My first attempt of translating a Dhamma teaching.

I spent a few days at WAT MABJAN , a Buddhist temple in Rayong, as a friend suggested. 
I admired how everyday, the abbot, Ajarn Anan would give a dhamma talk

after the evening chanting routine and there's always a translator monk who translates

his talk to English right after which I found practical and amazing at the same time.

I grew up listening to Luangpu Ban Thanakaro, of Wat Doi Dhamma Jedee, 

in Sakon Nakhon province, north eastern of Thailand. There were never

such translating actions going on there, except when there were a non-thai visitors there,

and there happened to be someone who speaks English at the time.

My life, or my speaking rather, is much influenced by his style of expressing words. 

Now that Luangpu Ban has passed away for 3 years..... I'm inspired,

inspired by the translation happening at Wat Mabjan and definitely inspired by

the priceless dhamma teaching of Luangpu Ban. I'm attempting to translate

his dhamma talks and share them here for whoever come across it.

Here is my first translation of his talk from a youtube clip

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3x1fBisEJUQ

the first 12 mins of over 50 mins talk. I'll add on more translation later

when I get more translation done, thank you for visiting my blog.

Here's some specific words that helps you understand this better:
Kammatarn: means the base of Buddhism works.
                     sometimes means contemplation. 

Pra Ajarn Ban Tanagaro 1

Sukato means to go well, to stay well, live well and die well.  Once live peacefully, when leaving, you also take that peace with you, while if live chaotically, you also take the chaos with you wherever you go. When you take peaceful mind along, there can only be gains, to oneself and to others but if the heart has no peace, there’s no gains for one’s own, and even less possible for others.

Going about with unpeaceful heart there’s only downfalls. Weather staying or going, it should be conducted within the frame of cause and effect (rational). Wherever you are, be there with the intention to persevere, you’ll be there with contentment, because even unpeaceful heart will calm down with the intention to persevere, and once the heart is at peace, you can be anywhere peacefully, once at peace, there’s no urge of anything, but without peace, there will be desire for this and that all the time, how can there be peace.

So wherever you are, try to do lots of walking meditation and sitting meditation, and do all the routine practice thoroughly, cautiously. Really set your heart on perseverance, don’t let the heart move away from this wrapped in skin bones. Only the hearts that found joy in the skin wrapped bones, can stay with the skin wrapped bones. The chaotic heart, even if you try, it won’t stay with the skin wrapped bones, whichever part it is

Tajaparinyanto ,every part, place your heart there, place your heart at the spot and see it clearly. In Kammatarn 5, all the 32 organs, can all purify our hearts to be clear, bright and peaceful. So wherever you are, pay attention to kamatarn 5 and gumatarn 32. Whether Kamatan 5, gumatarn 32 or pile of kammatarn, all pile up in the pile of humans and animals, our pile, let it be in here. Kammatarn , tarn means the base, the foundation of actions to ultimate result; that’s the meaning of Kammatarn. Our hearts once luminously bright, then uses this kammatarn to purify itself, there’s nothing eles that can scrub or wipe our thick and dark mind, to a thinner, to clearer and brighter state; only this pile of kamatarn, you this with true determination, not just lightly, don’t do it just as a bypass. Do it so that you know how, you realize, you see, see so clearly, unequivocal like grinding a block of steal to make a needle, keep grinding and grinding, until it starts to sharpen. Our hearts are thicker than a block of steal, because it’s a result of long term accumulation. So Kamatarn is needed, we’re talking about every single parts, in term of their shapes, forms and manners. Every shape, form and manner of all parts, whatever we make it to be, can all be used as a scrubber, a wiper for the dark minds. They’re elements, whatever elements of what whichever parts can all we used as the true scrubber and wiper for our thick dark minds to achieve the brighter, lighter, thinner.

So wherever you are, be with the great master, the great master is the this pile of kammatarn. If we were to ignore this pile of kammatarn and just focuses on the buddha’s words…. That’s not enough to lighten, brighten our thick hearts. The words of the buddha’s teaching are also the result of using the pile of kammatarn as the pile of scrubber, the pile of washer, the pile of bleacher… using no others.

In the maha sati patan, the body is at the forefront. Vetana, is about this body, not others, Dhamma (the nature, the truth) is about this body, not others, the pain, is in this body, not others. So in Maha satipatan, the body, vetana, jitra, dhamma; that’s our pile of body and pile of hearts, not others. The buddha didn’t use other things as the scrubber and wiper of the hearts. In the ultimate truth of nature, the buddha shown that this pile of kammatarn is the pile that gets born, the pile that gets old and the pile that die. All the buddha’s teachings uses this pile of kammatarn as scrubbers and wipers for the mind. Be earnest, and don’t be doubtful, the dhamma that takes away the defilements is this pile of kamatarn, not others, if you think that there’s something more valuable and greater than this kamatarn within us, that’s Mitchatiti view, wrong thinking, wrong view. So think right, see right and focus on kammatarn. Once the right view is strong, is clear, is determent, is earnest; never take the mind off of this kammatarn, if we are focus to understand it, then we will it eventually see it clearly as it is, because this pile of kammatarn is there. If we’re determined and focus on what’s not there, naturally it’s impossible to ever see or understand. If something’s there, even a blind person can touch it, so don’t be doubtful or hesitate to practice. We’re not lost in anything but this bones wrapped in skin, this thing gets us lost, this bones wrapped in skin thicken and darken our minds, and it’s accumulating to be denser than a block of steal that the steal workers work with. To grind it so that it’s shaper and shiner… the buddha knows how. You grind by shining light on it, see it clearly as it is, the darkness, thickness that has been accumulated so densely and dominated will eventually completely dissipate. The mind that is bright, that is sharp and that is incisive, the defilements can not stay in the mind that is bright, sharp and incisive, once the darkness dissipated. What dissipates that darkness? This pile of kammatarn. So understand this, don’t hesitate and be doubtful. The path to peaceful life of monks (practitioners) only consists of this pile of kammatarn. 12:18