tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-90317934660853067012024-02-20T02:57:10.616-08:00SwarnamaliAsela Gunawardenahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11129499322834880615noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9031793466085306701.post-1143595272805784542010-04-11T02:10:00.000-07:002010-04-11T17:45:33.924-07:00Shraddha<span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Readers may wonder why the term (shraddha) is given such a significance in this blog, when most Buddhist literature starts off either with four Nobel truth(s) or Hethu pala Vada (rationale behind the existence of substance/ life and its expiration with the cessation of the cause of existence).<br /><br />To answer the question, author would like to remind the reason why you’d be reading this blog or why somebody would be interested in Lord Buddha’s teachings. If the answer is to understand what life is all about or to take at least a step towards attaining Nibbana, then you need to be well aware of the term before you go any further. It is extremely important that you listen to the teachings of Lord Buddha with utmost shraddha if you are to comprehend the true meaning of the teaching. This doesn’t mean that it is expected of you to embrace all the teachings of Lord Buddha blindly without questioning it. What is expected here is to follow the guidance given by the teacher and see whether you can obtain the result, if not then the teachings are to be challenged.<br /><br />Let’s assume that person A is standing in front of a wall through which he cannot see the other side, and there is person B, sitting on a tall post whose in a better position to see the other side of the wall. And B tells A that there is another person C on the other side of the wall whom A can see if he climbs on to the post. Now if he A rejects B’s claim without doing what he was asked to do, how rational would that be? Sharddha is exactly that, Like A have to believe in what B says in order to find C on the other side of the wall, somebody whose following Buddhist philosophy needs to have utmost faith in Lord Buddha and his teachings to obtain the results.<br /><br />Now the reader may wonder then what the difference would be between Buddhism and all the other religions of the world [All religions are based on faith], which author see as an argument with complete sense. The difference is that all these states or achievements (Margapala) can be obtained within this life itself, if followed what was taught by Lord Buddha. So the simple answer to that is follow the steps laid down and see whether you can reach first, second, third and fourth dyana(s), if not then question the teachings. Once you reach 4th Dyana do as mentioned in dhamma and see whether you can reach Sowan (1st Margapala). Likewise the path has been properly and very clearly laid down towards the ultimate state 'Arhath' which u can attain within this life time.<br /></span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Whatever said and done when someone comes across certain sutra Like Agganya Sutta (which talks about how the world was formed) or Chakkawatti seehanada (which talks about the cycles of human existance) the reader may find the teachings abit hard to believe and may tend to lose faith or shraddha towards dhamma. The Authors advice here is that these sutta’s were delivered targeting different audience who were better equipped to grasp the meaning of it and you may not be in the best position to absorb the true meaning of them. Therefore the author feels that it would be best to start with sutra that is simple and pretty obvious like Dhamsak pewathum, sheka sutta etc.</span>Asela Gunawardenahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11129499322834880615noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9031793466085306701.post-32904014177100402252010-03-21T06:09:00.000-07:002010-03-21T18:16:56.296-07:00Swarnamali<span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Author expects to kick things off by explaining the name chosen for this blog [<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">Swarnamali</span></span>].<br /></span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">After Lord Buddha attained <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">Nibbana</span></span>, it was said that the sacred ashes were put into eight <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">drona</span></span>(s), smaller pot like containers, and was distributed among the kings of ancient India to build <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">stupa</span></span>(s) for all life forms to worship; as that is one way of building <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">shraddha</span></span> <em>(<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">faithfullness</span></span> towards <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">trilple</span></span> Gem Buddha, <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7">Dhamma</span></span>, <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_8"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_8">Sanga</span></span>).</em> The word <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_9"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_9">shradda</span></span> will be discussed at length in a future post as it is not merely <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_10"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_10">faithfullness</span></span> or loyalty; but the Author thinks that the term attained <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_11"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_11">nibbana</span></span> needs to be clarified a little as it is not just a synonym for the word death.<br /></span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">According to the word of Lord Buddha death stands for leaving this (human) form of <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_12">existence</span> to accept the same or another form of <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_13">existence</span> which continues till an end is put to forming of <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_14"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_12">Bhawa</span> [will be discussed in a future post]</span>. But a human being who reached the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_15"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_13">Arhath</span></span> status [will be discussed in a future post] as Lord Buddha does not fall into this universal process of death as the <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_16">existence</span> of the being who has reached <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_17"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_14">Arhath</span></span> status ends with death. Therefore Attained <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_18"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_15">nibbana</span></span> would be the correct term to be used when <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_19"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_16">refering</span></span> to the passing away of anyone who has achieved the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_20"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_17">Arhath</span></span> status.<br /></span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">If we get back to the topic again, it is said that before Lord <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_21"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_18">buddha</span></span> attained <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_22"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_19">nibbana</span></span> it was wished that one of these <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_23"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_20">drona</span></span>(s) to remain in <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_24"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_21">Sri</span></span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_25"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_22">Lanka</span></span> as this is the island where the essence of <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_26"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_23">dhamma</span></span> would remain to the end, before <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_27"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_24">Dhamma</span></span> (teachings) is lost and <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_28"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_25">forgotton</span></span>. And it is believed by the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_29"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_26">Sri</span></span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_30"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_27">Lankan</span></span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_31"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_28">buddhists</span></span> that a one <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_32"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_29">drona</span></span> full of ashes resides inside this massive <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_33"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_30">stupa</span></span> (<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_34"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_31">Swarnamali</span></span>) <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_35"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_32">Ruwanweliseya</span></span> and is the place with the biggest portion of <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_36"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_33">Dhathu</span></span> (remains) of <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_37"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_34">Gautam</span></span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_38"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_35">buddha</span></span>.<br /></span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">And it is said that before the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_39"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_36">Dhamma</span></span> reaches its end <em>(This is not by any means the end of world or apocalypse, just the end of Teachings of Gautama Buddha. According to the Lord <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_40"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_37">buddha</span></span>, the human race can and will remain without <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_41"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_38">Dhamma</span></span> for ages till the next <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_42"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_39">samma</span></span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_43"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_40">sambuddha</span></span> is born) </em>all remains those resides in human and none human worlds will come together to form a living image of Lord <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_44"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_41">buddha</span></span> where the one final sermon is delivered by Lord <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_45"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_42">buddha's</span></span> living image for the benefit of those with the wisdom to comprehend the 4 <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_46"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_43">nobel</span></span> truth and attain <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_47"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_44">nibbana</span></span> within the Gautama Buddha <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_48"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_45">sasana</span></span>. And it is believed by the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_49"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_46">Sri</span></span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_50"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_47">Lankan</span></span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_51"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_48">buddhists</span></span> that the much anticipated the final sermon would be delivered here at <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_52"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_49">Swarnamali</span></span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_53"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_50">Stupa</span></span>.</span>Asela Gunawardenahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11129499322834880615noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9031793466085306701.post-41316305872513664362010-03-21T02:47:00.001-07:002010-03-21T02:47:50.681-07:00TestAsela Gunawardenahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11129499322834880615noreply@blogger.com0