Buddhist Spectrum

All set for Sambuddhatva Jayanthi

Priyanka Kurugala

All Ceylon Buddhist Congress (ACBC) is a major Buddhist organization in the country. This organization has launched massive programmes to promote Buddhism among communities in northern and eastern provinces. To mark the Sambuddhathva Jayanthi the ACBC has planned a series of programmes working hand in hand with international Buddhist associations. The excerpts from an interview with ACBC President Jagath Sumathipala.

What are your plans to mark the 2600th Sambuddahthwa Jayanthi?

We have planned to organize the Sambuddhaloka Vesak zone as we did last time. These plans are not directly linked to 2600th Sambuddhathva Jayanthi.

However Amisa Pooja is an important concept to promote goodness among Buddhists. It gives an opportunity to think and develop some good thinking in the people’s mind.

To make the Sambuddhatva Jayanthi theme, ‘let us be principled’, a reality the people need good guidance. To live our life according to the teachings of the Buddha we need assistance of our teachers. We need a direction. It is a main duty of monks to make us more familiar with the Buddha’s teachings.

However there is a vacuum in the society. We do not have enough monks for missionary work. I mean the Sri Lankan society has an opportunity to listen to Dhamma. But countries such as India do not have an adequate number of monks to work on Buddhist missionary work. So we have planned to launch a programme to train monks to fill this vacuum.

How do you hope to accomplish the task of training monks for missionary work?

First step will be to establish Malalasekera Education and Cultural Centre once again. This centre was commenced under the patronage of World Fellowship of Buddhists in 1984. It was in existence till 1996. During this period languages such as Pali and Sanskrit had been taught. The centre printed many Buddhist books as well. Those books were distributed all across the globe. We hope to recommence the project with proper management.

This too, we hope, will encourage monks to be trained. Our target is to build a better monk community in the country.

We will provide management training to monks so that they could follow it in their temples. This will also help build their personality to face the new world.

These are some preliminary objectives of restarting Malalasekara Centre. In fact I informed this to the Executive Committee of the World Fellowship of Buddhists in South Korea during one of my visits. They were happy to accept that, because they pioneered establishing this centre 27 years ago.

What are your other accomplishments in the South Korean visit?

Many Buddhists countries including Mahayana countries do not know the importance of the forthcoming Buddhist anniversary. Thai Buddhists also think that the anniversary will dawn only a year after 2011. The President and the Secretary of the World Fellowship of Buddhists are from Thailand. It was my role to inform them and make them aware about the 2600th Sambuddhathva Jayanthi.

I think it was successful. They understood the importance of the 2600th Sambuddhathva Jayanthi. Emergence of a Buddha is very rare in the world. That is why I wanted to make them aware of these celebrations.

What are the decisions the Executive Committee took in the session?

The Executive Committee decided to hold the next World Fellowship of Buddhists in Yoshi, South Korea. Along with the last session held in Sri Lanka in 2010 the Buddhists’ Business Forum was also commenced according to my proposal. The Executive Committee decided to initiate this forum. I think it is an important step in the country’s business.

How far can you guarantee the success of this forum?

The next World Fellowship of Buddhists will be held in June, 2012. Another session is being organized to be held in South Korea. They have guessed that at least around 40-50 million people will take part. It will be a good opportunity.

Book Review:

Gift of Dhamma

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Title: Budun Deka Nivan Dakimu

Author: Muthumenike Weerasuriya

Price: Rs 50

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To be born as a human being is rare. This is precisely because every human being has the ability to open doors of heart to attain the supreme state of Nibbana. This message is timely especially since this Vesak marks the 2600th anniversary of the Buddha’s Enlightenment.

Listening, understanding and practising the teachings is the path to enlightenment and to seek freedom. It will make life stronger and stronger like a huge tree in the forest. Muthumenike Weerasuriya’s Budun Deka Nivan Dakumu is a dedicated work to spread this message of the Buddha’s Enlightenment and freedom. Narrating her experiences in 14 topics the author has written in a simple style, catering to both young and adult readership. The book is essential for those who are searching for a path to freedom and is published in a fine layout. This may attract a considerable young crowd.

Introducing Weerasuriya’s book, Anura C Perera emphasizes on the core teachings of Buddhism, ‘no self’, ‘nature of lust’, ‘living a happy life’, and ‘delusion’ which are elucidated throughout the book.

Muthumenike Weerasuriya, like any of us, is searching for truth. Her work invites us to look into her experiences and fathom if it is practical. She also invites us to follow the Buddha’s teachings.

- Anuradha Abeysekara

Buddhist meditation

Anagarika Sugatananda

The mental exercise known as meditation is found in all religious systems. Prayer is a form of discursive meditation, and in Hinduism the reciting of slokas and mantras is employed to tranquilize the mind to a state of receptivity. In most of these systems the goal is identified with the particular psychic results that ensue, sometimes very quickly; and the visions that come in the semi-trance state, or the sounds that are heard, are considered to be the end-result of the exercise. This is not the case in the forms of meditation practiced in Buddhism.

There is still comparatively little known about the mind, its functions and its powers, and it is difficult for most people to distinguish between self-hypnosis, the development of mediumistic states, and the real process of mental clarification and direct perception which is the object of Buddhist mental concentration.

The fact that mystics of every religion have induced on themselves states wherein they see visions and hear voices that are in accordance with their own religious beliefs indicates that their meditation has resulted only in bringing to the surface of the mind and objectifying the concepts already embedded in the deepest strata of their subconscious minds. The Christian sees and converses with the saints of whom he already knows; the Hindu visualizes the gods of the Hindu pantheon, and so on. When Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa, the Bengali mystic, began to turn his thoughts towards Christianity, he saw visions of Jesus in his meditations, in place of his former eidetic images of the Hindu Avatars.

Connection

The practised hypnotic subject becomes more and more readily able to surrender himself to the suggestions made to him by the hypnotiser, and anyone who has studied this subject is bound to see a connection between the mental state of compliance he has reached and the facility with which the mystic can induce whatever kind of experiences he wills himself to undergo.

There is still another possibility latent in the practice of meditation; the development of mediumistic faculties by which the subject can actually see and hear beings on different planes of existence, the Devalokas and the realm of the unhappy ghosts, for example. These worlds being nearest to our own are the more readily accessible, and this is the true explanation of the psychic phenomena of Western Spiritualism.

Hindrances

The object of Buddhist meditation, however, is none of these things. They arise as side-products, but not only are they not its goal, but they are hindrances which have to be overcome. The Christian who has seen Jesus, or the Hindu who has conversed with Bhagavan Krishna may be quite satisfied that he has fulfilled the purpose of his religious life, but the Buddhist who sees a vision of the Buddha knows by that very fact that he has only succeeded in objectifying a concept in his own mind, for the Buddha after his Parinibbana is, in his own words, no longer visible to gods or men.

There is an essential difference, then, between Buddhist meditation and concentration and that practiced in other systems. The Buddhist embarking on a course of meditation does well to recognize this difference and to establish in his own conscious mind a clear idea of what it is he is trying to do.

The root-cause of rebirth and suffering is avijja conjoined with and reacting upon tanha. These two causes form a vicious circle; on the one hand, concepts, the result of ignorance, and on the other hand, desire arising from concepts. The world of phenomena has no meaning beyond the meaning given to it by our own interpretation.

When that interpretation is conditioned by avijja, we are subject to the state known as vipallasa, or hallucination. Sañña-vipallasa, hallucination of perception; citta-vipallasa, hallucination of consciousness, and ditthi-vipallasa, hallucination of views, cause us to regard that which is impermanent (anicca) as permanent, that which is painful (dukkha) as a source of pleasure, and that which is unreal (anatta), or literally without any self existence, as being a real, self-existing entity. Consequently, we place a false interpretation on all the sensory experiences we gain through the six channels of cognition, that is, the eye, ear, nose, tongue, sense of touch and mind cakkhu, sota, ghana, jivha, kaya and mano (ayatana).

Physics, by showing that the realm of phenomena we know through these channels of cognition does not really correspond to the physical world known to science, has confirmed this Buddhist truth.

We are deluded by our own senses. Pursuing what we imagine to be desirable, an object of pleasure, we are in reality only following a shadow, trying to grasp a mirage. It is anicca, dukkha, anatta - impermanent, associated with suffering, an insubstantial. Being so, it can only be the cause of impermanence, suffering and insubstantiality, since like begets like; and we ourselves, who chase the illusion, are also impermanent, subject to suffering and without any persistent ego-principle. It is a case of a shadow pursuing a shadow.

Intellectual

The purpose of Buddhist meditation, therefore, is to gain more than an intellectual understanding of this truth, to liberate ourselves from the delusion and thereby put an end to both ignorance and craving.

If the meditation does not produce results tending to this consummation - results which are observable in the character and the whole attitude to life - it is clear that there is something wrong either with the system or with the method of employing it.

It is not enough to see lights, to have visions or to experience ecstasy. These phenomena are too common to be impressive to the Buddhist who really understands the purpose of Buddhist meditation. There are actual dangers in them which are apparent to one who is also a student of psychopathology.

To be continued

Meditation discourse

The Sinhala translation of Thanissaro Bhikkhu’s Using meditation to deal with pain, illness and death will be discussed at Sri Lanka Press Council (close to Mel Medura, Horton Place) on May 13 at 4 pm. Professor Sunanda Mahendra, Daya Dissanayake and other intellectuals will be in the discussion panel.

Peaceful mind essential for success

Nipuni Wimalapala

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Dr Kumaraseri’s publications

* Professional Diplomacy and Foreign Affairs Management: The Malaysian Experience
* Professional Diplomacy and Foreign Affairs Management: An Ambassador’s Insight.
* Mother Care and Parenting
* Key to Social Structuring
* Living Buddhism: The way forward
* Matu Posaka
* Welcoming the Birth of a Child
* Siddhartha: Prince of Peace

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‘Love makes world a peaceful place’ is his perspective. He strongly believes that if a child loves trees, animals, human beings and cares for what is happening around, he could be an effective human being one day. The professional diplomat, once the ambassador of Nigeria and ended up as the Director General of ASEAN Dr Ananda Kumaraseri is now retired and yet has not given up his sole ambition of working towards achieving peace. Throughout his career as a diplomat, he has been trying hard to achieve peace via many politically recommended techniques.

“There is nothing better than the teachings of the Buddha to carry on a peaceful life.”

Born to Sri Lankan parents in Malaysia and grown up in Malaysia Dr Kumaraseri has never forgotten the Sri Lankan culture. His love of Sri Lanka influenced him to be in the country after retirement. He never denies his own religion and culture.

Kumaraseri is concerned about Buddhism and how to practice it in our daily life. He said, “Buddhism is not a belief but a teaching which could be practically applied to our lives. A lot of common problems could be solved with it. Religion is not there to pray and believe but to understand truth and apply it to our lives.”

Dr Kumaraseri’s diplomatic career has a history of 30 years. He was an outstanding personality in the Malaysian foreign mission and assumed many senior positions. He has worked as the High Commissioner of Egypt and Director General of ASEAN where he was supposed to look at 10 Asian countries and to find solutions to various problems occurred. As a result he became keen on different types of social issues.

“Throughout my career as a diplomat what I understood was that there is no peace in Europe. Peace should be there first in our minds. If we are mentally peaceful, external forces cannot influence us.”

The diplomat pays attention to children since he strongly believes that a society’s base is children. If children grow up properly, there will be fewer conflicts. To make children think we should love each other, parents should learn how make children feel love, affection and care. That is why he tries to convince this reality to adults. He believes that a child is a product of the society and everybody’s responsibility is to care for the child and to train him to become a better citizen. Dr Kumaraseri says that the process should start when the child is in mother’s womb. Chanting while the baby is still in the womb will be ideal.

Dr Kumarasiri is highly passionate about Buddha’s foremost teaching, ‘impermanence of everything’. If everyone understands this truth, most problems could be resolved and it could be a tool to develop human values and mental culture which help lead a successful life. Everything depends on the condition of our mentality. So to lead an effective life the foundation is to cultivate our mental values. Personal development could be done via imagination, positive thinking and visualization.

He further said that the best role model of success and the greatest trainer is none other than the Buddha. Best thing is to follow his teachings and develop oneself. The modern gurus for personal development merely republish the Buddha’s teaching in a new way, but the foundation is not quite different. The Buddha’s teachings are highly applicable to each and everyone’s life irrespective of race, language, religion, gender and culture.