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His Life & Career
Venerable Thich Vien Thanh
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HOMEPAGE BUDDHIST LIBRARY DHARMA
VOICE SOCIAL
CHARITY
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THE BUDDHIST NEWS AND
WRITINGS
August &
September
2010 (BE. 2554)
v Sutta Pitaka
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Manuscript writing on palm-leaves (Mahendra Gunaratne)
In the ancient world
manuscripts and paintings were done on a wide variety of materials such as
birch (a tree grown in northern hemisphere)-bark, papyrus (reed-like trees
grown on the banks of Nile River) clay tablets (on which Babylonians were forced
to write) and palm-leaf manuscripts including paintings, on cloth and paper.
v Vinaya Pitaka
The Five Precepts (Dr. Sunthorn Plamintr)
There are three fundamental modes of training
in Buddhist practice: morality, mental culture, and wisdom. The English word
morality is used to translate the Pali term sila, although the Buddhist
term contains its own particular connotations.
v Buddhist Meditation
v Death & Rebirth
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Passing Through Death
(By Yvonne Zhang, Shanghai Star.)
WHEN
ghosts appear, it's like someone blowing cold air on the back of your neck,
your hair stands on end and you breathe out cold vapour. So said the boy who
could see "dead people" in the film, "The Sixth Sense".
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For The Aged and The Sick (By
Ven. Thich Thanh Tu. Translated by My Thanh)
Today, my talk is especially addressed to the sick and old
persons. The reason for this talk is that there was a Buddhist layperson who
came and asked if I could give a small Dharma talk to his parents who were old
and dying - and because he wanted his parents to be alert, clear-minded when
the time came.
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Preparing for Death: The
Final Days of Death Row Inmate Jaturun "Jay" Siripongs
(An interview with... Ajahn Pasanno)
Jaturun "Jay" Siripongs, a native of
Thailand, was convicted in 1983 for the murders of Garden Grove market owner
Pakawan "Pat" Watta-naporn and store clerk Quach Nguyen. While
Siripongs admitted to involvement in the robbery, he denied having committed
the murders. Yet he refused to name his accomplice and was convicted and
sentenced to death.
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Using Meditation to Deal with Pain, Illness and Death
(by Ven.Thanissaro
Bhikkhu)
My
topic today is the role that meditation can play in facing issues of pain,
illness and death – not a pleasant topic, but an important one. Sadly,
it's only when people are face-to-face with a fatal illness that they start
thinking about these issues, and often by that point it's too late to get fully
prepared.
v Buddhist Pure Land
v Lord Buddha and His Teachings
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Buddha and Buddhism (Anderson Beck)
The oldest known date
in the history of India is the death of the one called Buddha in 483 BC, and
even that date is somewhat controversial. Buddha means "one who is
intuitive, awakened, or enlightened." The famous historical person known
as Buddha was also called the Tathagata, which means "the one who has come
thus," and Shakyamuni, which means "the sage of the Shakya
tribe." He is said to have lived eighty years, and thus was probably born
in 563 BC.
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Buddha’s Birthday (Anderson Beck)
Shakayumni Buddha was
born from Lady Maya's body under the Bodhi tree on Lumbini grove. As soon as he
was born, the Buddha took seven steps in the four directions - north, east,
south, west - and then, pointing one hand upwards towards the sky and the other
pointing downwards towards the ground, he exclaimed: "Whether above the
sky or below the sky, I am most noble and high. I am here to bring peace to all
the sentient beings in the world who are suffering."
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Buddha’s
First Sermon and Last Words
Thus have I
heard. The Blessed One was once living
in the Deer Park at Isipatana (the Resort of Seers) near Baranasi(Benares). There he addressed the group of five
bhikkhus: 'Bhikkhus, these two extremes ought not to be practised by one who
has gone forth from the household life.
What are the two?
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The practice of Buddhism began 2,500 years ago. Only within the
past century have Western cultures reached out to embrace Buddhist wisdom,
whose essence is to awaken and to serve. Blocking one’s mortal path to awakened
or enlightened service are egotism, greed and selfishness, each of which leads
to endless and needless suffering.
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Introduction
to Gautama the Buddha (Anderson Beck)
Siddartha Gautama (563-480 BC) was born as a prince in a small
state in northern India in what is now Nepal. According to legend, several
soothsayers predicted that if he stayed home he would become a universal king,
but if he left he would become a Buddha. His mother died after one week, and
Siddartha was brought up by her sister. His father surrounded him with every
luxury. At the age of 16 Siddartha married Yasodhara, his cousin of the same
age, and spent his time in the pleasure gardens of the palace.
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Lord Buddha (Sri Swami Sivananda)
In the sixth century before the Christian era, religion was
forgotten in India. The lofty teachings of the Vedas were thrown into the
background. There was much priestcraft everywhere. The insincere priests traded
on religion. They duped the people in a variety of ways and amassed wealth for
themselves. They were quite irreligious.
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Seeking the Buddha’s Footprints (Shantum Seth)
The opportunity to join
a pilgrimage "in the footstpes of the Buddha" through India and Nepal
came just when I was beginning to involve my heart more in my practice and to
develop a sense of gratitude to the man who gave us the Dhamma.
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The historical
Siddhartha (Richard Hooker)
The other major challenge to orthodox Vedism was founded by the
son of a chief of a region called the Shakyas. This region lay among the
foothills of the Himalayas in the farthest northern regions of the plains of
India in Nepal. This founder, Siddhartha Gautama, the Buddha, has many legends
and stories that have accreted around his life.
v
Buddhist Writings
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The Parable of the Prodigal Son in Christianity and Buddhism (by Ernest Valea) [Update 10/29/2010]
Most Westerners are familiar with the Parable of the Prodigal
Son as it appears in Luke's Gospel, but probably few are aware that it has
a Buddhist parallel in one of the major writings of Mahayana Buddhism. Although
both parables seem to convey a similar message regarding God's compassion for
humans, a closer look will reveal fundamental differences in their teaching and
consequently between Christianity and Buddhism. Let me quote both parables and
then analyze them.
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The Wisdom Within (Teachings and Poetry of
the Vietnamese Zen Master Tue Trung Thuong Si
- Translated and Commented by Nguyen Giac)
Tue Trung Thuong Sy (1230-1291) had several significant roles in
thirteenth-century Vietnam: being a governor, he was one of the famous military
generals who led resistance against three Mongolian invasions; being a
layperson, he lived a life mixed with meditation, poetry and royal glory; and
being a Zen master, he had a strong influence on the founder of the Truc
Lam Zen School, which has become part of the Vietnamese culture.
v Buddhist News
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Buddhism Won “The Best Religion In The World” award (Tribune de Geneve)
The Geneva-based
International Coalition for the Advancement of Religious and Spirituality
(ICARUS) has bestowed "The Best Religion In the World" award this
year on the Buddhist Community.
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Celebration
of Ullambana Day (PL. 2553 - 2009)
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Quan Am Festival (Vietnam Buddhist Center)
Quan Âm Festival –
A Day of Pilgrimage and Prayer, organized by the
Vietnam Buddhist Center (VNBC) each year at the end of March, has become an
annual traditional religious, cultural, and spiritual activity of Buddhists far
and near….. In the cultural and spiritual environment of this year’s Festival,
we will have the auspicious opportunity to admire and venerate the Jade Buddha Statue for Universal Peace…..
VNBC will organize a Grand Requiem for
Liberation of Unjust Suffering and the Hungry Ghosts.
v Buddhist
Music
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Buddhist Devotional Songs (Music: Victor Wee)
Buddhist Songs in English (Please open to listen)
2. Climb the
Path with Gladness
v Buddhist
Medicine
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People who do not take breakfast are going to have a lower blood
sugar level. This leads to an insufficient supply of nutrients to the brain
causing brain degeneration.