Buddhism and Social Work: Monks as Social Workers

Social work means different kind of works intended to benefit mankind consist of individual charity, teaching, training as well as political activities in working for a better society. As being Buddhist monks, monks should involve in social actions for the development of society but they should understand the situation in involving social action and what kinds of social works are suitable and appropriate for Buddhist monks and how monks can help to society.

My First Teaching Experience

 

This is just a description of my teaching experience regarding to teaching project as part of Methods of Effective Teaching English Subject. The aim of this paper is to let you know how i felt and experienced about my teaching and just compared the feeling before the teaching and after teaching.

Comparison of Buddhism between Thailand and Myanmar from the Past to the Present

 

Buddhism in Myanmar and Thailand has changed a lot compared to the past, changing about less beliefs, decline slowly, increasing nominal Buddhists, bogus monks and people believe in amulets too much that leading to be fade Buddhism gradually.

Buddhism and Environment

Our Buddhist people believe that if we wish to save the environment, we must first analyze our lives to determine how our self is destroying the world by depleting, overpopulating, and polluting the environment.

Learning from Nature

Trees provide beautiful flowers, green leaves, and peaceful shade, and fruit. They are very helpful. When they are cut by human beings, it means they hurt their best friends. The life of Buddha was mostly spent in the forests. He became enlightened while meditating beneath a great Bodhi Tree. The Buddha stood for one week gazing at the same Bodhi tree. The Buddha demonstrated his gratitude and appreciation to the tree that had sheltered and nurtured him. The Buddha always taught followers to realize the value of nature and live in harmony with nature.

The Buddha’s Guide to Peace and Happiness: The Singalovada Sutta

The Buddha’s Guide to Peace and Happiness is based on the Singalovada Sutta, one of his greatest and most valuable set of teachings. It deals with basic morality, building and preserving wealth, friendships, the reciprocal responsibilities in social relationships and the qualities of successful persons. This teaching benefits both individuals and society as a whole too.

What is Kamma and rebirth?

Kamma means action, if we do good thing, good result will come back to you and if you do bad thing, bad result will come back to you. It means that the echo of your action will come back to you.

What is the most important in five precepts?

The third precept sexual misconduct is the most important in five precepts because the third precept sexual misconduct is strictly superfluous and any sexual conduct involving violence, manipulation or deceit conduct that therefore leads to suffering and problems.

What is the role or importance of precepts in Buddhism?

The morality is a very important for everyone in any society, by fully maintain the five precepts, we become prepared to perform good actions of many other types, and the main benefit of keeping precepts is for yourself because they prevent you from going astray.

Why do people bow to the Buddha statues?

A piece of clay or bronze or jade is not object of our respect. Buddhists do not bow to just statues but to the Buddha statues that representative of real Buddha and his teaching or Dhamma.

What is triple gem in Buddhism?

Triple Gem is Buddha, Dhamma and Sangha.

Buddha= Buddha is a Sanskrit word that means’ awakened one’. A Buddha is someone who has realized the enlightenment that end the cycle of birth and death and which bring liberation from suffering.

What is Meditation?

        

            

 Our everyday life is too mundane and not so beautiful. Everybody in the world is infatuate, wanted and loves Sukha which mean real happiness and enjoys but dislike mental and physical painful feeling that called in Pali Dukha. And also find the way of avoiding and removing unpleasantness. In order to peace our mind and to drive out our greed, hatred and delusion, we need to control our mind, so the best way to control our wandering mind and spreading mind to anywhere is meditation. So I would like to introduce and franking out about meditation that I learned from meditation practically by myself. And also share my experience to everyone who interested in meditation.

Buddhist Monks

Buddhist Monks observe 227 monastic codes called Patimokkha Rules. They are allowed to possess only eight requisites:  thee robes, an alms bowl, a knife, a needle, a waistband, and a water strainer. They can, however, accept other necessities presented to them by lay followers. The monk’s life and daily duties a little differ each Theravada countries. In this post, describe about Myanmar and Thai monks. 

Myanmar New Year or Thingyan

Times fly so fast, it’s close to New Year again. Water festival or Thingyan is the Myanmar New Year and usually falls around mid-April. It is a Buddhist festival celebrated over a period of four to five days culminating in the New Year.  People from all over the world know New Year as water festival. Since the beginning of March, the weather has been hot, dry and the whole countryside lies parched and barren. As the weather is very hot and every age of Myanmar people including tourists, foreigners come out onto the road and greeted each other by throwing gently water over head and whole body. Water festival is actually the Myanmar New Year and celebrated all over the country.

The Role of Buddhist Monk in Developing Sustainable Society

Abstract

In this paper I described about the role of Buddhist monk in social action, social activities and social work for the development of society. There are many possible ways Buddhist monks can help society and can do in different kinds of social activities to be sustainable development. For all Buddhist monks in all Buddhist countries, we can divide them into to three groups. 1 forest monks who love to meditate and sharing, teaching of meditation practice to others. 2 Pali literature monks who like to study Pali Tipitaka and teach to new generation monks and novice to last long of Buddhism and 3 general monks who mostly like and consider to involve in social activities, and social action for the development of society. So that there are many possible ways that Buddhist monks involve in social activities with only purpose of development society.

The first British emissary of Buddhism or Ananda Metteyya.

He was born on 8, Dec,1872 in London. He read the Book * The Light of Asia by Sir Edwin Arnold* at the age of eighteen and becoming a Buddhist at heart. He explored a variety of Eastern religious and Western mystic and occult systems. He left for Cylon ( Sri Lanka) in 1899. Buddhism was a part of his spiritual path. And he left Cylon and traveled to Sittwe ( former known as Akyab) on 12, Dec, 1901.

A memorable excursion to Northern Thailand

 View from Wat Phuket

We all final year students are excited for a three day educational trip to Northern Thailand and. On 14^th February 2014 in the very early morning, our long journey begins and feels very happy to study new things, knowledge and experience. The trip was organized by MCU, faculty of Buddhism for the four year students of English program. Dr. Ajahn Somphong and Ajahn Mark Hoolahan are caretakers for this long trip who take good care us very well and guide us what should we do and what should not we do during this trip.

                                                            Lanna Onsen hot spring resort

In the early morning of 14^th February 2014, our bus arrived to MCU to pick up all students and we all took seats properly and the bus headed to Nan province. It is quite long trip and we had fun, joke and happy talk along way to Nan province. At 11:00, our bus stopped at gas station in Nakhon Sawan and we had lunch there. After finished our lunch, our bus left for Nan province. On the way to Nan province, we all students including staffs introduced ourselves and expressed our feeling regarding this excited trip. It was very happy moment to listen of everyone presentation in the bus.  At about 9 pm, we safety arrived Wat Phuket in Nan province. When we arrived there we feel just normal and we cannot see the view surrounded because of darkness but in the early morning we all wake up and sightseeing around temple and it was a great place seeing breathtaking view surrounded by mountain and everywhere corn and tobacco plantation, it was quite beautiful view.

                                                  corn plantation in Nan province

Beautiful natural surrounded and perfect temperature in Nan province created an impressive location suitable for both visitors and agriculture but we just stayed few hours by donation, looking around beautiful scenery and then we continued to Chaing Rai province. On the way to Chaing Rai, we were really enjoying and looking each side of high way various plantation, beautiful landscape, valley and mountain. We did not even tire despite taking many hours in the bus and we were enjoying spending our time discovering new amazing experience 

                                                                  At natural hot spring

We reached Chaing Rai at night about 8:00 pm and heading to Lanna Onsen natural hot spring resort. The resort is a fantastic and we do had opportunity to take bath in hot spring, for me first time taking bath hot spring and it is going to be always memorable in life. And the next day our first day visited to Wat rong khun or white temple. This temple is a tourist attraction and many tourists came every day to study amazing architecture and it is artistically different from other temples in Thailand. White temple encouraged us to think and gaze. There is no admission fee for visitors who flock here daily, local traders sell souvenirs.  I was so surprise seeing the golden toilet near the white temple. It was first time in my life seeing such toilet. The golden toilet is just like a palace and it is beautify with great architecture and dyeing in golden in the whole building. Many tourists were surprise seeing this golden toilet. 

                                                      Wat Rong Khun or White temple

And after finish visiting and observing the white temple, we continued to Wat Phra Kaew where the current Bangkok emerald Buddha lived in this temple in the past. After visiting around the temple, we continued our trip to a great place called Cherntawan International meditation center to study of Buddhist economic. The center is run by famous author Venerable Vajiramedho who is a very compassionate person and very well-known writer not only in Thailand but also in the west. We were great pleasure to respect and meet him. He explained about his center detail and answered some questions and also we had a simple delicious lunch there. After finish lunch, we were looking plantation, the way to grow mushroom and other vegetable plantation around the center about two hours. And also the venerable gave a gift to everyone and took photo with everyone. So we had a great time and memorable day for all of us. 

                                                             Golden toilet of White temple

And after finish our visiting all places during three days trip, we came back to Bangkok with enjoyment, excitement, and pleasure. On the way back to Bangkok, we all students presented and shared our experiences and knowledge with lots of fun and lot of laughing in the bus for few minutes. We successfully arrived our university at about 2:00 am in midnight.

                             Gourd fruiting at Buddhist Economic Farmer School

                                A great moment with Thai famous writer VenerableVanjiramedhi