Ven. Akshay Kamble

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🏵  Cultivating the Bodhi Path   🏵 ~ By Venerable Master Hsuan Hua ~ At all times be attentive; at all times be cautious. Do not slack off for even a single second. Leave no good undone, no matter how small; and do no evil, no matter how minute. Diligently cultivate the Bodhi Path; purify and transform the gates of the three karmas. Increase your blessings and wisdom, plant and nurture your good roots. Irrigate the field of mind; moisten and nourish your body with virtue so that you can withstand unforeseen misfortunes. Take them in stride and remain unmoved; understand and recognize them so that no anger arises. A verse says, The great Path of Bodhi is straight as can be. Do not be crooked or rely on luck. With a true mind seek the Dharma, there will certainly be a response. Going through the motions halfheartedly, you are just wasting time. Use courage, vigor and patience; never retreat. Giving and holding Precepts garners wisdom. One day you will per...

The First Discourse of The Buddha Dhammacakkappavattana Sutta Thus have I heard: On one occasion the Exalted One was residing at the Deer  Park,2 in Isipatana,3 near Benares. Thereupon the Exalted One  addressed the group of five Bhikkhus as follows: “There are these two extremes (antā), O Bhikkhus, which  should be avoided by one who has renounced (pabbajitena) – (i) Indulgence in sensual pleasures4 – this is base, vulgar,  worldly, ignoble and profitless; and, (ii) Addiction to self-mortification5 – this is painful, igno- ble and profitless. Abandoning both these extremes the Tathāgata6 has com- .Subhakinna, Vehapphala, Aviha, Atappa, Sudassa, Sudassi, and  Akanittha, also raised the same joyous cry. Thus at that very moment, at that very instant, this cry ex- tended as far as the Brahma realm. These ten thousand world  systems quaked, tottered and trembled violently. A radiant light, surpassing the effulgence ...

William Shakespeare Shakespeare is still considered the greatest writer of the English language. He was able to capture the human emotion and that is why his works have stood the test of time when many others have been forgotten. He has create passages and works that almost everyone in the world can recognize even if they don’t know Shakespeare very well because he is that well known. William Shakespeares works: Scholars distinguish three periods in William Shakespeares works. The first period (roughly from 1590 to 1594), during which he wrote mainly gay comedies and dramatic histories. This is the period of optimism of William Shakespeare. The middle period (roughly from 1600 to 1608), during which he wrote great tragedies and bitter comedies. This is the period of maturity of William Shakespeare. The late period (roughly from 1609 to 1612), during which he wrote legendary and lyrical plays, and tragic comedies. Tragedies Shakespeare wrote eleven tragedies b...

Real Charity You perform real charity if you can give freely without expecting anything in return. The essence of true charity is to give something without expecting anything in return for the gift. If a person expects some material benefit to arise from his gift, he is only performing an act of bartering and not charity. A charitable person should not make other people feel indebted to him or use charity as a way of exercising control over them. He should not even expect others to be grateful, for most people are forgetful though not necessarily ungrateful. The act of true charity is wholesome, has no strings attached, and leaves both the giver and the recipient free. The meritorious deed of charity is highly praised by every religion. Those who have enough to maintain themselves should think of others and extend their generosity deserving cases. Among people who practise charity, there are some who give as a means of attracting others into their religion or creed. Such ...

The Story of a Brahmin  Once, there was a brahmin who was in the habit of going round for alms. One day, he thought, "Samana Gotama has declared that one who lives by going round for alms is a bhikkhu. That being so, I should also be called a bhikkhu." So thinking, he went to the Buddha and said to him that he (the brahmin) should also be called a bhikkhu, because he also went round for alms-food. To him the Buddha replied, "Brahmin, I do not say that you are a bhikkhu simply because you go round for alms-food. One who professes a wrong faith and acts accordingly is not to be called a bhikkhu. Only he who lives meditating on the impermanence, unsatisfactoriness, and insubstantiality of the aggregates is to be called a bhikkhu." Then the Buddha spoke in verse as follows: Verse 266. He does not become a bhikkhu merely because he stands at the door for alms. He cannot become a bhikkhu because he acts according to a faith which is not in conformity wi...

The described appearance and true nature of the Gauthama Buddha from Tripitaka (original pali cannon) : Once a prominent Brahmin named Sela with the three hundred young men approached the Blessed One and exchanged friendly greetings, sat on a side, and examined the thirty two marks of a Great Man, and praised the Blessed One by saying these verses. These verses indicate the appearance and true nature of the Blessed One: 1. Paripuṇṇakāyo suruci sujāto cārudassano Suvaṇṇavaṇṇosi bhagavā susukkadāṭhosi viriyavā . "O! Blessed One, you are handsome, is pleasant, Is well born, lovely to look at, has a golden hue, and strong white teeth. 2. Narassa hi sujātassa ye bhavanti viyañjanā Sabbe te tava kāyasmiṃ mahāpurisalakkhaṇā. . To those born well, there are marks, All the marks of a Great Man are evident on your body 3. Pasannanetto sumukho brahā uju patāpavā, Majjhe samaṇasaṅghassa ādiccova virocasi. You have pleasant eyes a beautiful mouth, a straight and majestic body In th...

The Story of the Questions Raised by Sakka On one occasion, at a meeting of the devas in the Tavatimsa realm, four questions were raised, but the devas failed to get the correct answers. Eventually, Sakka took these devas to the Buddha at the Jetavana monastery. After explaining their difficulty, Sakka presented the following four questions: (a) Among gifts, which is the best? (b) Among tastes, which is the best? (c) Among delights, which is the best? (d) Why is the eradication of craving said to be the most excellent? To these questions, the Buddha replied, "Oh Sakka, the Dhamma is the noblest of all gifts, the best of all tastes and the best of all delights. Eradication of Craving leads to the attainment of arahatship and is, therefore, the greatest of all conquests." Then the Buddha spoke in verse as follows: Verse 354. The gift of tile Dhamma excels all gifts; the taste of the Dhamma excels all tastes; delight in the Dhamma excels all delights. The eradication o...

The Passionate Shepherd to His Love BY CHRISTOPHER MARLOWE Come live with me and be my love, And we will all the pleasures prove, That Valleys, groves, hills, and fields, Woods, or steepy mountain yields. And we will sit upon the Rocks, Seeing the Shepherds feed their flocks, By shallow Rivers to whose falls Melodious birds sing Madrigals. And I will make thee beds of Roses And a thousand fragrant posies, A cap of flowers, and a kirtle Embroidered all with leaves of Myrtle; A gown made of the finest wool Which from our pretty Lambs we pull; Fair lined slippers for the cold, With buckles of the purest gold; A belt of straw and Ivy buds, With Coral clasps and Amber studs: And if these pleasures may thee move, Come live with me, and be my love. The Shepherds’ Swains shall dance and sing For thy delight each May-morning: If these delights thy mind may move, Then live with me, and be my love.

" The Poor Ghost " by Christina Rossetti "Oh whence do you come, my dear friend, to me, With your golden hair all fallen below your knee, And your face as white as snowdrops on the lea, And your voice as hollow as the hollow sea?" "From the other world I come back to you, My locks are uncurled with dripping drenching dew. You know the old, whilst I know the new: But tomorrow you shall know this too." "Oh not tomorrow into the dark, I pray; Oh not tomorrow, too soon to go away: Here I feel warm and well-content and gay: Give me another year, another day." "Am I so changed in a day and a night That mine own only love shrinks from me with fright, Is fain to turn away to left or right And cover up his eyes from the sight?" "Indeed I loved you, my chosen friend, I loved you for life, but life has an end; Thro' sickness I was ready to tend: But death mars all, which we cannot mend. "Indeed I loved you; I lo...

" Love and a Question " by Robert Frost A stranger came to the door at eve, And he spoke the bridegroom fair. He bore a green-white stick in his hand, And, for all burden, care. He asked with the eyes more than the lips For a shelter for the night, And he turned and looked at the road afar Without a window light. The bridegroom came forth into the porch With, 'Let us look at the sky, And question what of the night to be, Stranger, you and I.' The woodbine leaves littered the yard, The woodbine berries were blue, Autumn, yes, winter was in the wind; 'Stranger, I wish I knew.' Within, the bride in the dusk alone Bent over the open fire, Her face rose-red with the glowing coal And the thought of the heart's desire. The bridegroom looked at the weary road, Yet saw but her within, And wished her heart in a case of gold And pinned with a silver pin. The bridegroom thought it little to give A dole of bread, a purse, A heartfelt prayer ...

Introduction: Geoffrey Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales is an anthology of 24 tales written in Middle English. Textual Background: Geoffrey Chaucer wrote this story in the late 1300’s but never finished it. He wrote in the native language or vernacular of the Medieval period in Britain called Middle English. Chaucer's original plan was for over 100 stories, but only 24 were completed, some of which had already been written for earlier works. Overview: Fragment I: General Prologue The General Prologue is a basic descriptive list of the twenty-nine people who become pilgrims to journey to Canterbury. The pilgrims, who come from all layers of society, tell stories to each other to kill time while they travel to Canterbury. The Host, Harry Bailey decides that every pilgrim will tell 2 stories on the road to Canterbury and other 2 on the way back. The person he judges to tell the best tale will receive a free meal at the Tabard Inn at Southwark when they return. ...

Source: Dr. B.R.AMBEDKAR WRITING AND SPEECHES VOL. 07 and Who were Shudras? THE RIDDLE OF THE SHUDRAS EVERYBODY knows that the Shudras formed the fourth Varna of the Indo-Aryan society. But very few have cared to inquire who were these Shudras and how they came to be the fourth Varna. That such an enquiry is of first-rate importance is beyond question. For, it is worth knowing how the Shudras came to occupy the fourth place, whether it was the result of evolution or it was brought about by revolution. Any attempt to discover who the Shudras were and how they came to be the fourth Varna must begin with the origin of the Chaturvarnya in the Indo-Aryan society. A study of the Chaturvarnya must in its turn start with a study of the ninetieth Hymn of the Tenth Mandala of the Rig Veda—a Hymn, which is known by the famous name of Purusha Sukta. What does the Hymn say? It says1 : “1. Purusha has a thousand heads, a thousand eyes, a thousand feet. On every side enveloping t...

Contd 17. It is an opinion supported by the best authorities, and proved by experience, that coins of gold and silver cannot circulate as legal tenders of payment at fixed relative values...... without loss; this loss is occasioned by the fluctuating value of the metals of which the coins are formed. A proportion between the gold and silver coin is fixed by law, according to the value of the metals, and it may be on the justestprinciples, but owing to the change of circumstances gold may become of greater value in relation to silver than at the time the proportion was fixed, it therefore becomes profitable to exchange silver or gold, so the coin of that metal is withdrawn from circulation; and if silver should increase in its value in relation to gold, the same circumstances would tend to reduce the quantity of silver coin in circulation. As it is impossible to prevent the fluctuation in the value of the metals, so it is also equally impracticable to prevent the conseque...