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Theravada Tradition

The BMS follows the Theravada tradition, which is the oldest recorded Pali

Buddhism to

what the Buddha taught

more than

2600 years ago. As

Buddhism

spread out far and wide

from

Buddha's birthplace

Nepal, then

blossomed in

India

and

to other

countries

it gradually gathered with it the

local

customs,

beliefs

and

rituals. From India to Sri Lanka, Burma,

Thailand, Laos, Cambodia,

China,

Korea,

Japan and Vietnam it has in

some ways, adapted,

integrated and

fused

together

with the

existing local

beliefs and traditions.

This is not

necessarily good or bad,

but today

when

the

schools of

Buddhism converge in

western countries like Australia,

USA, Britain

and

Europe

they are hardly

recognizable as siblings from the

same family,

except that we

can say that

the

fundamental

teachings of the

Buddha

seems to be

the same, such as

Eight

Fold Paths

and Four

Noble

Truths.

In an effort to separate the Buddha's

original

teachings

from

various local

customs

and beliefs the BMS

losely and

dilligently

follows

the Theravada

Pali

tradition.

Theravada means "Doctrine of the Elders".

Thera

means elders and

vada

means

recited

words or

doctrine.

hree months

after the death of

the Buddha,

500

Arahants

(

the most

senior

Enlightened)

elder monks, led

Venerable

Maha

kassapa, including Venerable

Ananda recited the

Buddha's teachings in

order to preserve them intact as Buddha has

taught, and to pass the

Teachings

on to the future generations. It took

them seven months

to recite the whole of

the

Buddha's Teachings.

As can

be seen, it was an enormous task of

gigantic

proportion carried

out by the

Theras in order to preserve the Buddha's

teachings

for the future

generations to

come. We owe a great gratitude to the

Theras and with

devotion, we chant the Buddha's

teachings in Pali with deep

respect to the

Buddha, his

teachings the Dhamma, and the

Theras.

This historic first council was known as the Pancasatika since five-

hundred

fully

enlightened

Theras (Arahants) had taken part in it.

Therefore, Theravada

Buddhism relies on the original teachings of the

Buddha

in Pali

Language. Scholars throughout the world generally agree

to the fact that

the Theravada

Pali tradition contains the earliest surviving

record of the

Buddha's teachings.

Aims & Objectives of BMS

The aims and objectives of the BMS are to:

spread the Lord Buddha's teachings and make them available to those
who want to hear them
encourage small local communities from around the world to form their
own groups with a view to practising the teachings of the Lord Buddha
together

As Buddhism is relatively new to the West it is understandable that not

everyone who

wants

to learn more about Buddhism and meditation will be

fortunate enough to have

access to

Buddhist monasteries and meditation

teaching facilities.

In situations like these, people from small and isolated communities

around the

world can

come together and find out about Buddhism and

practice together. It

is not necessary to

know everything about Buddhism

to practice. What more

important is to practice what

one

already knew in

everyday life with calmness

and mindfulness. The BMS aims to

assist and

give advice to these individuals

and communities on what the Buddha has

taught and how

practice His

teachings (the Dhamma). Accordingly,

Buddha's

teachings and meditation

instructions are available for download

in the Meditation and

Talks sections of

this website

for the benefit of many

small and isolated communities and

individuals around the world.

Spiritual Guide	U Zor Hane
President	Dr Nat Wright
Vice President	Elaine Collins
Honorary Secretary	Kerry McDonald
Honorary Treasurer	Yvette Maher
Contact: buddhistmeditationsociety@gmail.com