Lessons In Practical Buddhism - Sirimangalo.Org

darkness of samsara. Moreover, it is the act that purifies our
minds, and so it is the act that brings us happiness. Without
purity of mind there is no happiness; this act of meditating is
that which brings us true happiness. As a result it should be
something that we rejoice in.
It goes without saying how important it is to meditate at all
times; this is just one more reason for us to apply ourselves
to the meditation. Someone asked today whether we were
doing anything special on the Buddhist holiday and I joked:
“meditate more.” It’s true, though, isn’t it? This is a chance
for us to practice more intensively; it is a day when lay
people will come to the monastery, take the eight precepts
and listen to the dhamma. It’s a time when people
undertake the practice of morality, concentration, and
wisdom; it’s a good excuse, a special opportunity for all
Buddhists. It’s an especially good opportunity for us who are
living in the monastery, who have the chance to take the
opportunity in full; to take is as a joyful occasion for
ourselves.
Here, we have the opportunity to meditate, and we take it.
On the holy day we practice with greater conviction; it
doesn’t mean you have to necessarily practice for longer
periods of time, but you will at least make more effort to be
mindful knowing that this is the holy day, knowing that there
is a full moon and we are under the Bodhi tree; thinking
about the Buddha who sat under the Bodhi tree. Here we
are, 20 feet away from the Buddha – the Bodhi tree under
which the Buddha sat.
Finally, we can also take our practice as a puja towards the
Buddha, a way of paying homage to the Buddha. We may
wonder what we can do on a holy day to pay homage to the
Buddha. The Buddha himself was very clear on this topic;
when he was about to pass away and everyone was bringing
flowers, paying homage to him, the Buddha taught that such
homage wasn’t proper homage to the Buddha. He said:
“yo kho, ānanda, bhikkhu vā bhikkhunī vā upāsako vā
upāsikā vā dhammānudhammappaṭipanno viharati
sāmīcippaṭipanno anudhammacārī, so tathāgataṃ
sakkaroti garuṃ karoti māneti pūjeti apaciyati, paramāya
pūjāya.”
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