Buddhist Spectrum

Mindfulness in the modern world

Lionel Wijesiri

‘Whatsoever there is of evil, connected with evil, belonging to evil—all issue from the mind Whatsoever there is of good, connected with good, belonging to good—all issue from the mind.’ (Anguuttara Nikaya 1)

Today the study of mindfulness has entered research labs throughout the world. Scientists are exploring the brain states (using brain imaging tools) associated with mindfulness practice as well as changes in other body physiology). The science is still relatively recent, but findings are challenging, including evidence that mindfulness influences brain structure and function, immune response, stress response, attention and emotional regulation. Adding mindfulness to one’s life appears to improve an overall state of well-being, reduce anxiety, and foster healthy relationships.

The Buddha’s message, as a doctrine of the mind, teaches three important things – (1) to know the mind, (2) to shape the mind and (3) to free the mind.

Mindfulness is not at all a mystical state, beyond the understanding of an average person. On the contrary, it is simple, common, and quite familiar to all of us. Mindfulness is the practice of applying a moment-to-moment attention to experiences - as they arise (whether the experiences are of the senses, such as sound or taste, or experiences of the mind, such as thoughts or feelings). Medical Science is revealing that this simple practice of being more mindful promotes health and it is entering the research programs of mainstream medicine in the Western world.

Inner World

Why this great interest? Analysts believe it is because we are a society under stress, immersed in technology, immersed in information, rushing and rushing in life, struggling daily to find balance between home, work, and family. We have invested exorbitant time, money and energy into technology at the expense of attending to our abilities to attune to ourselves, other people, and the planet and to discover and reflect on our true nature - our values, virtues, and purpose in life. Attention to one’s inner world requires tools, time, and creativity, just like a healthy body requires water, nutritious food, and exercise.

Mindfulness is a tool for use by anyone requiring only a willingness and intent to practice. You can use the breath to practice, hone your attention and develop a more mindful stance in life. It is in the repetition of observing the breath (breathing in, breathing out), catching your attention as it drifts away, and returning it (with kindness) to the breath that awareness begins.

As a moment of silence is filled with thoughts of distraction, desire for noise, company, or movement, you begin to discover how your mind works. The hum of a clock arouses a cycle of thoughts and feelings of movement; again you begin to understand how your mind works.

Over time and practice, you may gain patience, first a tolerance, then an embrace of a deeper understanding of yourself and your relationship to the world.

Practicing over and over while sitting, walking, or doing daily activities are part of learning to be more mindful. Everyday objects can replace the breath in practice.

For example, you can eat mindfully, observing the texture, smell, and taste of each bite of food, giving it your full attention. In this way, mindfulness can be integrated into daily life, when talking, walking, listening, or relating to others, the planet, or yourself. It is a process of learning about the mind, full of the complexity it holds.

Two Types

In mindfulness, there is both a formal and an informal practice. The formal practice is that of concentration meditation, where you sit quietly with a straight spine for several minutes, just following the cycle of the breath, and observing all of the phenomena that arise on a moment-to-moment basis without judgment or attachment.

This practice is done in pure silence, away from any tendency to get distracted.

In informal practice, a person using mindfulness meditation can focus on his or her breathing, while at the same time incorporating other senses around him or her, like the sound of leaves on swaying tree branches nearby, a faint music playing, or the perception of movements from other people from a distance. He incorporates his or her breathing in harmony with these surrounding senses.

Buddhist heritage of Mongolia

Rohan L. Jayetilleke

Mongolia, located in the heart of Asia, plays leading role in the history of the world’s nomadic culture and civilization. Mongolia has a rich thousand of years of nomadic life style and it is the voice of the voiceless origin of human culture and civilization. The history of Mongolia is a complex of the Central Asia and also of many other cultures of other countries. Presently, anthropologists are of the opinion that the Sakyan race of the Buddha of Kapilavastu (modern Tilauracot of Nepal Terai) had their ancestry from Indo-Mongolian origin, as the height and the complexion and also the features of Sakyans suggest. Buddhism continues to be one of the cultural aspects of Mongolians. Buddhism originated in the 6th century B.C. in India and reached Mongolia through Tibet. The arrival of Buddhism resulted in uniting the scattered Mongols and also gave them the opportunity to absorb Indian philosophy, astrology, poetry, art, medicine and other disciplines.

Of the nine Buddhist missions despatched in the 3rd century B.C. under the patronage of Emperor Asoka, the mission that went to Suvannabhumi under the Arahaths Uttara and Sina and group of monks, spread Buddhism in Burma and other South East Asian countries and Central Asian regions included Burma (Myanmar), Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam and also present day Mongolia. Since then Buddhism spread among the ancient states like Hunnu, Sien - pi or Sumbe, Nirun, Turks and Uighurs of Mongol and Turkish origin who inhabited present day territory of Mongolia.

The ancient Mongolian tribe, the Hunas had direct relations with the people of Central Asia through trading. In the 2nd century B.C. the Hunas forged close political and economic relations the countries that had a firm Buddhist culture and civilization. The Nirun State of the Mongolian origin, in the 4th-5th centuries C.E. adopted Buddhism as the State religion.

The two principal policies which unified the government and Buddhist administration in Mongolia which had been formulated and adopted by Emperor Asoka and King Kanishka of India and emerged a state tradition of Mongolia since the time of Nirun.

The establishment of Buddhism in Mongolia on a sound footing was strengthened between the people of Nirun and India, by the visit of two Indian Buddhist philosophers Sakyavarasha and Narendrayasa to Mongolia in the 6th century C.E. The Mongolian historical records indicate the main object of worship of the South-Western Hun, was the ‘golden image of the Buddha’.

The travelogues of Chinese Buddhist monks indicate that in the then state of Hun of present Mongolia both Mahayana and Hinayana (Theravada) schools of Buddhism did take root in Mongolia from these early times.

The history of the spread of Buddhism in Mongolia could be classified as follows:

1. Hunu State 3rd century B.C. up to the Great Mongol Empire, 13th century C.E.

2. 13th to 14th centuries

3. 16th to 20th centuries C.E.

In Mongolia, the Buddhist country, at the time of the national revolution in 1921, there were 11,000 Lamas (Tibetan Buddhism) in residence in about 700 monasteries. In the Russia’s Stalin dictatorial Communist regime of Stalin of the 1930s thousands of Lamas (monks) were arrested and killed as the Communist declared ‘Religion was the Opium of the People’, some of them were forced to run away to Siberia who were never heard of thereafter, probably killed in thousands. Monasteries were closed and destroyed except the two famous monasteries of Gadantegchilean and the Ereden Zuu and all Buddhist religious worship and ceremonies were outlawed. Gandantegchilean was the largest monastery located in Ulaanbaatar.

With the dawn of democracy in Mongolia in 1990 the Mongolians have enjoyed freedom of religious worship. Conditions have been set in motion for Buddhism to regain its lost glory. With this freedom, religious beliefs and denominations began to arrive in Mongolia seeking to plant their teachings and doctrines.

The new Constitution of Mongolia in 1992 provided the Mongolians to exercise freedom of worship at their own free will. Legal provisions were introduced for Buddhism to be revived and other religions to co-exist.

The State Great Hural (Parliament) of Mongolia adopted the law of the relationship between Religion and State in 1993. Consequently since 1990s, a movement arose to restore some monasteries and temples destroyed in the 20th century. Over this short period of around 10 years around 150 new monasteries were built and the number of lama monks rose to 3000.

Elementary knowledge of Buddha and his teaching

Book Review:

K S Sivakumaran

As a Hindu I found the seventh edition of a book originally published in 1962 very interesting and useful. The booklet The Buddha and His Ethics written by the late venerable Mirisse Gunasiri Mahathera.

I noticed that there is a Thamil translation of is available this year. This is a gift by the Minisry of Religious affairs and Moral Upliftment the President of Siripodawessa Counseling Service (former civil servant P. G. Pumchihewa) says in hs foreword. This booklet is issued free and it is published as ‘a’response to a request made by several Buddhists and others interested’

Venerable Kotapola Amarakiriti Thera in his preface says that “ while there was a substantial volume of canonical literature and material on abstruse aspects of Buddhism there had been a dearth of writings in English on the more fundamental teachings of the Buddha... Though confined to about 40 pages Ven Gunasiri’s book covers the more salient aspects of Buddha and the Dhamma. Apart from the short sketch on the Triple Gem. He also describes the place the Buddha holds among world “as a thinker, philosopher and democrat all combined in one person.”

We gather information of the scholar priest from statement by W Ananda of the International Buddhist Centre, Wellawatte written in 1989. Academically Vidyavisharada Pandita Mirisse Gunasiri Maha Thera passed away at the age of 59. He had a BA London degree.

He received his Upaampada ordination in Burma (Myanmar).He was well versed in a number of oriental and western languages He was also a very keen and ardent student of Comparative Religion. He was the author a number of books in Sinhala and Pali.

He contributed to the print and electronic media.He was the senior lecturer in Buddhism at he then Vidyodaya University of Ceylon from the inception of the University until the time of is untimely death.’

Among the heads under which the respected Thera writes I found the following very useful to me:

Gotama the Buddha (he practised deep compassion towards all beings and rendered selfless service to all.)

The Life (Twelve years of married life passed quite smoothly and in the thirteenth when he was twenty-nine and when Yasodhara was about to become a mother, his curiosity about the outside world grew beyond control....Dissatisfaction arose in him with the worldly life and he decided to renounce the world.

On the very day when Rahula, his only child, was born he made his great renunciation and became an ascetic. He adopted the Middle Path)

The Dhamma (The Buddha’s teaching leading to the higher stages of purity is generally called the Dhamma....He claimed no monopoly of the Dhamma, since it was a discovery rather than an invention. Truth existed burried in the darkness of ignorance..He discarded divinity and denied divine inspiration. for he was a man of -a superman possessed of super normal intellectual faculties gained by his own strenuous efforts... This creates a broad margin between the Buddha and other religious teachers.... Buddha’s unique teaching was based on rational understanding. Hence the Dhamma remains quite intact and fresh and appeals even to the modern age of scientific thinking and rational scrutiny.)

The other heads are: The Sangha, Buddhism in Practice, Father of Spiritual Democracy The Greatest free Thinker, The Buddha on the origin of the world, and The Essence of the Buddha’s Teaching, This booklet is also a note on Domestic and Social Ethics from the Sigakovada-Sutta Thirty eight Blessings (from MangalaSutta), Man’s Downfall (from the Parabhava-Sutta), Progress, Worldly and Spiritual (from the Vyagghapajja-Sutta) Selections from The Dhammapada.

The Dhammapada we understand “ranks amongst the great classics of the world.

It is a veritable gold mine rich in aphorisms calculated to lead one, not only to worldly success but also to final liberation”. 

Indeed I find parallels in Hindu thoughts.

This goes to prove all great thinkers for most part thought alike. I enjoyed reading this last part of the booklet.

You may obtain a copy of this booklet free from the Ministry of Religious Affairs and Moral Upliftment.

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