True Happiness through Inner Happiness

Notes from Meditation Class July 25th  Dhamma talk given by Venerable Heart

1)   There is no happiness like the happiness found through inner peace. Worldly happiness is temporary and hard to satisfy; generally most people always want more. You want an iphone, but then a few months later you want the newest model that comes out. In general worldly happiness is quite temporary and doesn’t last for long, unlike the happiness attain from meditation, which is permanent and grows with consistency in practice

2)      Do not give up or become discouraged in your meditation practice, anything that is worth it in life is generally not easy and there will be obstacles. Make a commitment to practice everyday and each time you will progress. Think about the rewards of being able to have more control of your mind, how great that would be. Everything stems from the quality of the mind and you are able to deal with life’s circumstances much easier with wisdom.

3)      In meditation practice you will know that you are progressing when different sensation occur you may feel your body is expanding, or that your body is getting smaller, or that you are falling. You may feel that your body has completely disappeared and is weightless. Do not be afraid when these different sensation occur just continue to still your mind and your meditation will get deeper and deeper.

4)      Venerable Heart asked the class, “what is your goal in meditation?” For most practitioners it is to learn to calm the mind, to help deal with stress, however for our meditation members who come to our classes regularly they will know that through meditation they gain merit, which is pure energy. Merit attracts good things into your life, in fact as a Buddhist we often say merit is behind all your success, even to the extent that we are born as a human being to meditate. Just wish more people would begin to realize that we are in this world to build virtues and pursue perfection the only way to do this is through meditation. If you start to attend our meditation classes regularly you will learn the reasons why and eventually if you don’t see it now, you will see it as you start to incorporate meditation into your daily life. We had one meditation member, Karl, answer this question, he said originally he came to the meditation center to learn to calm the mind, but now he knows there is a deeper purpose. Then he turned and asked me, “Bee why do you meditate” well I definitely gave an ear full. I told the class I meditate to gain merit, I meditate to gain wisdom and to elevate myself, I meditate because I want to be on the path of pursuing perfections. I am not ready to give-up my worldly life and ordain to become a nun, not this lifetime, but doesn’t mean I can’t start building my goal in that direction. I went onto explain the reason why Buddhist laypeople give Venerable so much respect, because they have renounced all worldly possession for a life of upholding 227 precepts, meditation, and teaching dhamma, which means seeing the world as it really is. How fortunate we are to have a true powerhouse of peace and wisdom to learn from :)

5)   Venerable Hart mentioned that when your mind is at a standstill you will see brightness; this is the very beginning stage. The Venerable’s advice stay with the stillness within the stillness and maintain your mind at the center of your body. As you meditate you will advance to the different absorption levels within, which is your transcendental body. That you will see through your meditation. That is his goal in meditation.

6)   Question from the class. When sitting in the lotus position for long duration of time isn’t that bad for your health? Venerable’s answer there are monks in Thailand who meditate for 2-3 days straight without moving their body and they are fine. Sure you can sit the wrong way, and close off a nerve, but if you sit in the lotus position with the right technique your circulation will flow and you won’t ever have any issues. I have never heard of any health issues from sitting in the lotus position at hours on end. 

Meditation Class Photos July 25, 2012
Join us every Wednesday from 7-8:30pm at the Georgia Meditation Center 
Alms Offering Service every Sunday please visit our website for schedule
www.meditationcircle.org

Precepts and Meditation

Precepts and Meditation

Georgia Dhammakaya Meditation Center

Wednesday Meditation Class July 16, 2012

Meditation members are often reminded of the three ways to cultivate merit through meditation, generosity, and keeping the precepts. Merit is positive energy and is the product of good deeds. These three forms of practice help with your progression in meditation. If one truly wants to progress in meditation you must align your body, speech, and mind towards that goal. Meditation combats delusion and through meditation wisdom develops. Generosity combats greed which teaches one to let go. Upholding the precepts of moral conducts; are ideal rules of training which we try to train ourselves until we can keep them perfectly. As lay people the basic precepts consists of 5, which are to refrain from taking the life of another, refrain from taking that which is not given, refrain from sexual misconduct, refrain from false and harmful speech, and refrain from consuming intoxicating drink and drugs which lead to carelessness. Part of the rules of training is to increase your level of awareness in the things we say and do. Precepts are the things that we say and do, once it is internalize and practiced mindfully the effect runs deep and slowly becomes habit; thus you will start to change how you see and think of the world, which changes the quality of your mind. It is actually purifying the quality of your mind directly. Join us every Wednesday at the Georgia Meditation Center where we come together once a week to meditate; and on Sunday for Sunday Service where we come together to meditate, take a vow to uphold the 5 precepts, and perform act of generosity by alms giving to our Monks which uphold 227 precepts, please visit our webpage www.meditationcircle.org for more detial. *Please note this has been a summary of Venerable Nicholas Dhamma talk of the Dhammakaya International Foundation. I hope that you will find wisdom in his teaching and practice purifying your body, speech, and mind to further accumulate virtues in this lifetime, which is why we are here on this earth. When you truly see this you will want to spread inner happiness to all and that is why we are so fortunate to be connected to a powerhouse of peace and virtue, the Dhammakaya foundation, www.dhammakaya.net note there are several programs for all to come and learn about meditation and help to spread it throughout the world.

If you missed class this past Wednesday please be sure to watch this video of Venerable Nicholas on the different ways of accumulating merit  click on this link to view the dhamma talk

Let's try to dedicate to meditate everyday and continue to pursue perfections!

~GMC

Dhammakaya Buddhist Rose Ceremony 2012

January 9, 2012 — .

Let’s open the 2012’s calendar with something different from typical celebration! What about the idea of rose? Universally, rose symbolizes love. Universal love is limitless. Limitless love can be love given to the religion and to all beings which it’s called loving kindness. If we could love all beings, our path of life would be paved by roses. So lets create a rose way to make a new rose year in 2012. At every special occasion, people are looking for special things to celebrate. Look at the beauty of roses, let the floral freshness quench our mind to be clean and beautiful, not allow it tainted by any old unwholesome memories in this auspicious season. Rip the rose petals and keep them fresh to add more auspiciousness. 1127 Buddhist monks will walk on pilgrim on a length of 365 kilometer to bless people on this worldly greetings season. The entire 365 k route will be scattered by multicolored rose petals to unbrokenly pave the rose way for the righteous pilgrim monks to walk on. The event indicates that the 365 days of the New Year, the participants’ life will fill with happiness and success without difficulty. Thousands of people and school students take part in this joyous and sacred activity.

At the same time, the act of pilgrimage is one of the 13 Dhutanga practices of the Taravatta Buddhist monks. In the Buddhist society, after the Rains Retreat, monks are offered the Kathina Robe before they are preparing for Dhautanga. In the old days, this austere practice was emphasizing on the journey within the secluded forests. In modern days, the practice has been adjusted. The 1,127 monks will walk pass through 6 recently inundated provinces around the central part of Thailand. Their performance intends to nurture the wrecked mind of the flood disaster with the power of their loving kindness. The purity power of their cultivated mind serves as a big spiritual cleaning to all. The pilgrim route covers the provinces of Ayuthaya, Pathum Thani, Nonthaburi, Nakornpathom, Supanburi and Bangkok. Yet, it contains another essence related to the Great Meditation Teacher of Vijja Dhammakaya named Phra Mongkolthepmuni. The designed route tracks back his life history. This noble journey commenced on 2nd of January and will last till 25th of the month – a total of 24 consecutive days. The starting point is Dhammakaya Temple in Pathum Thani Province.

Everyone is invited to participate and witness this spectacular scene and to give the chance to be blessed. This ‘Rose Way’ exhibits a great lesson that hope still exists as long as we still can breathe. After the event we may be more aware of the benefit of keeping ourselves expose as many as possible to wholesome environment amid life’s adversity. We will be able to find happiness in any situation and transform miseries into bliss. Our mind will regain its equilibrium, vigilance and the ability to handle things with fright-free manner. Then the ‘Rose Way’ will truly pave the ‘Rose Year’ ahead for us. - Elsbeth Maurer, Zurich/Bangkok

Topic in class: Living Beings in this World

In Class on Nov 30th we had a discussion on the following:

• The Buddhist Scriptures mention the word “living beings” very often. According to the Lord Buddha, living beings imply those that are still attached to the 5 Aggregates, which include, corporeality (identifying to self), feeling, perception, mental formation, and consciousness. 
•  Living beings possess a body and a consciousness and include human beings, celestial beings, Brahma beings, Mara beings, Petas, Asurakayas, animals, and hell beings. 
• All these beings are grouped together as living beings of the world.

This was only one slide and took up about 30 minutes clearly a fascinating subject for us in class. We had a wonderful discussion about Buddhist concepts on this slide that help us all realize how very little we could know. Though these concepts were foreign to many of our meditation members, most people were open to learning and not ruling out the possibility. We talked about living beings as defined in Buddhism and what that means exactly, this wasn't just pertaining to human beings but all forms of living beings including heaven and hell beings. Further explored by explaining that our human realm contains another realm that we can see which is coexisting with us, the animal realm. However we do not have the refined eye to see heaven and hell realms, but they too exist and are further broken up and subdivided accordingly. Most people believe in heaven and hell, however for many of us we believe heaven is a place that "all good people" transition to after leaving their existence and it is the same place for everyone, same idea with hell "all bad people" go to t his place call hell and it is the same form of punishment for all. However as I began to study Buddhism more and use my own rationale thought it started to make sense to me that there are different levels of both heaven and hell why not?! After all Buddha's teaching comes from what he learned through meditation, further more other meditation master's confirm the different levels as well (please note this is buddhist cosomology which we'll be touching on as well in future classes) I am not saying I believe them 100% but I am saying I see the possibility of this and through higher meditative states other meditation masters confirm the same thing that there are different levels of heaven and of hell depending on one's own merit performed (good/bad) during one's life, we reap what we sow. If I ever get to higher meditation through my own practice , I could see for myself. All I asked though from class was let's just rethink what we think we know, and be open to the possibility that we actually don't and maybe Buddha who's teachings are still solid today actually has given us a spiritual guide to follow, the ultimate foundation of learning the reality of existence. That was the main topic that we explored in class, that there does exist other realms that we just cannot see and these realms also have other beings in them that define their individual realms. Think about it? In our human realm alone we have all sorts of nationalities just as human beings, and the animal realm we can not even touch on all the species, animals, insects, different classes that exist in our own realm, let alone that we can actually see. So lets just be open to the possibility that other realms, that we cannot see, also have their own classifications of beings within them....maddness huh? Not really after-all the world is full of unknowns, so why not?! To me it makes all the sense in the world :P

GMC Merit Drive 2011

World Peace Needs Your Helping Hand. Let’s Make It Happen!!!!

The Georgia Meditation team is collecting donations for the Global Peace Generator Building; this building will be an International Buddhist center for the whole world where people from all nations can come together to one place to study world peace in their language. This Merit Drive ends on November 6, 2011 if you would like more information on the Global Peace Generator Building and would like to contribute and gain merit with us please make a donation on our paypal link found on our website www.meditationcircle.org

We are also taking donations to help with the flooding relief efforts for Thailand's worst flood of the century. Our Dhammakaya foundation has been providing aids to over 100,000 households in 23 provinces. They are running out of supplies and are reaching out for donation. If you would like to help with this relief effort you can make your donation on our website www.meditationcircle.org or directly to the Dhammakaya foundation on the link below - a press release of this recent devastation to hit Thailand.

Dhammakaya Foundation Relief Fund

Worldly Knowledge

Worldy Knowledge
Life and Message of the Buddha

Worldly knowledge can never help one to lead a pure religious life that leads to peace and emancipation.

WORLDLY knowledge is useful for worldly ends. With such knowledge, mankind learns how to use the earth’s resources to improve the standard of living, grow more food, generate power to run factories and to light up streets and houses, manage factories and businesses, cure sickness, build flats and bridges, cook exotic dishes, and so on. Worldly knowledge can also be used for harmful purposes such as building missiles with nuclear warheads, manipulating the stock market, cheating ‘legally’, and inflaming political anxiety and hatred. Despite the rapid expansion of worldly knowledge, especially in the twenty-first century, mankind has been brought no nearer to the solution to human problems and eradicating pervasive unsatisfactoriness. In all likelihood, it never will solve human beings’ universal problems and bring peace and happiness because of the premises on which such knowledge, discoveries and inventions are built.

While Buddhism can bring greater understanding on how to lead a good worldly life, its main focus is how to gain liberation through the development of wisdom, mental culture and purity. For ordinary human beings, there is no end to the search for worldly knowledge, which in the final analysis does not really matter. For as long as we are ignorant about the Dharma, we will forever be trapped in Samsara, the repeated cycle of birth and death.

According to the Buddha:
‘For a long time, Brothers, have you suffered the death of a mother; for a long time, the death of a father; for a long time, the death of a son; for a long time, the death of a daughter; for a long time, the death of brothers and sisters; for a long time have you undergone the loss of your goods; for a long time have you been afflicted with disease. And because you have experienced the death of a mother, the death of a father, the death of a son, the death of a daughter, the death of brothers and sisters, the loss of goods, the pangs of disease, company of the undesired, you have truly shed more tears upon this long way—hastening from birth to death, from death to birth—than all the waters that are held in the four great seas.’
(ANGUTTARA NIKAYA)

Here the Buddha was describing the Suffering of continuous births and deaths in the world. He wanted to show people the Way out of all these Sufferings.

Why did the Buddha speak in this manner to His disciples? And why did He not make an attempt to solve the problems as to whether the world is eternal or not, whether it is finite or not? Such problems might be exciting and stimulating to those who have the curiosity. But in no way would the answers to these problems help a person to overcome Suffering. That is why He ignored questions like these because they were futile and the knowledge about such things would not contribute to one’s spiritual wellbeing.

The Buddha knew that to speak on things which were of no practical value and beyond the power of comprehension, was a waste of time and energy. He foresaw that to advance hypotheses about such things only served to divert thoughts from their proper channel and hinder spiritual development.

Worldly knowledge and scientific research should be complemented and balanced with religious and spiritual values. Otherwise such worldly knowledge does not in any way contribute to one’s progress in leading a pure, religious life. Human beings have come to the stage where their minds fed by the instruments and fruits of technological advancements, have become obsessed with egoism, craving for power, and greed for material wealth. Without religious values, worldly knowledge and technological advancement can lead to their downfall and destruction. These will only inflame their greed which will take on new and terrifying dimensions.On the
other hand, when worldly knowledge is harnessed for moral ends, it can bring maximum benefit and happiness for humanity.

~Venerable Dhammanada on What Buddhist Believe

Accumulating good deeds!

This week I have been helping Surin Jung, one of our dhamma teacher in our weekly meditation classes edit teachings by our Master Nun Khun Yai. Khun Yai helped to establish the Dhammakaya center without her hard work and dedication to promoting peace, our Dhammakaya foundation would not be as grand as it is today with representation all around the world. I have copied and paste a few of her teachings which I feel are quite profound. This is a compilation of her many dhamma teachings, that Surin has translated from Thai into English. Her words of wisdom are encouraging and helpful for those on the track to include meditation and performing goods deed in their daily lives. I hope you find this as inspiring as I have.

Don't Wait
We don't know when our final day will come

Days and nights pass us by quickly. With each sunset our life becomes one day shorter. Capitalize on each day that you are still alive, by accumulating as much merit as you can. In times of trouble, reflect on your merit. Know how to build up merit and maintain it. Use your merit wisely as you would with money.
-January 11, 1991


Meditation is Essential
The practice of meditation is the most important thing in life, and attaining Dhamma is our ultimate life goal. Even as you walk, drive, or perform other everyday tasks, you need to contemplate on Dhamma at all times. Before I attained the Dhamma I meditated diligently until my mind could leave the physical body, sinking deeper and deeper into meditation until it finally disengaged from my physical surroundings completely and becoming purified and powerful with knowledge.

I was able to progress because I was determined to do so. Meditation is the most important thing in life. If we do not seek happiness in this lifetime, then we will not find it even in the next life. Resolve to find happiness in this life!
-May 10, 1992


One Drop at a Time Fills Up a Jar
Together, each tiny drop of water can fill up a big jar. Likewise, each act of good deed, can fill up your “jar” of virtue. But with no good deed done at all, your “jar” of virtue is empty.

Never be lazy or preoccupied with what others are doing. In the end your fate will be determined by no one else but yourself. So fight as hard as you can! The more merit you make, the more you gain; and the less you make, the less you receive. Take every new day as a new opportunity to make merit.
-January 12, 1975

With Merit, You Will Succeed In Everything
My biggest fear in life is that I will not make enough merit. With large merit behind you, anything you wish can be attained and all you touch will become successful. No one can obstruct you if you have merit to support you with. Having a good base of merit is a great blessing indeed.
-August 31, 1976

Succeed Through Merit
Whatever you set out to do, keep merit in mind. If you possess merit, merit will help you succeed in the things that you do. Merit is your refuge. Center your mind in it and everything will fall in place.
-April 4, 1981

Relinquish All Else
Merely mediating and reciting the mantra “samma araham” will create merit. It’s not easy to attain Dhammakaya when the mind wants to dart here and there around the entire world. We have to rein the mind back to the center of our body, two fingers’ breadth above the navel. Then relinquish everything else. When the mind comes to a standstill, it will glow brightly. Keep the mind steady and think of the bright image at the center.
-(no date)