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Ten Perfections, The: A Study Guide
By Ajaan Lee Dhammadaro

For people in the modern world facing the issue of how to practice the Dhamma in daily life, the ten perfections provide a useful framework for how to do it. When you view life as an opportunity to develop these ten qualities— generosity, virtue, renunciation, discernment, persistence, endurance, truth, determination, good will, and equanimity—you develop a fruitful attitude toward your daily activities so that any skillful activity or relationship, undertaken wisely and in a balanced way, becomes part of the practice.
The perfections also provide one of the few reliable ways of measuring the accomplishments of one’s life. “Accomplishments” in the realm of work and relationships have a way of turning into dust, but perfections of the character, once developed, are dependable and lasting, carrying one over and beyond the vicissitudes of daily living. Thus they deserve to take high priority in the way we plan our lives. These two facts are reflected in the two etymologies offered for the word perfection (parami): They carry one across to the further shore (para); and they are of foremost (parama) importance in formulating the purpose of one’s life.


Free download available:
https://www.accesstoinsight.org/lib/study/perfections.pdf

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Shwedagon Zedi Daw, The Shwedagon Golden Dagon Pagoda, Yangon, Myanmar.

Bhikkhus, there are these five defilements of gold, defiled by which gold is not malleable, wieldy, and luminous, but brittle and not properly fit for work. What five? Iron, copper, tin, lead, and silver. But when gold is freed from these five defilements, it is malleable, wieldy, and luminous, pliant and properly fit for work. Then whatever kind of ornament one wishes to make from it—whether a bracelet, earrings, a necklace, or a golden garland—one can achieve one’s purpose.

“So too, bhikkhus, there are these five defilements of the mind, defiled by which the mind is not malleable, wieldy, and luminous, but brittle and not properly concentrated for the destruction of the taints. What five? Sensual desire, ill will, dullness and drowsiness, restlessness and remorse, and doubt. But when the mind is freed from these five defilements, it becomes malleable, wieldy, and luminous, pliant and properly concentrated for the destruction of the taints.

Partially excerpted from AN 5.23 Upakkilesasutta : Defilements

13. Na antaëikkhe na samuddamajjhe
na pabbatànam vivaram pavissa
Na vijjati so jagatippadeso
yatthaññhitam nappasahetha maccu. 128.

DEATH CANNOT BE OVERCOME

13. Not in the sky, nor in mid-ocean, nor in a mountain cave, is found that place on earth where abiding one will not be overcome by death. 128.

Story

King Suppabuddha, princess Yasodharà's father, being angry with the Buddha for having renounced his daughter started harassing him. The Buddha predicted that Suppabuddha would meet with a tragic death. Suppabuddha tried to avert it, but died as predicted by the Buddha.
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Ajahn Chah, Buddhist teacher of Thai forest meditation of Theravada Buddhism channel:


https://news.1rj.ru/str/ajahnchah_buddhism
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Buddha protected by Serpent dragon Naga King Muccalinda as told in Muccalinda Sutta.

“They adorned the Blessed One’s body with all kinds of ornaments, anointed it with perfumes, and honored it with their bodies—showing respect and reverence. They consecrated the stupa with dances, songs, music, garlands, perfumes, and ointments. After circumambulating the stupa clockwise, they paid homage and departed.”

DN 16: Maha Parinibbana sutta

Big Buddha of Wat Khao Wong Phrachan Buddhist temple, Lopburi, Thailand.

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Modern Truths
By Ekacco Bhikkhu

Modern Truths contains sixteen talks on the Noble Truths plus a talk on how to decide what is and is not a teaching of The Buddha.

The talks were prepared upon the request of devotees at a temple in Penang, Malaysia. All except the talk on the Path-factor Right View and that on the Path-factor Right Intention were also delivered.

Again upon request, all except the talk on the four Noble Truths (‘A Modern Opportunity’, p.1ff), and the one on Right Intention (‘Beauty Is in the Eye of the Blind’ p.263), were published in Penang.

Free download available:

https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B7p0UB1QfBmvbjdQTldzVG9zbEU
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Free Buddha Dharma ebook

Modern Truths
By Ekacco Bhikkhu

Modern Truths contains sixteen talks on the Noble Truths plus a talk on how to decide what is and is not a teaching of The Buddha.

The talks were prepared upon the request of devotees at a temple in Penang, Malaysia. All except the talk on the Path-factor Right View and that on the Path-factor Right Intention were also delivered.

Again upon request, all except the talk on the four Noble Truths (‘A Modern Opportunity’, p.1ff), and the one on Right Intention (‘Beauty Is in the Eye of the Blind’ p.263), were published in Penang.

Free download available:

https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B7p0UB1QfBmvbjdQTldzVG9zbEU
===

Chapter 10

Danda Vagga
The Rod Or Punishment
(Text and Translation by Ven. Nàrada)



1. Sabbe tasanti dandassa
sabbe bhàyanti maccuno
Attànam upamam katvà
na haneyya na ghàtaye. 129.

KILL NOT

1. All tremble at the rod. All fear death. Comparing others with oneself, one should neither strike nor cause to strike. 1 129.

Story

Owing to some provocation, a "band of six monks" assaulted a "band of sixteen monks". The Buddha, hearing of the incident promulgated a rule with regard to violence and uttered this verse.
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Free Buddhism books, teachings, podcasts and videos from Theravada, Mahayana and Vajrayana traditions:

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A Spoiled Child

A Theravada monk imparts timeless wisdom to the parents of a boy who is unable to help himself.
By Ajaan Suchart Abhijato

Part 1 of 2

The following excerpt was taken from a conversation between Than Ajaan Suchart and one of his students.

My suffering is over my son who is grown up already but is still unable to help himself. That’s desire. If you want to improve the situation, you have to look at it logically. See if there’s anything you can do to help. If there’s something you need to do, then do it. If there’s nothing for you to do, then don’t do anything. If helping will make him not help himself, then don’t. He has to learn to be self-reliant: to solve his own problems. If you always solve everything for him, he’ll just throw all his problems on others.

Well, I haven’t suffered over it much as I have my dhamma practice, but my wife is often suffering, asking what will become of her child if she dies. I said that everything must go according to our karma: we each have our own karma. In the end, we all have to die. If he takes refuge in the teachings, he’ll have what he needs to solve all his problems for good. If he rejects Buddhism, he can only plaster over them without solving the root of the problem. As soon as he’s reborn in the next life, he’ll face the same problems again.

All our problems are created by us. They come from our own desires. As soon as we’re not satisfied with this or that, we’re already suffering. And when we’re satisfied with this or that, we’re still suffering because once we’re satisfied, we’re afraid that it will leave us. When it really does leave, we’re suffering again.

Desire creates problems all on its own. Things just are what they are. They come and then they go. They arise and they cease. You’re the instigator: getting pleased with them, then not wanting them to go away. Or becoming displeased with them and then wanting them to go away faster! When they don’t, you get upset. So, calm down. Whatever it is that you don’t like will go away some day soon anyway. And whatever you like will also go away all the same. You have to keep your mind neutral and you’ll be peaceful.

This is why we practice meditation. The way to practice meditation is to center your mind. Let go of everything, but don’t be indifferent. Let go with reason. Be neutral with mindfulness and wisdom. Whatever can be done, we do it, but our hearts harbor no attachment or aversion to them because attachment is one kind of suffering and aversion is another. Attachment is suffering when we’re separated from what we love. Aversion is suffering when what we dislike finds us. But if you’re neutral, not attached or averse, you’ll be fine. If it finds you, you won’t suffer. When it leaves you, you won’t suffer either.

That’s, like, heartless, isn’t it? How so?

To be so indifferent. Don’t be unreasonable. If you have money or things to share with him, you can give him something. You can still help him. But your heart should remain unfazed by whatever situation you have to encounter.

Being annoyed when you lose money and being excited when you get money: is that “big-hearted?” Being neutral means that when you get something, you won’t get excited, and when you lose something, you won’t lose your mind. That’s the point. Because you know that whatever comes must go. You remember that whatever you have now will disappear: if not today then tomorrow.

Let go of everything, but don’t be indifferent. Let go with reason. Be neutral with mindfulness and wisdom.

When you die, who will your things belong to? Can you take them with you? Have you ever thought about that? About the moment when you’ll have to throw everything away? This is why I say it might be good to get cancer and have the doctor give you three months to live: then you’d find it easy to give away everything. You wouldn’t want to accumulate anything. You’d just want to make merit and let everything go.
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Buddha dharma teachings channel:

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1,260 steps staircase to the Tiger Cave Temple, Wat Tham Suea, Krabi, Thailand.

Essential Teachings of Phra Ajahn Suchart Abhijato

A Spoiled Child

A Theravada monk imparts timeless wisdom to the parents of a boy who is unable to help himself.
By Ajaan Suchart Abhijato

Part 2 of 2

This is why the Buddha said that you should think about death often. If you can do it, thinking about death is a wonderful medicine to cure your greed, hatred, and delusion very quickly. If you go to the doctor, and the doctor says you have cancer with just three months to live, you’d see: whatever you have, you’ll want to give it to this or that person. You’ll give it all away, being afraid that as soon as you die, other people might swoop in and take it. So, before you die, giving them away is better. Think about death and all your problems will disappear. But if you can’t do it, it’s better not to try. You might kill yourself or someone else because if you don’t have sufficient calmness, the mind will resist and fight the medicine. As soon as you think about death, you’ll get depressed. You might do something terrible to others or to yourself: for example, thinking that if you have to die eventually, you might as well die now, which is wrong view.

Developing the recollection of death isn’t for the purpose of killing yourself or others, it’s for helping you to let go. It says that sooner or later you have to die, as must your son. You don’t have to do anything extreme. Act pointlessly and you’ll get the karmic consequences for whatever evil actions you take. Instead, have compassion. Whatever you have, you’ll be able to share it with those in need, because you’ll be dead soon and don’t need it. But you need to give reasonably. There’s no need to pour water into a leaky bucket. Don’t give like that. If whatever you give them, they waste on alcohol and gambling and then ask you for more, don’t give to someone like that. Give to someone who knows how to use money wisely, who knows what it’s worth. Giving to someone like this is good. But if however much you give them isn’t enough for them and they come back to you asking for more, you’ll have to give them just the portion that’s his, that you can afford. If that money runs out and he asks for more, you shouldn’t give more. Or, easier, you can just give a little bit at a time. When he comes back and asks for more later, then you can warn him that the money is running low. Let him know how many times he’s asked already and how many more times he has left so that he can prepare himself.

But you also have to practice meditation. Once your mind is calm, it will be happy and can let go of everything. At that point, losing money or anything doesn’t matter any more because you don’t need it. You already have a better happiness than the happiness you get by receiving money. You won’t need to rely on money, except for what’s needed to maintain the body. But you won’t need to buy this or that, go out to eat or drink, because the happiness you have from peace of mind is superior to all that.

So, please: try to practice. You have wonders inside. We are like chickens who have a gem but don’t want it. We just throw it away. We’re only interested in worms and caterpillars. But no matter how many we get, we’re not full. It’s not enough. No matter how much money we make, it’s not enough. No matter how many noscripts, or promotions, or whatever we receive, it’s not enough. We always want something higher, something larger, something better. And when we can’t get it, we get sad or angry, and we suffer. But if you had peacefulness, then you wouldn’t want anything. You wouldn’t be sad. When you get something, you wouldn’t be elated and when you lose it, you wouldn’t be upset. Whatever you get is just a bonus.

Like when you go to the gas station and they give you some promotional freebie: if you get it, you get it. If you don’t it’s no big deal. You only need the gasoline. If your heart has happiness already, then it doesn’t matter what else comes your way. It doesn’t matter what else you lose. So, let’s go find that. It’s ours. It’s true. It’s real. It’s permanent. It has always been with us.

Excerpted from Why Suffer? by Ajaan Suchart Abhijato.
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Ajaan Suchart Abhijato is a Thai forest tradition monk and teacher at Wat Yannasangwararam in Chonburi, Thailand. His books include My Way (2014), Beyond Birth (2021), and the series, Dhamma for the Asking.
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Part 1 of 2:

https://news.1rj.ru/str/lorddivinebuddha/3938


Part 2 of 2:

https://news.1rj.ru/str/wordsofbuddha/4852
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Words of the Buddha channel:

https://news.1rj.ru/str/wordsofbuddha
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2. Sabbe tasanti daudassa
sabbesam jãvitam piyam
Attànam upamam katvà
na haneyya na ghàtaye. 130.

LIFE IS DEAR TO ALL

2. All tremble at the rod. Life is dear to all. Comparing others with oneself, one should neither strike nor cause to strike. 130.

Story

A quarrel arose between a "band of six monks" and a "band of sixteen monks". The latter made threatening gestures. The Buddha spoke on the evil of harming others.

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Buddha dharma teachings channel:

https://news.1rj.ru/str/lorddivinebuddha
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Big Buddha Phuket, Thailand.

Free Buddha Dharma ebook

Beyond Desire & Passion : The Buddha’s Training for Freedom
By Ṭhānissaro Bhikkhu

Free download available:

https://www.dhammatalks.org/Archive/Writings/Ebooks/BeyondDesire&Passion_250119.pdf
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