"บุญ...ทำให้ชีวิตดีขึ้นอย่างไร"

"How does merit improve a person's life?"

The Lord Buddha teaches that 80-90% of the merit a person accumulates in the current lifetime will bear fruits to the fullest extent in his next lifetime according to the Law of Kamma. The merit accumulated in the current lifetime can be compared to a young tree while the merit accumulated in the previous lifetimes can be compared to a mature tree which is ready to bear fruits. A person who has a habit of accumulating merit regularly in his previous lifetimes as well as in the current lifetime is poised to receive the fruits of his accumulated merit regularly. Since each person has accumulated both merit and demerit all throughout his countless existences, his overall merit and demerit show up as the ups and downs in his life. Merit is the source of every thing desirable whereas demerit is the source of every thing undesirable. In other words, merit brings good fortune while demerit brings misfortune. Each person's life is dictated by the Law of Kamma or the Law of Cause and Effect based on the person's accumulated merit and demerit which are stored inside his mind as the Merit Sphere and the Demerit Sphere. The demerit and merit inside a person's mind are constantly vying with each other to send forth their respective fruits. However, one is not entirely helpless in this matter. One does have the power to ensure that merit is winning in this struggle most if not all of the time. One does so by accumulating merit regularly or at least daily. The Lord Buddha tells us that there are ten ways of making merit altogether. These can be condensed into three ways of making merit, namely, practicing generosity by giving alms, practicing morality by observing the Five Precepts or higher Precepts and practicing mindfulness by practicing meditation. The merit accumulated here and now if it is in a sufficiently great amount can work together with the merit accumulated in one's previous lifetimes to avert accidents, financial disasters, serious illnesses, etc. If the retribution for a particular misdeed committed in a previous lifetime still retains much strength, one may encounter for example an accident but instead of being killed or gravely injured, one may be able to escape with just a minor injury. So on and so forth. Moreover, a person who accumulates merit regularly will be blessed with a clear and bright mind. The Lord Buddha tells us that the round of rebirth consists of 31 realms of existence which can be divided into two major categories. These include the States of Happiness and the States of Unhappiness. A person's rebirth in the States of Happiness or the States of Unhappiness is decided by the state of his mind at the moment of death. He tells us that a clear and bright mind leads to rebirth in the States of Happiness whereas a sad and gloomy mind leads to rebirth in the States of Unhappiness. Merit has untold benefits in one's current as well as future lifetimes. When a person dies, all that he can really take with him is the merit and demerit accumulated during his time on earth. Therefore, it would behoove everyone to accumulate as much merit as possible by performing wholesome deeds and refuse to accumulate any demerit by abstaining completely from unwholesome deeds.        

"นั่งสมาธิแล้ว มีความสุขอย่างไร"

"What happiness have I gained from meditation practice?"

I have been practicing meditation according to Vijja Dhammakaya everyday now for more than eleven years. I cannot go a day without practicing it because it has now become a part of my daily activities. I feel happy and calmer after each meditation practice because I get to clear my mind of invading thought, worries and confusion. The sense of expansiveness and lightness lingers after each session and I can start afresh once again. Meditation practice for me is restorative and rejuvenating. I recommend it highly.

"ชีวิตดีขึ้น เมื่อได้นั่งสมาธิ"

How meditation practice has improved my life


Sunday, March 20, 2016

I had never learnt to practice meditation before I attended Wat Phra Dhammakaya. On every Sunday, the Abbot of Wat Phra Dhammakaya would teach every temple goer to practice meditation according to Vijja Dhammakaya. He would tell us how important meditation practice was to our personal peace and happiness. During meditation, we are instructed to keep our mind quiet and still and our body relaxed and comfortable. He taught us about the center of our body and how important it was. Initially, I suffered from exerting too much effort during meditation practice. Therefore, my eyes felt strained and my body ached. It had taken me a long while to be able to adjust my body to the point of feeling relaxed and comfortable and to adjust my mind so that it was light and quiet for seconds at a time. The Abbot told us to feel happy with whatever we were able to accomplish during meditation, and to know that the practice had a cumulative effect. He told us that it was much more important that we practiced meditation regularly and as often as possible. I have been devoted to meditation practice since I started to attend the temple. Admittedly, my initial progress was very slow but my hope of attaining the Dhamma was always very high. I told myself how many years it had taken me before I could obtain a Ph.D. in Polymer Science and Engineering and how much effort had been put into my secular education. Therefore, I must put in the same if not much greater effort in  obtaining my Dhamma education which is to benefit me not only in the current lifetime but also in future lifetimes. It is unlike my secular education which becomes completely useless the moment I die but my Dhamma knowledge can follow me across lifetimes. I wish most of all to learn about the reality of life the way the Lord Buddha learnt it through His achievement of elevated meditative attainments. After all, countless beings have been able to achieve elevated meditative attainments as a result of the Lord Buddha's Teachings. Meditation practice for the achievement of elevated meditative attainments is the most important work of a practicing Buddhist. It had taken me a few years before I started to have any inner experience during meditation practice. It was due to my love for making good progress in my meditation practice that I began to observe the Eight Precepts instead of just the Five Precepts. And I have been observing the Eight Precepts daily for about nine years now.      

"เข้าวัดพระธรรมกายแล้ว ชีวิตดีขึ้นอย่างไร" How has my life changed for the better after attending Wat Phra Dhammakaya?

"เข้าวัดพระธรรมกายแล้ว ชีวิตดีขึ้นอย่างไร"

How has my life changed for the better after attending Wat Phra Dhammakaya?

The simplest answer is that attending Wat Phra Dhammakaya has turned my life which used to be upside-down right-side-up. I soaked up like a gigantic sponge whatever knowledge I could about the Lord Buddha's Teachings from the Dhamma lectures kindly given to the laity by the Abbot and the Vice-Abbot of Wat Phra Dhammakaya. I didn't realize how I had thirsted for such knowledge my entire life. As soon as I could, I tried to put what I had learnt into practice. I started out practicing generosity by giving alms at the temple, by donating generously to all of the worthwhile projects of the temple, etc. At the same time, I started to observe the Five Precepts as well as practicing meditation. I began to feel a fullness within me where a sense of emptiness used to be. I knew that I had my entire life to work on improving myself but I did not feel daunted because I least I knew then some of the things that I could do and how to go about doing it. I felt liberated, from ignorance, that is. I felt optimistic knowing that I had the power within me to build a new life of quality and purity and the power to shape my future lives. I have been given all the necessary tools for the task. And for nearly twelve years now that I have been working on improving myself and the quality of my life and on shaping my future lives. Hopefully, I will have decades more to do it.

"ชีวิตดีขึ้น เมื่อบุญมาถึง"

I believe my past accumulated merit led me finally to Wat Phra Dhammakaya and its Abbot after decades of wandering in the desert so to speak where I felt quite lost and unsettled. Once I began to learn about the Lord Buddha's Teachings from the Abbot, I realize how crucially important merit is in a person's life. Merit or Boon (in Thai) is a form of pure and refined energy which is the source of every good thing in life. There are ten ways of making merit altogether. These can be summarized into just three, namely, practicing generosity by giving alms, practicing morality by observing the Five or higher Precepts, and practicing meditation. I started to practice these ways of making merit earnestly and before I know it, I began to feel good about myself and my life. I began to feel more and more at home with my life on earth now that I know why I am here. I felt extremely fortunate to have found Wat Phra Dhammakaya, its Abbot and Buddhism and to have accumulated merit under the guidance of the Abbot. I have been attending Dhamma lessons daily through the Dhamma programs broadcasted via satellite worldwide through the DMC Channel. I am deeply grateful to the Abbot, the Vice-Abbot and all of the monks at Wat Phra Dhammakaya who have given me knowledge about the Lord Buddha's Teachings and how to apply them in my daily life. Sadhu!

"ทำบุญแล้ว...ชีวิตท่านดีขึ้นอย่างไร"

Merit or Boon (in Thai) is something I did not know about until I came to Wat Phra Dhammakaya and began to attend the Inner Dreams Kindergarten taught by the Abbot of Wat Phra Dhammakaya. It took me, I think, only a month or may be even less to learn much about merit or Boon. The Abbot teaches first of all that every life is governed by the Law of Kamma in that one reaps what one sows. Kamma means an intentional act or intentional acts. There are three main categories of Kamma, namely, good Kamma, evil Kamma and neutral Kamma. Good Kamma bear good fruits (merit) while evil Kamma bear evil fruits (demerit). Neutral Kamma bear neutral fruits which are neither good nor evil. Now, our current lifetime and its conditions are dictated by our overall Kamma performed in our previous lifetime which means that the Kamma we perform in our current lifetime will bear most of their fruits in our next lifetime. A human being is like a puppet being pulled by the strings of previous good and evil Kamma or merit and demerit. How do we know that? For one thing, each of us is born with unique looks, unique temperament, level of intelligence, etc. The vicissitudes faced by each of us are also unique. When life is going well, it means that our accumulated merit is bearing fruits. When life is going badly, it means that our accumulated demerit is bearing fruits. The Abbot of Wat Phra Dhammakaya teaches that every breath we take requires merit. It means that we spend our accumulated merit every second of everyday, and like all accumulated things, our merit can dwindle. Once much of our accumulated merit has been spent, problems will pour down on us like a heavy rain. They show up as a serious illness, job loss, financial problems, etc. However, if we make sure to accumulate merit regularly by performing such wholesome deeds as giving alms to the Buddhist monks who practice righteousness, observe the Five or the Eight Precepts and practice meditation, we will be replenishing our accumulated merit all the time. And we can be sure that when faced with the vicissitudes of life as we must, the trough will not be so low as to cause us sleepless nights. Chances are that we will be able to sail on quite smoothly through life.  The more merit we accumulate, the better our life will be. This fact has been witnessed by just about every one of the Abbot's followers and one of them is me. Another fact we have to bear in mind also is that merit and demerit are constantly vying with each other to send forth their fruits. Therefore, it is crucially important that we make sure that merit is always winning. We can do this, according to the Abbot, by keeping our mind still, bright and clear all the time. This feat can only be accomplished by the regular practice of meditation. But that is another topic altogether. Suffice it to say for now that the Law of Kamma operates in every person's life regardless of his race or creed because it is a universal law. Whatever religious persuasion you may subscribe to, it is always better to choose to think good thoughts, say good words and perform wholesome deeds.      

The First Sunday of the Month Ceremony

March 7, 2016

Yesterday was the first Sunday of the month.  Wat Phra Dhammakaya Temple has held a very important ceremony on every first Sunday of the month for decades now.  The ceremony is called in Thai, "Puja Kao Pra".  I will not attempt to explain the ceremony and how it came about just yet because much background information about the Buddha's Teachings must first be given; otherwise, I will not be doing it justice.  For now, suffice it to say that this highly important ceremony is the source of incomparable merit and is usually participated by tens of thousands of devotees from all over Thailand.  The ceremony is also broadcasted live to every branch of Wat Phra Dhammakaya Temple all over Thailand and the world where devotees assemble together to participate in the ceremony.  An important part of the ceremony involves meditation practice.  This is guided by Venerable Father Dhammajayo.  It means that it is the time when all the participants of the ceremony nationwide and worldwide have the opportunity to practice meditation together with Venerable Father Dhammajayo and all of the righteous monks of Wat Phra Dhammakaya and its branches.  The number of people and monks meditating together worldwide is at least 100,000.  The sacred and positive energy generated by such an important ceremony is palpable.  This form of energy is called "merit" or "Boon" in Thai.  Venerable Father Dhammajayo teaches that merit or Boon is the source of every good thing in life.  The merit accumulated in this lifetime will send forth most of its fruits in the next lifetime.  It means that the merit  accumulated in our previous lifetime is sending forth most of its fruits here and now.  Therefore, we can tell to a certain extent how well we had accumulated merit in the past by the way our life has turned out in this lifetime.  For example, if one is fortunate enough to be born into a wealthy family and stands to inherit a fortune, it means that one had practiced generosity (alms-giving) to a very great extent and regularly in one's previous lifetime. If one is fortunate enough to be born with good looks and good complexion, it means that one had practiced morality (Precepts observation) regularly in one's previous lifetime.  If one is fortunate enough to be born intelligent and wise about life and the world, it means that one had practiced meditation regularly in one's previous lifetime.  To put it simply, every Buddhist is encouraged to give alms, observe the Five Precepts and practice meditation regularly so that the merit earned from such wholesome practices will follow one to bless one with material wealth , good looks and intelligence in one's next existence on earth.

March 5, 2016

By the way, the name of the refectory is Master Nun Chandra Khonnokyoong's Refectory.  I learnt that she was the founder of Wat Phra Dhammakaya.  She was one of the leading pupils of the famous monk, Phramonkolthepmuni, whose memorial hall is located at the entrance of the temple.

During the food-offering ceremony, I learnt that the presiding monk was the Vice-Abbot of Wat Phra Dhammakaya.  He was most often referred to as Venerable Father Dattajeevo.  The first time I saw the Abbot of Wat Phra Dhammakaya was on a TV screen during a Dhamma program broadcasted via satellite to every corner of the world through the DMC Channel.  The Abbot was often referred to as Venerable Father Dhammajayo.  I was struck by his good looks, youthfulness, radiant complexion, beautiful smiles, noble deportment and his lovely but manly voice.  I was in awe of what he was teaching as well.  My sister recommended that I had a satellite dish installed specifically to receive the signals from the DMC Channel.  I did as recommended right away.  Since the DMC Channel broadcasted Dhamma programs 24 hours a day, I was overjoyed that I had all the opportunity to learn as much as I could about the Buddha's teachings right here in my own home.

My most favorite program and I believe every DMC audience's most favorite program is called the Inner Dreams Kindergarten.  It is taught by Venerable Father Dhammajayo.  This program is on air live from around 7 pm to 10 pm Monday to Saturday.  Rerun of the program in the following morning is from 9 am to 11 am.  Unlike sermons in general, this program is highly interesting and entertaining.  It is chock full of Dhamma knowledge and yet the delivery is interspersed and at times emphasized using animations, Dhamma songs, secular songs, etc.  Within a month, I felt as though all of the questions about life and its working mechanism which had for so long puzzled me were answered.  I became a believer of the Buddha's teachings.  Almost twelve years have now gone past and my faith in the Buddha's teachings, in Venerable Father Dhammajayo (the Abbot of Wat Phra Dhammakaya) and Venerable Dattajeevo (the Vice Abbot of Wat Phra Dhammakaya) can only deepen further and further.

As I attended the Inner Dreams Kindergarten nightly and Wat Phra Dhammakaya Temple every Sunday, my life began to change for the better.  I came to truly realize the value of my life because for the first time in my life, I knew why I was here, what I was here to do and where I would go after I die.  Now, every second of my life is meaningful.  I feel grounded, purposeful and inspired in a way that I never knew I could be.

Venerable Father Dhammajayo is an extremely gifted teacher of the Buddha's teachings (called the Dhamma).  His words are always very precise and concise; yet, they are lovely from  beginning to end.  Words about the Dhamma come to him readily as witness by the smooth delivery of each Dhamma lesson, a sure sign of his incomparable Dhamma knowledge.  It is a great joy just to watch him and listen to him.

I had never practiced meditation before I came to Wat Phra Dhammakaya and before I listened to the Buddha's teachings from Venerable Father Dhammajayo, .  I had read about it, how it was practiced by some but I found it impossible to understand and much as I wanted to try it, I could not. I simply did not know how.  But at Wat Phra Dhammakaya, the first priority is given to meditation practice.  I vaguely remember learning about Buddhism sometime during the first four years of primary school.  And the one thing that stuck to me was the concept of Nibbana (Nirvana), it being a place which is devoid of all suffering.  I remember learning that the Buddha attained Nibbana after His passing and so did His Perfected Disciples (called Arahats).  However, I remember nothing about how to attain Nibbana but I was under the impression that it was no longer attainable by anyone.  I loved the idea of attaining Nibbana and the end of all suffering but what use was Nibbana to me if I could not get there.  But through Venerable Father Dhammajayo, I learn that the Path and Fruit of Nibbana can still be attained and the method by which to attain it is still available.      

March 4, 2016

Since I didn't know how to get to Wat Phra Dhammakaya Temple, I decided to carpool with my sisters and their friend.  As soon as we arrived at the entrance, I felt transported.  It was as though I was entering a magical land.  It had to be the panoramic view of the entrance and the imposing structure which I later learnt that it was called "the Phramonkolthepmuni Memorial Hall".  It meant nothing to me at the time, for I knew practically nothing about the Buddhist monks in Thailand.  The grounds were extensive, neat and clean.  When we arrived at the refectory where we would make a food-offering to the resident monks, I saw many cars and many people.  Here again, the grounds and the refectory were so neat and clean.  I could not help but felt very impressed.  We got out of the car and went to make donation at the Donation Room.  For the amount of money donated, each of us was given the opportunity to go up to the second floor to participate in the turning on of the waterfall which worked to cool the roof of the refectory.  One could either walk up a flight of a grand staircase or take an elevator.  I chose to walk up.  As I did so, I felt a very funny feeling in the pit of my stomach.  When I arrived at the open-air hall where the ceremony would take place, I experienced a supernormal phenomenon (without knowing that it was one because I had the same experience the second time I went to the temple with my sisters and their friend but not the third time).  Tears streamed down my face as I gazed at what appeared in front of me and it occurred to me that heaven had to be this beautiful. The supernormal phenomenon lasted throughout the entire ceremony.  All the while, I thought that everyone saw what I saw.  I was overjoyed and I knew immediately that I have finally found what I had been searching for since I was young.

Today is March 3, 2016 and it is the first time that I am writing in my blog.  I want to write today about my search for inner peace and more.  I suppose I've been on this quest from way back when but failed in my search until about twelve years ago.  Before then, I had experienced the kind of deep misery and hopelessness that kept gnawing at my soul.  Outwardly, I was a normal enough person and I could not let anyone know that I found life meaningless and painful.  I couldn't because everyone else around me seemed to be enjoying the life they had.  I just didn't understand why I couldn't be just like them.  One of my close friends once remarked to me, what is it that you are searching for?  I didn't answer her because I didn't really know then what I was searching for.  All I knew was that there had to be more to life than the life I had.

Sometime in August, 2004, I was visiting my family at the family home.  I heard my two younger sisters talk about going to make merit at Wat Phra Dhammakaya.  Wat is a Thai word and means temple.  Phra is the Thai word used to call a Buddhist monk, the letter h is silent.  Unlike my sisters, I had chosen to follow my father's faith which is Protestantism.  In my late teens, I converted to Catholicism.  Over the years I had spent going to school in the United States, I was a fundamental Christian.  I had read the Old Testament and the New Testament in its entirety.  But eventually, I no longer subscribed to the Christian Faith.  I began to read about New Age Philosophy and other works on spirituality.  By the time I returned to Thailand to live, I had no religion.  I was told by a Thai person that everyone who made a home in Thailand ought to make merit at a Buddhist temple.  Being an open-minded person, I listened.

As a child, whenever I passed by a Buddhist monk, I would pay him respect (Namaskar).  I enjoyed seeing people putting food into the monks' alms-bowls.  I just thought it was such an admirable act. But that was the extent of it.  Back to what this person told me about making merit at a Buddhist temple.  I asked him some questions about how a person went about doing it.  Having been equipped with some information, I began to buy many useful items including laundry detergent, soap bars, toothbrushes, toothpastes, non-perishable foods, some over the counter medicine for headaches, colds, coughs, etc., and went around different temples to donate these items.  I must admit that after the clean and quiet churches in the U.S. and the U.K., I could not get used to the Buddhist temples that I went to.  The main problems I had were the temple dogs and cats and the mess they made in the temple grounds.  Upon remarking the situation to a friend, she told me that there was one Buddhist temple that she was sure I would find to my enormous liking.  The name of the temple was Wat Phra Dhammakaya.

Back on that day when I was visiting my family, as soon as I heard my sisters talking about making merit at Wat Phra Dhammakaya Temple.  My ears perked up and I thought that if they invited me to come along, I would most certainly join them.  Just at that moment, my youngest sister turned to me and asked if I would like to join them.  My immediate answer was, "Yes!".