Buddhist Spectrum

Understanding suffering:

Path to happiness

Rajah Kuruppu

The essence of Buddhism is in the four Noble Truths’ Dukkha, the cause of Dukkha, the cessation of Dukkha and the path leading to the cessation of Dukkha. Thus, all four truths deal with Dukkha. The Buddha Himself declared as follows. “This do I teach and this alone, Dukkha and the cessation of Dukkha”.

Dukkha, a word in Pali, the language of the Theravada Buddhism is often translated into English as suffering and this has caused some confusion. Thus, several believe that Buddhism deals only with suffering, the negative aspect, and not about happiness, the positive aspect.

However, a better translation of the Pali term Dukkha is the unsatisfactory nature of life which would include both happiness and sorrow. Even happiness in Buddhism is considered Dukkha because everything is impermanent and nothing is of a lasting nature. Thus, the Buddha included happiness also as Dukkha because of its changing and ephemeral nature. Since the Buddha deals mainly with Dukkha, he is often referred to in Buddhist Literature as the lord of Dukkha.

Living in the present

Yet, the Buddha encouraged his adherents to be happy. After all, the goal in Buddhism is Nibbana, the highest happiness - Nibbanama Paraman Sukkham. So, even prior to the attainment of Nibbana, the followers of the Buddha were advised to be happy. Merely because Buddhism deals with Dukkha, it does not meant that a Buddhist should be melancholy or sorrowful. On the contract, a Buddhist should be happy living in the present and not regretting the past or speculating over the future. He should understand the true nature of life, that it is a package of the pleasant and the unpleasant experiences and be calm and serene, with less fears and anxieties, and face the vicissitudes of life with understanding and fortitude.

The Buddha himself was never melancholy or gloomy. Contemporaries described him as the ever smiling Buddha. Buddhist paintings, sculpture and architecture depict him with a countenance that is happy, serene, content and compassionate. The Buddha advised his disciples not to be angry or impatient with suffering. By being angry or impatient, one would not overcome suffering but it would actually aggravate ones troubles and an already disagreeable situation. Anger and hatred are evil emotions that disturb the mental equilibrium of man. What is required is neither anger nor impatience but a clear understanding of suffering, its cause and how to eliminate it and then work towards that goal with perseverance and diligence.

Drivers and pedestrians

Most persons in an unhappy frame of mind have a negative relationship with society and those who associate with them. At such times, they often tend to impose it on vulnerable persons whenever possible like children and subordinates.

On the other hand, when one is in a happy state of mind one often tends to reveal noble qualities of generosity, consideration, understanding and helpfulness. On the roads, a happy driver would be more considerate and tolerant to other users of the road, drivers and pedestrians, and even towards errant drivers. Moreover, if one were to seek a favour from another, the response is likely to be more favourable if that person is in a good mood. Irritation and anger are suppressed to a considerable degree when one is happy.

One way to be happy is develop the noble quality of Upekkha. It is defined as balance of mind, equanimity or mental equipoise. It rejects both attachment (Anurodha) and resentment (Virodha) and advocates the middle path of being neither attracted nor repelled by the desirable and the undesirable or the pleasant and the unpleasant experiences.

One accepts that in life there is the pleasant and the unpleasant, that they are impermanent and not of a lasting nature, and makes the effort as far as possible not to be carried away by success or depressed by failure. This is the seventh and final factor in the seven factors of Enlightenment and the mental health of Arahaths who enjoy Upekkha absolutely, is perfect.

So happiness is in the invisible but powerful mind.

John Milton

The importance of the mind for happiness is stressed by the well-known British literary figure, John Milton, who remarked that the mind could make a heaven of hell or a hell of heaven. The important mind is ours to control and we should direct and guide the mind rather than being led by the mind to realize happiness.

One could also make an effort to be happy with what one does. Taking care or helping a seriously ailing patient could be a trying experience. However, this experience could be transformed to happiness contemplating that a great service is being undertaken for a person in need. The Buddha declared that helping the sick is as good as helping the Buddha Himself.

The Buddha identified the fundamental problem of life which is Dukkha or the unsatisfactory nature of life. All problems of life could be reduced to the fundamental problem of unsatisfactoriness of life.

It is because life is unsatisfactory that all other main religions of the world refer to a heaven after death where the unsatisfactory features of life are absent. The Buddha proceeded beyond the identification of the central problem of life of Dukkha and enunciated a path to overcome Dukkha, namely, the Noble Eight-fold Path.

Thus, some say that Buddhism far from being pessimistic is an optimistic religion where there is a problem and there is a solution to that problem. Others, perhaps more correctly say that it is neither pessimistic nor optimistic but it is a realistic religion.

Art of happiness

With regard to happiness, the words of the Dalai Lama, an outstanding propagator of the Dhamma, is relevant. Addressing a large audience in Arizona, USA, he declared as recorded in the book ‘Art of Happiness’ co-authored by the Dalai Lama and Dr. Howard C. Cutler, a psychiatric practitioner in Phoenix, Arizona, USA as follows. “I believe that the very purpose of our life is to seek happiness, whether one believes in religion or not, whether one believes in this religion or that religion, we are all seeking something better in life. So, I think that the very motion of our life is towards happiness.”

A quality that should be cultivated for happiness is contentment or to be happy with what is available. It is true that a certain minimum is required for contentment.

For laymen, the minimum would vary according to ones own background and comforts one has enjoyed in the past. However, many people have that minimum but still continue to be discontent craving for more sense pleasures and making insidious comparisons with others who enjoy higher standards of life.

The Buddha emphasized the importance of contentment and stated Santhuthi Paranam Dhanam - contentment as the highest wealth. He added that his Dhamma is for the contented and not for discontented.

On one occasion, the Buddha told Anathapindika, the great banker, one of his most devoted lay disciples who founded for him the celebrated Jetavana monastery at Savatthi, that a layman, who leads an ordinary family life has four kinds of happiness.

The first happiness is to enjoy economic security or sufficient wealth acquired by just and righteous means (atthi-sukha); the second is spending that wealth liberally on himself, his family, his friends and relatives, and on meritorious deeds (bhoga-sukha); the third to be free from debts (anana-sukha); the fourth happiness is to live a faultless, and a pure life without committing evil in thought, word or deed (anavajja-sukha);

The first three of these kinds of happiness are economic, and the Buddha finally reminded the banker that economic and material happiness is not worth one sixteenth part of the spiritual happiness arising out of a faultless and good life. Thus, recollecting that one has overall led a harmless and virtuous life one could become happy.

Thus, let us make an effort to be happy most of the time despite the fact of Dukkha or the unsatisfactory nature of life. By so doing, we will be encouraging wholesome actions, mental, physical and verbal, and would be good to those with whom we associate. Being happy is good for oneself as well as for others.

Novel interpretation of Buddhism

Title : Merit in Buddhism

Author : Prof. M. M. J. Marasinghe

Review by : Prof. Oliver Abeynayake

Prof. M. M. J. Marasinghe’s ‘Merit in Buddhism’ is one of the new additions to the subject of Buddhist Studies which has gained new grounds locally as well as internationally. As the subtitle that Prof. Marasinghe has suggested, this monograph takes two aspects into consideration: one is the concept of Merit and the other is its adaptation in ritual Buddhism. Therefore, it is quite obvious that Merit in Buddhism touches upon the fundamentals of the subject in a comprehensive way, as proposed in the chapter titles: The historical background, Merit generation in Pali Canonical texts, the path of Merit, Merit and Demerit, two terms for Merit, the two paths for Merit generation, Merit: two levels of function, Merit in the post-Canonical literature, Merit donation, Merit in functional Buddhism. In addition to these ten chapters, Prof. Marasinghe summarizes his findings in the conclusion. The eleventh chapter of the monograph, which is correctly identified by the author himself. This list of chapters would shows how minutely Prof. Marasinghe has treated the subject so popular and elaborated by various scholars many a time here and abroad.

Prof. Marasinghe informs us that ‘Merit in Buddhism’ is an expansion of the article punya that he contributed to the Encyclopaedia of Buddhism on the invitation of Ven. Bhikkhu Bodhi, one of the profoundest authorities on Buddhism in the world today, it should be noted here that Prof. Marasinghe has expanded his original article to the full in this monograph benefitting both veterans and the probationers of the subject.

In a way, Prof. Marasinghe’s analysis in the ‘Merit in Buddhism’ is a historical study of the subject. This historical survey runs through the entire monograph. Firstly, Prof. Marasinghe pays his attention to pre-Buddhist tradition of the Indian thought. He has utilized the information in the Vedas, Brahamanas, Upanishads and the Jain literature. Secondly, he examines the data found in the Pali Canonical literature. Thirdly, Prof. Marasinghe has surveyed material scattered in the post-Canonical Pali literature. Therefore, information belonging to three phases of development of the concept of merit is collected, organized and interpreted by Prof. Marasinghe in this monograph, ‘Merit in Buddhism’.

However, it is the second phase that Prof. Marasinghe is more interested in dealing with as the chapters two, three, four, five, six and seven indicate. In other chapters too, utilization of Pali Canon is conspicuous. In fact, as I understand, Prof. Marasinghe’s endeavour in this monograph is to point out, in contrast to the later developments in the Buddhist Traditions itself, the original Buddhist attitudes towards Merit and its position in relation to the path leading to the cessation of suffering. For this purpose Prof. Marasinghe has scanned the entire Tripitaka to the extent that there is no relevant discourse that he has unnoticed in this study.

I would like to comment briefly on two points which struck me in reading the ‘Merit in Buddhism’. Firstly, Prof. Marasinghe, as I understand, has assigned an exalted place on Kusala over Punya. This may lead one to conclude that Kusala is something quite different from Punya which has no relevance at all to the final liberation. However, the Canonical position is that both Kusala and Punya are interrelated. Punya energizes one to go towards Kusala. In other words, without Punya it is impossible to generate Kusala. As Prof. Marasinghe has himself pointed out, Buddhism prescribes a gradual path. Therefore, one has to engage in Punya first. The Buddhist path does not begin with Kusala. The Canonical information that Prof. Marasinghe has collected in this monograph leads the critical reader to synthesize Punya and Kusala instead of over evaluating one over the other. The message of Buddhism is that Punya is quite essential to acquire both mundane and spiritual attainments.

Secondly Prof. Marasinghe, is of the firm view that the transference of Merit has no Canonical foundation and it is a later addition introduced perhaps after the Third Buddhist Council held in the Third Century BC. However, he has not paid enough attention to the ten meritorious deeds mentioned in the Digha, Samyutta and Anguttara Nikayas. Prof. Marasinghe is quite mistaken when he observes that ten merit yielding acts are found for the first time in the Commentary on the Dhammasangani by Buddhaghosa (P.42). In page 94, Prof. Marasinghe gives the ten meritorious deeds mentioned in the Commentary on the Dhammasangani.

These ten that Prof. Marasinghe has quoted are quite different from the ten that are mentioned in the Digha, Samyutta and Anguttara Nikayas. Very importantly, the term Patti, which is common to the list in the Digha, Samyutta and Anguttara Nikayas, is missing in the list that Prof. Marasinghe quotes. Patti is transference of merit. This vital information is overlooked in the Merit in Buddhism’.

As Prof. Marasinghe argues, merit donation, which is generally known as transference of merit is part and parcel of Ritual Buddhism which emerged later in contrast to Early Buddhism which Prof. Marasinghe identifies on the authority of the Pali Canon. As the back page of the monograph observes “With the growth of Ritual Buddhism the aim and the purpose of the moral life becomes the accumulation of Merit.

The accumulation of Merit, donation of Merit and the donation of merit to the Gods are important themes in the Ritual Buddhism which are not found in the Pali Canonical texts. The beliefs and the rituals connected with these do not agree with the teachings of the Canonical Texts”. However, there is no possibility for a religion to emerge and grow without the ritualistic aspect. This is true in the case of Buddhism too. This is amply proved by the discourses like Ratana, Pattakamma and Mahaparinibbana.

The ritualistic aspect is taken into consideration as an essential ingredient in the Buddhist path itself in the discourses like Mahacattarisaka of the Majjhimanikaya. It is the very beginning of the gradual path. The progressive talk (Anupubbi katha) of the Buddha too begins with the emphasis on rituals. Therefore, it is wrong to assume that Buddhism is a religion devoid of ritualistic aspect.

These minor points does not devaluate the significant contribution that Prof. Marasinghe has made in this monograph. His fearless criticism and analytical approach are discerned in this study too as in his previous studies. Being an erudite Pali scholar Prof. Marasinghe shows his prowess in handling the Pali Canon and its Commentaries.

Freedom from Buddha nature

Thanissaro Bhikkhu

“What is the mind? The mind isn’t ‘is’ anything.”

— Ajaan Chah

“The mind is neither good nor evil, but it’s what knows good and knows evil. It’s what does good and does evil. And it’s what lets go of good and lets go of evil.”

— Ajaan Lee

A brahman once asked the Buddha, “Will all the world reach release [Awakening], or half the world, or a third?” But the Buddha didn’t answer. Ven. Ananda, concerned that the brahman might misconstrue the Buddha’s silence, took the man aside and gave him an analogy: Imagine a fortress with a single gate. A wise gatekeeper would walk around the fortress and not see an opening in the wall big enough for even a cat to slip through. Because he’s wise, he would realize that his knowledge didn’t tell him how many people would come into the fortress, but it did tell him that whoever came into the fortress would have to come in through the gate. In the same way, the Buddha didn’t focus on how many people would reach Awakening but he did know that anyone who reached Awakening would have to follow the path he had found: abandoning the five hindrances, establishing the four frames of reference, and developing the seven factors for Awakening.

What’s striking about the Buddha’s knowledge is the implied “if”: If people want to gain Awakening they will have to follow this path, but the choice as to whether they want Awakening is theirs. The Buddha’s knowledge of the future didn’t mean that the future was preordained, for people are free to choose. They can take up a particular course of action and stick with it, or not, as they see fit.

The Buddha thus based all his teaching on freedom of choice. As he said, if everything were predetermined by the past, there would be no point in teaching a path to Awakening. The number of people who would reach Awakening would already have been set a long time ago, and they would have no need for a path or a teacher.

Those preordained to awaken would get there inevitably as a result of a long-past action or an essential nature already built into the mind. Those preordained not to awaken wouldn’t stand a chance.

But these things are not preordained. No one is doomed never to awaken, but — until you’ve had your first sight of the deathless at stream-entry — neither is Awakening assured. It’s contingent on intentional actions chosen in each present moment. And even after stream-entry, you’re constantly faced with choices that will speed up final Awakening or slow it down. Nibbana, of course, is independent and unconditioned; but the act of awakening to nibbana depends on a path of practice that has to be willed. It happens only if you choose to give rise to its causes. This, as the Buddha noted, involves determining to do four things: not to neglect discernment, to preserve truth, to develop relinquishment, and to train for peace.

Assumptions about the Mind

To stick with these four determinations, the mind has to make some assumptions about itself: its power to do the necessary work and to receive the anticipated benefits. But one of the central features of the Buddha’s strategy as a teacher was that even though his primary focus was on the mind, he nowhere defined what the mind is. As he said, if you define yourself, you limit yourself. So instead he focused his assumptions on what the mind can do.

To begin with, the mind can change quickly. Normally a master of the apt simile, even the Buddha had to admit that he could find no adequate analogy for how quickly the mind can change. We might say that it can change in the twinkling of an eye, but it’s actually faster than that.

To be continued next week