After nearly two months of insightful learning, the Mahāsatipaṭṭhāna Sutta sharing sessions concluded last Thursday at Nalanda Education & Outreach Centre, Kuala Lumpur. The sessions led by Sis. Nandini Tan, a member of Nalanda Dhammaduta College, were well received and deeply appreciated by participants.
Read moreBeginning the day after the full-moon of Asalha month (around July every year), Theravada Buddhist monks are required to observe Vassana or ‘Rains Retreat’ for a duration of 3 months. The Vassana period from July-August to October-November corresponds with the monsoon season in South and Southeast Asia (which were historically Buddhist strongholds), thus making traveling very difficult and even dangerous. Monks and nuns were often invited by Buddhist communities to reside in village Aramas (monasteries and nunneries) for the duration of the ‘rains’.
Read moreThe fifth daily practice during the Gimhāna Retreat is do ground ourselves in evening chanting and reflection of our day. Take time at the end of the day to recollect and reflect on our actions, speech and thoughts throughout the day. The more that we reflect, the clearer we can see our progress and journey.
Read moreHoning wholesome habits would not be complete without efforts to perform acts generosity and kindness towards others as part of our daily practice. Giving (Dāna) can be performed in everyday life, even when we don’t leave out home; donating online, purchasing requisites to be delivered to another, or even a kind word to someone suffering.
Read moreOne of the wholesome habits we can develop is to dedicate time to read Dhamma books and listen to Dhamma talks. Just as how we brush our teeth daily to ensure healthy teeth and gums, and to prevent tooth decay, we nourish our minds with Dhamma daily so that we purify our minds from the stains of defilements.
Read moreIn the Gimhāna Retreat, the second daily practice that we can do is meditation to cultivate calmness and clarity of the mind. Our quality of life and happiness is directly linked to the degree of our mental development. Our minds create many problems in our lives when untrained. With tremendous mental proliferation, there is little peace and tranquillity in life.
Read moreDuring the seven-week Gimhāna Retreat, we can undertake the Five Daily Practices to develop new wholesome habits. The first daily practice is morning chanting and making noble aspirations.
Read moreToday is the new-moon Uposatha day of the month Jeṭṭha, which also marks the start of the summer season, Gimhāna. For seven weeks after the Buddha’s Enlightenment, He contemplated on the Dhamma with His perfectly clear faculty of comprehension. At Nalanda, it marks the start of our annual Gimhāna Retreat where we come together to deepen our understanding and practice in the Dhamma.
Read moreOn Wednesday 14 May, Nalanda members and devotees were honoured to welcome Thai Forest monks Ven. Luang Por Dtumrong, Ven. Luang Por Dumrong, Ven. Ajahn Dton, Ven. Phra Mahāpuñño and Ven. Phra Mettacitto to Nalanda Centre. We were honoured to be able to learn with Ven. Luang Por Dumrong, who had last visited us in 2013, in the evening Dhamma teaching.
Read moreToday is the full-moon Uposatha day of the Citta month, a good time to dedicate ourselves to strengthen our Dhamma practice. On this day, many practitioners observe the Eight Precepts and deepen their meditation practice, as well as listen to Dhamma talks and reflect on the teachings.
Read more