Theory Freak

by Venerable Visuddhacara "Let me not beg for the stilling of my pain, but for the heart to conquer it." - Tagore Pain is a fact of life and the sooner we learn to live with the better. It has often been said that Buddhism is a pessimistic religion because it harps on the fact of suffering. It has also been pointed out that Buddhism is not pessimistic but realistic. Refusing to acknowledge pain in our lives does not make the pain go away. Like it or not, all of us have to succumb to old age, disease and death, that is if our life is not suddenly cut off at an early age. It has also been said that Buddhism is in fact optimistic in that Buddha precribes a way out of the vicious cycle of birth and death and suffering. So there is hope for all of us. We need not despair. We can work towards liberation. Buddhism is actually a teaching of liberation. It harps on suffering only because it has to wake us up from out pathetic ignorance of the unsatisfa...

As I see it, meditation creates an equilibrium in our mind. Our mind is on a rapid flux. It fluctuates from moods such as anger, depression to bright happiness that prevents us from seeing what's happening around us. Due to these moods we take wrong decisions, make mis-judgements. In Anapanasati (breathing) meditation, we focus our mind on the breath gradually. First we start by experiences the sensory inputs (what we see, feel, hear, thoughts, perceptions, feelings) as they are. We are aware of what's happening around us. Then we focus on our breath, gradually creating an equilibrium. The more we are exposed to this equilibrium, we develop a mind that leans towards the equilibrium. It stays there even after we get up from the cushion. Thats the difference with meditation. It creates a permanent effect, unlike meth, although makes you "happy", leaves you with cruel side-effects. Whatever the biological factors that cause bipolar disorder, our mind also pla...

Fort-Kandy railway journey is a must to have. I have had the exotic opportunity to experience the joyous journey yesterday. Unfortunately, I won't be talking about that today. The bad impression made by the Sri Lankan railway rose upon the joy of the train ride. The station itself was so messy. It looked as if they have done nothing to improve it after the departure of the British rulers who established the Sri Lankan railway. Station was dilapidated and messy. It was not clean. The newly imported coaches shone brightly in the unmended platform. It took such a long time for me to figure out the train schedule. Station had several boards displaying the train schedule. I did not know which one was updated and which one was accurate. Someone was seen dialing down the clocks in the blackboard by hand. How modern that it? Even that was messy. It was quite hard to figure out the times, whether the train or express or fast? etc. I was in queue waiting to get a 4 PM train ticke...

By Venerable Panyananda Bhikkhu from his book Love Your Children The Right Way  DEAR PARENTS, Please listen to me again about this important matter. Several days ago, a lady came to see me at the temple. She said she had only one son but he was trouble for her. I asked her how. She told me that her son was very stubborn. He did not listen to her at all and always acted as he pleased. Any time she disagreed with him there would be big trouble. When he became angry he would break things, which were close to him at the time. I listened and could not help feel pity on her and on that boy as well. Mothers always have problems with stubborn children. If the children cannot be cured, the stubbornness will become a bad habit. When they grow up they may become hotheaded and cruel. I knew another boy. When he was young he would always be angry at something. When he became angry he would hit his head against the wall every time. The parents had to help each other hold him and tal...

If one day I realize that there is no life after death, I would commit suicide instantly. I am not depressed. I experience a fare share of depressive moments as everybody else. I experience extremely joyous moments as well. I am loved. I have people around me to love. But its still more filled with trying, troubles, pain, monotony, expectations, grief, separation. I undergo all those negative feelings to achieve those limited periods of joyous moments. A hot cup of tea is refreshingly delicious. But the feeling doesn't last for a long. We get bored. We might not have money to buy another cup. We buy an SUV, only to find that there is a better car in the market. We are always worried about the safety of the car. The bliss of sex last for a very short time. There are so many luxuries in the world that we cannot afford. We have all the luxuries but we are  still jealous of others. By committing suicide I can avoid all those. If there is no life after death, people will be forced/in...

If the world, specially companies can adopt a "No ironing required" policy for their employees, it would be humongously beneficial. In several ways. First it would be earth friendly, thus making companies more ;), i mean genuinely sustainable. Ironing requires a hell of a lot of energy. My meter goes crazy when ironing. Ironing eats up time as well, reducing the efficiency of the employees, getting them late to come to work. No-ironing policy saves money by cutting of the electricity bill. (which is a hot issue for Sri Lankan middle-class these days). Ironing destroys fabrics sooner. The heat speeds up the decay. Ironed shirts becomes thinner and it washes out the color. Ironing is utterly useless. Ironed shirt doesn't make employees efficient or effective. It does not have any effect on the quality of the work. Its just for the show. I mean who are we kidding right? Gosh, some people even iron their underpants and wests. Nonsense. If you are wearing a coa...

I had the opportunity to attend the annual Sinhala/Tamil New Year festival of my not three year old nephew's day care center. The daycare, which also runs a preschool as it's main business is the oldest and the most-heard place for the little children to get themselves ready for to step into the depressive, torturous school life where they are expected to survive the competition that promises them a high-paid government job. As the preschool was located in a small, confined area, the festival was held in the ground situated in the heart of the city. Nearing the ground, I heard the sounds of loud speakers announcing the games and the events. Bright colored vertical flags decorated the sides of the road that leads to the ground. The ground had six or seven canopies dedicated to the parents of the respective section (Baby Class, Upper, Lower etc. ). The purple canopy was reserved for the special guests. I found the nephew's grandmot...