Happy, Happy, Happy

Be happy why worry! So be happy is what most of us want, and in fact we had been trying to be happy. We think that we will be happy if we have big cars or houses, or have more money and so on, as mentioned by Sayadaw U Vimala in a pre-dana session talk this morning.

There are three types of happiness, namely, happiness of human, happiness of deva and happiness of Nibbana.

Sayadaw further explained that while we had been trying to obtain material things in our quest for happiness, many of us tend to forget that our Kamma does play an important factor here. For example, if one's Kamma enable one to be beautiful, one does not have to do much to beautify oneself.

However, for one who are not that fortunate due to Kammic forces, he/she will be disappointed if beauty is the criteria set for his/her happiness.
Sayadaw U Vimala further said that when one performs Dana with correct understanding, then in the future, one may gain the happiness of the deva. Moreover, if one were to cultivate one's mind to the fullest, one may gain Nibbanic happiness or bliss which is the ultimate happiness for one.

Happiness comes with harmony, and in a community, harmony among its member will ensure that the people in the community will be happy. This advice was given by Sayadaw as a guidance before our Kathina celebration committee/devotee meeting begins. A timely advice indeed.

Sayadaw further elaborates that there are two types of people not easily encountered, that are, namely (1) people with similar desires and (2) grateful people.

Two people cannot have similar desires, said Sayadaw. Even husband and wife ofter quarreled because of dissimilar or conflicting desires. In a temple committee with so many people, it is virtually impossible for everybody to have similar desires.

Then how can we be harmony? By trying to be the second type of people, said Sayadaw. We had to try to be grateful for the help rendered to us. For example, Sayadaw said that in BMBMC, the chairman had be very helpful to the secretary and hence, the secretary must be grateful to the chairman.

This is true also in reverse. By doing that, we can then create a harmonious environment with each other, seeing other in a loving-kindness eye. Happiness can then be achieved by us.

Sadhu, sadhu, sadhu.

Seven versus five

What do you do when you see a beautiful girl? Hah! Most of us will think about her, think and think. For some, this might even lead to inability to sleep and fell sick (love sick as some may call it).

However, Sayadaw U Vimala called it the arising of sensual desire (kāmacchanda). The five hindrances (sensual desire, ill-will, sloth and torpor, restlessness and doubt) can obstruct our progress in meditation and as laypersons, we have to be aware of it in our daily life.

How then can one check the advances of these pañca nīvaraṇāni? Sayadaw pointed out that one must try to cultivate the seven factors of enlightenment (bojjhanga) namely mindfulness, investigating the Dhamma, energy/effort, joy, tranquility, concentration and equanimity. Through the cultivation of these 7 bojjhangas, one can then overcome the arising of the 5 nivaranani especially during meditation.

Sadhu Sadhu Sadhu

Mahindarama Sunday Pali School 50th Anniversary Dinner

Yesterday night 12 Sept 2009, both of us attended the MSPS 50th Anniversary Dinner. At first, I had thought of skipping this occassion as we will miss our meditation sitting and Dhamma talk. After receiving an invitation call from Bro Hor Kwei On, I decided to go as MSPS is a part of my life, my Buddhist life.
Mahindarama Sunday Pali School was set up on the 6th of September 1959 and is part of Mahindarama Buddhist Temple, a Sri Lankan's temple at 2 Kampar Road, Penang.
It is a night full of surprises.

Chattering mind

Tonight I heard a talk given by Bhante Jinnadatta about conditioned mind. Although this talk is given in Hokkien/Mandarin, Bhante also uses some English terms and with my pasar Hokkien I can managed to get the gist of what tonight talk is all about.
Our mind is conditioned, said Bhante. This conditioned mind will always judged things to be good or bad, right or wrong. Therefore, one is confused about facts and opinions.

The conditioned mind is the second link in Dependent Origination that is sankhara. Because of A, B followed, just like what happened to the dog in Pavlov's Experiment.

Our mind like a pendulum, always swinging from the past to the future. Our mind begins to judge because we conditioned it to judge, to judge things to be yes or no.

What then conditioned our mind? It is our thoughts. Our thoughts also identify. We use our thoughts to identify things with another things for example we sometimes identify happiness with wealth or success. But sometimes we did not identify thing with the truth.

For instance, we identify self or ego with thought. Thoughts conditioned us, and we think that these thoughts are our self.

Since awakened from our sleep, we live in the realm of thought. We get lost in our thought.
Our mind is full of thoughts. It is always yes or no. This then gives rise to attraction (if it is a yes) and repulsiveness if it is a no.

Because we are always thinking (eating, walking and so forth), we identify it as our ego. And what give rise to thought? Bhante said it is ignorance that causes thought to arise.

So our thoughts kept on talking in ourselves; we have a chattering mind, and we will not have any peace. Thought swings from the past to the future. Our ego cannot let go of the past. The thought condition us.

How then can we stop ourselves from thinking? Awareness is the answer. We have to aware, not to know, not to think. In meditation, we are aware of the object at the present. To have our mind at the present, not to think of the past or the future. Thus we are aware of ourselves.

Bhante said we know but we do not know our selves ("chai e'ay, bo chai lan" in Hokkien). We have the sense doors to know other things outside of ourselves but we do not know inside ourselves.

I have always find Bhante's talk to be enlightening as Bhante is able to explained abhidhamma things in a layman terms.

Sadhu, sadhu, sadhu.