In India in the 6th century BC, Sakyamuni, "a wise man of the Sakya tribe", had been meditating under a tree when, suddenly, he was struck with the comprehension of all things. He became Buddha, meaning the « Illuminated ». His message, based on a pragmatic philosophy, taught how to free oneself from all needs in order to achieve illumination. After the death of the Enlightened One, his disciples – a few monks – began to spread his teachings all over India, from Ceylon to the Himalayan. Fearing man’s penc

Amitabha Buddha’s name chanting is an easy method of cultivation in which beliefs are difficult to have, especially in this age of information technology when people care more about material comfort than the spiritual life. However, as in the Buddha’s teachings: Buddhahood is a nature of mind and it’s the mind that possesses the Buddhahood, ringing about enlightenment. Therefore, as Buddhists, we have to believe in Buddha’s teachings. The Flower Adornment Sutra stated: “Beliefs are the mother of all the good merits.”. No other merits are greater than making a vow to be reborn in the Pure Land and to become a Buddha. On the occasion of this year’s retreat, we would like to briefly tell you about an old lady having a belief in Amitabha Buddha’s name chanting

NO CHARGE Melba Montgomery Writer: HARLAN HOWARD Recitation: My little boy came into the kitchen this evenin' While I was fixin' supper And he handed me a piece of paper he'd been writin' on And after wipin' my hands on my apron I read it - and this is what it said: For mowin' the yard - five dollars And for makin' my own bed this week - one dollar And for goin' to the store - fifty cents An' playin' with little brother, while you went shoppin' - twenty-five cents Takin' out the trash - one dollar Gettin' a good report card - five dollars And for rakin' the yard - two dollars Total owed - fourteen seventy-five. Well, I looked at 'im standin' there expectantly And a thousand mem'ries flashed through my mind So I picked up the pen, turnin' the paper over, This is what I wrote: For nine months I carried you Growin' inside me - NO CHARGE For the nights I've sat up with you, Doctored you, prayed for you - NO CHARGE For the time and the tears. And the cost through the years, there's NO CHARG

As a Vietnamese Buddhist monk serving as a Buddhist chaplain in several hospitals across Melbourne, as well as at the Melbourne Assessment Prison, I have witnessed numerous personal tragedies experienced by the living, along with the profound realities of dying and death. Many individuals, especially those approaching the end of life, often face their final moments with fear, suffering, and deep emotional pain. Bearing these experiences in mind, I would like to share some reflections from a Buddhist perspective. It is my sincere hope that such understanding may help ease the fear surrounding death and allow individuals to approach this inevitable transition with greater calmness and acceptance. For, according to the Buddhist view, death is not the end of life, but rather a continuation within the cycle of existence.

Sampson "Sam" Gordon Berns (October 23, 1996 – January 10, 2014) was an American who suffered from progeria and helped raise awareness about the disease.He was the subject of the HBO documentary Life According to Sam.[1][3] His parents, Scott Berns and Leslie Gordon, both pediatricians, received their son's diagnosis when he was less than two years of age.[4] Roughly a year later, they established the Progeria Research Foundation[5] in an effort to increase awareness of the condition, to promote research into the underlying causes of and possible treatments for the disease, and to offer resources for the support of sufferers and their families.Sam Berns is a Junior at Foxboro High School in Foxboro, Massachusetts, where he has achieved highest honors and is currently a percussion section leader in the high school marching band. He recently achieved the rank of Eagle Scout in the Boy Scouts of America. Sam was diagnosed with Progeria, a rare, rapid aging disease, at the age of 2. He

Video:Being a refugee is not a choice: Carina Hoang at TEDxPe, Refugees are often marginalised, their humanity ignored as their stories go untold. In this remarkable and emotional talk, however, author and former refugee Carina Hoang discusses her experience as a "boat person". It's a powerful account that is impossible to ignore. At age 16 Carina escaped war--torn Vietnam on a wooden boat with her two younger siblings and 370 other people. She survived harrowing conditions in a refugee camp in Indonesia before being given the opportunity to go to the US. Since then, she has earned a Bachelor of Chemistry, Bachelor of Arts with Honours in Gender and Cultural Studies, and a Masters in Business Administration and has worked in the semi-conductor, biotechnology, and healthcare industries. After settling in Perth five years ago she has made a pledge to raise the awareness of 'boat people' and their stories. She also assists families from different parts of the world to search for g

Anyone acquainted with either the Paali suttas or the Theravaada tradition as a whole, if asked for an opinion on the spiritual status of ta.nhaa, usually translated as 'craving', would most likely answer along the lines that ta.nhaa is entirely antithetical to the Buddhist spiritual quest, the brahmacariya, and is almost akin to the Christian notion of 'original sin', in the sense that no one is born without it.