FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

There is a great deal of suffering in a life of anyone who was born to this world. Buddhism helps understanding this realty and reveals the one and only path to free one’s self from this entire suffering. Buddhism is the Dhamma that consists of discourses preached by the Buddha. The Dhamma was well taught with a comparable beginning, middle, and an end. Irrelevant of the time of practicing, the Dhamma can be understood in this very own life. Anyone can be asked to come and witness it. Like a person uses a mirror to see the reflected image of himself, a disciple needs to see his/her own life with the mirror of Dhamma. One of the main characteristics of the Dhamma is its ability to open/prepare someone’s mind to realize it according to the person’s wisdom. This is why the Dhamma is remarkable and esteemed.

Some people identify Buddhism as a philosophy. In a way, it is correct. The philosophy of the Buddha is the truth or the exact way of the world. Because the teachings of the Buddha allow one to attain Nibbana ending the suffering of being in the repeating cycle of life, aging, sickness, and death, Buddhism can also be considered as a religion.

The Buddha is the greatest human being that has ever been born in this world. He is the most fortunate one who freed himself from craving, anger, and the delusional state we are in because of the ignorance of the four noble truths. He followed the Eightfold Path by Himself and realized the Dhamma without a teacher. The Buddha was a miraculous person with a tremendous wisdom. With this miraculous wisdom, He could see the past lives of other beings, find out where one has been born after the death, see any object at any distance, listen to sounds at any distance, walk in the sky, and penetrate any solid substances including the ground, move inside of it, and come out of it from a different place like swimming in the water. He could also walk on the water like on the floor, go through any kind of barriers like mountains or walls, and touch the sun, the moon, and the starts. He lived a life according to the experience He gained from His wisdom after purifying Himself from all defilements. In order to purify himself from the defilements, He sought after the path to Nibbana and found it. Following this path He attained the great Nibbana. He saw, understood, and freed himself from all the worlds including human, animal, and the worlds that a normal human eye cannot see. There were dangerous, misbehaved, and stubborn animals, humans, and divine beings at the Buddha’s time. They could not be controlled by a normal person or a god, but the Buddha was able to control, calm, and finally to show them the bliss of Nibbana with His wisdom and kindness. He is also the one true teacher to humans and to gods because He is the only leader who can show them the path to free their lives from suffering. The ultimate purpose of the dawn of a Buddha’s era is to show the innocent beings the path to Nibbana or to shed the light of Four Noble Truths on to the lives of many. The Buddha taught us the Dhamma, which includes the Four Noble Truths, composed of clear and excellent words and meanings so that others can understand it well. He who is with such remarkable qualities is certainly the most fortunate of all beings. The Buddha is such a person who lived about 2553 years ago and is still the greatest person to be ever lived in this world.

As Buddhists, we used to select a place to worship the Buddha. This place is called a ‘temple.’ The utmost position of this temple belongs to the Lord Buddha as He is the most fortunate one. This is why Buddhists make the Buddha’s statues to represent Him and place them in the temple. However, we cannot ever make a statue containing the thirty two great bodily characteristics of the Buddha to represent His extraordinary figure. In the temple, we worship the Buddha by thinking him and his endless noble qualities that no one else possesses.

There are different types of rituals that are performed in temples to worship the Buddha nowadays. Among these rituals, ringing bells, lighting oil lamps, and offering the scent of fragrant sticks, flowers, and food and drinks are some of them. All of these are done as a part of worshiping the Lord Buddha. Nevertheless, the Buddha told us that the most profound way to worship Him is by traversing the Samsara by following the noble path He taught us.

We have to think twice about you being saying that the Buddhist countries are poor. Let us think about the past for a moment. Buddhist countries like India and Sri Lanka were the most developed countries in the world at the Buddha’s time. This was also true at the time when there were Arahants (the noble disciples of the Buddha who attained Nibbana) among us even after the Buddha’s passing away. This statement can be verified if we go to those countries and check their past. In that time period, these countries have had huge buildings such as castles of seven or eight floors, advanced irrigation systems, parks, well-developed highway systems, and as well as self-sustaining economies. The people in most of the western countries now known as powerful and developed were not even morally matured in that era about 2550 years ago. The Buddhist countries will still be powerful like before if the people are still following the Buddha’s teachings and live a true life of a Buddhist. Since some Buddhists fail to follow the pure teachings of the Buddha, they lost their wealth. However, people who are still living true Buddhist lives remain rich and prosperous. They will not lose their wealth in the future as long as they follow the Buddha’s teachings to guide their lives. Using the Buddhist way of economy, therefore, not only the Buddhist countries but also the whole world can be developed.

The disciple Sangha (Bhikkhus) of the Buddha protected their teacher’s discourses by memorizing and carrying them to the next generation by heart for a long period of time. Since that time, everyone’s private opinions have been appeared as Dhamma by shrinking true words of the Buddha even though His true words are still preserved untainted in sacred texts of Buddhism (Tripitaka). As a result, monks were divided into groups of different views at time to time. This is why diverse sects of Buddhism can be identified today. Though, the truth is that one can still attain great Nibbana (rid of Samsara or the circle of life, aging, sickness, and death) by living a life according to the Buddha’s teachings. There is no doubt or an argument about it…

As long as the pure Biddhism is preserved, one can achieve Nibbana by following it and observing the Eight Noble Path no matter what sect of Buddhism that person belongs to. This is the doctrine that you are going to receive from our website.

There are four truths or realities in this world. They are known as the Four Noble Truths or Chaturarya Satthya. Whether someone has been categorized into being poor, rich, or any other type, that person still has to face the pain, the suffering, or the stress of being born into this world. Every being has to face birth, sickness, aging, death, leaving the loved ones behind, blending with the dislike people, pain or the stress of not getting what is wanted, and etc. This is the first noble truth, which is called the Dukka Aarya Satthya, of the world. This suffering belongs to every living being and it is a noble truth. Also, this suffering exists because of the craving one has towards different things. This is the second noble truth or the Dukka Samudaya Aarya Satthya. The third noble truth is known as the Dukka Nirodha Aarya Satthya, which is the truth of cessation of the first noble truth (suffering) by defeating the second noble truth (craving). The method to overcome suffering is known as the Eight Noble Path and is the fourth noble truth or the Dukka Nirodha Gamini Patipada Aarya Satthya. No one can prove that these four noble truths are false with proper facts and reasoning. The Lord Buddha is the one who found these Four Noble Truths and can only be found in the Order of Gautama Buddha. Therefore, please select the truth. You will then be able to clarify what is false.

What people knew through science about couple of years ago has changed now. Almost all the instruments we have now are different from what we had before. The knowledge that the science provides us today will be changed by tomorrow. When science proves to comfort people with worldly and luxurious items, they start to depend on it. Some even look for refuge of science ignorantly failing to see the good qualities that human race lacks today. This trend promoted bad habits of people such as killing, stealing, adulteration, lying, telling tales, speaking rude and worthless words, drinking alcohols, and living immoral lives. As a result, dreadful effects on the preservation of moral qualities that a society depends on and as well as on the world itself have been increased over the last few decades. Crimes and wars at small and large scales can also be seen because of these ignorant behaviors. Therefore, one could predict a rather dangerous world in the future than at present.

In contrast to the modern science, Buddhism describes an effective way of helping the world to make it a better place. Buddhism is not some mere concepts that someone has described in the past. It is the truth of this world that was emanated from the mind of the greatest person of all time. It holds the reality of every living thing. It does not change depending on the time we live, and it does not change because science has found something new, which can still be proved to be wrong after another thing is invented from the same science. What the Buddha taught will cure the corrupted minds and hearts of humans and as well as deities ceasing the above mentioned immoral actions of the world. Considering these details, how can we match science to Buddhism? Scientific experiments may have observed or proved some features taught in Buddhism, but has science reached its climax or identified a way to stop the Samsara? In fact, if Buddhism is an ocean, scientists will only be able to find a piece of knowledge of the size of small nacre in that ocean. Thus, to match Buddhism to science is as unwise as to match that small nacre to the huge ocean.

The Buddha taught us not to involve in killings. In Parajikapali (a part of the Buddha’s teachings included in the discipline part which is known as the Vinaya Pitaka), the Buddha has taught us that it is a sin to kill even one day lasted pregnancy. In fact, Supreme Buddha is the first teacher who made a voice objecting the abortions about 2553 years ago. Thus, you could imagine how marvelous the Buddhism is.

There is no other person than the Buddha Himself who loved the nature. He was even born under a tree called Sal Tree. He also attained the Buddha-hood under a tree (Bodhi Tree) and passed away under two Sal Trees in Upawartana forest. The Buddha used to live in deep forests at time to time since He attained the Buddha-hood, but He never destroyed any trees or leaves. He never killed an animal. Our teacher even established some rules for His disciples to live a harmless life that protects the environment. He ordered His disciples not to cut trees, not to urinate into flowing water, and not to urinate, spit, or dump foods on to green grass. Thus, it is clear that the Buddha started to think about nature about 2553 years ago, and He is also a great example of a person who loved the nature.

Let us first understand what the meaning of the soul (Aatma) or the view of soul (Aatma drustiya) is. Let us assume that there is something that we can control to our wish. Then, that thing is known as a soul. However, nothing in this world including our own life can be controlled as to our own expectations. Every type of life is made out of objects (rupa), feelings (vedana), recognitions (sangna), deeds/or aims (sanskara), and explicit recognitions (viññana). If someone thinks that these things can be controlled as one wishes, thinking life as me, mine, and my soul, then it is called the view of soul. One who is attached to this view thinks that his/or her soul will become eternal or will be gone forever after the death. Both these ideas can be seen because the soul is thought to be controllable. There are religions that state there is a soul that can be controlled, be thought of as me, mine, and my soul, and it becomes eternal after death. All these religions are therefore categorized into the group of religions that believe in the theory of soul.

However, nothing in this world can be controlled according to someone’s will because everything becomes destroyed someday. We can consider our own lives as an example. This body gets sick, become old, and dies one day. None of these can be stopped as we wish. You get different types of pains, but they cannot be either changed or make disappeared as you desire. The thoughts that come into your mind are also random and cannot be controlled. This means, none of these can be considered as ‘I’ or ‘mine.’ All of those are soul-less. They are just some things that occurred due to a reason and stop existing after that reason is gone. They do not belong to someone. Therefore, they are soul-less.

Let us think whether there is anything that is permanent, at least a little bit. All the figures in this world are transient. All the comfortable, painful, or moderate feelings we perceive are temporary. Recognition of figures, sounds, odors, tastes, feelings, and thoughts will also become impermanent. They change rapidly. Our expectations and recognitions also subjected to change. Since all these are changing with time and even a small thing cannot be seen as permanent; there is nothing we can control as to our aspiration. Whether we like it or not, we all grow old, become sick, and die. It happens in such a way because none of these things belong to us. This is why everything is known to be soul-less. This implies that we cannot keep anything under our control or change them as we desire. Thus, the Supreme Buddha taught us the true nature of the world and taught us the way of the theory of soul-less.

There are poor countries in the world today. The Lord Buddha taught us that the poverty grows or spreads among people when the rulers or the government of these countries do not help poor citizens providing means such as food, money, and land to live their lives. If there are poor people in a country, the government treasury of that country and also the other rich countries should come forth and facilitate those people. They should be helped finding jobs and making their future stable by following the ways that Buddha has shown us. I will explain you those ways of development shown in Buddhism.

Lord Buddha in one of his teachings known as the ‘Vyaghghapajja Sutta’, he taught us a number of qualities that one needs to build within him to help fighting poverty. If someone earns money from a job related to agriculture, business, government, or any other type, then that person has to cultivate four qualities in order to become prosperous. Those are:

1. Effort (Utthana Sampada):- One should build the ability to work hard and skillfully overcoming any laziness tactfully. Also, the person should be capable of organizing the work efficiently. This is the effort.
2. Protection (Aarakkha Sampada):- The money one earned by working hard needs to be protected without letting it destroyed from natural disasters such as fire, wind, floods, and landslides and from being confiscated.
3. Noble friendship (Kalyhanhamittata):- A Noble friend has excellent characteristics such as being pleased about Lord Buddha, virtuous, fond of giving, and association with wise friends. When someone has such a friendship, that person will also become rich with the same qualities.
4. Living according to what you earn or have (Samajevikata):- That is living a life by only spending money matched to what is being earned. One should not spend money carelessly, but at the same time should not be greedy. One needs to be comfortably live spending money according to that person’s wealth.

After improving these qualities, one should also close the four doorways of destruction. Those four destructive doorways are:

1. Passion towards women.
2. Thirst towards liquor.
3. Eagerness towards gambling.
4. Longing of low-quality friendships.

One who lives a life according to these teachings of Buddha will definitely see a prospered life in a little period of time. This is how prosperity can be achieved through Buddhism. Try this method by yourself, and you will also witness the wisdom of Buddha.

What the Buddha taught us was the Four Noble Truths. All of the Buddha’s teachings including every skill correspond to good deeds and insightful information consisted of these four noble truths. It is like the foot print of the largest elephant in the forest. Foot prints all other animals can be fitted into that elephant’s foot print.

Have you thought of an answer to the question ‘what is suffering’ before? It was the Gautama Buddha who found a complete answer to this question. In the Buddha’s first sermon, which is called ‘Dhamma Chakkha Pavattana Sutta,’ he gave a brief description to the suffering as follows.

“Birth is a suffering, aging is suffering, sickness is suffering, death is suffering, leaving loved ones is suffering, unification with dislikes is suffering, and missing what is wished for is suffering. In summary, all five attachments or clinging (Pancha Upadanaskanda), objects (rupa), feelings (vedana), recognitions (sangna), deeds/or aims (sanskara), and explicit recognitions (viññana) are suffering.”

(Dhamma Chakkha Pavattana Sutta)

Let us now understand the suffering that the Buddha taught us one by one separately. Lord Buddha in Maha Satipatthana Sutta taught us as follows:

“Dear Bikkhus, what is birth?
A birth can be seen when different creatures are born in their different tribes (or kinds) or when the organs are grown. It can also be happened in a womb or without a womb. Emergence of the five attachments (objects (rupa), feelings (vedana), recognitions (sangna), deeds/or aims (sanskara), and explicit recognitions (viñññna)) is also a birth. Another way of being born is the birth with the six components (eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body, and mind). When these births are occurred it is known as be born either in Andaja, Jalabuja, Sanseedaja, or Oopapatika births.

Dear Bikkhus, what is aging and decaying?
It is a decaying and a digestion process of an individual. This body faces deficiencies such as fracturing teeth and loosing hair with time. The skin becomes rough and fills with wrinkles, and gets distorted beyond recognition. Life span ends and all the vital components like eyes and ears become old, useless, and incapable of being controlled as one wish. Dear Monks, this is called the aging and decaying.

Dear Bikkhus, what is the death?
Beings departing from their worlds can be seen. There is such a departure. Disintegration, disappearance, death, letting go of one’s own body, partitioning of the life can also be seen. Dear Monks, this is called the death.

Dear Bikkhus, what is agony that traps one’s heart with sorrow?
Dear Monks, when someone who is suffering from one of the great pains or from one of the unbearable sorrows, that person can become sad or can suffer from sadness. There is a sadness which can burn that person’s heart, and it can burn that person completely. This is called the agony that traps one’s heart with sorrow.

Dear Bikkhus, what is sobbing of calling out names of dead relatives with a great agony?
Dear Monks, when someone who is suffering from one of the great pains or from one of the unbearable agonies, that person can sob or be in a state of sobbing. The sobbing can be seen with calling out names of parents, relatives, loved ones, and friends who left that person. This is called the sobbing of calling out names of dead relatives with a great agony.

Dear Bikkhus, what is the state of sorrow that one undergoes due to bodily (physical) pains?
Dear Monks, if there is an unbearable and great body pain, a repulsive condition, or disaffection due to a repulsive condition corresponding to a dislike touch to the physical body, then it is called the suffering with respect to the body.

Dear Bikkhus, what are the mind-related sufferings?
Dear Monks, if there is an unbearable and great pain originated from within a mind, a repulsive condition, or disaffection due to a repulsive condition corresponding to a dislike mental touch, then it is called the suffering related to mind.

Dear Bikkhus, what is a sorrowful sighing that corresponds to one’s repeated thoughts about the sadness one faced?
Dear Monks, if there is an immense tiredness for someone who is suffering from one of the many troubles or one of the great and unbearable pains, and the person is sighing hard thinking about that suffering, showing an exhausted condition, sighing again and again thinking about the pain that person went through, then this is called the sorrowful sighing that corresponds to one’s repeated thoughts about the sadness one faced.

Dear Bikkhus, what is the state of sadness that corresponds to the union of dislike objectives and people?
Sometimes we come across objectives such as that of bad, ugly, and disgusting figures (or objects), sound, smells, tastes, touches, or thoughts that come to the mind. Also, one could encounter different individuals with different characteristics. These individuals might like you to get into danger, like to see your misfortune, like to hurt you, and like to show you the wrong way and let you get into trouble. When you meet, get along, or live together with these troublesome objectives and individuals, this is called the state of sadness correspond to the union of dislike objectives and people.

Dear Bikkhus, what is the state of sadness that one faces because of being separated from the objectives and individuals one loves most?
Sometimes we come across such as that of good, pleasant, and pleasing figures (or objects), sound, smells, tastes, touches, or thoughts that come to the mind. Also, one can face different individuals with different characteristics. These individuals like to do you good, like to see your fortune, like to comfort you, and like to show you the right way and help you correct your bad behaviors. These are your parents, brothers and sisters, people who are older or younger than you, friends, your relatives, or some other such people. When you miss, leave behind, or live without these caring individuals and objectives, it is called the state of sadness that one faces because of being separated from the objectives and individuals one loves most.

Dear Bikkhus, if one does not get what is wished for, and then it is also a state of sadness. What is that sadness?
Dear Monks, every living being, who is destined to be born, bears some expectations such as following in their minds: ‘Oh! We hope we are not destined to a definite rebirth! We hope that definite birth would not come to us!’ Though Dear Monks, this is not something one can achieve only by wishing it to be happened. This is also a state of sadness that one faces because that person doesn’t get what is hoped for.

Dear Bikkhus, living beings that has aging and decaying as their own gift of their birth bears a hope like this in their minds: ‘Oh! We hope for our youth and beauty to last forever! We hope these aging and decaying are not definite for us!’ Though Dear Monks, this is not something one can achieve only by wishing it to be happened. This is also a state of sadness that one faces because that person doesn’t get what is hoped for.

Dear Bikkhus, these living beings carry death with them like a gift, though with hopes in their minds such as: ‘Oh! We hope we are not destined with our deaths! We hope our deaths would not come to us!’ Though Dear Monks, this is not something one can achieve only by wishing it to be happened. This is also a state of sadness that one faces because that person doesn’t get what is hoped for.

Dear Bikkhus, these living beings are destined with agony that traps one’s heart with sorrow, though with hopes in their minds such as: ‘Oh! We hope we are not destined with the agony that traps our hearts with sorrow! We hope the agony that traps our hearts with sorrow would not come to us!’ Though Dear Monks, this is not something one can achieve only by wishing it to be happened. This is also a state of sadness that one faces because that person doesn’t get what is hoped for.

Dear Bikkhus, these living beings are destined with sobbing of calling out names of dead relatives with a great agony, though with hopes in their minds. ‘Oh! We hope we are not destined with the sobbing of calling out names of our dead relatives with a great agony! We hope the sobbing of calling out names of dead relatives with a great agony would not come to us!’ Though Dear Monks, this is not something one can achieve only by wishing it to be happened. This is also a state of sadness that one faces because that person doesn’t get what is hoped for.

Dear Bikkhus, these living beings are destined with unbearable sorrows due to undergoing bodily (physical) pains, though with hopes in their minds. ‘Oh! We hope we are not destined with the unbearable sorrows that suffer us due to our bodily (physical) pains! We hope the unbearable sorrows that suffer us due to our bodily (physical) pains would not come to us!’ Though Dear Monks, this is not something one can achieve only by wishing it to be happened. This is also a state of sadness that one faces because that person doesn’t get what is hoped for.

Dear Bikkhus, these living beings are destined with sufferings related to mind, though with hopes in their minds. ‘Oh! We hope we are not destined with sufferings of our minds! We hope the sufferings of our minds would not come to us!’ Though Dear Monks, this is not something one can achieve only by wishing it to be happened. This is also a state of sadness that one faces because that person doesn’t get what is hoped for.

Dear Bikkhus, these living beings are destined with sorrowful sighing that is corresponding to their repeated thoughts about the sadness they faced, though with hopes in their minds. ‘Oh! We hope we are not destined with sorrowful sighing that corresponds to our repeated thoughts about the sadness we faced! We hope the sorrowful sighing that corresponds to our repeated thoughts about the sadness we faced would not come to us!’ Though Dear Monks, this is not something one can achieve only by wishing it to be happened. This is also a state of sadness that one faces because that person doesn’t get what is hoped for.

Dear Bikkhus, what is the state of suffering of all five attachments in summary?
Those five attachments are: rupa (objects that generate from the four kinds or satara maha bhotha, that is patavi (things that become sand with time), apo (things that mix with water), thejo (the warmth), vayo (things that mix with wind; the air)), vedana (feelings occur due to touch), sangna (recognitions occur due to touch), sanskara (deeds/or aims that occur due to touch), and vinggnana (explicit recognitions that occur due to nama-ropa).

Dear Bikkhus; if everything is folded or summarized into one, the five attachments can be recognized as the suffering.

Dear Bikkhus, this is the ultimate truth of the state of suffering.

(The Lord Buddha – Satipatthana Sutta – Deega Nikaya)

Think insightfully about the points mentioned above in question number two and try to correlate these facts to your life. Isn’t your life filled with those things that bring suffering? In other words, the Supreme Buddha taught us the real facts about the suffering that each and every one face. This is why it is not an ominous approach to think about the suffering to understand it. In Buddhism, one thinks about the suffering in a way to help comprehend it, but not as to make it worse. Thus, you will be able to recognize that thinking about suffering to realize the Dhamma as the correct but not as an ominous approach. Is it possible to overcome the sickness, aging, and death without thinking about the suffering and understanding it? The answer is ‘No’. It is only possible when one thinks about suffering according to how the Buddha told us to think to realize it.

We learnt what the Buddha taught us about the suffering in question number two discussed earlier. We are victims of sickness, aging, death, departure from the loved ones, union with the dislike ones and objects, and not getting or loosing what we wished for. These things make us feel pain, sorrow, and suffering. Even with tremendous amount of money, having high ranks, or becoming famous, we cannot overcome these circumstances. Everyone who is born become victims of this suffering. Therefore, we need to identify the cause for such suffering, and then only we can conquer it. Let us consider an oil lamp; it lights when the oil and the wick mix up together and get lit with a help of fire. Therefore, the lamp will not illuminate if the oil and the wick are not present. Also, a shadow of a tree is present only if that tree is there. If that tree is cut off from that place, then there will be no shadow. Like in these two examples, if someone is able to eliminate the cause for the suffering, that person will not exist anymore. He got rid of the Sansara…

The Lord Buddha expressed the reason for suffering like this:

“Dear Monks, what is the cause for pain (suffering)? It is the craving (desire) that causes rebirth, bonding in affection, and acceptance of every place and every life. This is the desire for worldly objects (Kama Tanha), the desire for being reborn (Bhava Tanha), and the desire for not being reborn or to exist forever (vibhava tanha).

(Lord Buddha – Maha Satipatthana Sutta, Deega Nikaya)

According to this, the Lord Buddha showed us the craving as the cause for suffering. The Kama Tanha means the desire for worldly pleasures one experiences from objects (roopa), sounds (shabbda), odors (gandha), tastes (rasa), and touches (pahasa). The Bhava Tanha means the desire for the existence; for example to be born and reborn (bhava) in this world. The opposite of Bhava Tanha is the Vibhava Tanha or the desire of existence forever without a bhava (be born and reborn). You might be excited to know about where this desire originates. Lord Buddha told us that this desire originates in our eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body, and mind. Also, it occurs when we see an object, hear a sound, smell an odor, taste something (delicious), feel a touch to the body, or think something from the mind.

We need to try defeating the craving because it causes suffering. I am going to show you an example on how suffering is created from the craving. Do you know of people in your living area that you may feel sad, cry, or feel hurting when they die or become sad? At this moment, you are maybe thinking about your friends, people who helped you, or your parents, children, or even your spouse who live with you or in your living area. If they die, don’t you become sad and painful? Also, do you know of people in your living area that you may not feel sad, cry, or feel hurting when they die or become sad? You may think about some people who you did not know, did not talk with, or even did not hang out with. You may not become sad and painful when those unknown people die. Have you ever thought of the reason for this discrepancy? Why do you feel sad and cry, or become hopeless when some people die? The reason is that you have a great affection towards them with a desire. This is called the desire that the Supreme Buddha showed us as the reason for suffering. You feel no pain or sadness when some other people die because you have no love and desire for them. Thus, when something that you love changes, then you become a victim of suffering. However, there is no suffering when you do not have an attachment to the object that is changed. You should now be able to understand the desire as the cause for all your sufferings.

Think like this for a second. It is true that we feel happy because of the affectionate and soothing things that exist in this world. Though, can you keep those things with you forever? You cannot at least keep the happiness for as long as you wish in your own lifetime. If you are blinded by these temporary things and attached in desire, then you will become sad and unhappy when you lose those. Thus, that happiness will not last forever. A long time ago, there was a king called Mundarµaja. He married a queen who had a beautiful figure that can allure anyone who sees her. They spent their time happily by loving each other, but unfortunately this queen was died after only three months of their marriage. The king was really upset and sad. He did not allow his queen’s body to decay. He put her dead body in an oil boat and stared at it the whole day without even eating or drinking. He was crying and thinking about the joy he had with her in the past. Think how short period of time that happiness stayed with him. In near or far future, you will have to face the sadness of death or leaving of your loved ones. When you lose them, you will also lose the happiness they brought to your life, and you will have to cry with immense sadness. Do you, therefore, like to face an unbearable suffering in the future because you were just being deceived by the temporary happiness you have in the present? I know you do not like to become a victim of this sadness. Therefore, try to overcome that desire and attachment. You will then become free from the suffering.

In order to eliminate the suffering, we need to eradicate the desire completely. Eradication of desire entirely is the end of suffering. That is the Nibbana. If suffering is created by desire, then there is no sorrow when whatever is changed with time if the desire is completely gotten rid of.

You know an oil lamp lights when it has enough oil and wick to mix each other and when the wick is lit with fire. If the oil, the wick, or the lamp is not present, it cannot be lighten. When the oil and wick are ended, the lamp will not light any longer. At that point, if someone asks you to which direction the flame went to, what will be your answer? The answer one can give to that question is that the lamp light was extinguished because there was no oil or wick left to burn off. In other words, the cause for lamp to give light was no longer there. Nibbana is also something like that. Nibbana means there is no rebirth that leads for suffering when the desire is completely eliminated. That is, rebirth will not be present as a result of the absence of desire. To ask where Nibbana is, therefore, is as if someone asks where that flame went when the lamp was extinguished. Everything is created or adjusted due to their causes; when these causes are gone the object that was created will be gone too. This phenomenon was first realized and found by the greatest person who has ever lived in this universe about 2553 years ago.

The Supreme Buddha named the one and only path to achieve Nibbana as the Aarya Ashthangika Margaya (the Noble Eight-Fold Path). This Noble Eight-Fold Path only exists in Buddhism. The noble path is a middle path rejecting two extremes; living a luxury life with high pleasures at all the time and living an excruciating life by torturing the body with extreme pains. The disciple needs to choose the middle path and live accordingly without entering to either of these two extremes. One of the important things that should be mentioned here is that you will feel a great pleasure to your body and to your mind when following the middle path. Such pleasure cannot be achieved by living a luxury life. This will encourage you to follow the Noble Eight-Fold Path with your own preference. Let us clarify this Noble Eight-Fold Path now.

As the name itself demonstrates, the Noble Eight-Fold Path consists of eight noble parts. They are Samma Ditthi, Samma Sankappa, Samma Vacha, Samma Kammanta, Samma Aajeeva, Samma Vayama, Samma Sati, and Samma Samadhi. Let us learn each of these eight parts separately.

Samma Ditthi – This is the wisdom about the suffering. The wisdom of how the suffering creates. The wisdom about the end of suffering. The wisdom of the path to eradicate the suffering. Lord Buddha taught us this wisdom as the Samma Ditthi.

Samma Sankappa – That is, thinking about the happiness that one can get by thinking about a pleasure other than a sensual satisfaction. Thinking about thoughts of Metta (loving-kindness) without thinking hatred thoughts and thinking kind and wholesome thoughts and not harmful thoughts are those ways of proper thinking. The disciple who follows the path shown by Buddha should think of these three types of thoughts. Lord Buddha taught us that this is the Samma Sankappa.

Samma Vacha – This means the disciple needs to purify the words. Here, we should exclude speaking bad words and should start speaking pure words. That is, restraining from speaking lies, rumors, offensive, and rubbish words. This was shown as the Samma Vacha by Lord Buddha.

Samma Kammanta – This implies that one should practice only the pure ways of life. This includes refrain from killing beings (human or animal), stealing, and adultery. Lord Buddha showed this as the Samma Kammanta.

Samma Aajeeva – Lord Buddha explained us of trying to live a rightful life by freeing from immoral life as the Samma Aajeeva.

Samma vayama – Most of the times, we try hard emotionally and physically to win obstacles in our day to day lives. Sometimes, we spent our whole lifetime to become successful. Someday, however, we have to leave behind what we achieved difficultly. Therefore, it is the effort that helps preventing us from becoming victims of suffering the greatest of all efforts. Lord Buddha showed that this effort is the Samma Vayama. This effort can be seen in four ways:

Effort to prevent forming the unborn defilements.
Effort to eradicate the defilements that are already there.
Effort to cultivate unborn merits.
Effort to expand the merits one has and to complete it as a meditation.

Lord Buddha mentioned that trying in these four ways as the Samma Vayama.

Samma Sati – The mindfulness that helps to realize the Four Noble Truths is the Samma Sati. Lord Buddha showed us four types be mindfulness to help realizing the Four Noble Truths. Those are to be mindful about the physical body, feeling, mind, and objectives of the mind. These are the four things that Lord Buddha explained as the Satara Satipatthanaya. Mindful on these four was shown as the Samma Sati by the Supreme Buddha.

Samma Samadhi – Suppressing the five things that prevent Nibbana or the Pancha Niivarana by concentrating the mind into one subject (for example, to the breath as inhale and exhale) is known as the Samma Samadhi. We can find many people who try to develop Samadhi (concentration) around the world. However, not all of them achieve the state of Samma Samadhi. We can realize Nibbana only if we cultivate Samma Samadhi. Therefore, one needs to nurture a Samadhi into a Samma Samadhi by developing the seven other items in the Noble Eight-Fold path ( Samma Ditthi, Samma Sankappa, Samma Vacha, Samma Kammanta, Samma Aajeeva, Samma Vayama, and Samma sati). Then only the Samadhi becomes a Samma Samadhi. Lord Buddha introduced Samma Samadhi as follows.

“Dear Monks, what does mean by the Samadhi or the concentration of mind that helps realizing life? Dear Monks, a disciple in this matter separates from worldly pleasures (figures, sounds, odor, taste, and touch) and separates from defilements of raga (desire), dvesha (hatred), and moha (ignorance of the four noble truths). Also, the disciple practices to behave himself in one of the four postures (Satara Satipatthanaya) by focusing his mind on that posture again and again. In this manner, that disciple lives in a state (Dhyana) in which one can achieve the first type of Samadhi with a leisure occurred by suppressing Pancha Neevarana (five things that prevent Nibbana) and with a physical and emotional happiness and pleasure. (This is known as the First Dhyana.)

The state of mind achieved by thinking within the four postures and focusing the mind towards them again and again becomes dissolved generating calmness. This leads to consent of the mind which in turn developing a concentration without difficulties of thinking about the postures or focusing on them further. The disciple will thus live developing a second state of strong concentration with the happiness and pleasure generated in the first state of concentration. (This is known as the Second Dhyana.)

A great person who realized the Dhamma introduces a moderate state as a pleasurable living with a great mindfulness. In this moderate state, the disciple lets go of the happiness and feel the pleasure attained by being in the moderate state with great mindfulness and wisdom. Thus, a disciple lives a life with the third state of concentration. (This is known as the Third dhyana.)

By giving up the desire to the pleasure and the clash with the sadness, the disciple becomes neutral eradicating the happiness and pain generate in the mind. Furthermore, the disciple lives in the third state of concentration with a great mindfulness and great concentration of neutrality. (This is known as the Fourth Dhyana.)
Dear Monks, this is known as the Samma Samadhi.”
(Gautama Buddha – Satipatthana Sutta, Deega Nikaya.)

The pure path for Nibbana or the Noble Eight-Fold Path that Lord Buddha taught us is what you have just read above. Develop this Noble Eight-Fold Path, and you will then become free of every suffering of your life for sure.

The Dhamma taught by the Supreme Buddha is Sanditthikai which means his teachings can be realized in this very own life if someone tries enough. You can of course realize it because the true teachings of Buddha are still preserved. Try it and see… The Mahamevnawabm.org will bring you that true words of Buddha.

Age is not a problem to realize the Dhamma. What is needed is the ability to think about Dhamma with your wisdom. It does not matter if a person is rich or poor. If one has the talent to think about Dhamma wisely and with an enduring effort, then that person can realize Dhamma whatever the status of that person’s social life is. Children as young as seven years and people as old as one hundred and twenty years had realized Dhamma at Gautama Buddha’s time and as well as after his Parinibbhana (the pass-away of Buddha or the end of the reincarnation of him). Therefore, please do not make your age a problem. Cultivate the path of Nibbana without delaying.

Some people think that women cannot realize Nibbana. Also, it is a pity to see how bad the women are treated in some regions of the world. In some countries, female children are killed the instant they are born. Women have sometimes become like machines that make children and do household chores. It is Lord Buddha who saw this tragedy and helped women. Buddha taught his Dhamma to women without treating them differently. Women who listened to Dhamma realized it. Many women became Arahant at that time. Is not it the Supreme Buddha who first gave the women the freedom in the history of mankind? Therefore, do not become sad. This Dhamma can also be realized by women.

If this Dhamma is to be realized, one needs to have a great thinking ability. Wise children who can think about Dhamma properly will be able to realize it. In Buddha’s time, there were lots of children of seven, eight, nine, ten, or twelve years old who realized this great Dhamma and became Arahants. Thus, you will be able to understand how important this Dhamma is. It helps everyone. It is an invaluable refuge for you and your children.

It is possible for blind, deaf, or disabled people without hands or legs who can think wisely to realize Buddha’s teachings. Therefore, a blind person who can think well can still be able to realize Dhamma after listening to it. If a person was not born deaf, but become deaf after some time, that person will realize Dhamma if he can understand Dhamma by reading it. Let us say that someone was born disabled, but can see and hear. Then, that person can stop the birth which can leads to more of such miserable lives without hands or legs by understanding Dhamma.

It is the capability of thinking and understanding Dhamma that matters in realizing Nibbana not the educational qualifications. Either with a good educational background or not, one can realize Nibbana if that person can compare Dhamma to oneself according to the way Buddha showed it. However, it is important to remember Dhamma after reading it or listening to it since it helps understanding it. Of course, even some people who could not remember Dhamma realized it in the past… There was a venerable monk known as Chullapanthaka. Even after trying for four months, he could not remember at least two sentences of one stanza he tried to remember that stanza by heart. Venerable Thero tried hard, but his attempt was not successful. Venerable Thero’s brother was also a monk, and he lived in the same temple where Venerable Chullapanthaka lived. That Thero thought that Venerable Chullapanthaka cannot continue living as a monk since he could not remember at least two sentences of a stanza. He further thought that it was a good idea for Venerable Chullapanthaka to leave the temple and go back home to start a lay life, so that at least then he will be able to cultivate merits. Thus, he told Venerable Chullapanthaka this idea. Since there was nothing else to do, Venerable Chullapanthaka decided to leave the monk-hood. He was really upset and was crying sitting at the temple gate when the greatly benevolent teacher of us, the Supreme Buddha, saw this incidence with his divine eye. Lord Buddha then came to Venerable Chullapanthaka and gave him a clean piece of white cloth asking Venerable Chullapanthaka to rub the cloth saying “rajo haran”. It means “may the dirt be gone!” As instructed by the Supreme Buddha, he rubbed that white cloth continuously saying “rajo haran, rajo haran, rajo haran….”In a moment that clean white cloth became brownish and dirty. By observing it, Venerable Chullapanthaka started to cogitate about the change wisely. Venerable Thero realized the dirty status of his body. “This much of a clean cloth became dirty after a moment of rubbing it because this body is dirty.” Lord Buddha saw Venerable Chullapanthaka’s mind was concentrated on to a Vidarshana Meditation (a meditation focused on cogitating the true way of life) when he was thinking about the clean cloth. Lord Buddha then came to him in a second with his divinely power (Irdi) and resided a stanza, so that Venerable Chullapanthaka’s mind was driven to Nibbana. When Venerable Chullapanthaka was contemplating according to that stanza his mind became concentrated. He focused on the true nature of this life more and more deeply until he became an Arahant by eradicating all the defilements within him. He freed himself from all the suffering of birth, sickness, aging, and death. It was a person who had an insufficient memory power who realized Dhamma. He could realize Dhamma because Lord Buddha preached him Dhamma which helped to raise his consciousness leading him to Nibbana. Therefore, you can see that this Dhamma can be realized by anyone who could cogitate about it wisely.

Among the people who realized Dhamma, there were poor people too. They could realize Dhamma after affiliated in the Order of Gautama Buddha. Also, there were rich people among them as well. This means whether a person has money or not, it does not matter for the realization of Dhamma. One day, a sick person suffered from hives saw a group of people gathered at a place. This person thought that it was a place where he could get some food to eat. He went to the place quickly and looked over. Then he realized the Supreme Buddha was delivering a Dhamma talk. There was a large number of people listening to the sermon. The sick person understood that it was not a place to get some food. However, he decided to listen to what Buddha was preaching and observe who this Lord Buddha was. He sat aside and started to listen carefully. He began to explore wisely what Buddha was preaching at that time. Lord Buddha saw this poor and sick person suffering from hives and realized that he had a mind of realizing Dhamma. Therefore, Buddha delivered his Dhamma talk such that this person would be able to realize it. At the end, this sick person who was looking for a meal stood up from where he was sitting. He could put away a large extent, which was like a mountain, of suffering and ending up achieving Sotapatti state that will enable him to realize Nibbana within only seven more life times for definitely. His poverty or sickness did not hinder his realization of Dhamma. Therefore, please do not think to let go of this invaluable Dhamma. Be with us to learn the pure teachings of the Buddha. We are ready to enrich you with that Dhamma.

The religious text of Buddhism is known as ‘Thripitaka.’ It includes forty five years of teachings of Lord Buddha. These discourses of Buddha included in Thripitaka were transferred from one era to another by great disciples (Arahants) of Buddha by memorizing them. About one thousand years ago, these discourses were then written down in scrolls under the guidance of these Buddhist Bhikkhus in Sri Lanka. Those sacred discourses of the Lord Buddha written in Pali (the language of Buddha) are what we are using today. We are ready to grant you the passage to those discourses of Buddha at time to time from this website.

Thripitaka means “three sections or pitaka.” That is Suttra Pitaka, Vinaya Pitaka, and Abhidharma Pitaka. There are discourses delivered by Buddha and his great and wise disciples in the Thripitaka. The discourses in Thripitaka delivered by the disciple monks were permitted by Lord Buddha himself.

After the great death (Parinirvana) of the Supreme Buddha, his discourses were secured by categorizing them into text of Pitaka and Nikaya in a great convocation, which is called the first Sangayana (the first convocation) of Arahants under the administration of Maha Kkashyapa Arahant Thero. At that time, Buddha’s teachings were categorized into five Nikaya depending on the length of each discourse. The lengthy discourses were grouped into Deegha Nikaya (long part) and medium size discourses into Majjima Nikaya (medium part). In Anguttara Nikaya (numbered), the discourses that were numbered were included. Different parts of Buddha’s teachings (Dhamma) that were compacted and gathered under some main points were grouped into Sanyukta Nikaya, and discourses of small extent into Khuddaka Nikaya. Each of these Nikaya was then assigned to disciples of Arahants to memorize and protect Dhamma for the future generations. Thus, the Deegha Nikaya, Majjima Nikaya, Anguttara Nikaya, and Sanyukta Nikaya were assigned to the disciples of Ananda Arahant Thero, Sariputta Arahant Thero, Anuruddha Arahant Thero, and Maha Kashshyapa Arahant Thero, respectively. Khuddaka Nikaya was memorized by every monk and protected throughout the history.

Buddha’s discourses in this categorized form were then flowed well through each generation for few decades after that first convocation. After words, the second great convocation (the second Sangayana) was performed in Palulup City to remedy the crisis that was arisen based on Wajjiputtaka Monks’ ten prohibited luxury objects. This convocation was done under the administration of Sabbakamie Yasa Arahant Thero who was foreseen as the Bhikkhu to solve this problem of ten prohibited luxury objects by Supreme Buddha with his divine eye when he was alive. This convocation helped the order of Buddha to be survived purely for another long period of time. In three hundred years after the great death of Supreme Buddha, another flourishing period for Buddhism was begun to rise. This was happened in the era of the great Emperor, the King Ashoka of India. After he saw the death of millions of people from his final battle with King Kalinga, he was pretty upset. This was when a seven years old young monk called Niggrodha Arahant Thero helped him to overcome his stress and sadness in his heart. King Ashoka who was impressed by Niggrodha Arahant Thero’s character started to adore Buddhism. He began building eighty four thousand Stupa and temples around India as a devotion to the mass of eighty four thousand teachings of Buddha. As a consequence of the rise of the Order of Buddha, more people found their way to Buddhism and gathered around it. For this reason, there were not enough people to treat and worship other priests of different religions at that time. Finally, they became like beggars. There was nothing else for them to do except to become Buddhist monks. Thus, they had to join the monkhood of Buddhism in hundreds. However, instead of living a life according to Buddha’s teachings, they performed their old rituals and sacrifices inside temples. Like the unchanging specks of a tiger even though the forest it lives is changed, they lived heretical lives in temples wearing Buddhist robs. As a result of this contamination, a group of corrupted monks was formed aside the Aarya Sanga (the untainted group true Bhikkhu) in the Order of Buddha. The virtuous monks began to do their work separately refusing to do Uposatha Kamma (discussion of how Bhikkhus live with respect to their observed precepts) with these corrupted monks. Therefore, the Uposatha Kamma was not performed for seven continuous years. Another convocation was therefore held with the support of King Dharmashoka (King Ashoka was famous by the name Dharmashoka after his great contribution to Buddhism) to purify the order of Buddha from the contaminations of outside believes. This convocation was carried out under the supervision of Moggaliiputta Tissa Arahant Thero, who was the highest priest among the monks at that time. King Dharmashoka sent groups of monks as messengers to spread the teachings of Buddha to other countries around the world after this convocation. Mihindu Arahant Thero’s arrival to Sri Lanka was a result of this great effort.

It was the great monks who have eradicated all defilements (Arahant Theros) that protected the Dhamma by memorizing them after the first convocation. They will never deface the teachings of Buddha. Therefore, the Dhamma was protected without any damage to its content. Since a lot of Bhikkhus bore the Dhamma as it was, none of it was slipped away. In the meantime, Sri Lanka was also fortunate to receive Dhamma. After the Sri Lankan people accepted Dhamma, it was well spread throughout the country. As a result, a large number of Arahants were born. They also bore Dhamma by heart in each generation without letting it to vanish. They reminded Dhamma frequently and never let it be disappeared from their minds. They preached it and taught others. This is why Dhamma was never destroyed or altered.

In that era, Buddhism was continued to exist for hundreds of years by conveying Dhamma in its pure from one generation of Monks to another. However, there were really awful times that Buddhism faced catastrophic blows. The famine occurred throughout the country in King Walagamma’s time was one such time period. Because of the food shortage at that time period, it was difficult for Buddhist monks to find something to eat. As a result, thousands of Arahant Theros died in their meditation stances with hunger. The rest of the Arahant Theros did not let the teachings of the Buddha disappeared. They remembered how the disciples of Buddha even sacrificed their own lives to save Dhamma in the past. With a great effort, these monks protected Dhamma again just by feeding themselves on the liquid of screwpine. At one point, a part of these monks went to India with the intention of keeping the Dhamma in their minds, just in case if they could not survive the drought. Finally, the drought went away after few years. The country started to rise once again with prosperity. The group of monks who went to India came back to Sri Lanka. Both groups of monks who went to India and who lived in Sri Lanka during the drought preached Dhamma as they remembered to check the accuracy of their memories. Like a miracle, both parts remembered Dhamma in its pure form without any alterations. After escaping from that dreadful time period, the Arahants decided to protect Dhamma by writing it down. Thus, with the participation of King Walagamba and under the admiration of deities and humans, the teachings of Buddha were written down on scriptures. These Dhamma scriptures were inherited from generation to generation brightening the Order of the Buddha. Therefore, Dhamma has been protected in its pure form until now. It is that untainted teachings of the Buddha we are presenting to you here.

Our great teacher, The Supreme Buddha, told Venerable Ananda Thero one day “dear Ananda, you might think one day when I passed away, that your teacher is gone to past now and this Dhamma is of a teacher who has passed away. Dear Ananda, you shouldn’t think in that way ever. Ananda, you need to consider the Dhamma and Descipline that I taught you as your teacher.” This indicates that even after the death of our teacher, but if Dhamma is still available, we still can see him at any time by learning and practicing Dhamma he taught us with a great compassion. Furthermore, we should not become sad by thinking about the pass away of our teacher, but practice Dhamma. Buddha’s teachings are still being protected in its pure form in Tripitaka. This means, we can still develop the path to realize Dhamma by practicing it in a similar manner just as when the Buddha was alive, even at this time period. Tripitaka is important because of this important reason.

Dhammapada is a world famous sacred scripture of Buddhism. It really contains the teachings of Buddha. Some people think Dhammapada is the religious text book of Buddhists, but it is really just a part of one chapter of a Pitaka of Tripitaka. There are only 423 Dhamma stanzas included in Dhammapada. Tripitaka is consisted of 84,000 Dhamma matters. If you finished reading Dhammapada, then you would be able to think how vast the knowledge of Supreme Buddha was. Dhammapada consists of advices to a disciple who practices the Noble Eight-Fold Path.

Discourses in Deega Nikaya are known as the longest discourses of Buddha. Length of these Dhamma discourses depends on the wisdom of the person to whom the discourse was sermonized and also according to length of time that discourse was being sermonized. However, if there is an opportunity for you to read Tripitaka in simple language, then you will definitely be amazed by its content. Furthermore, you will definitely start to believe Buddha’s great wisdom. Think this as a great moment in your life and learn Dhamma without being disappointed about the length of the discourses. Our expectation is to give you Dhamma in a simple language. This is how you get to read our teacher’s Dhamma even at this very moment.

Since lay people follow the path to Nibbana with their worldly attachments, their journey is slow like a walk of a peacock. In fact, a monk’s progression is fast like a movement of a swan because his journey is free from any attachments. Thus, a person who would like to attain Nibbana promptly will give up all his attachments and becomes a monk. If the person who joined the monkhood is a male, then he will be called a Bhikkhu while a female be called a Bhikshuni. These Bhikkhu and Bhiksuni start to protect a higher set of percepts than the five percepts of a layperson (disciple who follows a lay life). From that point onward, they start to practice the path to Nibbana while teaching others of what Buddha said.

Anyone can become a Bhikkhu or Bhikshuni. However, it is not just enough being different from bodily but also need to become a monk from within. That person needs to fully commit bodily and as well as mentally to give up all his past life attachments. Anyone who is frank enough to give up worldly attachments can become a monk.

There are three stages of realizing Dhamma (Magaphala) before stepping to the fourth stage or the final stage, which is the attainment of Nibbana. All those three stages can be attained within being a layperson. If someone fully realized Dhamma and became an Arahant, he will not live the lay life anymore spending time on accumulating worldly pleasures and items. Thus, an Arahant cannot live as a layperson anymore. A person who became an Arahant in his lay life often joins the monkhood quickly. It is clear from this explanation that even a layperson can become an Arahant.

Our teacher, the Buddha, approved wearing red-brown colored robes. These types of colors made out of chips of trees emanate odors that would prevent flies or mosquitoes to come near or bother the monks. These colors also help the monks being seen from far in the forests. In fact, red-brown colored robes look simple. Having a robe worn with one simple color, makes the monks to think simply about their own beauty as well.

Buddha once told that the attachment of a person to the lay life is stronger than an unbreakable iron chain. Therefore, not everyone of this world has the strength to break those attachments and become a monk. It is impossible to see everyone in the world join the monkhood.