On 12th july 2008, a group of the Singapore Buddhist mission youths joined the Buddhist fellowship youth group for their sharing.
It started off with the performance of their band and then a short meditation. Next was a dharma sharing session conducted by Dr. Ren Shuang.
This talk is about the Brahma Viharas.
A positive mind creates positive thinking
What creates a positive mind?
It is the brahma Viharas.
Loving kindness, Compassion, Altruistic Joy and equanimity.
It is the healthiest way to practice the four noble truth and the eightfold path.
Loving Kindness (Metta)
It is the wish for everyone around you to be happy.
Everyone is finding their way to seek happiness.
No one would want to not seek happiness.
However make sure that one does not cling on to it.
See that one will not be attached or infatuated with the wanting to possess, as one perceives the happiness and positivity in things.
“true love never clings”.
11 Benefits of cultivating loving kindness
One sleeps peacefully,
One wakes easily,
One sees no bad dreams,
One is dear to human beings,
One is dear to nonhuman beings,
One will be protected by devas, fire poison weapons cannot injure one,
One’s mind becomes easily still,
One’s facial complexion will be serene,
One will die unconfused,
And if one does not penetrate higher (to the stages of enlightenment), one will be reborn in the Jhana realms.
Compassion (Karuna)
Empathy for pain in the other beings. Seeing the suffering of human beings
Compassion will arise in touch of suffering.
No one would want to act in a negative way.
It is the antidote to cruelty (mental and physical harm).
However one shall not be attached to compassion, whereby one only sees the suffering and becomes pessimistic. Wisdoms comes with compassion, however compassion may not come with wisdom. Therefore one has to cultivate with wisdom.
Because compassion has a driving force for you to seek solutions to the pain or situation. Wisdom naturally has to come in or be the outcome of the process of helping someone.
Just like the Buddha’s Great compassion drove him to seek solutions to the problems in life
Altruistic Joy (Mudita)
Rejoicing in the happiness and goodness experienced by everyone, understand that every good that everyone is experiencing is due to past karma, ripening of the good karma.
Everyone deserves the happiness they are experiencing now, for that is the result of previously done good deeds empathize with the goodness accumulated and being experienced everyone, and the only logical response is to rejoice with them.
It is the antidote to jealousy.
Equanimity (upekka)
It is the hardest to understand and is founded on wisdom.
Basically it is the antidote to aversion.
Openness of heart to accept things as they are, without giving rise to desire or ill-will.
Recognize that all beings are the owners of their karma, which things in this world happen according to their conditions, all of which are beyond your control
Allow it all to be, to be at peace with all things, both joyful and painful aspects
We had a debate session with the Buddhist Fellowship Youth Members after that. The topic was “A soldier defending his own country is justified to kill.”
We can have a similar one of our own in the future too.
It was definitely a fruitful session for those who went.
*As part of courtesy, above of the details on the talk is taken with reference to the notes of Brother Ren Shuang.
With metta
Wilson Chua
It started off with the performance of their band and then a short meditation. Next was a dharma sharing session conducted by Dr. Ren Shuang.
This talk is about the Brahma Viharas.
A positive mind creates positive thinking
What creates a positive mind?
It is the brahma Viharas.
Loving kindness, Compassion, Altruistic Joy and equanimity.
It is the healthiest way to practice the four noble truth and the eightfold path.
Loving Kindness (Metta)
It is the wish for everyone around you to be happy.
Everyone is finding their way to seek happiness.
No one would want to not seek happiness.
However make sure that one does not cling on to it.
See that one will not be attached or infatuated with the wanting to possess, as one perceives the happiness and positivity in things.
“true love never clings”.
11 Benefits of cultivating loving kindness
One sleeps peacefully,
One wakes easily,
One sees no bad dreams,
One is dear to human beings,
One is dear to nonhuman beings,
One will be protected by devas, fire poison weapons cannot injure one,
One’s mind becomes easily still,
One’s facial complexion will be serene,
One will die unconfused,
And if one does not penetrate higher (to the stages of enlightenment), one will be reborn in the Jhana realms.
Compassion (Karuna)
Empathy for pain in the other beings. Seeing the suffering of human beings
Compassion will arise in touch of suffering.
No one would want to act in a negative way.
It is the antidote to cruelty (mental and physical harm).
However one shall not be attached to compassion, whereby one only sees the suffering and becomes pessimistic. Wisdoms comes with compassion, however compassion may not come with wisdom. Therefore one has to cultivate with wisdom.
Because compassion has a driving force for you to seek solutions to the pain or situation. Wisdom naturally has to come in or be the outcome of the process of helping someone.
Just like the Buddha’s Great compassion drove him to seek solutions to the problems in life
Altruistic Joy (Mudita)
Rejoicing in the happiness and goodness experienced by everyone, understand that every good that everyone is experiencing is due to past karma, ripening of the good karma.
Everyone deserves the happiness they are experiencing now, for that is the result of previously done good deeds empathize with the goodness accumulated and being experienced everyone, and the only logical response is to rejoice with them.
It is the antidote to jealousy.
Equanimity (upekka)
It is the hardest to understand and is founded on wisdom.
Basically it is the antidote to aversion.
Openness of heart to accept things as they are, without giving rise to desire or ill-will.
Recognize that all beings are the owners of their karma, which things in this world happen according to their conditions, all of which are beyond your control
Allow it all to be, to be at peace with all things, both joyful and painful aspects
We had a debate session with the Buddhist Fellowship Youth Members after that. The topic was “A soldier defending his own country is justified to kill.”
We can have a similar one of our own in the future too.
It was definitely a fruitful session for those who went.
*As part of courtesy, above of the details on the talk is taken with reference to the notes of Brother Ren Shuang.
With metta
Wilson Chua
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