Renunciation
In the days of yore much merry making sounds,
There were in King Suddhodana's ancient palace grounds,
For to Prince Siddhartha his son and heir,
A beautiful babe by wife Yasodhara was born,
Yet ever in such contemplation deep,
Did the twenty nine old Prince go to sleep,
As a few days prior to this,
Three distressing sights he had not missed.
When one day he rode with Channa his charioteer,
Out of the palace gates,
The very first one he happened to see,
Made him heave a sorrowful sight,
'Twas that of a frail and withered old man,
Almost bent in two,
So wane and pale did he look,
As from head to toe he shook.
Next he espied another being,
Who on the roadside lay,
Sick he was and in searing pain,
Alas! Perhaps nowhere he had to stay.
And as a little further away,
The Prince went on his way,
Another sight did he behold,
Of one whose life had ebbed away.
Never had he seen such sights before,
For within the palace gates,
The sick and aged were never around,
'Tis only luxuries that did abound,
And then he saw another form,
That made his troubled heart serene,
'Twas that of a mendicant in yellow robes,
Here lay the answer to his quest.
Day by day he pondered more and more,
On these four sights he had seen,
And finally made up his ruffled mind,
That go he must in search of peace.
Cast he one last look at sweet Yasodhara,
Who soundly slept with Rahula at her side,
Truly this was the hour of renunciation,
Seek soon he must their salvation
Thus with faithful Channa his charioteer,
On Kanthaka his snow white steed,
To Anoma's river bank he rode.
And cutting his long jet black hair,
Donned he a saffron coloured robe,
Wandered he forth from that day,
Letting go all worldly attachments,
In undaunted quest for deathless bliss.
- Irene Abeysekera
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Service to humanity
Go ye, O! monks, wander forth,
For the good of the many
For the welfare of Gods and men
So exhorted the Blessed One.
The concept of service
Well planned and ordered
As extolled by the Blessed One
Is a Supreme Buddhist value.
Service is manifold
Authorship, Teaching and Preaching
Imbued with moral stances
Is an incomparable deed
Tend the sick and the infirm
As exemplified by the Master
Conversion of Angulimala
A noble episode in Buddhist lore
In the modern Age
State craft is a lofty service,
Openness and incorruptibility
Can bring in vast dividends.
Fostering fraternal thought
Eschewing division in all forms
Clerics and laity can unite
In the ideal of selfless service.
On this Thrice Hallowed Day of Vesak
Service to Humanity should dominate our minds
It is a service for Good and Welfare
An ideal extolled by the Blessed One.
- M.H.D. Fernando.
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Thoughts of a Samanera to be
When I try to read my scripture book
I see my Guru, with his hard look
The traunts I played, the fields and my friend
They play like a video to the very end
My mind should be trained to meditate
For that's going to be my future fate
Fledged as a Bhikkhu worthy of my robe
I should preach the dhamma over the globe
Or else, I should retreat to a forest abode
And seek my salvation, without further strode
The merits I gather would pave me the way
For my mother and me, to Nibbana some day
Before I entered this hermitage, I knew it is a difficult task
You never wanted to permit me, though many a time I asked
I hear the bells, I must get up and go
My prayers of worship, I must recite in a tone very low
Tomorrow when my head is shaven, although it is cold
I shall remember your stories that were often told
I know you will be here tomorrow
But please don't show me your sorrow
The youngest Samanera in this temple, tomorrow will be
Mother, you will be the first to honour me, down on your knee
My outstretched hand will bless you, without a single tear
I was taught to bless you so, pardon me my mother dear
- Vinitha Karunaratne
######
The Vesak moon
Year after year I've seen the Vesak moon
Shyly unravelling her silvery face,
Appearing and disappearing through cotton soft clouds
That joyfully parade across the starry blue sky.
So calm and serene she looks,
Yet she's lustily bright,
While I, a mere mortal, in silent thought
Watch her from this troubled earth.
The ever radiant, ever virgin, Vesak moon
Rhythmically sails over misty mountains
Lighting up ample gardens and flowery fountains,
And adorns the tranquil sky
Like a gaily guilded swan
Sailing gracefully in the placid ocean below.
The Vesak moon rises over Lanka's verdant hills and plains
Beaming forth her mellow light
Over man and beast alike
Echoing and re-echoing in the ears of all mankind
The sublime message
Of Buddha, the Almighty Sage,
Whose exalted teaching
Appeals to any age,
Irrespective of caste or creed
Or high or low breed,
And as long as the sun and moon,
The earth and sky, in man's ken remain
The Vesak moon will shine again and again
Bathing the world in its tranquil light
Reviving sacred memories of this thrice blessed day
And guiding the wordly beings to lead
A life based on the noble Buddhist way.
- Andrew Scott
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The fragrant abode which is my heart
It was by nectar of the Nine-fold
Exalted doctrine of Buddha
Which is spoken by the Eight-fold
Sweet sounds of Brahma,
That peaceful serenity occurred in a ten billion heads
Somewhere in the Three Worlds,
The Ghost Realm, the Animal Creation and Hell.
When the holy feet of Buddha
Is bathed with the rays of the crest-jewels
Lined one after the other,
Like auroras that give forth waves
That move on pressingly
Goes in rolling-form beyond the shores
Of the horizon of the great ocean.
Oh! The Buddha, Supreme Enlightened One,
No mind is not bent in reverence
To My Lord,
Who showed forth the Noble Path of Purity
And Eternal verities and become the Buddha
By comprehending all their fullness
Which should be known
And proclaiming the Omniscience,
Numerous memberless masses should be trained
By the vivid meanings of realization
Through Omniscience,
Everything till the end.
The coolness of the springs
Of nectar that flow non-stop
From the waterfall of the Four Noble Truths
That motivate like the top of a shrub
Which is well-covered
With blooming flowers and fragrance
In the first month of the summer season
Gives so much pleasantness.
How can it be determined
That there exists a Nibbana
Which was not quenched by calm,
Realization, Supreme Enlightenment
Not appeased by the streams of Bliss
Given by the leaderless Leader
Who lead all beings.
It is a miraculous doctrine unheard before
That exhibited the Cycle of Life
With a Three-fold achievement
Expressing a Twelve-fold manifestation
And a chain of independent origin
Portraying a wisdom of absolute Truth
Devoid of problems and conflicts.
I worship the flower of devotion
At the feet of the Enlightened One,
Who forever lives in the fragrant abode
Which is my Heart,
With the light of the mustard-oil lamp,
Avoiding the darkness in it
That illuminates
From rows of fumigated containers
Which bring out spirals of fragrance.
Till I live on this earth,
I fall on my knees
And with hands held up in reverence,
I bathe in the rays
That emanate from the toe-nails
Of the Buddha's feet,
By adorning the caskets
With flowers of Compassion, Kindness and Thought,
And by restraining the three doors
Of the Mind, Body and Word by praise of the Three-fold minds
From beginning through the middle to the end.
- Kalakeerthi Wimal Abayasundera
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