Australia

A place to discuss casual topics amongst spiritual friends.
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Dan74
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Re: Australia

Post by Dan74 »

Thanavuddho wrote:
richard_rca wrote:Would you mind sharing some of the reasons why people have been leaving WMJ and perhaps why you decided that you didn't agree with how things were handled?
Did you know that Thaksin Shinawatra offered a kathina one year at WMJ? This was many years ago. Perhaps at that time Thaksin had better relations with Luangta, than later on.

Two peculiar books have been published after Luangta's death. They contain pictures of different Thai ajahns and short quotations from Luangta's talks. In these quotes Luangta declares these ajahns to have reached different levels of enlightenment.

Both of these books have a picture of Ajahn Anan. Luangta visited WMJ at least two times. Both of these times he said that Ajahn Anan has reached a level of enlightenment.

If Luangta said that, then it has to be true, right? We can take a more careful look at these two books that I mentioned earlier. What method did Luangta use to define who is enlightened and who isn't? Many times he speaks about the remains of a monk that have turned into relics.

One time Ajahn Anan gave me some buddha relics. They where small colorful balls.

"This is a bit strange..." I thought. "how come I got relics of the Buddha so easily?" In fact, every monk at WMJ got a small amount of those relics.

I went to inquire about these relics from the Ajahn.

"Are the relics real, ajahn?" I asked.

"Yes. They are real" Ajahn said. "If you put them in water, they will float and unite in the surface."

I went back to my hut and dropped the relics into a class of water. They sank into the bottom and stayed there. I understand more clearly now why teachers such as Ajahn Chah or Buddhadasa didn't talk much about supernatural phenomenon.
Thank you for sharing. So to clarify, did you lose faith in the abbot due to these "superstitions"? Did you try to talk to him about it?
_/|\_
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Thanavuddho
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Re: Australia

Post by Thanavuddho »

Thank you for sharing. So to clarify, did you lose faith in the abbot due to these "superstitions"? Did you try to talk to him about it?
On many occasions we discussed about my many doubts about many things. That story I told is an example. There are other things as well.
“Tasmātihānanda, attadīpā viharatha attasaraṇā anaññasaraṇā, dhammadīpā dhammasaraṇā anaññasaraṇā.”(DN16)
Forum: http://www.avoinsangha.fi
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Thanavuddho
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Re: Australia

Post by Thanavuddho »

They put a notice up on the website about me:

http://bodhisaddha.wix.com/home" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

It seems a bit silly. At least it makes the matter clear.
“Tasmātihānanda, attadīpā viharatha attasaraṇā anaññasaraṇā, dhammadīpā dhammasaraṇā anaññasaraṇā.”(DN16)
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Goob
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Re: Australia

Post by Goob »

How does all of this work when it comes to visa regulations? Do ordained people going to stay in other countries like Australia get a visa sponsorship by their monastery or something?

Having stayed in Australia for a few years in the past I know that it ain't easy to just settle down and stay permanently if you can't find a company to sponsor you. I'm assuming that monks don't apply for either student or working holiday visas either, so is there some sort of religious sponsorship were talking about here, and how would that affect your visa status if you decided to defect? Questions, questions...
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Dan74
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Re: Australia

Post by Dan74 »

Thanavuddho wrote:They put a notice up on the website about me:

http://bodhisaddha.wix.com/home" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

It seems a bit silly. At least it makes the matter clear.
I am not sure what it makes clear - I am more confused then ever.
_/|\_
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Mr Man
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Re: Australia

Post by Mr Man »

Are there no senior monks within the tradition, who you have a rapport with, who you could speak to, to help resolve the situation?
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Thanavuddho
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Re: Australia

Post by Thanavuddho »

richard_rca wrote:How does all of this work when it comes to visa regulations? Do ordained people going to stay in other countries like Australia get a visa sponsorship by their monastery or something?
There's been some confusion around this. I have a half a year, double entry tourist visa in Australia. It's not a religious workers visa. As far as I understood, there's nothing in that visa that requires a sponsorship. As far as law goes, I'm here as a tourist.
“Tasmātihānanda, attadīpā viharatha attasaraṇā anaññasaraṇā, dhammadīpā dhammasaraṇā anaññasaraṇā.”(DN16)
Forum: http://www.avoinsangha.fi
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Thanavuddho
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Re: Australia

Post by Thanavuddho »

Mr Man wrote:Are there no senior monks within the tradition, who you have a rapport with, who you could speak to, to help resolve the situation?
I have talked with a number of monks already. We are working on a solution.
“Tasmātihānanda, attadīpā viharatha attasaraṇā anaññasaraṇā, dhammadīpā dhammasaraṇā anaññasaraṇā.”(DN16)
Forum: http://www.avoinsangha.fi
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mikenz66
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Re: Australia

Post by mikenz66 »

That's great news, Bhante.

:anjali:
Mike
Goob
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Re: Australia

Post by Goob »

So what are your long term plans? Are you intent on staying in Australia if everything works out with the new monastery? I can see from your blog that you aren't much impressed with Thai buddhism anymore so I'm assuming you won't return there, but have you really thought thru what consequences the content in your very public postings are going to have?
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Thanavuddho
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Re: Australia

Post by Thanavuddho »

Image
“Tasmātihānanda, attadīpā viharatha attasaraṇā anaññasaraṇā, dhammadīpā dhammasaraṇā anaññasaraṇā.”(DN16)
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James the Giant
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Re: Australia

Post by James the Giant »

I hope that's a monastic aquarium, not a lay-fishbowl.
Best wishes, Venerable.
Then,
saturated with joy,
you will put an end to suffering and stress.
SN 9.11
daverupa
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Re: Australia

Post by daverupa »

It looks to me to be a fishbowl of solitude, rather than a fishbowl of constant others-contact...

The first thing I thought of when I saw it, despite the bowl sizes being somewhat opposite:

"I would rather sit on a pumpkin and have it all to myself, than be crowded on a velvet cushion."
~Henry David Thoreau.
  • "And how is it, bhikkhus, that by protecting oneself one protects others? By the pursuit, development, and cultivation of the four establishments of mindfulness. It is in such a way that by protecting oneself one protects others.

    "And how is it, bhikkhus, that by protecting others one protects oneself? By patience, harmlessness, goodwill, and sympathy. It is in such a way that by protecting others one protects oneself.

- Sedaka Sutta [SN 47.19]
Raitanator
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Re: Australia

Post by Raitanator »

This or that, it's still a bowl.
daverupa
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Re: Australia

Post by daverupa »

Raitanator wrote:This or that, it's still a bowl.
It's quite noteworthy, to notice how sense contact sparks papanca-sanna-sankha, isn't it?

:heart:
  • "And how is it, bhikkhus, that by protecting oneself one protects others? By the pursuit, development, and cultivation of the four establishments of mindfulness. It is in such a way that by protecting oneself one protects others.

    "And how is it, bhikkhus, that by protecting others one protects oneself? By patience, harmlessness, goodwill, and sympathy. It is in such a way that by protecting others one protects oneself.

- Sedaka Sutta [SN 47.19]
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