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| Saturday, 25 May 2002 |
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The greatest wonder of wondersn by Nemsiri Muthukumara
The colossal object is one thousand and one hundred foot long (1100) reclining statue of the Buddha in stone found in the vast monastic complex in India's North Western region built by Emperor Asoka and Emperor Kanishka who continued to rule the sprawling Indian sub-continental empire. Twenty-five years ago, the Afghan-born Zemaryalai Tarzi, then head of Afghanistan's Department of Archaeology and Conservation of Historic Monuments states, "he had pinpointed the exact location of the Buddha 25 years ago on the basis of writings by a 7th century Chinese explorer. "The figure, in the form of a sleeping Buddha measuring at least 350 metres (1,100 feet) lies under the sand near a monastery." Tarzi, currently teaching at Marc Block University in the French City of Strasbourg adds that "The Buddha statue has not yet been uncovered, even though the location of the monastery has been identified, and there first has to be a whole series of archaeological soundings." The Chinese explorer, Tarzi mentions is the 7th century Bhikkhu pilgrim Hiuen Tsang whose travelogue in Central Asia and India reveals that when he crossed over to Turfan in Afghanistan, which was the first Central Asian Kingdom to be reached, he was wholeheartedly welcomed by the King who was a devout Buddhist. In the mid seventh century when he travelled in Central Asian, or the Tarim basin is a vast repository of Buddhist art and iconography. For several centuries it was not only the centre, but a highway of Buddhism. It was mainly through this region that heart and thought of India travelled to China. This was due to the fact that all the important trade routes connecting India and several other countries with China conveyed at the Tarim basin which thus became a meeting place of various cultures. The Buddhist remains of the region comprise a vast number of caves, stupas, temples and fresco-paintings. These belong to various periods and contain images of a large number of gods and goddesses of the Buddhist pantheon. Among other objects of interest discovered here are a number of letters and documents written in Pali, Sanskrit, Tocharian, Sogdian, Khotnese, Chinese and other languages and several Buddhist texts of great importance, such as the Dhammapada, Udanavarga, the Sarvastivada work and the Seriputraprakaramaya, the drama by Asvaghosa. The Chinese pilgrims give interesting accounts of the Hinayana and Mahayana Buddhism as practised here. (The way of the Buddha, 2500th Buddha Jayanti Publication, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Government of India. Pg.320). The Chinese travalopogue of Bhikkhu Hieun Tsang is translated into English by Samuel Beal under the title Buddhist Records of the Buddhist world. Indian publisher Motilal Banarsidass has printed and published these records in two volumes. Bhikkhu Hieun Tsang describes the fantastic Buddha statue in the parinibbana posture one thousand feet long, never seen before anywhere else, in a monastery to the East of Bamiyan. In this mid seventh century, the whole of Central Asia was Buddhist which made Indian historians to introduce Asia as "The Buddhakshetra - the Dominion of the Buddha." The visiting Chinese pilgrim travelled far and wide with the royal patronage provided by the King and his people who are all zealous Buddhists. Visiting hundreds of monasteries in Turfan, Kashgar, Kucha and Bactria where he enjoyed the Kindness and hospitality of thousands of residing Bhikkhus and their lay supporters. According to Bhikkhu Fa-shien, who travelled in the area in 630 ACE before Hiuen Tsaug, Fa-shien records of a large number of monasteries with about 3000 (Three thousand) Bhikkhus. He found Buddhism ever more flourshing in Afghanistan. In Bamiyan there were ten monasteries with several thousand resident bhikkhus. He also mentions of the two giant Buddha statues (destroyed by the Taliban fanatics in March 2001) carved out of sandstone cliff of a mountain in the area. In Kapisa, Hiuen Tsang rewards of one hundred monasteries with about six thousand bhikkhus. There were similar large number of monasteries and large assemblies of resident bhikkhus in other villages, cities and towns of Afghanistan. Besides the colossal statues of the Buddha in standing and reclining postures Afghanistan's Kandahar province has still other link to India's Kalinga Kingdom and through Kalivga to Sri Lanka. Akhil K-Sahoo, the Editor of "The Kalinga" (Vol-1, issue IV) refers to a stone insusption from Kabul Museum which reveals that in 83rd year ruling Puspaura ancient Puskalavati which is the same place called Ranagin in the preast Orissa State, as evidences presently shown in multiple forms. Sahoo states Bhikkhu Kshemendra gave the sacred Tooth Relic to the then King Brahmadutta. Though Bhikkhu Kshemendra's lineage is untraceable it is the common belief that the Sacred Tooth Relic came to Kalinga from Kandahar or the present Afghanistan. The story of the Sacred Tooth Relic gives ample testimony to the close and cordial relationship Kalinga had with Kabul or the then Gandhar. Much is yet to be thrown into light as Orissa's Buddhist tradition and culture is unique in many respects. Puspagiri Vihara and visit to the Vihara by Chinese travellers are itself points to this direction. Kalinga's direct relation with Kabul, Tibet China Myanmar Sri Lanka and Indonesia are not limited to trading only. It shares a cultural commonality which is now forgotten and unattended to." adds Sahoo. The location of the world's largest statue of the Buddha 1100 feet long carved out of rock in the Buddhist Kingdom of Afghanistan bears eloquent testimony to the afflorescence of Buddhism in that country and true devotion of the people and the zeal of the rulers. The excavation of this marvellous movement of homage until the re-construction of the two giant statues of the Buddha 185 feet and 153 feet tall will pave the way for Afghanistan to restore peace and prosperity. ======================= The practice of compassion by A. G. S. Kariyawasam
It is hence an important social virtue the practice of which could be extended to embrace sufferers not only of the human but of the animal world as well. Thus in Buddhism this concept primarily means the desire to remove the suffering or the unhappiness of others. It makes the good people's hearts to be moved when they witness the pain and grief of others. Genuine compassion finds it impossible to bear the suffering of others because its proximate cause is identifying the helplessness of those overwhelmed by it and it succeeds only when the painful situation has subsided. As a lovely phase of character, it gives tone and quality to the complex of virtue in general. In Buddhism this concept has two main aspects. First, as a desirable quality in human character, it is meant to regulate our attitude to other people. This mundane aspect of compassion is developed into a semi-transcendental level in the theory of the four divine abodes or brahma viharas, of which compassion occupies the second place. Secondly it has its purely transcendental analogue in what is designated as "great or grand compassion" (maha karuna) found only in released saints like Buddhas. It is the superior kind and is super individual in scope and covers all beings in their entirety, as a sign of the infinite goodness of those saintly personages. It "seeketh not its own" and hence is the outcome of coming into contact with the acme of spiritual reality. Cleansed of individualised exclusiveness, it becomes unlimited in pervasiveness (appamana). If compassion is the desire to relieve the suffering of others, the best way to do so would be to lead them to the freedom of Nibbana and hence it is this kind of compassion that makes the concept truly meaningful. This latter kind of compassion is shown towards a person in distress by one who is free from it for which reason its giver becomes the recipient's superior. The Buddhas rank foremost as belonging to this superior role, for they have solved this problem of suffering for good and become the compassionate ones par excellence. As all samsaric beings are entitled to be benefitted from this sentiment without discrimination the Mahayanic Bodhisattvas are represented as postponing their own salvation till all suffering beings have achieved theirs! This compassion has a mundane side as well when worldly leaders like kings exercise it towards their subjects. It would violate Buddhist ethics if rulers were to be unkind and merciless towards their subjects. The example of Emperor Asoka who was moved with compassion at the horrors which the battlefield displayed is a good case in point. It grew out of the misfortune and misery of those who suffered in battle. This is the aspect of compassion most commonly found in society. People who are spiritually superior to others are in a position to help them out of compassion, for it is natural that the sight of helpless suffering, which is so common in society, induces this sentiment in those who witness it. Those who are more fortunate than others in any aspect of life such as wealth, education, power etc, give expression to their feelings of compassion in diverse ways. It may be individually or collectively through charitable organisations. Even the concept of the welfare state is philosophically based on this altruism. Compassion is thus a virtue that can find expression in a myriad ways depending on the particular case that needs it. It may take the form of some material assistance or some such help. This kind is quite common in day-to-day society. While they constitute a normal feature in one's social dealings they become specially prominent in the religious sphere. To whatever field it belongs, whether transcendental as in the case of the Buddhas or mundane as in the case of Asoka, compassion is a beautiful virtue the presence of which ennobles the social order. It finds altruistic delight and comfort in relieving the suffering of others. It has been and shall be a motive force behind many a charitable and philanthropic activity. Buddhism teaches the necessity and the method of improving the sentiment of compassion from the mundane to the sublime level of mahakaruna by becoming released and enlightened and thereafter, as persons who have conquered the ego, of working for the welfare of others, fully aware of the ideal they seek. This, in fact, is the foundation on which the Buddha established His missionary project when He sent out the first sixty arhants to work for the "weal and welfare of gods and men". Although compassion in its most ordinary form referred to earlier also serves humanity in its own right, it is far inferior to this ideal of mahakaruna. People who work with the former type are normal worldlings not freed from the diverse ties that bind them to society. Consequently, they cannot act dispassionately and selflessly. Being worldlings their wisdom too is not fully matured. Hence they are bound to be selfish and partial and are prone to go amiss in the regulation of their relations with others. In our attempt to comprehend this category of compassion, the Buddha's words to His first group of sixty arhant disciples are quite revealing. Here the Buddha says "I, bhikkhus, am freed from all bonds, both divine and human and you too are freed from all bonds, both divine and human: walk on tour, bhikkhus, for the welfare of the masses, for the happiness of the masses, out of compassion for the world for the blessing, the welfare, the happiness of gods and humans: let not two go by the same way: teach the dhamma, which is lovely in the beginning, lovely in the middle, lovely in the end, endowed with the spirit and the letter and is comprehensive: proclaim the higher life that is wholly pure": Vin I.pp.20-21). This significant passage epitomises the philosophical basis of the practice of compassion as understood in Buddhism. Genuine compassion results from the achievement of freedom and enlightenment, which have to be achieved through a struggle aloof from society. Gautama Buddha achieved it not while engaged in social work but by going through a lonely spiritual struggle. For released saints like Him compassion becomes more or less the only motivation for action. Even the least tinge of self interest is absent in it. As all cannot achieve this ideal it would be desirable that those who take to social service be motivated by a certain degree of enlightened compassion. In this connection the following words of Milarepa, the Tibetan saint of the 11th century, may be quoted here: "One should not be over-anxious and hasty in setting out to serve others before one has oneself realised the truth in its fullness: to do so would be like the blind leading the blind. As long as the sky endures so long will there be no end of sentient beings for one to serve and to everyone comes the opportunity for such service. Till the opportunity comes, I exhort each of you to have but one resolve, namely, to attain Buddhahood for the good of all living beings". (As quoted by Edward Conze in his Thirty Years of Buddhist Studies, 1967, p.59). The concept of compassion has also been used as a means of mental development under the theory of the 'divine abodes' or brahmavihara, which are four in number. These are loving kindness or metta, compassion or karuna, sympathetic joy or mudita and poise or equanimity or upekkha. These are given as mental freedoms (ceto-vimutti), the cultivation of which are said to result either in birth in a brahma-world or in the realisation of various stages of sainthood. The theme of this exercise is pervading all the directions with compassion (when karuna is selected as the meditation subject) so that it embraces everything and becomes infinite (appamana: visuddhimagge IX 110). Thus it is an exercise intended to make boundless and well-developed the heart that is usually petty and circumscribed and hence undeveloped. Its constant practice would facilitate one's progress towards ultimate freedom. How it should be practised as a bhavana is given in great detail by Buddhaghosa in the 9th chapter of his Visuddhimagga. THE VESAK MOON by Andrew Scott Oft have I seen the Vesak moon So calm and serene she looks The ever radiant Vesak moon The Vesak moon rises over Lanka's hills and plains The sublime message ====================== Buddhism- birth, death and rebecoming by David Alponsu The doctrine and belief in rebecoming/rebirth/reincarnation is as old as the human race. But, it has hitherto remained confined to the great religious systems of mankind. Men believed it on trusting their scriptural records. The great saints and sages of religions who had developed supranormal powers were said to have recalled the memories of their former lives as well as the lives of their disciples. Nay, the Buddhist classics record the future births of laymen and disciples and also future Buddhas! Ancient Egyptians intensely believed in reincarnation. Hence, they preserved their important dead in great Pyramids, hoping that their departed souls will some day return again into their mummified bodies. Their 'Book of the Dead' gives a detailed account of the journey of the departing souls seeking reincarnation. The Tibetans too have their 'Book of the Dead (Bardo Thordal) which gives a highly thought provoking account of how life departs from this end and seeks rebecoming elsewhere in direct conformity to the laws of karma. The ancient Greeks themselves were believers in reincarnation. Homer's Odyssey is replete with references to afterlife experiences of their heroes. pythagoras the great Mathematician was a believer of this teaching. India the home of religions and philosophy held this belief from time immemorial. All lands that came within the ambit of Indian cultural influence accepted this teaching in great veneration and respect. Thus we see the East regarding rebirth or reincarnation as an axiomatic truth. Eastern idiom of speech, customs and livelihood, ethics and charitable activities are all oriented in keeping with the view of an afterlife here on planet Earth or in some other happy sphere or some other dimension in this boundless universe. In this part of the globe when a little child wantonly tries to destroy the life of even an insect the parents would immediately check him crying 'Ha, ha, don't do that, you'll be born in hell' and in making a donation the donor mentally wishes that he be reborn in a better state with greater affluence. This doctrine which holds worldwide recognition lost its grip in Europe during its dark ages when learning came to a low ebb with the decline of Greek civilisation. And we find in the sixteenth century of our era a council held at Constantinople banning the doctrine of reincarnation as a heresay. Truth never remains suppressed forever, with the advancement of learning and communication, findings and reporting from every quarter of the globe keep on coming, of children and adults born among various faiths and nationalities recalling memories of their past lives. Prince Siddhartha was spending six long years in the Himalayan glades engaged in rigorous yogic practices (attakhilamathanu yoga) after abandoning the yoga of sensual pleasures (kamasukhallikanu yoga) he had experienced in the Royal palace as heir apparent to the Sakyan throne. His life's mission was not to be a ruler of men but to be the unfailing guide to men and gods caught up in the endless whirlpool of samsara, full of miseries and repeated rebecomings. It was on a Vesak full-moon day 2546 years ago, he decided to practise the Middle Path (majjhimapatipada) between the two aforesaid extreme yogic paths. While meditating under the great Bodhi Tree at Gaya (thenceforth came to be known as Buddha Gaya) that knowledge began to dawn upon him. Mahavagga Pali a Tripitaka text records, that in the first watch of the Vesak night, His mind was so purified by the practise of Anapana-sati mediation he could realise the knowledge and vision of his previous rebecomings 'pubbenivasanussati nana,; in the second watch of the night he gained knowledge and vision of the rebecomings of all other life forms in the universe 'cutuuppada nana' Thus it was an experiment verified on himself and others. Here we see that the first two knowledges gained by meditating ascetic Siddhartha were mainly on rebecoming, the repeated ordeal all living beings have to endure. It is on account of this fact, the Buddha on many later occasions emphatically declared that existence in samsara is not to be praised even for the brief time taken to snap with the fingers. Then in the last watch of the night as the Sun rose in the Eastern horizon, he developed the knowledge of eradicating all mental taints (asavakkhaya nana) which is non other than the Noble Eightfold Path He enunciated in the famous Dhammacakka Pavattana Sutta S.11.5859 the maiden discourse made two months later on the Esala (June) Full-moon day to the five ascetics who were his co-partners in his search of the Path of Nirvana. Immediately with the discovery of this Path under the Bodhi Tree, Prince Siddhartha became the Perfectly Enlightened Buddha of our era, the fourth Buddha of this Most Glorious World Cycle (Maha Bhadra Kalpa) destined to produce five Buddhas. The fifth Buddha to come will be Buddha Maitry. The Buddha had declared that certain kalpas get only a single Buddha while many more kalpas pass away without producing even a single Buddha ! A kalpa is an immense period of time reckoned in cosmic years. Instantaneously on achieving Buddhahood a paean of joy excaped from his lips which runs in the beautiful Pali language as - 'Aneka jati samsaram sandhavissam anibbisam "Many a birth in samsara I have run after Thus we see the cardinal point in the Buddha's great discovery is centred on the problem of making an end of rebecoming. Our modern world is fortunate to receive knowledge of rebecoming through three important sources. One is by psychic readings of those having clairvoyant powers as shown by ancient sages and modern mystics like Edga Cacy of America. Secondly by children and adults who themselves recall and relate their former lives. The third and most important is through hypnotic age regression technique - a process by which a hypnotised person is made to divulge his memories beyond birth and may continue to run on for several past births. This technique is most promising. Researches in para-psychology all over the world have hit upon irrefutable data on rebecoming by using this technique. Along with rebecoming its corollary the doctrine of Karma has to be taken into account. Karma in the words of the Buddha is nothing but the power of thought (cetanaham Bhikkhave karmam vadami). All living beings are constantly engaged in accumulating thoughts of lust, aversion and delusion and the sum total of these thought accumulations model the personality of an individual. Hence, there is no soul to animate a body. This is the teaching of Anatta often emphasised by the Buddha. The mind purified by Morality (sila), Concentration (samadhi) and Wisdom (panna) reaches its most purified level - the Bodhi-Chitta (The Enlightenment Level of the Mind). The result is the realisation of Nirvana as a living experience. The fortunate realiser of this Great Goal, the Arahant is one with the All Luminious, All Pervading, Eternal, Blissful Nirvana (see Udana VIII.1). One might wonder how Buddhism (which teaches a doctrine of no-soul) advocates this teaching of rebecoming. Rebirth or Reincarnation implies the existence of an individual soul. According to Buddhist psychology (abhidhamma) this notion is a fallacy. Hence, rebecoming is the correct terminology for this phenomena. As such, it is the last thought process of a dying person (cuti-citta) that determines the re-linking consciousness (Patisandhi-citta) that commences a fresh life-process (jati). Science knows that all energy forms in the universe activate in wave motion. Thought being a super energy is no exception to this principle and the Buddha anticipated its wave motion two an a half millennia before modern science. He has taught that each thought unit a living organism generates has three characteristics viz. arising (uppada), momentary stability (thithi) and dissolution (bhanga). This triple activity of a though unit vibrates at an enormous rapidity and is taught as 17 times faster than the speed of light! Each dying thought wave transfers all its accumulated knowledge consisting of wholesome (kusala) and unwholesome (akusala) karmas following its wake from the deep recesses of Samsara together with its most immediate accretions to the next immediate uprising thought wave. This process is bound to continue as long as a person is wandering in samsara in any of the 31 planes of existences. As a firebrand when waved around shows a circle of fire, the Buddha has explained the existence of any living being or non-living substance is an illusion. A modern analogy is a vision we see on a TV screen. (We have to note that the Buddha has refrained from using modern terms as waves and vibrations, which would have been Greek to his common listeners of the 6th century BC). The reborn child is neither the dead person nor an another (na ca so na ca anno) but a continuation of him now developing a fresh physical body; just as an infant is not the teenager, the youth or the old man about to die. In addition the five Niyama dharmas taught in the Abhidhamma philosophy begins to activate on the new born child modifying its physical and mental make up in unison with past samsaric karmas. All life forms and all matter in the universe are transient (anicca), unsatisfactory (dukkha) and Soulless (Anatta). Now it is worthwhile to discern what implications reincarnation psychology hold for the modern world and how Buddhist teachings shed a flood of light into this already opened field of scientific investigation. Investigators in this field are fully convinced of the effect of karma in fashioning the afterlife of individuals in the areas of skills, aptitudes and their behaviour to social situations and research data have already shown and that even the appearance of physical features of individuals, deformities and birthmarks have been determined by previous karma. Reincarnation psychology is a promising field for the discernment of mental defects, incurable physical maladies, child delinquency, criminal tendencies, child prodigies, imbecility, love, sexual maladjustments and a host of such complexes. It stands as a pointer to the vanity of racial, national and religious prejudices breeding wars and racial conflicts, as already available data have confirmed that test subjects have confessed that they have been born into various racial and religious denominations in their previous lives. The day is not far, for para psychology departments in the great universities to open reincarnation therapy clinics to prepare individuals in the art of dying and perhaps to handle cases needing euthanasia to win a better afterlife. This in turn is not foreign to Buddhism for the Tibetan Mahayana Buddhist works like the 'Book of the Dead' have stood true to this concept. ====================== Some notes on meditation by Dr. Kingsley Heendeniya I have thought of writing some notes on meditation from my own study and experience of meditation (bhavana) as taught by the Buddha in the Satipattana Sutta. A characteristic of the Teaching, as the Buddha declares, is that it is leading (opanayko). This Sutta for example, led me to others such as Anapanasati, Maharahulovadi, Kayagatasati, Cularahulovadi, Chachakka, Sammaditthi, Mahakaccanabhaddekaratta and the Mahasunnata Suttas, not necessarily in that order. That is to say, knowledge, understanding and grasp of Dhamma is a pre-requisite to meditation. The practice is not a prerogative of the Dhamma. It is more than 3000 years old, pre-Budhistic. The Buddha learnt anapanasati or mindfulness of in-and-out-breathing from two foremost masters of meditation in his time. Serenity meditation (samatha) to gain concentration (samadhi) was well known and practised by many Indians before, after and at the time of the Buddha. Variations of the technique are taught in many faiths such as Hinduism, Christianity and Islam. And anyone can obtain the 'spin-off' effects from all forms of meditation. For example, it can make you a better person - calm, composed, tolerant, understanding, perceptive etc. But the aim of the Buddha is different. It is unique. At the end of many discourses to bhikkhus and disciples in higher training (sekha), the Buddha advices, 'There are these roots of trees, these empty huts, meditate, do not delay or else you will regret later. This is our instruction to you'. Why did Buddha urge training and development of mindfulness (sati) and full awareness (sampajanna)? What is the point of it? If the aim of samatha is one-pointed concentration, why is simultaneous insight (vipassana) not mutually contradictory? The Buddha delivered the Satipattana Sutta to a group of bhikkhus, probably when he was young, in a town thought to be near modern Delhi. He said, 'this is the direct path for the purification of beings" (ekanayo magga). It is not an alternate or short cut to the Noble Eightfold Path. It includes it. In this vivid discourse, the Buddha outlines the way mindfulness is developed as the basis for progress to attain the only purpose of bhavana. He assures, from His own experience, 'final knowledge here and now, or if there is a trace of clinging (upadana) left, non-return' (anagami-phala) if it is developed in seven days, least. The only purpose of Buddhist meditation is to develop wisdom (panna). The purpose of wisdom, says Sariputta, 'is direct knowledge (abhinna). Its purpose is full understanding (parinna), and its purpose is abandoning (panaha)'. This finality is achieved only by an arahant. Direct knowledge, or seeing things as they are (yatha bhutha nana) occurs only when one finally ceases to conceive a person (sakkaya), a self (atta) and escape the trap of the deception of the deception of 'I or me' (asmimana) - when feelings, perceptions and consciousness are stilled. The penultimate stage the Buddha says, is reached when "On that occasion, he feels only feelings that is free from affliction. The highest gratification in the case of feelings is freedom from affliction, I say'. This is dispassion (viraga) before final liberation (vimukti). Of eight objects of meditation, achieving dispassion was the first advice the Buddha taught his foster mother Mahaprajapati. It is evident that attainment in Buddhist meditation is enormously difficult, requiring relentless effort (appamada). It is founded on mindfulness and built on penetration of His profound, subtle teaching. I emphasize this to correct persons from regarding the teaching as simple and easy to understand and realize that occasional, poya day, episodic 'ten-day retreats' in meditation are futile, except perhaps help, may be, a future 'good' birth. Nanavira Thera, in the preface to his book 'Notes on Dhamma' writes thus: 'Only in a vertical view, straight down into the abyss of his own personal existence, is a man capable of apprehending the perilous insecurity of his situation; and only a man who does apprehend this is prepared to listen the Buddha's Teaching'. The Buddha says, 'I teach the Dhamma to the one who feels'. The entirety of the core teaching is about affect, about conditions or determinations (sankhara), about arising and cessation, about abandoning. It is necessary to ask ourselves, in the privacy and honesty of our inner ourselves: Why am I a Buddhist? What do I expect to get out of the Dhamma? Why do I want to meditate? What do I expect from it? Breathing is one of many actions, a determination (sankhara), that is determined by our body (kayasankhara) internally, which body, according to the Buddha is basically composed of earth, water, fire, air and space (mahabhutha). This is matter (rupa). It is the same as earth, water, fire and air externally (in the world around us). Note that here as elsewhere, the Buddha is never concerned with the particular. The teaching is about the general feature or the underlying condition or tendency (anusaya) of phenomena or things (dhamma)]. Matter or rupa cannot, by itself, be said to exist. Because of consciousness (vinnana), rupa presents to our consciousness by its behavior - as earthy, watery, fiery, airy. The appearance of rupa is 'how it is', its name or designation or nama. Conversely, the behavior of nama is rupa. The Buddha, it is relevant to keep constantly in mind, was never concerned to analyze the 'what' or 'why' of things. The Dhamma is a description of phenomena, the 'how' of things. Says the Buddha, 'Rather it is in this fathom long carcass with its perceptions and its mind that I describe the world, the origin of the world, the cessation of the world and the way leading to the cessation of the world'. He regarded the 'why' of things - unlike in science - irrelevant to the present problem, namely, of existence itself. The only justifiable reason for our existence he taught is to strive to cease to exist. The Satipattana Sutta opens with the advice to put aside covetousness or desire or lust for the world. He then immediately warns, put away also grief or despair for the world. Why worry about the outside world? You have a problem. The world is how it is. Worry only of your problem - the impermanence (aniccata) of all determinations (sankhara) and of pervasive suffering (dukkha). Next, He insists that meditation should be done ardently, with full awareness (sampajanna) and mindfulness (sati). The whole point of being fully aware is to be in the present through reflexion. Note the spelling. Reflexion is satisampajanna. Reflection is thinking, contemplation, discursive. Reflexion is recursive, orderly, step by step. In reflexion, the thing that is present, the idea or image of an idea is present in consciousness twice. Reflexion includes reflection - not vice versa. When breathing is felt and the in an out movements are perceived as such, it is reflexion. A feeling (vedana) is not perceived nor is perception (sanna) felt. A feeling or perception is present, is cognized. Consciousness is presence of something. It is not possible to be conscious of consciousness (vinnana). What is perceived or felt is nama or appearance of the behavior of matter. Likewise, the position of the body, whether walking, standing, seated, lying down or in any position or movement as in gesticulating, eating, drinking, defecating etc is brought into focus by reflexion. This is full awareness. Everything is done with complete mindfulness and awareness, including day dreaming, fantasizing, thinking, idea formatting or perception of nothing. In other words, the aim of mindfulness is to train to always be in the present. With practice, it becomes automatic. We shall live in the present. The present is the only certainty about anything. Listen to the Buddha and memorize the following verse in a Sutta describing 'A single excellent night': - 'Let not a person revive the past The Satipattana Sutta is developed into a deep, profound, all pervading treatise based on four main parts: mindfulness of the body merely as a body (kayanupassana), mindfulness of the feelings merely as feelings (vedananupassana), mindfulness of the mind merely as mind (cittanupassana) and mindfulness of mind-objects as mind-objects (dhammanupassana). The Buddha surveys the general nature of every single phenomena of existence, with special emphasis on the factors leading to enlightenment. It is a vast thesis to be comprehended in full, in stages, depending on ability. The theme running through is to be in the present moment, whenever, whether sitting cross-legged or running or engaged in anything. The entire process is best developed when you are in a state of serenity (samatha) and the mind is intensely focussed or concentrated (samadhi). Anapanasati is one of several ways to achieve this and it is probably the best. It is the method the Buddha taught his son. He told him, ' Rahula, that is how mindfulness of breathing is developed and cultivated, so that it is of great fruit and great benefit. When mindfulness of breathing is developed and cultivated in this way, even the final in-breaths and out-breaths are known as they cease, not unknown'. Most persons, when meditating seem to have grievously misunderstood means and ends. Achaan Chah, the renowned Thai meditation master says there is no conflict between samatha and vipassana meditation. It is like lifting a log when both ends come up together. He says, do not be attached to words. The Buddha warns about learning Dhamma 'but having learned the Dhamma, they do not examine the meaning of those teachings with wisdom. Instead they learn the Dhamma only for the sake of criticizing others and for winning debates, and they do not experience the good for the sake of which they learned the Dhamma. Those teachings, being wrongly grasped (like the wrong end of a serpent), conduce to their harm and suffering for a long time'. In the Anapanasati Sutta he says, ' Bhikkhus, on whatever occasion a bhikkhu, breathing in long, understands: 'I breathe in long'....this is a certain body among the bodies, namely in-breathing and out-breathing...this is a certain feeling among feelings....I shall breathe in experiencing the mind...I shall breathe in contemplating fading away...contemplating cessation....investigates and examines that state with wisdom and embarks on a full inquiry into it... On whatever occasion unremitting mindfulness is established.... fulfils the four foundations of mindfulness...developed and cultivated fulfil true knowledge and deliverance'. Meditation should not be confined to a special day or occasion. There is no need to slow down everything, wear a pious, vacant, affected, stupid, solemn face and walk as if on eggshells like a zombie. The Buddha says, when meditating, you should abandon memories and intentions of household life. Seclusion is sine qua non. As disciples of the Teacher who lives in seclusion, he says, one should train in seclusion. Later, it is possible to be alone even in a crowd. 'Bhikkhus when ignorance is abandoned and true knowledge has arisen in a bhikkhu, he no longer clings to sensual pleasures, no longer clings to views, no longer clings to rules and observances, no longer clings to a doctrine of self... He understands: Birth is destroyed, the holy life has been lived, what had to be done has been done, there is no more coming to a state of being'. It takes strong, correct motivation to meditate. To practice the Dhamma is to meditate on the Dhamma. Though the final end is remote, the result the Buddha says is immediate (sandittiko, akaliko). Thus, Nanavira Thera writes, for ordinary house-bound puthajjanas, untrained persons, like most of us, the objective firstly, is to cease to be one. ====================== Vesak, the day The Birth
Six-hundred and twenty-four years "Aggo hamasmi lokassa The mother and baby went back again, The Enlightenment
It was Vesak the full moon high, 'Devas' from heavenly abodes above, The majestic 'Esatu' noblest of trees, During a period of "Asenkheyya" four, From the first watch of the holy night Gotama the Buddha - light impeccable, Having attained Enlightenment, "Anekajati samsaram His paean of joy: The 'Parinibbana'
"Parts of my body are falling apart, To a popular vihara at Pava he came, Cunda invited the Buddha to stay, It proved well that even the body, Reached Upavattana 'mong sala trees, Buddha addressed the bhikkhus that day, "Handadani bhikkhave amantayami vo ======================= There is hope for man only in man "Pull not the arrow out of my body, medicine to apply, First things come first, know then, should you seriously, care, In a Buddhist way of life, the path is crystal clear, From moment to moment everything changes, nothing remaining the same, In Buddhism, what one has to know and do, is easy to explain, Sorrow being the most distressing thing, to reckon with life, Take for instance a seed, however small it may appear, As much as the seed fulfilleth its purpose, let it be yours too, ========================= The Buddhist Way The day of Vesak The Noble Eight Fold Path Mind is the source of good and evil Loving kindness and Respect for life In an era of global change ======================== Direct Knowledge (From the Bhayabherava Sutta of the Majjhima Nikaya) With unceasing mindfulness, The stilling of thought, consciously processed, Now passing beyond joy and sorrow, pleasure and pain, This true sequence of the Past, Thus in the second watch of the night, I have direct knowledge of suffering as it actually is, This realization came in the third watch of the night =========================== A quarrel among brethren Oh, happily let us live! This religious instruction was given by the Teacher while he was in residence among the Sakiyas with reference to the cessation of a quarrel among kinsmen. The story goes that the Sakiyas and the Koliyas caused the waters of the river Rohini to be confined by a single dam between the city of Kapilavatthu and the city of Koliya, and cultivated the fields on both sides of the river. Now in the month Jetthamula the crops began to droop, whereupon the labourers employed by the residents of both cities assembled, said the residents of the city of Koliya. "If this water is diverted to both sides of the river, there will not be enough both for you and for us too. But our crops will ripen with a single watering. Therefore let us have the water." The Sakiyas replied. "After you have filled your storehouses, we shall not have the heart to take ruddy gold and emeralds and black pennies, and baskets and sacks in our hands, go from house to house seeking favours at your hands. Our crops also will ripen with a single watering. Therefore let us have this water," "We will not give it to you." "Neither will we give it to you." Talk waxed bitter, until finally one arose and struck another a blow. The other returned the blow and a general fight ensured, the combatants making matters worse by aspersions on the origin of the two royal families. Said the labourers employed by the Koliyas. "You who live in the city of Kapilavatthu, take your children and go where you belong. Are we likely to suffer harm from the elephants and horses and shields and weapons of those who, like dogs and jackals, have cohabited with their own sisters?" The labourers employed by the Sakiyas replied. "You lepers, take your children and go where you belong. Are we likely to suffer harm from the elephants and horses and shields and weapons of destitute outcasts who have lived in jujube-trees like animals?" Both parties of labourers went and reported the quarrel to the ministers who had charge of the work, and the ministers reported the matter to the royal households. Thereupon the Sakiyas came forth armed for battle and cried out. "We will show what strength and power belong to those who have cohabited with their sisters." Likewise the Koliyas came forth armed for battle and cried out. "We will show what strength and power belong to those who dwell in jujube-trees." As the Teacher surveyed the world at dawn and beheld his kinsmen, he thought to himself, If I refrain from going to them, these men will destroy each other. It is clearly my duty to go to them." Accordingly he flew through the air quite alone to the spot where his kinsmen were gathered together, and seated himself cross-legged in the air over the middle of the river Rohini. When the Teacher's kinsmen saw the Teacher, they threw away their weapons and did reverence to him. Said the Teacher to his kinsmen, "What is all this quarrel about great king?" "The viceroy would be likely to know. "Thus the Teacher put the question first to one and then to another, asking the slave-labourers last of all. The slave-labourers replied, "The quarrel is about water, Reverend Sir." "It is not fitting that because of a little water you should destroy Khattiyas who are beyond price." They were silent. Then the teacher addressed them and said, "Great kings, why do you act in this manner? Were I not here present today, you would set flowing a river of blood. You have acted in a most unbecoming manner. You live in enmity, indulging in the five kinds of hatred. I live free from hatred. You live afflicted with the sickness of the evil passions. I live free from disease. You live in eager pursuit of the five kinds of sensual pleasure. I live free from the eager pursuit of aught." So saying, he pronounced the following stanzas: Oh, happily let us live! free from hatred, among those who hate; Among men who hate, let us live free from hatred. Oh, happily let us live! free from disease, among those who are afflicted with disease. Among men who are afflicted with disease, let us live free from disease. Oh, happily let us live! free from longing, among those who are possessed with longing; Among those who are possessed with longing, let us live free from longing. ========================= Why haven't we realised that we create by Lankika de Livera Buddhism is called a doctrine of Analysis. In this religion we can see the scientific and psychological analysis of mind and matter, which modern thinkers can appreciate. The Buddha never asked anyone to accept the doctrine through blind faith or emotion. Also we do not expect good or bad to happen to us somewhere else, after our deaths. Our good or bad actions (Karma) manifest it with appropriate reactions and the result of our good or bad actions are experienced in this lifetime itself. Hence heavenly bliss or Nibbanic bliss can be experienced in this lifetime itself. To be a good or practising Buddhist, we have to have a lot of discipline. As it requires restraint and self-control. Especially mind control. It is a doctrine, which teaches us mind culture and positivisms, although some have cast remarks that it is a doctrine of doom. It is just that they have not understood that Buddhists believe in living in the present and that we alone create our own hell or heaven by our thoughts and actions. This is a doctrine, which teaches us scientifically, that every action has a reaction. It does not talk of the presence of a demon or devil, which threatens to throttle us with its powers. It is a doctrine that teaches us that we are responsible for the kind of life we lead to this birth as well as in the births to come. Our past births and our omissions or commissions have given rise to who we are and the conditions we are in this birth. What we do in this birth will determine what our future lives would be. It is a positive doctrine as it shows that you are the master of your own destiny to a great extent. Doing good could uplift your life while doing bad will make you suffer in this life itself. The Buddha always showed the beneficial results of being good. Like as we were going through our school career, if we work hard to study the Dhamma carefully throughout our learning process, we gain not only mentally but materially as well in time to come. The same applies to the manner in which we conduct our lives. Life is a battle to overcome the bad. In all our problems that everyone faces during a lifetime, we can find the solution only if we analyse the root cause and treat the root cause which caused the problem. Sometimes we don't analyse deep enough to realise the real cause to a problem before eradicating it. Hence the problems persist or become worse. At this point it is beneficial if we bear in mind that the Buddha postulated the Four Noble Truths. . Suffering Together with wholesome thoughts such as Meththa, Karuna, Muditha and Upeksha - which is collectively called the Four High Abodes - that of * Compassion, * Loving Kindness, * Sympathetic, appreciative or altruistic joy (Happiness in another's welfare or sorrow - having a balanced mind) and Equanimity (whether at times of joy or sorrow - be tranquil and calm and composed, even at a death). Then there are the Five Hindrances that prevent our goodness and we have to be mindful and overcome these hindrances, which are:- . Lustful desires, The Buddha postulated that the three things we had to guard deligently was the mind, body and speech. These were called the three doors or avenues through which we could do good or bad. Through which one could enter and proceed towards good or evil, beginning with the mind. Thus we had to be aware of thoughts both pleasant and unpleasant, which come to the mind. The Buddha has cultivated the 10 paramis - life after life before attaining enlightenment. We too could make up our minds to follow in His footsteps as closer as we can get to these Ten Paramis. They are:- . Dana (Liberality) As a Teacher by example, the Buddha radiated His infinite compassion towards all suffering living beings, to lead their deluded mind to enlightenment. The Buddha has shown that the holy ones, regardless of religious persuasion could only be found within the Noble Eightfold Path and not outside it. The Noble Eight-fold Path as we know is:- - Right Understanding With mind as the forerunner of the world, the Buddha had demonstrated by his own human effort that the holy life could be lived independent of any divine inspiration. 'By one's self is evil done and by one's self is one defiled. By one's self is evil left undone and by one's self is one purified. Purity and impurity depend on one's self - No one can purify another". As an embodiment of all that is virtuous, the Buddha is an embodiment of perfection for every human being to emulate. It is said that devotees could benefit greatly when they recall the Buddha to the mind. When the mind is concentrated on the virtues of the Buddha, all mental disturbances such as worry, anxiety and fear of death would disappear. There are also the three defilements of the mind (Klesha) At the root or base of all evils are these three factors, which are:- . Lust or craving "Thus Nibbana is a "state" realisable in this very life. (Diththa Dhamma - Nibbana). The thinker, the inquiring mind will not find it difficult to understand this state which can be postulated only of the Arahat and not of any other being whether in this world or in the realm of heavenly enjoyment. Hence the need for man to scrutinise his own mind with a view to understanding how the human mind works, how thoughts arise and pass away"...The Late Venerable Piyadassi Thera From the Sigalovada Suthra there are a few stanzas that I would like to draw the attention of those who read this article. The Buddha has stated that there are four ways in which a Buddhist could abstain from committing sinful actions. They are: 1. Led by desire to injustice, he will not commits sin In some of the other parts of the Sigalovada Suthra the Buddha has enumerated the following as some caused for the downfall of man. They include sleeping till sunrise, addiction to libidinousness (Urge for sex), malevolence (rejoicing in another's misfortune), engendering anger like a serpent assailed with a rod, association with disreputable companions, niggardliness (stinginess), one who has disreputable companions, who is enviousness of another's welfare, who frequents places which afford encouragement to the commission of sins, addiction to intoxicating drinks, gambling. The Buddha also talked of managing personal finances in the case of laypersons. Out of the wealth gained judiciously and through hard work - he should divide his income into four parts. * Set aside one part for sustenance * 2 parts should be invested in business such as agriculture or trade * One part to be securely set aside to be utilised in misfortune such as sickness or any other calamity (We could think of this as investing in an insurance policy). As some of us may already know, in the Sigalovada Suthra - The Buddha has also enumerated the duties of husband to wife, wife to husband, parents to children and children to parents, Teacher to Pupil and Pupil to Teacher, Master to Servants and Servants to Master, Laymen to Monks and Monks to Laymen. In Buddhism even ethics is studied from the psychological point of view. Thus the emphasis on right effort (Samma-vayama) explains an unmistakable language that Buddhism is not a philosophy of Pessimism, a teaching for the feeble-minded who looks at things from the most unfavourable point of view. But that it is a true Warrior's Religion. Hard it is to give-up what lures, and holds us in thrall, and hard it is to exercise the evil spirits that haunt the human heart in the shape of unwholesome thoughts. These evils are the manifestations of Lust, hate and delusion - as said earlier. Until one attains the very crest of purity. By constant training of the mind, one cannot defeat these hosts completely. The middle way, the ancient path when fully cultivated raises man from lower to higher levels of mental life. From darkness to light, from passion to dispassion. from turmoil to tranquility and finally to the supreme bliss of Nirvana. |
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Compassion or Karuna is the sentiment that inclines one to spare or
help those in distress. This sentiment occupies a significant place in
Buddhism because it is a religious philosophy and a way of life meant to
relieve human suffering. It ought to occupy an honoured place in any
religion as it is natural and proper that human suffering and misfortune
should generate compassion in fellow human beings who witness it.
