Dhamma April 10th Wed Meditation Class – There will always be obstacles in life

Happy Birthday to My Hero!

Our Dhamma talk yesterday in Meditation Class April 10th centered on a case that recently happen to a virtuous peace leader. 

April 7

Dharma – There will always be obstacles in life

This past Sunday (April 7) at Alms Offering Service, for the Dhamma portion, Venerable Na Long spoke about a lady at our center who has been coming to the center every day, and has never missed Alms Offering. However today, her seat is empty. The Venerable went on speaking about this lady’s situation and the wisdom that we can gain. The Venerable stated that there will be challenges and obstacles in life, but we must always stay the course and use the accumulation of merit as your refuge.

•   I was asked by a lay devotee to write about this ladies incident since there is wisdom that one can learn from her situation.
•   I will share this story with you now

There is a member at the temple that started coming since the inception of the Georgia Meditation Center in 1998. She never missed an Alms Offering Service held every Sunday and always is in attendance for all ceremonies. She is very involved at the center always helping to motivate others to accumulate good deeds, and has introduced many to join the center and attend service. She conducts her life accordingly to the teaching of the center with daily practice of meditation, upholding the 5 precepts, and acts of generosity. She truly is an inspiration for others and is a true virtuous peace leader. She has proven time and time again, by her actions and service to the center how dedicated and genuine she really is.

Recently, an unfortunate situation occurred, a situation that is very scary. Her house was broken into, two men, who had their face covered, both carrying a gun, barged through the front door of her home. They kicked the door down, and within minutes they were inside the house. Her son was in the living room, next to the front door, being broken into. When he saw the robbers, he got up, only to get hit on the head with the gun. He fell on the ground, and blanked out for a few seconds. His mother, the dedicated lay women at our center, saw her son getting attacked. All she could think about was her son getting hurt, and how she had to protect him. She saw the two robbers come in with the gun and was afraid that they would hurt her son even more, she ran towards them trying to chase them out of the house. The robbers, evil minded individuals, started to beat her up with their guns. Blood splashing on the walls, and over the floor, the lady screaming profusely. While all this is happening her son, quickly gets up and runs towards the door. As he is making his way to the door he slips, he struggles to run, he hears a click and realizes that either he will make it out the door or he will be dead. He fights to makes it out. The robbers are scared and they panic. They realize he is going to get help, the robbers quickly leave the house. Soon I get a call, that my mother is in the hospital, that my mom’s house has been robbed, and that my mother’s face is battered. I totally freak out and am doing my best to hold myself together. I have never been involved in anything like this in my life. All I could wish for is merit not to fail my family now, wishing that for any situation that might be heavy to be light instead, and for my mom to ultimately be fine. I am so relieved to say my mother will be fine, and her scars will heal. My mother has proven that she is not only a warrior with the ultimate love for her child, but she is also a soldier of goodness. She is my hero, and my captain, who has guided me to be who I am today, a lover of doing good for the world, a soldier for peace.

After this incident, the very next day (4/6) my mother asked for us to go to the temple to accumulate more good deeds for our family. She reminded us (myself and my brothers) that when it comes to relaying on anything we must rely on our good deeds to get us through, and that she knows she is protected, because of all the good she has done thus far. Always making a wish that her children are protected and safe. Even the day she was getting hit all she could think of was for them not to hurt her son, but to hurt her instead. For my family, though this unfortunate incident has occurred, we look at it with a positive mind that nothing life threatening happen to mom and that she will be ok, but more importantly what we found out later was a shocker. When Timmy, my youngest brother slipped, the robber cocked his gun to fire at him, the bullet fell to the ground. Turns out the robber already had a bullet in the chamber, but didn’t know it, so when he cocked his gun, the bullet fell out of the chamber, thus when he tried to shoot my little brother, he wasn’t able to. We are truly blessed. I can’t help but feel that her wishes for her children to be safe and protected are powerful wishes that came true. My mother is a great example of perseverance of accumulating good deeds and believing in merit no matter what. That though such challenges come in our life we will not back down, and wonder why our goodness did not protect us. When it comes to Karma we just never know what consequence will bear its fruit, all we can wish for, if unfortunate situations are to occur due to remnants of Karma, let them be light, not heavy circumstances. We have confident and faith in the good deeds that we accumulate and our goodness and virtues will always protect us. And even if it doesn’t, we will realize that sometimes some things are just meant to be and we have no control. And that my friends is Karma. Believe in Merit, Believe in doing good and recall on them to protect you.

Today is my mother’s birthday and to celebrate her birthday she made an offering to the Venerable. I wanted to share her story with you in hopes that it may help inspire you to accumulate good deeds for yourself by meditating, upholding precepts, and acts of generosity, her story is one that we can learn something from. Those of you who know my mom, know how dedicated she is in accumulating good deeds.  Instead of buying her a present, she asked each of her children (me, Nat, and Timmy) to share in making a birthday offering with her, she wanted no material object, but rather wanted to make merit. Since monks meditate 4-6 hours a day, and uphold 227 precepts, for us, we believe they are our fertile fields of merit. Thus, just like a seed that is to be planted, we should be selective with the type of soil we plant the seed in, the more fertile the soil the better the yield. Likewise, the more purified a person is, an act of good deed towards that person, accumulates a high return of merit accordingly.  Merit and Demerit are behind all things, accumulate only good deeds, and protect yourself. Believe in merit. It is real!

*Please note I read aloud what I had written for my mother on her birthday (yesterday). She was very touched by this story and felt that if her story could be an inspiration for others to accumulate good deeds she wants me to share it with as many people as possible. I hope she can be an inspiration for you, she is definitely an inspiration for me. At the end of our meditation class yesterday, our Venerable Na Long reminded us how important it is for us to have gratitude for our parents, love and take-care of them. That many parents, love their children to put-their-life-on-the-line.

A photo of my family performing merit offering together:

Wed Meditation Class Dhamma Talk April 6th

Dhamma (Wisdom) Discussion after Meditation Session

with Venerable Na Long Dhammakaya

Which things do Buddhists do differently to those of other religions?

Answer by: Venerable Nicolas Thanissaro

Buddhism is a very old and diverse religion. Thus, there have been many attempts to summarize the features which Buddhists have in common and hence how these differ from those of other religions. The most famous of these are Colonel Henry Olcott's fourteen points: Buddhists are taught to show the same tolerance, forbearance, and brotherly love to all men (people, ed.), without distinction and an unswerving kindness to the members of the animal kingdom.

The universe was evolved, not created; and it functions according to law, not according to the caprice of any god.

The truths upon which Buddhism is founded are natural. They have, we believe, been taught in successive kalpas, world periods, by certain Illuminated beings called Buddhas, the word Buddha meaning enlightened.

The fourth Teacher in the present kalpa (aeon) was Sakyamuni or Gautama Buddha, who was born in a royal family of India about 2,500 years ago. He is an historical personage and his name was Siddhartha Gautama.

Sakyamuni taught that ignorance produces desire (craving unsatisfied desire is the cause of rebirth, and rebirth the cause of sorrow). To get rid of sorrow, therefore, it is necessary to escape rebirth; to escape rebirth, it is necessary to extinguish desire; and to extinguish desire, it is necessary to destroy ignorance.

Ignorance fosters the belief that rebirth is a necessary thing. When ignorance is destroyed, the worthlessness of every such rebirth, considered as an end in itself, is perceived, as well as the paramount need of adopting a course of life by which the necessity for such repeated rebirth can be abolished. Ignorance also begets the illusive and illogical idea that there is only one existence for man (humankind), and the other illusion that this one life is followed by states of unchangeable pleasure or torment.

The dispersion of all this ignorance can be attained by the persevering practice of an all-embracing altruism in conduct, development of intelligence, wisdom in thought, and destruction of desire for the lower personal pleasures.

The desire to live being the cause of rebirth, when that is extinguished, rebirths cease, and the perfected individual attains by meditation that highest state of peace called Nirvana.

Sakyamuni taught that ignorance can be dispelled and sorrow removed by the knowledge of the four Noble Truths, i.e. the miseries of existence the cause productive of misery, which is the desire (craving, ed.), ever renewed, of satisfying oneself, without ever being able to secure that end the destruction of that desire or the estranging of oneself from it.

The means of obtaining this destruction of desire. The means which he pointed out is called the Noble Eightfold Path: i.e.: Right Belief, Right Thought, Right Speech, Right Action, Right Means of Livelihood, Right Exertion, Right Remembrance, Right Meditation. Right meditation leads to spiritual enlightenment, or the development of that Buddha like faculty which is latent in every man, The essence of Buddhism, as summed up by the Tathagata (Buddha) himself, is " 'to cease from all sin, to get all virtue, to purify the heart'.

The universe is subject to a natural causation known as karma. The merits and demerits of a being in past experiences determine his condition in the present one. Each man (person, ed.), therefore, has prepared the causes of the effects which he now experiences.

The obstacles to the attainment of good karma may be removed by the observance of the following precepts, which are embraced in the moral code of Buddhism: i.e.: (1) kill not; (2) steal not; (3) indulge in no forbidden sexual pleasure; (4) Lie not (5) take no intoxicating or stupefying drug or liquor.

Five other precepts which need not here be enumerated should be observed by bhikkhus and all those who would attain, more quickly than the average layman the release from misery and rebirth. Buddhism discourages superstitious credulity. Gautama Buddha taught it to be the duty of a parent to have his child educated In science and literature.

He also taught that no one should believe what is spoken by any sage, written in any book, or affirmed by tradition, unless it accords with reason, If I were a school student, I would be focusing on points 1. (no violence is allowed even in the name of one's religion), 2. (no creator god is needed to account for existence) and 9, (salvation is achievable by a man's own efforts in meditation).

April 6th Pix

Wed Meditation Class ~Feb 6, 2013

Dhamma (Wisdom) Talk

Wednesday Feb 6 Meditation Class

GOODNESS – Venerable Na Long’s Dhamma (Wisdom) Talk last night.

What is goodness? Goodness is good deed. Good deeds are through:- thinking, speaking, and acting. When we do good deeds, such as learning to still the mind through meditation, performing acts of generosity, or good moral conduct, we gain merit for ourselves. Merit is pure power. Merit is delicious food for the mind. When we perform merit we will feel calm, joy, bright, and happy. We will feel generous, compassionate, and grateful. When we get used to performing good deeds, it will transform into good habits.

A Person with good habits is a person of the people, a super person; a super man! People will share, support, protect and sacrifice for a good person. Everyone will love you because of your goodness, and will respect your words. You will be a good representation for society. This is the character of a great person, live humble but do high. Notably, good or bad person can be rich. But good person is rich with happiness that is permanent.

Good deeds which is merit is similar to pure water. Bad deed, demerit is similar to salt. When you do bad deed, you put salt into pure water which is unsuitable for drinking. You are useless man. People need pure water/good person. In conclusion, you do good, you get good. You get what you give. This is the universal law of life.

 Blessing You ~ Venerable Na Long

Meditation Group Pix Feb 6

2 Day Meditation Retreat with Venerable Nicholas Thannissaro March 9th and 10th at the Georgia Meditation Center

World Peace Starts with YOU!


The Georgia Meditation Center will be hosting a 2 day retreat with Venerable Nicholas on March 9th and March 10th, 2013! Join us for one day or both! This retreat introduces meditation skills and their application in working constructively with negative emotions including anger, obsession, delusion, stinginess, arrogance, dissatisfaction and blindness to virtue. Venerable Nicholas Thanissaro MA, BSc., PGCE is a Buddhist monk of UK origin. He has been a monk for fourteen years and has over twenty years of meditation experience. He has been giving popular mediation courses in Europe since 1997 and has several TV guest spots, audio CD's, books, book translations and academic articles to his name.

Creating Peace for the World starts with YOU!

World peace can become a reality only when everyone finds peace within himself or herself, which is inner peace. Each person can experience inner peace when his or her mind is cleared of all thoughts and becomes focused and still at the center of the body. This practice of mediation is the link to world peace.

Wisdom obtained from mediation will help one solve problems and guide one through life. The mind will be purified and clarified. All the impurities in one’s mind will vanish. Love and kindness will be in one’s mind. He/she will wish that everyone in the world would meditate, that everyone in the world were purified, and that everyone in the world would know true happiness forever.

If we are all united in spreading peace through Inner peace, the world will change from darkness to rightness, from impurity to purity, from selfishness to sharing, and be filled with love and genuine smiles. The idea of taking advantage of, or hurting others, anger, and resentment will vanish. On the other hand, loving kindness, well-wishing, forgiveness, devotion, sharing, purity, and happiness will be everywhere, creating the world peace that everyone has long wished for.

World Peace through Inner Peace starts with YOU! Join us and learn the ancient art of meditation, and begin your inner journey for true happiness and inner peace. For all my friends that have ever had an interest to learn meditation, the time is NOW! Join us for a 2 Day Meditation Retreat with a Top Meditation Teacher, Venerable Nicholas Thannissaro of Dhammakaya International Society of United Kingdom. The two day retreat will be on Saturday, March 9th and Sunday, March 10th from 9:00-5:30pm. Money collected will be donated to our visiting Venerable and our Meditation Center. To register for this event or for more information visit www.meditationcircle.org

Venerable Nicholas has twenty years of meditation experience. He has been giving popular meditation courses in Europe since 1997 and has several TV guest spots, audio CD's, books and book translations to his name. We are honored and excited to have him conduct a retreat for our group, this is sure to be a profound experience for us all!

Dhamma Teaching from Venerable Nicholas on the Power of a Still Mind and Cultivating a Pure Mind and the 5 Hindrances.

2013 Dhammachai Dhutanga Jan 2-Jan 27

Pilgrimage Walk (1128 monks) explained by Venerable Sander. 

Many lay people all over Thailand have come together to rejoice in the merits and support 1,128 monks participating in this year’s Dhammachai Dhutanga, ( January 2-Janary 27th) this is a pilgrimage walk and designed for monks who have dedicated to train themselves by voluntarily taking on ascetic practices in order to cultivate renunciation and contentment, and to create good energy, for all those around. The dhutanga austerities are meant to deepen the practice of meditation and assist in living the Holy Life. The aim is to help the practitioner to develop detachment with material things including the body.

The monks will travel through different provinces in Thailand and end their pilgrimage on January 27th.   This pilgrimage walk is an inspiration for all laypeople who come together to pay respect and also to rejoice in the merits of the monks practicing dhutanga. It restore's and revive's people's spirit and morale in Buddhist practice across the country.   

Dhutanga in general helps the practitioner to overcome the attachment to things like clothes, food, the comfort of one's sleeping place, etc. In Thai language, 'Thudong', derived from Pali Dhutanga, colloquially refers to the practice of walking and staying in the open, maybe with a mosquito net, without much property and without any other business to do travelling around to find good meditation teachers and practice for oneself.   

Venerable Dhammajayo, the Abbot of Dhammakaya tries to use the Dhutanga walk as a way to inspire people to learn more about the monk's life, and involve people more in Buddhist practice.  Finally, and most importantly, it is a way to honor Venerable Sodh, our grandfather Abbot who rediscovered the Dhammakaya meditation technique, and to establish the practice of honoring the important places in his life.   

Spreading the flowers is a way for people to learn to honor the Sangha, and honor Buddhism. The fact that the pilgrimage is very popular indicates people have a need for showing their support for Buddhism.

Pearls of Wisdom

Georgia Meditation Center 

December 5, 2012 Dhamma Video 

Pearls of Wisdom

After our guided meditation we watch the first part of a dhamma talk given by Robert Mawson to a group of soon to be novices participating in the International Oridination Dhammadayada Program. A 30 day training period to ordain as a novice Buddhist monk, which is offered 4 times throughout the year check out www.ordinationthai.org for more information.

I had meditation members request a copy of this dhamma talk given by Robert Mawson and uploaded the talk to our youtube page. 

Robert Mawson gave some great points that I would like to highlight.

1) Realize the power of your mind, that you have more potential than any human being that has ever lived before you. The only thing that limits you is your mind, your only limited by how you think. You can actually meditate to such a degree that you are no longer are here, there is nothingness. You are one with the whole universe and beyond, and when that happens you can’t feel anything. This is where I'd like to insert that we truly are part of this universe, and when we connect to the center by meditating we are connecting to the universe. When you connect with the universe and become one with it, you cannot feel your own body.

2) Don’t give up on yourselves, don’t ever doubt your inner power. I don’t know how you have talked to yourself, all your lives, but start talking to yourself different from today. Start reminding yourself how powerful you are. When I say powerful I mean it in the best sense of the word, because all of you, each of you has the opportunity when you leave here to make a huge difference in the world, because you are so powerful. And remember when you touch only one life, that person touches someone else live, and  it goes out and it goes onward and with meditation it is like quantum physics it travels at the speed of light. 

3) You all came here seeking something, you came to the right place because this is where you find it. You probably came here seeking yourself trying to find out who you are, remind yourself you are very powerful, because you have a mind, and you know where to place that mind. And you know that this place 2 finger widths above your naval is the most powerful place that your mind can be, and when it is there fantastic things can happen in your life. 

Here is the Video and remember each and every one of us can make a difference! 

Katina Ceremony - Nov 25th - Georgia Meditation Center

Georgia Meditation Center  Katina Ceremony - Nov 25th, 2012

You are invited to a very special day for us at the Georgia Meditation Center! November 25^th, 2012 marks the Katina Ceremony which is a robe offering ceremony presented to monks who have completed their 3 months rains retreat period.

For 2600 years families have gathered to take part in the largest alms-giving ceremony of the Buddhist year, the Katina. Friends, old and new, parents and children join together in a celebration on the theme of harmony. Katina occurs at the end of Buddhist Lent. For an ordained monk, the period of Lent is a time for serious devotion to the ways of the Buddha, when he must strenuously observe his commitments to the 227 Buddhist precepts, meditate, and study dharma (teachings of the Buddha).

From that time until now, lay supporters have made a point of offering cloth at the end Buddhist Lent. The Sangha is not allowed to request the offering, so it is important that the initiation of the offering and its organization be done entirely by the lay people. Actually, the ceremony is held in such high esteem that it is rare that the Katina doesn't take place. The cloth, according to the Buddha's advice, must be offered to the whole Sangha, not to any particular individual, so that the bhikkhus have to formally agree as to which of them should receive the cloth

We would like to invite our meditation members to come and witness this wonderful ceremony with us filled with an abundance of merit gaining experiences. The schedule of the ceremony is below feel free to come at any time that is convenient for you, but I would recommend to come before the alms offering portion of the day, which is where lay people offer food to the monks and there is always plenty of food prepared by many to offer to the Venerables, so please join us!

9:30am - Meditation
10:30am – Observe 5 precepts, Food Offering Ceremony, Blessing from Monks
10:45am - Alms Offering
11:30am - Lunch
12:30pm – Robe Parade
1pm - Robe offering

For Buddhists and non-Buddhist alike, it is a great opportunity to observe the 2,600-year-old noble tradition of the saffron robe parade and presentation.

Gain Merit with Us

If you would like to accumulate merit from the offering of the Katina robe to the Sangha with the lay community please send your donation of any amount by clicking on our paypal button at http://www.meditationcircle.org/HTML/gainmerit.html  No amount is ever too small to make a difference, and it is the intention that counts more than the amount! Rejoice in your merits! 

Special Merit for a Special Occasion

The wonderful tradition of Katina-Robe Offering has been performed consistently since the time of the Buddha. The merit gained from Kathina is considered exceptional since it does not occur easily given that there are many requirements. For instance, there is a time limit – it has to be completed within a month after the end of Buddhist Lent. Thus, Kathina-Robe Offering cannot be performed whenever one wishes. This year’s Kathina is especially distinguished than any other year because it perfectly commemorates the 2600^th anniversary of the Lord Buddha’s Enlightenment. If this opportunity is missed, one would have to wait another 100 years before the next centennial arises.