ODBBOOK27

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Love for Unified Life

Today is a special day, and now it is a special
time for both of you, and the all guests; who
come to celebrate marriage. It is the power of
love that brings you to gather here today. The
power of love will lead you to walk future paths
together. Love is the light that opens paths to a
bright future. Love brings you friends who stay
beside you, regardless of health, wealth or fame.
Love is the wonderful power that builds a bright
family and raises even brighter lives. For every
day one keeps love close; each becomes a
wonderful day. When you wake up in the
morning, remind each other with an, “I Love
You,” because love causes you to join and rejoice
life.

There are countless meanings of love that
many people have defined. If put personally, love
can be interpreted from it’s four letters: L, O, V,
and E. Love is listening; it is by listening and
sharing opinions together. O is opening. By
opening up to each other, the relationship will be
more kind and understanding. V is voice. In the
times of need, the loving voice should

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communicate support for each other. E is
encouragement. When you confront hardship,
encouragement will bring down the hardships.

Marriage is to join hands, hearts and hopes
for unity of life. When one is suffering; take care
of each other. When your opinion is different;
respect each other. Politeness keeps the marriage
together. Love is the wonderful power that makes
a happy marriage. In Buddhism, the Buddha
teaches the following ways to conserve love:

1. Be honest with each other. By having a
mutual understanding, one feels reliable,
secure and confident for the beloved one.
No harm to each other by one’s thinking,
speaking and actions should be done at all.

2. Self-discipline, self-awareness, and self-
development should be practiced for the
physical and spiritual growth. As well as
the peaceful co-existence for each other.

3. Tolerance is realized and practiced to save
the relationship, when something that
breaks good relation may arise.

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4. Compassion in love, work and all business
of life, is an important virtue that makes
family strong and sustainable.

5. Contentment with your gains and
belongings in the present relieves tension in
the family life.

6. Forgiveness, is a great virtue to heal guilt
and instill a normal life.

7. Good communication is important towards
understanding the common goal of the
marriage, and to walk together to
accomplish it.

8. Managing finances well, by providing
money and property in an appropriate and
sufficient way, is the keystone of a strong
and sustainable family.

When you keep love in your family, a happy
life will follow. Love your partner as much as
yourself. Love will bless your family to be
strong, sustainable and successful. May both of
you and all guests to be healthy, peaceful and
happy.

Dr. Phramahachanya Khongchinda Wat Buddhapanya Buddhist temple.

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4

Speech before cremation ceremony.

Ladies and gentlemen, sisters and brothers,
First of all, I would like to express deep

sorrow for the members of the family who lost
the beloved one. Today we gather together to
share the hard time of family who lost the
beloved one. This is one of the Truth that the
Buddha said, “sorrow, lamentation, pain, grief
are suffering”. He also said, “Separation of the
beloved one is suffering”. Compassion and
loving kindness are the universal value of human
beings. In the difficult situation of friends are
relatives, people always come to encourage and
help the ones who are going to suffer to pass such
a kind of the troublesome.

In Buddhist tradition, when we know our
friends or relatives or someone in their family
pass away, we always come to participate
ceremony for the following purposes:

1. To show friendship and being relatives
for them who lost the beloved one in
order to make them sure that among the
critical situation no body abandons

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them. They are not lonely. They have
many friends to encourage, help and
support the closely. Friends and relatives
make them feel good and warm. Friends
and relatives always are tied by
compassion and love that make each
other feel secured and peace among the
challenging situation. The real friends
will help the friends who feel suffering
and weak to be peaceful and strong.
2. To remember goodness and contribution
that the one who passed away had done
for family, friends, society or country.
Recollection and praise to the good
person inspire persons to have energy
for self- development for better living
for themselves and for public benefit for
the others. Salutation and respect also
are shown for the one who passed away.
3. To study the Truth of life to remind us to
live with carefulness and mindfulness
that one day we die as well therefore we
should do all things that are beneficial
for ourselves and for the others with
diligence because nobody knows
tomorrow we will die. The Buddha said,

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“That nobody knows tomorrow we will
die so everything should be done today
with great effort”. Death reflects of an
absolute Truth that everybody must go
to the common place that is death.
Nobody can avoid death. Peace and
happiness that is the great value of life
should be realized day by day. Life is
very valuable so we should spend life to
work for valuable things.
4. To dedicate merit that is done well for
the one who passes away. So in the
Buddhist tradition, during time before
cremation, Buddhist always make merit
and dedicate to the one who passed away
on the basic belief that as long as the one
who still has condition to be born will be
born again. The merit is one of the
condition that brings the one who passed
away to be born in good and peaceful
place. This reflects love and best wish
that friends and relatives try to help the
one who passed away as best as they can
do. All activities supporting merits help
the members of family feel good without

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worry about the beloved one who passed
away.
Now I would like you all to make peace by
closing your eyes politely. Bring your attention
to your breathing-in and out deeply and slowly.
When your mind feels calm, think about your
friends who passed away in any manner you ever
work or live with him or her. Set your good
intention to dedicate all wholesome and merit
you have done well in your life and done well
today for him or her. May he or she rest in peace
in the place she or he had gone.
Thank you for sharing our wholesome and
merit to our friends and relatives who are alive
and passed away. By the power of merit and
wholesome done well, May you all be healthy,
successful, peaceful and happy.

September 29, 2018.
Dr. Phramahachanya Khongchinda
Wat Buddhapanya Buddhist temple.

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8

Meditation

Welcome, all who come to practice
meditation for inner peace. First of all, let us find
a comfortable position to take a seat. You can sit
on the floor with crossed legs. Put the hands on
the lab by placing your right hand over the left. If
you like sitting on a chair, put your hands on your
knees. When you feel comfortable with the
favorite sitting position you have chosen, now it
is a good time to start practicing meditation by
allowing your eyes to close gently.

Open your mind and bring your attention to
focusing on breathing in and out by simply notice
how the breath lows through your nose. Be aware
of air as it is moving in and moving out. Continue
to observe the air moving in and moving out, and
allow it to deepen naturally and slow down. Do
not change, adjust, force or push the breath in or
out. Let it be natural. Know what you are really
feeling from inhalation and exhalation. Some
thought may arise; you recognize it, accept it, and
let it go. Bring your attention back to the breath
again. Your breath may become deep and slow
down. Know it as it is. Now your mind is resting
in the present moment. Your inhalation and

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exhalation are present the present moment
because they are not going back to the past, they
are not going ahead to the future. They are here
and now. The mind is with the body, so whenever
the mind and the body are united, it is meditation.
The mind is peaceful, still, pure, polite and
active. You can experience calmness, serenity,
tranquility and peace. What you know is true.
Recognize, accept, investigate and let it go.
Come back and continue to contemplate
inhalation and exhalation that is deep and slow.
When the mind is calmer, you feel delightful or
happy, just know it accept it and let it go. Your
body relaxes. Your mind is calm. It releases
tension. The entire body feels relaxed. You can
bring attention to a sensation on some part of
your body. You can see the belly rising up and
falling down along with the air that is moving in
and out. When the air is moving in, you can sense
the belly rising up. When the air is moving out,
you can sense the belly falling down. This is true
phenomena that you can experience. After
knowing it for a moment, back to inhalation an4d1
exhalation again.

While observing your breath flowing in and
out of your body, some thoughts or imagination
may arise, just recognize, know and let it go.

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Now you know very well the relationship

between breath, body and mind. You also know

how to deal with different kinds of thinking that

is arising; you use the knowledge, recognition,

acceptance and letting go as the way to settle the
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mind to be still, calm and peaceful.

When you are skillful in making the mind

still and calm, you allow the calm mind to

investigate and watching what happening as it is.

You will sense of truth both of body and mind.

You can experience truth of the body by

realization of the breath in and out. This

experience shows impermanence of the body.

When some thinking arises, and you know it and

let it go. This also shows you impermanence of

thinking. Continue observe thinking that is

arising, exiting for a while and ceasing. By

practice meditation, you can realize the

impermanence of body and mind closely and

clearly. Realization of this truth brings relax of

the body and release of mind from all stress and

tension. Continue knowing, acknowledging,

watching what you are really feeling and let it go

on the natural way of changing, flooding and

moving from moment to moment. Now you are

fully aware, awake and alert to see all things as

they really are. Let your mind stay with your

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breathing-in and out, feeling calm, clear, still,
tranquil, peaceful, and alert. It is free from
grasping at anything. The Buddha says, “To
focus on the grasping mind is suffering”. When
the mind is free from grasping, there is no
suffering. Meditation is the moment that the
mind is free from the causes of suffering, and it
is the moment that is full of stillness and peace.
It is the great source of joy for people from every
walk of life. As it is stated by the Buddha, “No
happiness is beyond peace”. May this peace and
happiness be with you all through the practice of
meditation.

Dr. Phramahachanya Khongchinda
Wat Buddhapanya Buddhist temple.

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Instructors Notes from the Ānāpānasati

Sutta Chart

Satipaṭṭhāna Ānāpānasati Tetrads
Contemplation Breathing long First
Tetrad
of the body Breathing short
Experiencing the Second
Contemplation Tetrad
of feelings whole body
Tranquilizing the Third
Contemplation bodily activities Tetrad
of the mind
Experiencing
rapture

Experiencing
bliss

Experiencing
mental activities

Tranquilizing
mental activities
Experiencing the

mind
Gladdening the

mind
Centering the
mind in Samadhi

Contemplation Releasing the 4413
of Dhammas mind
Fourth
Contemplating Tetrad
impermanence
Contemplating
fading of lust
Contemplating

cessation
Contemplating
relinquishment

Ever mindful, they breathe in. Mindful, they

breathe out.

[so satova assasati, sato passasati.]

- the meditator simply becomes aware

whether they are breathing in or

breathing out.

FIRST TETRAD
1. Breathing in long they know: “I’m
breathing in long.”
(Or breathing out long they know: “I’m
breathing out long”)
[Dīghaṃ vā assasanto dīghaṃ assasāmīti

pajānāti.

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Dīghaṃ vā passasanto dīghaṃ
passasāmīti pajānāti]

- with the body (and mind) relaxing the

breath becomes slower, and longer and

the meditator becomes more sensitive to

the breath.
2. Breathing in short they know: “I’m

breathing in short.”
(Or breathing out short they know: “I’m
breathing out “short.”)
[Rassaṃ vā assasanto rassaṃ assasāmīti
pajānāti.
Rassaṃ vā passasanto rassaṃ passasāmīti
pajānāti.]

- when the body relaxes even more the
breath becomes shallow, subtle. The
meditator is aware this happens.

3. They practice breathing in experiencing
the whole body (including “the body of
breath”)

(They practice breathing out experiencing
the whole body (including “the body of
breath”) )

[Sabbakāyapaṭisaṃvedī assasissāmīti 46
15
sikkhati.
Sabbakāyapaṭisaṃvedī passasissāmīti 6

sikkhati.]

- With a short breath the entire ‘body’ of
the breath (‘the breath body’) can be

easily experienced without moving the

area of focus too much. This has to be

practiced intentionally and with

increasing concentration.

4. They practice breathing in tranquilizing
the body’s activities.

They practice breathing out tranquilizing
the body’s activities.

[Passambhayaṃ kāyasaṅkhāraṃ
assasissāmīti sikkhati.

Passambhayaṃ kāyasaṅkhāraṃ
passasissāmīti sikkhati.]

- By intentionally relaxing the body, or the
breath, the breath can be calmed further.
This helps to deepen concentration.
Tranquilizing the body here means

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stilling both the activity of the body and
gaining awareness of the breath body…

SECOND TETRAD
5. They practice breathing in experiencing
rapture.
They practice breathing out experiencing

rapture.

[Pītipaṭisaṃvedī assasissāmīti sikkhati.
Pītipaṭisaṃvedī passasissāmīti sikkhati.]

- Rapture (Pīti) will be felt when the
practice deepens, but the awareness
should remain with the breath and
incorporate the rapture with the
experience of the breath. In other words,
the sensation of the breath should not be
abandoned.

6. They practice breathing in experiencing
bliss.
They practice breathing out experiencing

bliss.

[Sukhapaṭisaṃvedī assasissāmīti sikkhati.

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Sukhapaṭisaṃvedī passasissāmīti
sikkhati.]

- As in stage 5, but the sensation of sukha
is more refined and accompanied by a
greater sense of comfort and calm and
less excitement and elation.

7. They breath in, experiencing mental
activities.
They breath out, experiencing mental

activities.

[Cittasaṅkhārapaṭisaṃvedī assasissāmīti

sikkhati.
Cittasaṅkhārapaṭisaṃvedī passasissāmīti

sikkhati.]

- The Pāli term here is ‘mano-sankhara’ ie
feelings (vedana) and perception (sanna).

Bliss and rapture can be experienced and

known, thereby accounting for this stage.

A better description of this stage would
be in English “They practice breathing in

experiencing {and identifying} of these
emotions.”

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8. They practice breathing in stilling these
emotions.
They practice breathing out stilling these

emotions.

[Passambhayaṃ cittasaṅkhāraṃ
assasissāmīti sikkhati.

Passambhayaṃ cittasaṅkhāraṃ
passasissāmīti sikkhati.]

- When the practice deepens the rapture
and bliss fade away. Focusing intently on
the breath alone will assist this at this
stage.

THIRD TETRAD
9. They practice breathing in experiencing
the mind.
They practice breathing out experiencing

the mind.

[Cittapaṭisaṃvedi assasissāmīti sikkhati.
Cittapaṭisaṃvedī passasissāmīti sikkhati.]

5109

- At this point of the practice, the meditator
experiences a movement towards the
‘mind’ and away from the ‘breath.’

10. They practice breathing in
gladdening the mind.
They practice breathing out gladdening the

mind.

[Abhippamodayaṃ cittaṃ assasissāmīti
sikkhati.
Abhippamodayaṃ cittaṃ passasissāmīti
sikkhati.]

- The meditator will experience an almost
perfect, hindrance free, pleasant state of
mind with the knowledge they are
progressing in their practice. The
happiness can be incorporated to the
breath awareness to deepen the practice
further.

11. They practice breathing in centering
the mind in Samadhi.
They practice breathing out centering the

mind in Samadhi.

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[Samādahaṃ cittaṃ assasissāmīti sikkhati.
Samādahaṃ cittaṃ passasissāmīti

sikkhati.]

- The practitioner brings the attention to a

narrower focus, allowing the practice to

deepen further, converging their31
concentration.

12. They practice breathing in releasing
the mind.
They practice breathing out releasing the

mind.

[Vimocayaṃ cittaṃ assasissāmīti sikkhati.
Vimocayaṃ cittaṃ passasissāmīti
sikkhati.]

- Some commentators say this stage refers
to ‘ceto-vimutti’ and others first jhana. If

the practitioner wishes they can go onto

develop higher jhana, especially the first

four form jhana, which is considered as

Right unfication of mind.

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FOURTH TETRAD
13. They practice breathing in observing
impermanence.
They practice breathing out observing

impermanence.

[Aniccānupassī assasissāmīti sikkhati.
Aniccānupassī passasissāmīti sikkhati.]

- The practitioner notes the in-breath is
ending, and the out breath is ending, and
understand the meaning of this cessation
as impermanence.

14. They practice breathing in observing
the fading of desires
They practice breathing out observing the

fading of desires

[Virāgānupassī assasissāmīti sikkhati.
Virāgānupassī passasissāmīti sikkhati.]

- the breath’s impermanence is used to
infer the impermanence of all dhammas.
When all dhammas are seen as
impermanent, (their dukkha is seen) and

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they are seen to be not worth clinging to.
The five aggregates (‘of the breath’)
arising and passing away can be
understood inferentially. Seeing the five
aggregates directly would be, however,
preferable. A feeling of detachment
develops, on its own when the three
marks (Tilakkhana) and especially
impermanence is continually observed.

15. They practice breathing in observing
cessation.
They practice breathing out observing

cessation.

[Nirodhānupassī assasissāmīti sikkhati.
Nirodhānupassī passasissāmīti sikkhati.5]3

- Cessation (nirodha) is the cessation
described in dependent origination,
following the removal of ignorance
(avijja) by seeing the three marks
(yatabhutanana).

16. They practice breathing in observing
letting go.

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They practice breathing out observing
letting go.

[Paṭinissaggānupassī assasissāmīti

sikkhati.
Paṭinissaggānupassī passasissāmīti

sikkhati.]

- This refers to letting go of subtle
defilements of the mind that remain after
cessation is completed. Defilements will
persist until Arahanthship is achieved.
Therefore this sutta describes the
complete path to full enlightenment,
using the mindfulness of in-and-out
breathing. This sutta describes how the
seven factors of enlightenment develop
when performing the mindful of breath
meditation.