It is easy to lead a shameless life...

Easy is the life of a shameless one who is as impudent as a cow back-biting presumptuous, arrogant and corrupt. Hard is the life of a modest one who ever seeks purity, is detached humble, clean in life, and reflective. Mala Vagga - The Dhammapada.

Following Buddhist social values

BY ANDREW Scott

THOUGH it is uncertain when social values exactly came into existence there is no doubt that their beginning dates back to very early times in the history of human civilisation.

In spite of the fact that man is also an animal he differs from other animals due to his acute wisdom and other mental powers of comprehension and creative ability. He is also different from other animals due to the social values he has developed and inherited through the centuries. If there are no social values to adhere to man will fall into the level of any other animal.

Social values developed with a religious fervour form an important feature in all developed societies throughout the world. It is universally acknowledged that the Buddha was a great religious teacher who expounded several noteworthy social values for the upliftment of both the clergy and the laity.

In the Vinaya Pitaka, the importance of social values for the Sangha Society are fully explained. Firstly, He expressed the great value of respecting the elder Sangha and teachers and He always said that the younger members of the Sangha should see to every comfort of their elder priests and this is respectfully carried out to this day in our Buddhist Temples.

The Buddha also expressed that while sound Buddhist social values disciplined the Sangha these values also had a great influence on the lay society.

Throughout the centuries, the Temple formed an important component of Buddhism in Sri Lanka and Temples and the Priests were held in the highest esteem by all Buddhists. Early chronicles testify the fact that even kings removed the shoes and regalia before entering a Buddhist Shrine and this social value is religiously followed to this day both by the Sangha as well as the laity.

An important rural social value specially during the ancient times, was to pay due respect to the elders - not only of the immediate family but to any elder in the village (Gama). If an elder was seated at a higher elevation it was mandatory for those younger to him to sit at a lower elevation.

Buddhism enumerates how the children should fulfil their rights and obligations to their parents till their death and the parents blessed their children for this rightful action performed ungrudgingly. However in today's commercialised society some children do not find the time nor the economic stability to fulfil their obligations freely toward their parents.

Buddhism always encourages the social upliftment and mutual assistance to each other in all circumstances and the Buddha preached that we should not cause physical or mental pain to anyone through our ill-considered behaviour or by using harsh and unbecoming language.

This religion attached an immense value to methodology in all human activities and the Buddha stated that methodology is of paramount importance in instilling correct discipline among both the Bhikkus and the laymen.

An important facet of Pirivena and early Buddhist education was to pay Reverence to books which are held in the highest honour specially in our classical culture.

Sometimes Buddhist Books were so respected that they were taken in colourful processions with pomp and pageantry and references to such incidents are abundant in early Buddhist literature. As much as books, the student had to pay homage to the teachers who educated them and the teacher-student relationship was an inseparable life-long bond.

The husband-wife relationship was also a much looked up to human relationship which was considered unique in several aspects.

The mutual respect and understanding of the husband and wife is a commendable aspect in the philosophy of Buddhism and in many Jataka Tales, the social importance of this relationship is brought out prominently.

Buddhism guides the husband on how to provide economic support to his wife and family by engaging himself in some rightful pursuit and how he should look after the wife in prosperity and adversity, in old age and sickness.

In addition it provides useful guidance on how the wife should successfully perform her duties as a wife and mother and emphasis the fact that she should show a high degree of self discipline and self-control.

Any society that is not guided by correct social values will not progress far. Social values backed by religion are always beneficial to mankind and the social values in Sri Lanka which are mellowed by Buddhism have helped individuals and our society to discipline themselves in a world beset by many man-created social problems.

While practising religion we must strive to continue following these social values and must always be guided by them.

It is saddening to observe that in today's complex world some of these very important social values, too long to be enumerated in a brief article such as this, are neglected resulting in social decadence which has set in at various levels of our society.

###################

'Bringing the Sangha together':

Sangha Conference in Australia on June 8 and 9

AUSTRALIAN Sangha Association (ASA) has organised National Sangha Conference ('Bringing the Sangha Together') on June 8 and 9 at Baden Powell Scout Centre, Pomona Street, Pennant Hills, NSW 2120.

The conference will involve a mixture of talks, small group workshops, and discussions, as well as time for meditation and spiritual practice.

The ASA has been made possible through the support and vision of some of Australia's most senior and respected monks and nuns from all traditions.

The following Sangha leaders will speak at the conference:

Than Chao Khun Sama (Wat Pa Buddharamgsee, Sydney), Thian Quang Ba (Sakyamuni Buddhist Centre, Canberra), Sister Chee Kwang Sunim (Daylesford Buddhist Meditation Centre, Vic), Ajahn Brahm (Bodhinyana Monastery and Buddhist Society of WA), Sister Ajahn Vayama (Dhammasara Nun's Monastery BSWA), Thian Phuoc Tan (Quang Minh Temple, Melbourne), Bhante Dhammavasa (Sri Lanka Buddhist Monastery, Brisbane), Sister Man Chung (Fo Guang Shan, Nan Tien Temple, Wooollongong), Sister Tenzin Tsapel (FPMT, Chennezig Institute for Wisdom Culture Qld).

Donations

The Buddhist Council of NSW has kindly offered to hold funds on trust for the ASA. Funding so far has come entirely from the generosity of participating organisations. All funds will be used for the ASA conference and ongoing expenses.

About the registration

It is important that you register for the conference now.

Attendance at the conference is free, since the venue hire has been provided by generous sponsors, and all food is donated.

However, please do not think that because it is free it does not matter whether you register. We need to inform our caterers and helpers.

Although the venue and food is free, the centre does charge for accommodation for those who wish to stay overnight at the conference venue. If you wish to stay overnight, you must include a cheque for $ 32 with your registration. Those who wish to stay elsewhere may make their own arrangements.

Transport will be provided for those who have difficulties getting to and from the venue.

If anyone wishes to attend, but cannot afford the cost for accommodation and/or transport from interstate, please contact us and we will try to find sponsorship for you.

Send registration forms to:

Santi Forest Monastery, PO Box 132, Bundanoon, NSW 2578.

Make cheques payable to Buddhist Council of NSW Inc.

The Australian Sangha Association is creating a forum where Buddhist monastics come together for mutual support and understanding.

A series of meetings around Australia over the past year has shown the common ground between the traditions and the strength of unity. We wish to foster this spirit of harmony for the good of the Sangha of the Buddhist community and of all beings.

Specific areas where the ASA can help:

* Communications among the traditions

* Education and training for monastis

* Representing the Sangha to the wider community.

This conference aims to establish the central principals of a constitution that can act as blueprint guiding our future development. We hope to settle the overall framework of the organisation and agree on our goals.

We encourage all Buddhist monastics to attend the conference so that the ASA can be a truly participatory and representative body. Lay people are also welcome to attend the conference as observers.

Enquiries: Ven. Sujato (02) 4883 6331, [email protected]

To join our email group, send a blank email to: [email protected].

This will give you access to files and information about: The ASA, including copies of this brochure.

###################

'Korean Buddhism has a lot to offer to the world'

BY LEE Sun-young

KOREAN Buddhism, with its deep store of untouched resources and well-preserved traditions, is making big strides to reach out to the world, a prominent leader of Korean Buddhists said.

"The unique ways of ascetic practices and enlightening the mind that have been handed down through generations of Korean monks are a treasure for mankind," said Ven. Bub-jang, president and executive director of the 31st Administration of the Jogye Order, the largest Buddhist sect in Korea.

"The meaning of human life, as said so many times, is found only in the spiritual realm, even in this materialistic era, and Korean Buddhism can offer the world a way of awakening one's spiritual world "

Buddhism in Korea dates back some 1,600 years and today Buddhists comprise about 26 percent of the population, forming the largest religious group in Korea.

While Buddhism in China, Japan and many Southeast Asian countries has attracted attention from scholars and become familiar to many people in the West, Korean Buddhism has long been left unexplored, the Jogye leader explained in an interview with The Korea Herald at Jogye Temple, the Order's headquarters in central Seoul on Monday, a day before leaving for Irbil, Iraq.

The 63-year-old monk visited the Korean troops stationed in Irbil for three days to deliver the Buddha's message before the Buddha's birthday.

According to Ven. Bub-jang, Korean monks have preserved a traditional practice called "ganwhaseon," or koan meditations, in which the Zen masters throw seemingly absurd questions at practitioners, who then meditate intensively on the issues and this eventually awakens their minds and gives them a new perspective on life.

Korean monks still observe about 180 days of retreats practising ganwhaseon during which they sit and meditate with a specific question in mind called the "hwadu" or Zen koans.

"The ganwhaseon allows us a moment of enlightenment that is beyond reading the canon ten trillion times - the kind of awakening mankind is searching for," Ven. Bub-jang said.

Recognizing the Internet as a crucial and most effective tool for globalization of Korean Buddhism, he has been pushing to set up Web sites in three major languages - English, Japanese and Chinese - so anyone interested in Korean Buddhism can find information online as well as ask questions of Korean monks.

Currently, two major Web sites operated by Jogye Order provide information in English on Korean Buddhism: eng.buddhism.or.kr and eng.koreatemple.net.

The order plans to further explore the on line medium to introduce and spread the teachings of the Buddha, as well as the unique values of Korean Buddhism.

Translating the essays or writings of Buddhists into foreign languages is another task to be tackled, he said, pointing out the need to make it easily understandable for laypeople.

Ven. Bub-jang cited the well-known Vietnamese Ven. Thich Nhat Hanh as an example. "Ven. Thich has acquired an ability to convey his thoughts in such simple and easy words. Now his books are read by tens of thousands of people all over the world."

He added, "It is not that Korea has no such great monks. We do have and have had some greatest masters. But because of our time-old tradition of 'do not reply before you're asked,' Korean monks were just not used to explaining in easy words what the Buddha has taught and what they have realized."

Having entered the Buddhist monkhood at the age of 21 at Sudeok Temple, South Choongcheong Province, Ven. Bub-jang has undertaken five times weeklong lion-retreats - in which the practitioner does not sleep or lie on the floor for days, concentrating on meditation. He has also done 21-day fasting on seven occasions.

He recalled one experience when he finished meditating after what he felt had been a few minutes to discover he had really been in deep meditation for over eight hours.

Ven. Bub-jang became involved in Order Administration back in 1981 and held key posts before he was elected as president and director general of the Order in February 2003.

Courtesy: The Buddhist Channel