pa-Auk Walk-In Refrigerator

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.

How Do Monks Live Without Money?

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.