Hi folks !
How are you and how's the new year?
This plant - the new year, is still at an infant stage, merely 2 months old.
You have to pamper it, shade and protect it, believe in it and cosset it.
Make nice, happy plans and start watering them well before the summer sets in.
Some results will be quicker, like good, healthy vegetables.
Others may take time, like fruits and grains.
All give joy, don't they?!
I just completed a month's course in Pali language - through Devanagari at the Global Pagoda in Borivali.
Pali was the spoken language of the masses at the Buddha's time.
It did not have it's own script then, it does not have one now.
And it still managed to keep the Buddha's teachings in their pristine purity for future generations to understand, follow and get out of the cycle of birth and death !
After the Buddha's death, his greatest and Arhant disciples decided that his teachings, all the 84,000 Suttas (discourses / teachings ) were to be preserved for posterity in their original form, without any addition or subtraction.
So within 3 months of his passing away, 500 Arhants, that is, Bhikkus who had reached the state of ' Non-Returner ' , organized a collective recital of the entire Tipitak, the collection of Buddha's teachings.
Now the Tipitak has 3 parts.
Vinay Pitak has detailed codes for the Bhikkus, Bhikkunis and the Sangha.
There are instructions which seem jaw-dropping in this age.
Sutta Pitaka has the Sutras or the discourses given by the Buddha in his 45 years of teaching of Vipassana.
The subjects are varied here, with description of the Deva Loka or the world of celestial beings, the law of Karma, practical guidance to meditation and so on.
Abhidhamma elaborates on the science of the mind or consciousness, metaphysics, psychology , philosophy and lots more.
It is like mathematics, very precise, very clear, ensuring there is no leeway left to imagination leading to confusion.
Ananda, The Buddha's disciple- cum - secretary who was with him for most of the 45 years, had a photographic memory.
He could remember every spoken word of the Buddha, where and in which context it was spoken.
Hence many of the Suttas begin with ' Evam mey suta -' which means, ' As I heard '.
' mey as in May - I do not have Pali font yet ! '
In what is called the First Council or Sangayana, some of the 500 Bhikku Arhants chanted each line which was repeated by others and was finally authenticated by Ananda.
In this way, it was passed on orally for hundreds of years, with some bhikkus becoming ' Vinay Pitaka Dhoora' or ' Sutta Pitaka Dhoora or 'Abhidhamma Dhoora ' or of any 2 or all 3 Pitakas.
It meant they knew it / them by heart.
When Emperor Ashoka transformed from ' Chanda Ashoka ' to ' Dhamma Ashoka ', he sent emissaries to many countries to create awareness of the Buddha's teachings.
The entourage of each had experts of the Tipitaka.
Now 7 of those countries wrote the Tipitaka in their own native language!
Hence, you find it in Burmese, Roman, Sinhalese, Devanagari, Thai, Khmer and Mongol!
We were lucky to be learning it in a script known to us - Devanagari, but everything else was the same as learning a new language.
The vocabulary, though somewhat close to Hindi / Marathi / Sanskrit, is still quite different.
The grammar was a pain, as it is, I suppose, in any language !
And at any age !
However, I found a couple of very significant differences -
At my age, (I am a grand mother ! ) the understanding part was quicker, including deeper meanings, which was not so in my childhood.
But all those 8 cases (Vibhakti !) and Tenses and 1st / 2nd / 3rd Persons in 3 genders with different endings, the memory was awful, which was not so in my childhood !
But once the logic behind the charts, the grammar was explained, it became much, much easier to understand, less taxing to memorize.
There is always logic behind magic !
It was wonderful being a student again, taking notes, trying to learn and not forget.
We learnt many of the important Suttas along with Grammar and it felt awesome to read and now understand the Buddha's words on our own.
It was as if he was personally, gently explaining us the path in his own words.
The Vipassana Research Institute has shifted to the Global Pagoda, Borivali, Mumbai, from Igatpuri a couple of years ago.
There's mind-boggling amount of work done and and even more mind - boggling yet to be done.
Our daily routine had 2 hours of Vipassana meditation, one of which we did in the Pagoda, sitting right beneath the Buddha Dhatu. (Buddha's original relic, gifted by Sri Lanka and the Mahabodhi Society of Bodhgaya.).
It is said where there is Pariyatti ( Theory ), Patipatti ( Practice ) and Dhatu ( Relic ), there would be tremendous progress in meditation.
I was lucky to stay in and do the course in Pariyatti Bhavan and meditate every day in the presence of the Dhatu.
There's another wonderful thing happening there.
A sapling from the Bodhi tree is being brought from Sri Lanka by some senior Bhikkus to be planted outside the main Pagoda on 2nd March.
The Bodhi tree of Sri Lanka is special because a sapling from the original was taken by Sanghmitra, Emperor Ashoka's daughter in the 3rd century BC.
The one in Bodhgaya was burnt, cut down and destroyed repeatedly over centuries and the one we see now, has been planted by a British officer in 1881.
Bless him.
It is said that that place in Bodh Gaya is where many Buddhas before Gotama have attained enlightenment.
So I suppose it should not matter the original tree does not stand.
The current one is as powerful as your meditation and can guide you !
At the Global Pagoda, when I returned, wonderful preparations were going on clearing the place and making it just right to receive this powerful blessing of the Bodhi Tree.
Next time you visit Mumbai, make it a point to visit this place.
There's an Picture gallery with an audio guide in English, Hindi and Marathi, a 20 - minute video presentation on the building of the Pagoda and many other lovely statues which are Burmese in appearance.
So long for now -
My work of polishing and practicing Pali grammar continues !
You too do something like this, become a student, learn enjoy and teach.
It's wonderful!
How are you and how's the new year?
This plant - the new year, is still at an infant stage, merely 2 months old.
You have to pamper it, shade and protect it, believe in it and cosset it.
Make nice, happy plans and start watering them well before the summer sets in.
Some results will be quicker, like good, healthy vegetables.
Others may take time, like fruits and grains.
All give joy, don't they?!
I just completed a month's course in Pali language - through Devanagari at the Global Pagoda in Borivali.
Pali was the spoken language of the masses at the Buddha's time.
It did not have it's own script then, it does not have one now.
And it still managed to keep the Buddha's teachings in their pristine purity for future generations to understand, follow and get out of the cycle of birth and death !
After the Buddha's death, his greatest and Arhant disciples decided that his teachings, all the 84,000 Suttas (discourses / teachings ) were to be preserved for posterity in their original form, without any addition or subtraction.
So within 3 months of his passing away, 500 Arhants, that is, Bhikkus who had reached the state of ' Non-Returner ' , organized a collective recital of the entire Tipitak, the collection of Buddha's teachings.
Now the Tipitak has 3 parts.
Vinay Pitak has detailed codes for the Bhikkus, Bhikkunis and the Sangha.
There are instructions which seem jaw-dropping in this age.
Sutta Pitaka has the Sutras or the discourses given by the Buddha in his 45 years of teaching of Vipassana.
The subjects are varied here, with description of the Deva Loka or the world of celestial beings, the law of Karma, practical guidance to meditation and so on.
Abhidhamma elaborates on the science of the mind or consciousness, metaphysics, psychology , philosophy and lots more.
It is like mathematics, very precise, very clear, ensuring there is no leeway left to imagination leading to confusion.
Ananda, The Buddha's disciple- cum - secretary who was with him for most of the 45 years, had a photographic memory.
He could remember every spoken word of the Buddha, where and in which context it was spoken.
Hence many of the Suttas begin with ' Evam mey suta -' which means, ' As I heard '.
' mey as in May - I do not have Pali font yet ! '
In what is called the First Council or Sangayana, some of the 500 Bhikku Arhants chanted each line which was repeated by others and was finally authenticated by Ananda.
In this way, it was passed on orally for hundreds of years, with some bhikkus becoming ' Vinay Pitaka Dhoora' or ' Sutta Pitaka Dhoora or 'Abhidhamma Dhoora ' or of any 2 or all 3 Pitakas.
It meant they knew it / them by heart.
When Emperor Ashoka transformed from ' Chanda Ashoka ' to ' Dhamma Ashoka ', he sent emissaries to many countries to create awareness of the Buddha's teachings.
The entourage of each had experts of the Tipitaka.
Now 7 of those countries wrote the Tipitaka in their own native language!
Hence, you find it in Burmese, Roman, Sinhalese, Devanagari, Thai, Khmer and Mongol!
We were lucky to be learning it in a script known to us - Devanagari, but everything else was the same as learning a new language.
The vocabulary, though somewhat close to Hindi / Marathi / Sanskrit, is still quite different.
The grammar was a pain, as it is, I suppose, in any language !
And at any age !
However, I found a couple of very significant differences -
At my age, (I am a grand mother ! ) the understanding part was quicker, including deeper meanings, which was not so in my childhood.
But all those 8 cases (Vibhakti !) and Tenses and 1st / 2nd / 3rd Persons in 3 genders with different endings, the memory was awful, which was not so in my childhood !
But once the logic behind the charts, the grammar was explained, it became much, much easier to understand, less taxing to memorize.
There is always logic behind magic !
It was wonderful being a student again, taking notes, trying to learn and not forget.
We learnt many of the important Suttas along with Grammar and it felt awesome to read and now understand the Buddha's words on our own.
It was as if he was personally, gently explaining us the path in his own words.
The Vipassana Research Institute has shifted to the Global Pagoda, Borivali, Mumbai, from Igatpuri a couple of years ago.
There's mind-boggling amount of work done and and even more mind - boggling yet to be done.
Our daily routine had 2 hours of Vipassana meditation, one of which we did in the Pagoda, sitting right beneath the Buddha Dhatu. (Buddha's original relic, gifted by Sri Lanka and the Mahabodhi Society of Bodhgaya.).
It is said where there is Pariyatti ( Theory ), Patipatti ( Practice ) and Dhatu ( Relic ), there would be tremendous progress in meditation.
I was lucky to stay in and do the course in Pariyatti Bhavan and meditate every day in the presence of the Dhatu.
There's another wonderful thing happening there.
A sapling from the Bodhi tree is being brought from Sri Lanka by some senior Bhikkus to be planted outside the main Pagoda on 2nd March.
The Bodhi tree of Sri Lanka is special because a sapling from the original was taken by Sanghmitra, Emperor Ashoka's daughter in the 3rd century BC.
The one in Bodhgaya was burnt, cut down and destroyed repeatedly over centuries and the one we see now, has been planted by a British officer in 1881.
Bless him.
It is said that that place in Bodh Gaya is where many Buddhas before Gotama have attained enlightenment.
So I suppose it should not matter the original tree does not stand.
The current one is as powerful as your meditation and can guide you !
At the Global Pagoda, when I returned, wonderful preparations were going on clearing the place and making it just right to receive this powerful blessing of the Bodhi Tree.
Next time you visit Mumbai, make it a point to visit this place.
There's an Picture gallery with an audio guide in English, Hindi and Marathi, a 20 - minute video presentation on the building of the Pagoda and many other lovely statues which are Burmese in appearance.
So long for now -
My work of polishing and practicing Pali grammar continues !
You too do something like this, become a student, learn enjoy and teach.
It's wonderful!
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