Friendly Loving Kindness Beams, Blazes and Shines!

Friendly Loving Kindness Beams, Blazes and Shines!

Mettā is defined thus: Loving-Kindness has the mode of friendliness as characteristic.
Its natural function is to promote friendliness. It manifests as disappearance of ill-will.
Its source is seeing with kindness. When succeeding, then it eliminates all angry enmity.
When it fails, then it degenerates into egocentric lust and desire. It can be practiced
anywhere and at anytime, but ideally sitting cross-legged in a quiet secluded place and
then whole-heartedly wishing, first beaming it out in front, then to the right, then back,
then to the left and finally below and above in this very effective and exhaustive way:
May I be happy and free from suffering...
May I keep myself free from hostility, trouble and thereby live happily...
May I become happy in this way by repeated training of this excellent goodwill praxis...
Just as I want happiness, absence of pain, life and not death, so do all other beings!
Therefore: May all beings become thus happy...
May all breathing things become thus happy...
May all creatures become thus happy...
May all deities become thus happy...
May all human beings become thus happy...
May all who have form become thus happy...
May all the Noble and not Noble become thus happy...
May all those in the states of deprivation become thus happy...
By being freed from all enmity, distress & anxiety, may they thus guide themselves to bliss."

The blessed Buddha often pointed out:
Bhikkhus, whatever kinds of worldly merit there are, all are not worth one 16th part of the
release of mind by infinitely universal friendliness: In shining, beaming, glow & radiance the
release of mind by infinite, immeasurable and inexhaustible friendliness far excels them all!
Itivuttaka 27

More on Loving-Kindness (Mettā):
Metta, Buddha on Noble Friendship, Good_Friendship, Selfless Friendship is Sweetest,
All Embracing Kindness, Blazing Friendliness, United in Harmony Goodwill Encore,
United_in_Harmony, The Good Friend, Blazing & Bright, Kalyanamitta, Friendliness Frees,
Blazing_Friendliness, Blazing_&_Bright, Brahma vihaara, Infinite_Friendliness, Unique_Unity

Source: BPS Wheel no 7:
The Practice of Loving-Kindness (Metta) as taught by the Buddha in the Pali Canon.
Compiled and translated by Ñanamoli Thera.
http://www.accesstoinsight.org/lib/authors/nanamoli/wheel007.html

Have a nice & noble day!

Friendship is the Greatest!
Bhikkhu Samāhita _/\_ ]
http://What-Buddha-Said.net

How can we develop Equanimity?

A friend asked this good question:
>How can we develop Equanimity?

Answer: In any circumstance or during any event recollect this Kamma-vāda doctrine:
“All beings are born, created, conditioned and constrained by their prior actions.
They are owner, debtor and inheritor of their actions (kamma = karma)…
Their past actions produce and induce their future. Whatever actions they do;
good as evil, the resulting reaction = An echo of future effect, will be theirs only…
These causal, yet delayed effects of their past actions = intentions follow
them like a shadow that never leaves…”

This Kamma-vāda reflection is the proximate cause of the arising of the state of equanimity!
When repeated many times over a long period, then equanimity (upekkhā) grows stronger
and stronger, eventually defying agitation even at events as death, mutilation etc.

Have a nice & noble day!

Friendship is the Greatest!
Bhikkhu Samāhita _/\_ ]
http://What-Buddha-Said.net

Equanimity promotes imperturbable Peace:

Serene Equanimity promotes imperturbable Peace:

Equanimity just looks on and observes, while calmly settled in composed neutrality.
Equanimity is characterized as promoting the aspect of impartiality among beings.
Its function is to see the equality of all beings. It is manifested as the quieting of
both resentment and approval. Its proximate cause is seeing and comprehending
the ownership and efficacy of kamma thus: All beings are owners of their actions,
born, created and conditioned by the accumulated effect of their past intentions!
Whose, if not theirs, is the choice by which they have become happy, or unhappy,
or will break free from suffering, or have fallen down from their past good state?
Equanimity succeeds, when it makes both resentment and approval subside, and it
fails, when it instead produces a bored, indifferent, & careless state of negligence!
Vism I 318

Comments:
Non-involved and even Equanimity is a subtle form of happiness... By stabilization
it perfects and consummates all the other six links to awakening: Awareness,
Investigation, Energy, Joy and Concentration. Equanimity is the proximate cause
for knowing and seeing it, as it really is. Equanimity quenches any upset agitation!
When seeing and noting: 'All this is constructed, conditioned, coarse and transient!
But this state of serene equanimity is indeed exquisitely peaceful...', then instantly
ceases any arisen agreeable or nasty feeling, when Equanimity takes its stance

The Power of Equanimity eliminates agitation, wavering & panic!

Equanimity (Upekkhā) is indeed a divine state, and itself a link to Awakening!
Even is Equanimity, The 7 Links to Awakening, Serene Equanimity and Beyond,
Imperturbable Equanimity, Unshakable Equanimity, Equanimity Upekkha,
Feeding Equanimity, Empty Equanimity.

Have a nice & noble day!

Friendship is the Greatest!
Bhikkhu Samāhita _/\_ ]
http://What-Buddha-Said.net

Seven Links to Awakening

How to be a Real True Buddhist through Observance?

How to be a Real True Buddhist through Observance?

This Esala Poya day is the full-moon of July, which is noteworthy since on this celebrated day:
1: The Blessed Buddha preached his First Sermon: The Dhammacakkappavattana Sutta.
2: The Bodhisatta was conceived in Queen Maya, who dreamt a white elephant entered her side.
3: The Blessed Buddha made the Great Withdrawal from the world at the age of 29 years.
4: The Blessed Buddha performed the Twin Miracle (yamaka-patihariya) of dual appearance.

5: The Blessed Buddha explained the AbhiDhamma in the Tavatimsa heaven to his mother.

6: The ordination of Prince Arittha at Anuradhapura, under Arahat Mahinda on Sri Lanka.
7: The foundation of the celebrated Mahastupa & enshrinement of relics by King Dutugemunu.
8: The next day the yearly 3 months rains retreat (vassa) of Buddhist Bhikkhus start.

The Buddha performing the Twin Miracle of simultaneously producing water & flames from his body.

On such Uposatha Observance days:

Any Lay Buddhist simply joins the Three Refuges and undertakes
the Five Precepts like this: Newly bathed, shaved, white-clothed,
with clean bare feet, one kneels at a shrine with a Buddha-statue,
and bows first three times, so that feet, hands, elbows, knees and
head touch the floor. Then, with joined palms in front of the heart,
one recite these memorized lines in a loud, calm & steady voice:

As long as this life lasts: I hereby take refuge in the Buddha.   I hereby take refuge in the Dhamma. I hereby take refuge in the Sangha. I hereby seek shelter in the Buddha for the 2nd time. I hereby seek shelter in the Dhamma for the 2nd time. I hereby seek shelter in the Sangha for the 2nd time.
I hereby request protection from the Buddha for the 3rd time. I hereby request protection from the Dhamma for the 3rd time. I hereby request protection from the Sangha for the 3rd time. I will hereby respect these Three Jewels the rest of my life!

I accept to respect & undertake these 5 training rules:
I hereby accept the training rule of avoiding all Killing.
I hereby accept the training rule of avoiding all Stealing.
I hereby accept the training rule of avoiding all Sexual Abuse.
I hereby accept the training rule of avoiding all Dishonesty.
I hereby accept the training rule of avoiding all Alcohol & Drugs.
As long as this life lasts, I am thus protected by these 5 precepts...

Then, one keeps and protects these sacred vows better than one's own
eyes & children!, since they protect you & all other beings much better
than any army! They are the highest offer one can give in & to this world!
This is the very start on the path towards Nibbāna -the Deathless Element-
This is the Noble Way to Peace, to Freedom, to Bliss, initiated by Morality,
developed further by Dhamma-Study and fulfilled by training of Meditation...

Today indeed is Pooya or uposatha or observance day, where any lay Buddhist
normally keeps the Eight Precepts from sunrise until the next dawn...
If any wish an official recognition by the Bhikkhu-Sangha, they may simply
forward the lines starting with "I..." signed with name, date, town & country
to me or join here. A public list of this new Saddhamma-Sangha is here!

The New Noble Community of Disciples: The Saddhamma Sangha:      
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/sangha/Saddhamma_Sangha.htm

Can quite advantageously be Joined Here:

http://What-Buddha-Said.net/sangha/Sangha_Entry.htm

May your journey hereby be eased, light, swift and sweet. Never give up !!! 

For Details on Uposatha Observance Days: 
http://www.accesstoinsight.org/ptf/uposatha.html

Have a nice & noble day!
 
Friendship is the Greatest!
Bhikkhu Samāhita _/\_ ]
http://What-Buddha-Said.net

The 10 Tricks in the Art of Jhãna Concentration

The 10 Tricks in the Art of Jhãna Concentration:

1: Making the basis pure: Means clean body, clean room and clean morality. 
2: Balanced abilities = Energy equals concentration. Faith equals understanding.
3: Skill in the sign: A moment of absorption is remembered exactly for recollection.
4: One exerts the mind on all occasions, it advantageously should be pushed forth.
5: One controls the mind on all occasions, it advantageously should be held back.
6: One encourages mind on occasions it advantageously should be incited & cheered.
7: One observes the mind with calm equanimity, when things proceed appropriately.
8: One avoids all distracted, agitated, frantic, unconcentrated, & stressed persons.
9: One cultivates company with well focused, determined & concentrated persons.
10: One is resolutely determined upon that absorption level of jhāna  concentration!
Vism I 128.

        

More on this penetrating and thrilling absorption Concentration (Samādhi):
Samma-Samadhi, The_Concentration_Ability, What is Right Concentration?

High_and_Alert, Feeding Concentration, Concentration_Samadhi,
Details of the Jhana Absorptions, Requisites for Jhana Absorption,
Stopping_Mental_Frustration, Stopping_Physical_Pain
Jhana_Absorption, Joys_Beyond_This_World!

Have a nice & noble day!
 
Friendship is the Greatest!
Bhikkhu Samāhita _/\_ ]
http://What-Buddha-Said.net

Immaculate Virtue...

Purity of Virtue is the root of Perfection!

His virtue is immaculate. His wearing the bowl and robe pleases and inspires trust.
His going forth will bear its fruit. A pure Bhikkhu never fears that self-reproach
will obsess and consume his mind, since there is indeed no darkness inside the sun...
A Bhikkhu of bright virtue shines forth even in the forest of reclusive ascetics,
by the radiance of his past deeds, just like the moon lights up the clear night sky...
Now if the body smell of purity a Bhikkhu can succeed in pleasing even the deities,
what then of the perfume of their virtue? It is a far more splendid scent than all
the other perfumes in the world, because the fragrance of pure morality spreads
unhindered in all directions! The favours done for a pure & virtuous one, even when
only few, will bear great fruit! The pure one thus becomes a fountain of advantage!
No fetid fermentations plagues a virtuous one, since his pure behaviour digged out
the root of future suffering in lives to come. Excellence among humans & also even
among deities, if longed for, is not hard to gain for one whose morality is perfected!
However, when ethics is fully perfected, then mind seeks only the supreme Nibbāna:
The state where utterly pure peace prevails! Such is the blessed fruit of clean virtue,
ethics, rectitude, goodness, integrity, righteousness and high-mindedness: It awards
fulfillment, so let a wise one know it well: This root of all the branches of perfection!

More on Virtue (Sīla):
Mighty is Morality, Prime Benefits, Observance, Happy_Habbit,
Sila_1-5, What_is_Virtue, Best_Protection, The_Five_Basics, Best_Buddhist_Praxis,
Sila_Contemplation, Optimal_Observance_I, Optimal_Observance_II, Truth_Triumphs,
Optimal_Observance_IV, Optimal_Observance_V, Blurred_and_Blinded, Never_Kill,
Buddhist_Life_Standards_Law_1, Buddhist_Life_Standards_Law_2, Not_Killing

Buddhist_Life_Standards_Law_3, Buddhist_Life_Standards_Law_4, Not_Stealing
Back_to_Basics, Few_are_Fine

Have a nice & noble day!
 
Friendship is the Greatest!
Bhikkhu Samāhita _/\_ ]
http://What-Buddha-Said.net 

Immaculate Virtue...

Forest Bliss...

Remote & Solitary is Forest Bliss!
The forest bhikkhu pays much attention to the experience of forest.
Thereby he enters deeper yet unattained depths of concentration.
By living remote he is not distracted by any unsuitable phenomena.
He is free from anxiety and stress. He abandons attachment to life.
He enjoys a taste of the bliss of seclusion, and the silenced peace.
He lives secluded and apart. Calm and remote abodes delight his heart.
The hermit that in woods can dwell alone, may gain the bliss as well.
Whose savour is beyond the price of royal bliss even in any paradise.
So let the forest delight a wise man for his precious dwelling's site.
Sources: MN 121, AN III 343, Vism I 73

ALONE The one who sits and lives solitary, & walks alone finds great delight in the silence of the forest... Dhammapada story 305

SUCH ONE The One wearing only 3 robes, who is thin with veins showing, who meditates alone in the forest, such one is a Holy One... Dhammapada story 395

http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/Forest_Bliss.htm

Have a nice & noble day!
 
Friendship is the Greatest!
Bhikkhu Samāhita _/\_ ]
http://What-Buddha-Said.net 

Forest Bliss...

Links to Awakening!

Exceptionally Rare is the arising of the Links to Awakening!

The Blessed Buddha once said:
Bhikkhus, the exquisitely refined & sophisticated 7 Links to Awakening do
never arise apart from the appearance of a Well-Come-Well-Gone One,
an Arahat, a Perfectly Self-Enlightened Buddha! They never emerge outside
the discipline of a thus Happy & Successful One! Which seven?

1: The Awareness Link to Awakening: sati-sambojjhanga.
2: The Investigation Link to Awakening: dhammavicaya-sambojjhanga.
3: The Energy Link to Awakening: viriya-sambojjhanga.
4: The Joy Link to Awakening: pīti-sambojjhanga.
5: The Tranquillity Link to Awakening: passaddhi-sambojjhanga.
6: The Concentration Link to Awakening: samādhi-sambojjhanga.
7: The Equanimity Link to Awakening: upekkhā-sambojjhanga.

These uniquely advanced, delicate & intricate Seven Factors of Awakening
do never emerge other than after the arrival of a Tathāgata, an Arahat,
a Perfectly Self-Enlightened Buddha! They never emerge outside the
discipline of a Fortunate One!

On the 7 Links to Awakening (Sambojjhanga):
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/III/The_Sun.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/III/The_Peak.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/III/The_Clothes.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/III/Rare_Emergence.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/III/Sequential_Seven.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/III/Vast_Penetration.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/III/The_Seven_Fruits.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/III/Unsurpassable_Seven.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/III/When_7_becomes_14.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/The_7_Links_to_Awakening.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/III/Leading_to_Enlightenment.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/III/The_Seven_Links_to_Awakening.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/III/The_Cause_of_Knowledge_and_Vision.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/III/The_Meaning_of_the-7_Links_to_Awakening.htm

Source (edited extract):
The Grouped Sayings of the Buddha. Samyutta Nikāya.
Book [V: 77] section 46: The Links. 9+10: Arising...

Have a nice & noble day!
 
Friendship is the Greatest!
Bhikkhu Samāhita _/\_ ]
http://What-Buddha-Said.net 

Rare Emergence...

ACTION & REACTION

Kamma and Fruit = Action and Reaction!

The Blessed Buddha once said:
Beings are owners of their actions (kamma = karma), inheritors of
their actions, are created by their actions, linked to their actions,
their actions produce their destiny. Whatever actions they do;
good as evil, the resulting reaction and effect will be only theirs!
There is one who kills living beings, steals what belongs to others,
commits adultery with others' partners; speaks lies, uses divisive
and aggressive speech, prattles empty gossip; is covetous, envious,
jealous, wicked-minded, & of evil views. Such one is creeping in all
bodily, verbal, and mental actions. Hidden & secret are such one's
actions, words, and thoughts, of ulterior and concealed motives.
But I tell you: Whoever pursues hidden ways and objects will have
to expect one of these two results: Either the torture of hell, or
birth among the creeping animals. Thus is it with all rebirth of any
being: They will be reborn according to their actions (kamma)...
When reborn, they experience the exact effects of their actions.
Therefore I declare: Beings are owners of their actions (kamma),
inheritor of their actions, are created by their actions, linked to
their actions, as a shadow that never leaves! Their actions produce
and condition their future destiny. Whatever action they perform;
good as evil, the resulting reaction and effects will be only theirs!
Kamma causes and creates rebirth! A shadow that never leaves!

Source:
Numerical Discourses of the Buddha. Anguttara Nikāya AN 10:205
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/Canon/Sutta/AN/Index.Numerical.htm

 

For details on the mechanics of Kamma = Intentional Action see:
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/II/Kamma_is_intention.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/II/Buddha_on_Kamma.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/III/Inevitable_Consequences.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/II/Good_Action_dilutes_Evil_Kamma.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/II/Kamma_leading_to_short_&_long_life.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/II/Kamma_leading_to_Health_&_Sickness.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/II/Kamma_leading_to_Low_or_High_Birth.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/II/Kamma_leading_to_Wealth_or_Poverty.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/II/Kamma_leading_to_Beauty_&_Ugliness.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/II/Effect_of_Action_(kamma)_is_Delayed.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/II/Kamma_leading_to_Power_or_Disrespect.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/II/Evil_Kamma_enhances_other_Evil_Kamma.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/II/Good_Action_enhances_other_Good_Kamma.htm
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/II/Kamma_leading_to_Stupidity_or_Intelligence.htm

Have a nice & noble day!
 
Friendship is the Greatest!
Bhikkhu Samāhita _/\_ ]
http://What-Buddha-Said.net