Dear Friends,

We received these observations from a young meditation practitioner from Australia after she listened to our last one day Meditation Program held for the Youth at Koralawella, Moratuwa, Sri Lanka. She is a Grade 11 student from Australia and likes to remain anonymous.

Theruwan Saranai,

Venerable Dhammajiva Thero,

Recently I listened to your latest Youth Dhamma Talk. I found it extremely interesting and very applicable to my routine now. Currently I have so much school work- 7 subjects, that I hardly find time for meditation.

Recently I became very upset and worried about my upcoming exams. Amma (Mother) then asked me to listen to your Dhamma talk and it significantly calmed me down, as the importance of non-reaction resonated within me. Thanks to the reminder, I now know not to feel so strongly about the exam but just prepare for it to the best of my ability.

Also yesterday as I was working, I felt that my mind was too full of stress, hindering me from properly focusing on my studies. I decided that I would meditate in order to clear my mind and relieve the tension in my body.

While sitting on the couch I closed my eyes and focused on my mind. I felt my concentration reaching a state of one-pointedness. My breathing was relieved and flowing much better as well. After a while I woke from my meditation yet couldn’t recall what had occurred for a period of time. My body felt so much more relaxed however as the existing tension had melted away. Also, I noticed that a soothing heat existed in my head. I couldn’t believe how stressed and anxious I became without having practiced meditation for only a few weeks/months. Reminding myself as to the spiritual benefits of meditation, as well as the personal satisfaction and therapeutic benefits experienced when practicing it, encouraged me to in my spare time, continue practicing meditation more consistently.

Recently Bhanthe, I had to do Inter-school debating, a type of impromptu debating where we are assigned a topic on the day, and get only an hour to prepare our case and write our speeches. As you can probably assume, it’s extremely stressful and the fact that we have no resources to refer to for information makes it even more difficult. The topic our side had to debate on was that “Studying English in senior schools should be compulsory”. While arguing I incorporated facts that you, Bhanthe, regularly include in your Dhamma talks- how we only use 2% of our brain; which I then related to a study conducted by a university where it was found that critically analyzing texts (like we do in English) actually stimulates unused portions of the brain. Thank you Bhanthe!

This has not been the only time when in a speech I have referred to ideas you have discussed in your Dhamma talks. Quite commonly I relate my ideas with a concept you have discussed. I find these facts and philosophies that you talk about, not only extremely interesting, but also very relatable, so much so that I can remember and refer to them in daily circumstances.

Thank you Bhanthe

Please click here to reach the last month’s one day meditation program for the Youth.

The next One Day Meditation program for the Youth is scheduled to be held on 26 April 2014 at the same venue. Those who wish to attend may directly contact Ms. Manuja Vithanagama (E mail: manujacsv@yahoo.com )

Please click here for the One Day Meditation Program for 26 April 2014