Book Three · Source & credits
Where this book came from
Honest attribution: this is one teacher’s words, from one tradition — not anonymous or original wisdom.
Why this page exists
This volume gathers the verses on character — the lifelong work of building the perfections through obstacles, effort, and the way you treat people. We’ve loosened the language into a weekend voice, but the ideas, and the leaps of faith, are the teacher’s. Credit belongs to him and to the volunteers who compiled and gave the books away.
- The book
- Why Are We Born?, Book Three: Building the Perfections — คนเราเกิดมาทำไม? เล่ม ๓ สร้างบารมี
- The teacher
- Phra Thepyan Mahamuni — Luang Por Dhammajayo (Chaiyaboon Dhammajayo), founding abbot of Wat Phra Dhammakaya, Pathum Thani, Thailand. Known affectionately as “Khun Khru Mai Yai.”
- What it is
- A themed collection of the teacher’s short dhamma-verses (wak-tham), spoken on many occasions across roughly 1981–2016 and gathered by the temple’s editorial team. Most lines are individually dated in the original.
- Tradition
- Thai Theravada Buddhism, Dhammakaya lineage (Wat Phra Dhammakaya).
- Publisher & year
- Dhammakaya Foundation, Pathum Thani. First edition, B.E. 2560 (2017 CE) — a commemorative gift for Makha Bucha, the temple’s 47th anniversary.
- Distribution
- Given away free as a dhamma gift; circulated free through the foundation’s kalyanamitra.org dhamma library.
- ISBN
- 978-616-7200-93-4
- This English edition
- A faithful but relaxed adaptation for readers who aren’t assumed to be Buddhist. Pali terms are glossed on first use; the tradition’s metaphysics is kept whole and paired with clearly-marked pragmatic readings. The retelling and the tinted editorial boxes are the adapter’s; see the project README for notes and any uncertain passages.