Dhamma USA

Mother's Day (Second Anniversary)
Late Mrs. Chandra Ambalangoda

Mother is the sweetest word in the world.

It is exactly two years ago that she passed away after living a memorable life of 80 years. She had 7 children and worked for 38 years as a dedicated school teacher in many parts of rural Sri Lanka. She opened the eyes of many thousands of children and was known to many thousands of Buddhist monks all over the country as a staunch Buddhist upasika (lay female devotee).

I am so grateful and thankful to her for she was an amazing mother and she is the one who is responsible for most of who I am today. As anyone else for their mother, I too am in short of words to express my gratitude to the mother who gave me birth and took well care of me without any complain or without any burden. May I take this opportunity to transfer all the merits to her that I have accrued so far in my life and throughout my Samsara (circle of transmigration or circle of rebirth according to Buddhism).

May all these meritorious deeds become one united power and bless her, help her, protect her and guide towards her final Samsaric goal - the Supreme bliss of Nibbana! (final goal of all Buddhists - the liberation from samsara.)

Salutation to the Mother (Sri Lankan Tradition)

Dasa māse ure katvā
Posesi vuddhi kāraṇaṃ
Āyu dīghaṃ vassa sataṃ
Mātu pādaṃ namāmahaṃ.

(Having cherished me in your womb of divine cradle nearly for ten months of time, you raised me up wishing me all the success. My dear mom, please let me bow down at your feet wishing you long life!)

Transferring Merits to the Departed Relatives

Idaṃ me ñātinaṃ hotu – Sukhitā hontu ñātayo.
Idaṃ me ñātinaṃ hotu – Sukhitā hontu ñātayo.
Idaṃ me ñātinaṃ hotu – Sukhitā hontu ñātayo.

(Let this merit be with our relatives, and may they be well and happy! Let this merit be with our relatives, and may they be well and happy! Let this merit be with our relatives, and may they be well and happy!)

May all my attempts and dedications towards the Dhamma be a lamp unto you Mother!

(Late Chandra Ambalangoda : 1936-2016)

May you be well, happy, healthy and safe wherever you are!

May you attain the Supreme bliss of Nibbana!

Sadhu! Sadhu!! Sadhu!!!

I wish to share this poem that I wrote sometime back as a mark of respect to my mother. Hope this would be a little token of appreciation and salutation to all the mothers on earth.

Your caressing ways

Your cherishing thoughts

Always kept me

High from within

Your blissful rays

From the innermost heart

Went through me

In all my veins.

You as my teacher

Uplifted spirits

As veritable promoter

Made me sprite.

You showed me the world

You showed me the path

Your love is true

Pristinely pure.

You sweetened my ears

You fulfilled my eyes

Oh! My dearest and sweetest mom

Please be mine

In many births to come!

- Ven. Nivitigala Sumitta

2018 Weekend Program at Lankarama Buddhist Institute

Uposatha Day Program
January 14, 2018
Lankarama Buddhist Institute
398 Giano Ave
La Puente - CA 91744

Commemorating the 111th Death Anniversary

of Colonel Henry Steel Olcott

As we commemorate the 111^th year remembrance of passing away of Colonel Henry Steel Olcott, we could reflect on his life and contributions to revive Buddhism and cultural values in Sri Lanka.

Colonel Henry Steel Olcott was born in Orange, New Jersey, United States on August 21, 1832, to a family descended from the Puritans. He was a student at Columbia University and later served as a Union officer in the U.S.Civil War. During the early period of life, he dedicated his service for the well being of his native country in promoting agriculture. He also played many leading roles in his professional life as a journalist and as a lawyer. His distinctiveness was such that Colonel Olcott was appointed to the three-person commission to investigate the assassination of the Honorable President AbrahamLincoln.

Since the 16th century Sri Lanka (known as Ceylon at that time) had been occupied by Portuguese where they introduce Catholicism to the country, this influence was continued by subsequent Dutch rulers and British rulers. By 1880 the Sinhalese had been under British colonial rule for many years, and the British had been aggressively pushing a "Christian" education system for Sinhalese children in Christian schools, while undermining Buddhist philosophy.

During the colonial era, Sri Lankans were deprived of most of their civil rights, they were instructed to have church weddings, they were baptizing and requested to swear on the Bible. Also, Buddhists were not given the privilege to holding processions (perahara), or any other religious activity.

A time when Buddhist parents were compelled to send their children to Missionary schools since there were no indigenous schools of their own. It is in this context, that the foreigners like Sir Henry Steel Olcott, Madame Blavatsky and Miss. Marie Musaeus Higgins arrived in this country, to help the few Buddhist leaders in their quest for moral and philosophical freedom. They saw the sad plight of majority Buddhists due to suppression in the hands of Christian Missionaries and ruling Colonial Masters.

After Colonel Olcott’s arrival to Sri Lanka in 1880, he took five precepts at Wijayananda Vihara located at Waliwatta in Galle in May 19th, 1880. On that day Colonel Olcott and Helena Blavatsky were formally acknowledged as Buddhists.

Henry Olcott was dismayed at the state of Buddhism and he threw himself into re-organizing Buddhism in Sri Lanka. He was able to get proclaimed all Poya days and including Wesak day a holiday. Colonel Olcott was the pioneer in designing the Buddhist flag. As a Buddhist, he also promoted the great truths of Dhamma preached by the Lord Buddha.

He was the co- founder and the first president of theTheosophical Society, which believed in universal brotherhood of humanity. The Theosophical Society initiated to build several Buddhist schools at that time, which are prestigious colleges today. Olcott wrote a” Buddhist Catechism”, which is still in use. He traveled around the country distributing pro-Buddhist, anti-Christian tracts. He agitated for Buddhist civil rights. Together with Ven. Mohottiwatte Gunananda, Anagarika Dharmapala and Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, which allowed him to revive Buddhism at that time.

Major Buddhist schools he initiated notably at that time:

1886-Buddhist English Academy, now known as Ananda College, Colombo
1887 – Dharmaraja College, Kandy
1891- Mahinda College, Galle
1895 – Maliyadewa College, Kurunagala
1913 – Dharmasoka College, Ambalangoda
1924 – Rahula College, Matara
1925- Nalanda College, Colombo
1940- Dharmapala College, Pannipitiya
………. Anada Sahastralaya. Pita Kotte

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ananda_Sastralaya,_Kotte

Government at that time used Colonel Olcott’s model to establish around 200 Madyamaha Vidyalaya’s / educational institutions in the country.

After many years of his profound service, Colonel Olcott passed away in Chennai, India on February 17, 1907.

Colonel Olcott will always be remembered for his great service to uphold Buddhism. He established Buddhist schools, provided text books to students to promote Buddhist teachings and cultural values.

Our education in such great schools with Buddhist principals, which have helped us to become productive individuals in the society at large in the world. We should always join to commemorate his work and show our respect to a great Buddhist.

Buddhists across Sri Lanka light candles in his memory every year on the anniversary of his death. Monks offer flowers to his golden statue in Colombo. Students of Sri Lanka's Buddhist Colleges compete in the annual Henry Steel Olcott Memorial Cricket Tournament and organize Sill programs too.

To show our sincere appreciation to a great American individual, Colonel Henry Steel Olcott, we propose to join with BTS schools OBA’s in California to organize the following events on March 17, 2018 at the University of West. San Gabriel Valley, Los Angeles. The even is also co-hosted by the UWest Pali Society and endorsed by the Sri Lanka Consulate Office in Los Angeles.

· Essay competition for ages under 10 and under 18. Topic is “Buddhist Revival through the influence of Colonel Olcott’s “
· Opening a statue/ bust of the Colonel Henry Steel Olcott at USA embassy in Srilanka
· Lecture by guest speakers on his influence on Buddhist society
· Exhibition on “Buddhism in Ceylon during this Era”

Details about the Speech Contest:

Topic : Colonel Olcott's Influence to the Buddhist Society in Sri Lanka
Time Duration: 3:00 - 5:00 minutes
Age Groups: 10-12, 13-14, 14+

Details about the Essay Competition:

Topic: Buddhist Revival through the Influence of Colonel Olcott
Age Groups: below 10 (half page), 10-12 (300-400 words), 13-14 (500-600 words), 14+ (750 words)
Structure: Good introduction, powerful presentation of content, sound conclusion
Neat and clear handwriting

Mode of Selection:

Preliminary Rounds will be conducted by the Dhamma School teachers
Finalists will be summoned to the University of the West for a Final Round and the winners will be rewarded with prizes and certificates.

More articles on Colonel Olcott:

Exciting News:

Dear Dhamma US friends, we are launching today our Official Website with more features. We sincerely appreciate you for all your blessings so far. Thank you. Have a wonderful Day!

www.dhammausa.org

Bhante Bambalapitye Gnanaloka was kind to launch our website which we think is an auspicious sign of our progress.

Thank you everyone for being with us! Wish you all a wonderful #Happy-Thanksgiving-Day! Let us be grateful and thankful to all those who helped us in every single way all throughout our life! #Dhamma-US sincerely wishes all our friends, family members, relatives, friends, teachers, well-wishers and all - the very best of health, longevity, and the best of spirit to continue your journey of life with less suffering and more happiness! May you all be well and happy and healthy! #Dhamma-US share merits to all our friends' departed ones as well for the wellbeing and happiness of all of them. May all beings be well and happy and healthy! www.dhammausa.com

What is Thanksgiving Day?

In 1621, the Plymouth colonists and Wampanoag Indians shared an autumn harvest feast that is acknowledged today as one of the first Thanksgiving celebrations in the colonies. For more than two centuries, days of thanksgiving were celebrated by individual colonies and states. It wasn’t until 1863, in the midst of the Civil War, that President Abraham Lincoln proclaimed a national Thanksgiving Day to be held each November.

click here for more info.

Sunday Spiritual Classes

(Open for New Enrollments)

We welcome all those who are interested in light Yoga & Meditation at a beautiful, serene temple atmosphere. We are glad to have you as a new member of our community and help you resolve many of your bodily and mental issues to maintain a healthy and balanced life. We're currently enrolling new students for the upcoming [Yoga & Meditation PROGRAM] which will be absolutely Free and open to all. Come join us and enjoy this beautiful spiritual experience with us.

Contact Us:

Lankarama Buddhist Institute: 626-913-0775
Bhante Sumitta: 626-365-7097
dhammaus15@gmail.com
lelwalan@gmail.com

The 10 tasks of daily life:

1. Read from at least one newspaper and one good book each day.
2. Keep a good balance between rest and work. Keep set hours for going to bed and waking up in

the morning. Eat the same amount of food for your 3 meals each day.

3. Develop an exercise routine and walk at least 5000 steps each day.
4. Stay away from tobacco, alcohol, pornography, and drugs. Govern and regulate your own life.
5. Cherish your blessings and be frugal. Do not buy things thoughtlessly or indulgently.
6. Do not eat snacks foolishly nor express anger thoughtlessly.
7. Recite the Buddha’s name 3 times at each meal, and observe the 5 contemplations when eating at

home.
8. Go on a journey by yourself.
9. Give away all your possessions at least once in your lifetime to experience the state of emptiness.
10. Manage your time well, use your space well, and be in harmony with the world.

Reference: For All Living Beings by Venerable Master Hsing Yun

(As for the No. 7 task, I recommend you use your own spiritual master or your own religious leader, i.e. Jesus, Mohammad, Krisna etc. That way you can keep your own faith and be faithful and be a better human being as per your own system of faith.)

I could not resist from sharing with all our friends when I was reading For All Living Beings by respected venerable master Hsing Yun, the founder of Fo Guang Shan Buddhist Order. Hope this will help all our friends to build up a wonderful and balanced life. Looking forward to sharing more from Venerable Master's fascinating book.

This is an amazing #YouTube Dhamma Channel channel if any of you really want to explore the in-depth #Dhamma #Practice. The interview process when s/he shares the personal #meditation experience is very impressive. There seem to be a group of very highly accomplished #practitioners linked to this channel led by a powerful #monk who is in good command of his subject. Anyone who has any kind of questions regarding the real complications while practicing, I recommend this is a wonderful channel to follow. This is a great way to improve your right view and practice the #Dhamma and achieve some higher spiritual levels through some meticulous guidelines.

The only concern is that it is in #Sinhala and if someone can put up some #English sub-titles, this can be beneficial to millions of #Truth-Seeking #practitioners. I wish I have time to do some #translations of this project.

Dear #Sinhala practitioners, please carefully listen to all these lessons and make yourself closer to the realization of the #Dhamma.

Click here for the website for you to learn more about this Dhamma Session series.

Read the following to check in with your eligibility before exploring the Website :

මම දැන් මෙතන !!! මේ මෝහෝතේ ඔබ ඉන්නාවූ ඉරියව්ව (අරමුණ ) ඔබට ප්‍රකටවී තිබේද? එසේනම්, ඒ මෝහෝතේ ඔබට දුකක් හෝ සැපයක් දැනුනිද? නොදැනුනිනම්, ඔබට රාග, ද්වේශ, මෝහ නොමැතිවූ බව අවබෝධ වූයේද? එසේම ! ! ! ඔබ නිවන අත්විඳි බව ඔබට අවබෝධ වූයේද? අවබෝධනොවුනිනම් ! ! ! නිවන වර්තමාණ මෝහෝතේ අත්විඳිය යුත්තක් බවට වන බුදු බණ තවමත් ඔබතුලට කිඳාබැස නොමැති බව පිලිගැනීමට ඔබ සූදානම්ද? ඔව් නම් ! ! ! ! ! මෙම වෙබ් අඩවියට පිවිසීමට ඔබ සුදුස්සෙකි.

There is a pop up message to guide you to your own level of practice. Hence you can easily decide your own path.

May all beings be well and happy and healthy!
May all the listeners to this channel realize the Dhamma within this life itself!
Sadhu Sadhu Sadhu!!!