Year: 2020

Dependent Origination

The Buddha, soon after his enlightenment, reflected on the depth of the Dhamma he had realized. He saw two points in this Dhamma that transcends logic (atakkāvacara), which it is difficult for the worldlings immersed in defilements to see. One is the Dependent Origination (Paṭicca Samuppāda) or Conditionality (Idappacayatā). The other is Nibbāṇa – the complete absence of all cravings & attachments.

Stages of Awakening

Sotāpanna: The ‘Stream-winner’ or ‘stream-entrant’, is the lowest of the 8 Noble Disciples see: ariya-puggala Three kinds are to be distinguished: the one ‘with 7 rebirths at the utmost’ sattakkhattu-parama, the one ‘passing from one noble family to another’ kolankola the one ‘germinating only once more’ eka-bījī

Transferring Merits

Following every meritorious act, the Buddhist community have a good habit of sharing the merits with all sentient beings including men & women, children & elders, humans & non-humans, Devas-Brahmas & all sentient beings. They even transfer merits to all the Departed Ones. This way not only they themselves feel blessed and comfortable but also all the other sentient beings are benefitted with many different ways. This is such a noble act by the Buddhist community to be grateful and thankful to their departed ones. It is a wonderful sense of gesture when they think of Brahmas & Devas with respect and appreciation and share the merits they accrue. It is even more amazing when they think of their Departed Ones with a sense of gratitude & thankfulness. You can always use these Pali stanzas and their meanings following your Dāna (Generosity), Sīla (Morality), Bhāvanā (Meditation) activities.