An overview of articles

The Three Refuges

Our readers are probably aware that a Buddhist take refuge in Buddha, Dhamma, and Sangha.

It is also customary to reflect on the

• Nine Special Qualities of Buddha
• Six Special Qualities of Dhamma
• Nine Special Qualities of Sangha

The Life of the Buddha

With the permission of YMBA (Young Men's Buddhist Association) of Myanmar,
TBSA printed a special quality edition of the "Life of the Buddha"

• Text by Aggha Maha Pandita Ashin Janakabhivamsa, famous Buddhist scholar
• Paintings by renowned artist U Ba Kyi

The book is a treasure and is available for Dhamma Dana from TBSA.

Dhamma

Buddha's teachings over a span of 45 years has been organized into Tipitaka ("Three Baskets")

• Vinaya (Rules of conduct)
• Sutta (Discourses)
• Abhidhamma (Buddhist Philosophy)

The Pali canons have been approved at six Buddhist councils. Of them,

• the Fifth Buddhist Council, held in Mandalay during King Mindon's reign, agreed to have kyauk-sar (stone inscriptions) of the approved text
• the Sixth Buddhist Council, held in Kaba Aye Hlaing Gu ("World Peace Pagoda Cave"), Yangon in 1954- 56, agreed to print the appoved texts of the Pali canons as well as the commentaries and subcommentaries

With the initial sponsorship of TBSA and the devotees of Dhammananda Vihara, Sayadaw U Silananda launched two projects (see "TBSA Twenty years in Comemntary"):

• CD-ROM for the Pali canons and commentaries approved at the Sixth Buddhist Council
• Digitized images of the kyauk-sar of the text approved at the Fifth Buddhist Council

Sayadaws

For detailed biographies of the Sayadaws, visit the "Resident Monks" section on this web site.

In the "Publications" section, you can find

• Articles on Sayadaws
• Articles by Sayadaws
• News about Sayadaws

Dhamma duta missions

Theravada Buddhism is now firmly rooted in the US and is gradually gaining acceptance in numerous countries. See, for example:

• Sayadaw U Silananda's visit to Canada
• Sayadaw U Silananda's visit to Jamaica
• Sayadaw U Silananda's visit to Mexica
• Dhamma in a Foreign Land

Meditation
 
There are various ways to practice meditation.

The Sayadaws from Dhammananda Vihara monastery practice and teach vipassana meditation following the Mahasi tradition. The articles in the TBSA newsletters cover some apects of meditation:

• Selection of an appropriate place to practice meditation
• Sitting meditation
• Walking meditation
• Loving kindness meditation
• Instructions on meditation
• Four Foundations of mindfulness

General topics

• Fundamentals of Buddhism
• Mangala Sutta
• Dana
• Test Your Buddhist Knowledge (1, 2, 3)
• Stories for Shwe thway (kids)
• Personal anecdotes
• Appreciation of
• Dhamma
• Teacher

Translations

Some articles in Burmese have been translated for the general audience.

• Evolution of the Dhammananda newsletter (See "Fruits of Cetana")
• Summer school at TMC (See "Next Year Also I'd Gladly Go")
• Reflections on youth and old age (See "Talking Photo")