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Page 21 |
| J21.01 A Way to Live and a Way to Die - What is Buddhism? Is it a religion or a philosophy? |
| J21.02 Search for Security - It may be a truism of psychology... |
| J21.03 The Buddha’s impeccable wisdom - A serene and tranquil Vesak atmosphere... |
| J21.04 Peace and compassion in Buddhism - Every major religious celebration... |
| J21.05 Enlightenment unequalled - Significance of Vesak Full Moon Poya |
| J21.06 Spirituality in Place of Pomp - Commercialism, in the recent past... |
| J21.07 The teachings of the Enlightened One as seen in the Agganna Sutta |
| J21.08 Anatta, the unique concept in Buddha Dhamma - Buddhist devotees are... |
| J21.09 Dhamma without Rebirth? - In line with the present-day stress... |
| J21.10 Rebirth, Reincarnation, Resurrection or Eternity? - Afterlife, more so... |
| J21.11 What is in Your Store? - Have you ever considered what... |
| J21.12 The Problem of Conflict - It is one of the bitterest ironies... |
| J21.13 The Concept of Rebirth in Buddhism - The subject of rebirth is... |
| J21.14 What came first, ‘Karma’ or the Individual? - Is a question that vexes those who believe... |
| J21.15 The liberated Buddhist woman - A female offspring... |
| J21.16 A Remedy for Despair - Most of us live in the cramped cold cages... |
| J21.17 The arrival of Buddhism in Sri Lanka |
| J21.18 The uniqueness of Buddhism |
| J21.19 How to practise Buddhism |
| J21.20 BUDDHISM - A Scientific Experimental Path |
J21.01
A Way to Live and a Way to Die
Malika Jayasinghe
The Buddha discovered the fundamental disease affecting us, the unsatisfactory nature of all phenomenal existence
The cause of all suffering according to the Buddha was the craving for worldly things. This craving is often deep, unending and insatiable
In Buddhism there is no creator-god who rewards or punishes us. ‘Look not for refuge to anyone but oneself. I am only your teacher'
What is Buddhism? Is it a religion or a philosophy? A true Buddhist would accept the basic Buddhist analysis of life as one that accommodates the teachings of the Buddha. It involves no dogmatism, no form of worship. One could say it is a code of morality, a way of life as it were.
The Buddha with his infinite wisdom discovered the fundamental disease affecting all men and women, the unsatisfactory nature of all phenomenal existence. It was he who raised the veil and showed us the world as it is, the unending suffering and pain all men are heir to.
In Buddhism there is no creator-god who rewards or punishes us. ‘Look not for refuge to anyone but oneself. I am only your teacher,’ the Buddha said. These words give us the satisfaction of knowing that in our own hands lie the power to mould our future lives. We and we alone are the creators of our destiny. Did not Shakespeare himself say, ‘Our remedies oft in ourselves do lie, which we ascribe to heaven.’ No prayers, no entreaties to heaven, no priest’s absolution, no rites and rituals can liberate us from the entanglements of human life. As we sow, we reap. That is the karmic theory. So it seems imperative that we find a method of escape from this unending chain of suffering called Sansara. It was the Buddha who said that there is a solution, a cure to this problem. He prescribed the four Noble Truths and the Eight-fold Path that leads to a place free of distress and danger - Nibbana.What is Nibbana and what is its ultimate purpose? The answer to this world-old question is contained in a word for which there is no English correlation.
“If any teach Nirvana is to cease, Say unto such they lie,
If any say Nibbana is to live, Say unto such they err.”
Such is Edwin Arnold’s admonition.There are the three great instruments of Dhana, Sila and Bhavana. Sila or more aptly called discipline regulates our words and deeds. It is the foot-rule that marks out a straight line to a life of virtue. Meditation is the compass that helps dispel all vanity, pride and selfishness and helps fill our minds with metta or universal love. No easy task. It requires resolve and great dedication.
All the desires by which we are cursed leads to misery; if not gratified, alike to misery: if gratified, to the misery of extreme satiety.
‘Ananda. They who are correct in living according to the Dhamma are the ones who will reach their goal’ the Buddha said.
We see people’s lives riddled with lust, greed and revenge Usually it is the ‘I’ and the ‘mine,’ the foremost factors in our lives, that bring on these defilement of the mind. It springs and flourished on the soil of selfish desire, passions and delusion.
The cause of all suffering according to the Buddha was the craving for worldly things. This craving is often deep, unending and insatiable. Dazzled by life’s deceptive show, its allure, we are drawn to everything that brings us joy and satisfaction. Good food, fine clothes, fame that gives weight to one’s slightest word, are they not good things? Of course they are.
Yet one must think about its impermanence, its illusionary nature. Blinded by these false delights we cling to them, not realizing their emptiness, their hollowness. Spencer, a renowned philosopher, impressed by the transiency of the world wisely said, ‘The one thing permanent is the reality hidden under ever-changing things.’
Macaulay, another great English writer voiced his sentiments thus: ‘All the desires by which we are cursed leads to misery; if not gratified, alike to misery: if gratified, to the misery of extreme satiety.'
The lesson to be learned is not to ossify the heart ill it cannot feel, but to transfer desire to a higher plane of being, a loftier one.
The key word that should dominate our minds is detachment. Do not cling to worldly things. ‘LET GO’ the Buddha said over and-over again. So weed out the noxious weeds of greed and avarice. Do not let it blur your vision and block your path to deliverance.
The Buddha extolled us to practise virtues like generosity, compassion and kindness to all living things. We must shun evil thoughts like anger, hatred and revenge. These defilements only corrode the mind and heart and bring on unending misery. Wounding and killing others is a heinous crime.“Kill not for pity’s sake the meanest thing,
Give freely and receive and take from none.
By greed or force, or fraud what is not yours.”
Always there will be a retributory justice. Punishment for evil acts will be pitiless and will go beyond the penalties of courts and jails. Giving should not be tainted by any idea of favour or return. It must flow from a heart full of sympathy and love for all living beings.
Then comes death, the end of life. All sentient beings are doomed to die. This is true not just for one man, one family, one city, but for the whole world. Some live in abject fear of death but face it we must. It is only an incident in life, a mere incident of being.
Yet one must think about its impermanence, its illusionary nature. Blinded by these false delights we cling to them, not realizing their emptiness, their hollowness.
Parting from loved ones is inevitable. One must restrain one’s tears knowing how fragile, how uncertain life is. Wailing, lamentations bring no comfort. Let those who grieve meditate on the teachings of the Buddha, seek solace from his doctrine. "I teach my disciples but one thing - sorrow and the deliverance from sorrow.” So said the Buddha.
It is after a mighty struggle each one of us has acquired the human form. Endeavour to tread the spiritual path and so break the bonds that tie us to this world, a world filled with pain and misery and anguish. Strive to save oneself from all of it and so reach that blissful state called Nibbana.
“Walk ye-as princes who follow the way of right living,” extolled the Buddha.
“Be like unto brethren; one in love, one in holiness and one in zeal for doing good.”
This is the only way to live and also the only way to die.20 05 2019 - Daily Mirror
J21.02
Search for Security
Bhikkhu Bodhi
It may be a truism of psychology that the desire for happiness is the most fundamental human drive, but it is important to note that this desire generally operates within the bounds set by another drive just as deep and pervasive. This other drive is the need for security. However insistent the raw itch for pleasure and gain may be, it is usually held in check by a cautious concern for our personal safety. We only feel at ease when we are sealed off from manifest danger, comfortably at home with ourselves and with our world, snugly tucked into familiar territory where everything seems friendly and dependable.
When we come across the Buddha's teaching and begin to take that teaching seriously, we often find that it provokes in us disturbing waves of disquietude. This feeling arises from a clash -- a sensed incompatibility -- between the picture of the world that we hold to as the essential basis for our normal sense of security and the new perspectives on existence opened up to us by the Dhamma. We may try to shun the vistas that trouble us, we may pick and choose from the Dhamma what we like; but to the extent that we are prepared to take the teaching in earnest -- on its own terms rather than on ours -- we may discover that the insights which the Buddha wants to impart to us can be quite unsettling in their impact.
The first noble truth was never intended to be a comfortable truth; indeed, it is the discomforting quality of this truth that makes it noble. It tells us frankly that the routinely placid and predictable surface of our everyday lives is extremely fragile -- a shared delusion with which we lull ourselves and each other into a false sense of security. Just beneath the surface, hidden from view, turbulent currents are stirring which at any time can break the surface calm. From the moment we are born we are sliding towards old age and death, susceptible to various diseases and accidents that may hasten our arrival at the appointed end. Driven by our desires we wander from life to life across the sand dunes of samsara, elated by our rises, shaken by our falls. The very stuff of our lives consists of nothing more than a conglomeration of five "heaps" of psychophysical processes, without any permanence or substance. Perhaps the Buddha's most poignant statement on the human condition is his image of a man being swept along by a mountain torrent: he grasps for safety at the grasses along the banks only to find that they break off just as he takes hold of them.
However, though the Buddha begins by drawing our attention to the uncertainty that encompasses us even in the midst of comfort and enjoyment, he by no means ends there. The discourse on suffering is expounded, not to lead us to despair, but to awaken us from our complacent slumbers and to set us moving in the direction where our ultimate welfare can be found. Far from undercutting our need to feel secure, the Buddha's teaching unfolds from that very same need, turning it into a sustained inquiry into what genuine security actually means.
Ordinarily, our benighted attempts to achieve security are governed by a myopic but imperious self-interest oriented around the standpoint of self. We assume that we possess a solid core of individual being, an inherently existent ego, and thus our varied plans and projects take shape as so many maneuvers to ward off threats to the self and promote its dominance in the overall scheme of things. The Buddha turns this whole point of view on its head by pointing out that anxiety is the dark twin of ego. He declares that all attempts to secure the interests of the ego necessarily arise out of clinging, and that the very act of clinging paves the way for our downfall when the object to which we hold perishes, as it must by its very nature.
The Buddha maintains that the way to true security lies precisely in the abolition of clinging. When all clinging has been uprooted, when all notions of "I" and "mine" have lost their obsessive sting, we will have no more fear, no more worry, no more anxious concern. Touched by the fluctuations of worldly events the mind remains stable, "sorrowless, stainless and secure" (Sn. 268).
While ultimate security lies only in the unconditioned, in Nibbana "the supreme security from bondage" (anuttara yogakkhema), as we wend our way through the rough terrain of our mundane lives we have available a provisional source of security that will help us deal effectively with the dangers and difficulties that beset us. This provisional security lies in firmly committing ourselves to the Dhamma as our source of solace and guidance, as our incomparable refuge. The word "dhamma" itself means that which upholds and supports. The Buddha's teaching is called the Dhamma because it upholds those who live by it: it wards off the dangers to which we would be exposed if we were to flout it, it sustains us in our endeavor for the final good if we revere it and make it the foundation of our lives.
The Dhamma provides protection, not by any mystical blessing or downpour of saving grace, but by indicating the sure and certain guidelines that enable us to protect ourselves. Beneath the apparent randomness of visible events there runs an invisible but indomitable law which ensures that all goodness finds its due recompense. To act counter to this law is to invite disaster. To act in harmony with it is to tap its reserves of energy, to yoke them to one's spiritual growth, and to make oneself a channel of help for others who likewise roam in search of a refuge.
The essential counsel that the Buddha gives us to secure our self-protection is to shun all evil, to practice the good, and to purify our minds. By the pursuit of non-violence, honesty, righteousness and truth we weave around ourselves an impenetrable net of virtue that ensures our wellbeing even in the midst of violence and commotion. By cultivating the good we sow the seeds of wholesome qualities that will come to maturity as we continue on our path throughout the samsaric journey. And by purifying our minds of greed, hatred and delusion by mindfulness and diligent effort we will find for ourselves an island that no flood can overwhelm - the island of the Deathless.
(Courtesy: Buddhist Publication Society)
18 05 2019 – The Island
J21.03
The Buddha’s impeccable wisdom
Dr. Edwin Ariyadasa
“In this world of storm and strife, hatred and violence, the message of the Buddha shine like a radiant sun. His eternal message has thrilled humanity through the ages. Perhaps, in no time in past history, was his message of peace, more needed for a suffering and distracted humanity than it is today. Let us remember that immortal message and to fashion our thoughts and actions in the light of that teaching.”
Shree Nehru – First Prime Minister of India
A serene and tranquil Vesak atmosphere usually pervades our “Island of Righteousness” (Dharmadvipa) at this time of the year. In this thrice-blessed sacred season, the Buddhist devotees celebrate three auspicious events, in the life of the Supremely Enlightened Buddha. Those three are the Birth of Prince Siddhartha, the attainment of Supreme Enlightenment by Ascetic Siddhartha and the Great Demise of the Buddha.
At this stage, in order to focus keenly on the central theme of the present discussion, let us shift our attention, to an unprecedented global carnage, that claimed more human lives, than any other war, in the whole of human history. This ugly instance in the evolution of human life is known as “World War 2”. This abominable devastation of lives and property went on for six dreadful years – from 1939 to 1945.
At the end of this period of demonic destruction, peace was reached. The victorious nations were in a relentless rage, against the opposing nations who unleashed attacks on them in the days of the war. The winner was fuming. They were all out to avenge the losses they suffered, by imposing the most harrowing of punishments on the “enemies”, who inflicted pain.
An international peace conference was held on the 6th of September 1951, in San Francisco, US. Many expressed in unhibited terms, that the worst possible reprisals should be agreed upon. The totality of the peace assembly was overwhelmed by harsh vocalisms of extreme hatred. Peace did not seem to have much of a chance. In the midst of these wide-spread chaotic waves of profound indignation, a tall person stood up quietly, and in clearly articulated, sonorous words delivered a Pali stanza. The exotic, soothing feel of the chanting, made the agitated assembly, calm, silent and alert. These are the words: “In this world, hatred cannot be overcome by hatred. It is only by non-hatred that hatred can be defeated. This is the timeless law.”
This stanza was communication on peace, delivered by the Supremely Enlightened Buddha 20 centuries ago. This timeless communication came to the peace assembly, through the long chasm of time, and was delivered to the international delegates, by Sri Lanka's Representative – former Sri Lankan President, J.R. Jayewardene. The miracle was peace prevailed. Hatred diminished punishment was nominal.
This, invariably proves, that the Supreme Buddha is a timeless communicator. But, extensive research is necessary to become fully aware of the Buddha's Communications Enlightenment and the techniques he utilized.
The Buddha was mankind's first spiritual leader, who recognized the need to train communications.
He sent out his early disciples, to communicate his spiritual message to the masses. This was his instruction to his Pioneering Religious Communications: “O monks, travel forth, for the well-being of the many – for the happiness of the many.” To my mind, this is an extremely suitable motto, ever for today's sophisticated communicators – both print and electronic. The Supreme Buddha, advised them, that, two persons should not travel along the same path. This was to conserve limited human resources.
As a psychologist of communication, he was aware of the need to understand the audience, well.
We could appreciate the Buddha's keenness, about the state of mind of his audiences.
The scripture, statues a routine, the Buddha adopted.
Just after his mid-day meal, the Buddha takes a brief rest. Next, he walks across to the auditorium, where the disciples are waiting for him. Routinely, the Buddha asks them a question: “O monks, what were you talking about before I came in?” The bhikkhus respond. The real implication of this regular question is to delve into the state of mind of the disciples.
When the Buddha becomes aware of the topic of the main conversation of the monks he can adapt the topic of his exhortation, to what is predominant in the minds of the Bhikkus. This gives the Buddha an idea of “the heightened awareness of the monks.” Then he can present a sermon utilizing the “heightened awareness” of his listeners. Since the topic of the sermon is about an issue, of which they have a “heightened awareness”, the content will get firmly recorded in their mind.
The scriptures, referring to the communications strategy of the Buddha, often declare, that the audiences listen to the Buddha with unusual keenness. They had what the Buddha preaches in “Sakaya Nirattiya” (one's own idiom). This way, each listener thinks, that the Buddha addressed him or her – specifically.
Even if the audience is multi-lingual, the members fully understand the Buddha's words, because of their ‘intimate’ feel.18 05 2019 - Daily News
J21.04
Peace and compassion in Buddhism
Lionel Wijesiri
Every major religious celebration observed in Sri Lanka is an opportunity to treasure the wonderful diversity of our country and to appreciate more about our religious unity. The Day of Wesak marking the birth, enlightenment and passing of the Buddha is a joyous occasion for the Buddhists. On this day millions of Buddhists take time to reflect on the life and teachings of the Buddha, and to receive guidance from them.
Buddhism has an intimate association with peace. In our long Sri Lankan history, we hardly find any evidence of violence or killings on religious hatred. Buddhism wields only one sword, the sword of wisdom and recognizes only one enemy - the ignorance. The message of Buddhism and the principles on which it rests have assumed a new significance in today’s world. Even peace of which U.N.O. speaks of is an indication that the whole world is gradually veering around the beliefs embodied in the religion of the Buddha.
Harmony
All of us can learn from the Buddha’s spirit of compassion. His timeless teachings can help us to navigate the many national and global problems we face today. The financial crisis, climate change, pandemics, terrorism and other international threats prove that the fates of all people are linked.
We have seen how a problem in one country can quickly turn into a worldwide threat. If we are to successfully face these threats, we must hold firm and act together. We must join forces in solidarity. It is the right thing to do in our best interests.
The need for religious harmony may seem like a modern concept, but it is not. More than 2,600 years ago, the Buddha taught that nothing exists in isolation, and that all phenomena are interdependent. Just as profoundly, he taught that we cannot be happy as long as others suffer, and that when we do reach out, we discover the best in ourselves.
As the world becomes more interconnected and cultures, peoples and religions become ever more entwined, we will be more and more challenged to learn to live together harmoniously. While preserving faith toward one's own religion, one must learn to respect, admire and appreciate other religions if we are to live amicably and cordially.
It is a complex situation and raises a moral question: How can people who have different religions (and sometimes competing visions of reality) live together in peace? One proven answer is the inter-religious dialogue. We see such efforts in ecumenical dialogue between number of different Christian Churches. But it can expand to cover all major religions.
When people can talk about differences, they can move beyond the content of those differences - difficult theological content - to see before them another human being who is living in a community, offering respect and expecting it from others. When people are talking about differences, they are learning. When they are talking, they are not fighting or killing.
Making peace
There is nothing wrong though, with sincere personal belief that one’s faith is the best. That would be “making peace” with oneself. However, when one insists others to agree likewise, that would be “making war” with others. Asoka, the great Buddhist emperor, who lived over 2400 years ago, had this to say:
“Growth in essentials can be done in different ways, but all of them have as their root restraint in speech, that is, not praising one’s own religion, or condemning the religion of others without good cause. And if there is cause for criticism, it should be done in a mild way. But it is better to honour other religions for this [or that worthy] reason. By so doing, one’s own religion benefits, and so do other religions, while doing otherwise harms one’s own religion and the religions of others.”
There is a diversity of religious beliefs in our world simply because there is a corresponding diversity of mind-sets. Even two random adherents of the same faith are unlikely to have totally identical views. We need to respect this worldly reality – before arguing on any spiritual reality.
Surely, a religion that is pro-conflict is not one we need. What if it is a central tenet of a religion that it cannot agree to disagree with others? Thankfully, there is no such major religion in practice today, or there would be inter-religious chaos. With all orthodox religions advocating peace, this implies that those who cannot agree to disagree might not really be religious at heart.
Dialogue
When we lose our compassion and wisdom while defending the beliefs we profess to represent, we are misrepresenting our faiths with our very loss of compassion and wisdom. Those two elements are undoubtedly virtues universal to all respectable religions. The basic ethics of free speech (or any other form of expression) with responsibility should be followed both offline and online, by sticking to the so-called golden rule found in many religions – not do to others what you do not want others to do to you.
In sincere dialogue, there is gentle nudging to reflect, instead of proselytising with threats of spiritual damnation. Real dialogue never insists on acceptance of one’s beliefs, but merely offers them respectfully for rational consideration. The Buddha himself actively engaged in much skilful inter-religious dialogue with great compassion and wisdom.
As there were more than 60 different stems of religious thought in his time, the feat of being able to engage in harmonious dialogue is most remarkable. His is the example that Buddhists aspire to follow.
18 05 2019 – Daily News
J21.05
Enlightenment unequalled
Significance of Vesak Full Moon Poya
Indeewara de Mel
Vesak brings in an engrossing historical tale mixed with spirit and elegance.
Young ascetic Sumedha was steadfast in his attempt to achieve the highest spiritual realm - something only a few could reach. That day he heard Dipankara Buddha was visiting the town. What he wanted was a definite prophecy that he would be a Buddha in eons to come.The locale, however, was congested with people and the young man could hardly think of seeing Dipankara Buddha. When he spotted the muddy road, his thoughts worked on so fast in a different plane.
He requested the great teacher and his retinue to walk over him. Dipankara Buddha saw the young man’s thought in his divine eye, and knew the youth’s wish will materialise in uncountable eons to come.
Dipankara Buddha prophesied ascetic Sumedha would be a Buddha named Gotama in the future. The day Buddha declared the solemn prophecy to his twenty-fourth successor was a Vesak Full Moon Poya day. Since then Sumedha had been reborn in many existences. He had to complete the thirty perfections, paramitas. And before his final birth, the Bodhisatva, or Buddha-to-be, was born in Thusitha heaven.
The divine creature inquired five affairs before expiring for the final birth: right time, right area, right continent, right cast and right mother. Then, as any Buddhist knows, the fully mindful divine being entered the womb of Queen Mahamaya to be sired by King Suddhodana.
A prince was born on a Vesak Poya and was named Siddharth, one who has found meaning of existence. The queen passed away seven days after the prince’s birth.
The whiz kid declared the glorious verse, customary for all Buddhas, just after the birth: “I am the chief of the world. There is no equal to me. I am supreme. This is my last birth. No rebirth for me.” The teacher worshipped the teacher of the world, and then father worshipped the son.
Aspiring for enlightenment
Siddharth Gotama’s life was spent in royal luxuries until he realised life’s true nature. Moments later Siddharth renounced the princely life on a Vesak Poya. Yet ascetic life was not a simple thing for the prince.
The robed Gotama was trained in various mental skills under many teachers, only to get disillusioned that they do not have the truth he looks for. The right way to achieve the truth dawned on him one day. He directed the mind in the right meditation path. Moments later he reached enlightenment and conquered the world of sorrows on a Vesak Poya.
The Conqueror was heading to the city of Kusinara, when he met Pukkusa. Pukkusa listened to the Dhamma and offered the Buddha two golden robes: one worn by the Buddha and the other by his assistant Ananda.
When the Conqueror was robed, his skin became clear dazzling the robe. Monk Ananda was amazed and the Buddha declared that the skin of a Buddha will be remarkably bright on two occasions: the night he attains Enlightenment and the night he passes into Parinibbana.
Third visit to Sri Lanka
The Buddha visited Sri Lanka on three occasions: first to Mahiyangana in January, second to Nagadipa in April, and third to Kelaniya in May, Vesak. On the second visit made to Nagadipa, King Maniakkikha invited the Blessed One for a third visit to Kelaniya. And he visited Kelaniya three years after his second visit, with 550 arahants.
However Nishantha Gunawardena, a Sri Lankan historian resident in the United States, mentions an interesting find in his The Lost Dynasty: The Buddha was not invited by King Maniakkhika but by a king named Panitha and his daughter princess Abhi Upaliya. Nishantha cites rock inscriptions at Balaharukanda and Bambaragastalawa that corroborate this find.
“...the rock inscriptions are more accurate due to the difficulty in changing or forging them. It was the national King Panitha who invited Gautama Buddha the second time. The regional King Maniakkhika is mentioned in a few other records.
But it was not until the December 2004 tsunami hit, the king reintroduced himself. Tsunami tore through the island exposing several rock inscriptions. Two of them bore the names of King Maniagiya and his mother. This is, in fact, King Maniakkhika.” (82pp)
King Maniakikha is commonly mistaken as a Naga king; naga means serpent in oriental languages. But scholars believe the king belonged to a clan named Naga. Following the Buddha’s sermon in Kelaniya, the king erected a shrine with the Buddha’s hair, utensils and the seat buried inside. However the foreign invasions have resulted in damaging the original shrine.
The Kelaniya Raja Maha Vihara became more sacred following the Ven. Mahinda’s arrival in Lanka to establish the Dhamma wheel officially. Mahawamsa - account of the great clan, if rendered into English - the official chronicle on Sri Lankan history written in the 5th Century CE, states King Devanampiyatissa’s brother Uttiya renovated the Dagoba along with the first quarters of the monks.
Mahavamsa interestingly relates how the Blessed One journeyed to Adam’s Peak or Sumanakuta from Kelani on the Vesak Poya day. The 7359ft tall conical mountain has a historic significance as Buddhists believe it has the Buddha’s footprint on it.
The mount is normally known as Adam’s Peak for Christians and Shivan Adipatham (Shiva’s footprint) for Hindus. The mount has obviously become the meeting place for the people of diverse religions and ethnicities.
In Sinhala the mount is known as Sri Pada, the term derived from Sanskrit denoting the ‘sacred foot’. The Sinhala Samanala Kanda, or Butterfly Mountain in English, is named thus because of the annually migrating butterflies.
Legend has it that the Buddha placed his left footprint on the hill summit and then strode across to Thailand, then Siam. In Siam the Buddha is said to have left the impression of the right foot; this is called Phra Sat, similar to Sri Pada. In his Bharhut Stupa General Sir A. Cunningham rests details about footprints:
“Footprints of the Buddha were most probably an object of reverence from a very early period - certainly before the building of the Bharut Stupa - as they are represented in two separate sculptures there. In the sculpture the footprints are placed on a throne or altar, canopied by an umbrella hung with garlands.
A royal personage is kneeling before the altar, and reverently touching the footprints with his hands. The second example is in the bas-relief representing the visit of Ajata-satru to Buddha. Here, as in all other Bharut sculptures, the Buddha does not appear in person, his presence being marked by His two footprints. The wheel symbol is duly marked on both.” (112pp).
A cave temple called Diva Guhava is recognised as the place the Buddha had respite during his Sri Pada visit along with his retinue. The cave is said to have the capacity to provide shelter for over 500 people. Siripa samaya, the season of Sripa pilgrimage starts in December through May.
“When the Teacher, compassionate to the whole world,” goes on Mahavamsa, “had preached the doctrine there, he rose, the Master, and left the traces of his footsteps plain to sight on Sumanakuta.
And after he had spent the day as it pleased him at the foot of this mountain, with the brotherhood, be set forth for Dighavapi.”Some historians however see the Buddha’s visit to Dighavapi far from being likely. As the chronicle states, the Buddha had visited the village and meditated consecrating the place. A shrine was later erected on the place the Blessed One meditated.
Many works including Samantha Pasadika and Dipavamsa contain allusions to Dighavapi.
The works mention the inhabitants of Dighavapi were Yakkas, with links to pre-Aryan Kirat people in Northern India. As a legend goes, while a novice monk was repairing a part of the shrine, he fell from the top. He heard the shouting of his colleagues to recall Dhajagga Paritta, a sutta reciting the great qualities of the Buddha, Dhamma and Sangha. And finally, it is said, the novice monk was saved miraculously. The area was later reconstructed by King Saddhatissa.
Some sources indicate that the Buddha set foot on Kataragama following the visit to Dighavapi.
Legend lays down an account where the Buddha met King Mahasena (some sources identify the king as Mahaghosha) in Kataragama.
The king listened to the Buddha and erected a shrine - now known as Mangala Ceitya - on the place he preached. The place is now called Kiri Vehera, located close to the Hindu temple built by the same king.
According to a source discovered by Nishantha Gunawardena the Mangala Ceitya contains the sword that Prince Siddharth used to cut his hair in renouncing. However, as Nishantha adds, the source is yet to be verified.
Prince Vijaya’s visit to Sri Lanka - then called Tambapanni, the gold-sand island - occured on a Vesak Poya. As commonly known, Vijaya was exiled to Tambapanni because of the dreadful behaviour of him and his associates.
His father, Sinhabahu, had no option other than banishing him - his followers and their families numbering about 700 - to the island with their heads partly-shaved as a sign of disgrace. Vijaya’s ancestors came down from the kingdom of Kalinga, known as Orissa to the ancient, and Vanga in Bangladesh and in eastern part of India.
The king of Vanga was married to the daughter of the king of Kalinga, named Suppadevi. Mahavamsa then relates the episode of Suppadevi having intimacies with a lion ending up with two children: Sihabahu, lion-arms, and Sihasivali.
The lion had a family life in a cave, covered by a large rock to block any attempt of escapade. But the turn of events took a different shape as the lion’s family had escaped from the cave, and Sihabahu killing his father with an arrow. Following the patricide, Sihabahu married his sister and formed a kingdom in Sihapura city.
The royal couple had a series of twins, of which Vijaya was the eldest.
Rajavaliya, the chronicle on Sri Lankan kings, mentions Vijaya’s entourage spotted Adam’s Peak and landed in Southern Sri Lanka - the area that later became the Kingdom of Ruhuna. H. Parker, a British historian, however, mentions it is the mouth of Kirindi Oya.
18 05 2019 – Daily News
J21.06
Spirituality in Place of Pomp
K.K.S. Perera
Commercialism, in the recent past, hijacked the commemoration of the birth, enlightenment, and death of the Buddha, initially through temples and Buddhist organizations and gradually in a direct approach, labelling a brand name to call it, ‘…Vesak kalapa’. They exhibit in numerous varieties of ‘Dhatu’ or relics from temples as a crowd puller. If all Buddha relics spread across the Earth were brought together, the height of enlightened one would measure a few more times than the proverbial eighteen riaynas [a riyana is one and a half feet]. The term sraddha is wrongly interpreted as follows, ‘veneration and loyal confidence and self-reliance developed by an understanding of the profound Dhamma preached by the Buddha...’ according to the Kalama Sutra this is most undesirable. The contradiction here is a far from imagination. The gullible devotees believe, that what are exhibited as Buddha relics are the genuine parts of Buddha’s body, and the followers with Sraddha collects in thousands and line up for hours in queues to ‘worship and show straightforward trust and confidence’ every time there is such an exposition. I know several laymen owning a collection of Buddha relics who donate them for temples in various parts of the island to be used as deposits in newly built dagobas. If all such relics spread over the Buddhist world are collected at one point, it will certainly outweigh the skeletal remains of Buddha many times.
As long as man is nourished with the fantasy he will survive in this miserable continuation in samsara.
All governments in the past couple of decades abused Vesak too to keep on baffling a gullible public to go on with and support them regardless of a deteriorating economy, increased corruption and a terrible governance record.
“The ability to observe without evaluating is the highest form of intelligence.” J. Krishnamurti
“Objective” way of looking at a thing, freed from thought of the personal reactions to that thing, is the pith of the method and comprise what is called “knowing as it is” (yathabhuta) Also by its quality of reckoning just what is present, mindfulness cuts down discursive thought and prepares the mind to take in the real characteristics of the cognized objects. In this sense, mindfulness lets the objects speak for themselves and unfold their nature.
All depend on how one comes across at these phenomena both inwardly and outwardly, and also on how serious one is. If you are actually serious, then when you look, the recurrence of the old ways of thinking, the old energy, living and acting come to an end. For most of us, the difficulty lies in being free of the old practices of reflection: ‘I am something,’ `I want to fulfil myself,’ ‘This is the correct way,’ ‘I want to become,’ ‘I trust my opinions,’ ‘I belong to a particular sect, religion.’ The moment you take a stand, you have separated yourself and have therefore become incompetent of looking at the total procedure or process.
The brutal terrorist attack on several places including Catholic churches and Hotels has left 260 innocent people dead. The looming fear has compelled the usual Vesak celebrations held in an extravagance manner creating a carnival atmosphere around the island by ‘Anti-Buddhist’ elements to withdraw the tamashas. This has paved the way for the true Buddhists to contemplate on the impermanent nature of all transient things and stay at home on this most important day in the Buddhist calendar. Billions wasted on unnecessary decorations and illuminations can be saved this year.
Dhamma and Science
Dhamma, simple and easy to comprehend. We can’t alter the past but have clear control over the future if one can proceed with skill and accuracy in the present instant. Dhamma is a very simple process, it takes place universally and every day in every individual, which anybody can comprehend as soon as it is exposed of the veil of mystery in which it was surrounded by philosophy, doctrines and rituals. Mindfulness, bare attention and awareness of the moment, parting the past behind and not brooding of the future will take the disciple on to the right path. Prof. Rhys Davis once stated that he scrutinised every one of the great religions and in none of them did he discover anything to outshine, in exquisiteness and depth, the teachings of the Buddha, and that he is delighted to shape his life according to the principles. The father of modern science, Albert Einstein, declared that he is not a religious being, but if he were one he would be a follower of the Buddha.
Every year, Buddhists from all over the world celebrate Vesak. This is the most important ceremony or celebration for this religion that commemorates the Buddha’s birth, enlightenment, death (Parinirvna). It is celebrated on the full moon in the month of May. This year, Vesak falls on the 18th of May. If we truly consider in metta, karuna, mudita and upekka, the independence of thought and enquiry as described in the Kalama Sutta, and above all, the concept of equality that Buddha sought to teach us, there is no basis whatsoever for followers of the Dhamma to conduct yourself the way we are doing today.
To be certain, the Buddha in his spiritual emphasis on equality had opposed the immoral race, caste and religious systems and the social prejudices that prevailed even in his time. According to Buddhist philosophy, the rights of all human beings must be protected. No single community has special rights that the rest do not enjoy.
The Sigalovada Sutta points us how to get on with our fellow citizens along this difficult journey towards Nibbana.
Addressing young Sigalaka who was worshipping in six directions Buddha said, “But, young man, that is not how the six directions are worshipped. It is by abandoning the four impure actions; a noble disciple refrains from harmful deeds rooted in four causes and avoids the six ways of squandering wealth. So, these fourteen harmful things are removed. The noble disciple, now with the six directions protected, has entered upon a path for conquering both worlds, firmly grounded in this world and the next. At the dissolution of the body after death, a good rebirth occurs in a heavenly world. What four impure actions are abandoned? The harming of living beings is an impure action, taking what is not given is an impure action, sexual misconduct is an impure action, and false speech is an impure action. These four are abandoned.”
The noble one continued, “And how, young man, does the noble disciple protect the six directions? These six directions should be known: mother and father as the east, teachers as the south, spouse and family as the west, friends and colleagues as the north, workers and servants as the lower direction, and ascetics and Brahmans as the upper direction.18 05 2019 - Daily News
J21.07
The teachings of the Enlightened One as seen in the Agganna Sutta
Satharathilaka Banda Atugoda
Pic by M.A. Pushpa Kumara
The Buddha was the greatest Teacher who lived on Earth; the Buddha taught His followers on any subject that was posed to Him. That is why He was revered as “Sarvangna”.
Buddhist India
‘Jambudhweepa’ was a caste-ridden society dominated by the so-called Brahminic caste. The others were the Kshatriya, in which Prince Siddhartha Gauthama was born, the Vaishyas and the Kshudras (the lowest). The Buddha, although of Royalty taught against this social system, giving prominence and supremacy to any human, irrespective of caste and the acquiring of knowledge in this birth and attainment of spirituality, thereafter, thus attaining Nibbana, the Emancipation. He thus ordained persons of all castes in His Sangha. The Sunitas, the Sopakas and Mattakundalis and the Untouchables along with persons of high castes, became monks or members of the Sangha.
Two Brahmin youths, Bharadvaja and Vaseththa, who left their families to become pupils of the Buddha by entering the Sangha, were made outcasts for being among the lower strata of society in the Buddhist Sangha. The Buddha taught the Agganna Sutta, especially to these Brahmins, with many aims, mainly to teach the vanity of the caste system while explaining the origin of the earth to substantiate the thesis. Thus this Sutta is an all-pervading teaching which all humans respect even followers of other religions.
The need for the Sermon
The Agganna Sutta is the 27th Sutta in the Digha Nikaya (Long Discourses). The Buddha at the time was using the temple-abode donated by Vishakha, the mother of Migara in Savaththi. It was customary for the Blessed One to utilize the evenings after meditation to speak to persons who sought His advice. It was on such an evening when the Enlightened One was walking in the open yard that Bharadvaja and Vaseththa, paid their respects to Him and requested a sermon as they had been made objects of ridicule by the Brahmins of their caste.
Brahmins claim they are born from the mouth of the Brahma and that is why they are of bright complexion and handsome countenance. Vaseththa and Bharadvaja who belonged to this so-called high caste were scorned for embracing equal status with the lower strata of society by becoming monks.
Equality and Dhamma
The Thathagatha repudiated these beliefs. He said that Brahmin women too go through the same process of child-bearing like all other women by being pregnant, giving birth and bringing up children. Brahmin children too grow up like others. Further all humans should follow the Samma Ditthi by conforming to Panca Sila, to gain respect from society. Persons of any caste who acquire merit and decide to leave worldly affairs to seek the “Truth” will ultimately attain spirituality in future births.
He gave the example of King Pasenadi Kosala who was revered by his people and followed the “Dhamma” propounded by the Buddha. This explanation made the two Brahmin-Bhikkhus strong with the conviction that they had taken the Path of Emancipation, according to the Dhamma taught by the Buddha.
Origin of the universe
The Buddha continued with the origin of humans on this Earth, which is in conformity with the modern scientific explanation of the Origin of the Universe.
The Buddha propounded that the earth shrinks with the passing of eons of age. Modern geology too teaches the five-geological eras. As the earth gradually shrinks, the Buddha explains that the inhabitants perish and those with good deeds (good karma) are born in the heavenly realm of Abhassara (lucid and transparent light). The Buddha explained that these life forms existed as bodiless, with their nourishment being the spiritual joy acquired from past births. This reflects that it is the good deeds of the worldly person that subsist.
Gradually when the world expanded these “Abhassaras” were born in the newly created spaces of the earth. The other planetary bodies – moon and sun were not fully formed then, and therefore, there was no day and night. The Abhassaras too did not identify their gender. The physical features and earth were composed of a large body of water and darkness, while after some time the water got filled with a kind of soil on earth. This substance looked like a jelly, termed Badalatha. It contained sweetness, colour and smell. Perhaps, the Buddha introduced the origin of elements like Rupa Shabbdha, Gandha, Rasa, Sparsha – Body forms, Sounds, Odours, Taste, and Touch feeling, “Pancha-upadana” with the development of physical features on earth in this part of the Sutta.
The Sutta describes how Abhassaras, indulged in the five likings ‘Asavas’ – seeing good things, tasting, smelling, hearing, and touching for the first time. Their bodies due to these sensual acts became moulded as human bodies and the sun and moon too appeared. On the jelly on earth, Badalatha, plants appeared in the form of mushrooms, developed into other edible plants and substances and the creatures on earth subsisted on them. The Abhassaras now changed the form of their bodies, denoting the emergence of the genders, male and female.
Gradually, the earth was giving succour to life forms of humans, animals, vegetation and plants from which the higher living beings could subsist. The rice – harvest was equally divided among the beings. However, some who became more greedy consumed more and took more. Although the rice plant took one night to grow and ready for consumption, with some beings taking more, the plant too, as if to teach a lesson to these creatures, biologically took more time to be ready for harvesting.
Life forms
In the meantime these beings developed sensual attraction for the opposite sex. The five senses became sharp. It was thought to be an unconventional and non-meritorious (Paw) act to indulge in sensual pleasures, that those found so were made outcasts. Those who indulged in these pleasures built dwellings and there arose humans of both genders, plants, other creatures and human settlements. When disputes arose among them for either the distribution of the harvest or other petty wrongdoings, they appointed some wise person to mediate and bring settlement. A person was elected with common consent and was named the Khaththiya. They later usurped power and became the rulers. It was the beginning of the caste system.
Caste system
The Kshatriyas became the rulers or kings. The people bestowed on the king the title “Maha Sammata” meaning, people’s endorsement for ruling, the title of “Raja” meant that he enlightens people’s minds with Dhamma, righteousness. Thus the Kshatriyas were the most respected -they stood for democracy and the rule of law.
The Brahmins- meant the “One who has won over evil”. Some in society lived with no ethical rules and engaged in unmeritorious acts like killing, stealing, debauchery, lying, and taking intoxicants. Having seen this, certain right-thinking persons left to the forests to meditate, while some others among them compiled books on meritorious activities and good living. They were called Brahmins and they became a social group like the Kshatriyas. They too became a caste, but they were not considered supreme to other groups.
The other groups were Vaishyas and Kshudras; the Vashyas were agriculturists and traders while the Kshuddras performed economic pursuits relevant to society as they gathered food from forests. They all were segments of one societal structure.
Thus in the beginning, the caste distinctions did not attach high or low status to persons but as time passed, the Brahmins acquired supremacy.
The Buddha, thus taught humanity how the universe originated and humans appeared while advising them that caste distinctions are wrong conceptions which should not be followed.
(The writer is a former Ambassador)
19 05 2019 - Sunday Times
J21.08
Anatta, the unique concept in Buddha Dhamma
R.S. Jayaratne
Buddhist devotees are quite familiar with the basic philosophical concept of "Tilakkhana" the three characteristics of existence, as explained in the in the Buddha Dhamma. They are "anicca" impermanence, "dukkha" misery or suffering, and "anatta" non-self. As revealed by the Buddha, the comprehensive realization of the fact that our physical form, (rupa) feelings, (vedana) perceptions, (sanna) karma formations, (sankhara) and consciousness (vinnana) are all subject to the above three characteristics of existence, i. e. Anicca, dukha and Anatta will certainly pave the way for the eventual realization of Nibbana.
Of the above three characteristics, we Buddhists have a reasonably clear idea of the "anicca" and "dukkha". However, with regard to the concept of "anatta", we are aware that "anatta" means the non-existence of an Athma. It would be most helpful to have a clear perception of the exact nature of the Athma concept, and most importantly of its negative impact on the realization of higher levels of contemplative meditation.
The most effective way to understand the nature of the Athma concept and its negative impact in the proper understanding of the Buddha Dhamma is to focus our attention on the historic occasion on which the Buddha, initially explained the futility of the Athma concept to the world.
As explained in the Ariyapariyesana Sutta, etc., the Buddha, after his delivery of his first sermon Dhammacakka-pavattana Sutta to his former associates the the Pancavaggiya Bhikkus, at Isipatana, was compelled to spend a number of days explaining its contents to them in great detail. However, despite such an effort, when the Pancavaggiya Bhikkus were still unable to comprehend the Dhamma, the Buddha realized that it was due to their belief in an Athma deeply ingrained in their minds. Accordingly, he decided to preach them his second sermon, the Anattalakkhana Sutta, on the Anatta concept, through which he effectively convinced them of the futility of the belief in a mythical Athma, and It was only thereafter, the Pancavaggiya Bhikkus were able to fully comprehend the Buddha Dhamma and to become the first group of Arahants in the Buddhasasana.
In this context, it will also be relevant to consider the religious background of the Pancavaggiya Bhikkus at the time they were addressed by the Buddha. As explained in detail in the Mahasaccaka Sutta, Bodhirajakumara Sutta, Maha Sihanada Sutta, etc., the Buddha himself during his ascetic life, practised along with the Pancavaggiya Bhikkus, the "attakhilamatanuyoga" a penance of inflicting severe pressures on the body with the intention of cleansing the Athma believed to be operational within the body of each individual. However, he gave up such practices, upon his realization of their futility. However, his associates the Pancavaggiya Bhikkus were displeased with the Buddha's decision and left him, to continue with such rigorous practices at Isipatana. This is confirmed in the Buddha’s initial advice to them in the Dhammacakkapavattana Sutta that one should avoid both extremes such as the enjoyment of worldly luxuries "kamasukhallikanuyoga" as well as the rigorous penances known as "attakhilamatanuyoga" Hence, it is clearly evident that by the time the Buddha’s meeting the Pancavaggiya Bhikkus at Isipatana, they had been firm believers in the existence of a permanent Athma actively functioning within their own personalities.
As explained by eminent scholars such as Professors O.H. De A. Wijesekara, K.N. Jayatilaka, David Kalupahana etc., many Suttas in the Suttapitaka refer to the strong belief in the existence of an Athman, which had been firmly established among a vast number of contemporary ascetic communities and the lay societies. The Brahmajala Sutta refers to sixty two such ascetic groups comparing them to a shawl of fish trapped up in a fisherman’s net.
The pre-Buddhist Upanishads vividly explain in great detail, the nature of the Athman believed to be operational within every human being, functioning as an inner controller "antaryamin". Accordingly, the feelings "vedana" perceptions, "sanna" karmic formations "sankhara" and consciousness "vinnana" generated through the six faculties such as the eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body and the mind are believed to be received and reacted upon by the Athma, and that the individual has no control over them.
This concept is frequently illustrated in many contemporary Upanishads. For example, the pre-Buddhist Chandogya Upanishad explains the above phenomena as follows:-
"When the eye gazes upon space it is the Athman in the eye [who actually sees] the eye itself is merely the instrument of sight, when a man is conscious of smelling something, it is the Athman [that smells] the nose is only the instrument of smell, when a person is conscious of saying something, it is the Athman [which speaks] the voice is [only the instrument] of speech, when a person is conscious of thinking, it is the Athman [that thinks] the mind is Athman’s divine eye." - Chapter 8.12.4 (Translation by F. Maxmuller)
This concept is more effectively explained in the Prashna Upanishad as follows:-
"This one who actually sees, touches, listens, smells, tastes, contemplates, becomes conscious, and the one who acts is the Athman" - Chapter 4.4.9 (Translation by Patrick Olivelle)
Some pre-Buddhist Upanishads also refer to certain unsuccessful efforts by some to clearly identify their Athman separately from their body, the form "rupa" of such a person. For example, the pre-Buddhist Chandogya Upanishad quotes a dialogue between Prajapati - the Creator and some persons, who wished to separately identify the Athman operational within them. In response to such an inquiry, Prajapati - the Creator has advised them as follows.
"Look at yourselves in a vessel full of water. If you have any doubts about the self even thereafter, let me know." Thereafter, the persons looked and seen themselves in water, and the Creator asked "What do you see?" They replied "We see the reflection of our whole self, including our hair and nails" Chandogya Upanishad - Chapter 8.8.1 (Translation by Swami Lokeswarananda)
However, the following passage in the pre-Buddhist Bruhadaranyaka Upannishad explains the exact opposite of the same situation, when the Athman was looking around to see its own body, separately from the form "rupa", within which it had been functioning. The Sanskrit text goes as follows :-
"athmaivedam agraasith purushavidah, so’nuweekshya nanyad athmano’pashyat, so’ham asmi’ti agre vyaharath tato’ham nama bhavati…" (Bruhadaranyaka Upanishad - Chapter 1.4.1) which means,
"At the very beginning, there existed only the Athman in the form of a male person (purusha). Looking around, Athman happened to see his own reflection [in the water] and realized that it is no one else but it is only himself. Then at once, he said "so’ham asmi" "it is me". By saying it In that manner, the name "nama" of I "Aham" came into existence…" (Translation by Swami Nikhilananda.)
As evident in the Tevijja Sutta in the Digha Nikaya, which refers to four Upanishads as well as a number of Suttas such as Mahanidana Sutta, Cha chakka Sutta etc., the Buddha had been quite familiar with the contents of the Pre-Buddhist Upanishads including those Upanishads referred to above. Similarly, it is most likely that the Pancavaggiya Bhikkus too, who had been continuously engaged in ascetic practices had been quite conversant with the contents of such Upanishads including those quoted above.
In the delivery of the Anatta lakkhana Sutta to the Pancavaggiya Bhikkus, it is quite clear that the Buddha appropriately adopted an analytical approach in order to remove their strong conviction of the existence an all powerful Athma. As evident, in the Anattalakkhana Sutta, the Buddha firstly referred to the subject of form "rupa" and got them to admit that it was impermanent and subject to constant change "anicca". Thereafter, the Buddha got them to admit that because the form "rupa" is sorrowful "dukkha" as well. Thereafter, the Buddha’s final question was as follows:-
"Now that you on your own have accepted that the form "rupa" is impermanent "anicca", and sorrowful "dukkha", and under such circumstances, could you consider the form "rupa" as something to be called as "it is mine" (etam mama) and "that is me" (eso ’ham asmi) and "that is my Athman" (eso me Attha)? - Anattalakkhana Sutta
It is quite probable that the Buddha was inviting the attention of the Pancavaggiya Bhikkus to a very familiar passage in the Bruhadaranyaka Upanishad quoted above, which had referred to the Athman identifying the form "rupa" reflected in the water as "it is mine" (etam mama) and "that is me" (eso’ham asmi). Quite obviously, the response of the Pancavaggiya Bhikkus to the above question by the Buddha was their immediate admission that the Athman cannot claim the form "rupa" as "it is mine "(etam mama) or "that is me (eso’ham asmi) or "that is my Athman" (eso me Atta).
As evident in the Anattalakkhana Sutta, the Buddha having got the Pancavaggiya Bhikkus to admit that the form "rupa" is not Athman, and additionally that the feelings "vedana" perceptions "sanna" karma formations "sankhara" and consciousness "vinnana", too could not be considered as the Athman. Accordingly, the Pancavaggiya Bhikkus were fully a convinced of the non existence of an Athman operational within them, and most significantly, of their own capacity and capability to control their body and mind.
As explained in the Anattalakkhanasutta, the Pancavaggiya Bhikkus ultimately realized that their e six faculties as well as the "Pancaupadakkhandas", i.e. the five groups of clinging within them are subject to the three characteristics of existence, i.e. impermanence "anicca", sorrowful "dukkha" and non-self "anatta" and that they could be effectively disciplined only by themselves through the meditational process as advised by the Buddha, upon the realization of this ultimate truth, all the five Bhikkus eventually attained the supreme bliss of Arahantship.
As explained above, the belief in an Athma places any devotee at the assumed control of a mythical Athman, who is believed to be the controller of his feelings perceptions etc. It makes a person feel absolutely helpless being unable to control his/her faculties, due to the total dependence on an unseen force called Athman. Buddha Dhamma, in complete contrast, while rejecting the concept of an Athman, clearly demonstrates one’s own ability to control his/her faculties, paving the way to discipline the body and the mind, to develop perfect equanimity Upekkha, the extinction of all feelings and perceptions, i.e. "sanna vedayita nirodha" leading to the achievement of Nibbana.
As clearly evident from a large number of Suttas in the Suttapitaka, the Buddha while explaining the Dhamma particularly to the audiences who had been strong believers in the Athma concept, used every possible means and methods to dispel their wrong belief in the existence of a mythical Athma since such a conviction was an essential prerequisite for the comprehensive understanding of the Buddha Dhamma.
Accordingly, the concept of Anatta, which is the clear conviction of the nonexistence of a mythical entity called Athman operational within every human being controlling his/her faculties, and concurrently, the establishment of the full confidence in the human beings of their own capacity and the ability to control his/her faculties, ensuring the eventual achievement of Arahantship, leading to the termination of the eternal cycle of Sansara.
Sabbe sattha bhavantu sukhitatta - May all beings be blessed with happiness!
(The writer is former Secretary, Ministry of Public Administration and Home Affairs. sijay@sltnet.lk)
16 06 2019 - Sunday Times
J21.09
Dhamma without Rebirth?
Our motivation acquires the requisite maturity by the cultivation of right view, the first factor of the Noble Eightfold Path, which as explained by the Buddha includes an understanding of the principles of kamma and rebirth as fundamental to the structure of our existence. Though contemplating the moment is the key to the development of insight meditation, it would be an erroneous extreme to hold that the practice of Dhamma consists wholly in maintaining mindfulness of the present.
Bhikkhu Bodhi
In line with the present-day stress on the need for religious teachings to be personally relevant and directly verifiable, in certain Dhamma circles the time-honored Buddhist doctrine of rebirth has come up for severe re-examination. Although only a few contemporary Buddhist thinkers still go so far as to suggest that this doctrine be scrapped as "unscientific," another opinion has been gaining ground to the effect that whether or not rebirth itself be a fact, the doctrine of rebirth has no essential bearings on the practice of Dhamma and thence no claim to an assured place in the Buddhist teachings. The Dhamma, it is said, is concerned solely with the here and now, with helping us to resolve our personal hangups through increased self-awareness and inner honesty. All the rest of Buddhism we can now let go as the religious trappings of an ancient culture utterly inappropriate for the Dhamma of our technological age.
If we suspend our own predilections for the moment and instead go directly to our sources, we come upon the indisputable fact that the Buddha himself taught rebirth and taught it as a basic tenet of his teaching. Viewed in their totality, the Buddha's discourses show us that far from being a mere concession to the outlook prevalent in his time or an Asiatic cultural contrivance, the doctrine of rebirth has tremendous implications for the entire course of Dhamma practice, affecting both the aim with which the practice is taken up and the motivation with which it is followed through to completion.
The aim of the Buddhist path is liberation from suffering, and the Buddha makes it abundantly clear that the suffering from which liberation is needed is the suffering of bondage to samsara, the round of repeated birth and death. To be sure, the Dhamma does have an aspect which is directly visible and personally verifiable. By direct inspection of our own experience we can see that sorrow, tension, fear and grief always arise from our greed, aversion and ignorance, and thus can be eliminated with the removal of those defilements. The importance of this directly visible side of Dhamma practice cannot be underestimated, as it serves to confirm our confidence in the liberating efficacy of the Buddhist path. However, to downplay the doctrine of rebirth and explain the entire import of the Dhamma as the amelioration of mental suffering through enhanced self-awareness is to deprive the Dhamma of those wider perspectives from which it derives its full breadth and profundity. By doing so one seriously risks reducing it in the end to little more than a sophisticated ancient system of humanistic psychotherapy.
The Buddha himself has clearly indicated that the root problem of human existence is not simply the fact that we are vulnerable to sorrow, grief and fear, but that we tie ourselves through our egoistic clinging to a constantly self-regenerating pattern of birth, aging, sickness and death within which we undergo the more specific forms of mental affliction. He has also shown that the primary danger in the defilements is their causal role in sustaining the round of rebirths. As long as they remain unabandoned in the deep strata of the mind, they drag us through the round of becoming in which we shed a flood of tears "greater than the waters of the ocean." When these points are carefully considered, we then see that the practice of Dhamma does not aim at providing us with a comfortable reconciliation with our present personalities and our situation in the world, but at initiating a far-reaching inner transformation which will issue in our deliverance from the cycle of worldly existence in its entirety.
Admittedly, for most of us the primary motivation for entering upon the path of Dhamma has been a gnawing sense of dissatisfaction with the routine course of our unenlightened lives rather than a keen perception of the dangers in the round of rebirths. However, if we are going to follow the Dhamma through to its end and tap its full potential for conferring peace and higher wisdom, it is necessary for the motivation of our practice to mature beyond that which originally induced us to enter the path. Our underlying motivation must grow towards those essential truths disclosed to us by the Buddha and, encompassing those truths, must use them to nourish its own capacity to lead us towards the realization of the goal.
Our motivation acquires the requisite maturity by the cultivation of right view, the first factor of the Noble Eightfold Path, which as explained by the Buddha includes an understanding of the principles of kamma and rebirth as fundamental to the structure of our existence. Though contemplating the moment is the key to the development of insight meditation, it would be an erroneous extreme to hold that the practice of Dhamma consists wholly in maintaining mindfulness of the present. The Buddhist path stresses the role of wisdom as the instrument of deliverance, and wisdom must comprise not only a penetration of the moment in its vertical depths, but a comprehension of the past and future horizons within which our present existence unfolds. To take full cognizance of the principle of rebirth will give us that panoramic perspective from which we can survey our lives in their broader context and total network of relationships. This will spur us on in our own pursuit of the path and will reveal the profound significance of the goal towards which our practice points, the end of the cycle of rebirths as mind's final liberation from suffering.
(Courtesy: Buddhist Publication Society)
16 06 2019 - Sunday Times
J21.10
Rebirth, Reincarnation, Resurrection or Eternity?
Dr. Upul Wijayawardhana
After life, more so an obsession with it, one may argue is the biggest detriment to living this life to the full. Being programmed by whichever religion one is born to, the argument continues, we spend far more time thinking of what happens next, after death: be it rebirth, reincarnation, resurrection or eternity. Perhaps, this is the price we pay for the human mind developing the unique ability of conceptuality, there being no evidence that animals trouble themselves with such questions! However, dictates of religion, based mostly on faith, may be an impediment; which means, an intellectual debate is most welcome, to dispel faith-based beliefs. But, again, scientific facts are limited, though science is ever expanding, and whatever analysis we make applies to the present state of knowledge only, making it very likely views would change over time, with advancement of knowledge.
Following my tribute to Prof Carlo Fonseka (Carlo: The man who needed no religion! The Island, 5 October 2019), Dr. Kemachandra has written an extremely interesting response (The concept of rebirth: Food for thought: The Island, 12 October 2019), for which I am very grateful to him. It made me revisit one of my favourite subjects: after all, I too have been waiting in the departure lounge, waiting for that flight to an unknown destination! Dr. Kemachandra’s comments are very succinct, well-argued and I am sure Carlo, had he been alive, would be in agreement. May I add that it was the Buddha who introduced mindfulness, a concept that has gained wide acceptance by the scientific community with the development of multiple beneficial therapeutic regimes. Dr. Kemachndra’s following conclusion is, therefore, entirely in keeping with the concept of mindfulness:
"The Buddha reportedly has said to Bhikkhu Malukya not to speculate about the past and the future, and advised him that entertaining such views is not conductive to realisation of Nibbana (Chula Malukya sutra). Therefore, I wonder if 'punabbhava' is renewed thoughts. If I think this way, my confusion around rebirth diminishes."
However, Mr. R.S. Jayaratne, retired Secretary of the Ministry of Public administration and Home affairs, in a scholarly analysis titled "THE CONCEPT OF REBIRTH IN BUDDHISM", appearing in the Sunday Island of 13 October 2019, argues for the concept of Rebirth, as most Buddhists believe in, with quotations from many Suttas. Lacking the mastery of Suttas he displays, I dare not challenge him but thank him for giving me food for thought.
Carlo stated, many a time, that one of his life-changing events was buying a second hand copy of the ‘Kalama Sutta’ from a pavement book-seller. It changed his way of thinking and attracted him to Buddhist philosophy. Unlike Carlo, I was born to a Buddhist family and my father taught us Buddhism at Rahula College, Matara. We were encouraged to question and think, as stated in Kalama Sutta, and as I have stated, in my previous writings, Kalama Sutta laid the foundation for scientific thinking. I am not aware of any historical document, predating it, that encouraged ’scientific’ thinking and consider it a unique achievement in an era where education was the preserve of only a tiny minority.
As a scientist, I still keep an open mind on Rebirth and that is the only disagreement regarding Buddhist Philosophy, I had with Carlo who, as a rationalist, did not believe in an afterlife. Though some accuse that I canot be a true Buddhist, as I do not believe in Rebirth, Buddha himself has given a chance to ‘non-believers’ like us, as He did mention that Rebirth is a difficult concept to understand and not to worry even if you have doubts. I cannot recollect the name of the Sutta but, perhaps, Mr. Jayaratne would be able to enlighten us.
Death: Is it the end?
Maybe, there is nothing beyond death, as I stated in my article of the above title, printed in ‘The Island’, way back on 27 July 2013:
"It is very likely that when humans developed conceptualization, it was difficult to accept that death is an end. How can all this, which was so good, end so suddenly? Did we invent the after-life or eternity to overcome this dilemma? Rather than worrying about the next birth or after-life is it not better to live this life concentrating on doing something good for this beautiful planet of ours and its inhabitants? Buddha was once asked why his disciples who did not have any possessions radiated happiness. His reply was that they were so, as they did not worry about the past or the future but lived for the present."
If death is not the end, what is beyond? That is the next logical question and the possibilities are the title of this piece, which I would consider in reverse order.
Eternity
To me, eternal hell or heaven, following death, is a non-starter. After all, is it fair for God or another Almighty Force, to make that decision consigning one to eternity, in hell or heaven, on the basis of deeds done during a brief sojourn of life? On what basis, is the decision made? Most of us are good and bad; so, what is the percentage used to escape hell? Will life-long service to God supersede even paedophilia? Does it seem fair?
Resurrection
To lie dormant, after death, to be resurrected at a later date, seems fairer, as sinners too would be resurrected after pardoning their sins. For this to happen, in an orderly fashion, there should be a series of Messiahs, with a series of resurrections.
Both Eternity and Resurrection are ideas simply based on faith and belief, without an iota of scientific evidence. Though even some scientists accept these, I find it totally unacceptable to my way of scientific thinking.
Reincarnation and Rebirth
Reincarnation is the philosophical or religious concept that the non-physical essence of a living being starts a new life in a different physical form or body after biological death. It is a concept that predates the Buddha and is a part of many Indian religions, which implies that there is much more than continuation of the mind.
Though often confused, Rebirth is different, in that it is only the continuation of a thought process. Buddha spoke of a thought that leaves the body at death, giving ‘consciousness’ to another life. It is neither the same nor different.
Most of the work we quote, like that of Professor Ian Stevenson and his successors at the Division of Perceptual Studies at the University of Virginia support the concept of Reincarnation than Rebirth. In fact, they call it Reincarnation Research and many cases of Children’s Past Life Memories show example of physical marks of previous-life trauma etc.
Mind, Body Dissociation
We have walked on the moon, we sent probes to land on the moons of the planet Saturn, but, in spite all these scientific advances, we know very little about the mind. We know that the mind can get dissociated from the body, as proved by scientific research into Near Death Experiences and Out-of-Body experiences. But scientists do not know what happens to the mind at death: Does it go anywhere? Is it simply lost or does it re-join a ‘Universal Consciousness’? In fact, the Buddha’s description of the mind and thought processes has never been bettered.
Perhaps, the Buddha’s explanation of the mind leaving at the time of death to be implanted in an embryo, which He described in a Sutta, long before the subject of Embryology was born in the early Nineteenth century, is a valid explanation, awaiting scientific proof.
This was the reason I disagreed with my friend Carlo, that there may be something beyond death. I keep an open mind and keep on searching. Maybe, I will not find the answer in this life. Perhaps, next!
19 10 2019 - The Island
J21.11
What is in Your Store?
- In your attempt to reach Nirvāna you will need to access your store!
- The practise of dāna, seela, bhavana- has to be combined with shraddha component
Have you ever considered what is in your store? By store, I mean, what you have collected and stacked-up so far – those may be material things that you can touch, feel and see, or those may be things that are not tangible or demonstrable in any palpable way.
I am sure the readers will know what is meant by material things, as we all have this stacked-up everywhere, in cupboards, bookcases, almirahs and any accessible nooks or corners. But the latter, - meaning those that are intangible – are difficult to define.
However, these are the most important things to take stock of, for our benefit, as we shall see below. Let us examine what these entities are and why they are important.These days are full-moon days that are notable in the Buddhist calendar as the Vap Poya.
This is the time of heavy rains and the monks retreat to the temples and engage in religious activities, the most important being the presentation of a Katina robe to the most deserving monk who has observed the season’s retreat.
This occasion brings the season’s vassāna observances to a close. During the religious activities, lay devotees are instructed on the Buddha Dharma (The Doctrine) by way of sermons and Dharma discussions. They also participate in the three major aspects of Buddhist practice: Dāna (offerings and the art of letting-go), Seela (practice of precepts to improve morality) and Bhāvanā (cultivation of meditation).
Needless to say, during these sessions, one gets the opportunity to contemplate on the here-and-now, as well as one’s sojourn through sansāra (cycles of rebirth). Buddhists believe that “this birth is not the beginning, nor is it the end”, therefore they expect to be reborn in another life form, depending on the merits and demerits they have accrued up to now, in the event that they have not realised emancipation yet. The Four Noble Truths expounded by the Buddha in His First Sermon to the five ascetics leads the way to realise Nirvāna, the ultimate end of this sojourn through sansāra. In your attempt to reach Nirvana you will need to access your store!
This neatly brings into focus the factors that will influence one’s position about achieving this end: we all know that to achieve anything substantial, we have to work diligently at it.
Nirvāna is no exception, as has been described by the Buddha and the masses of Arahants (saints) who have reached Nirvāna.
From my understanding, one will have to aspire to strive to follow The Noble Eightfold Path, which is what the Buddha directed all His followers to adhere to, to reach the ultimate goal of Nirvāna.
So, what’s in your store, then?
If your personal goal is to stop your sojourn through sansara (in other words, stop rebirth) and reach the status of an Arahant (achieve Nirvāna), then you will need to be serious in practising The Buddha’s Teaching. In this process, you will inevitably develop a broad knowledge of The Dharma, which is essential to help understand reality, which is the way to Nirvāna.
What else will you need?
In your store, you will need to have all those intangible things that you have acquired along the way. For a start, enough experience of Dāna (giving), with the idea of ‘letting go’, thereby reducing Thanhā (attachment), to eradicate it. The acts of dāna, with sentiments of letting-go, would be enhanced by the many offerings you have made, of food, suitable drinks, medicines, clothing (robes, etc.), other requisites (such as soap and razors) and shelter, both during the rainy season or whenever they are needed. The most important fact to remember is that any dāna should be done with shraddhā meaning ‘devotion with wholesome thought’, to comply with the Buddha Dharma, which notes that Chethanā (thought) underlies Karma (resultant). These should invariably be in your store.
As for Seela (moral values/scruples), this will never be out-of-place, as seela represents personal integrity or virtue. These values come with the daily observances of the five precepts and living accordingly. Seela will occupy a large area in your store.
One will have to aspire to strive to follow The Noble Eightfold Path, which is what the Buddha directed all His followers to adhere to, to reach the ultimate goal of Nirvāna.
Bhāvanā is a practice that has survived in the world for centuries, particularly in the East. There are a variety of methods, all useful for the development of higher brain function. But the one method that is considered most useful is ‘mindfulness meditation’. This was perfected by The Buddha and as has been mentioned, this technique is said to have taken the Bodhisattva (The Buddha in-the-making) through the process of emancipation right up to Enlightenment. It is extremely popular these days and has taken the world by storm. In Sri Lanka however, more emphasis has always been placed on rituals other than bhāvanā. But this is changing fast and hopefully will bring in many benefits to those who practise Vipassanā, also known as mindfulness meditation. Even a short period of this practice, say 20 minutes at a time, has been found to be very useful and is now advocated in hospitals and medical treatment centres in the world. If you have not yet considered this option, it may now be time to try it. So put this also in your store and you will not regret it.
A word about Shraddhā (devotion/confidence). It is another component that might fill your store. The confidence that the Dharma is reliable and desirable will carry you through the path to liberation. Without shraddha, this will not be possible. So make sure your store is complete with it!
May all beings be well and happy!
12 11 2019 - Daily Mirror
J21.12
The Problem of Conflict
Bhikkhu Bodhi
It is one of the bitterest ironies of human life that although virtually all human beings cherish a desire to live in peace, we continually find ourselves embroiled in conflict, pitted against others in relationships marred by tension, distrust or open hostility. This irony is particularly poignant because it is immediately evident to us that cordial, harmonious relations with others are a necessary condition for our own genuine happiness. Not only do such relations allow us to pursue undisturbed the goals we consider essential to our personal fulfillment, but they bring us the deeper joy of meaningful communion with our fellow human beings. Contentious living, in contrast, is always intrinsically painful, involving a hardening of our subjective armor, a tightening of the knots of anger and hate. Indeed, whatever the outcome of conflict may be -- whether victory or defeat -- the result itself is ultimately detrimental for both victor and victim alike.
Nevertheless, although harmonious living promises such rich blessings while discordant relations entail so much harm and misery, for the most part our lives -- and the lives of those around us -- are entangled in a raveled net of quarrels and disputes. Conflict may simmer within as silent suspicion and resentment or it may explode into violent rage and devastation. It may implicate us at the level of personal relationships, or as members of an ethnic group, a political party, a social class or a nation. But in one or another of its many manifestations, the presence of conflict in our lives seems inescapable. Peace and harmony hover in the distance as beautiful dreams for a summer's night or noble ideals to which we pledge formal allegiance. But when reality knocks and dreams are dispelled, we find ourselves drawn, usually against our better judgment, into an arena where the pleasures that we seek exact as their price the hard cash of struggle and contention.
The teachings of the Buddha, while framed around the goal of individual deliverance from suffering, are also expounded for the purpose of instructing us in how we can live in harmony with others. Such harmony is desirable not only as a source of satisfaction in itself, but also because it is a prerequisite for treading the path to the higher freedom. The final peace of enlightenment can arise only in a mind that is at peace with others, and the mind can only be at peace with others when we are actively committed to a course of training that enables us to extricate the roots of conflict that lie buried deep within our hearts.
Once, in ancient India, Sakka the ruler of the gods came to the Buddha and asked: "By what bonds are people bound whereby, though they wish to live in peace, without hate and hostility, they yet live in conflict, with hate and hostility." The Master replied: "It is the bonds of envy and avarice that so bind people that, though they wish to live in peace, they live in conflict, with hate and hostility." If we trace external conflicts back to their source, we will find that they originate not in wealth, position or possessions, but in the mind itself. They spring up because we envy others for the qualities they possess which we desire for ourselves, and because we are driven by an unquenchable avarice to extend the boundaries of what we can label "mine."
Envy and avarice in turn are grounded in two more fundamental psychological conditions. Envy arises because we identify things as "I," because we perpetually seek to establish a personal identity for ourselves internally and to project that identity outward for others to recognize and accept. Avarice arises because we appropriate: we attempt to carve out a territory for ourselves and to furnish that territory with possessions that will titillate our greed and sense of self-importance.
Conflict being thus rooted in envy and avarice, it follows that the path to non-conflict must be a course of relinquishment, of removing the constrictive thoughts and desires that pivot around the notions of "I" and "mine," the drives to identify and to possess. This course reaches consummation with the full maturity of wisdom, with insight into the empty, egoless nature of all phenomena; for it is this insight which exposes the hollowness of the notions of "I" and "mine" that underlie envy and avarice. However, although the final liberation from clinging may lie far away, the path leading to it is a gradual one, growing out of simpler, more basic steps that lie very close to our feet.
Two such necessary steps are changes in attitude with the power to transmute envy and avarice. One is altruistic joy (mudita), the ability to view the success of others with the same gladness we experience at our own success. The other is generosity (caga), the readiness to give and to relinquish. The former is the specific antidote for envy, the latter the antidote for avarice. What is common to both is a lifting of the sense of identity from its narrow fixation on the self, and a broadening of it to encompass others who share our desire to be happy and free from suffering.
As private individuals we cannot hope to resolve by our will the larger patterns of conflict that engulf the societies and nations to which we belong. We live in a world that thrives on conflict, and in which the forces that nurture conflict are pervasive; obstinate and terribly powerful. But as followers of the Enlightened One what we can do and must do is to testify by our conduct to the supremacy of peace: to avoid words and actions that engender animosity, to heal divisions, to demonstrate the value of harmony and concord. The model we must emulate is that provided by the Master in his description of the true disciple: "He is one who unites the divided, who promotes friendships, enjoys concord, rejoices in concord, delights in concord, and who speaks words that promote concord."
(Courtesy: Buddhist Publication Society)
11 11 2019 - The Island
J21.13
The Concept of Rebirth in Buddhism
R.S. Jayaratne
The subject of rebirth is of great interest to most of us, specially the Buddhists, since we faithfully believe that our present actions will have a direct impact on the type of life after death. The Buddha has, in a number of Suttas referred to the concept of rebirth as "punabbhava" and in certain instances as "abhinibbatti".
While explaining the First Noble Truth, ie. the Truth of Suffering, "Dukkha Sacca", Buddha has advised that the birth "jati" is the root cause of all the suffering, and the highest goal Nibbana is achievable only through the extinction of the endless cycle of births and rebirths. Accordingly, he has explained in great detail the causes which generate rebirth, and the process to be followed for its ultimate extinction.
In the doctrine of dependant origination namely "paticca samuppada," which explains the dependant nature of a series of phenomena of existence, which commences with ignorance "avijja" which causes formations "sankhara", which in turn cause consciousness "vinnana". Thereafter, "vinnanna" causes name and form "namarupa", and "namarupa" cause the six bases of contact "salayatana".
As known, salayatana consist of the, eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body and the mind, through which a person contacts "phassa" the respective external objects, causing the development of feelings "vedana" which in turn generate craving ’tanha". Tanha causes the clinging "upadana" thus creating a condition for rebirth "bhava" which ultimately leads to birth "jati". As we are aware, "punabbhava" is, yet another birth in the sansaric cycle.
A detailed examination of the process through which the six bases of contact "salayatana" get formed, facilitates a comprehensive understanding of the entire process of rebirth. As explained in the Paticca Samuppada, "vinnana" causes name and form "namarupa", and "namarupa" cause the six bases of contact. "salayatana" that is "vinnana paccaya namarupam, namarupa paccaya salayatanam". However, in the Maha Nidana Sutta, Buddha during his explanation of the process of rebirth "punabbhava" has emphasized that vinnana and namarupa are mutually dependant on each other "annamanna paccaya". As an example, he emphasizes that unless "vinnana" too arrives in a mother’s womb together with "namarupa", it is not possible for "namarupa" alone, to effect a conception of a being. "vinnanancahi matukuchchasmin na occamissata, api nu kho namarupam matukuchchismin samuccassathati." He further explains that unless "vinnana" is established within the "namarupa", there will not be a birth process "vinnanamca namarupe patittha na labhissatha api nu kho ayatim jati."
Additionally in the Nagara Sutta, the Buddha explains the mutual interdependency between "vinnana" and "namarupa" which enables "namarupa" to cause "salayatana". Elaborating further on this concept, Buddha explains that the "vinnana" keeps on re-surfacing all the time, but does not go away from "namarupa," "paccudavattati kho imam vinnanam namarupamha naparam gacchati," and that such a union will facilitate rebirth, decay and death, and thereafter, another birth, "ettavata, jayetha va meeyethava …upapajjetha va," and, he further emphasizes that, it always remains as "namarupa" causing "vinnana", "vinnana" causing "namarupa", and finally "namarupa" causing "salayatana". "yadidam namarupa paccaya vinnanam, vinnana paccaya namarupam, namarupa paccaya salayatanam."
Furthermore, in Cetana Sutta, Buddha explains that an energized "vinnana" gets back to "namarupa" and such a strengthened "vinnana" will create the future rebirth "vinnane virulhe namarupassa avakkanti hoti, tasmin patitthite vinnane virulhe ayatim punabbhavabhinibbatti hoti."
Furthermore, Buddha has explained that consciousness "vinnana" is the only element which accompanies a living being from one birth to another. For example, in the Sampasadana Sutta, he states that consciousness "vinnana" is best understood as a stream flowing without a break both from this body to the next body "vinnanasotam pajanati, ubhayato abbochchinnam, idhaloke patitthitam ca paraloke patitthitam ca." ("loka" means the pancaupadankkhanda ie the body)
The Buddha has also stated that the consciousness "vinnana" which migrates from one birth to another, continues to retain its qualities through the subsequent birth as well. For example, Maha Kamma Vibhanga Sutta explains that the beings who have led virtuous lives and maintained the perfect vision "samma ditthi" at the moment of death will be reborn in heavenly abodes while those who have spent evil lives and had evil l thoughts at the time of death, will be reborn in miserable abodes.
Hence, the termination of the existence of the consciousness "vinnana" is a prerequisite for the termination of the process of rebirth. However, Maha Vedalla Sutta, explains the complex nature of this proposition, since, the feelings "vedana", perceptions "sanna", and the consciousness "vinnana" are closely interlinked with each other, and that they cannot be comprehended separately "vedana ya ca sanna yanca vinnanam ime dhamma sansattha .. na ca labbha imesam dhammanam vinibhujitva pannapetum." Hence it is clear that the extinction of the birth process is achievable only through the complete extinction of feelings "vedana", perceptions "sanna" and consciousnress "vinnana".
As explained in the doctrine of dependant origination Paticca Samuppada, consciousness vinnana arises due to three formations "sankhara" of which mind formations "citta sankhara" are the feelings "vedana" and perceptions "sanna" respectively.
Hence, the Buddha has advised that the supreme bliss of Nibbana is achievable only through the total elimination of all perceptions "sanna" and feelings "vedana" namely " Sanna vedayita nirodha." The process to be followed for such an accomplishment has been explained by the Buddha in the Sato Sutta as to be "sampajanakari". As explained therein, the term specifically means to be continually conscious of the origination, existence and the fading away of one’s feelings "vedana", thoughts "vitakka" and perceptions "sanna" respectively, "vidita vedana … vidita vitakka … vidita sanna uppajjanti, uppatthanti, abbhattham gacchanti." He has advised that such a meditative process diligently and continuously practiced, would eventually facilitate the eventual achievement of "sanna vedayita nirodha" the total extinction of all the feelings "vedana" and perceptions "sanna" reaching the supreme goal of Nibbana thus leading to the extinction of the process of rebirth ‘punabbhava’.
(The writer is retired Secretary of the Ministry of Public Administration and Home Affairs. sijay@sltnet.lk)
10 01 2020 - The Island
J21.14
What came first, ‘Karma’ or the Individual?
Dr. E.W. Adikaram
Extracted from the second volume of ‘Sitivili’ (pages 277-280). First published in 1973.
English translation by Ravi Palihawadana.
"What came first, Karma or the individual?" is a question that vexes those who believe in the theory of Karma and re-birth. Some try to find an answer to this question through philosophical hair-splitting while others try to do so with the help of scientific investigation. But I believe that we must first examine the question itself.
For this question to be meaningful, there must be Karma and there must be an individual.
The meaning of the word ’Karma’ is action. It refers to physical or mental action. Depending on their creed, various people define Karma in various different ways. But these definitions vary only in detail and not in terms of the underlying concept.
There is Karma (action) and there is Vipaka (result). Dogmas, beliefs, creeds and textbooks are not necessary to prove so - such phenomena are out there for all of us to see.
Someone drives a car carelessly. It falls off a cliff. The driver and the passengers are injured. Here, the action is careless driving. The result is the driver and the passengers getting injured.
Someone plants a mango seedling and takes proper care of it. It bears fruit. The person who planted the tree, other people, birds and other animals enjoy the fruits. Planting the mango seedling is the action. Getting to eat its fruits is the result.
‘Cause and Effect’ is another term for ‘Action and Result’. When we consider all worldly phenomena, we see that they are a chain of actions and results, a chain of causes and effects. Some differentiate ‘Action and Result’ from ‘Cause and Effect’ by introducing a ‘doer’ of action and an ‘experiencer’ of the result to these natural phenomena. Introduction of a ‘doer’ and an ‘experiencer’ gives rise to numerous dogmas or sets of beliefs. These dogmas in turn lead people to claim that their belief is correct, and that the belief of others is wrong — resulting in meaningless arguments and quarrels.
How does a ‘doer’ and an ‘experiencer’ get introduced into a succession of natural phenomena?
Apparently, it happens due to an illusory perception created by our mental capacity to remember things.
Here, at this moment, [the actions of] thinking and writing are happening. Next, a series of incidents that happened previously are recollected. Going to school, learning, passing a few exams, doing a job, moments of joy, moments of sorrow, are some such recollections. There is a certain mental perception that strings together all these memories — like a string that strings together beads in a neckless — to the thinking and writing processes that are taking place now. At this moment, ‘I’ am writing. It is this perception that gives rise to the feeling that it is one and the same person who went to school as a child, who did a job later on, who experienced moments of joy, who experienced moments of sorrow, etc. What happened here was to ascribe a ‘doer’ and an ‘experiencer’ — created by the mind — to a series of actions and experiences. This is how a ‘doer’ and an ‘experiencer’ are created.
‘Thinking’, ‘doing’ and ‘experiencing’ happen due to natural causes. The notions of ‘thinker’, ‘doer’, and ‘experiencer’ are created subsequently. The individual who is created as the ‘thinker’, ‘doer’, and ‘experiencer’ is merely a mental perception and not an actual person. Hence ‘I am thinking’, ‘I am doing’ and ‘I am experiencing’ are only illusions created by the mind.
That being so, there is only action and there is no ‘actor’; there is only the result and there is no ‘experiencer’. As such, isn’t the question "What came first, ‘Karma’ or the individual?" a wrong question?
26 02 2020 - The Island
J21.15
The liberated Buddhist woman
As the world celebrates the International Women’s Day today, it is imperative to take stock of the place of women in a Buddhist context, where she is enabled space to reach her true potential
Randima Attygalle
"A female offspring, O king, may prove even nobler than a male," consoled Lord Buddha when King Pasenadi Kosala came grieving to Him, that his queen Mallika had given birth to a daughter. Lord Buddha’s words are among the earliest acknowledgments that being a woman, doesn’t hinder her attaining heights of many a kind - spiritual, academic, professional and economic.
While Maha Prajapathi, Yashodhara, Visakha, Sangamitta and Hemamala, the earliest revolutionary women of Buddhist literature continue to inspire women of today and tomorrow, the Buddhist ideologies in which they thrived, champion a culture for women to reach their true potential. The liberal Sri Lankan woman, placed in a socio-cultural landscape shaped by Buddhist values, had left her foot print in every domain, defying a patriarchal order in which many of her counterparts are stifled.
The first Bhikkuni to be ordained, Maha Prajapathi, nursed Prince Siddhartha and raised him like her own when Queen Maha Maya died seven days after the child’s birth. When Buddha refused to entertain her request to be ordained as a bhikkuni twice, undaunted, she donned yellow robes, cut her hair and accompanied by a large number of sakya princesses including Yashodhara, walked on foot all the way to Vesali to realize her goal, which she ultimately did. She thereafter attained the arhat state.
Navigating her samsaric journey with her soul mate, once a mermaid or the sanda kinduriya, Madri devi and Amara devi in a few more cycles of life, Yashodhara was the shadow in the Bodhisattva’s perfecting of paramitas. If not for Yashodhara nourishing his spiritual mettle with her unconditional love and devotion in countless births, the enlightenment or Buddhahood by the Bodhisattva would have been prolonged for innumerable life cycles, holding testimony to the fact that enlightenment is not merely an isolated exercise with a single mind, but a mammoth exercise with the entire world and life.
Yashodhara denounces royal comfort and embraces a frugal existence while still being mother to Prince Rahula within the royal palace of Kapilawasthupura. She convinces her young son Rahula that his father will one day return as a superior human, while keeping his memories alive for him. When her only salvation, son Rahula is ordained without her knowledge, Yashodhara endures once more, first having parted with her soul mate.
Visakha the great benefactress of the sasana, devotes herself to its wellbeing, while being a devoted wife and a mother. Having reached great inner state of sowan at the tender age of seven, she succeeds in getting her father-in-law, Migara to follow the Buddhist path when he was blindly following the jaina tradition of India. This even earned her the title ‘Migara matha’ (spiritual mother of Migara).
"While these three iconic females of Buddha’s time personify unfailing determination, tolerance and generosity respectively, Theri Sangamitta and Princess Hemamala who belong to post-Buddha period championed two leading cultures. The Bodhi culture which followed upon the arrival of Theri Sangamitta with a sapling of Sri Maha Bodhi and several artisans and craftsmen, established a plethora of artistic traditions in this country. Once more, when Princess Hemamala fled India with the sacred tooth relic, hidden in her tresses, she too became a catalyst of Dalada Culture which is so ingrained in the country," observes Dr. Wimal Hewamanage from the Department of Pali and Buddhist Studies, University of Colombo. It is significant that the two great sub cultures which have in turn shaped and nurtured the Sri Lankan idiom were championed by two valiant women, he adds.
"Long before the Western world coined the term ‘feminism’, these women proved their mettle and it is significant that they were backed by equally liberal men, their fathers, husbands and in-laws who believed in what they were capable of, gifting legacies to the entire mankind. This also speaks for the role that men should be playing in recognizing and respecting women for their inherent strengths," points out Dr. Hewamanage.
Buddhism is considered the emancipator of the ancient Indian woman, oppressed by the Brahmanism, deprived of religious and social freedom, reduced to mere chattel, bearing children and dwindling into nothingness when widowed. The bhikkuni order which enabled women to attain inner states that men could, defied the accepted social order that women were house-bound. "The Therigathas or songs of the theris manifest the emancipation and bliss enjoyed by leading a bhikkuni life. The bold counter argument of Theri Soma when she was humiliated by Mara (the evil one) as to how a woman with knowledge of two inches achieve sublime position fit to be achieved only by sages, further testify that Buddhism did not subscribe to the then popular belief that women by nature are less intelligent," says Dr. Hewamanage.
The Chief Bhikkhuni of the Dekanduwala Bhikkuni Training and Meditation Centre, Mainnaluwe Dharmashanthi Bhikkhuni notes that the spiritual and psychological guidance Buddhism offers becomes even more valid in the modern era where human relationships are at stake. A trained counselor and mentor to both lay women and bhikkunis, Dharmashanthi Bhikkuni urges women to seek solace in Dhamma during life’s testing moments. "Today abandoning children and spouses and suicide have become answers to life’s problems which should not be the case. Women such as Patachara who lost her husband and her children and who was on the brink of insanity was salvaged by Buddha’s words. Some of the Theri gatha (songs of the theris) reflect the immense pain of mind the theris had to go through in their lay life and these should inspire even lay women."
While the Bhikkuni order enables women to seek the ultimate sanctuary of nirvana, living the truth of Dhamma every day, helps women outside the Bhikkuni order to lead a life of inner peace. "Buddhism inspires a woman who plays the multiple roles of a mother, a wife, a daughter and much more to lead a fulfilling life while becoming a beacon of hope to many other lives around her," says the Bhikkuni.
Prof. Asanga Tilakaratne, founder Head of the Department of Buddhist Studies, University of Colombo, in his writing, ‘Buddhism and Gender: A textual and contextual study notes that', ‘Buddhism does not reduce woman-hood to a mere social construction which ultimately is meant to serve narrow motives of men.’ He further points out that the Buddha accepts the existence of the four-fold groups of disciples - bhikku, bhikkuni, upasaka and upasika. This meant that women were not excluded of any sphere of religious activity.
Alluding to the Brahaman tradition which oppressed women and considered them unclean at menstruation, the scholar explains that ‘Buddhism did not seem to have had any inhibition about this natural physical phenomenon of women. In the popular Buddhist culture there are no days that women cannot visit religious places or attend religious functions as in some other Indian traditions.’
Prof. Lorna S. Dewaraja in her paper, The position of women in Buddhism (1994) articulates that ‘Buddhism has helped to better the position of women in Sri Lanka, Burma and Thailand’. The eminent historian refers to scholars, travelers and other historians who have documented their observations about the notable degree of independence enjoyed by women of these nations shaped by Buddhist ideologies. ‘It needed a man of considerable courage and a rebellious spirit to pronounce a way of life that placed woman on a level of near equality to man. The Buddha saw the spiritual potential of both men and women and founded after considerable hesitation the Order of Bhikkhunis, one of the earliest organizations for women.’
Prof. Dewaraja notes that the influence of the injunctions of the Sigalovada Sutta reflected in the Sinhala laws which were equally applicable and binding to both husband and wife. Singalovada Sutta deals with domestic duties, every relationship was a reciprocal one whether it be between husband and wife, parent and child, or master and servant. Ideally, therefore, among Buddhists, marriage is a contract between equals. ‘According to Sinhala laws of the 18th century the wife was treated very liberally at the time of divorce. She got back all the wealth that her parents gave her at the time of marriage and half of all the property acquired by the couple after marriage. Also she was given a sum of money sufficient to cover her expenses for the next six months. It is worthy of note that in Sri Lanka prior to European occupation both sexes had equal facilities for divorce, both in theory and in practice. The situation changed, however, with the impact of Christianity and the introduction of Roman Dutch Law by the Hollanders in the areas under their control,’ she notes.
The liberal attitude towards women in Sri Lanka had even held the colonial rulers in awe. This is evident in Robert Knox’s observation of the 17th century Sri Lankan women: ‘the men are not jealous of their wives for the greatest ladies in the land will frequently talk and discourse with any men they please, although their husbands be in presence.’
In Buddhism, death is considered a natural and inevitable end, hence a Buddhist woman suffers no moral degradation on account of her widowhood. Prof. Dewaraja notes, ‘her social status is not altered in any way. In Buddhist societies she does not have to advertise her widowhood by shaving her head and relinquishing her ornaments. She is not forced to fast on specific days and sleep on hard floors for self-mortification has no place in Buddhism. Nor does she have to absent herself from ceremonies and auspicious events. Above all there is no religious barrier to her remarriage.’ The writer further documents that ‘Buddhism has saved the daughter from indignity, elevated the wife to a position approximating to equality and retrieved the widow from abject misery.’
Words of Lord Buddha in the Kosala Samyutta, Dhitu Sutta of the Collected Discourses of the Buddha articulate an apt universal tribute to all women transcending religious boundaries:
A woman of the people
May turn out better than a man
She may be wise and virtuous
A devoted wife, revering her mother-in-law.
The son to whom she gives birth,
May become a hero of the land
The son of such a blessed woman
May even rule the realm…
08 03 2020 - Sunday Island
J21.16
A Remedy for Despair
Bhikkhu Bodhi
Most of us live in the cramped cold cages of our private projects, frantically struggling to stake out our own little comfortable place in the sun. Driven in circles by anxious yearnings and beckoning desires, we rarely ever glance aside to see how our neighbor is faring, and when we do it is usually only to assure ourselves that he is not trying to encroach upon our own domain or to find some means by which we might extend our dominion over his.
Occasionally, however, it somehow happens that we manage to detach ourselves from our obsessive pursuits long enough to arrive at a wider clearing. Here our focus of concern undergoes a remarkable shift. Lifted above our habitual fixation on myopic goals, we are brought to realize that we share our journey from birth to death with countless other beings who, like ourselves, are each intent on a quest for the good.
This realization, which often topples our egocentric notions of the good, broadens and deepens our capacity for empathy. By breaking down the walls of self-concern it allows us to experience, with a particularly inward intimacy, the desire all beings cherish to be free from harm and to find an inviolable happiness and security. Nevertheless, to the extent that this flowering of empathy is not a mere emotional effusion but is accompanied by a facility for accurate observation, it can easily turn into a chute plunging us down from our new-found freedom into a chasm of anguish and despair.
For when, with eyes unhindered by emotively tinged blinkers, we turn to contemplate the wide expanse of the world, we find ourselves gazing into a mass of suffering that is vertiginous in its volume and ghastly in its intensity. The guarantor of our complacency is the dumb thoughtless glee with which we acquiesce in our daily ration of sensual excitation and ego-enhancing kudos. Let us raise our heads a little higher and cast our eyes about, and we behold a world steeped in pain where the ills inherent in the normal life-cycle are compounded still more by the harshness of nature, the grim irony of accident, and the cruelty of human beings.
As we grope about for a handle to prevent ourselves from plummeting down into the pits of despondency, we may find the support we need in a theme taught for frequent recollection by the Buddha: "Beings are the owners of their kamma, the heirs of their kamma; they are molded, formed and upheld by their kamma, and they inherit the results of their own good and bad deeds." Often enough this reflection has been proposed as a means to help us adjust to the vicissitudes in our personal fortunes: to accept gain and loss, success and failure, pleasure and pain, with a mind that remains unperturbed. This same theme, however, can also serve a wider purpose, offering us succor when we contemplate the immeasurably greater suffering in which the multitudes of our fellow beings are embroiled.
Confronted with a world that is ridden with conflict, violence, exploitation and destruction, we feel compelled to find some way to make sense out of their evil consequences, to be able to see in calamity and devastation something more than regrettable but senseless quirks of fate. The Buddha's teaching on kamma and its fruit gives us the key to decipher the otherwise unintelligible stream of events. It instructs us to recognize in the diverse fortunes of living beings, not caprice or accident, but the operation of a principle of moral equilibrium which ensures that ultimately a perfect balance obtains between the happiness and suffering beings undergo and the ethical quality of their intentional actions.
Contemplation on the operation of kamma is not a cold and calculated expedient for justifying a stoical resignation to the status quo. The pathways of kamma are labyrinthine in their complexity, and acceptance of this causal order does not preclude a battle against human avarice, brutality and stupidity or stifle beneficent action intended to prevent unwholesome deeds from finding the opportunity to ripen. Deep reflection on kammic retribution does, however, brace us against the shocks of calamity and disappointment by opening up to our vision the stubborn unwieldiness of a world ruled by greed, hate and delusion, and the deep hidden lawfulness connecting its turbulent undercurrents with the back-and-forth swing of surface events. While on the one hand this contemplation awakens a sense of urgency, a drive to escape the repetitive round of deed and result, on the other it issues in equanimity, an unruffled inner poise founded upon a realistic grasp of our existential plight.
Genuine equanimity, which is far from callous indifference, sustains us in our journey through the rapids of samsara. Bestowing upon us courage and endurance, it enables us to meet the fluctuations of fortune without being shaken by them, and to look into the face of the world's sufferings without being shattered by them.Courtesy: Buddhist Publication Soceity
07 04 2020 - The Island
J21.17
The arrival of Buddhism in Sri Lanka
Aryadasa Ratnasinghe
It was on the memorable Poson fullmoon day in the month Jattha (June), in 306 BC, (i.e., 237 years after the demise of the Buddha), that the Arhat Mahinda, the illustrious apostle of Buddhism met King Devanampiyatissa (307-267 BC) of Sri Lanka, atop the Mihintale rock (then known as Missaka-pabbata), situated about 12 km. east of Anuradhapura. This confrontation paved way for the establishment of Buddhism in Sri Lanka.
Arhat Mahinda, the profoundly sapient thera, came to Sri Lanka as bidden by his father, the emperor Asoka (264-267 BC) of India, who was earlier known as Chandasoka (Asoka the wicked), but later, when he renounced armed conquests, he came to be known as Dharmasoka (Asoka the pious). He proclaimed Buddhism, having become a convert to the faith, throughout India, as the state religion, and did everything for the propagation of Buddhism in the country.
Asoka's famous rock edicts read: "May the Dhamma last as long as my sons and grandsons, and the sun and the moon will be, and may the people follow the path of the Dhamma, for if one follows the path, happiness in this and in the other worlds will be attained." Even today, the Asoka Chakra (the Wheel of Asoka) dominates the national flag of India. Asoka, earlier as the viceroy of Udenipura (now Ujjain) in Avanti, fell in love with a beautiful damsel named Devi, the daughter of a wealthy merchant of Vidisa, who bore him two children. One was Mahendra (Mahinda) and the other was Sanghamitra (Sangamitta), both of whom entered the holy order of a bhikku and bhikkuni in fulfilment of the wish of their father Asoka. Mahinda entered the order at the age of 26 years, and elevated his spiritual position as an Arhant, having destroyed all passions pertaining to mundane existence.
When he came to Sri Lanka, he was 32 years old. It may rightly be considered that he was the first real teacher of Sri Lanka, who did much for the establishment of Buddhism in the island and the uplift of the Buddha Sasana. He stands credited for bringing about a socio-religious revolution in the country and in promoting religious zeal among the people.
However, Arhat Mahinda postponed his mission to Sri Lanka until the time was appropriate for him to undertake the mission, as the then king Mutasiva (367-307 BC), was too old and feeble to understand the doctrine of the Buddha. In order to mark time, first he left for the Dakkhinagiri vihara to see his mother and other kith and kin. He went there with the four theras, Itthiya, Utthiya, Sambala and Bhaddasala and the novice Sumana samanera.
After six month, they all left for Vidisagiri in Sanchi and lived there until the death of King Mutasiva. The enthronement of King Devanampiyatissa (the second son of Mutasiva), was found suitable to fit the occasion, and Arhat Mahinda, with his companions, left Vidisagiri vihara, bound for Sri Lanka. They were accompanied by Bhanduka upasaka, the lay-disciple. According to Mahavamsa, (Ch. 13:20), Arhat Mahinda and his companions, altogether six, "rose aloft into the air that very vihara, and instantaneously alighted atop the superb Missaka mountain (Mihintale), and stood on the rocky peak of the delightful and celebrated Ambatthala." This spot is now known as the aradhana-gala atop which the historic Mahinda-Tissa confrontation took place.
At this spot stands the Ambatthala chetiya of later times, built by King Mahadatika Mahanaga alias Maha Deliyamana (06-18 AD). On completion of the chetiya, the king held a splendid feast known as the Giribhanda-pooja (lighting the whole city with oil lamps), and an alms-giving known as Thulabhara-dana (offering of gold equal to king's weight).
If we are disposed to consider the mode of travel from Vidisagiri in India to Mihintale in Sri Lanka, we might consider them having followed the common routes of travel known at that time. It is said that the normal course would have been to arrive overland to a sea-port on the western coast of India, most probably, Bharukacca, and thence to take vessel to the island. If they had walked from the sea-port to Mihintale, many questions crop up. How did they reach Mihintale, through thick jungle infested with wild beasts? Who supplied meals to them en route, and who provided shelter for the night? How did they escape the attention of the king's spies who were on alert for intruders?
History reveals
Authentic history tells us that Arhat Mahinda met king Devanampiyatissa, when he was on a hunting spree towards the wilderness of Mihintale. Chasing wild animals was his famous form of amusement, which he did when he had the opportunity and leisure to do so. Seeing a stag browsing in the thicket, the king's fine sportive spirit could not brook on the idea of taking the grazing animal unawares. Pursuing the animal, which fled in the direction of Silakuta (the northern peak of Mihintale mountain), the king suddenly came upon Arhat Mahinda and his companions.
After a brief conversation to test the intelligence of the king, preparatory to preaching the Dhamma, the thera delivered the discourse on Culahastipadopama Sutta (simile on the foot of an elephant), and converted those assembled to Buddhism (Mhv. 14:22). This Sutta gives a clear idea of the Buddha, Dhamma and Sangha, and describes how one is converted to Buddhism and becomes a bhikkhu, the sublime qualities he practises and possesses, the things from which he abstains, the various stages of spiritual development in his life and his attainment of arhantship (the final fruit of Buddhism, ceasing rebirth). Later, he preached to those assembled, the Petavattu, Vimanavattu, Saccasamyutta, Devaduta Sutta, Balapandita Sutta, Agghikkhandopama Sutta, Asivisupama Sutta, Anamataggiya Sutta, Khajjaniya Sutta Gomayapindi Sutta, Dhammacakkappavattana Sutta (the first discourse of the Buddha), Mahappamada Sutta and the Cariyapitaka.
The advent of Arhat Mahinda in Sri Lanka, brought forth a socio-religious revolution, changing the life and habitat of the people. The establishment of the Buddha Sasana in the island was the greatest step taken by him to mould the character of the masses, leading to spiritual awareness and morality. We observe that Arhat Mahinda belonged to the school of vinayadharas, who advocated discipline as the best weapon to fight against all evil.
Socio-religious revolution
When King Devanampiyatissa inquired from Arhat Mahinda, whether the Buddha Sasana had been well established in the island, the reply was that it would happen only when a person of the Sinhalese race studies the vinaya (code of discipline) and expounds it clearly and explicitly. Accordingly, conversion of the king and his people to the new faith can be regarded as the most important event in the socio-religious history of the island. The introduction of Buddhism, with a civilisation attached to it, brought about a distinctive cultural pattern in the social and religious life of the community.
Dr. Senerath Paranavitana, the late Archaeological Commissioner of Sri Lanka, surveying the religious condition that prevailed in the island, prior to the advent of Arhat Mahinda, says: "When the missionaries of Asoka preached the doctrine of the Buddha, it becomes clear that the great majority of the people worshipped nature spirits, called the yakkas (demons), who were supposed to dwell in rivers, lakes, mountains, trees etc.
The worship of the sacred trees and groves was also connected with this primitive forms of worship. The heavenly bodies received the adoration of the people, and to a great extent influenced their everyday life. The more intellectual among the people, perhaps, followed the brahminical religion, i.e., Hinduism."
When Arhat Mahinda came to Sri Lanka, he brought with him the Theravada canon or orthodox Buddhism, preserved in memory by oral tradition, and finally redacted at the Third Buddhist Council held at Pataliputra (now Patna), under the leadership of the Maha Thera Moggaliputta Tissa. According to Mahavamsa, Aritta and fifty-five of his brothers were the first in the island to receive the pabajja (ordination), at the hands of the Arhat Mahinda.
Arhat Mahinda and his companions spent 26 days at the Mahamegha park in Anuradhapura, and later they retired to Mihintale to observe the first 'vas' (retreat). When the king went to see him, he delivered the discourse of Vassupanayikakkhandaka Sutta, The King built for them 68 caves to shelter themselves.
The succeeding years were marked by increasing religious activity throughout the island. Buddhism spread to every town, village and hamlet, where it was enthusiastically embraced. At the same time, a large number of viharas, chetiyas and other religious edifices soon dotted the island with everlasting grace. Arhat Mahinda was now old, having lived for 80 years of which 60 years he was a bhikkhu. After establishing Buddhism in Sri Lanka, and labouring in its cause, his strenuous life came to an end. He breathed his last in 259 BC.
The king at the time was Uttiya (267-257 BC), and when he heard of the sad news, his sorrow was poignant. The corpse was brought to the city of Anuradhapura for cremation, adorned in a golden bier. After solemn obsequies, the body was cremated at a place to the left of the Maha Thupa (Ruvanweliseya) of later construction. The place was named Isibhumangana (Courtyard of the sages). Thus ended the life of the illustrious thera, who was second to Buddha in the island.
Virtual Library - Sri Lanka
J21.18
The uniqueness of Buddhism
Aryadasa Ratnasinghe
The Buddha said "Do not believe in anything simply because you have heard it; not in traditions because they have been handed down for many generations; not in anything because it is spoken and rumoured by many; not in anything because it is found written in your spiritual texts; not in anything merely on the authority of your teachers and elders, but only after observation and analysis, when you find that anything agrees with reason and conducive to the good and benefit of one and all, then accept it and live up to it." (Kalama Sutta).
Bertrand Russell (1872-1970), the famous philosopher and mathematician, who was a Christian, says: "Of the great religions of history, I prefer Buddhism, especially in its orthodox form, because it has had the smallest element of persecution." The intellectuals of the West have agreed that for the first time in the history of the world, Buddha proclaimed a salvation, which each man could gain for himself, and by himself in this world, during his life, without the least help from God or Gods.
Buddhism differes from other religions because (i) it does not believe in a Creator or an Almighty God who is responsible for all our actions, (ii) Buddhism, in actual sense, is not a religion, though people generally call it so, because there is no belief in, recognition of, or of a higher unseen authority, or a controlling power, but emotions and morality connected therewith, (iii) is a moral philosophy in pursuit of wisdom and knowledge, norms and laws, and all other things connected therewith.
In Buddhism, there is nothing to speculate or conjecture, because it is a doctrine, par excellence, leading to the attainment of Nibbana ceasing rebirth. Every Buddhist aspires to attain this condition in this life or in the life to come. Buddha is the greatest man who ever lived in this world of ours, dominating the whole of human history, by his boundless compassion and unrestricted loving kindness, and still his doctrine stands supreme above others.
Buddhism stands unique since it denies in the existence of a soul (ego). Buddha said that the idea of a soul is an imaginary, false and baseless belief, which has no corresponding reality, but produces harmful thoughts, selfish desire, craving, attachment, hatred, ill-will, conceit, pride, egoism and other defilements, impurities and problems. In short, to this false view can be traced all the evils in the world which we experience. Soul is usually explained as the principle of life, the ultimate identity of a person or the immortal constituent of self.
There is nothing called 'sin' in Buddhism in which actions are merely termed as meritorious ('kusala') and demeritorious ('akusala'). Sin is rebellion against God. The word 'sin' is derived from the Latin root 'sontis' meaning guilty, explained either as mortal sin (unpardonable sin) or venial sin (pardonable sin).
According to dogmatic theology, sin signifies purposeful disobedience to the Will of God, or any action offensive or blasphemous to God, or to speak profanely or impiously of God. Buddhists do not believe in confession (acknowledgement of sin to a priest) as laid down in Catholicism.
John Walters writing about the Buddhist idea of sin, says that it differes somewhat from the Christian idea. Sin to the Buddhist is mere ignorance or stupidity. It is said that the wicked man is an ignorant man and does not need punishment and condemnation, so much as he needs instructions. "He is not regarded as violating God's commands, or as one who must beg for divine mercy and forgiveness. Buddhism does not believe that a sinner can escape the consequences in prayerful attempts to bargain with God."
Among the founders of world religions, the Buddha was the only teacher who did not claim to be a prophet, or incarnation of a god or a super being above mankind. He was a man pure and simple, and devoted his entire life to holiness. He was a noble prince of the Sakya clan, the only son of king Suddhodana of the ancient Kapilavattu (modern Piprawa on the Nepal border in North India).
The prince Siddhartha Gautama, having understood the remorseless of nature, renounced the world at the age of 29 years, after seeing the four prognosticated signs (a sick man, an old man, a corpse and a hermit, as he walked along in measured steps). He now desired to become a recluse, away from the burden of civil life, to find a panacea for the ills of suffering faced by mankind, during their voyage in the 'samsara' (cycle of rebirths). Leaving behind his young wife and the infant child Rahula, he ventured into the forest, in the fulfilment of his cherished desire to wear the yellow robe and become a recluse with shaven head.
At the time when the prince was born there was a great spiritual revolution, and many young men left their homes to lead an ascetic life given to celibacy and holiness. The recluse Siddhartha, underwent hectic mortification of the flesh given to asceticism for 6 years, under the erudite teachers Alara Kalama and Uddaka Ramaputra who were reputed for their psychic powers. But their teachings did not satisfy him. Therefore, he left them and followed the Middle Path (Majjhima Patipada), rejecting the extremes of 'attakilamatanu yoga' (self-mortification) and 'kamasukkhallikanu yoga' (self-indulgence). With strenuous effort, he attained Enlightenment (Buddhahood) illuminating the world by his success.
After attaining Enlightenment, he delivered his first discourse to the five ascetics on Dhammacakkappavattana Sutta. Addressing them he said "Open ye your ears, O bhikkus, deliverance from death is found. I teach you. I preach the law. If ye walk according to my teaching, ye shall be partakers in a short time of that for which sons of noble families have left their homes to lead a life of homelessness, it being the highest end of my spiritual effort. Ye shall, even in this present life apprehend the truth itself and see it face to face."
Buddhism is, generally, accepted as a moral philosophy to lead mankind in the proper path by doing good and avoiding evil. The Buddha himself has expressed that his teaching is both deep and recondite, and anyone could follow it who is intelligent enough to understand it. He admonished his disciples to be a refuge to themselves' and never to seek refuge in, or help from anyone else. He taught, encouraged and stimulated each person to develop himself, and to work out his own emancipation, because man has the power to liberate him self from all earthly bondage, through his own personal effort and intelligence.
Buddha based his doctrine on the Four Noble Truths, viz: suffering (dukkha), cause of suffering (samudaya), destruction of suffering (nirodha) and the path leading to the cessation of suffering (magga). The first is to be comprehended, the second (craving) is to be eradicated, the third (Nibbana) is to be realised, and the fourth (the Noble Eightfold Path) is to be developed. This is the philosophy of the Buddha for the deliverance of mankind from being born again, or the cessation of continuity of becoming, i.e., 'Bhavanirodha' (the attainment of Nibbana).
The Noble Eightfold Path, also known as the Middle Way, consists eight factors, namely right understanding, right thought, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness and right concentration. Practically, the whole teaching of the Buddha, to which he devoted himself during his 45 years of ministration, deals in some way or another, with this Path. He explained it in different ways and in different words, to different people, at different times, according to mental development and capacity of a person, to understand and follow the teachings of the Buddha. In classical terminology, it is known as 'Dukkhanirodha-gaminipatipada ariyasacca'.
This Middle Way is neither a metaphysical path nor a ritualistic path, neither dogmatism nor scepticism, neither self-indulgence nor self-mortification, neither externalism nor nihilism, neither pessimism nor optimism, but the path for Enlightenment as the means of deliverance from suffering, and man is solely responsible for his own pains or pleasures. Buddhism is clear, reasonable and gives complete answerers to all important aspects and questions about our lives.
These eight factors aim in promoting and perfecting the three essentials of Buddhist discipline, viz. Ethical conduct (sila), concentration (samadhi) and wisdom (panna).
Ethical conduct is built on the conception of morality with compassion towards all beings. Concentration means securing a firm footing on the ground of morality where the aspirant embarks upon the higher practice on the control and culture of the mind. Beyond morality is wisdom. The base of Buddhism is morality and wisdom is its apex. It is the right understanding of the nature of the world in the light of transiency (anicca), sorrowfulenss (dukkha) and soullessness (anatta).
Wisdom leads to the state of 'dhyana' (psychic faculty), generally called trance. Wisdom covers a very wild field, comprising understanding, knowledge, and insight specific to Buddhism. Wisdom being the apex of Buddhism, is the first factor of the Noble Eightfold Path.
It is one of the seven factors of Enlightenment, some of the four means of accomplishment, one of the five powers (pannabala) and one of the five controlling faculties (panna indriya).
The highest morality is inculcated in the system of Buddhist thought, since it permits freedom of thought and opinion, sets its norms against persecution and cruelty and recognises the right of animals. Liquor, drugs and opium and all that tends to destroy the composure of the mind are discountenanced. When considering the fraternity of people, Buddhism acknowledges no caste system and admits the perfect equality of all men, as it proclaims the universal brotherhood.
Buddhism shows the errors of monotheism, atheism, fatalism, nihilism, agnosticism, polytheism, materialism, sensualism, asceticism, spiritualism and deism by analysing the contents of each of the beliefs. Let all beings be happy!
J21.19
How to practise Buddhism
Yat-Biu Ching
Every Buddhist who practises Buddhism must go through four stages.
They are: 1- believing, 2- understanding, 3- doing, and 4- proving.
1. Believing: Once a person decides to become a Buddhist, she/he must have already acquired some knowledge of Buddhism and has developed a certain amount of belief and faith in the religion.
He will now be able to thoroughly study, investigate, analyze and understand the principles of Buddhism to gain the benefits because the principles are so complex and voluminous.
That is why believing is the first step in the study of Buddhism. With belief, he will study Buddhism with a sincere attitude.
Without any belief and if he had great doubts, he would not have bothered to study Buddhism at all.
And if he does, the learning process will be hindered by scepticism and negative attitude and he will never succeed in acquiring the correct understanding of Buddhism. Buddhism does encourage its disciples to question and doubt.
Buddhists don't prosytelize, it is up to the person's free choice to choose or not choose buddhism. But, this should be done in a positive manner.
A Buddhist doubts and questions specific principles or theories of Buddhism with an open mind, with the objective of gaining a better understanding of his beliefs.
2. Understanding: After one believes, he must understand the principles of Buddhism - How can Buddhism remove sufferings? What are the answers to the universe and life? How can man achieve enlightenment? It is only after one has accurately and thoroughly understood the teachings of the Buddha that one can solidify his belief and confidence in Buddhism.
3. Doing: This is actually doing what one has learned and experienced.
Some people recognize the superior knowledge contained in the Buddhist principles, however they only recognize but do not accept or believe in the religion. Others study Buddhism as an academic subject, they understand the principles but do not follow these principles.
To properly practise Buddhism, after understanding the principles, one must follow up with actual experience, to practise Buddhism according to what he has learned. One must maintain good conduct and behaviour, and purify the mind.
This is the only way to change delusion to wisdom, and reap the full benefits of practising Buddhism.
4. Proving: The last stage in practising Buddhism is proving.
Whenever one deals with a matter, one must have confidence, good understanding, and carry out the task with endurance and dedication.
At the end, one will be successful in realizing the benefits.
The same goes for the study of Buddhism. If one has great confidence, understand the Dharma well, and practise according to the Dharma with endurance and endeavour, one will remove sufferings, find true happiness and peace of mind, and eventually attain enlightenment. This will be the proof of what one has learned from the Dharma to be true.
The Advantages of Practising Buddhism
The reason religion is important to life is obvious. It is a most important component of mankind's spiritual life. It has incomparable power to stimulate and excite life.
At the same time, religion can bring peace to a society, purify people's minds, giving people hope and confidence for the future. It helps people to live more reasonable and high quality lives.
In general terms, religion has a comforting effect for the pessimists, it has a cautioning effect for the criminals, and an encouraging effect for the kind people. The advantages of practising Buddhism are very real and practical.
Although it is a religion, Buddhism is also a way of life in that it teaches the employment of basic ethics in one's daily life, such as controlling oneself, serving others without discrimination, and endeavouring towards one's perfection. If practised with devotion and firmness, it can lead one to liberating wisdom - the so called enlightenment.
For those of us who live in the modern world and are subject to stress and strain, confusion and material distractions, the teachings of Buddhism can help us improve our livelihood, make better use of our personal resources.
Some people who do not know the teachings of the Buddha criticize Buddhism to be impractical and 'escape from reality' because it deals with supramundane (beyond this world) matters.
They have actually quite mistaken the teachings of Buddhism. One of the greatest masters of Ch'an (Zen) Buddhism, Ven. Hu`i Ne'ng (7th century) said:
The Buddhist doctrine for this world
Is not to be separated from worldly knowledge.
To search for enlightenment apart from this world
Is equivalent to seeking horns on a rabbit!This idea is in harmony with the thought of the late great master Ven. T'ai Hsu (20th century), who advocated:
When manhood/womanhood is perfected Buddhahood is attained.These comments are based on the fact that Buddhism deals with human life and its liberation; it is necessary to thoroughly understand human nature through experience. Practising Buddhism is very much mundane (within this world) dealing with our worldly matters, and such practice brings about many advantages.
1. Buddhism helps people to obtain the correct perspective on life
Buddhism thoroughly analyzes the question of the universe and life, with the objective that man will obtain the correct understanding of life.
There are two common views of life, pessimistic and optimistic.
An extreme pessimist views life to be short and empty, and living is waiting for death.
Consequently, a pessimist remains sad and depressed all the time.
An extreme optimist carries the attitude of "enjoy while you can". He uses ecstasy and passion to fill the desires of his senses and heart, he does not really care about the meaning of life and the objective of living.
She/he does not know and he does not care.
Buddhism's perspective on life, from the strict sense, is not pessimistic nor optimistic.
It is termed the "Middle way".
What is the "Middle way"?
It means not to constantly whine and complain about life, nor to waste away life by living in a constant state of daze.
The "Middle way" recommends the use of the vision of wisdom to remove life's fears, anguishes and misunderstanding, to recognize the truth about life and to control one's destiny.
Fame and fortune are temporary.
We didn't bring them with us when we came to this world, and we cannot take them with us when we leave. Buddhism cautions man not to be too obsessed with desires and greed.
It advises us to be compassionate, charitable and kind. We must not be handcuffed by the desire for fame and fortune.
Wealth cannot provide us with spiritual fulfilment.
Only by having good conduct and pure minds, can we achieve peace, contentment and true happiness in life.2. Buddhism encourages man to lead life with endeavour
Buddhism is totally against the belief that life is controlled by destiny or by a supreme being. It teaches that every person is responsible for his own deeds and future. Every man must work hard with determination.
To have a good tomorrow, we must sacrifice our excessive pleasures today, by great endeavour and efforts. Only hard work and good deeds now will bring about a good future.3. Buddhism can purify the society
We are always saddened to learn about the abundance of crimes in our society which occur on a daily basis - murder, theft, robbery, rape etc. It makes us lose faith and hope in mankind.
A Buddhist must observe the following five precepts:
(i) not to kill;
(ii) not to steal;
(iii) not to commit adultery;
(iv) not to engage in improper talks;
(v) not to take intoxicants.Observing the above five precepts is the foundation of leading a good life. Committing any of the precepts is against morals and the law of society.
If all of mankind were to observe the five precepts, there would be no crime in society, no broken marriages and families, and no mistakes made when one is drunk or on drugs; Wouldn't this be a peaceful and happy society. That is why Buddhism contributes towards purifying the human mind and behaviour in society.
4. Buddhism can help develop self-respect, self-confidence and independent character
Buddhism believes that every person is his own master. We are not anyone's slave, we do not have to rely on Buddha or God. Buddha was a man before he became enlightened.
With good behaviour and endeavour, and following the teachings of the Buddha, we may one day become Buddhas.
This belief can certainly boost our self-confidence and self-respect. In other religions, man is created by God, and no matter how hard a man tries, he cannot save himself.
He still must have God's help to achieve eternal life. In addition, man is always subordinate to God. God is the lord, and man is his servant. Such thinking can be quite discouraging. Buddhism teaches that every man has the basic ingredient to become Buddha. Our success and failure is up to ourselves. Any man who practices Buddhism can become Buddha one day. This is because of his own endeavour, not because of the grace or help from Buddha.
Other religions attribute man's success to God, because man's wisdom was given by God. Therefore God is praised for man's success.
Buddhism does not agree with this. It believes that man's success is the result of his own endeavour. The glory belongs to man himself. If man fails, he has to work harder to achieve his goals. Such thinking of Buddhism frees man from God's bondage. It gives man the freedom from God's all mighty power. It reminds him that he is responsible for his own deeds, and is responsible for his own future with no one else responsible.
Since man is not created by God and is not his servant, he has the right to decide his own fate and future. Since man is not controlled by God, he can have his independent character, and self-respect, and self-confidence.
5. Buddhism can help man to achieve true happiness
When a Buddhist studies and understands the principles of Buddhism, and practises according to the principles, therefore leading a life free of sufferings, he can achieve true happiness.
First, what is happiness? The following five points will explain when a person has found true happiness and how Buddhism can help man to achieve true happiness.
(i) He is always at peace, and does not have worries. Buddhism advises man to be content, practise meditation, and to avoid extremes. Subsequently, he will have a peaceful mind, and have no worries.
(ii) For the difficulties and problems he is facing, he accepts and copes with them with a positive attitude, not blaming anyone or anything. Buddhism teaches that whatever misfortune a person is facing is caused by his own deeds in this life or in past lives. He must therefore face the problems bravely and patiently. Man must be prepared to face the consequences of his own deeds. He must not blame other people or things.
(iii) He is able to obtain satisfactory answers for his questions about the universe and life. All the teachings of Buddhism do not praise or glorify the power of the Buddha. They explain the basic questions of the universe and life thoroughly, to allow man to obtain satisfactory answers, and, the teachings are compatible with science.
(iv) He has found a satisfactory answer about the future, specifically, life after leaving this world. Buddhist teachings explain that all things occur because of "Cause" and "Conditions". Mortal human being can practice Buddhism to achieve enlightenment therefore breaking away from life sufferings to enjoy eternal happiness.
(v) His future, destiny, and success are not controlled by someone else. Buddhism teaches that all beings are equal. There are no beings above us to control our life and death, our successes and failures, our blessings or misfortunes, we are our own masters, our own lords.
As long as we make our best endeavour, we will have a bright tomorrow, and will achieve true happiness.
The teachings of Sakyamuni are as applicable today as they were in the past. Buddhism is not exclusively for the benefits of one race, nor for any particular historical period, nor for any geographic location. Nor is it a fantastic or strange thing to talk about. It is for all, at any time in any place, for any person.
As a matter of fact, the Buddha's teachings are most rational, real, pertaining to our daily life, and are as new as tomorrow! Although the Buddha talked in a simple way, yet what he taught is essential, fundamental and applicable to our present materialistic world.
J21.20
BUDDHISM - A Scientific Experimental Path
Ven. M. Vinayarakkhita
Bhikku Training Centre, Maharagama, Sri Lanka
Albert Einstein the father of modern science said: If there is any religion that would cope with modern scientific needs it would be BUDDHISM.
The humans who are considered to be the supreme beings on this planet earth have entered into the twenty first century with many astonishing inventions and discoveries to their credit and yet they seem to find no solution to eradicate suffering (dukkha).
All the time we humans have been trying to eliminate or rather suppress the sufferings by engaging ourselves in some or the other pleasure seeking ventures and finally landing in greater problems. Having passed through this futile experiments for finding solutions to the ills of the world, now it is time to conduct the same age old and most effective experiment as conducted and taught by Buddha himself as follows:
EXPERIMENT FOR ENLIGHTNMENT
• Aim : To attain final liberation called Nibbana.
• Instruments : Mind and Body (Nama-rupa).
• Procedure : Follow the Noble eight-fold path (below).1. Right View- To understand wholesome deeds, unwholesome deeds and comprehend the law of Kamma.
2. Right Intention- The intention of non-greed, non-hatred and non-delusion.
3. Right Speech- Abstaining from false speech, malicious speech, harsh speech and idle chatter.
4. Right Action- Abstaining from killing, stealing and sexual misconduct.
5. Right Livelihood- Abstaining from wrong and corrupt means of livelihood.
6. Right Effort- Awakening zeal for abandoning of unwholesome states and arising & sustaining of wholesome states.
7. Right Mindfulness- The four foundations of mindfulness (satipattana) namely contemplation on body, contemplation on feelings, contemplation on mind and contemplation on mind-objects.
8. Right Concentration- Abandoning of five hindrances namely lust, ill-will sloth-torpor, worry-agitation and doubt through jhanas.• Conclusion: The four noble truths namely:
1. There is suffering.
2. There is cause for suffering.
3. There is cessation of suffering.
4. There is path leading to the cessation of suffering.The above experiment is the need for the attainment of final liberation called Nibbana. Now it is left to the wisdom and scientific temperament of modern humans to make use of the tool and technique given by Buddha to eliminate the sufferings and attain to the final liberation called Nibbana.
Though outwardly this noble truth of suffering as taught by Buddha seems to be pessimistic and one would definitely like to be optimistic but here in Buddha’s teaching truth is not explained in terms of pessimism or optimism but is explained in terms of realism and stresses on workism because without working on the Noble eight-fold path it is not possible to realize truth of suffering and its cessation.
Suffering no doubt is a pain but this very pain in Buddhism is used as an wet stone to sharpen one’s wisdom and penetrate the reality to see things as they are and not as we want them to be.
In Mahaahatthi padopama sutta (M.N.28.2 B.P.S.), Buddha says: "Friends, just as the foot print of any living being that walks can be placed within an Elephant’s foot print, and so the Elephant’s foot print is declared the chief of them because of its great size; so too, all wholesome states can be included in the four noble truths of sufferings."
Therefore in the name of pessimism or any other negative attitude one should not be afraid of suffering and react like an ostrich who buries his head in the sand to avoid challenge faced by it. Such delusions must be eradicated completely and one must be prepared to face the stark realities of life with its sufferings and attempt to follow the Noble eight-fold path. An well known western Buddhist named T.W. Rhys Davids has said:
Buddhists or Non-Buddhists, I have examined every one of the great religious systems of the world and in none of them have I found anything to surpass in beauty and comprehensiveness the Noble eight-fold path of the BUDDHA.
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