Introduction Quite a few people believe that there is a special purification process that happens during the Pātimokkha recitation meeting done on the full and new moon days. They believe there’s some magical purification going on. While it is true that after the meeting the monks are considered pure, there is nothing magical. Why the Mystery? During the Pātimokkha, the recitation of the 227 rules, lay people are often kept out of the uposatha hall (or sīmā). That naturally leads to speculation. The hall is special and sacred, not because of magic, but because of legal Vinaya reasons. Think of it like a courthouse: you can’t just hold a trial under a tree or at someone’s home. Monks must carry out official acts like ordinations and the Pātimokkha in a formally designated sīmā. They must sit inside the marked area and be within an arm’s length from each other.

What Is the Buddhist Rainy Season? Understanding the Vassa and Kaṭhina Ceremonies Each year, Theravāda Buddhist monks all over the world make a determination to stay in a single monastery for a three month period of the Rainy Season also known as Vassa, or the Rains Retreat. You will hear the term “Vassa” often in this article, so please remember it. Traditionally, it starts the day after the Full Moon Day in July or the day after the Āsāḷha full moon known in the Pāḷi language. If your monks move around a lot and you need to rely on a teacher, you can expect the monks to stay at a monastery for a full three months without moving around. Some make determinations to practice harder, while others who already follow a steady practice simply continue their daily routine as usual. In this article, we will look at the origins of Vassa, the different types of Vassas, the allowances to leave the vassa on business, or by emergencies, if it affects the age of a monk, and what happens at the end of Vassa.

Introduction In this post, I introduce some of the key digital projects I’ve been working on to support the study, practice, and expansion of Orthodox Theravāda Buddhism. These tools are designed to make Pāḷi texts more accessible, enhance Buddhist study, and provide practical applications for practicing Buddhist teachings through technology. Read on to learn more about each project, and watch the video at the end of this post for a full overview. The video is a boring zoom presentation with screen shares, but it does the job. A list of the projects is found below:

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):

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. The Theravāda tradition emphasizes the study of the complete 3 baskets (tipiṭaka) of the Pāḷi Canon along with the ancient commentaries for those texts.

Copyright notice.. picture by Kim Traynor cc-by-sa Note: This post is not for everyone. Those who claim to be bhikkhunis and supporters of the movement, and monks and nuns in general will find this interesting. Did you know that bhikkhunis (nuns) are not allowed to sleep alone or travel alone and if they do, they are sentenced to 2 weeks of rehabilitation and lose their full status as bhikkhunis during this period? In my last article Are Theravāda Bhikkhuni Ordinations Valid?, we discussed whether or not the bhikkhuni ordinations are valid. In this article, we will assume that today’s bhikkhuni ordinations are valid and then explore the heavy rules and consequences that are at stake. You will learn that bhikkhunis who claim to be serious about the rules are likely to be already breaking some of the heavy rules of the bhikkhuni vinaya.

cc0 picture https://pxhere.com/en/photo/489726 There is not much written in English explaining why bhikkhuni ordinations are rejected by the Theravāda Community of Monks. The English writings are a poor representation of the vast majority of Buddhist Scholarship and that is why there is “controversy” regarding the revival of the extinct Theravāda Bhikkhuni order. There is really no controversy to speak about once you know the full story. Many Westerners believe that women are not able to become nuns without such a revival, but that is not true. The extinct bhikkhuni ordination had rules that were numerous, restrictive, and heavy in consequence to protect their brahmacariya life. To give monastic opportunities to women, the senior monks created new lineages in Myanmar, Sri Lanka and within the Western Thai Tradition long before this “revival”. Not only that, these “new” traditions have been designed to simplify and remove many of the “difficult to follow” rules which gives more freedom to practice to attain the goals of Buddhist meditation. Pa-Auk allocates roughly half of its residential resources to female monastics with equal access to the teachers. Na-Uyana in Sri Lanka and Amaravati in England have similar arrangements. One of these nuns has her own international meditation center with donors to offer full autonomous support.

It occured to me that people don’t know one type of Buddhist monk from the other and a post was needed to explain this. First a little bit of history. Theravada is the closest thing as one can get to the original form of Buddhism and is based on the Pali texts. The countries that have Theravada as their national religion are; Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Sri Lanka, and Cambodia. It dates back to the Buddha from 5th century BCE Later, came Mahayana - Chinese Buddhism of the 1st century BCE. The texts are based on Chinese and Sanskrit. It is most popular in Taiwan, South Korea, Japan and Vietnam. Tibetan Buddhism is from Tibet and also followed nationally in Bhutan. It is from the 7-9th century. Their texts are in Sanskrit and Tibetan.

How to Pronounce Theravāda Have you ever wondered if you were pronouncing Theravāda correctly? Read this article to find out how to properly pronounce Theravāda. Most of the resources out on the web mispronounce the word Theravāda, and Google has failed me when I did a search too. However, it was a good excuse to write this small article. The “Th” sound in Theravāda is not the English “Th” like “Them” or “Think.” It is a “T” sound with a puff of air. It is phonetically called an “Aspirated-T”. Sometimes the word that is given as an example is “Tough.” If it sounds, complicated, don’t worry, because most Americans actually aspirate their T’s anyway. Just make the beginning of the word with a single “T” and you will fake it better than most.

Sewing pattern from BMC 1 (creative-commons, Thanissaro Bhikkhu) Robe Information Few people realize that the Theravāda monk’s robes are actually a piece of rectangular cloth with no sleeves.1 If you see a Theravāda monk wearing his robes in different styles, then rest assured it is due to the art of “tying the robes” or “rolling the robes” — what I call “robe origami.”

That is me going for alms on Aalona Street Kilauea. Collecting alms, also known as piṇḍapāta by Theravāda Buddhists, is a legal activity in the USA. There are some restrictions though. I spoke with a lawyer who seemed to know civil liberties quite well, but there are no guarantees with what I say. However, this information should make sense and seem legal to you. It is legal to ring the doorbell of any house and preach to them or talk to them about politics under the freedom of speech rights. One can even ask them to support or give money to a cause. One can sell them vacuum cleaners too. However, if they have a sign that says, “No Solicitation” or “No Trespassing” or “Private Property,” or any other derivative, then one needs to stay clear away from the property lines or at least up to the sign location.

Aloha! It has been a little over a month since I have been on the island of Kauai. Things have been going well although my situation is still the same. I am still in a tent at Anini, but I have a new tent in Anini with a better view of the pristine Kauai shore! Things are dryer than the record rains we had last month.. and I guess if it were wetter than before a new record would be set. I have made somewhat of a schedule and I try to update my schedule on my phone calendar which synchronizes to the webpage calendar over here (in case you are interested).

Vegetarianism and Theravāda Buddhism I have been asked to write a little something on vegetarianism and Theravāda Buddhism. I am qualified to be quite objective, and to see both sides of the issue because I was a vegetarian for a total of ten years as a lay person and I had vegetarian eyes. That meant that when I looked at meat, cooked or not, I saw a dead animal in front of me. Now that I am a monk, I am no longer a vegetarian although I have lived at vegetarian monasteries for many years, so I know both sides of the coin.

How Do Monks Say Grace Before Eating? Do Theravāda monks say anything before they eat? Do they give thanks? Who do they say thanks to? Or is it something else? Buddhist monks generally do a reflection and chant something before eating. In fact it is said that the monks incurs debt if they doe not reflect before eating. Actually, there are 4 reflections concerning the Four Requisites: 1. Robes 2. Food 3. Lodging 4. Medicine

The Buddha in the clouds Does the Buddha Live in Nibbāna? Many people believe that the Buddha is alive and living in some sort of transcendental realm called Nibbāna where he can hear your prayers and eat and drink the food and water that you offer to Him. We Buddhist monks smile when we hear that people have such beliefs because nobody lives in Nibbāna, not even a Buddha. This is wrong view, and any teacher or monk who believes and teaches this is surely not enlightened because permanently removing wrong view is part of enlightenment (in Theravāda). “So where is The Buddha then?” you might ask. The Buddha as far as a “being” is concerned dead and gone. There is only (dead) material form from his bodily remains that exist today. When The Buddha died, He did not take another birth. He achieved the final goal of Buddhism, which is to not be reborn ever again. His Arahant disiples have also achieved that goal too. There is no difference between a Buddha and an Arahant disciple after death. Any trace of them, is nowhere to be found. However, their physical remains may have been saved to represent the power of those who have achieved the final goal. There is no remainder other than that dead and lifeless material.

A 2 part 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 Buddhist monk way. The vision, how it got started, stories and experiences were shared. About 50 people were in the audience. Running time is about 1 hour total for both. There is a comment added at the end of part two so make sure you do not quite when it seems like it is over.