Happy Vesak Day everyone! Today is Vesak Day which commemorates the birth, enlightenment (Buddhahood), and death (Parinirvāna) of Gautama Buddha. Gautama Buddha was born a Prince of Sakya clan about 2500 years ago but he gave up luxury and power when he saw the 3 sights: a sick man, a decaying corpse, and an ascetic. He left the palace to seek the Great way of liberation to save all sentient beings from the cycle of birth and death. After 6 years of intense practice, Buddha realized that the path to awakening is the Middle Way - a path of moderation instead of extreme self-indulgence and self-mortification and meditation, The Four Noble Truths and the Noble Eight-fold path.
Buddha, the compassionate and enlightened teacher relentlessly spent more than 45 years teaching the Dharma to all irrespective of social castes and genders in the human realm and the devas and brahmas in the heavenly realm: the Four Noble Truth ( 1) The Truth of Suffering, 2. The Truth of the Cause of Suffering 3) The Truth of the Cessation of Suffering 4. The Truth of the Path to the Cessation of Suffering is the Noble Eight-fold Path. After reading and contemplating, I finally realised why Buddha first taught the Four Noble Truth and Noble Eight-fold path to the five ascetics who were with him during his ascetic days. It is due to greed, desire and delusion that one continue the cyclic rebirth in the six realms (hell, animal, hungry ghost, human, asura and heaven). I had the “aha moment” when Ajahn Suchart said that the consciousness or mind constantly seek external gratification to make it happy via sensual pleasures of the five senses ( taste, eye, smell, touch, hear). When the body is gone, the mind/consciousness seek a new body (rebirth) to continue. I have been practising the 5 precepts. Perhaps it is high time, I start the 8 precepts.
I’m also glad that I took about a year hiatus in 2017 to read all the books I want and just to rest. Reading the Near-death experience from people around the world just confirm what Buddha taught about reincarnation and karma 2500 years ago. Buddha had said that who you met in this life, you also met them in your past prior life.
By Duane:” I remembered many past events When I returned from the afterlife, I had near-perfect memories of a prior life in Germany. I knew where I lived, the address, the town, and the circumstances surrounding my death. Having been stationed in Germany as a young soldier in the U.S. Army, and having married a German woman, I went back to see if we could locate where I had lived in the prior life. I found an older German man, who had befriended me while I was there. He had been part of my prior life and was still alive in this lifetime. We were able to verify a number of memories that we had in common from that prior life. I had always wondered why he and I had become such close friends while I was there in this life. “
I finally realized the danger of craving; even craving for food. I must practise the 8 precepts.
By Linda” Yes I came to understand that we all choose to come to Earth to fulfill a plan of some sort or even learn about a particular interest. We choose our bodies, parents, and life plan. May I also add that some people come here for the most simple of reasons; to learn how to play tennis for example; or simply for the cake and food.”
Parinirvāna of Buddha
Buddha 'When I am gone, my Teaching shall be your Master and Guide.' Three months before His passing away the Buddha addressed His disciples and said: 'I have delivered sermons to you during these forty-five years. You must learn them well and treasure them. You must practise them and teach them to others. This will be of great use for the welfare of the living and for the welfare of those who come after you'. At the age of eighty, on His birthday, He passed away without showing any worldly supernatural powers. He showed the real nature of component things even in His own life. The parting words of the Buddha: 'Work diligently. Component things are impermanent.
By Buddha
" Craving, with you I've been born again and again. But now you're reviewed and your power redundant. It is the nature of all conditioned to arise, persist for a while and then pass away. Investigate the impermanence of all conditioned phenomenon. For the tears of beings wandering through the samsara are beyond measure. One who is still attached to form, sound, taste, smell and physical sensation cannot find liberation from this world."
The Noble Eight-fold Path
1. Right Views (Four Noble truths, karma, rebirth)
Dhamma Talk by Ajahn Suchart
" To see the danger in your cravings and your desires that if you follow your craving and desire, you will always have to crave and desire and it will never end.
When your body dies, you will go and look for a new body to continue on with your craving and your desires. That's why you have ceaseless birth, rebirth. You are reborn and then you get old, get sick and die. And when you die, you go seek a new body so then you can use the new body to satisfy your craving and your desire which is never satisfied, no matter how many craving or desires you have. Its better not to desire everytime you crave for something. Just resist it, don't do it. Then your desire, your craving will disappear. And if you can do this with all your craving and desire, eventually there will be no craving left in your mind, then your mind will be fully satisfied, fully contented.
Buddha, the compassionate and enlightened teacher relentlessly spent more than 45 years teaching the Dharma to all irrespective of social castes and genders in the human realm and the devas and brahmas in the heavenly realm: the Four Noble Truth ( 1) The Truth of Suffering, 2. The Truth of the Cause of Suffering 3) The Truth of the Cessation of Suffering 4. The Truth of the Path to the Cessation of Suffering is the Noble Eight-fold Path. After reading and contemplating, I finally realised why Buddha first taught the Four Noble Truth and Noble Eight-fold path to the five ascetics who were with him during his ascetic days. It is due to greed, desire and delusion that one continue the cyclic rebirth in the six realms (hell, animal, hungry ghost, human, asura and heaven). I had the “aha moment” when Ajahn Suchart said that the consciousness or mind constantly seek external gratification to make it happy via sensual pleasures of the five senses ( taste, eye, smell, touch, hear). When the body is gone, the mind/consciousness seek a new body (rebirth) to continue. I have been practising the 5 precepts. Perhaps it is high time, I start the 8 precepts.
I’m also glad that I took about a year hiatus in 2017 to read all the books I want and just to rest. Reading the Near-death experience from people around the world just confirm what Buddha taught about reincarnation and karma 2500 years ago. Buddha had said that who you met in this life, you also met them in your past prior life.
By Duane:” I remembered many past events When I returned from the afterlife, I had near-perfect memories of a prior life in Germany. I knew where I lived, the address, the town, and the circumstances surrounding my death. Having been stationed in Germany as a young soldier in the U.S. Army, and having married a German woman, I went back to see if we could locate where I had lived in the prior life. I found an older German man, who had befriended me while I was there. He had been part of my prior life and was still alive in this lifetime. We were able to verify a number of memories that we had in common from that prior life. I had always wondered why he and I had become such close friends while I was there in this life. “
I finally realized the danger of craving; even craving for food. I must practise the 8 precepts.
By Linda” Yes I came to understand that we all choose to come to Earth to fulfill a plan of some sort or even learn about a particular interest. We choose our bodies, parents, and life plan. May I also add that some people come here for the most simple of reasons; to learn how to play tennis for example; or simply for the cake and food.”
Parinirvāna of Buddha
Buddha 'When I am gone, my Teaching shall be your Master and Guide.' Three months before His passing away the Buddha addressed His disciples and said: 'I have delivered sermons to you during these forty-five years. You must learn them well and treasure them. You must practise them and teach them to others. This will be of great use for the welfare of the living and for the welfare of those who come after you'. At the age of eighty, on His birthday, He passed away without showing any worldly supernatural powers. He showed the real nature of component things even in His own life. The parting words of the Buddha: 'Work diligently. Component things are impermanent.
By Buddha
" Craving, with you I've been born again and again. But now you're reviewed and your power redundant. It is the nature of all conditioned to arise, persist for a while and then pass away. Investigate the impermanence of all conditioned phenomenon. For the tears of beings wandering through the samsara are beyond measure. One who is still attached to form, sound, taste, smell and physical sensation cannot find liberation from this world."
The Noble Eight-fold Path
1. Right Views (Four Noble truths, karma, rebirth)
2. Right Resolve
3. Right Speech
4. Right Conduct (Observe 5 or 8 precepts)
5. Right Livelihood
6. Right Effort
7. Right Mindfulness (impermanent of body, the 5 skandhas or aggregates)
8. Right Meditation
Happy Vesak Day! Thank you Buddha, Sanga and Dhamma for the teaching.
From google image
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