The 11 Precepts Of Dharma Sangha To Redefine Life
At only 16 years of age, a young man meditated without moving, for nine months. Today we share 11 lessons to live life more fully.
Maha Sambodhi Dharma Sangha is the self-chosen name taken upon reaching the state of consciousness necessary to the accomplishment of his purpose. Because of his young age, and because he’d achieved so deep an experience of meditation, from the time of one of his first appearances, he has been called “the Buddha boy.”
What followed was early fame, a fame reached largely because of a contemporary need for “spectacle.” The Discovery Channel made a documentary about him: The Boy with Divine Powers. Ram Bahadur Bomjon was then but 16 and immersed in a very long meditation. It lasted nine months, in the same position, beneath a sacred fig tree, ficus religiosa, the same tree beneath which Siddhartha Gautama had attained enlightenment. Taking no food and no water, he remained there, motionless. This earned him massive attention, including a good number of devotees, and the aforementioned documentary.
Over time the “Buddha boy” (a flashy nickname assigned to him by the media) grew, as did the number of his followers. Three years ago, I had the honor and blessing to spend a few months with him in Nepal, and the following precepts are part of his teachings. Importantly, the maitri sheel are not mandates, and although expressed imperatively, they are actually a way to channel your attention and intentions with respect to your behavior and personal habits.
I confess that, personally, they have changed my relationship with myself, and helped me to redefine my worlds, inside and outside. I hope that something similar happens with you …
Precept 1. Never discriminate on the basis of name, appearance, complexion, gender, class, belief, community, power, position, or qualification; even discard differentiating between the concepts of material and spiritual.
Precept 2. Having become acquainted with the Eternal Dharma, the Path, and the Guru, respect all religions and beliefs.
Precept 3. Forsake lying, allegations, counter-allegations, belittling and spreading falsehood through baseless gossip.
Precept 4. Forsaking philosophies or ways that make boundaries of divisiveness and difference of opinion, take up The True Path [5].
Precept 5. Following The True Guru Path [6] throughout life, renouncing evil actions, always remain intent in union with The Guru Essence [7].
Precept 6. Not having reached Enlightenment oneself, do not seek to prove what it is with clever words; and, while still in confusion, do not make others confused.
Precept 7. Renouncing such demonic conduct as killing sentient beings and violence, consume wholesome food.
Precept 8. Do not keep narrow-minded thoughts about people and countries on the basis of national identity.
Precept 9. Including oneself in the pursuit of The True Guru Path, perform actions that benefit the Earth.
Precept 10. When one realizes the Truth, The Guru Path takes form, so achieve Enlightenment for all Sentient Beings.
Precept 11. Staying in the highest and deepest mind [8], be free from all bondage by having understood within the self, many precepts.
By Harinam Simran Singh
Related Articles
When ancient rituals became religion
The emergence of religions irreversibly changed the history of humanity. It’s therefore essential to ask when and how did ancient peoples’ rituals become organized systems of thought, each with their
Seven ancient maps of the Americas
A map is not the territory. —Alfred Korzybski Maps are never merely maps. They’re human projections, metaphors in which we find both the geographical and the imaginary. The cases of ghost islands
An artist crochets a perfect skeleton and internal organs
Shanell Papp is a skilled textile and crochet artist. She spent four long months crocheting a life-size skeleton in wool. She then filled it in with the organs of the human body in an act as patient
A musical tribute to maps
A sequence of sounds, rhythms, melodies and silences: music is a most primitive art, the most essential, and the most powerful of all languages. Its capacity is not limited to the (hardly trivial)
The enchantment of 17th-century optics
The sense of sight is perhaps one the imagination’s most prolific masters. That is why humankind has been fascinated and bewitched by optics and their possibilities for centuries. Like the heart, the
Would you found your own micro-nation? These eccentric examples show how easy it can be
Founding a country is, in some ways, a simple task. It is enough to manifest its existence and the motives for creating a new political entity. At least that is what has been demonstrated by the
Wondrous crossings: the galaxy caves of New Zealand
Often, the most extraordinary phenomena are “jealous of themselves” ––and they happen where the human eye cannot enjoy them. However, they can be discovered, and when we do find them we experience a
Think you have strange reading habits? Wait until you've seen how Mcluhan reads
We often forget or neglect to think about the infinite circumstances that are condensed in the acts that we consider habitual. Using a fork to eat, for example, or walking down the street and being
The sky is calling us, a love letter to the cosmos (video)
We once dreamt of open sails and Open seas We once dreamt of new frontiers and New lands Are we still a brave people? We must not forget that the very stars we see nowadays are the same stars and
The sister you always wanted (but made into a crystal chandelier)
Lucas Maassen always wanted to have a sister. And after 36 years he finally procured one, except, as strange as it may sound, in the shape of a chandelier. Maassen, a Dutch designer, asked the