1. THE FIRST REALIZATION is the awareness that the world is impermanent. All political regimes are subject to fall; all things composed of the four elements (1) are empty and contain the seeds of suffering. Human beings are composed of five skandhas, aggregates, (2) and are without a separate self. They are always in the process of change–constantly being born and constantly dying. They are empty of self, without sovereignty. The mind is the source of all confusion, and the body is the forest of all impure actions. If we meditate on these facts, we can gradually be released from samsara, the round of birth and death.
2. THE SECOND REALIZATION is the awareness that more desire brings more suffering. All hardships in daily life arise from greed and desire. Those with little desire and ambition can relax, their bodies and minds free from entanglement.
3. THE THIRD REALIZATION is that the human mind is always searching for possessions and never feels fulfilled. This causes impure actions to ever increase. Bodhisattvas however, always remember the principle of having few desires. They live a simple life in peace in order to practice the Way, and consider the realization of perfect understanding as their only career.
4. THE FOURTH REALIZATION is the awareness that laziness is the cause of all setbacks. For this reason, we must practice diligently- destroying the unwholesome mental factors, which bind us, conquering the four kinds of Mara, (3) and freeing ourselves from the prisons of the five aggregates and the three worlds. (4)
5. THE FIFTH REALIZATION is the awareness that ignorance is the cause of the endless round of birth and death. Therefore, bodhisattvas always remember to listen and learn in order to develop their understanding and eloquence. This enables them to educate living beings and bring them to the realm of great joy.
6. THE SIXTH REALIZATION is the awareness that poverty creates more hatred and anger, which in turn creates more evil. When practicing generosity, bodhisattvas consider everyone, friends, and enemies alike, as equal. They do not condemn anyone’s past wrongdoings, nor do they hate even those who are presently doing evil.
7. THE SEVENTH REALIZATION is that the five categories of desire all lead to difficulties. Although we are in the world, we should try not to be caught up in worldly matters. A monk, for example, has in his possession only three robes and one bowl. He lives simply in order to practice the Way. His precepts keep him above attachment to worldly things, and he treats everyone equally and with compassion.
8. THE EIGHTH REALIZATION is the awareness that the fire of birth and death is raging, causing endless suffering everywhere. We should take the Great Vow to help everyone, to suffer along with everyone, and to help all beings arrive at the realm of great joy.

These eight realizations are the discoveries of great beings, Buddhas and Bodhisattvas who have diligently practiced the way of compassion and understanding. They have sailed the Dharmakaya (6) boat to the shore of nirvana, (7) But then they return to the ordinary world, having abandoned the five desires, with their minds and hearts directed toward the noble way, using these eight realizations to help all beings recognize the suffering in this world. If the disciples of the Buddha recite these eight realizations and meditate on them, they will put an end to countless misunderstandings and difficulties moment after moment and progress toward enlightenment, leaving behind the world of birth and death, dwelling forever in peace.

OK. That’s Gautama’s best shot at warning us about the pitfalls that obstruct spiritual life and realization but…do you believe him?

Read more sutras here…

The post Eight Realizations Sutra appeared first on Thai Retirement Helpers: Retiring in Thailand Made Easy.

The Lankavatara Sutra is one of the greatest sutras of the Buddhist canon and is beloved throughout Thailand. It deals with discrimination – vivek, in sanskrit – the capacity to tell the difference between conditional and unconditional reality, Here’s an excerpt:

As you review the world with your perfect intelligence and compassion, it must seem to you like an ethereal flower of which one cannot say: it is born, it is destroyed, for the terms beings and non-being do not apply to it.

As you review the world with your perfect intelligence and compassion, it must seem to you like a dream of which it cannot be said: it is permanent or it is destructible, for the being and non-being do not apply to it.

As you review all things by your perfect intelligence and compassion, they must seem to you like visions beyond the reach of the human mind, as being and non-being do not apply to them.

With your perfect intelligence and compassion, which are beyond all limit, you comprehend the ego-less-ness of things and persons, and are free and clear from the hindrances of passion and learning and egoism.

You do not vanish into Nirvana, nor does Nirvana abide in you, for Nirvana transcends all duality of knowing and known, of being and non-being.

Those who see thee thus, serene and beyond conception, will be emancipated from attachment, will be cleansed of all defilements, both in this world and in the spiritual world beyond.

In this world whose nature is like a dream, there is place for praise and blame, but in the ultimate Reality of Dharmakaya, which is far beyond the senses and the discriminating mind, what is there to praise? O you who are most Wise!

Then said Mahamati the Bodhisattva-Mahasattva: O blessed One, Sugata, Arhat and Fully-Enlightened One, pray tell us about the realization of Noble Wisdom which is beyond the path and usage of philosophers; which is devoid of all predicates such as being and non-being, oneness and otherness, both-ness and non-both-ness, existence and non-existence, eternity and non-eternity; which has nothing to do with individuality and generality, nor false-imagination, nor any illusions arising from the mind itself; but which manifests itself as the Truth of Highest Reality. By which, going up continuously by the stages of purification, one enters at last upon the stage of Tathágata-hood, whereby, by the power of his original vows unattended by any striving, one will radiate its influence to infinite worlds, like a gem reflecting its variegated colors, whereby I and other Bodhisattvas-Mahasattvas will be enabled to bring all beings to the same perfection of virtue.

Said the Blessed One: Well done, well done, Mahamati! And again, well done, indeed! It is because of your compassion for the world; because of the benefit it will bring upon many people both human kind and celestial, that you have presented yourself before us to make this request. Therefore, Mahamati, listen well and truly reflect upon what I shall say, for I will instruct you.

Then Mahamati and the other Bodhisattva-Mahasattvas gave devout attention to the teaching of the Blessed One.

Mahamati, since the ignorant and simple-minded, not knowing that the world is only something seen of the mind itself, cling to the multitudinous-ness of external objects, cling to the notions of beings and non-being, oneness and otherness, both-ness and non-both-ness, existence and non-existence eternity and non-eternity, and think that they have a self-nature of their own, and all of which rises from the discriminations of the mind and is perpetuated by habit-energy, and from which they are given over to false imagination. It is all like a mirage in which springs of water are seen as if they were real. They are imagined by animals who, made thirsty by the heat of the season, run after them. Animals not knowing that the springs are merely hallucinations of their own minds, do not realize that there are no such springs. In the same way, Mahamati, the ignorant and simple-minded, their minds burning with the fires of greed, anger and folly, finding delight in a world of multitudinous forms, their thoughts obsessed with ideas of birth, growth and destruction, not well understanding what is meant by existence and non-existence, and being impressed by erroneous discriminations and speculations since beginning-less time, fall into the habit of grasping this and that and thereby becoming attached to them. Read the whole sutra here…

Here’s a video discussion of it:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9225-jtdm94

The post Lankavatara Sutra appeared first on Thai Retirement Helpers: Retiring in Thailand Made Easy.

Creating a form, thousand-armed, each with a weapon,
Mara on the elephant Grimekhala roared frightfully with his soldiers.
The Lord of Munis conquered him by means of Dhamma-giving and so-on:
By the power of this may you be of wholesome victories.

More than Mara making war all night
Was the frighfulness of Alavaka the yakkha, impatient and arrogant.
The Lord of Munis conquered him by means of well-taming with patience:
By the power of this may you be of wholesome victories.

The noble elephant Nalagiri became quite mad,
Very cruel, like a forest fire, wheel-weapon or a thunderbolt.
The Lord of Munis conquered him by means of sprinkling the water of loving-kindness:
By the power of this may you be of wholesome victories.

Very cruel, with a sword upraised in his expert hand,
Running three leagues along the path he was, Garlanded-with-fingers.
The Lord of Munis conquered him with a mind performing marvels:
By the power of this may you be of wholesome victories.

Having made her belly like a pregnant woman (by tying on) a piece of wood
Cinca spoke lewdly in the midst of the people.
The Lord of Munis conquered her by fair and peaceful means:
By the power of this may you be of wholesome victories.

Saccaka, whose speech habitually departed from the truth,
Raised up, like a flag, his theory with a mind become completely blind.
The Lord of Munis conquered him by wisdom’s shing lamp:
By the power of this may you be of wholesome victories.

Nandopananda the serpent of wrong understanding but great power,
The (Buddha’s) son, the Elder (Moggallana) serpent-like set out to tame.
The Lord of Munis conquered him by means of a demonstration of power:
By the power of this may you be of wholesome victories.

Like a serpent well coiled about the arms were the wrongly grasped views
Of the Brahma-god named Baka of pure light and power
The Lord of Munis conquered him by means of the medicine of knowledge
By the power of this may you be of wholesome victories.

These are the eight verses of the Buddha’s wholesome victories.
Which should be chanted and recollected every day without laziness
(So that) being rid of the many kinds of obstacles
The man of wisdom can attain Liberation and happiness.

– Translation by Ven. Khantipalo

And here’s a video of Thai monks chanting The Buddha’s Wholesome Victories:

Some reading about Thai monks chanting The Buddha’s Wholesome Victories

• Learning Pujas from Gen-la | Tsem Rinpoche – And Tibetans, and have you seen the Thai monks chant? Oh, wow, when they start chanting and they pass down that cord to bless you, it’s like wrap me around twice, I love it! Have you seen the Japanese monks chant?
• Wesak a day to reflect on the teachings of Buddha – Health … – Thai Monks Chant New Home Blessing 1 of 2 in USA. Buddhist Theravada Thai monks from Wat Washington Buddhavanaram chant Pali blessings in recently rented house. From left to right they are: Ajahn Padet, Ajahn …
• Theravada Buddhism (TB): Imee Ooi – The Chant of metta ( Lyrics … – May (6). Buddha Puja · Thai Monks Chant 2 · Thai Monks Chant · Is Nibbana Guaranteed? The Dhammacakkappavattana Sutta [Part one] · Imee Ooi – The Chant of metta ( Lyrics: Pali & Eng… ▻ 2010 (4). ▻ December (1).
• Could Luis Suarez be Arsene Wenger’s Cantona … – Present a wisp of fairy spirit?The fairy spirit is really extremely precious, common of Ning palace monk, which afraid is a core pupil to want to acquire 1 wisp, all through his entire life don’t necessarily have this opportunity. …… Strong suits are regional Chinese, Japanese, Korean and Vietnamese, but don’t stop there – Las Vegas is jam-packed with Thai restaurants, many of them better than you might be used to back home, unless home is, say, Thailand. Procedure is …

The post Thai Monks Chant The Buddha’s Wholesome Victories appeared first on Thai Retirement Helpers: Retiring in Thailand Made Easy.