Dhamma is a very simple procedure, which is taking place everywhere and every moment in every being, which anybody can comprehend as soon as it is uncovered of the veil of mystery in which it was encircled by the attitude, thinking and way of life.
– Engels: “Dialectics of Nature”
‘Ata Maha Kusal’: [Eight Great Merits]
Traditionally, there are eight Great Meritorious Deeds: they are--
1. Offering Kathina
2. Offering of the eight monastic requisites - Ata Pirikara
3. Offering dwellings to Bhikkus – Avasa Dana
4. Offering Dana to Bhikkus with Buddha in mind – Sanghika Dana
5. Writing and distribution of Dhamma books
6. Donating land to temples
7. Building Buddha statues
8. Building bathrooms and toilets in temples
Ill, the rainy season’s last Poya is significant, also for many other reasons; the announcement of the future Buddhahood of Maitree Bodhisatva, The three Jatila Brothers, Uruwela. Nadi and Gaya Kassapa who lived in a hermitage by the side of river Neranja entering the Buddhist Sasana. The laying of the foundation to construct the first stupa, Thuparama dagoba in Anuradhapura, Sri Lanka where the right canine tooth, [the Dakunu Aku Datuwa] relic was treasured on an Ill poya day. the commencement of Buddhist Missionary activity by the first Sixty Arahaths, "Devahaona" or Ascendency to heaven by Buddha, passing away of one of the two Chief Disciples, Arhant Sariputta [the Dharmasenapathi],—all taking place on Ill Full Moon.
At the end of the Vas Period, Buddha addressed the Sixty Arahats thus:[Buddha observed Vas-Rainy Retreat season, at Isipatanaramaya in Benares]. ‘Charata Bhikkae, Charikan, Bahujana Hitaya, Bahujana Sukhaya, Lokanukampaya Attaya Hitana Sukhaya Devamanussanam, Ma Ekena Deva Agamitta Desetha Bhikkave Dhamman Adikarayanam Puriyosana, Kalyanam Pariyosana Kayanan Satthan Sakyanjawan Kevala Paripunnan Parisudaan Brahamachariyam Pakasetha. Oh! Bhikkus, for the happiness of the Many, for the Welfare of the many, through compassion to the world, go ye forth, and spread Buddha Doctrine for the benefit of Devas, and Human Beings.
However, things have changed, even from the situation that existed five decades ago. Except for a negligible number of poor temples where the most deprived live in the remote, our Monks have enough robes. They do not walk from village to village; they take the bus, and some living in towns are using luxury cars. Do we have to be buried in the past or move with times? This goes to demonstrate that, with a vision and a longing for innovation, changes to practices can be made, to make them precious and practical.
The Heart-Healthy Sutra
Buddha once addresses his Chief Disciple, Sariyuth saying, “Form is emptiness; emptiness also is form. In the same way, feeling, perception, formation, and consciousness are emptiness. Thus, Shariputra, all dharmas are emptiness. There is no birth and no cessation. There is no impurity and no purity. They transcend falsity and attain complete nirvana. Feeling, perception, formation, and consciousness are emptiness. All phenomena are emptiness. In emptiness, there are no sense objects, sense organs, or sensory awareness. Since there is no obscuration of mind, there is no fear”.
The passing away of Arhant Sariputta, Senior Disciple occurred on Ill Poya day. A week before the occurrence, he visited his much-loved mother, in the village
Nalaka, in the Magadha Province. She did not believe in the Triple Gem, but in a different faith called Brahminism. Sariputta Thera’s humility was another exceptional feature of his personality. When Rahula the seven-year-old novice warned him noticing his robe touching the ground, Ven. Sariputta stood before the little one and turned towards the Buddha’s monastery and with connected palms, said: “Sadhu, Sadhu” in recognition of the little one's action. Regarded as the chief disciple of Shakyamuni Buddha who leads in insight, Arhant Sariputta passed away after the triumphant mission while the Buddha was still alive.
Twenty-five centuries ago there were no permanent abodes, temples or monasteries. The Buddha and all his disciples, travelled by foot, from city to city and village to village, teaching the Dhamma, receiving alms on rounds and sleeping under trees and caves. They did this persistently for eight months of the year but were badly hampered during the monsoon rains and severe downpours that lasted for about four months. Buddha realised that monks need a rest. Walking during this time cause plants to sprout to get trampled and minute animals like worms that come out in the rain are crushed and killed. Unlike now monks then possessed only one robe which they could not expose to bad weather under the downpour. Considering the above facts Buddha agreed on the Vas, or Rainy Retreat. It was Anathapindika who built the first monastery for Buddha in observing Vas. "There are no reservations that for Buddhists, Katina, the formal offering of the Katina robe at the end of the ‘Vas’, or Rains Retreat, is one of the most significant rituals and a festivity second only to Wesak. The Katina puja is held between ‘Wap poya’ (October) and ‘Ill poya’ (November) days. It is a tradition closely practised for generations and considered by many to be the foremost great meritorious act, a concept that is disputed. The more vital question is whether it applies to the modern-day? Surely, perception ought to take the place of our theoretical thinking. The unconditioned mind can be connected with an insightful mind. Life is not so very easy and people must have the strength and the capability not to be caught in the pressure of unevenness. To find out for oneself what is correct, all influence must end. There is no ‘good’ conditioning or ‘bad’ conditioning; there is only freedom from all conditioning. There are all sorts of things in life. Life is like the deep sea, which is vastly deep, having huge currents and is crowded with all kinds of life. To recognize yourself you need not comprehend a book, go to a cleric, to any psychologist.
The whole possessions are within you. In this light all accomplishments take place. There is no ‘how’, no arrangement, and no observation. One has to see, not through the eyes of a special being. As a mirror reproduces all things held facing it, so when one’s mind-mirror is calm, one will be able to see a reproduction in it the true quality of oneself and the other one’s intellect can discover what is true only when it is enlightened from all conditioning, not when it merely repeats certain words or quotes the books called scriptures. Such a mind is not free. It is only the free mind that can be imaginative and it can be creative only when it is unlocked, free from conditioning like the following of a blueprint, a principle, or a ritual set up by an organized faith. It is only the free mind that can find out or observe the truth of something. One has to ascertain it every instant of the day as one is living; and it is called mindfulness, the only meditation that one can achieve Nibbana.
The vital presumption or animating force in Dhamma is clarified in the texts as," easily understood; completely understandable or comprehensible as explained by the Buddha, to be self-realized, everlasting, inviting research, study and exploration; to be realized by each one for himself".
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