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Monday, June 15, 2009

Tuesday, June 9, 2009

ดูชื่อหนังสือ

Light_of_Asia_-_Sir_Edwin_Arnold

Now_is_the_Knowing_-_Ajahn_Sumedho

Only_We_Can_Help_Ourselves_-_Dhammavuddho_Thero

Phra_Buddha_Dhammacakra

Preparing_for_Death_and_Helping_the_Dying_-_Sangye_Khadro

Reading_the_Mind_-_K_Khao-Suan-Luang

Scientific_Acceptability_of_Rebirth_-_Granville_Dharmawardena

Snow_in_the_Summer_-_Sayadaw_U_Jotika

The_Art_of_Living_-_Part_I_and_II_-_Master_Chin_Kung

The_Buddha__His_Life_and_Teachings_-_Piyadassi_Thera

Wind_in_the_Forest_-_Sujiva_-_Poems_-_Poetry

Mandkind_-_Buddhadasa_Bhikkhu

Liao-Fan_s_Four_Lessons_-_by_Liao-Fan_Yuan_of_the_Ming_Dynasty

Good_Question__Good_Answer_-_S_Dhammika

The_Buddhist_Way_-_K_Sri_Dhammananda

The_Eightfold_Path_for_the_Householder_-_Jack_Kornfield

The_Four_Noble_Truths_by_Ajahn_Sumedho

The_Many_Faces_of_Death_-_Jacqui_James

The_Natural_Cure_for_Spiritual_Disease_-_Buddhadasa_Bhikkhu

The_Seeker_s_Glossary_of_Buddhism

The_Tree_of_Enlightenment_-_Peter_Della_Santina

To_Cherish_All_Life_-_Roshi_Philip_Kapleau

To_Understand_Buddhism_-_Master_Chin_Kung

What_Buddhist_Believe_Expanded_4th_Edition_-_K_Sri_Dhammanada

buddhism__Beyond_Belief_-_A_L_De_Silva

Buddha_Dhamma_for_University_Students_-_Buddhadasa_Bhikkhu

Buddha_s_Constant_Companion_-_Venerable_Ananda

Buddha_s_Tales_for_Young_and_Old_-_Prince_Goodspeaker_-_Vol_1
Buddha_s_Tales_for_Young_and_Old_-_Volume_1_-_Illustrated
Buddha_s_Tales_for_Young_and_Old_-_Volume_1_-_Illustrated
Buddha_s_Tales_for_Young_and_Old_-_Volume_2_-_Text_Only

Buddhism_as_a_Religion_-_K_Sri_Dhammanada

Buddhism_as_an_Education_-_Master_Chin_Kung

Buddhism_for_the_Future_-_K_Sri_Dhammananda

A_Tree_in_a_Forest_-_A_Collection_of_Ajahn_Chah_s_Similes.

Animal_Magnetism_-_Attraction_of_Spiritual_Leaders_-_Francis_Story

buddhism__A_Guide_to_a_Proper_Buddhist_Funeral

Buddhism_in_a_Nutshell_-_Narada_Thera

Buddhist_Pilgrimage_-_Chan_Khoon_San

Dharma_Mind_Worldly_Mind_-_David_Smith

Essential_Themes_of_Buddhist_Lectures_-_Sayadaw_U_

buddhism__Facing_the_Future_-_Bhikkhu_Bodhi

From_Womb_to_Womb_-_Metamorphosis_of_a_Mother_-_Francis_Story

Fundamentals_of_Buddhism_-_Peter_D_Santina

A_Tree_in_a_Forest_-_A_Collection_of_Ajahn_Chah_s_Similes

Animal_Magnetism_-_Attraction_of_Spiritual_Leaders_-_Francis_Story

Beyond_Belief_-_A_L_De_Silva

Buddha_Dhamma_for_University_Students_-_Buddhadasa_Bhikkhu

A_Guide_to_a_Proper_Buddhist_Funeral

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Saturday, June 6, 2009

Who Is Best?

Who Is Best?

A long time ago, there were three men who were close friends. The first was named Boon (Merit), the second was named Man (Diligence) and the third was named Panya (Wisdom). Once, during a time of famine, the three men decided to leave for another town to look for jobs.

At last, they found a rich farmer who would hire them to clear land for more rice fields. The rich farmer had only one condition. They must finish the task in seven days.

Every morning, a servant brought the three men food for the day. Every evening, the rich farmer came to see how much they had accomplished. The rich farmer was pleased to see that the three men worked very hard. They would be able to accomplish this task within the seven days.

On the last day, the three finished their work early, but nobody brought them their food. They waited and waited, still the servant did not come. While they waited they began to boast among themselves about their names. "My name is the best," said Mr. Boon. "If you lack boon (merit) you will not become rich and prosperous even if you are diligent and clever." Mr. Man interrupted, "No, my name is best. Even if you have boon, if you do not have man (diligence) you will starve to death." But Mr. Panya disagreed. "No. Even if you have boon and man you cannot prosper unless you have panya (wisdom)."
Suddenly, the three were attacked by hunger. Panya got up and walked around looking for something to eat. He soon noticed a trail of ants. Each ant was carrying a single grain of rice. Right away, he realized that the rich man had sent the food, but that the servant had been instructed to hide it from them. He told his friend Man, "The servant did bring the food. It is hidden. Look for it."

Mr. Man got up and looked around. He searched diligently until he discovered the packet of food, wrapped in its banana leaf covering, hidden in the forest. He brought back the food and shared it with his friend Panya, saying, "If Boon is truly blessed by his previous good deeds and merits, he will have somebody bring him food. He will not need this."
After Panya and Man were full, there was still a bit of food left. So Panya and Man tossed it to Boon. Boon accepted the food gratefully and ate hungrily. But as he finished the food, Boon discovered several pieces of gold in the bottom of the packet! The rich farmer had hidden their promised reward under the food.

Boon was delighted. He showed the money to his friends, who promptly asked for their shares. Panya said, "If it had not been for my wisdom, we would not have known the food was hidden." Man said, "If it had not been for my diligence, we would not have found the hidden food." Boon said, "You two still lack boon. Good deeds bring good in return. As you lack merit, you threw your gold away with the food scraps. You cannot say that this gold belongs to you. What is thrown away is no longer yours."

While the three quarreled, the rich farmer arrived. The three asked the rich farmer to be the judge. After hearing their story, the rich man took the six gold pieces and divided them equally among the three. He explained, "Each of you is equally important. No one alone is sufficient. All three are needed. In order to succeed and prosper, a man must have all three of your qualities: merit, diligence, and wisdom."

Drinking with Yommaban

Drinking with Yommaban, the King of the Dead

There was a man who loved to drink whiskey. It was his habit to drink whiskey every day until he became drunk. When he was really drunk, he did not know what was going on around him. He wasn't even aware of the mosquitoes swarming around to bite him. And he wasn't aware that those poor mosquitoes became drunk themselves just from drinking his alcohol-laden blood!

This man had a wife and several children. There was only one thing that he really wanted in this life. He kept saying, "Before I die, I want to see my son ordained as a monk." Nothing else seemed to matter to this man, except for his whiskey. He even told his wife, "When I die, don't bother to do merit for me. I wouldn't even care. Just remember to put a bottle of whiskey in the coffin with me. That is important."

The time arrived when his son came of age. He could now become an ordained monk. The man was glad that this happy day was finally at hand. He told his wife to prepare for his son's ordination. But before the ceremony could occur, this drunken man died. His wife grieved, but as he had wished, she dutifully laid one bottle of whiskey in the coffin with his corpse.

As his spirit lifted from his body, the dead drunkard snatched the bottle of whiskey from the coffin and carried it with him on his way to hell. Yommaban, the King of the Dead, greeted the new arrival. "During your life have you done many good deeds? Have you gained any merits?" The man shook his head. "No, Sir. I never bothered myself with making merits. I just spent my time drinking whiskey." He opened the bottle and took a big drink, right in front of the King of the Dead.

The smell of that whiskey tickled the nose of the King of the Dead. He was curious. "What is it about this whiskey that makes you want to drink it all the time? Does it taste so good?" The drunkard nodded. He poured some for Yommaban. "If you do not believe my words, sample some yourself. Whiskey is man's best friend. Whiskey is always faithful to man. The more you drink, the more drunk you become. The less you drink, the less drunk you are. If you do not drink, you do not have to urinate as often. If you drink a lot, be prepared to relieve yourself. Whiskey can be depended on."

The King of the Dead was curious. He wanted to see whether this man told the truth. Yommaban, King of the Dead, sat down and took a drink of the whiskey. It tasted bad, but still there was something about it. Yommaban drank some more. There they sat, the King of the Dead and this drunkard, talking and drinking until the bottle was empty.

Suddenly the man remembered his past and started to cry. Yommaban was confused. "Now, what? You just finished drinking your whiskey. Why do you cry?" "I am thinking of my son," said the man. "I will not be able to attend his ordination ceremony. I wanted to see my son enter the monkhood. Everything is already prepared. If only I could see my son become a monk, I would not feel sorry to die." Yommaban was pleased to learn that the man told the truth and that he still believed in religion, even though he had not bothered to acquire merit in his life. Yommaban pulled out his record book and checked the drunkard's status. He found that this man was only 40 years old. Well, he could spare him a bit more time on earth. What would that hurt? Yommaban spoke to his drinking partner. "I hate to see you cry like this. I feel sorry for you. Look, why don't I send you back to earth for one more year, so you can see your son ordained into the monkhood. I will send somebody to pick you up and bring you back down here afterward. You are 40 now. Here, I will just add a "I" to your score. What is one more year between friends, eh? By the way, you might bring along another bottle of whiskey when you come back down." Yommaban drunkenly scratched a "I" in his record book and slammed it shut. Calling one of his assistants, he had the drunkard escorted back to earth.

The man recovered from his death. He told his wife all about his agreement with Yommaban. Then he prepared everything for his son's ordination. Once the son was ordained into the monk-hood, the man relaxed. Now he had only to settle back with his whiskey bottle and wait for Yommaban to send for him again.

As the year drew to an end, the man began to drink more whiskey than ever. But the anniversary of his death passed and Yommaban did not send for him. A second year passed. Still, the man lived on. Ten, 20, 30, 40 years passed. The man was becoming very old. He felt miserable all of the time. He didn't even feel like drinking any more. "Why doesn't Yommaban come for me?" he wondered. "Am I to go on existing in this state of miserable old age forever?"

Meanwhile, Yommaban, himself, was puzzled. It seemed much longer than a year since that drunkard with the whiskey bottle had visited. Why hadn't he returned? Yommaban pulled out his record book and turned to the man's name. "Well now I understand about this drinking business," he said. "No wonder whiskey is said to be bad for you. It must really fog your mind. I,Yommaban, who have never made a mistake before, actually made a mistake!" There in the record book was the man's original death age, clearly written "40." And beside it was scrawled a "1'', the "1" that a drunken Yommaban had added. The man's age of death now read "401.''