THE HINDUS OF INDONESIA’S MOST POPULOUS ISLAND, Java,

BY RAJIV MALIK, JAVA, INDONESIA

JAVA HAS BEEN A PART OF HINDU TRADItion since ancient times, finding first mention in theRamayana as Yawadvipa. It was one of the many places that Sugriva, ruler of the monkey kingdom of Kishkindha, sent his men to search for Lord Rama’s wife, Sita, after her abduction by Ravana. For thousands of years it has been depicted in the Ramlila dance dramas (and lately in television serials) as a huge, lushly green forested area and known as such to every Indian child.

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Dhammapada on Contentment

200. Let us live happily then, though we call nothing our own! We shall be like the bright gods, feeding on happiness!

201. Victory breeds hatred, for the conquered is unhappy. He who has given up both victory and defeat, he, the contented, is happy.

204. Health is the greatest of gifts, contentedness the best riches; trust is the best of relationships, Nirvana the highest happiness.

362. He who controls his hand, he who controls his feet, he who controls his speech, he who is well controlled, he who delights inwardly, who is collected, who is solitary and content, him they call Wise.

Source: http://phong.com/journal/dhammapada-on-contentment/ 

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Dharmapada is a collection of sayings of the Buddha in verse form and one of the most widely read and best known Buddhist scriptures. The original version of the Dhammapada is in the Khuddaka Nikaya, a division of the Pali Canon of Theravada Buddhism.

The Buddhist scholar and commentator Buddhaghosa explains that each saying recorded in the collection was made on a different occasion in response to a unique situation that had arisen in the life of the Buddha and his monastic community. His commentary, the Dhammapada Atthakatha, presents the details of these events and is a rich source of legend for the life and times of the Buddha.