Gain, honour and fame-Part 1

A talk given by Ajahn Brahmavamso to the monks at Bodhinyana Monastery, December 2002

This is my first talk at Bodhinyana Monastery after another trip overseas, teaching Dhamma, looking after the sasana. As monks, it's part of our duty to help if we can, even if by simply upholding vinaya, not giving any sermons at all; even this is a wonderful gift to offer the world. I find it useful, however, to sometimes wander beyond the bounds of this monastery, not just to Nollamara, but to other places in the world, to explain to people how wonderful are the Buddha's teachings. Some of the dangers, however, of getting involved at the international level are labha, sakkara, and siloka: gain, honour and fame. This subject has been in the front of my mind after my trip to Cambodia, Malaysia and Singapore, because I am now well-known over there and it requires mindfulness and right effort to ensure that these things are kept in perspective.

My journey began with an invitation to participate in a Buddhist Summit in Cambodia. When the aeroplane landed in Pochentong airport in Phnom Phen, I was sitting with the Buddhist delegates in the economy class, talking with a couple of American holiday makers, who suddenly pointed out that there was a big reception committee on the tarmac. When I looked out the window, I saw a line of maybe a hundred monks and other officials, and a red carpet which had been laid out, stretching from the bottom of the aircraft stairs to waiting limousines. The flight attendants asked the business class passengers to wait, to allow the delegates for the Buddhist Summit to disembark first. From that moment on, some of the delegate leaders, especially myself, were feted, and there was no need to pass through immigration or customs. When we left the aircraft, a group of girls presented us with big bunches of flowers, and we were greeted by the long line of monks with hands in anjali. We were shown to limousines; each limousine had not only a driver but a security guard. On top of that we had a motorcade, and police lined the way to the hotel, clearing the road of traffic. I felt like a visiting head of state or a powerful politician.

When you are feted in front of kings and princesses in the way that I was, you must remember that you are just a simple monk. It is important to remember that the honour which we monks are given should never be taken personally; it stands only for what we represent, which is the Buddha's teachings. In that sense I was very happy, because I reflected that it wasn't me who was being feted, but what I represented: a good standard of Vinaya, the effort to establish a good monastery, and the virtuous Sangha with which I live. It was as if the Sangha was with me: the monks and nuns, the Buddhist Society, and everyone who supports us. I was just a figurehead. It was the whole Sangha that was given the gain, honour and fame. For that I felt a lot of joy and inspiration, seeing one of the Triple Gems, the Sangha, accorded such honour and esteem, and realising that the Buddha and Dhamma were being praised as well; they were also being held high.

After Cambodia, I flew to Malaysia and then Singapore. Many people came to listen to my talks, a thousand at a time. For each of the talks it was Dhamma that was inspiring, it was Dhamma that brought people to see me, it was Dhamma that gave them great joy, it was Dhamma that changed people's lives. For that I felt very proud, very inspired, but it also presented me with the dangers of gain, honour and fame. During the trip I was offered some very fine gifts, which I usually handed on to others. I was given a beautiful Buddha statue by King Sihanouk, which I gave to the Buddhist Fellowship in Singapore because they have a new centre there and it seemed suitable. The Japanese co-host gave me a very beautiful, probably very expensive carved future of Amitabha Buddha. Seeing that I'm a Theravadan, I gave it to a Mahayana Buddhist nun in Sydney.