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Dhamma Library

คลังธรรมะ

Buddhist teachings from three Thai Dhamma books by Dhammasomthob, in 36 articles grouped by topic: mettā and the brahmavihāras, merit and giving, kathina, the truth of life, and beliefs seen with wisdom. Every article is in Thai and in English translation.

Mettā and the Brahmavihāras

เมตตาและพรหมวิหาร

14 articles

Mettā is goodwill without conditions: what it is, how to cultivate it step by step, the four brahmavihāras, and the Karaṇīya Mettā Sutta verse by verse.

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  1. What Is Mettā? And the Three Kinds of Love

    Mettā is true love, goodwill that arises without conditions, rooted in non-anger. Craving-love and household love are false love, because they cling.     Found in text pp. 1–18

  2. Mettā and Patience, the Bases of Social Harmony, and the Near Cause of Mettā

    Mettā and patience share one essence, adosa, non-anger. Mettā put into action is saṅgahavatthu, and its near cause is seeing the goodness in all beings.     Found in text pp. 19–26

  3. The Five Factors of a Mettā Practitioner, the Qualities Needed, and the Benefits of Mettā

    Cultivating mettā brings 11 benefits, such as sleeping and waking happily. It asks for faith, good health, honesty, effort and right understanding.     Found in text pp. 27–41

  4. Cultivating Mettā Meditation

    Mettā meditation begins with loving-kindness toward yourself, then extends to someone you revere, a neutral person and an enemy, until the mind grows soft.     Found in text pp. 42–53

  5. Tips for Mettā Meditation and the Heart of Mettā

    Before spreading mettā, make it arise in your own heart: calm and soften the mind, then send it out. Plus the two essentials of mettā.     Found in text pp. 54–71

  6. Cultivating the Brahmavihāras

    The brahmavihāras are the sublime abodes: mettā, karuṇā, muditā and upekkhā. Each has a near cause, a far enemy and a near enemy; train them in order.     Found in text pp. 72–85

  7. Cultivating the All-Purpose Meditations (the Four Protective Meditations)

    The four protective meditations are recollection of the Buddha, unattractiveness, recollection of death and mettā, developed constantly to guard the mind.     Found in text pp. 86–101

  8. The Karaṇīya Mettā Sutta in Depth

    The Karaṇīya Mettā Sutta is the discourse the Buddha taught 500 monks to cultivate mettā and ward off harm from non-humans, with a translation and verse 1.     Found in text pp. 102–114

  9. The Karaṇīya Mettā Sutta in Depth: Verses 2–5

    Verses 1–3 of the Karaṇīya Mettā Sutta give 15 qualities of one who wishes to cultivate mettā; verses 4–5 spread mettā without borders or measure.     Found in text pp. 115–135

  10. The Karaṇīya Mettā Sutta in Depth: Verses 6–10

    Verses 6–10 of the Karaṇīya Mettā Sutta teach boundless mettā like a mother's for her only child, kept mindfully in every posture as the brahmavihāra.     Found in text pp. 136–151

  11. Answering Doubts in the Practice of Mettā Meditation

    Wanting mettā's results without making its causes, and practicing stressed, is craving; being happy at every step of the practice is wholesome desire.     Found in text pp. 152–169

  12. Answering Doubts About Mettā: Lust, Selfishness, Liberation of Mind and the Perfection of Mettā

    Lust is the near enemy of mettā. If lust arises, develop mettā for yourself until it is true mettā, then for elders, teachers and parents you respect.     Found in text pp. 170–179

  13. Afterword: Life Is Nature, and the Three Foundations of Happiness

    Human happiness rests on three foundations, the natural environment, our fellow human beings and the activities of life, and mettā is what connects them.     Found in text pp. 180–187

  14. The Brahmavihāras Dispel Anger

    The brahmavihāras dispel anger, since mettā exists to cure it. Learn the ten grounds that feed anger and when to use each brahmavihāra. Good Dhamma, Happy Life     Found in text pp. 37–41

Merit and Happiness

บุญและความสุข

5 articles

Merit is what cleanses the mind: true merit, giving that bears great fruit, the gift of forgiveness, mindfulness, and happiness found within.

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  1. True Merit

    Merit (puñña) cleanses the stream of thought of defilements, so true merit lies in your state of mind as you act, not only in the outward activity.     Found in text pp. 9–14

  2. How to Give So That It Bears Great Fruit

    Giving bears great fruit through intention and a refined mind, not the gift. Even a small gift given with faith and a bright mind brings no small merit.     Found in text pp. 15–21

  3. Abhaya-dāna: The More You Give, the More Merit Grows

    Abhaya-dāna is the gift of freedom from danger, of safety to others. It is a name for virtue, a great gift harder to give because it comes from virtue.     Found in text pp. 22–26

  4. Keep Mindfulness with You

    Mindfulness (sati) is like a dam against evil: it keeps greed, anger and delusion out of the mind and keeps goodness from slipping away.     Found in text pp. 27–32

  5. Outer Happiness, Future Happiness, Inner Happiness

    True happiness is inner happiness, which arises the moment the mind is good, unlike outer happiness tied to things or future happiness tied to goals.     Found in text pp. 33–36

Kathina

กฐิน

6 articles

Kathina is a once-a-year gift in the month after the rains retreat: its origin, rules for the cloth, its benefits, common questions, the offering words.

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  1. What Is Kathina? Its Origin and the Kathina Robe

    Kathina literally means the wooden frame for sewing robes; the kathina cloth is one of the three robes. The Buddha let monks spread it after the rains.     Found in text pp. 5–10

  2. Spreading and Offering the Kathina, and Its Five Benefits

    Spreading the kathina is the monks' act; offering it lets laypeople share its merit by laying cloth before the Saṅgha. It gives monks five benefits.     Found in text pp. 10–13

  3. Kathina Is Discipline, Harmony Is Dhamma, and the Kathina Cloth Must Be Pure

    Kathina is discipline, but the Buddha's true aim was harmony, which is Dhamma. It is about cloth, not money: monks cannot accept cash, only its value.     Found in text pp. 13–19

  4. Kathina Questions: Can One Monk Receive It, and How Does It Differ from Pha Pa?

    Kathina is a Vinaya act done only in its season, once a year; pha pa can be offered all year. A monk who spent the rains alone can still receive kathina.     Found in text pp. 20–27

  5. The Merit of Offering the Kathina, and How to Set the Mind for the Most Merit

    Kathina merit differs from other giving: receivers and givers each gain five benefits. The giver is dear to many and goes to a good destination hereafter.     Found in text pp. 27–34

  6. Kathina Offering Words, the Formal Announcement and Chants

    The Pali words for offering the kathina cloth, Imaṃ cīvaraṃ kathinatthāya saṅghassa demi, a full form with meanings, the announcement and kammavācā.     Found in text pp. 35–50

The Truth of Life

ความจริงของชีวิต

5 articles

Dhamma for daily life: not piling suffering on yourself, envy and stinginess, speech that wins hearts, wrong speech, and a sick body with a healthy mind.

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  1. Don't Pile Suffering onto Yourself: New Happiness Buries Old Happiness, New Suffering Buries Old Suffering

    Most people suffer easily, pulling troubles from outside into themselves and replaying them. So the Buddha taught: don't pile suffering onto yourself.     Found in text pp. 43–48

  2. Envy and Stinginess: The Causes of Conflict

    Envy (issā) and stinginess (macchariya) are the causes of conflict, as the Buddha told Sakka, king of the devas. Stinginess comes in five kinds.     Found in text pp. 49–53

  3. How to Communicate and Win Hearts for All Time

    Winning hearts means first conquering the defilements within, then speaking what is true, beneficial, timely, gentle and full of loving-kindness.     Found in text pp. 54–57

  4. The Harm of Wrong Speech

    Wrong speech is lying, harsh speech, divisive speech and idle chatter. It is the hardest kamma to correct, it spreads easily, and its bad results are many.     Found in text pp. 58–62

  5. Sick in Body, Not Sick in Mind

    This body is always sick; the mind is sick when lust, aversion and delusion crowd it. Wise attention, trust in the wholesome and wisdom keep the mind well.     Found in text pp. 63–65

Mutelu, With Understanding

มูเตลู อย่างรู้และเข้าใจ

6 articles

Beliefs seen with wisdom: worshipping Thao Wessuwan rightly, whether devas and nāgas exist, merit for petas, resolving kamma, and karmic creditors.

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  1. How to Worship Thao Wessuwan (Vessavaṇa) the Right Way

    Worship Thao Wessuwan (Vessavaṇa) as the stream-enterer he is, not by begging for luck, and chant the Āṭānāṭiya Paritta correctly and with understanding.     Found in text pp. 67–70

  2. Do Devas Really Exist?

    In the Buddha's teaching there are three kinds of devas, by convention, by birth and by purity. Devas are born spontaneously and live in six heavens.     Found in text pp. 71–76

  3. Do Nāgas Really Exist?

    In the Buddha's teaching, nāgas are animals of the lower realms ruled by Virūpakkha. Some have great power, but no nāga can realize the Dhamma.     Found in text pp. 77–80

  4. Dedicating Merit to Petas

    Merit reaches departed relatives when they know of it and rejoice in it themselves. Dedicate it to all your kin in saṃsāra; your own merit does not shrink.     Found in text pp. 81–87

  5. How to Resolve Karma the Right Way

    “Resolving karma” is paṭikamma in the monks’ language: making amends, giving up evil, turning to good. Holy water and chanting cannot erase bad karma.     Found in text pp. 88–90

  6. Karmic Creditors

    Karmic creditors are those we bore enmity with in past lives. The way out is to drop grudges and grow loving-kindness; arahants are free of them for good.     Found in text pp. 91–94

Books in the library

  1. Mettā in Depth: Toward a Lasting Practice เจาะลึกเมตตา สู่ภาวนาที่ยั่งยืน A mettā meditation course in book form: three kinds of love, the steps of practice, the brahmavihāras, the Karaṇīya Mettā Sutta, questions from practice. Dhammasomthob · 13 chapters
  2. Good Dhamma, Happy Life ธรรมดี ชีวีมีสุข Teachings of Phra Ajahn Somthop Parakkamo of Wat Klang, Suphan Buri, in three parts: happiness in merit, the truth of life, and mutelu with understanding. Phra Ajahn Somthop Parakkamo · 17 chapters
  3. Kathina Toward the Dhamma: Following the Noble Ones กฐินสู่ธรรม ดำเนินตามอริยชน Kathina by the Dhamma and Vinaya: its origin, the cloth and the rite, pure cloth, common questions, its benefits, the right mindset, the offering words. The Dhammasomthob team · 6 chapters
  4. The Chanting Book สาธยายธรรม นำสู่วิมุตฺติ The chanting book: 109 Thai Buddhist chants, from morning and evening chanting to the parittas, suttas and verses of loving-kindness. The ธรรมสมทบ team