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'.. These are the five things that are likable, desirable, and agreeable, but hard to get in the world...'- Iṭṭha Sutta AN 5.43 Dhamma Sharingby Ven. K Sri Dhammananda &Ajahn Brahm follows....tinyurl.com/setfdvdt #TheBuddhaWordafPraying & Wishing for .... '.. Long life (āyu),beauty (vaṇṇa),happiness (sukha),fame (yasa), andheaven (sagga).These are the five things that are likable, desirable, and agreeable, but hard to get in the world...'- Iṭṭha Sutta AN 5.43 ---'Nature is impartial;it cannot be flattered by prayers.It does not grant any special favours on request.Man is not a fallen creature who begs for his needs as he awaits mercy. According to Buddhism, man is a potential master of himself. Only because of his deep ignorance does man fail to realize his full potential. Since the Buddha has shown this hidden power, man must cultivate his mind and try to develop it by realizing his innate ability.Buddhism gives full responsibility and dignity to man. It makes man his own master. According to Buddhism, no higher being sits in judgment over his affairs and destiny. That is to say, our life, our society, our world, is what you and I want to make out of it, and not what some other unknown being wants it to be. ...'- 'The Meaning of Prayer'an excerpt from 'What Buddhists Believe'by Ven. K. Sri Dhammananda- Read in full here ..www.budsas.org/ebud/whatbudbeliev/198.htm---What we Desire forin this world...'Then the householder Anāthapiṇḍika went up to the Buddha, bowed, and sat down to one side. The Buddha said to him:“Householder, these five things that are likable, desirable, and agreeable are hard to get in the world.What five?Long life (āyu),beauty (vaṇṇa),happiness (sukha),fame (yasa), andheaven (sagga).These are the five things that are likable, desirable, and agreeable, but hard to get in the world.And I say that these five things are not got by praying or wishing for them. If they were, who would lack them?A noble disciple who wants to live long ought not pray for it, or hope for it, or pine for it. Instead, they should practice the way that leads to long life. For by practicing that way they gain long life as a god or a human being.A noble disciple who wants to be beautiful ought not pray for it, or hope for it, or pine for it. Instead, they should practice the way that leads to beauty. For by practicing that way they gain beauty as a god or a human being.A noble disciple who wants to be happy ought not pray for it, or hope for it, or pine for it. Instead, they should practice the way that leads to happiness. For by practicing that way they gain happiness as a god or a human being.A noble disciple who wants to be famous ought not pray for it, or hope for it, or pine for it. Instead, they should practice the way that leads to fame. For by practicing that way they gain fame as a god or a human being.A noble disciple who wants to go to heaven ought not pray for it, or hope for it, or pine for it. Instead, they should practice the way that leads to heaven. For by practicing that way they gain heaven, they are one who gains the heavens.For one who desires a continuous flowof exceptional delights—long life, beauty, fame and reputation,heaven, and birth in an eminent family—the astute praise diligencein making merit.Being diligent, an astute personsecures both benefits:the benefit in this life,and in lives to come.A wise one, comprehending the meaning,is called ‘astute’.” '- Iṭṭha Sutta orPañcaiṭṭhadhamma Sutta AN 5.43- Sources here ...suttacentral.net/an5.43/en/sujatosuttacentral.net/an5.43/en/bodhiwww.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/an/an05/an05.043.than.html?fbclid=IwAR0GorIrnRO_fu5Q-dvbDfdE7qbL... .. or .. tinyurl.com/3jn2edve---The Wishing Game'Five children were playing a wishing game. Each would be asked in turn, “If you had a wish, what would it be?” The child with the best wish would win. The first child said, “If I had a wish, I would wish for some chocolate ice cream,” because it was a hot day and he liked ice cream.The second child said, ”If I had a wish, I would wish for an ice cream factory. Then I can have many ice creams, whenever I want!” The first child sat glumly, regretting that he had wished for only ice cream and thinking how clever the second child was.The third child said, “My wish is for a billion dollars. With a billion bucks, I can buy my own ice-cream factory, a candy store, and my own fast-food restaurant, then I can have a burger and double fries whenever I want, and my Mom won’t be able to stop me! I’ll also have enough money left over to buy anything else I want, as soon as I think of it.” Now the second child felt stupid, having settled for only an ice-cream factory, while thinking how much smarter this third child was, wishing for a billion dollars.The fourth child said, “If I had a wish, then I’d wish for three wishes! With my first wish, I’d get my ice-cream factory. With my second wish, I’d get a billion dollars, and for my third wish, I’d ask for three more wishes! That way, I can go on wishing forever.” Even the child who’d wished for a billion dollars now felt beaten. All the first three children looked up to this fourth child as a genius. What could be superior to unlimited wishes?The fifth child surpassed them all. He said quietly, “If I had a wish, I would wish that I was so content that I would never need any more wishes!”That last child won the wishing game, just as those who sit perfectly still win the human race. He understood that the highest happiness, nibbāna, is the complete ending of all sensory desire, ill will, and delusion. Nibbāna is contentment at last. It is the ending of craving. Peace. Enlightenment ...'Taken from: 'Happiness through Meditation'by Ajahn Brahm- Sources ...hendritan.wordpress.com/2012/04/05/wishing-game/Keeping the Water Still: An Interview with Ajahn Brahmwww.theosophical.org/publications/quest-magazine/4402---#TheBuddhaWordaf tiny.cc/TheBuddhaWord#tbcMalaysiaDhamma tiny.cc/TBCMfb ... See MoreSee Less