Aung Thin - Greetings to the youth

Introduction

( 1)

This letter is written for young people. I want to explain further that an old man who is almost eighty years old is talking to young people who are in their 20s who are interested in reading. Therefore, I will write in a familiar way, using the terms “you”, “we”, etc.

The title is “Greetings to the Youth.” “Greetings” refers to the intended audience. “Mingalar” is a greeting that even foreigners, let alone Burmese, know.

The school system is what made this greeting “Hello” widespread. Teachers and students greet each other with “Hello” when they see each other. Before the “Hello” greeting, we Burmese people did not have a strong greeting. We greeted each other with “Hello”, “Where are you going”, “Where are you coming from” etc. When we started communicating with other countries, we realized that we needed “Hello”. So we invented various greetings. But not all of them became widely accepted. Finally, when teachers and students started greeting each other in the classrooms, the greeting “Hello” became strong.

So, I opened it with a greeting of "Hello."

Okay, so what is “blessing”?

It's easy to say "Hello" means "May you be blessed." But if you keep asking, "What does "hello" mean? What do you want me to be?", how will you answer? It's already quite difficult, isn't it?

You and I, Buddhists, have been worshipping God since we were children. We have been chanting, chanting, chanting. Now... if you ask me, 'What is chanting?' Can you answer? Similarly, we also know about "Mingala". Well... if others haven't asked yet.

While I was writing, I remembered an English saying I had heard. This is what the teacher said, laughing and silently saying. "If you don't ask me I know. If you ask me I don't know." If you don't ask, you know. If you ask, you don't know.

"Hello" is also the same. I was also the same because you posted it. Then, as a teacher, I had to know "Hello" and search for it, thinking that if the children asked, they would get in trouble. But now that I was writing this letter, I had to look it up again.

In the Pali-Burmese dictionary of U Husein, it is defined as “good fortune, prosperity, praiseworthy good dharma, the dharma that is the cause of wealth and prosperity.” So, “good fortune” should be said as a “prayer” meaning “may you be filled with good dharma.”

At the same time, I will mention the word “sukasa” that I came across earlier. In the Pali-Burmese dictionary, “sukasa” means “to ask for permission, to allow.” So, when we start with “sukasa” in worship, we are asking the Buddha, who is highly respected, or the Sangha, if we are taking the precepts, “Please grant permission to your disciple to apply.”

After greeting him with “Mingala” (Good morning), the question arose again: What should I write about? “Mingala” (Good morning). If I were to ask him what kind of good morning I would write about, he would write about the “Mingala Sutta” (Good morning) that the Buddha preached.

So, you guys have something to say again. "We still remember how we used to recite Buddhism and the Dhamma and the Blessings of the Buddha, why are you still writing this?"

So, I will ask you again. Which of you, ‘Sukasa’ and ‘Mangala Sutta’, did you encounter first? You encountered Okasa first, didn’t you? But did you really know? You would have known if you could pass the exam. Not only you. In ancient times, the monks also recited “Evam me sutta, Ekam samayam bhagava savuththiyam” and “Sthavana sa balanam panditana niñsa sevana” and so on, until they were deaf.

Not only the Mangal Sutta, but also the Ratana Sutta, the Metta Sutta, and the Dhamma Sutta, along with their Pali meanings, were memorized and recited. What happened when you memorized it? You memorized it. What happened when you memorized it? You recited it. What happened when you recited it? I don't know what happened. What happened when you recited it? I don't know what happened. So if you recited it, you thought it was safe and auspicious. You got rich, you got rich. Monsters, ghosts, witches, and ghosts fled, and so on.

They are content with merely reciting the Dhamma Sutta, which is the briefest summary of the Buddha's teachings on the attainment of Nibbana, let alone the Mangal Sutta. They no longer remember to make an effort to reflect,

Please listen to the "concern" of the 'great scholars' who are suffering from this issue.

"It is a great pity for those who encounter the religion that such an important sermon ends up on the lips of the children of the religious community on the altar."

These are the words of the great Buddhist missionary "Ashin Setthila" and the great monk "Natphe Sayadaw Gyi" in the mountain. This means that they are like fools who have returned after collecting fire stones (inkyen stones) after reaching the mountains "Weibula, Weibara" where various gems and jewels are found.

The Dhamma Sutta, which summarizes the essence of the attainment of Nibbana, ends at the Arutta camp, so let's not talk about the Mangala Sutta. In the meantime, the Mangala Sutta is included in the eleven major suttas, and this sutta is recited as the pre-supposition. Since we are satisfied with just reciting it, we have no time for thought or practice.

Therefore, I will not be satisfied with just reciting the scriptures, but will write in a way that will encourage you to think for yourself. I will not push you to learn what you do not know. I will simply remind you to look again at what you already know. I will write about the “Mangala Sutta” sermon, which is familiar to all of us Burmese people, young and old. However, I will not write about what you do not know. I am not that wise. Therefore, I have already admitted that I will write with all my knowledge and with the intention of reminding you to look again at what you already know.

I have to say, I have been blessed beyond words just as I was preparing to write this for you. That's it.

Isn't the Mangala Sutta included in the "Eleven Preikgi Suttas"? So I have to look up the Preikgi again. So it's easy. I have to read the "New Preikgi Nissaya" again, which all the wise monks and wise people praise as "very good." That's why I said it was easy. For us, I said it was easy because it was easy to read. The "Sapayekan Sayadaw" who compiled this book must have worked hard for many months (while being overwhelmed by the Pitaka).

The efforts of the "Abyarama" Sayadaw, who wrote the 'Introduction', not to mention the author, are also terrifying.

"You should be respectful and take note, so I will include the titles of the two great monks. I will not write the titles that were given to me in connection with my literary work. If I say 'Sapyakan', every literary person knows it. His title is "Venerable Vasetha Bhiwamsa." The Sayadaw who wrote the introduction is the "Rector of the Buddhist University." Everyone knows it. His title is "Venerable Thilananda Bhiwamsa." In the future, according to the order of the Mahasi Sayadaw, he had to spend a week in America, so he came back as the "California Sayadaw."

I must say that reading both the introduction and the new Preikgyi Nissayathi was so enjoyable that I was indescribably grateful. Now... let's move on to the "Mangala Sutta".

After twelve years of contemplation by all the devas and humans about what were the beneficial and prosperous things in the world, an unknown deva came to the Buddha at about midnight and asked, “Venerable sir, what are the remarkable things that are beneficial and prosperous in the world?” The Buddha then spoke of the thirty-eight auspicious things. You all know these.

Now... let's move on to God's commands.

Since you are already familiar with it, let me start with the Pali text.

Death is a disease,

The death of the Pandit.

The name of the offering is Puja.

Ethan Mangal Mottaman.

I have to say it.

Try reciting the above verse slowly and calmly. You will find that it is a very easy-to-recite, soothing poem. A 'verse' is a "poem". It is a Pali poem.

"'The one who does not associate with gods, gods, and fools, and the one who does not associate with wise men

"Baal-fool"

The first thing that came to mind for me was the word 'Baal-fool'. What kind of people are called fools? As I said before. If you don't ask, it's like you already know. If you ask, it's like you're confused. The great monk Thapyekan Sayadaw said, "The signs that can be recognized as a fool are: thinking bad thoughts, saying bad words, and doing bad deeds. Anyone who has these three signs, whether they are a nobleman, a wealthy person, or a ruler, is a fool." To put it simply, it means that a person with a bad body, speech, and heart can be called a fool.

I have to tell you something that I remember because of the "foolishness". You guys are already familiar with it. You may remember the "Theingha Thu Nthi" stone inscription in the "Myanmar Prose Selection" book prescribed for tenth graders. It was only later that I seriously noticed the prayer "Theingha Thu Nthi" in that stone inscription.