The Bak Poya day is the full-moon of April. This holy day celebrates that the Buddha visits Ceylon for the second time to reconcile two local chiefs Mahodara and Cūlodara, uncle & nephew, who had fallen into war threatening hostility about a jewel-beset throne...
The story shows the Buddha as fine diplomat & is given in full below!
On such Full-Moon Uposatha Poya Observance days:
Any Lay Buddhist simply joins the Three Refuges and undertakes the Five Precepts like this: Newly bathed, white-clothed, clean bare feet, one kneels at a shrine with a Buddha-statue, and bows first 3 times, so that feet, hands, elbows, knees & head touch the floor. Then, with joined palms at the heart, one recites these memorized lines in a loud, calm & steady voice: As long as this life lasts:
I hereby take refuge in the Buddha.
I hereby take refuge in the Dhamma.
I hereby take refuge in the Sangha.
I hereby seek shelter in the Buddha for the 2nd time.
I hereby seek shelter in the Dhamma for the 2nd time.
I hereby seek shelter in the Sangha for the 2nd time.
I hereby request protection from the Buddha for the 3rd time.
I hereby request protection from the Dhamma for the 3rd time.
I hereby request protection from the Sangha for the 3rd time.
I will hereby respect these Three Jewels for the rest of my life!
I accept to respect & undertake these 5 training rules:
I hereby accept the training rule of avoiding all Killing.
I hereby accept the training rule of avoiding all Stealing.
I hereby accept the training rule of avoiding all Sexual Abuse.
I hereby accept the training rule of avoiding all Dishonesty.
I hereby accept the training rule of avoiding all Alcohol & Drugs. As long as this life lasts, I am thus protected by these 5 precepts... Then, one keeps and protects these sacred vows better than one's own eyes & children!, since they protect you & all other beings much better than any army! They are the highest offer one can give in & to this world! A journey towards the deathless Nibbāna is thus started!
This is the Noble Way to Peace, to Freedom, to Ease, to Happiness,
initiated by Morality, developed further by Dhamma-Study and fully completed by training of Meditation...
Today indeed is Pooya or Uposatha Observance day, where any lay Buddhist normally keeps also the Eight Precepts from sunrise until next dawn. If any wish official recognition by the Bhikkhu-Sangha, they may easily forward the lines starting with "I hereby" signed by
name, date, town, & country to me or join here. A Public list of this new quite rapidly growing global Saddhamma-Sangha is set up here!
The New Noble Community of Buddha's Disciples: Saddhamma Sangha:
Can quite advantageously be Joined Here:
May your journey hereby be light, swift, and sweet. Never give up !!
Reuniting those who are divided, by bringing harmony:
Now the most compassionate Teacher, the Conqueror, rejoicing in
the salvation of the whole world, when dwelling at Jetavana in the fifth year of his Buddhahood, saw that war, caused by a gem beset throne, was like to come to pass between the nagas Mahodara and Cūlodara, uncle and nephew and their followers! The SamBuddha, then on the Uposatha day of the dark half of the month Citta, in the early morning, took his sacred alms bowl and his robes, and, out of compassion for the nagas, sought the Nagadipa. At that time the same naga Mahodara was then king, gifted with miraculous powers, in a nagas kingdom in the ocean, that covered half a 1000 yojanas. His younger sister had been given in marriage to the naga king on the Kannavaddhamana Mountain; her son was Cūlodara. His mother's
father had given to his mother a splendid throne of jewels, then the naga had died and therefore was this war between the nephew andhis uncle threatening!The bejewelled throne, the Buddha and the deva Samiddhisumana.
Mural painting. Kelaniya Temple
The nagas of the mountains were indeed also armed with many various miraculous powers. The deva Samiddhisumana took his rajayatana tree standing in Jetavana, his own fair habitation, holding it like a parasol over the Conqueror, he, with the Teacher's leave, attended him to that spot, where he had formerly dwelt. That very deva had been, in his latest birth, a man in Nagadipa. On the very spot where thereafter the rajayatana tree stood, he had seen PaccekaBuddhas asking their meal. And at the sight his heart was glad & he offered
branches to cleanse their alms bowls. Therefore he was reborn in that very same tree in the pleasant Jetavana garden, outside of the
gate rampart. The God of all gods saw in this an advantage for that
deva, and, for the sake of the good, which should spring therefrom for Ceylon, he brought him there together with his tree. Hovering there in midair above the battlefield, the Master, who drives away spiritual darkness, called forth dreadful darkness over the nagas! Then comforting those who were distressed by terror, he once again
spread light abroad. When they saw the Blessed One, they joyfully did reverence to the Masters feet. Then the Vanquisher preached to them the Dhamma that makes concord, & both nagas gladly gave up the throne to the Sage. When the Master, having alighted on the
earth, had taken his place on a seat there, and had been refreshed
with divine food and drink served by the naga kings, he, the Lord, established in the three refuges and in the 8 moral precepts eighty kotis of snake-spirits, dwellers in the ocean and on the mainland. The naga-king Maniakkhika of Kalyāni, maternal uncle to this naga Mahodara, who had come there to take part in the battle, and who before, at the Buddhas first coming, having heard the true Dhamma preached, had become established in the 3 refuges & in the moral
duties, prayed now to the Tathagata: Great is the compassion that you have shown us here, Master! Had you not appeared we had all been consumed to ashes. May your compassion yet settle also and especially on me, you who are rich in friendly loving kindness, please peerless one, come again back here to my home country. When the Lord had consented by his silence to return, then he planted the rajayatana tree on that very spot as a sacred memorial, & the Lord of the Worlds gave over the rajayatana tree & the precious throne seat to the naga kings to do homage thereto: In remembrance that
I have used these, do homage to them naga kings! This, well beloved, will bring to pass many blessings & happiness for you for a long time!
When the Blessed One had uttered this and other exhortations to
the nagas, he, the compassionate saviour of all the worlds, returned to the Jetavana.
Retreats are a great way to initiate a personal exploration of Buddhism, and of yourself. The thousands of dharma centers and Buddhist monasteries that have sprung up in the West offer many kinds of retreats for Buddhist newbies.
There are "intro to Buddhism" weekends, workshop retreats that focus on a Zen art such as haiku or kung fu; retreats for families; retreats into the wilderness; retreats for silent meditation. You can travel to a distant, exotic locale for a retreat, but it's possible there are retreats within driving distance of your home.
Attending a "beginner" retreat is an ideal way to begin a personal experience of Buddhism outside of books. You'll be in the company of other beginners, and such matters as temple protocols or how to meditate will be explained. Most Buddhist centers that offer retreats will make it clear which retreats are appropriate for beginners and which require some prior experience.
What to Expect on a Buddhist Retreat
Let's start with the negatives. Be warned that a monastery is not a spa, and your accommodations are unlikely to be luxurious. If having your own room is a deal-breaker, inquire if that is possible before you sign up. You may be sharing bathroom facilities with other retreaters. Further, some monasteries may expect you to help with the chores -- cooking, dish washing, cleaning -- while you stay there. Monks with clanging bells may walk the halls before dawn to call you to a sunrise meditation or chanting service, so don't count on sleeping in.
Still reading? Be warned also that you probably will be expected to take part in the religious observances of the monastery or temple. Postmodern westerners often hate rituals and mightily resist participating in them. After all, you signed up to learn tai chi or commune with the Great Whatever, not chant alien liturgy or make obeisance to gilded Buddha figures.
Ritual is part of the Buddhist experience, however. Please read "Ritual and Buddhism" before ruling out Buddhist retreats because you might have to participate in a ritual.
On the plus side, if you are serious about taking the spiritual path, I think there is no better way to start than with a beginner Buddhist retreat. On retreat you can find a greater depth and intensity of spiritual practice than you are likely to have experienced before. You will be shown facets of reality, and of yourself, that may surprise you. My practice of Buddhism began 20 years ago with a beginner retreat that I am infinitely grateful I attended.
Finding Buddhist retreats is, unfortunately, a challenge. I have found no one-stop directory that makes it easy to find out what's available.
I suggest you begin your search with Buddhanet's World Buddhist Directory. You can search for monasteries and dharma centers by sect or location, and then go to individual web sites to see each monastery's or center's schedule of retreats. You can also find retreats advertised in Buddhist publications like Tricycle or the Shambhala Sun.
Please note that in some spiritual magazines or web sites you can find advertisements for spiritual retreat centers that give an impression they are Buddhist, but aren't. That doesn't mean those retreat centers are not lovely places to visit, just that they are not Buddhist and will not give you an authentic experience of Buddhism, if that's what you are seeking.
I'd like to create some better resources for finding retreats, so if you have recommendations (or warnings), please email me or add a message to our forums.
There are, unfortunately, some well known, or at least well advertised, "Buddhist" teachers who are frauds. Some of them have large followings and beautiful centers, and what they teach may have some value. But I question the character of someone who calls himself or herself a "Zen teacher," for example, when they have little or no training in Zen.
How can you tell who's for real and who isn't? An authentic Buddhist teacher will be very upfront about where he was educated in Buddhism. Also, the lineage of teachers is of vital importance in many schools of Buddhism, such as Tibetan and Zen. If you inquire about a Tibetan teacher's guru or a Zen teacher's teacher, you should get a very clear and specific answer that probably can be verified through a web search. If the answer is vague or if the question is dismissed, keep your wallet in your pocket and move on. (See also "Finding a Teacher.")
Further, an authentic Buddhist retreat center will nearly always be part of at least one well-defined and well-established tradition. There are some "fusion" centers that combine more than one tradition, but those will be very specific, not some vague generic Buddhism. If you are looking into a Tibetan center, for example, the center should be very clear about which Tibetan tradition is followed there as well as which gurus taught the teachers.
You may have read or heard about advanced meditation retreats, or retreats of several weeks to as long as three years. You might think you don't need to begin swimming in the shallow end of the pool and are ready to dive into the deep end. But if you have no prior experience with Buddhist retreats, you really should start with a beginner retreat. Indeed, many dharma centers won't let you sign up for an "intensive" retreat without prior experience.
There are two reasons for this. First, it's very likely the intensive retreat will be different from what you imagine. If you go into one unprepared, you could have a bad experience. Second, if you are absolutely miserable or stumbling around not understanding the forms and protocols, this can impact the retreat for everyone else.
A spiritual retreat is a personal adventure. It's a small commitment of time that impacts the rest of your life. It's a space in which to shut out the noise and distractions and come face-to-face with yourself. It can be the beginning of a new direction for you. If you are interested in Buddhism and want to be more than a "book store Buddhist," I recommend finding and participating in a beginner-level retreat.
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