verses for praying homage tothe triple Gem Buddha , Shanga ,Dhamma, s

These verses are recited to pay homage to the Triple Gem - Buddha, Dhamma and Sangha. These words explain some of the great qualities and virtues pertaining to the Triple Gem. By reciting these words, one can understand the admirable qualities of the Triple Gem and so develop one's confidence in their intrinsic worth. The Buddha himself explained these qualities in many of His Suttas. He also advised his followers to recite these words to be mindful of the Buddha, Dhamma and Sangha in times of fear or disturbance, whether arising from external sources or through evil influences so that such disturbances can be vanquished. This is because the Buddha, Dhamma and Sangha are free from all kinds of defilements and hindrances such as greed, anger and ignorance.

Buddhism and society

Every evening after chanting the Bhavana Society has some program, either a Dhammma talk by one of the senior monks, a sutta presentation by a community member, a discussion about the Dhammapada, Pali study or a book report. Last night I volunteered to give a sutta presentation. Instead of reporting about one sutta I decided to discuss the topic of stream-entry, or the first stage of enlightenment, as it is discussed in the suttas. There is some interesting information in the suttas and I wanted to get Bhante G’s opinion about some of the material. He is in California right now, so Austin and I gave a talk about the pilgrimage instead.

It was good for me to talk about the pilgrimage, as yesterday we decided not to wait until July 5th to make a decision about the walk. Ajahn Punnadhammo and I spoke on the phone and he is very enthusiastic about my returning to Arrow River and said as long as I can carry my own water and spilt my own firewood he saw no problem with my coming to stay. So Austin and I are in the process of looking into what to do after June 22nd, which is when we will be leaving the Bhavana Society.

It is ironic that we decided to end the walk one week after mentioning we were at the midpoint between March 1st and August 20th (the day the pilgrimage had to be completed). We still have about five or six weeks before we plan to reach Thunder Bay and I anticipate continuing to write about our experiences until we get there.

If my health is still not improved Dr. Jerry invited us to come stay with him in Lafayette, Indiana and he will run a series of tests on me. From Lafayette we might take a train to Minneapolis, Minnesota and stay with a meditation group in the area. Father William will be away until July 5th, and we want to end the pilgrimage with a visit to St. John’s Abbey. Father William has offered to drive us to Thunder Bay, Ontario.

It is interesting to me that on the day we finally decided to end the walk, the batteries in my L.E.D. flashlight finally died. Those were the batteries that I installed in the lamp back in mid-February right before leaving Thunder Bay.

When we left New Orleans I had fifteen contacts along the proposed route. Austin had a few more. Today as I look at my address book I count fifty-eight, and that doesn’t count the dozens of people who wrote just to express good wishes! We certainly were blessed with support.

I like the way Father William summed up my explanation about exploring the sadness of facing the end of the pilgrimage. Here is what he wrote, “They weren't at all the events you anticipated, but they have, in their own way, been moments of great grace. The last words of Georges Bernanos' novel, The Diary of a Country Priest, say it all. "Tout est grâce." Everything is grace.

Touche!

the doctor's prescription

A man becomes sick and goes to the doctor for help the doctor examines him and then writes out a prescription for some medicine. The men has great faith in his doctor. He returns home and in his prayer room he puts a beautiful picture or statue of the doctor. The he site down and precept to that picture or statue he site down three time , and offers flower and incense, and then he take out the prescription that the doctor wrote for him ,and every solemnly he recites it . two pill in the morning , two pill the after noon m, two in the evening ! all day , all life long he keep reciting the prescription because he has a great faith in the doctor , but still the precondition doest not help him .

the man decided that he wants to know more about this prescription ,and so he run to the doctor and ask him . why did you prescription this medicine ? how will it help me ?being an intelligent person , the doctor explains , well look this is the root cause of your disease . if you take medicine i have prescription it will eradicate the cause of your disease . when the cause eradicated , the disease will automatically disappear , the man thinks , Ah wonderful !and he goes home and starts fighting with his neighborer and acquaintances, insisting , ! doctor is the best the doctor all the doctor are useless . but what does he gain by such arguments? all his life he may continue fighting but still this does not help him at all if he take the medicine .only the then man be relived of his misery,