Theragatha v.127-128 ‘‘Tiṇṇaṃ me tālapattānaṃ, gaṅgātīre kuṭī katā; Chavasittova me patto, paṃsukūlañca cīvaraṃ. ‘‘Dvinnaṃ antaravassānaṃ, ekā vācā me bhāsitā; Tatiye antaravassamhi, tamokhandho padālito’’ti. == (English) Using three palm leaves I made myself a hut on the bank or river Ganges….
[Part of our series: Arahant Stories.] Once, they say, the monk Elder called “Rag-robe” (Paṃsukūlikatthero), who lived in Pacinakhandaraji, decided to travel to the great pagoda-mountain* in order to worship the stupa there. After he had venerated the stupa, he…
From the “Arahant stories” collection: Once, it is said, two Brahmins sat together in the north Indian city of Patna in a hall and listened to the praise of the virtues of Nāga the elder, a monk from Kālavallimaṇḍapa*. When they…
The monk elder Tissa, the hillman, we are told, was born in the land Rohana* in a hunting family and grew up in the vicinity of the Abbey Gamendavala. After he had reached a certain age and started a family, he…
[This story is part of our Arahant series.] Once, they say, the elder Mahāsīva of ‘Mountainpeak’ lived in the city of Mahagama, in Tissa’s Abbey. There, he taught eighteen groups of young monks in the three baskets – the traditional teachings…
A story from the pali canon: “The wise teachers of old, however, used manual work to break strong obsessions. This is how the story goes: A young monk called “Tissa” lived together with his preceptor in the Tissamahavihara monastery. It…
If you are a monk, i guess you do not read (online). But if you do, this text was written exactly for you 🙂 In 100 BC Buddhist monks faced a tough question: “Should we preferably memorize and thus keep…
The story of the elder Mahāmitta: The elder Mahāmitta, as they say, dwelled in the “plougher cave”. Close to the cave was a little village where he went for alms. An old lady cared for him like her own son…
Here comes another very beautiful story from the ancient days of early Buddhism. Enjoy: At that time in the Mahāvihāra lived a monk named Tissabhūti who was currently studying the books of monastic discipline. One early morning while he was…
Or: How to recognize an enlightened being. Again, this sounds like a Zen story. But it is not. It is from the early days of Buddhist practice when Sri Lanka (in this case) was full of “Living Buddhist Masters”. Enjoy…