Brother Teoh’s 4 December 2018 Tuesday Class Short Notes
Ref book: The Buddha and His Teachings BY NARADA – REASON FOR BELIEVE IN REBIRTH (Chapter 24, Page 408)
1. Buddha taught Rebirth based on his own experience, especially on the night of his Enlightenment. During the first watch, he perceived many of his own past lives up to more than a hundred thousand. In the next hour, he perceived how lives in one plane disappeared but reappeared in another existence and how they passed on according to their deeds of their previous lives. This is a verifiable Truth.
2. It is craving that conditioned rebirth. Ignorance (Avijja) conditions cravings – the 3 types of cravings.
The 5 Mental Hindrances arise due to Ignorance. The nutriments for avijja are the 5 mental hindrances.
3. PG and Han confirmed their belief in rebirth via their own “Deja vu” experience. Bro Teoh too shared his similar personal experience when he was at Han Shan Shi (temple) in China in the year 2000.
4. Padmasuri shared her experience of her recent 7 days retreat at Dharma Drum Mountain Monastery in Taiwan. She was very happy and relaxed because she was able to rejoice in many of the very beautiful dhamma teachings and experiences learned while there even though she had to squeeze into a very narrow space to sleep and having close proximity plus having to face the snoring and noises of other yogis. She learnt how to apply dhamma in daily life by not reacting to and complaining about uncomfortable situations.
5. Bro Teoh also related a similar meditative training event where he and all other yogis had to go through an “eyeballs to eyeballs” experience with unknown people.
6. J. Krishnamurthi said, ‘it is only via relationships that we can learn about our self’. While in relationship with nature, society, humanity (like our friends, colleagues, loved ones, neighbours, etc.), we learn to see our reactions to sense experiences, our emotions, suffering, sorrow and lamentation, our desires, our fear, anxiety, selfishness, cunningness, greed, phobia, insecurity, violence etc. basing on our wrong views, opinions, conditionings etc. This is self-knowledge.
7. We should have gratitude towards all things especially the following:
- Nature’s great loving kindness. Nature just give and give; the air we breathe and the water we get to drink to sustain our life all come from nature and it is given free to us.
- The government and Society. They provide us with the health services, transportation, infrastructures, education system, food chain, law and order and other important services, etc. We should have gratitude, contentment and joy when partaking and using such facilities and services provided by the government and society.
- Our parents who had given us life, care for us, provide and sacrifice for us.
- Those who have been kind, generous and caring to us.
(Above draft outline short notes was done by Sister Hooi Yoon Chun)
Bye! and with metta always,