Wrong View

Wrong View


One of my students and I had a discussion once about Kamma.

He got very upset upon learning that Kamma catches up on one.

That's when he blurted out,

"Then be Buddhist for what?! I may as well go back to Christianity and not be responsible for all the wrongs I've done. No one tells me about Kamma. No one taught me about the cause and effects of things. How was I supposed to know?!"

To soothe him down, I told him, "But you can do something about it. You can change your Kamma."

That's when he asked, "I can?"

You see, the point is you can go ahead and adopt any faith/religion you want, but it does NOT mean your Kamma will not come back to you. Regardless of whether your faith/religion accepts/teaches Kamma or not,

Kamma is REAL and ours to be borned.

You'll still be subjected to it.

Kamma is Kamma -

A Natural Law of the Universe that exists on its own right.

NO ONE escapes it.

Perhaps in the past no one tells or teaches you about Kamma,

But now that someone is telling/teaching you,

You better sit up prick up your ears and listen hard and carefully.

Everyone has a wrong view about Kamma.

Kamma is NOT scary, stagnant or static.

Kamma is dynamic. It teaches us things. Most important of all, Kamma Can Be Changed.

You can't change your past lives Kamma or past actions,

But you can do something about them this life, NOW.

It's up to US.

At the end of the day, Just as Ajahn Boowa says,

"Truth is true based on natural immutable principles,"

You can run but you CAN'T hide

Truth is Truth.

And, Kamma is Truth.




"Not in the sky, Nor in mid-ocean,

Nor in a mountain cave,

Is found that place on earth

Where abiding,

One may escape from the consequences of one's evil deed."

- The Buddha, Dhammapada verse 127




*** Read :

1) 'Kamma Kamma Part 1' - http://maitre-light.blogspot.com/2010/04/kamma-kamma-part-1-oh-no.html

2) 'Kamma Kamma Part 2' - http://maitre-light.blogspot.com/2010/04/kamma-kamma-part-2-lucky.html

The Last C

The Last C


There are many Cs out there nowadays which everyone tries to acquire : Cash, Car, Condo, Credit Cards, Clubs, Certificates, etc.

But, however many Cs we put out, or come out with,

There's this very important C which we forgot, or choose to ignore.

The irony is, yet this C is something which we must always remember, and ALL face one day

Cos it's not only a must have, WILL have, SURE have,

But also a CONFIRM have.

And what is this 'C'?

COFFIN.


P.S. : And for evil-doers, please know that your last C is the Cauldron of hot burning flaming molten lava that's awaiting you in HELL ........ And that includes ALL the false monastics as well. And that means you too, DL.




"If, an individual, while NOT being holy, or perfected saint,

Were to claim to be a saint (Noble One),

He is a cheat of the whole universe,

Including the world of the Brahmas.

Indeed he is the worst of the outcastes.

Such persons are indeed characterised as outcastes.

Let me tell you, they are the WORST outcastes.

- The Buddha, The Vasala Sutta - http://maitre-light.blogspot.com/2009/11/vasala-sutta-discourse-of-outcastes.html




"Bhikkhus! One who has abandoned the course of telling The Truth,

And pursued the course of telling lies.

Has Also forsaken the advantages of attainment of Nibbana

And rebirth in the worlds of devas and humans ......"

- The Buddha, The Discourse given by The Buddha after Cincamanavika's false accusation.


*** Read

1) 'What Happens to An Evil-Doer' - http://maitre-light.blogspot.com/2010/07/what-happens-to-part-2-evil-doer.html

2) 'Sense Not' - http://maitre-light.blogspot.com/2010/05/sense-not.html

3) 'Smart Not' - http://maitre-light.blogspot.com/2010/05/smart-not.html

Surely You Know

Surely You Know


A man went to see Maitreya and said,

"I think The Buddha's Teachings is not bad ........ except for this kamma thing - I feel it's very unfair - that I'm being punished/penalised for doing something I do NOT know."

Maitreya looked at the man and asked, "Sir, when you're hungry, do you know?"

"Of course!" replied the man.

Maitreya continued gently, "What about thirst? Do you know when you're thirsty?"

That goes without asking."

"When you're hungry and thirsty, and you look for food and drinks to eat and drink, do you know?"

"What kind of a question is that?! Of course I know when I eat and drink."

Smiling, Maitreya asked again,

"So how can you say you do NOT know when you commit evil; when you deceive and lie; engage in harsh speech, divisive speech, malicious gossip, idle chatter; when you treat others with CONDESCENSION, with your haughtiness and conceitedness?

Surely you know ........ You WOULD know."




"So when the evil deed does not affect the fool

He thinks it is honey;

But once when it affects him,

That's when he comes to grief."

- The Buddha




"The deeds of a fool can only harm him -

It destroys his Wisdom, Clarity, Merit and Virtues;

Literally, it SEVERS his head."

- The Buddha




"STOP complaining and giving excuses,

START doing something about it."


*** Read :

1) 'What a Joke' - 16/05/11

2) 'Mr CEO or Cleaning Auntie' - http://maitre-light.blogspot.com/2007/03/mr-ceo-or-cleaning-auntie.html

3) 'Kamma Kamma Part 4 : What Happens When' - http://maitre-light.blogspot.com/2010/05/kamma-kamma-part-4-what-happens-when.html

4) 'The Boss' - http://maitre-light.blogspot.com/2010/03/boss.html

Whacko Wacko

Whacko Wacko


I remember a couple of years back an ex-student recounted an incident to me regarding her daughter.

It was the beginning of the school term, the daughter was in Secondary 1, and the school held an orientation camp for all the newbies.

During camp, they were playing the game 'Whacko' - so as to familiarise the students with each other.

In the daughter's class, there were 2 other girls with the same name as the daughter.

Yet each time the name was called, the daughter's classmates always whack her.

Feeling frustrated and unjust, the daughter scolded her classmates,

"The other 2 are also called 'R ....', why didn't you all hit them? Why do all of you keep hitting me?!"

When my ex-student told me about it, I told my ex-student to look at it from a positive light -

That it goes to show her daughter was popular, that everyone knows her name.

Or is it?

Cos during my meditation session later, the account flowed back to my mindstream for contemplation.

The thought occured to me : Kamma.

Her daughter MUST have done pretty bad/evil deeds in the past, such that she gets whacked All the time NOW!



"The evil that you do FOLLOWS you -

It will HAUNT you -

Like a shadow that NEVER leaves

Countless days, Countless nights, Countless lives ........"


*** Read : 'What Happens To An Evil-Doer' - http://maitre-light.blogspot.com/2010/07/what-happens-to-part-2-evil-doer.html

What a Joke

What a Joke


Since we're in the midst of Vesak, I thought what better way to celebrate it than to contemplate on the following :

When we hurt others, we NEVER think it's wrong;

Instead, we rejoice and we cheer.

But when the deeds FLIES back on our face,

We sulk, we get angry and upset, and we complain, "It's NOT fair!",

Saying, "I didn't do anything ........"

Strange, isn't it?

P.S. And if you think about it, 'What a joke!'




"When the evil deed does not affect the fool,

He thinks it's honey;

But once when it affects him,

That's WHEN he comes to grief."

- The Buddha




"The deeds of a fool can only harm him

It destroys his wisdom and merit/virtues;

Literally, it severs his head."

- The Buddha




"Whoever harms a harmless one -

One pure and guiltfree ( and should NOT be harmed ),

To that very fool the evil recoils

Like fine dust thrown against the wind."

- The Buddha


*** Read : 'Kamma' - http://maitre-light.blogspot.com/2009/03/kamma.html

Chant Mati Chant

Chant Mati Chant


I remember an incident some years' back when a student's sis-in-law was about to pass away.

She couldn't cope with it and sought my help.

I related the account to another student - a mutual friend - who told me, "Ask her to chant."

I looked at him incredulously

Cos' the student's best friend who claimed to know alot and who does alot of chanting everyday, told her to do the same thing - Chant.

I told this other guy student, "Her sis-in-law is going to die, and no amount of chanting is going to help. The important thing to do is to prepare the sis-in-law for death."

Seeing that he didn't quite understand my words,

I asked him, "Let's take a stone - and you chant day and night for the stone to float. Now throw the stone into the water. Is the stone going to float?"

"No," my student replied.

I asked again, "Now take a styrofoam and cut it to the same size as the stone, and chant again day and night for it to sink. Throw the styrofoam into the same water as the stone. Will it sink?"

"No," replied my student again.

The point is, you can pray/chant all you want

BUT if you continue to do evil, indulge yourself silly and NOT practise,

All your praying/chanting is NOT going to help you.

You can pray/chant your whole life - till your last breath even,

But you're still NOT going to the Heavens or higher realms just because of your praying/chanting.

It's the things you say and do that counts.

NOT the number of times you pray/chant.

Time to get real.

Wake up everyone.

****************************

Asibandhakaputta the headman said to The Blessed One:

"The brahmans of the Western lands, Lord — those who carry water pots, wear garlands of water plants, purify with water, & worship fire — can take [the spirit of] a dead person, lift it out, instruct it, & send it to heaven.

But The Blessed One, worthy & rightly self-awakened, can arrange it so that all the world, at the break-up of the body, after death, reappears in a good destination, the heavenly world."

"Very well, then, headman, I will question you on this matter. Answer as you see fit...

"Suppose a man were to throw a large boulder into a deep lake of water, and a great crowd of people, gathering & congregating, would pray, praise, & circumambulate with their hands palm-to-palm over the heart [saying,]

'Rise up, O boulder! Come floating up, O boulder! Come float to the shore, O boulder!'

What do you think: would that boulder — because of the prayers, praise, & circumambulation of that great crowd of people — rise up, come floating up, or come float to the shore?"

"No, Lord."

"So it is with any man who takes life, steals, indulges in illicit sex; is a liar, one who speaks divisive speech, abusive speech, & idle chatter; is covetous, malevolent, & holds to WRONG views.

Even though a great crowd of people, gathering & congregating, would pray, praise, & circumambulate with their hands palm-to-palm over the heart — [saying,]

'May this man, at the break-up of the body, after death, reappear in a good destination, the heavenly world!' —

Still, at the break-up of the body, after death, he would reappear in destitution, a bad destination, the lower realms, HELL ...

"Now, suppose a man were to throw a jar of ghee or a jar of oil into a deep lake of water, where it would break. There the shards & jar-fragments would go down, while the ghee or oil would come up.

Then a great crowd of people, gathering & congregating, would pray, praise, & circumambulate with their hands palm-to-palm over the heart [saying,]

'Sink, O ghee/oil! Submerge, O ghee/oil! Go down, O ghee/oil!'

What do you think: would that ghee/oil, because of the prayers, praise, & circumambulation of that great crowd of people sink, submerge, or go down?"

"No, Lord."

"So it is with any man who refrains from taking life, from stealing, & from indulging in illicit sex; he refrains from lying, from speaking divisive speech, from abusive speech, & from idle chatter; he is NOT covetous, NOT malevolent, & holds to RIGHT view.

Even though a great crowd of people, gathering & congregating, would pray, praise, & circumambulate with their hands palm-to-palm over the heart — [saying,]

'May this man, at the break-up of the body, after death, reappear in a destitution, a bad destination, the lower realms, hell!' —

Still, at the break-up of the body, after death, he would reappear in a GOOD destination, the HEAVENLY world."

— SN 42.6

- The Buddha, Samyutta Nikaya 42.6


*** Read : 'Purpose / All We Need To Do Is .....' - http://maitre-light.blogspot.com/2009/11/purpose-all-we-need-to-do-is.html




"Though much he recites The Sacred Text

But acts NOT accordingly,

That heedless man is like a cowsherd who counts others' kine.

He has NO share in the fruits of The Holy Life."

- The Buddha, Dhammapada verse 19




"However many holy words you read

However many holy words you speak

What good will they do you

If you do NOT act upon them."

- The Buddha


******* Contemplate on the above well, and have a Happy Vesak, everyone!

You Ask For it

You Ask For it


Taking the cue from 'I Don't Know', I would like to make some changes to the ending.

Enjoy!


Once, a learned 'buddhist', highly respected, highly admired, highly recognised and certified, 'fully' endowed with superior knowledge of the scriptures, came and spoke to Maitreya.

Scholar : Do you know the XXX sutta?

Maitreya : No, I don't.

Eyeing Maitreya suspiciously and with doubt, the scholar continued,

"Do you know the XXX sutra under the Mahayana discipline, then?"

Maitreya : Nope, I don't know that either.

Getting impatient and visibly irritated, but trying to stay calm and maintain his image, the learned 'buddhist' asked again -

This time in a stern loud and authoratative tone : "Do you know the teaching by the renowned guru XX - the "living buddha" ?"

Maitreya : I don't know that one either - Never heard of it.

Flabbergasted, his face flushed red hot with anger, the 'buddhist' screamed at Maitreya,

"What then do you know?!"

Maitreya looked at the scholar and replied matter-of-factly,

"I only know YOU are going to die, and ALL that you've studied CAN'T help you."




"You are called a Maha ( i.e. Great, or one who can read Pali, scriptural language )

But where is the knowledge you studied from the scriptures now?

What is it doing that you cannot call it to your rescue?

What a waste of time and effort for that title of Maha you've got!

You are going to die and all that knowledge which you took so much time to gain cannot be called on to help you .......

It seems the more you learn, the WEAKER you become, weaker even than an uneducated woman."

- Venerable Ajahn Mun

( Taken from the book, "The Venerable Phra Acharn Mun Bhuridatta Thera - Meditation Master", written by Venerable Ajahn Maha Boowa, page 194 )




"No matter how much of the Dhamma you've studied,

It will serve NO purpose other than simply being an obstacle to your Meditation ( and Practice )."

- Venerable Ajahn Mun




"Anybody can learn and memorise the names and symbols of Dhamma because they are things which anybody should be able to memorise.

But the important thing is the TRUE Dhamma whose name and symbols one has naturally in oneself without having to learn it by repetition and memorising -

And this kind of Dhamma is Difficult to practise, Difficult to see and Difficult to KNOW."

- Venerable Ajahn Mun