THE FOUR NOBLE TRUTHS (CATTARI ARIYASACCANI)

These four noble truths are fundamental teaching. The heart of the Buddha's teaching lies in the Four Noble Truths (Cattari Ariyasaccani) which He taught in his first sermon to his old companions, the five ascetics, at Isipatana-Deer Park (modern Sarnath) near Benares. In this sermon, as we have it in the original texts, these four truths are given briefly. They are

1.      Dukkha sacca – the Truth of Suffering

2.      samudaya sacca – the Truth of the Cause of Suffering

3.      Nirodha sacca – the Truth of the Cessation of Suffering

4.      Magga sacca – the Truth of the Path leading to the Cessation of Suffering

But there are innumerable places in the early Buddhist scriptures where they are explained again and again, which greater detail and indifferent ways.

THICH NHAT HANH

Zen Master, poet, peace and human rights activist, Thich Nhat Hanh was born in central Vietnam in 1926 and joined the monkhood at the age of 16. In Saigon in the early 1960's, he founded the School of Youth for Social Services (SYSS), a grass roots relief organization that rebuilt bombed villages, set up schools and medical centers, resettled homeless families, and organized agricultural cooperatives. Rallying some 10,000 student volunteers, the SYSS based its work on the Buddhist principles of non-violence and compassionate action. Despite government denunciation of his activity, Nhat Hanh also founded a Buddhist University, a publishing house, and an influential peace activist magazine in Vietnam.

Exiled from Vietnam, he traveled to the U.S. where he made the case for peace to federal and Pentagon officials including Robert McNamara. He may have changed the course of U.S. history when he persuaded Martin Luther King, Jr. to oppose the Vietnam War publicly, and so helped galvanize the peace movement. The following year, King nominated him for the Nobel Peace Prize. Subsequently Nhat Hanh led the Buddhist delegation to the Paris Peace Talks.

MINDFULNESS WITH BREATHING

Sit up straight (with all the vertebrae of the spine fitting together snugly). Keep your head upright. Direct your eyes towards the tip of your nose so that nothing else is seen. Whether you see it or not doesn't really matter, just gaze in its direction. Once you get used to it, the results will be better than closing the eyes, and you won't be encouraged to fall asleep so easily. In particular, people who are sleepy should practice with their eyes open rather than closed. Practice like this steadily and they will close by themselves when the time comes for them to close. (If you want to practice with your eyes closed from the start, that's up to you.) Still, the method of keeping the eyes open gives better results. Some people, however, will feel that it's too difficult, especially those who are attached to closing their eyes. They won't be able to practice with their eyes open, and may close them if they wish.

Lay the hands in your lap, comfortably, one on top of the other. Overlap or cross your legs in a way that distributes and holds your weight well, so that you can sit comfortably and will not fall over easily.

Buddhism and Democracy

Washington, D.C., April 1993

1. For thousands of years people have been led to believe that only an authoritarian organization employing rigid disciplinary methods could govern human society. However, because people have an innate desire for freedom, the forces of liberty and oppression have been in continuous conflict throughout history. Today, it is clear which is winning. The emergence of peoples' power movements, overthrowing dictatorships of left and right, has shown indisputably that the human race can neither tolerate nor function properly under tyranny.

2. Although none of our Buddhist societies developed anything like democracy in their systems of government, I personally have great admiration for secular democracy. When Tibet was still free, we cultivated our natural isolation, mistakenly thinking that we could prolong our peace and security that way. Consequently, we paid little attention to the changes taking place in the world outside. We hardly noticed when India, one of our closest neighbours, having peacefully won her independence, became the largest democracy in the world. Later, we learned the hard way that in the international arena, as well as at home, freedom is something to be shared and enjoyed in the company of others, not kept to yourself.

Ven. Maha Ghosananda

I am relieved to report that the Coalition for Peace and Reconciliation (CPR) in Cambodia has confirmed that the story of Ven. Maha Ghosananda's "disappearance"  in Cambodia is false.  He is SAFE -- and currently on retreat in Austria.

On Friday, October 2nd, the Coalition for Peace and Reconciliation stated the following: We now know where he is at.  Though we don't wish to bother him now at his retreat we have confimed that he is in Austria and a member of our sister organization has spoken with him.  His plans are to finish the retreat then go straight to Oslo for a peace conference, and be back in Phnom Penh a week after that. This news we have sent off to the papers, though they have been reluctant to print this news after printing so many rumors. You are welcome to send this good news off to all your friends.

The Ven. Maha Ghoasnada (popularly known as "Cambodia's Gandhi") is a peace activist, winner of the Alternative Peace Prize, nominee for the 1996 Noble Peace Prize, Buddhist monk, and the Supreme Patriach of Buddhism in Cambodia. A profile of Ven. Maha Ghosananda

What is Buddha?

The Buddha deep into his meditation did not see a storm coming. To protect him from torrential rain, Mucilinda, the King of the serpents, spread his heads into a hood over the Buddha while coiling underneath him to form his throne. The serpent's heads are treated in a highly decorative manner, while the Buddha wears a finely incised headdress. Spendidly executed sculpture in the Angkor Wat style reveals a new emphasis on ornamentation nowhere more manifest than in the abundant jewellery of the adorned Buddha.  

What is Buddhism?

According to the theories of the Buddhist means that, the name Buddhism comes from the word' Budhi' which means ' to wake up' and thus Buddhism is the Philosophy of awakening. This philosophy has its origins in the experience of the man Siddhartha Gotama, known as the Buddha, who was himself awakened at the age of 35. Buddhism is now 2,500 years old and has about 300 million followers worldwide. Until a hundred years ago Buddhism was mainly an Asian philosophy but increasingly it is gaining adherents in Europe, Australia and America. 

www.budaedu.org

The world’s Peace

The suffering of Cambodia has been deep. From this suffering comes great compassion. A great compassion makes a peaceful heart. A peaceful heart makes peaceful person. A peaceful person makes a peaceful family. A peaceful family makes a peaceful community. A peaceful community makes a peaceful nation. A peaceful nation makes a peaceful world. May all being live in happiness and peace?