Buddhist Spectrum

Art of noble living

Ven Mahanuwara Sasanawansa Thera

Discipline within one’s mind is the essence of Buddha Dhamma. In order to reach deathlessness it has to be suggested by saying somewhat as a sculptor reveals an image from a block by removing piece by piece.

”Thus with the mind composed, quite purified, without blemish, without defilements, grown soft, and feasible, fixed immovable, I directed my mind to the knowledge and recollection of former habitations. Thus one birth, two births, three births, four births, a hundred thousand births, and many aeons of the world’s integration and disintegrations.” (Majjima Nikaya 4:)

”Let those who have ears listen and put forth effort. In this blind world I go to Benares to sound the throbbing drum of deathlessness.” (Majjima Nikaya 5:26)

This quotation is acclaimed to be the direct oral teaching given by the Buddha.

Noblest of all is the service rendered towards the progress of mental and moral discipline in order to conduct as a character in life. Behaviour is a mirror in which everyone shows his image.

Man is confused and perplexed apart from the truth, not the truth about social science, or physical science and mathematics, but the truth about his being, his beginning, his purpose, his conflicts and his future. He needs peace not as a pretence of strength to gain material advantage for luxury living not unnecessary praising about benefactors in a cunning way. A placid mind which operate through trials and burdens of life. Sangha; in the Bhikku-life that frees us from all life’s conflicts and frustrations.

When every detail of our life is on its given eight-fold path every fraction of time made aware before hand. Then the last traces of our boundless, timeless being in which the freedom of our ‘self’ to selflessness (Atta to Anatta) will be gently and gradually enter into a process of waning.

”If we integrate our awareness and unify our thoughts the spirit of truth will make its abode with us”.

The great affliction called ego-centredness.

The uniformed take the Buddha as an other worldly mystic away from the problems of mundane life. It is contemplation for monks and nuns a code of noble ideals to guide men and women living in this world.

”Now this, monks; the noble truth of the cause of the pain; is the craving, which tends to re-birth, combines with pleasure and lust, finding pleasure; namely: the craving for passion, craving for existence, the craving for non-existence.”

”Now this monks; is the noble truth of cessation of pain, the cessation without a remainder of craving, the abandonment, for saking, release, non-attachment.”

”Now this monks; is the noble truth of the way that leads to the cessation of the pain is the noble eight-fold path namely:

1. Right understanding,

2. Right intention,

3. Right speech,

4. Right action,

5. Right livelihood,

6. Right effort,

7. Right mindfulness,

8. Right concentration.

If one seeks serenity in oneness, pain will vanish of its own accord. A realistic thought will dispel all unhappy states.

If one practices Dhamma properly, one can relish the feeling of oneness as long as he needs it. The body undergoes various changes without giving any pleasant or unpleasant feeling to the mind. Almost all aspects of life are engineered at the molecular level.

‘Self’ is very near to our ‘conscience’ there is no secret place in the world where we could conceal our wicked deeds which lies in our hearts or thoughts. Each man is the architect of his own destiny.

”These two extremes monks are not to be practiced by one who has gone forth from the mundane world. What are the two that conjoins with passions and luxury, low, vulgar, common, ignoble and useless; and that conjoins self-torture, painful, ignoble and useless. Avoiding these two extremes the Perfect One has gained the enlightenment from the middle-path which produces, insight and knowledge and tends to calm, to higher knowledge. Enlightenment. ‘Nirvana’ (to relish the feeling of oneness).

”And what monks is the middle-path or which the perfect one has gained, enlightenment, which produces insight and knowledge and tends to calm, to higher knowledge enlightenment. ‘Nirvana’. The four Truths.” (Dhammapavattana Sutta)

A man who knows the idea of ‘self’ created by himself ought to know that the body is like a froth and has learnt that it is unsubstantial as a mirage he will never see the king of death (the mara). One can develop his mind to benign planes or higher realms in life. The greatest thing one has to learn is never to think for himself.

We should not try to satisfy our inner psychological needs and instead to satisfy the most immediate experience of the mind which is deliverance from problems of the worldlings. If one needs he can be on good terms with all people. Can speak his truth quietly and clearly. He can stay without comparing himself with others because he may become vain and bitter for always there will be grater and lesser people than himself. If one’s mind is in blissful state in the now moment, next moment is only an extension of the existing moment, so on and so forth. May the Dhamma be your sufficiency in all things.

Establishment of the Buddha Sasana

W. L. Wijayawansa

The full moon days are important to Buddhists all around the world, who have adopted the Lunar Calendar, for their religious observances. Owing to the moon’s fullness of size as well as its effulgence, the full moon day is treated as the most auspicious, out of the four main phases of the moon. Ancient Buddhists reserved this day for their religious observances and rituals and, it continues up to date.

Buddhists call this day the poya. The term Poya is derived from the Pali form uposatha primarily signifying “fasting day”.

Out of the 12 poy days Esala poya which falls in July or August is the 3rd important poya day for Buddhists after vesak and poson. It is the poya which occurs most number of times in the Life of the Buddha and the Sri Lankan Sasana history.

The biography of the Buddha commences with this poya, with the conception of the Prince Siddhartha (Bodhisatva) in the womb of Maha Maya, the queen of King Suddhodhana who ruled in Kapilavasthu in moden Nepala.

A conqueror is conceived

He was born on the vesak poya day of the following year and grown up with all the luxuries the King Suddhodhana could give him. But he was not born to enjoy life. At the age of 29 he renounced all worldly comforts and became an ascetic on the Esala Full Moon day in order to find answers to the worldly problems: Jathi (birth), Jara (decay), Vyadhi (sickness), Marana (death), and find the truth of life.

On the very same day prince Rahula was also born. He was not overjoyed with the birth of his son, but thought it was another barrier (bandhana). he just had a glimpse of his son and left the palace with the charioteer Channa. This happened 2605 years ago.

For six years he went in search of truth. He struggled to find the truth. He learnt under three teachers and achieved what they had achieved, but not what he wanted to achieve, the Nibbana. He decided to struggle in his own way. He abstained from food, total abstinence. He meditated for hours and hours. His body was reduced to a skeleton. Realizing that this self mortification (dushkarakriya) was not the proper path to Nibbana he changed his course. He selected the Middle Path for attaining Nibbana. After a few months, on the Full Moon day of Vesak, he attained the blissful Nibbana.

After the enlightenment he spent seven weeks around the Bodhi Tree. Then he thought of preaching what he realized to others. He selected the Panchavaggiya Bhikkus: Kondanna, Bhaddiya, Vappa, Mahanama and Assaji to preach his ‘Dhamma’.

Dhammachakka pavattana sutta

On the Esala Full moon day, two months after the enlightenment, he preached Dhammachakkapavattana Sutta the first discourse of the Buddha, at the invitation of the Sahampathi Brahma, at the deer park (Migadaya), near Benares. Dhammachakkapavattana Sutta means the founding or establishment of wisdom or it can be interpreted as the turning of the wheel of truth.

Dhammachakkapavattana Sutta enunciates the two extremes, Middle Path (eightfold Path) and the four noble truths. It is th essence of Buddhism. The two extremes are constant addiction to self mortification and constant attachment to sensual pleasures. (Attakilamathanu yoga and Kamasukhallikhanu yoga). the Buddha, having experienced both found that they were not helpful in realizing the truth.

The Buddha described Kamasukhallikhanu yoga as base, vulgar, worldly, ignoble and profitless (heeno, gammo, pothujjaniko, anariyo, anattasanhito) and Attakilamatanu yoga as painful, ignoble and profitless (dukkho, anariyo, anattasanhito). It is interesting to note that Buddha did not use the words heeno, gammo, potujjaniko to explain Attakilamatanu yoga.

Instead of the two extremes, he preached Middle Path (majhima patipada), the noble eithtfold path.

After enunciating the middle path he expounded the four Noble truths (Chatur Arya Satya). They are called Arya Satya because they were discovered by the greatest Arya ie, one who has removed passions.

The four noble truths are suffering (Dhukkha Satya), cause for sufffering (Samudaya Satya), cessation of suffering (Dukkha Nirodha Satya) and path leading to cessation of suffering (Dukkha Nirodha Gamini Patipada Satya) which is the noble Eight Fold Path. The next instance in the life of Buddha where the Esala Poya is mentioned is seven years after the enlightenment.

The Buddha performed Yamake Pratiharya (twin miracle) under the Gandamba tree to diminish the pride of the Theerthakas.

Ater the performance, on the same Esala Poya day he went to Tautisa heaven to preach Abhidamma to Maathru Divyaraja, who was Maha Maya Davi in the previous birth.

Observance of ‘Vas’

Esala poya assumes prominence for yet another ritual of the Sri Lankan Buddhists. Sri Lankan monks observe ‘Vas’, on the day following the Esala full moon. Since rain starts around this day monks retreat to their temples. Three months from that day is the Vas (Vassana) Season.

For Sri Lankans the most magnanimous event – the establishment of Buddha Sasana itself in Sri Lanka occurred on the Esala Poya Day. Arahath Mahinda for the first time in this country, observed Vas in the 68 caves prepared by King Devanampiyatissa and on the same day the nephew of the King, Aritta and 55 other children entered the order, thereby inaugurating and establishing Buddha Sasana in Sri Lanka.

The laying of the foundation for the Ruwanwelisaya and its enshrinement of relics by King Dutugemunu too had taken place on an Esala Poya Day.

It was on Esala Poya day that Sri Lanka was blessed with the most venerated sacred tooth relic of the Buddha. It was brought to the island by Price Dantha and Princess Hemamala from Kalinga during the reign of Kirthi Sri Meghawanna and the first exposition of the most precious relic was held at Anuradhapura followed by the first ever Dalada Perahera.

It is owing to the combination of all these events that the Sinhala Buddhists observe this day ceremonially by holding Esala festivals throughout the island.

Kandy Esala Perahera and Kataragama Esala festival ae two important Buddhist festivals in Sri Lanka during the month of Eala.

The concept of Karma and Rebirth

Elmo Fernando

Once an Asian asked Schopenhauer for a definition of Europe and he promptly responded that it was that part of the world which was haunted by the incredible delusion that man’s present existence was his first arrival on earth. It would almost be incredible to reverse the question and ask, who are those who do not accept the law of Karma and rebirth and on what basis do they reject it.

However it is time to examine the European attitude to the doctrine. None will accept a philosophy which does not appeal to his intellect nor is he necessarily to be convinced of its truth because down the ages men of intellect have accepted it.

Nevertheless though people are influenced by argument many are glad to listen to explanation, when they are convinced by reason and elucidation.

In his rationale to Re-incarnation E. D. Walker proves how once the whole civilized world embraced reincarnation. He elicited a comprehensive answer to the riddle of man’s descent and destiny which the inexorable sphinx, life propounds to every wayfarer in Samsara.

But most Westerners in Europe conceiving man’s descent and destiny finds the inexorable sphinx a beacon to every traveler along his way.

Somehow, Westerners who believe in rebirth and scores of enlightened thinkers and most poets have seen with spiritual certainty, the truth of a law which the state religion has expelled in favour of dogmas unknown to its founder and none has yet disproved their ever new discovery.

The East has known the Law from time immemorial. On Karma the Buddha said that impermanence of existence is the eternal law.

From Words Worth’s famous Ode on the Intimation of Immorality to Edwin Arnold’s splendid eighth book of the Light of Asia, English Book, English Poetry is filled with allusions to the law and the writers in prose were never far behind. In many cases this is the East and they are therefore ill at ease in what to them is an alien Western body.

Others are not so certain where they were previously born. But it seems that memory is a palimpest from which nothing is ever obliterated, commented Professor Dixon and most poets have felt convincingly that he or she has lived before.

W. Shakespeare made rational inquiry in Sonnet LIX
” If there be nothing new, but that which is
Hath been before, how our brains beguil’d
Which, labouring for invention, bear amiss
the second burthen of a former child!
Tennyson, more mystical, in a little note sonnet begins
As when with downcast eyes we muse and brood
And ebb into a former life, or seem
to lapse far back in a confused dream
To states of mystical similitude...
Browning is more personal in a poem to Evelyn Hope
who died at the age of sixteen.
Just because I was thrice as old
And our paths in the world diverged so wide
Each was naught to each, must I be told?
We were fellow mortals, naught beside?
And he answers his own inquiry.
I claim you still, for my own love’s sake
Delayed it may be for more lives yet
Through worlds I shall traverse, not a few;
Much is to learn and much to forget
Ere the time be come for taking you.
The Sutta Nipatha observes - ”Coming to be coming to be; coming to be; ceasing to be, easing to be” - o in greater detail, birth, growth, decay and death; birth, growth, decay and death.

Thus Karma – reincarnation is like the mechanism of the illusion and the escapement from it. (Samyutta Nikaya).