Services
Guide to Meditation
Guide to Meditation (An excerpt from Bhante Kusala’s book: Dhamma in Plain English). ‘I am busy’, I have no time for meditation: “If you are not a busy person, you should meditate one hour a day, if you are a busy person you must meditate two hours a day”. This is one of my favorite quotes about meditation. It applies to any person who does not meditate saying that they are busy. The busy mantra usually makes a good excuse for people to procrastinate “doing” the actual work. Western types of lives are usually busy lives. Their lives are bound with work so people who live outside the western world say that westerners are workaholics. This means that they are very much oriented toward building their work life. While there is nothing wrong in it, the issue is that this kind of life style hardly ever gives an opportunity to engage in spiritual cultivation. Therefore, I find it very much a necessity to teach the value of spiritual practice for the westerners. In other words, spiritual practice means cultivating healthy habits for mental and physical well being.
Work is meditation, meditation is work
Returning to the busy lives of westerners, everybody complains that they have no time for meditation. Don’t you complain like that? I know you do.. Haha… When you are at work, no matter what kind of activities you are dealing with, you can always be mindful on what your mind is doing while you are doing what you are doing. Having a pasanna citta, ‘a pleasant mind’ is key in this process. If you can decorate your lips with a gentle smile, you will develop a pleasant attitude about everything happening around you. Even if emotions like anger were to arise in your mind, you will be able to cope with it easily with the pleasant conditioning of your thoughts. The Buddha says that acting on negative emotions bring you suffering. When you are angry you will speak and act in such a way you cause pain to yourself and to others. If you act and speak with positive energy like mindfulness, there is only happiness follows you, said the Buddha.
Please join our weekly-guided meditation and Dhamma discussions in person at 17725 Inkster Road, Livonia, MI 48152, and temple FaceBook Page
Every Monday: From 7.30 pm (In English)
Every Friday: From 7.30 pm (In Sinhalese)
Every Saturday: From 8.30 am (In English)
Every 3rd Thursday: Healing through Singing Bowl Meditation. From 7.30 pm – 8.30 pm
May you be well, happy and peaceful with the blessings of the Noble Triple Gem!
Learn Buddhism
Learn Buddhism
(An excerpt from Bhante Kusala’s book: Dhamma in Plain English).
I don’t know what Buddhism is:
Almost every person in the west has heard about the term Buddhism. For some people, Buddhism is just another religion. For some others, Buddhism is a way of life. The latter includes daily meditation practice and a simple lifestyle that harmonizes with one’s own body and mind. The Buddha says that taking care of oneself benefits to others and vice versa. The teachings of the Buddha are for the wise ones to awaken into the blissful nature in the mind and lead a harmonious life.
~Wisdom from the Buddha~
They do not lament over the past,
they are not anxious for what is to come,
they maintain themselves in the present,
thus their complexion is serene. (Dhammapada)
Helpful links:
May You All Be Happy with The Blessings of the Noble Triple Gem!
Dhamma School
We have a Sunday gathering for children. Sri Lankan American children have sought the help of monastic teachers in navigating between their cultures, and learning about Buddhism.
Rather than preparing kids for exams or competitions in normal school settings, the Dhamma School provides children with a joyful spiritual environment to learn and practice the Buddha’s teachings. When children learn the spiritual values on how they should guide themselves in the right directions, they will grow up as good citizens in the society.
The Dhamma School focuses on teaching the children the techniques to control their negative emotions through mindfulness techniques, encouraging them to take responsibility for their actions and to practice five precepts in daily basis.