Patidana

For this patidana we are fortunate to have 4 bhikkhus.
Sayadaw U Vimala give a Dhamma talk followed by the Dana.
Chinese people believe that ghosts came from hell.
Buddha's teaching said there are no ghosts in hell. The ghosts live in this world.
The beings in the hall suffered I the hell. These beings cannot came to our world.
We do Dana and share merits with our departed beings who may be petas or hungry ghosts.
The petas are unhappy beings because they do not have food, shelter, clothing and other things. They also drink our spit or eating our phlegm.
Even they come to our house they cannot live with people who has strong morals.
But if we do not have good Kamma the petas that enter their house can harm them, causing sickness or unhappiness.
If they harm us then we have to chant special Sutta. Otherwise we cannot look for the answer to our unhappiness.
This is the way of the Buddha's teaching.
Sadhu Sadhu Sadhu

Wandering Female Ascetic

The jealousy and worry of a group of heretics towards the Buddha causes the heretics to ask Ascetic Sundari, a female ascetic and a supporter of the heretics to accuse the Buddha of wrongdoing.
After she had accused the Buddha, the evil heretics ordered her to be killled. Then the heretics accused the Buddha and disciples of wrongdoing and murdered Sundari.
The Buddha said. Those who lie or commit evil deeds will end up in hell
By listening to these two stanzas, many people become Noble persons. Why? Sayadaw said that this is because these people had practiced enough meditation and had fulfilled their Paramis.
Observing Anicca, Dukkha, and Anatta, one can then attains Enlightenment
As the story goes the king knows the truth and the heretics are caught and punished by telling people the truth.
Buddha was also accused if wrongdoings. So even we do good now we can encounter bad things because we had done bad deeds on the past. Buddha to be did accuse a Pacekka Buddha of wring doing in the past.

Momentum To Do Good

"We need momentum to do good deeds",said Sayadaw U Vimala in tonight's Dhamma talk - the first talk in this year's Vasa.

During the time of the Buddha, there are 30 friends; all of them are good looking and also had good momentum to do good. However at the time of the Buddha these men had forgotten how to do good. One night, these men took their wives to the forest for drinks and other enjoyments. One of the men brought a courtesan. After their merriments, they fell a sleep and the courtesan steals their things. When they wake up and realized that their things had been stolen they go looking for the thieving woman. They met the Buddha and asked the Buddha whether the Buddha had seen the woman.

The Buddha replied by asking them back with the question. Which I'd better to seek the woman or to seek your own self? The 30 men and their spouses replied that seeking oneself is better.

Lord Buddha then gave them a Dhamma Talk about the topics of Dana, Sila, of deva, about Magga, about bad results and five senses and about freedom from samsara and nibbana.

In Dana we must do as much as we can. Doing good deeds may enable us to be not poor if we are poor we cannot even approach the monks because we are shy or busy taking care of ourselves. Therefore, Sayadaw advises us to do lots of Dana. Giving food to the monks, to the people and also to the animals. Besides that when one gives or do Dana then one can develop metta or karuna. Doing Dana is seeking good for ourselves.

Next, we must have morality, said Sayadaw. This is because without Sila, one cannot gains Magga phala nibbana even though they practice meditation. They have healthy and long life.

In short, the other 4 topics can be surmarised to these: we must reduce the five senses, aspiring to be reborn in the deva world that is good as these places give us peace from hunger, disease and less suffering. Lastly, we must practice meditation.

These topics are always found in the Buddha's Teaching. We have to note t these and understand them. The 20 men gained Ariya States after listening. to the Buddha.