Monks in the Morning from Colombo Dhamma Friends

223 Visākhā Gets Her Wish

Have you ever wished for something? Something you wanted really, really bad? Lots of people wish for things for themselves. New clothes, new games, a favorite food. Well, some people have a wish to help other people. That was the case with the great disciple named Visakha. Do you know about her? The Supreme Buddha said she was the best giver to the Sangha of all his female lay disciples. She had made the wish a long time ago to be this best kind of giver. In today’s sermon we’ll learn about the wish she made and how she ended up getting her wish. She didn’t get her wish because someone else gave it to her. She got it by developing many, many good qualities. Yathāpi puppharāsimhā, kayirā mālāguṇe bahū; Evaṃ jātena maccena, kattabbaṃ kusalaṃ bahuṃ.53. As an expert garland maker makes many garlands from a heap of flowers, you who obtained the human life should do many wholesome deeds.Dhammapada Verse 53, read on SuttaFriends.org Contents 6:15 Sermon 12:54 Canda Paritta. Download a PDF or read online. 21:25 Petavatthu Pv 1.10 Khallāṭiya Sutta: Dressed in Hair Read it online on SuttaFriends.org Related Book Mahamevnawa Pali-English Paritta Chanting Book. Get your own copy.Stories of Ghosts from the Petavatthu. Get a copy of the print book or read for free online. See all episodes

222 Good-hearted Friends

Do you know what it means if someone is good-hearted? It’s not talking about their physical heart in the middle of their chest. If someone is good-hearted then, they always act in a good way and try to help other people. In today’s sermon we will learn about what a good-hearted friend is and how we can also become a good-hearted friend to other people. Contents 5:04 Sermon on thegood-hearted friend 11:13 Aham Avero Homi: Loving-Kindness Chanting. Read online, download a PDF or MP3. 21:34 Therigatha: Verses of Arahant Kisāgotamī Theri For Reading Thig 10.1 The Verses of Arahant Nun Kisāgotamī See all episodes

221 Invest Your Gold in Merit

If you haven’t listened to the last episode yet, you might want to go back and hear it first. Because today we’ll learn the rest of the story of the girl who offered her gold to help make a stupa. You know, if we are fortunate enough to have lots of nice things in this life, we should always remember that it’s because of the good actions we did in the past. At the same time we need to remember that we can invest in our future by doing good things now. That’s what’s happening with the people we will learn about in the sermon today. Contents 5:25 Sermon 13:42 Dhammapada Verse 31 Read it on SuttaFriends.org: Dhp 2 Appamāda Vagga: Diligence (21-32) 14:45 Buddhanussati meditation. Read online, download a PDF or MP3. See all episodes

220 A Girl Gifts Gold to a Stupa

Have you ever seen a stupa before? Or maybe just a photo? Stupas hold the relics of the Supreme Buddha or Arahant disciples of the Supreme Buddha. Usually these relics are small pieces of bone or hair, or sometimes teeth. Showing respect to these places is a very powerful way of collecting merit, isn’t it. We learned all about that in the last programme. Well, how many of you have helped to build a stupa? This is a very rare opportunity in the world. In today’s episode we’ll learn about a young girl who showed respect to the relics by offering something you might not expect. Contents 6:29 Sermon 17: 58 Angulimala Paritta. Download a PDF or read online. 17:47 Vimāna Vatthu 7.8 Anekavaṇṇa Sutta: Mansion of Many Colors Reading Stories of Heavenly Mansions from the Vimanavatthu Get your own copy. Or read online. See all episodes

219 Respect Comes from Respect, Mangala Sutta, Part 12

When we are with each other we get to learn all sorts of things that help us be better people. The more we learn from our good Dhamma friends, the easier it is to remember to do the right things, even when it is difficult. This is important to remember when we do bad things… no matter what, the Buddha reminds us that we can give up doing bad things by following his teachings. And when we spend time with good people like this, we naturally start to give up these bad actions. One of those bad qualities we need to give up is being disrespectful towards other people. Especially being disrespectful to those people whom we should respect, like monastics, our parents, our teachers, and our older relatives. Even in the time of the Supreme Buddha not everyone respected these people. Now a days especially people seem to forget to be respectful. When we aren’t respectful, it’s not just something that affects us in this life, but it can also have bad consequences in the future as well. If you haven't listened to the previous episodes on the Maha Mangala Sutta, you might like to start at the beginning of the series. Click here. But you don't have to! Contents 6:40 Sermon 19:31 Mora Paritta. Read online or download a pdf. Related Book Mahamevnawa Pali-English Paritta Chanting Book. Print Book. See all episodes