Monks in the Morning from Colombo Dhamma Friends

Have you ever wished for something? Something you wanted really, really bad? Lots of people wish for things for themselves. New clothes, new games, a favorite food. Well, some people have a wish to help other people. …

Do you know what it means if someone is good-hearted? It’s not talking about their physical heart in the middle of their chest. If someone is good-hearted then, they always act in a good way and try to help other …

If you haven’t listened to the last episode yet, you might want to go back and hear it first. Because today we’ll learn the rest of the story of the …

Have you ever seen a stupa before? Or maybe just a photo? Stupas hold the relics of the Supreme Buddha or Arahant disciples of the Supreme Buddha. …

When we are with each other we get to learn all sorts of things that help us be better people. The more we learn from our good Dhamma friends, the easier it is to remember to do the right things, even when it is …

Today we are going to learn the next blessing in the Mahamangala sutta. Do you remember all the blessings you have learned before? If not, you can go back and listen to those shows. Just go to the show notes on the …

Today we are going to learn another one of the blessings that we can find in the Mahā Mangala Sutta, the great discourse on blessings. I’m sure most of you have chanted the Mangala sutta before. It’s important that we …

So, have you ever had to move houses? If you did, were you able to pack all of your things in a box or two? Or did you have to rent a big truck? Or …

In the last episode we started to learn about two sisters who practiced giving. Because of that giving, they were both reborn in heavenly worlds. Do you remember their names? One was called Bhadra, that means lucky, or …

Today we are going to talk about intention. An intention is like a wish that our mind is thinking about when we do some action. For example, when we give someone some medicine, we have the intention to help that person. …

Sometimes people wonder about whom we should give gifts to. Once King Pasenadi asked the Supreme Buddha whom he should give gifts to. The Buddha told …

Today we are going to listen in on a discussion that some of our good Dhamma friends had with one of the venerable monks about their time in lockdown. Now some of you may be listening to this episode long after the …

Today we will listen to the last part of the story of Kālī Yakshini. Although lots of terrible things happen in this story, something very wonderful …

In the last episode we started to learn the story of a very unfortunate family who were terrorized by a yakkha who kept eating their babies. That …

Have you ever had something strange happen to you that you couldn’t explain? We’ll start to learn the story of a family that had something really …

We have a very special show today to talk about something very special that happened recently in one of our monasteries. There was a novice ordination ceremony. Do you know what that means? It’s a special event where …

Lots of you have told us how you really like to practice loving-kindness meditation. This makes all the monks so happy to know that even as kids you …

The Supreme Buddha taught us it’s very very important that we associate with good people who like to practice the Dhamma. Because when we do, our good qualities increase. But sometimes, we don't take advantage of being …

Have you ever been tricked before? Maybe someone pretended to throw something to you and when you tried to catch it, it wasn’t there. Or maybe someone traded you for something, but what you got wasn’t what they …

Do you have a savings account? Maybe you have a jar that you collect money in that you hope to buy something with in the future. Lots of people do. …

On the programme we talk a lot about how when we practice generosity it leads to being wealthy in the future. The Supreme Buddha says this again and again. Well, today we are going to learn five more benefits of giving. …

Today we are going to listen to a really interesting discussion between one of the venerable monks and a couple of kids who have been attending Dhamma programmes for a few years. Among other things, they are going to …

Click on the links in case you missed part 1 and part 2 of the Puññābhisanda Sutta.

Today we’ll learn the rest of the Puññābhisanda sutta. You …

In the last episode we started to learn the Puññābhisanda Sutta, the way to always have merit flowing into our lives. The first way is to have strong confidence in the enlightenment of the Supreme Buddha. The way that …

One thing the Supreme Buddha is very clear about is that we have to work hard if we want to improve our situation in life. If we want to be happy, this isn’t something we get just by wishing for it. We have to do things …

One of the things that’s so great about being a follower of the Supreme Buddha is that if we follow his advice, it brings us happiness right now as …

When we collect good karma by practicing the Buddha’s instructions, we will often share merit with heavenly beings. And we may even have the wish …

Do you remember that word, kalyanamitta? It means a special kind of friend who likes to help us practice the Supreme Buddha’s teachings. That’s what we’re going to do together today, practice the Supreme Buddha’s …

Have you ever heard of offering milk rice to the Supreme Buddha? Today two of the monks are going to talk about the practice of offering milk rice to the Supreme Buddha. In Sinhala this special kind of milk rice …

Today we are going to hear the eleven benefits that we get when we practice loving kindness meditation. Some of the benefits of practicing meditation we can see in this life, and some don’t come until a future life. But …

Today we are going to learn a teaching from the Supreme Buddha about the importance of friendship. We can find it in the collection called the …

Can you remember the three knowledges we learned in the last episode? The three things that the Supreme Buddha was able to see and understand on the night of his enlightenment? The first one was the ability to remember …

Have you heard about the night of the Supreme Buddha’s enlightenment? You probably remember that it happened on a Vesak full moon. And that he sat …

Today we will learn more about the Arahaṁ quality of the Supreme Buddha. Do you remember the story we learned about the monks being happy with the food given to horses? Well, there’s more to the story and we will learn …

Today we will learn another example of why our Supreme Buddha was the best teacher in the world. You know that sometimes the Supreme Buddha would …

In the sermon today we are going to learn a wonderful verse taught by the Supreme Buddha. One day he was walking on alms round, collecting his meal …

Today we’ll learn more about the arahaṁ quality of the Supreme Buddha. I should also mention that usually when we see the word arahaṁ written, it …

Today one of the monks is going to teach us a beautiful passage spoken by the Supreme Buddha. It’s a great reminder of how short our human life is, …

Today we are going to learn about the meaning of the word arahaṁ. I know you’ve said this word maybe even 100 times before. It’s one of the qualities of the Supreme Buddha we recite in the Itipiso gatha. And to …

Have you ever made plans to do something and your plans didn’t work out like you hoped? Maybe we planned on taking a trip and then the trip had to get canceled. Or maybe we planned to call one of our friends and talk, …

Today we are going to learn an important Pāli word. The word is pāpa. In English, this word mean evil. Now, when the Supreme Buddha uses this word, he means all the different kinds of bad things we can do, not just the …

Do any of you remember the simile the Supreme Buddha gave for doing very small good things? He said that just like a water pot will eventually get filled even if only a few drops of water fall into the pot at a time. He …

So, tell me. Should we care what other people think of us? Should we care about being blamed by other people? This isn’t a simple question, is it? …

Today we are going to learn one of the factors of the Noble Eightfold path that’s all about practicing the teachings. It’s called Sammā Vāyāmo. In …

Have you ever helped your family before? I’m sure you have. Maybe you’ve given them gifts, or you took care of them when they were sick. Or maybe you have helped them with things around the house. All of these are great …

Have you ever known someone who was a really good person, but then slowly they started doing bad things? This can happen to any of us. Even though …

Recently we learned about sharing merits with ghosts. But I think you know that we often also share merit with gods as well. Today we’ll hear a story about two brothers, one good and one bad. The good brother practice …

Today we are going to learn about a very important word. In Pali, the word is dhammacariyā. Can you recognize any part of that word? Dhamma-cariyā You probably know the first part: Dhamma. The second part means action …

I think many of you may be hearing about this virus that is spreading around the world. Today, the Bhante is going to help us think about this in a wise way according to the Supreme Buddha’s teachings. That way instead …

Have you ever offered dāna to monks and shared merits with your departed relatives? Have you ever wondered about how that works? Well, today we’re going to hear about an incident that happened in the time of our Supreme …

When the Supreme Buddha was still alive, people would go and ask him all kinds of questions. Some people asked questions to try and trick the Buddha, …

How have you been doing with your job of being an investigator? Remember I asked you to start looking around you to see if you could find anything …

What do you think? Does a gift need to be very big and expensive to collect merit? No, it doesn’t. Our teacher, the Supreme Buddha taught us that how …

Today we have some of your questions and the Bhantes will answer them. We’ll also practice loving-kindness meditation in a new way. You’ll want to know which direction is north, so if you’re not sure, now’s the time to …

Today we are going to become investigators. An investigator is someone who likes to look very carefully at things and discover the truth. Because we …

Yesterday we learned three things that help us to get along with people. Do you remember what they are? Showing people loving-kindness to people with our bodies, showing people loving-kindness with our speech, and …

Today we are going to learn advice from the Supreme Buddha on how to live in harmony with people. Do you know the word harmony? When we live in harmony, we get along with the people around us. We don’t fight. We don’t …

Have you ever been stuck somewhere you didn’t want to be? If we can’t be content where we are, then it’s hard to be happy. Today we are going to hear the story of one of the great disciples of the Supreme Buddha named …

Today we are going to talk about a very special word, a word that if we can remember and practice it, it will be really easy to be happy. That word is “contentment”. When we are content, then we are happy with whatever …

Today we are going to think about how powerful our minds are. Just by thinking, we can collect good or bad karma. Today the Bhante is going to give …

Have you ever been blamed for something you didn’t do? Most people have. It doesn’t feel good, does it? We may even get angry at the person who is accusing us. And afterwards most people don’t learn anything from the …

Have you heard the word sutta before? A sutta is a specific teaching or sermon given by the Supreme Buddha or one of his enlightened disciples. It’s amazing, isn’t it, that over 2500 years later, we still know what the …

Have you ever had to make a difficult decision? Maybe there was a time that you had to decide not to tell a lie, even though you might get in …

Have you ever heard about the lay disciple Visākhā? She was an amazing person. For one thing, she was the woman who was the biggest supporter of the Supreme Buddha and the Sangha. No one gave more than she did. But …

One of the best things we can do to start the day is to go for refuge to the Buddha, Dhamma and Sangha. Then when we have difficulties or problems …

Today we have a special chance to listen to a discussion between a young student who visited the monastery and one of the monks. This student understood the value of going to see people who know the Supreme Buddha’s …

Do you know what a view is? You may hear people use that word when they look out a window of a very tall building and say, “Wow, that’s a great view! You can see so many things from up here!” Well, that’s one kind of …

Do you know what a stream enterer is? In the Buddha’s teachings we say that someone has entered the stream when they have a deep understanding of the Dhamma and the Four Noble Truths in a way that cleans the mind in a …

Sometimes we may hear about things happening in the world that seem a little scary. Usually we try not to think about these things, don’t we. But sometimes we keep hearing about them again and again so it’s hard to …

Have you ever wished for something? Maybe wished for a special toy or game? Maybe you wished that you could go to a friend’s house to play. Maybe …

In the last episode we started to learn about a previous life of the Supreme Buddha when he was named Visahya. If you haven’t listened to that …

Have you ever heard the word Jātaka before? The Jātaka stories are good information about the previous lives of the Supreme Buddha before he became enlightened. When we are talking about the supreme Buddha in those …

When it’s time to wake up in the morning, and your parents come in to get you, do you wake up right away? Or do they have to tell you a few times? Or maybe they even have to come in and shake you? Well, the Supreme …

Tell me, children, how can we protect ourselves? How do people ususally think about protecting themselves from the dangers in this world? Sometimes people try to build up strong bodies so they can protect themselves by …

Have you ever made a mistake before? I think we all make mistakes sometimes. But did you learn anything from your mistake? This is what wise people do. They learn from their mistakes. Today we’ll hear the story of a …

In the last episode, we talked about the bad karma we collect when we scold our parents. Today we are going to learn more about the special …

We know that most of you don’t get the chance to go to a monastery every day and collect merit by worshipping the supreme Buddha and helping and …

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In today’s programme, we are going to learn about a lay disciple of the Supreme Buddha named Uttarā. We will hear about …

Have you ever made a promise before? Today we’ll learn about seven promises, or vows, that the God Sakka made when he was in the human world. By keeping these promises to do good things, he was able to be reborn as the …

Do your parents ever scold you? Do they ever accuse you of things you haven’t done. I hope not. But if they do, how do you react? Did you know it’s …

Do you know what a deva is? A deva, or devata, lives in one of the heavenly worlds. In those worlds they get to live in beautiful palaces and have …

Today we are going to meet a very wise disciple of the Supreme Budha named princess Sumana. I know that she is wise because she went to the Supreme Buddha and asked a very good question. She already understood the …

Today we are going to listen to a Dhamma Discussion where one of the Bhantes interviews a couple of kids from the Dhamma School about the many trips …

Today we’re going to talk about listening to the Dhamma. You may spend time listening to the radio, TV programmes, or movies. And those things can be easy to listen to, can’t they? But listening to the Supreme …

Today we are going to learn about the blessing of being generous and the things we need to do to practice generosity in the best way. We’ll learn about five things we need to remember when we are giving things to …

Today we have a special show. There’s a sutta that I’ve been wanting to chant with you, but it’s a little long. So today we’re dedicating the entire show to reciting the Alavaka Sutta. I think maybe you are familiar …

Have you ever practiced loving kindness meditation? Well, today we are going to learn a sutta that talks about the benefits that the Supreme Buddha gained by practicing loving kindness in one of his previous lives when …

If you haven't listened to the previous episodes on the Maha Mangala Sutta, you might like to start at the beginning of the series. Click here. But …

If you haven't listened to the previous episodes on the Maha Mangala Sutta, you might like to start at the beginning of the series. Click here. But …

Have you ever seen a baby before? I think you have, haven’t you. Do you remember when you were a baby? Probably not. But you know for sure that you were a baby at one point. And if you think about it you will probably …

If you haven't listened to the previous episodes on the Maha Mangala Sutta, you might like to start at the beginning of the series. Click here. But …

In the last show, we learned about the value of associating with wise people. Today we are going to hear about a very famous situation where someone was doing terrible things, but then they had the chance to associate …

We should always remember that even just by coming together for this programme, we are following the Supreme Buddha’s instructions. Have you thought …

Today we are going to learn the last part of the CullaKammaVibhanga Sutta. Now, you may remember that Culla means litter, or shorter. Well, don’t …

Today we are going to learn about the defilements. Another word for defilements could be impurities. So when we eat food, we don’t like it to have …

Today we’ll we’ll learn what Christmas is all about. Unless one of your parents or relatives are Christians, you may not know what the significance of Christmas is and why it is important to people. As Buddhists, we …

Today we’ll learn a new simile taught by the Supreme Buddha about the different kinds of speech people use. The first kind is speech like dung. Do …

Today we’ll learn a new simile taught by the Supreme Buddha about the difference in people’s minds. Normally we look at people and see that their bodies are different. Some may be tall, some may be short. Some may …

Today we’ll hear answers to a couple of questions your friends from Dhamma School have asked. We’ll also hear a new segment where we can learn about …

Today I want to tell you about a sutta taught by the Supreme Buddha to help us understand wealth, or money. Do you like to have money? Most people do. Have you thought about the disadvantages of money? Have you thought …