On this special day of Magha Puja may you have happiness, good fortune, health, and well being. May you, your family, and loved ones have happiness, prosperity, and peacefulness.

May you practice the teachings of the Ovada Patimokkha, that is, the abandonment of unwholesomeness and cultivation of the good.

May you cultivate mindfulness, which is an aspect of bringing merit to its fulfillment. This is done using your mindfulness meditation object, kammatthana, in order to bring the mind to samadhi for the sake of wisdom. This is bringing merit to its fulfillment in order to bring the mind to purity. This is parami, spiritual virtue.

In the abandonment of unwholesomeness one relies on khanti, patient endurance. In the performance of merit of all types one relies on patient endurance, as well.

One seeks out quiet and secluded places according to the instructions of the Ovada Patimokkha. One practices not to harm or injure, and one practices giving. One practices dana, sila, and bhavana. One abandons all harming and abandons harmful speech.

Our aspiration with all this practice is nibbana, the highest Dhamma. With the goal of nibbana, one respects the Lord Buddha, practices the Dhamma, and follows the Sangha.

May you be firmly established in the doing of all types of goodness.

May you practice unwaveringly to abandon evil, do good, and purify the mind. May you succeed in this. May you and all your loved ones have good fortune and prosperity in all things - in work, in the world, and in the Dhamma. May you have happiness and well being on your journey to nibbana. May you be well.

Ajahn Anan Akiñcano