27 September 2014

Don’t Obey Your Desire : Part - Two


Don’t Obey Your Desire
Teaching of ThaBarWa Sayadaw U Ottamasara
Delivered at Wat Ananda Metyarama Thai Buddhist Temple
Singapore, March 2014

Part - Two

thabarwa  yangon  rangon  kamma  karma  compassion  lovingkindness  metta  sympatheticjoy  ambulance  engagedbuddhism  conciousness  awareness  sick  patients  disables   deeds

When you meditate, you are not the only one who is meditating. There are a lot of people meditating. Some are in a forest or in a cave, some are in a meditation center. There are a lot of people who are meditating. Because of someone, we pay attention to someone, to one of the meditators. That habit must be abandoned. If we cannot abandon the habit of paying attention to someone, we are not following the Middle Way. The Middle Way is free from rejecting and attaching.

There are many meditators who practice meditation but they cannot abandon their habits; if they work they will pay attention to their work. They will pay attention to their life as a worker. If they meditate, they will pay attention to this life of a meditator and they will pay attention to their action of meditation.

Although they are meditating they cannot detach from themselves and from their actions. I mean, they are doing good deeds for themselves.  They are misunderstanding the practice of meditation as being their own work. If doing with the idea of something that we own, it will never end. We are usually representing something or someone. So we must try to represent the Truth , which is Ever New Impermanent Nature.

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We can understand, we can think, we can recognize, we can feel the sound, we can feel the smell, we can feel the cold. We misunderstand that 'I understand' or 'I am thinking' or 'someone is thinking' or 'someone is feeling cold'.  This is wrong. All these powers are concerning the Ever New Impermanent Nature. Only the Ever New Impermanent Nature can know, can think, can feel, can remember and can make actions. This Ever New Impermanent Nature is not something, not someone.

We are always using the power of Ever New Impermanent Nature, but we misunderstand; we don’t know the Truth, which is Ever New Impermanent Nature. This is why we misunderstand that there is someone, 'I' or 'you', there is something: 'mine' or 'yours'. We can use living beings, including ourselves. We can use non-living beings, but we must try to detach from the idea of something or of someone.

So the practice of detachment is not paying attention to something or to someone. We can pay attention but we must try to stop that habit. Not daring to abandon the habit of paying attention is attachment. We can eat, but we should also try not to eat. We can sleep, but we  should try not to sleep. We must understand that abandoning is necessary.

thabarwa  yangon  rangon  kamma  karma  compassion  lovingkindness  metta  sympatheticjoy  ambulance  engagedbuddhism  conciousness  awareness  sick  patients  disables   deeds

Abandoning is also an action. Normally we understand that we have to work but we should understand that the work is necessary to be done and also to be abandoned. Eating is also to be done and to be abandoned. Sleeping is also to be done and to be abandoned. We understand that we have to 'occupy' our life; this is not complete understanding. Life is also to be used and to be abandoned, to be lost. We must try to abandon our belongings and also ourselves. If we don’t understand that, we will only understand that we must work, we must learn, study, we must try to get everything.

So we want everything because we understand that things must be possessed. We understand that  food must be eaten. This is why we want to eat all food. We understand all places are meant to go to; this is why we want to go everywhere. Because our understanding is not complete. We can go, we can eat but we must understand both doing and abandoning. We must try to do and we must try to abandon also. In this way we will be able to control ourselves.

Here in Singapore and in Japan the people think they have to work too much. Without work no food, no life. They are believing in the wrong way. This is why they cannot live without work. They are using incomplete understanding. This is why their action is also not complete. We should do when we have to do. We must be able to do when we should do. We must be able not to do when we should not do. We must eat when we should eat. We must not eat when we should not. All the actions are also to be done and to be abandoned. If we understand that the action is to be done there will be strong attachment for doing and in this way we will be busy all the time.

sayadaw  venerable ottamasara  vipassana  insight  meditation  natural  dharma  dhamma  donate  healthcare elderly  volunteer Myanmar  Burma  love  mercy  disable  oldfolks  infirm

Most people in society are interested in education, business, sports or politics but they rarely are interested in meditation and the practice of mindfulness and detachment. They are not paying attention to Buddha’s teaching. This is why their understanding is not complete, so their mind is not complete, their life is not complete. We can do education, business, politics but we must also be able to do meditation, to do good deeds and not to do bad. We must each purify our mind also.

There are a lot of problems in the mind of people. Because they don’t care, they are not interested in purifying their mind. They are paying attention to work, money, and to success; that is why their mind is not pure.  This is why they suffer.

You should try to meditate daily, at least one hour in the morning. In this way you are trying to detach from your daily work. If you do not meditate, you will be busy with your work all the time. By meditating daily you will be able to detach from your work  for one hour. In this way you must continue to detach for longer periods of time. If you can detach from  society, from your job, then there is no need to do as other people do. Because of attachment, human beings are busy with their work. So also animals are busy with their work.


To be continued

25 September 2014

A Letter from Marvin Lagunas


A Letter from Marvin Lagunas
25th September 2014

thabarwa Yangon  Rangoon kamma karma  kindness compassion lovingkindness sympatheticjoy  ambulance engagedbuddhism conciousness awareness metta sick patients disables

I would like to Thank Venerable ThaBarWa Sayadaw U Ottamasara from ThaBarWa Center (meditation centre) in Thanlyin, Yangon Myanmar for change and improved the way I see the life.

He welcomed me to stay in the village monastery to practice Meditation without asking nothing of me.  He said just make good deeds, meditate and follow the Buddhist precepts.

Every day he offered me to follow him to Dharma talks, alms round in the morning and share with He, all the monks, novices and Yogies living there.

ottamasara  Myanmar Burma vipassana meditation  donate   healthcare elderly  volunteer  rangoon meditation  love  mercy vipassana insight dhamma dharma disable oldfolks  infirm

He was a business man and after some years he abandoned everything in his life to became a Monk and with the time He got the enlightenment in my understanding because He is very humble and will never say He is one of the Buddhas but He is!!

He help thousands of peoples including me to find peace and finish with our suffering through Meditation. He only sleep 2 hours per day to have time to make good deeds, practice many days of fasting a month, gives Dharma talks, listen to the people, guide live meditations and record talking meditations to help people to understand Buddha’s thoughts.

He invite you to abandon all your desires to stop suffering and live in a balance life.

thabarwa Yangon  Rangoon kamma karma  kindness compassion lovingkindness sympatheticjoy  ambulance engagedbuddhism conciousness awareness metta sick patients disables

I met him with a yangon-Bagan bus ticket in my pocket and he invited me to stay with him and follow him to Bagan in the following days so I stayed with him for 32 days.

In the Buddhism philosophy they believe there are no Gods or Divine spirits that will come to help you. You are responsible from your way, from your life and everything will happen or has happened because of you and your Karma. If you make good, good things will come. Bad, bad things will come.

In the temples, Buddhist only give homage to Buddha but they don't suppose to pray to Gods although some people do it to gain more confident in their lifes.

ottamasara  Myanmar Burma vipassana meditation  donate   healthcare elderly  volunteer  rangoon meditation  love  mercy vipassana insight dhamma dharma disable oldfolks  infirm

If you need something you have to do it. Only you are responsible to follow the Path to attain Nirvana. Stop waiting for miracles and create the miracles. They exist but you have to make them. Stop praying and walk in the way you desire.

I grew up in a Catholic home praying to Jesus Christ and God. With the time I have practiced since 14 years ago Native American Traditions worshiping the Great Spirit, Father Sun, Mother Earth and all the elements and spirits from the Nature.

When I ask him if a keep practicing Buddhism Do I need to pray anymore to God and He said to me: God is making good deeds, God is share, help, protect and take care of people and live beings.

thabarwa Yangon  Rangoon kamma karma  kindness compassion lovingkindness sympatheticjoy  ambulance engagedbuddhism conciousness awareness metta sick patients disables

Since that day I keep trying to make good deeds in my life following Buddha’s thoughts and praying every day to The Great Spirit cause I know we are responsible from our lifes but there is The Great Mistery helping and supporting is in the Universe.

Aho Metakiaze, Amen, Namaste, Inlakesh, Sathu...



(Source  :  Marvin Lagunas's facebook)

24 September 2014

Don’t Obey Your Desire : Part - One


Don’t Obey Your Desire
Teaching of ThaBarWa Sayadaw U Ottamasara
Delivered at Wat Ananda Metyarama Thai Buddhist Temple
Singapore, March 2014

Part - One

#kamma #karma #compassion #lovingkindness #sympatheticjoy #thabarwa #ambulance #yangon #myanmar #engagedbuddhism #conciousness #awareness #metta #sick #patients #disables

You must be mindful of the breath and you must detach from other objects. If you are focusing on the breath, just pay attention to the breath and then stop paying attention to everything except breathing.

What I am guiding is to be doing-only, without attachment. We should try to abandon the habit of paying attention to the things and to the actions. We are used to paying attention to living beings, used to paying attention to non-living beings.  That is why there are strong attachments in our mind about living beings and non-living beings.

There are also strong ideas of something or someone. We believe the idea of something as being true, someone as being true. In fact, the Truth is just Ever New Impermanent Nature, not something, not someone. We strongly believe in something, in someone. That is why when we use the living beings and non-living beings we are using with the idea of 'I' or 'you', 'mine' or 'yours'. We must try to abandon these ideas. We see from the view of someone. Whatever we are doing, we do it for us, for our family, for our society, or for our country. We are grasping the idea of something in whatever we do.

We all have strong belief in the idea of something and someone. This is attachment for something or someone. We can use ourselves, we can use our life, we can use other people also but we should try to detach from the idea of something and someone. 


#kamma #karma #compassion #lovingkindness #sympatheticjoy #thabarwa #ambulance #yangon #myanmar #engagedbuddhism #conciousness #awareness #metta #sick #patients #disables
If we are not doing good, we are doing mistakes. If we are not abstaining from evil things, we are wrong. If we don’t try to purify our mind it is also wrong. Most of us are making these mistakes. We want to do what we want. We are doing what we want to do. We obey our desire. All our actions come from our own desire. We will eat when we want to eat, we will sleep when we want to sleep.

That means that all our actions are based on something, which is our present desire. That means we are working for ourselves. We are trying to fulfill our own desire. That is not doing-only but doing for something. Doing to fulfill our own desire, working for ourselves. Doing with the idea of something or someone. I am not trying to stop you: 'do it' or 'don’t do it', I am trying to detach from the idea of something or someone.

As a human being, you will learn, you will work, that is not the problem. But if you are not doing good…the teaching of Buddha is true, so if you are not studying the teaching of Buddha you are making a mistake. If you are not practicing meditation or mindfulness you are making a mistake. If you are not trying to purify your mind you are making a mistake. These mistakes are usual for  laypeople. That is why there are a lot of problems in the mind of people.

#kamma #karma #compassion #lovingkindness #sympatheticjoy #thabarwa #ambulance #yangon #myanmar #engagedbuddhism #conciousness #awareness #metta #sick #patients #disables

They use the mind as they want. We want to be angry. Using as normal people, using in the usual way is not the right way. So we should study the teaching of Buddha and we should practice according to Buddha’s teaching. When we do in this way, we must be careful to detach from ourselves and from our actions. If you are mindful, you are making a mental action. You are using your mind. That is right but in order to be doing-only, you must not pay attention to your mind and to your practice of mindfulness.

You must not pay attention to the practice of mindfulness but you must be mindful. When you are mindful, you must try to abandon the habit of paying attention to what you are doing now. You might like to meditate or sometimes you might dislike to meditate  but you must do it without taking care of your mind, your desire. You must try to detach from your own desire.

You must not obey your desire, you must not obey your mind because normally our mind is not pure, it has a lot of attachment. If we obey our mind, we must work like other normal people. We should not forget Buddha, Dhamma and Sangha. Then we must practice as a Sangha, as a yogi. You might not be in a meditation center, you might not be a yogi, but it is not important. It is not a problem. You must work at the practice of mindfulness and detachment. You should detach from yourself, from your action, from the place where you are staying or using.

#donate  #meditation  #healthcare #elderly  #volunteer #Myanmar  #rangoon #Burma  #meditation  #vipassana  #love  #mercy #vipassana #insight #dhamma #dharma #disable #oldfolks #ottamasara

The practice of detachment is not paying attention to yourself, to your present life, to your actions, including physical, verbal or mental actions. You must not pay attention to the present happening in the mind and body. This is the practice of detachment. In order not to be rejecting, you must be mindful. You must try to be mindful of your mind and body every moment. If you are not mindful, you are rejecting the right action of mindfulness. In order not to be rejecting you must be mindful. In order not to be attaching you must not pay attention to your mind and to your mental action of mindfulness.

The practice of mindfulness is also not to be rejected nor attached to. You must be mindful but you must not pay attention to the practice of mindfulness. I mean the more you pay attention, the more attachment there is for the action of mindfulness.

Now you are interested in meditation. This is why meditation is in your mind. That is attachment for the practice of meditation. Although you are not rejecting–if you are not interested in meditation you are rejecting. You will not think about meditation. This is also wrong. Now you pay attention to meditation. This is why there is attachment for meditation in your mind. So you must try to detach. You must be mindful and stop paying attention to meditation.



To be continued

12 September 2014

Appearing and Disappearing Nature


Appearing and Disappearing Nature

#kamma #karma #compassion #lovingkindness #sympatheticjoy #thabarwa #Meditation #yangon #myanmar #engagedbuddhism #conciousness #awareness #metta

The more we are mindful of our body the more we will be able to know that our body is nothing but the combination of four Elements. In our body we must be able to know the energies of the four Elements, which are hardness and softness, cohesion and liquidity, movement and stillness, coldness and hotness. 

If we are feeling well, the energy of softness might be evident.  If we are feeling pain, the energy of hardness or tightness might be evident. One of these energies might be evident for a moment. These energies and powers are not something, not someone. They appear from nowhere and disappear to nowhere.

These energies or powers appear and disappear within a very short period of time. They didn’t exist before the present moment and won’t exist beyond the present moment.  There is no one who creates these energies or powers. These energies or powers are happening every moment. Though they are connected to each other, they are not the same. In fact, these are the powers and energies of Original Impermanent Nature.

#donate  #meditation  #healthcare # elderly  #volunteer  #Myanmar  #rangoon #Burma  #meditation  #vipassana  #love  #mercy #vipassana #insight #dhamma #dharma

The aim of mindfulness is to be aware of the power or energies of the Original Impermanent Nature.  These powers and energies are appearing and disappearing continuously. The more we know about ourselves, the more we will be able to abandon the wrong view of something or someone, “me” or “mine,” misunderstanding these powers and energies as something.

When we know the movement of the body we will misunderstand that “I am moving.” When we know hotness we will misunderstand, “ I am hot.”  When we know bad feelings we will misunderstand that “I am feeling bad.” When we recognize something, we will misunderstand as, “I remember it.” If there is desire for doing something, we will misunderstand as, “I want to do something.” If consciousness or awareness appears in us we will misunderstand, “I know it.” The idea of “me” or “you,” “male” or “female” are rooted in our heart or our mind.

Because of attachment to the wrong view we cannot understand beyond this and that, something or someone. We must be mindful to ourselves and then we must be able to know the power and energies of the Original Impermanent Nature. We need to listen to the Dhamma talk and to Buddha’s teaching in order to be able to detach from the usual wrong view.

#kamma #karma #compassion #lovingkindness #sympatheticjoy #thabarwa #Meditation #yangon #myanmar #engagedbuddhism #conciousness #awareness #metta

To know about meditation we must meditate. To know about keeping the precepts we must keep precepts. To know about good deeds we must do good deeds, but we must be careful to be using-only, doing-only, experiencing-only and knowing-only, not to reject nor to be attached. 

There might be understanding or not understanding about my teaching, or about the practice. If there is understanding, try to detach from that understating. If there is no understanding, try to detach from that not understanding. To be able to detach from something we must  abandon our habit of paying attention to something.


This article is an excerpt from the book “The Practice of Detachment”
by ThaBarWa Sayadaw U Ottamasara.

http://thabarwameditationcenter.wordpress.com/appearing-and-disappearing-nature/

6 September 2014

A Refuge for Burma’s Abandoned Elderly


A Refuge for Burma’s Abandoned Elderly

By Sai Zaw / The Irrawaddy| Friday, May 23, 2014
http://www.irrawaddy.org/burma/multimedia-burma/refuge-burmas-lone-elderly.html?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter&utm_campaign=DTN%20Myanmar%3A

An aide helps shower an old man who suffered stroke. (Photo: Sai Zaw / The Irrawaddy)


An article on ThaBarWa Centre, established by ThaBarWa Sayadaw U Ottamasara at The Irrawaddy website.

Please follow the link below to read the full article from the source …

Happy reading ...

The Link to the article :
  
A resident at Thabarwa Center for the sick and aged in Rangoon’s Thanlyin Township. Click on the box below to see more photos. (Photo: Sai Zaw / The Irrawaddy)

A hundred-year old resident at Thabarwa Center. (Photo: Sai Zaw / The Irrawaddy)

A resident at Thabarwa Center for the sick and aged in Rangoon’s Thanlyin Township. Click on the box below to see more photos. (Photo: Sai Zaw / The Irrawaddy)

An aging Buddhist nun meditates at Thabarwa Center. (Photo: Sai Zaw / The Irrawaddy

A resident who suffers tuberculosis gets treatment at Thabarwa Center. (Photo: Sai Zaw / The Irrawaddy)

A makeshift shrine for Buddha on a bed of a resident at Thabarwa Center. (Photo: Sai Zaw / The Irrawaddy)

A view inside a dormitory at Thabarwa Center. (Photo: Sai Zaw / The Irrawaddy

A view inside a dormitory at Thabarwa Center. (Photo: Sai Zaw / The Irrawaddy

ThaBarWa Centre in ThanLyin, Myanmar

ThaBarWa Centre in ThanLyin, Myanmar


In this fast paced, hustle and bustle world we live in, we need to set aside some time to relax, spend some time with loved ones, do some soul searching, do good deeds and the most important off all, do spiritual improvement by learning dhamma and practicing insight (vipassana) meditation.

Located in Thanlyin Pagoda Hill (Syriam), Myanmar (Burma), ThaBarWa Centre (or Natural Meditation Centre if translated directly from Myanmar) is established with unlimited access for general benefit and is fulfilling the most crucial needs continually, persistently, dedicatedly, one by one. 


ThaBarWa provides a peaceful sanctuary for the old, the needy and the infirm persons, who are abandoned by their children and relatives, forcing them to lead a lonely and miserable life.

In addition to the old folks and infirm, there are many elderly people and young individuals who have left their families and homes to seek a peaceful life by practicing vipassana insight meditation on natural environment and to do volunteering by looking after the olds and infirm. 


Indeed, ThaBarWa Centre is a non-profit humanitarian organization working for a noble cause.  It is the place where voluntary donors can donate cash and materials to gain merit.  The Centre channels the money and materials received to provide a peaceful venue for people to practice Dhamma without worry. 

There are many volunteers who donate their labour for a worthy cause, to look after the welfare of the residents taking refuge in the Centre. The Yogis (recluse), seeking true Dhamma, also become friends with fellow yogis in a spirit of give and take.  Thus they do not feel helpless over their miseries of rejection and loneliness.


Though ThaBarWa functions for common welfare, that is not the main objective. The main objective is to enable the yogis to practice Vipassana Insight Meditation with single-minded concentration and to propagate the Patipatti Sasana, practical application to realize peace of mind and end of suffering. 

Indeed ... ThaBarWa Centre, headed by Venerable Sayadaw U Ottamasara, is established principally for Vipassana Insight Meditation, following the example taught by Lord Buddha. Through mindful practice, the family members of ThaBarWa can find relief from stress, tension and diseases. 


ThaBarWa Sayadaw U Ottamasara and Sayagyi BaBa U Kyaw San regularly deliver many guided meditation teachings on insight (vipassana), selflessness (anatta) and truth (sacca) twice a day, everyday as per following schedule :

5:00am to 7:00am ... ThaBarWa Sayadaw U Ottamasara
8:30am to 9:30am ... Sayagyi BaBa U Kyaw San
2:00pm to 3:00pm ... Sayagyi BaBa U Kyaw San 
7:00pm to 9:00pm ... ThaBarWa Sayadaw U Ottamasara

As Sayadaw has many social and other commitments, Sayadaw's teaching timing might change according to ad-hoc requirements and commitments.  


In addition to the daily anatta dhamma and guided vipassana insight meditation teachings by Sayadaw and Sayagyi, we also have regular meditation retreats conducted by fellow dhamma siblings like Mogok, TheInnGu, Ledi, and many others at ThaBarWa Centre.

So, do come and join us for vipassana insight meditation sessions and retreats on top of doing volunteering, donating cash and materials to gain merit. 


A very warm welcome to ThaBarWa Centre ...



1 September 2014

WHEN YOU GROW OLD

WHEN YOU GROW OLD

Messenger News Journel
Vol. 5, No. 14
1st September 2014 issue ...

Which features the article on
selfless #humanitarian

ThaBarWa Sayadaw Venerable U Ottamasara and
his selfless act of humanity at Thabarwa Center ...
his universal love, kindness, setana and metta to those
nearly 3,000 infirm, needy, poor and helpless individuals
who are currently seeking shelter at ThaBarWa Centre ...

(unfortunately, the article is written in Myanmar language ...)


အိုုေသာအခါ

"အဘိုုးအဖြားေတြ, သင္႔မိဘေတြ အိုုမင္းမစြမ္းေသာအခါ, သင္အိုုမင္းမစြမ္းေသာအခါ"


၃၁ ရက္ ၈လပိုုင္း ၂၀၁၄, Messenger News Journal မွာပါတဲ႔ သဘာ၀ရိပ္သာ အေၾကာင္း







Photos and newspaper cutting : courtesy of mommy Khin Myint, USA