love changes everything

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The Dhammacakkappavattana Sutta Applying the Buddha's first & most important discourse to bring more love, health, wealth, peace and happiness into your life. www.kalyanamitra.org

Honorary Advisors: Most Ven. Luang Per Dhammajayo Most Ven. Luang For Dattajeevo Academic Consultants: Ven. Prasarn Samacaro Ven. Sutham Suratano Ven. Monchai Apichano Ven. Attapol Kulasiddho Ven. Ronnapop Jotilabho Author/Translator Warangkana Tempati Graphic Designer Pawee Jaisuekul The entire or partid written content in this book may be reprinted, reproduced,republished or transmitted only after a written permission has been sought from the author. To request for the electronic file of this book and written permission, write to [email protected]. ISBN 978-616-8188-00-2 Cop3a*ight © 2018 by Warangkana Tempati This edition is published by the Dhammakaya Foundation. Pictorid and CD contents herein are cop3night properties of the Dhammakaya Foundation. They can be copied or re-distributed for non-commercid purposes - for the benefit of spreading Dhamma and peace - but please always credit the source. www.kalyanamitra.org

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Foreword Introduction 10 The Meeting That changes Everything 11 A Teacher ofLove 15 The Teaching ofLove 20 The transformative power ofloving compassion 21 The right way to love oneselfand others 25 How to design one's destiny 28 Not knowing how to love,people cause pain to their loved ones 34 Free and simple solutions for personal and social problems 44 The Sermon That Led to the Birth ofBuddhism 50 The Four Noble Truths four truths about unhappiness 60 The Middle Path the exitfrom suffering and 68 the entry to happiness 78 The Noble Eightfold Path principles for doing 94 the right thing How To Meditate www.kalyanamitra.org

How To Spread Loving Kindness 101 Connecting with Buddhas through 102 the Chanting ofthe First Sutta 105 Tips for Chanting the First Sutta 110 with Total Absorption 22 Benefits ofchanting the Dhammacakkappavattana Sutta Pali verses with 128 English translations (English translation of the sutta's romanlzed Pali verses) English transliterated verses 152 (This section provides simplified pronunciation for the benefit of those without prior training in Pali phonetics so that they can chant the Dhammacakkappavattana Sutta easily and correctly.) www.kalyanamitra.org

Foreword Buddhism was born out of love, while he was a bodhisattva,the Buddha loved himself so he worked on extricating himself from the bondage of suffering for good. After setting himself free, reached out to people to show them how they too could set themselves free. This required a multitude of sacri fices on his part, which he willingly accepted as part of becoming a Buddha. This little book was born out of love and gratitude for the Buddha and my monk teachers. On 4 June 2017, I had a chance to listen to a sermon by Ven. Dattajeevo in which he spoke about the importance of the Buddha's first sermon \"the Dhammacakkappavattana Sutta,\" and how it holds the key to curing social ills and people's personal problems. He also explained how not knowing how to love oneself causes a lot of problems for oneself and others. His sermon sparked an idea in me to write this book so that more people will benefit from his sermon and the Buddha's first sermon. It is my offering to the Buddha and my monk teachers as well as a gift to the world. www.kalyanamitra.org

This book is intended to be a brief introduc tion to Buddhism as well as a practical, layman's guide to applying the Buddha's first and most important sermon to bring more love, health, wealth, peace and happiness into one's life. It comprises three parts: l) Introduction; 2) English translation of the sutta from its Pali origin, and 3) English transliteration of the sutta for the purpose of chanting. The introduction gives an overview of the Buddha's core teachings. Given the limited length of the book as well as the depth and breadth of the teachings, further readings and meditation practice are needed to deepen understanding and appreciation. The English translation appears in the order of the romanized Pali verses of the Buddha's first sutta (sermon). His core teachings are condensed in this sutta with little or no elaboration. To aid understanding,it is recommended that the introduction be read first. The English transliteration of the www.kalyanamitra.org

sutta is meant to help those without a prior training in Pali phonetics to chant the debut sutta correctly with ease and confidence. I hope that this book will inspire you to chant the Dhammacakkappavattana Sutta every day as an act of self-love and self-blessing. Besides honoring the Buddha and his teachings, chanting the sutta yields several spiritual, emotional and physical health benefits. You can read further on this on page 110. On top of that, when committed to memory and impressed into your subconscious mind, the teachings in the sutta will guide your thinking and your actions so that they are in line with the Buddha's teachings. The result is peace, happiness and a wholesome future. The Buddha's kind of love changes everything. May the Buddha bless you. Warangkana Tempati 17 December 2017 www.kalyanamitra.org

The Dhamma is the noblest of all gifts, the best of all tastes and the best of all delights.^' Buddha www.kalyanamitra.org

PART I www.kalyanamitra.org

The Meeting That Changes Everything www.kalyanamitra.org

The Buddha could be seen from afar. Not because the five ascetics had special vision but because the light encircling him would have caught anyone's attention. As he walked through the forest towards where the five ascetics were staying, his aura appeared bigger and brighter. He looked elegantly poised and peacefully happy - unlike ascetic Siddhartha whom they used to spend years practicing self-mortification with. It was clear to them that their former colleague is now a different person. They weren't sure what became of him but they surely didn't want to welcome someone who abandoned self-mortification which they believed was the path to spiritual liberation. The ascetics quickly agreed among themselves to ignore him should he stop by. www.kalyanamitra.org

After Enlightenment, Gautama Buddha knew from his penetrative insight that his former companions were now staying at the Isipatana Deer Park near the northern Indian city of Banares. He also knew that they would not welcome his visit because they remained convinced that he was wrong about quitting self-mortification practice. That was why they had since cut him off from their lives. But the Buddha wasn't concerned about not being welcomed. He focused on giving. Having long crossed the bridge of pride and ego, he had no hesitation to reach out to them. It was evening when the Buddha arrived. His aura and his radiance - which were not there when he was ascetic Siddhartha - made the ascetics forget what they agreed upon just a moment ago. still, when the Buddha announced that he had recently achieved complete Enlightenment and now came here to show them the way, they questioned his statement and expressed doubt thrice. www.kalyanamitra.org

The Buddha then asked if he ever, even once, told them a lie or claimed to have achieved Enlightenment during all those years that they were living with him. This question got them thinking that the Buddha might have actually told the truth because they all knew that he never lied. Their resistance dissipated. The five ascetics then apologized to the Buddha for doubting him. The next day was a full-moon day. Knowing that their minds were now open, the Buddha began to speak. His pleasant voice, the depth of his teaching, the uncovering of truths that were totally unheard of as well as the palpable air of peace and compassion that he radiated were more than enough to keep their minds focused and their ears glued to what the Blessed One had to say. It was the Buddha'sfirst sermon following his Enlightenment - one thatforever changed the world. www.kalyanamitra.org

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The Buddha is a teacher of love. His love for humanity knows no bounds - free from conditions, expiration and discrimination. Even the love of a biological parent for a child comes with a condition - the condition being that that child is his or her child. But the love that Gautama Buddha - and any Buddha at all - has for fellow human beings are free from conditions. He loves everyone regardless of whether they love him or hate him, respect him or disrespect him, give him offerings or try to kill him, speak well of him or scorn him. Whether one is a Buddhist or a disbeliever, a prince or a pauper, a doctor or a murderer, pretty or ugly, healthy or sickly, black, white or yellow, a www.kalyanamitra.org

Buddha's love is the same for all: pure, absolute and unconditional. The Blessed One never demanded anyone to respect him or believe him blindly. Rather, he en couraged everyone to be a scientist - to experiment, contemplate and see for themselves the truths about oneself and the world. By \"seeing,\" he meant not only intellectual understanding and seeing with naked eyes but also seeing with the eyes of one's mind. His love for fellow human beings are free from attachment. For most people, love and attachment are inextricable. But not the Buddha's kind of love. Attachment creates expectations, which in turn causes disappointments, hurt and ill feelings. Ordinary people have emotional ups and downs, and can change their minds in an instant. Thus, they cannot always be relied on for happiness or wish fulfilment. Because the Buddha's mind is free fi:'om www.kalyanamitra.org

attachment, nothing can hold him back from loving everyone unconditionally. He expects nothing in return from anyone. Even those who turned viciously against him after receiving his help still has his love. As we have learned from jataka stories (Gautama Buddha's past-life stories that he told monks and lay disciples), his love for humanity transcends death. It took Gautama Buddha 20 asarnkhyeyas and 100,000 maha-kalpas* before he achieved his mission of becoming a Buddha for the benefit of humankind. During these long stretches of time, he underwent incalculable episodes of physical pain, emotional abuses, losses, illnesses, death and rebirth across eons of lifetimes. During these same periods, he came across more than half a million Buddhas. This means that if he so wished, the bodhisattva could have changed his mind and chosen instead to become an arahant (or arhat in Sanskrit, meaning a fully Enlightened disciple of a www.kalyanamitra.org

Buddha), which is a much shorter and easier path. But love kept him going. He chose to give his all for the attainment of Buddhahood so that he would have the capacity to help millions of people achieve unconditional happiness and end their suffering permanently. His journey from an ordinary man to an extraordinary human being of complete perfection is the world's longest-running story of love for humanity. His love transcends death, rebirths, races, beliefs, cultures and geographical boundaries. NOTE on Pali terms: Asamkhyeya is an ancient unit of measurement equivalent to 10^^® or 1 followed by 140 zeroes. The Buddha did not specify the exact length of one maha-kalpa in number of years. How ever, he gave several analogies. One of them is imagine a huge empty cube whose width, length and depth is ten miles long. Once every 100 years, you insert one tiny lettuce seed into the cube. Ac cording to the Buddha, the huge cube will be filled even before one maha-kalpa ends. www.kalyanamitra.org

The Teaching of Love y! www.kalyanamitra.org

Teaching by Deed - the transformative power of loving compassion The Buddha teaches unconditional love towards oneself and others in two ways: by word and deed. By deed, it was visibly obvious through his everyday behavior. He knew he would live to 80 only. Thus, he slept a few hours a day, spending much of his time helping others. Not a day went by without him saving anyone spiritually. There were times during the life of Gautama Buddha in which some unscrupulous people spread malicious lies to defame him and destroy Buddhism. Wayward monk Devadatta, for example, tried to kill him several times. Yet, the Buddha remained calm, compassionate, and completely free from resentment. He forgave everyone long before they knew it. In other words, the Buddha doesn't need a reason to forgive or to love anyone. www.kalyanamitra.org

He appreciated the fact that regardless of external differences, all human beings want happiness and despise suffering. Due to ignorance, however,they repeatedly engage in actions that bring themselves pain. They also share the common miseries of birth, aging, sickness, death and many other kinds of suffering such as loss of loved ones, loss of money, loss of property, stress, failures, disappointments, heartaches, physical pain, worry, fear, betrayal and unjust treatment, etc. A heartbroken billionaire and a heartbroken laborer equally suffer - at least emotionally. A CEO whose son has developed a cocaine addiction is as depressed as a crane worker whose son is a drug- dependent, high-school dropout. A doctor who cannot help his child overcome a terminal illness is just as sad as a doorman in the same situation, when a beautiful princess got cheated on by her husband, she is no less devastated than an ordinary housewife in the same situation. We human beings are more alike www.kalyanamitra.org

than we are different. Everyone has their share of pain. Everyone is the heir of his or her own karma. Thus,there is no reason to envy or to disdain anyone. The Buddha could see that we human beings already have enough against ourselves. As such, we should never make life difficult for each other nor should we behave like our own enemies by making ourselves unhappy. Instead, we should cultivate loving compassion for ourselves and fellow human beings. As the Buddha has shown us, changing the world begins with love. The former bodhisattva spent millions of life times developing all the virtuous qualities of a Buddha to their absolute perfection. During these long stretches oftime, he experienced the stresses of living just like the rest of us. Unlike most of us, he staked his life time and again to do good unconditionally. He purposely endured the pains of birth and rebirth, of aging, sickness and death, sacrificing his worldly www.kalyanamitra.org

power, wealth, flesh and blood - and even his life all for the attainment of Buddhahood. Then, when he finally achieved his mission, he freely gave his precious knowledge away out of love for humanity. And, the world has not been the same ever since. By word, the Buddha taught the right way to love oneself and others. Most of the problems in www.kalyanamitra.org

Teaching by word - the right way to love oneself and others this world arise because people don't know how to love themselves. More often than not, people bring suffering upon themselves by wanting what they shouldn't want such as brand name bags that they cannot afford, another person's wife or getting somebody hurt in revenge, when you have unwise wanting, you make your happiness conditional. Unwise wanting is conditioning your happiness upon having or not having something as well as upon somebody not doing something to you or doing something for you. Unwise wanting makes people give up their peace of mind and moral principles for money,fame, attention, position, power, beautiful objects and romantic love. In the process of which, they lose happiness and incur enemies. As if waging wars with www.kalyanamitra.org

themselves, they make themselves live with fear, worry and anxiety. The opposite is wise wanting, which inspires you to be a better person, to cultivate a virtuous habit, or to meditate more so as to attain Nibbana. Wise wanting leads to inner peace as well as the permanent and irreversible end of suffering. On the contrary, unwise wanting entails craving, clinging and attachment, leading to perpetual or recurring pain that one can avoid but chooses not to. Another common way people make themselves unhappy is by thinking unnecessary thoughts, espe cially poisonous thoughts such as worrying, recalling angry or depressing memories, imagining all the reasons why some worthy goals cannot be accom plished, or doubting one's worthiness and potential. None of these thoughts could ever bring them closer to their personal, professional or spiritual goals - let alone happiness. Yet, people waste their www.kalyanamitra.org

precious time thinking these self-hurting thoughts! The Buddha discovered that all emotional suffering arises in the realm of thought and dies in the absence of thought - even if a perceived problem still exists in the physical world. That is why meditation is central to the achievement of Enlightenment. The knowledge of the Enlightened is neither accessible nor attainable by thinking. Rather, it is achievable in the absolute absence of thought i.e. the continued presence of mental stillness. To be Enlightened, we cannot just read about meditation and other Buddhist teachings. Knowledge is powerful only when practiced. Because of that, people who love themselves meditate. They give their minds - their most precious assets - a peace ful rest. They give themselves time to explore their inner world - a world where thoughts, problems and suffering do not exist - to get to know their true selves and the world as they are far better than their naked eyes can tell. www.kalyanamitra.org

How to design one's destiny to ensure a wholesome future The Blessed One also discovered from his Enlightenment that all human beings design their destinies with every act they do: mental act(thought), physical act and verbal act (speech & writing). He pointed out that all living beings - no matter how rich and powerful they are - live under the Law of Karma. It is a natural, universal law that applies equally and equitably to all human beings whether they believe it or not - just as touching fire can burn one's hand whether one believes this fact or not. The Law of Karma states that wholesome acts yield wholesome results whereas unwholesome acts produce unwholesome consequences. Apple trees yield apples. They cannot produce bananas, and vice versa. www.kalyanamitra.org

Nothing in life is accidental, what people put out comes back to them. Thus, people who love themselves choose to do virtuous things because they want only good things to happen to them. They choose to do the right thing even if it means sacrificing convenience, personal time and money. They choose to do the right thing instead of an easy thing - even if nobody witnesses, even if they risk being misunderstood, ridiculed or alienated by dishonest folks. They are willing to do that because they believe that eventually good deeds will bear good fruits and bad deeds will bear bad fruits. This natural law of the world always holds true. Thus, people who truly love themselves choose to do good unconditionally. At the same time, people who truly love themselves will refrain from vices at all costs as they do not want bad things to happen to them. They know that the initial pain and emotional discomfort of self-control are minimal compared to www.kalyanamitra.org

the danger of acting on impulses and fulfilling unwholesome desires. If one refuses to bear a little, one will have to bear a lot more - and for a much longer haul. Promiscuity, for example, can ruin one's physical health and reputation. It can also take away one's opportunity to be reborn as a human being in the next rebirth. Infidelity can ruin one's family, reputation and financial wealth. It also leads to a series of rebirths in hellish realms. A verbal or written slander can put one in Jail, evoke hatred, incur enemies and bring about lawsuits. It also has the power to direct the wrongdoer's circumstances so that he encounters people after people who do the same to him. Mockery, especially when commit ted against people of high morality, will ensure that one will suffer exactly what one was mocking about. For example, one who mocks an elderly monk by walking like a hunchbacked person can be sure to be reborn with that feature. Those who take pleasure www.kalyanamitra.org

in hunting and shooting animals for fun are sure to find the tables turned. In their future rebirths, they will get to experience firsthand what it feels like to be hunted and shot for fun. And, if their karmic retribution is due in their current lifetimes, they might encounter bloody accidents. Thus, people who love themselves will refrain from doing what they do not want to happen to them (such as being stolen, bullied, insulted, accused, betrayed, cheated on, tortured, treated rudely, etc.). At the same time, they will make serious efforts to do what they want to happen to them (such as being dealt with kindness, compassion, respect, generosity and sincerity, etc.). Interestingly, when one is being good to oneself by doing good (so as to ensure a wholesome destiny), one is also being good to others. The opposite is equally true: when one is being unkind to oneself by thinking unwholesome thoughts, committing www.kalyanamitra.org

unwholesome acts or speaking unwholesome words, one is also being unkind to others. People design their destinies with every act they do. It thus follows that people who truly love themselves are committed to doing good every day so as to bless their future. Between the present and the future, they collect smiles, inner peace, joy, fulfilment and self-appreciation. They think kind thoughts, speak thoughtful words, and act out of compassion. They are very selective about what to keep in their minds. They radiate happiness and make others around them happy. On the contrary, people who hate themselves or behave like their own enemies will curse their future by engaging in unwholesome acts such as drinking, taking drugs, lying, slandering, gambling www.kalyanamitra.org

and cheating. They treat their bodies like objects - instead of lifelong friends - and eventually pay the price for it. They bow to temptations and let the environment control their minds instead of exerting control over their thought and behavior. They relish in thinking negative thoughts and acting on impulses. They collect garbage by focusing on what's wrong instead of looking for what's right and feeling grateful for what they already have. Thus, their minds are rarely at peace because they incline to react negatively to whoever and whatever displeases them. They torture their minds with anger and anxiety, say hurtful things, and make others miserable. www.kalyanamitra.org

Not knowing how to love, people cause pain to their loved ones. People who don't know how to love themselves don't know how to love others. Some well-intentioned parents and teachers fear their children would be disappointed so they repeatedly tell them to be \"realistic\" and to stop dreaming \"the impossible dreams\".They say that because they themselves didn't achieve much and thus can't imagine how their children would be much different. Instead of support ing a child's dreams and nurturing his potential, they judge his future with their past records. Criticizing a child's dream turns a caring adult into a dream killer. That child is likely to carry doubts about his potential into adulthood because even people who love him the most don't believe in him. It's human nature to avoid doing something - how ever useful and worthy - if he believes he is not good www.kalyanamitra.org

enough to pull it off. These doubts will stop him from taking opportunities and necessary challenges that can propel him to success and make his dreams come true. Then, there are parents who use violence to discipline their children. They shout acidic, heart- stabbing words in a child's face. Negative put-downs like \"I wish you were not my child,\" \"I wish you were not bom,\"\"You are such a retart!\"\"You won't amount to anything,\" \"You disgust me,\" or \"You are worth nothing!\" should never come out of any parent's mouth. Yet, some parents do this in front of the child's friends or siblings to demean him or her. Others use physical violence such as slapping a child's face or hitting a child with a cane, a belt, a hairbmsh or a metal stick. These well-intentioned parents might do so out of \"love\" to stop some unwanted behavior but what they don't realize is that verbal and/or physical www.kalyanamitra.org

violence inevitably leaves scars in children's hearts. Corporal punishment not only turns the hitter into a hypocrite (because they preach non-violence but behave the opposite), it also reduces a child into an object. It makes children feel that they are not being good enough and thus don't deserve to be treated with respect at the most basic human level. Worse, having watched the behavior of these adults, they absorb and internalize the belief that violence is acceptable and that hitting somebody - especially someone weaker or smaller - to coerce compliance is ok. It is not! There is a story about a mother who believed in spanking as a rightful punishment until she saw her three-year-old daughter hitting her one-year-old son. When confronted, her daughter replied: \"I'm just playing mommy.\" children learn by imitating the behavior of those closest to them. Not surprisingly, they pass on the same treatment to their spouses and their children. In short, not knowing how to love. www.kalyanamitra.org

some parents pass on physical and emotional pain to their \"loved ones\". Parents can learn from meditation practice that they cannot coerce their minds to stop thinking and wandering because the nature of the mind is such that it resists coercion. If they cannot coerce their minds to be still, how can they expect to coerce their children's minds?! Wouldn't it be more effective to use rewards, reasoning, understanding, empathy and appreciation to encourage a positive, desired behavior in children? Wouldn't it be better to show the child the consequences of his behavior - how it affects himself and others? The child may not fully under stand moral concepts but he can definitely absorb moral lessons from real-life events and feelings that he experiences. Several studies confirm that spanking fails to work in the long run because it uses force and fear to demand compliance. Spanking parents may www.kalyanamitra.org

temporarily win the battle of behavioral change but they lose the war of winning the love and trust from their children, who wants to be near someone who hurts them?! It is more effective to criticize an unwholesome behavior than to criticize a child. Research studies show that compared to children raised in emphathetic nonaggressive households, children raised by parents who use verbal and/or physical aggression in child discipline are more likely to display aggressive behavior at school such as bullying a weaker fellow student, when these children become adults, they are more likely to use aggression to handle conflicts because they have repeatedly seen their parents or caretakers use anger and aggression to get what they want. Unless their experience of growing up in an aggressive environment is interrupted by positively powerful influences (such as wholesome books, teachers, monks or virtuous role models who walk the talk), these children are likely to become like their www.kalyanamitra.org

parents who believe that the end always justifies the means - whatever means. On the family level, they become spanking parents and abusive spouses. Not knowing how to love, some people make the mistake of controlling their loved ones, making them feel suffocated, when they don't get their way, they resort to verbal and/or physical violence until their spouses or their children yield to their will, slowly but surely, they are losing the love of the people whom they genuinely care. Their unloving acts alienate their spouses and children. www.kalyanamitra.org

On the society level, this leads to more domes tic violence, and more people who believe in using violence to stop violence. As we can see for ourselves, any effort to stop violence with violence only perpetuates conflict, hatred, deep-seated anger and revenge. If these children grow up to become bosses, they make life stressful and unpleasant for their co-workers. They cannot be leaders because people don't follow their lead voluntarily. On the contrary, the Buddha uses wisdom and compassion to elicit a change of heart. He disapproves verbal and physical violence of all forms - whether against oneself or others. Violence never brings out the good in anyone. Even when committed with a good intention,violence not only diminishes the doer's respectability and lovability,it damages the self-esteem of the person on the receiving end. Violence doesn't solve problems. It just adds more suffering to the world. www.kalyanamitra.org

Even in non-spanking families, children who are left to play violent computer games or are exposed to violence in multimedia entertainment stand the risk of developing the tendency to mimic the aggres sive behavior that they have seen repeatedly. Because children's minds absorb their environment like cotton wool, truly loving parents have to be extra careful about what they teach their children by action and the material environment they allow their children to be exposed to. In any case, the most influential figure in a child's life is his closest caretaker - usually the mother or the father or both. Thus, parents should display the kind of behavior that they want to see in their children. Besides parental warmth and empathy, children are best exposed to the Dhamma - through listening, chanting and even meditation. For example, parents can teach their children the Law of Karma so that they learn the relationship between cause (their thinking, speeches and physical acts) and effect (the www.kalyanamitra.org

consequence oftheir mental,verbal and physical acts). They can read fables and jataka stories to their young children. The whole family can set aside time to chant, meditate, visit a Buddhist temple to listen to a sermon or get involved in charitable activities together. At the other end of the continuum, there are parents who lavish their children with praises, trips and toys when they don't deserve them. It may sound like a great life but it is actually a curse for self- confidence is developed out of doing and achieving worthy things with one's own efforts. Giving help and encouragement make children feel loved. However, if they rarely have to work for anything, how would they learn to take care of themselves - let alone taking care of their parents,friends and siblings? Wise parents strike a balance between withholding support and giving their children too much help. By taking the Middle Way approach to parenting, they can help children grow to become emotionally fit adults who know how to love themselves and take care of others. www.kalyanamitra.org

whether you are a spouse, a parent or a teacher, let your hands be loving hands. If you are a parent, show your children how they can use their hands to give, heal, care, create and unite rather than hit, hurt or harm themselves and others. Let the Buddha's teachings of love be your www.kalyanamitra.org

Free and Simple Solutions for Personal and Social Problems The Dhamma lessons from the sutta provide a solution for social ills and people's personal problems. If people know how to love themselves, most of their problems - and hence society's problems - will instantly disappear. There will be no killing, assaulting, stealing, robbery, infidelity, drunk driving, gambling, cheating, corruption, defamation, insulting, bullying and slandering, etc. If you are a child of aggressive, verbally abusive, unempathetic parents, forgive them. Forgiving is as much as a gift for them as it is for you - often, a lot more for you. They did the best they could given their knowledge, upbringing and environmental conditioning. Unconditional forgiving unchains you from the negative past. Your compassion for them won't change history but it will certainly improve your www.kalyanamitra.org

relationship with your parents and positively transform your future. Then, make a commitment to be the kind of nurturing, loving, empathetic adult that you wanted to have in your life. Be your own parent who loves you unconditionally and who totally believe in your potential. Be your own best friend who stands by you through ups and downs. Be the kind of person who makes you happy. Because we attract that which we are, speak kindly to yourself the way you'd like to be spoken to. Treat yourself with respect, sincerity and compassion just as you'd like to be treated. Most importantly, be kind to your mind.For your happiness,guard it against unkind and self-hurting thoughts. www.kalyanamitra.org

And, instead of looking for love from outside sources, you should start by loving yourselves the right way. Even if you believe - rightly or wrongly - that nobody loves you, you can start by loving yourself unconditionally. You should remember that regardless of who you are and what you have done, the Buddha always loves you unconditionally. The Buddha doesn't need a reason to love you, and so shouldn't you. That said, you can love yourself only to the degree that you are being good to yourself and others. The Blessed One gives us a blueprint for true happiness, which begins with loving oneself the right way. He prescribes a series of behavioral medicines for putting a permanent end to one's suffering and for achieving eternal, unconditional happiness. His core teachings are encapsulated in the \"Dhammacak- kappavattana Sutta,\" his first sermon following his Enlightenment. www.kalyanamitra.org

Because the debut sermon contains only key teachings of the Buddha with little elaboration, having an introduction to its content will help us appreciate its importance and understand its meaning much better. In so doing, we will chant the Dhammacakkap- pavattana Sutta with greater absorption ofthe Buddha's core teachings and with a deeper feeling of gratitude and fulfilment. www.kalyanamitra.org

ๆ;'if: s s i. .L j; 11 sๆ ๆ' - I- nl con^m'sioB unmi$^i0n^ ftf The Buddha doesn't need en reason to love you, and so shotd0iT you. Wm i^uppiness M im€0n0t$0nM: $yery In^an bemg has the ecipdeiiy^^:t©^^j^\\ เๆเi ha^0 no matter what '' mitside beeause happmess comes filpm 11 within — unassailable by outside forces. )ss ;' rr~ร^- s s \" IS I ; 1 1, , Iv 'j; . www.kalyanamitra.org f'\"f;' ■;■ ill- ■'ๆ: -:-:-!! s : ■- : ; : 1: 1 -;?■! i-

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