The visit and preaching made by Tripitaka Dharma Master

On the afternoon of January 25, 2015 (December 6, lunar year of the Horse), the monks and Buddhists of Hoang Phap pagoda solemnly and formally receivedSayadaw Bhaddhanta Abhijātābhivaṃsa, the 12th Tripitaka Dharma Master, who came from Myanmar on his visit and preaching tour.

The reason for the Buddha’s manifestation in this life is\r\nthe peace and contentment for the Devas and mankind. During his walking in the\r\nway, he travelled all around India so as to propagate the true Dharma and from\r\nthat time on the Buddhist Dharma has taken root and spread all over the world.\r\nAfter the Buddha entered into Nirvana, he has left a gigantic precious legacy which\r\nhas been taken notes by his sage disciples in the Three Buddhist Canon Baskets\r\n(Tripitakas) consisting of Sutras, Vinaya, and Abhidharma-sutras. At first, the\r\nholy teachings were passed down orally, not by taking notes, by his disciples.\r\nThis tradition had been kept and promoted for a long time and the elders, who\r\nwere able to memorise the whole Tripitakas in Pali, were most respectfully\r\ncalled by the title ‘the great senior Tripitaka Dharma Master’.

Through 66 examinations selecting Tripitaka Dharma Masters\r\nfor Myanmar, this country now has 13 masters of this kind who know by heart all\r\nthe Three Buddhist Canon Baskets (Tripitakas). Sir Sayadaw Bhaddhanta\r\nAbhijātābhivaṃsa is the 12th master who attained this noble title.

Tripitaka Dharma Master Sayadaw Bhaddhanta\r\nAbhijātābhivaṃsa was born into a Buddhist family in Sagaing (Myanmar). At\r\nhis 11 years of age, he accepted the commandments of a sramana (novice) and\r\nstudied Buddhist dharma at a local pure abode. Then he continued studying at a\r\nBuddhist Institute together with his eldests who were profound learning in\r\nBuddhist Dharma. At the age of 20, he attained the title ‘The complete\r\ncommandments of Hinayana and Mahayana Bhiksu’. Since then he has not stopped\r\nstudying the dharma and obtainned various degrees in Buddhism as well as the noble\r\ntitles offered by the Myanmar Government and The Nikaya Association of\r\nPropagation of Dharmakara. At present, he is lecturing at the course of\r\ntraining monks and his own monastery which has been famous as ‘the place where\r\neminent monks are trained’ with profound learning in the Dharma. His charitable\r\nand preaching activites have brought peace and contentment as well as happiness\r\nto many people.

After his visit paid to the Senior Venerable Thich Chan\r\nTinh, Abbot of Hoang Phap pagoda, the master gave a short preaching session to\r\nthe masses at the Hoang Phap auditorium.

Prior to the preaching, Buddhist high-ranking nun Thich Nu\r\nDieu Hien, who was a Ph. D. student at Yangon (Myanmar), cursorily presented\r\nthe Myanmar selective examination of Tripitaka Dharma Masters as well as the\r\nbiography of Master Sayadaw Bhaddhanta Abhijātābhivaṃsa. Next, the\r\nguardian monk helped translate the Master’s speech into Vietnamese.

The Master was very moved and elected at the Hoang Phap\r\nPagoda’s Monks and Buddhists’ sentiment. He sketchily presented the\r\ndifficulties as well as the specific points of the examination of Tripikata\r\nDharma Masters. This is the most long-time examination and the quality of which\r\nhas been recognised by the world over. To obtain the title ‘Tripitaka Dharma\r\nMaster’ the candidate must have the following conditions : good health,\r\nprofound wisdom, high level of diligence and various other Paramita actions.\r\nThe candidate has to pass at least 10 examinations. Moreover, he must know by\r\nheart and understand the Buddhist Dharma surely and perfectly.

Next, the Master had some words to encurage the Buddhists in\r\ntheir cultivation. According to him, we have much happiness in this world -\r\nhappiness in having offspring, money, jobs, and the five worldly desires.\r\nNevertheless, all those types of happiness are shakeable and bring unsecurity,\r\nsorrow and great misery to us. Only the joy in the Dharma can really bring true\r\nhappiness to human beings. In the old day, Mr. Mahanama asked the\r\nBuddha how to obtain happiness for laypeople’s life. The Buddha replied that\r\nthey should love and think of the six thoughts to dwell upon known as Praying\r\nto the Buddha, Praying to the Dharma, Praying to the Orders, Praying to the\r\ncommandments or morality, Praying to Almsgiving, and Praying to Heaven. He who\r\npermanently practises these six thoughts will surely get peace and contentment\r\nas well as happiness.

Those who cultivate themselves by praying to Buddha must\r\nknow how to pray to the Buddha’s natural capacity for good or evil, must be\r\nelated at the Buddha’s noblest nature that we like best. Those who often think\r\nof the Buddha will not be affected by greediness, anger and delusion. We should\r\npractise praying to Buddha in a stately posture, in any space and at any time.\r\nOnly in such conditions can we obtain peace and contentment, and be liberated\r\nin the present as well as directed ourselves to the world of intermost joy or\r\nNirvane in the future.-

Enclosed herewith are some recorded pictures: