Series: Monks in the Morning

Today we’ll learn more about the arahaṁ quality of the Supreme Buddha. I should also mention that usually when we see the word arahaṁ written, it will end with the letter “m” with a dot over it. You may have also seen it in the phrase “Buddhaṁ saranaṁ gacchāmi. In languages like Pāli, this was a special letter that usually came at the end of words, so we use the m with a dot. But it’s pronounced like an ng sound like at the end of the word “sing.” But more important than pronunciation is the meaning. And that’s what we are going to learn today.

Contents

6:08 Sermon
16:41 Maha Mangala Sutta. Read online or download a pdf.

For Reading

• Mahamevnawa Pali-English Paritta Chanting Book. Get your own copy.

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Today one of the monks is going to teach us a beautiful passage spoken by the Supreme Buddha. It’s a great reminder of how short our human life is, and how important it is that we work hard to practice the Buddha’s teachings. We may think that we are going to live a long time, but no matter how long we live, we need to try and follow the instructions the Supreme Buddha gave us. That way we’ll live happily now, we’ll be happy in our next lives, and we also have the chance to experience the ultimate goal of Nibbāna.

“Appamidaṃ, bhikkhave, manussānaṃ āyu.
“Bhikkhus, the life span of humans is short.

Gamanīyo samparāyo, kattabbaṃ kusalaṃ, caritabbaṃ brahmacariyaṃ.
You must go to the next life. So you should do what is skillful, you should practice the spiritual life.

Natthi jātassa amaraṇaṃ.
No-one born is immortal.

Yo, bhikkhave, ciraṃ jīvati, so vassasataṃ appaṃ vā bhiyyo”ti.
A long life is a hundred years or a little more.”

Contents

5:21 Sermon on SN 4.9
12:43 Metta Bhavana: Loving Kindness Meditation Download PDF or MP3.
22:12 Vimāna Vatthu 4.09 Mansion of Yellow Flowers

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Today we are going to learn about the meaning of the word arahaṁ. I know you’ve said this word maybe even 100 times before. It’s one of the qualities of the Supreme Buddha we recite in the Itipiso gatha. And to understand the meaning of arahaṁ, we are going to learn how the Supreme Buddha was undefiled. Have you heard the word defilement before? In general we can say that a defilement is anything that pollutes or makes something dirty. It’s a fancy word, so we usually use it to talk about our minds. In our minds, things like greed, hatred, jealousy, pride, and anger are all different kinds of defilements. In the sermon, we’ll hear an example of how the Supreme Buddha’s mind was completely free from defilements.

Contents

5:46 Sermon

20:02 Angulimala Paritta. Download a PDF or read online.
24:24 Thag 5.3 Girimananda Arahant

Reading

• Mahamevnawa Pali-English Paritta Chanting Book. Get your own copy.
• The Voice of Enlightened Monks: Theragatha. Get your own copy.

We’d love to hear from you! Send us a voicemail. You can write to us at info@serenecolombo.org or contact us through Facebook at facebook.com/ColomboDhammaFriends or Instagram at instagram.com/SereneColombo. You can also sent us a voicemail on Whatsapp.

Have you ever made plans to do something and your plans didn’t work out like you hoped? Maybe we planned on taking a trip and then the trip had to get canceled. Or maybe we planned to call one of our friends and talk, but we couldn’t get a hold of them? Or how about when we plan to make something, but then we realize that we don’t have everything we need to make it. You know, there’s nothing wrong with making plans. But our plans don’t always work out, do they. Sometimes people even make plans that stretch out for a long time. Like maybe we plan on getting a certain kind of job, or attending a certain university. If we don’t remember that plans don’t always work out, then we can be really sad and disappointed when we don’t get to do what we hope for.

Sometimes, people make long term plans like this, but then they die before they do what they hope to do. Today we will learn about a man who lived in the time of the Supreme Buddha who made these kinds of plans that didn’t work out. But fortunately for him he got to meet the Supreme Buddha and change his plans to something even better.

Contents

6:37 Sermon
19:17 Maranasati verses on mindfulness of death. Read on line, download a PDF or MP3.

Related Book

• Mahamevnawa Pali-English Paritta Chanting Book. Print Book.

We’d love to hear from you! Send us a voicemail. You can write to us at info@serenecolombo.org or contact us through Facebook at facebook.com/ColomboDhammaFriends or Instagram at instagram.com/SereneColombo. You can also sent us a voicemail on Whatsapp.

Do any of you remember the simile the Supreme Buddha gave for doing very small good things? He said that just like a water pot will eventually get filled even if only a few drops of water fall into the pot at a time. He said we should remember that even when we do a small good karma, we should never thing of it as a small thing. That when we do the good actions that the Buddha teaches us about, the results always come to us in a great way, much bigger than the action we did.

Today we’ll learn a story about a man who worked for Anāthapiṇḍika who tried very hard to follow Anāthapiṇḍika’s good example, even though he could only do this for a short amount of time.

Contents

5:46 Sermon
16:41 Mittānisansa Sutta. Download a copy or read online.

For Reading

• Mahamevnawa Pali-English Paritta Chanting Book. Get your own copy.

We’d love to hear from you! Send us a voicemail. You can write to us at info@serenecolombo.org or contact us through Facebook at facebook.com/ColomboDhammaFriends or Instagram at instagram.com/SereneColombo. You can also sent us a voicemail on Whatsapp.

Today we are going to learn one of the factors of the Noble Eightfold path that’s all about practicing the teachings. It’s called Sammā Vāyāmo. In English we can say Right Effort. We’ve all heard about making effort to do things, but Right Effort is something very special and very specific. You’re going to have the chance to learn exactly what that is today.

Contents

5:57 Sermon
16:45 Karaniya Metta Sutta. Read online or download a PDF.

We’d love to hear from you! Send us a voicemail. You can write to us at info@serenecolombo.org or contact us through Facebook at facebook.com/ColomboDhammaFriends or Instagram at instagram.com/SereneColombo. You can also sent us a voicemail on Whatsapp.

Have you ever known someone who was a really good person, but then slowly they started doing bad things? This can happen to any of us. Even though now we may be trying to follow the Supreme Buddha’s teachings very carefully, it could happen that our good behaviour starts to decrease. Our teacher, the Supreme Buddha taught us seven ways that our good qualities can decrease and seven ways they can increase, and today we are going to learn what they are. They’re so important that I’d like you to right them down so you can think about them later.

Contents

5:33 Sermon on AN 7.29
19:26 Buddhanussati verses Meditation. Read online or Download PDF.

Related Book

Mahamevnawa Pali-English Paritta Chanting Book. Get your own copy.

We’d love to hear from you! Send us a voicemail. You can write to us at info@serenecolombo.org or contact us through Facebook at facebook.com/ColomboDhammaFriends or Instagram at instagram.com/SereneColombo. You can also sent us a voicemail on Whatsapp.