Aloka Journal

J24.01

The Buddha’s mission to humanity

Rupa Banduwardena

Sakyamuni Gauthama Buddha, the unique being with love and compassion, gave the world a rational analysis of the Truth of Life, gained supreme Enlightenment, came to be identified with Buddhahood discovered the Four Noble Truths. His first sermon to the five ascetics at Isipatana, Dhammachakkapavattana Sutta which means the establishment of Dhamma - the Four Noble Truths, achieved through His clear vision intellect knowledge and wisdom.

According to Majjima Nikaya, the Buddha has said to his disciples that He has the capacity of discovering the truths and also proclaiming them to the world. The basic truth - “Dukkha and Cessation of Dukkha”. The burden of Dukkha arising from craving to be got rid of, by following the Eightfold Path (Arya Astangika Maggo). This is possible to those who possess unwavering confidence in the Buddha-Dhamma and Sangha. This three-fold refuge is the only safe and sure way to achieve the Supreme Bliss of Nibbana - the end of the samsaric journey of births and deaths. The Buddha said, “Nibbana is the highest happiness”. The highest aim of the Buddhist is the attainment of it.

Summit of perfection

The Buddha never claimed to be a supernatural being. He was the son of human parents. The truth he discovered eternally and the absolute truth was not gained through any external power, but by His effort. The summit of perfection which He attained with His endeavours was for humanity at large without any distinction, race, caste or creed.

The most striking feature was its rationality and moral welfare. Now that the conquest has been made and the summit of bliss has been reached, the next step was its propagation not by force, but by mere conviction, and its appeal to mankind. For this there were His disciples - Sangha, to spread the doctrine. The disciples followed with utmost faith and attained Arahantship setting in motion the Sangha Sasana. The sangha grew in numbers. The Sakyamuni addressed the disciples to spread the doctrine “Go forth Bhikkus into the world take the message of Dhamma, explain to them what I have taught you for the well-being of the majority”. Then the Buddha Himself calm and serene, walked on dusty rough roads in North India preaching His doctrine the Buddha’s way of life and His Akalika Dhamma.

Incessant activity

The Buddha all-wise and compassionate, out of deep love for humanity made Him teach His message to one and all. He had a life of incessant activity. He encouraged endlessly trying to offer His wisdom to the people. His Dhamma was a practical religion emphasizing morality and right living. The cardinal teachings were given in the Four Noble Truths. He saw life in reality from every angle, He saw a change, the law of cause and effect (Kamma) regaining supreme over the entire universe.

He saw the nature of Sansara in its true perspective and emphasised the middle path as the golden path which is simple and a straight path. The greatness of life led by Him and the nobility of His teachings appealed to many and his doctrine of Dhamma Ahimsa and Metta illumined those lives. It encouraged learning, advancement of knowledge providing free scope to intellectual activities. His words of compassion came as a blessing to thousands of people who listened to His Dhamma in Jambudeepa.

Zenith of her Glory

Wherever the Buddha’s feet touched the soil of India Buddhism gained a foothold and it is said that India reached the zenith of her glory during Buddha’s time. Till the age of 80, the Buddha spent all His time journeying in the kingdoms of North India, present Nepal, Bihar, Bengal and Uttara Pradesh. The language used by the Master was probably, widely understood by the natives at that time. He preached His absolute Dhamma with His disciples accompanying Him. The oral tradition was preserved by the Sangha, the guiding force behind the activities of the kings and the people.

The active pursuit of Dhamma by the royalty helped Buddhism to make great headway. His teachings, the Dhamma found support among the many Kshatriyas as opposed to Brahminism who claimed special powers considering themselves socially superior. This pride and aristocracy of Brahminism prevalent at the time favoured the Buddhist movement. The caste distinction and its strict adherence were never found in Buddhism. Hatred towards none emphasised in Buddhism with sayings - “Never in this world does hatred cease by hatred, hatred wanes by love”, made people lay all hopes in Buddhism. This explains why Buddhism attracted many and why it spread in North India rapidly with the world teacher the great Master Satta Devamanussanang, on top, at the height of His spiritual supremacy.

Spiritual development

The Buddha to fulfil his mission walked through the streets with the begging bowl and showed the way to liberation from suffering, to millions of His ardent devotees including the royalty who had revered Him for life, to name a few - King Bimbisara of Magadha Pasenadi of Kosala, Merchant Prince Anatha Pindika and the Sakyan Queen - Mother Prajapathi. The Buddha established the idea of the brotherhood of all living beings and its aim of peaceful co-existence the people the devotees showed profound devotion and respect. Thus, the mission of Buddhism became all-embracing and they worshipped Him with heart and soul. The teachings that the Buddha gave the people and the examples of His life are the foundation for their spiritual developments. Hence one of the qualities of the Buddha - “Satta Devamanussanang” connotes overflowing compassion which drove every human being to worship Him, adore Him and revere him with overwhelming piety and sanctity.

26 05 2021 - Daily News

J24.02

How to practise Buddhism

Yat-Biu Ching

Every Buddhist who practises Buddhism must go through four stages. They are;

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 anhood/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.

J24.03

The status of women from the Buddhist perspective

A.G.S. Kariyawasam

"There is no worse evil than a spoilt bad woman and no better blessing than an unspoilt good woman." - Buddha

Woman's role as mother is highly valued in Buddhism by designating her as 'the society of mothers' (matugama). Her role as wife is equally valued for the Buddha has said that a man's best friend is his wife. (bhariya ti parama sakha: Samyutta N.i, 37 pts)

March 8 every year marks the International Women's Day which is meant to obtain the rights due to women. This monograph intends to discuss this problem briefly from the Buddhist perspective.

Pasenadi, the king of Kosala, was a faithful follower of the Buddha and was in the habit of visiting and seeking his guidance when confronted with problems, both personal and public. Once, during the course of such an encounter, news was brought to him that his chief Queen Mallika had borne him a daughter.

On receipt of this news the king became distraught, his face falling with a grief-stricken and disconsolate look.

He began to think that he had elevated Mallika from a poor family to the status of his chief Queen so that she would bear him a son and thereby would have won great honour: but now, as she has borne him a daughter, she has lost that opportunity.

Noticing the king's sadness and disappointment, the Buddha addressed Pasenadi with the following words which words, in reality marked the beginning of a new chapter for womankind in general and for the Indian women in particular:
"A woman, O king, may prove
Even better than a man:
She, becoming wise and virtuous,
A faithful wife devoted to the in-laws,
May give birth to a son
Who may become a hero, ruler of the land:
The son of such a blessed woman
May even rule a wide realm" - (Samyutta Nikaya, i, P.86, PTS)

A proper evaluation of these words of the Buddha is not possible without first bringing into focus the position of women in India in the 6th century BC. during the Buddha's day.

By this time the view had gained ground quite strongly and extensively too that the woman was far inferior to man in contrast to the preceding vedic period when life was simple with the woman enjoying a normal independent life.

It was with the gradual ascendancy of the Brahmanic class with their rigid caste-system that Indian society underwent a dramatic change with the social status of the woman dropping to zero level, when the brahmins had reduced her to the position of the Sudras or suffering class.

Being regarded as unclean, she became reduced to a servile and an abject position thereby being deprived of her right to education to follow her religion, to obtain justice, to inheritance of property etc. To the brahmins she had become an object of pleasure and of service only, with this attitude being amply supported by the brahmanic legal authority known as Manu.

Consequently the birth of a girl in a family was regarded as a disappointing event, ominous and calamitous. The religious tenet that had gained ground that a father could obtain heavenly birth only if he had a son who could perform the ceremony of offering to the Manes, the sraddha-puja, added insult to injury. These super-men were blind to the fact that even a son had to be borne, bred and nourished by a woman in her vital capacity as the mother! The absence of a son meant that the father would be thrown out of heaven! Thus was Pasenadi's lament.

Even matrimony had become a bond of slavery for a woman as she would become fully fettered and tethered to a man as an attendant and a survitor, this undemocratic wifely fidelity being pursued even upto the husband's funeral pyre. And it had been further laid down, also as a religious tenet, that it was only through such unqualified submission to her husband only that a woman could obtain a passport to heaven (patim susruyate yena - tena svarge mahiyate Manu: V, 153).

It was in such a background that Gautama Buddha appeared with His message of liberation for women.

His portrait in this Indian social background, dominated by Brahmanic hegemony, appears as that of a rebel and a social reformer.

Among many contemporary social issues the restoration of due place to women in society ranked quite significant in the Buddha's programme. It is in this context that the Buddha's words to king Pasenadi quoted earlier assume their true worth.

Those were the words of a rebel against undue authority, words of a reformist seeking to redeem woman from her slavery.

It was with remarkable courage and vision that the Buddha championed the cause of woman against the injustice that had been perpetrated on her in the then society, seeking to bring equality between man and woman who constitute two complementary units of a single whole.

In direct contrast to the brahmanic way of confining the woman to the position of a full-time servant, the Buddha opened the doors of freedom to her as He has specifically laid down in His celebrated address to Sigala, the Sigalovada Sutta. In very simple terms here He shows, in the true spirit of a democrat, how man and woman should live in holy matrimony together as partners on par with each other.

He lays down the mutual duties, bounden on both partners, with equal validity and force for both.

Here the husband is advised to base his conduct towards the wife on five main tenets, which are being courteous to her, not despising her, not betraying her faith in him, handing over the household authority to her and providing her with clothes, jewellery and ornaments. Reciprocally, the wife too has to base her conduct towards him on the following main tenets: performing her duties efficiently, being hospitable to relatives and attendants, not betraying his faith in her, protecting his earnings and being skilled and industrious in discharging her duties.

The woman's being a member of the "weaker sex" entitles her to man's protective coverage and related niceties of behaviour which are collectively referred to as 'chivalry'. This virtue seems to be slowly disappearing from the modern social scene perhaps as an unwelcome outfall of the women's liberation movements, most of which are on a wrong course because they have forgotten the very significant point regarding the biological unity of man and woman after the nature's own system.

This implies that a woman cannot achieve freedom from male "chauvinism" or "domination" through a process of isolation form the male because the two are complementary to each other.

When one of the two halves (wife as the better half) moves away from its natural and complementary companion, how can that lead to freedom? It can only lead to further confusion and isolation as has been happening today. Mutual understanding and confidence built on a successful matrimonial partnership would be the most successful path of the gender problem.

The Buddha's Sigala discourse offers a comprehensive recipe for this.

The implication of a certain degree of 'superiority' is man's masculinity is a nature's way which has to be accepted without cause for prejudice to either sex. The symbolical stories of genesis of the world, both from East and West maintain that it was the male that appeared first on earth.

Thus Eve followed Adam and the Buddhist story of genesis in the Agganna Sutta of the Digha Nikaya also maintain the same position. Buddhism also maintains that only a male can become a Buddha. All this without any prejudice to woman.

What has been said so far does not preclude the fact that the woman is heir to certain frailties and failings. Here Buddhism is severely demanding in the field of woman's virtue. Buddha has said in the Dhammapada (stz. 242) that "mis-conduct is the worst taint for a woman" (malitthiya duccaritam). The value of this for a woman may be summed up by saying that "there is no worse evil than a spoilt bad woman and no better blessing than an unspoilt good woman".

Woman's role as mother is highly valued in Buddhism by designating her as 'the society of mothers' (matugama). Her role as wife is equally valued for the Buddha has said that a man's best friend is his wife bhariya ti parama sakha (Samyutta N.i, 37;pts).

Many a great man has had a woman as his inspirer.
Men whose lives were ruined through women also are many.
All told, virtue claims the highest premium for a woman.
Let the woman's decorative value also be recorded here.

Finally, women who have no inclination for matrimonial responsibilities have the monastic life of bhikkhunis open to them in which field there has been a galaxy of prominent personalities from Mahaprajapati onwards the fascinating Therigathas speak for them.

J24.04

Buddhist political thinking

Sita Arunthavanathan

Buddha as a religious teacher confined his teachings strictly to religious discipline and questions involving eschatology and soteriology.

He refrained from making any pronouncement on the relative merits of the political systems or the political theories that existed in his time. However as Prince Siddhartha he was brought up to be a universal monarch and was given an extensive training in statecraft and military arts.

The Buddhist texts show that the style of language the Buddha used in his conversations with kings such as Bimbisara and Pasenadi savouring of military similes, metaphors, illustrations from the context of the state, defence and martial arts, evinced a thorough knowledge of war strategies.

Buddha appeared at a time of political evolution when the existing republics were being swallowed up by the powerful neighbouring rulers with the emergence of monarchies. The scattered references in the suttas help us to gain an insight into the political power, authority and duties of a temporal ruler.

Origin of kingship

The myth prevailing at the time of the Buddha was that kingship was of divine origin; it was war that necessitated a king to give leadership. But the Buddhist concept as given in Agganna Sutta (Digha Nikaya) is that kingship originated as a genuine political need of the society as opposed to the Brahmin theory of divine origin and divine creation of the society divided into four castes.

According to this sutta, at a certain juncture of evolution, the logical need to show what mother nature offered, to arrest the diminishing of natural resources due to greed, to stop stealing and other vices, prompted a genuine social need for a charismatic leader to arbitrate whenever such a situation arose.

Hence the king was a figure chosen and approved by the people (Mahasammata); a logical outcome of a social need.

Definition of a king

Definition of a king as a given in the Agganna Sutta is, "one who makes others happy by righteousness" (dhammena param ranjeti ti raja). Buddhist texts refer to rajas, maharajas and cakkavatti rajas but whatever the title was, a king had to honour, respect and hold righteousness in high esteem (Cakkavatti Siha Nada Sutta - Digha Nikaya). Consensus among people gave authority to the king and all the power he had, was that of the people.

This was the emergence of democracy. Moral degeneration (adhamma) due to fighting and friction necessitated a ruler for moral regeneration (dhamma). There were unwritten norms, political law-givers, chaplains (purohita) and others to advise the king and keep him off from indulging in excesses or becoming a despot/dictator. In the Buddhist tradition of social evolution, king was the first among all equals and was not above the law.

Qualities of a king

A ruler was expected to have ten personal qualities such as generosity, liberality, virtue and so on. Four cardinal principles a king had to possess were generosity (dana), pleasant words (piya vacana), welfare of the subjects (atta cariya) and equal treatment of all (Samanatmata).

He was also to have the following five qualities: (1) Understanding things with a clear vision (attannu), (2) Knowing that which is righteous (dhammannu), (3) Having a clear idea of limit and measure with regard to punishment, fines and taxes, (4) Knowing the right time for action (Kalannu) and (5) Knowing the assemblages of men (parisannu).

Duties of a king

A king had to rule with justice and equity ensuring security from within and without. Here it must be stressed that moral responsibility lay not only with the ruler but also with the ruled. Each person in the society had a share of responsibility so that the community could present a united front. According to Cakkavatti Sihanada Sutta a king's duty could be summarised as protection of the state, elimination of crime, effecting economic stability and ruling in consultation with the clergy (samana - brahmana). The Pali term 'dhammikam rakkhavaranam guttim' mean watch, ward and protection righteously.

According to this Sutta protection had to be provided not only to the subjects, army, religious bodies etc but even to beasts and birds. Here word 'dhammikam' is of importance because a ruler can give protection even by unrighteous means (adhammikam). There is an illustration in Sutta Nipata where two men who had committed murder being treated in two different ways. One was garlanded because he killed an enemy of the king; the other was bound with ropes because he was a foe of the king. This difference in treatment for the same charge - murder - shows that laws of the state were not always impartial.

Violence and crime

Cakkavatti Sihanada Sutta and Kutadanta Sutta (Digha N) show that violence raises its head when the economy of a country is at a low ebb and the destitute are neglected, consequently crime increases and it is the king's duty to eliminate it. These two suttas say that there will be a gradual loss of values due to economic instability. Men and women would resort to violence if living conditions are not conducive to preserving their lives and they would take to stealing rather than perish.

"As a result of goods not being accrued to those who are destitute poverty becomes rife. From poverty becoming rife stealing, violence, murder, lying, evil speech, adultery, incest, till finally lack of respect for parents, filial love, religious piety and lack of regard for the ruler will result." (Cakkavatti Sihanada Sutta)

J24.05

Suicide in Buddhism: Post-Canonical Deflections

[Y2000 Global Conference on Buddhism: in the Face of the Third Millennium]

Bhikkhu Professor Dhammavihari

Pursuing a little further our study of suicide in Buddhism into the area of Commentarial literature of the later period, one discovers quite a few interesting developments. The Vinaya texts of Parajika Pali [PTS. Vin. III. p.82 and BJTS. I. Parajika. p.180. f.] enumerate a large number of lower grade offenses under Parajika III on destruction of human life which do not come to be classified under the major offense of Parajika. We discover one of these in Na ca bhikkhave attanaü patetabbaü. Yo pateyya apatti dukkanassa. [PTS. Vin. III. p.82. line 20 ff. and BJTS. I. Parajika. p.180. $ 26]. This injunction seems to have caused a considerable amount of confusion, even at the stage of the Commentary, and a great deal more of misinterpretation, centuries later, in the hands of Sri Lankan scholar monks. Both Burmese and Cambodians texts and traditions share these. All three translate it as 'A monk should not commit suicide. He who commits suicide is guilty of a minor offence'. It is amazing that the English translators have got it perfectly right ['But monks, one should not throw oneself off. Whoever shall throw (himself) off, there is an offence of wrong-doing.' Book of the Discipline I. p.142]. The Thai tradition is the only one which we believe has got it correct. At the moment we are not in a positon to say whether it is a mistake of independent origin or is a product of deliberate borrowing or mutual interaction.

A Sri Lankan Vinaya manual in Sinhala by the name of Sikhavalanda / Sikhavandavinisa of about the late Anuradhapura period [i.e. circa ninth to the eleventh centuries], in a chapter named Miscelaneous or Pakiooaka, includes two items under suicide, of killing oneself or getting oneself killed, and grade them under the minor offence of Dukkana or Dukula in Sinhala [Sikhavalandavinisa Pradipaya by Medauyangoda Vimalakitti Thera 1950, p. 8 item 48: tama mara naü marava nam and p.79 item 48 : miyani sitin tama mara naü dukula ve. anun lava tama marava naü dukula ve]. But it is clear that Buddhist Ecclesiastical Law in early Vinaya literature does not take into reckonning incidence of suicide. We presume the reason for this is that in case of suicide, the offender being no more existent in the world of the living, there is no possibility of posthumous prosecution or punishment being carried out. Nor is there any real need to contemplate on the same.

But it is also clear that attempted suicide, though not successfully accomplished, has to be viewed as attempted man slaughter. Common sense view woud require it. The Vinaya Commentary, the Samantapasadika totally disapproves of it [aena pi yena kena ci upakkamena antamaso aharåpacchedena pi na maretabbo. VinA. II. 467]. Several incidents of sucessfully carried out suicides are encountered in the Canonical text of Samyutta Nikaya [Godhika at S.I. 119, Vakkali at S. III. 118 and Channa at S. IV. 55f. See also M. III. 263]. They all seem to pertain to people of whom it is asserted that they have terminated their process of samsaric journeying. Hence they are not liable to be born again, and as such there is no more talk about the evils of their action. We have already [October 1996] done a very comprehensive study of these elsewhere. [See Paper 3]

The Parajika III sub-incident cited above which has triggered off this unfortunate misunderstanding of a vital Vinaya issue, refers to the case of the monk who, not being sufficiently attracted to his monastic life [anabhirato], was contemplating returning to lay life. But he thought: "Before I come to a breach of my moral life [yava salabhedaü na papuoami], it would be better for me to die." So he climbed the Gijjhakuta moun tain, and letting himself fall therefrom to a ravine below, fell upon a cane-worker who was at work down there. This caused the death of the man upon whom he fell. The monk was in doubt with regard to his offense.

It being no intended man slaughter, the offense was declared to be no Parajika [Anapatti bhikkhu parajikassa]. What was objectionable herein was the frivolous and indiscreet act of jumping off from a height. Out of this incident, a new Vinaya clause thus emerged. "No monk shall jump off from a height" [literally 'let himself fall' = patetabbaü]. The injunction reads: Na ca bhikkhave attanaü patetabbaü. Yo pateyya apatti dukkanassa. [PTS. Vin. III. p. 82 and BJTS. I. Parajika. p.180. $ 26]. The language used here could hardly lead to a misunderstanding. But it has done. Note here the very accurate rendering by the English translator: 'But, monks, one should not throw oneself off. Whoever shall throw (himself) off, there is an offence of wrong-doing [The Book of Discipline I.p. 142]. The root -/ pat > patati, used here without any prefix, means no more than 'fall'. In its causative form pateti it means 'causes to fall or to fall off from'. It is the form with the prefix ati + as ati pateti which means to kill or destroy [Note Yo paoaü atipateti = Whoever kills or destroys a living being].

What is frowned upon here in the Vinaya injunction is the monk's reckless behaviour of jumping off from heights, unmindful of the consequences of such action on others around. It is declared a minor offense of Dukkana. A similar incident is reported below this. It is about Chabbaggiya monks blasting off of rocks in fun and a piece of broken rock falling upon a cowherd below and killing him [Tena kho pana samayena Chabbaggiya bhikkhå gijjhakånaü pabbataü abhiruhitva davaya silaü pavijjhimsu. A¤¤ataraü gopalakaü ottharitva maresi. PTS and BJTS. loc. cit.].

It is our opinion that at some early stage in the history of the Sasana, possibly after the great Commentator Buddhaghosa, some dubious thinking on this subject of suicide seems to have surfaced. The Commentary, while disallowing the plea for suicide [aena pi yena kena ci upakkamena antamaso aharåpacchedena pi na maretabbo. VinA. II. 467], seems to accomodate some very exceptional situations which need, as it were, to be studied on their own merit. Much more than this, the issue of suicide appears to become a general one. It seems to appear like a question of one's right over one's life, paoatipata or destruction of life being looked upon as the destruction of the lives of others. We look upon this as a lamentable slip, for the concept of compassion for all or sabba-paoa-bhåta-hitanukampa should invariably include oneself as well. For it is admitted everywhere in Buddhism that everyone loves to live and does not wish to die [javitukamo amaritukamo].

This underlying yearning for 'the right to die', much more than a gross ignorance of the Pali idiom in the passage quoted above [Na ca bhikkhave attanaü patetabbaü. Yo pateyya apatti dukkanassa.Vin. III. p. 82], probably led to the deliberate disregard of the difference between pateti and atipateti. It is surprising to find that this translation which we declare to be incorrect is found to exist in this form in Burmese and Cambodiam traditions. This process of inter-regional or international transmission of a religious tradition is worth a real research which we cannot afford at the moment. But we are glad to record, on evidence very reliably sent to us, that the Thai Vinaya texts translate the controversial Pali word pateyya as 'causes to fall'.

As for the Commentarial explanation on this issue, it appears that they were fully aware of the rulings given by the Buddha himself in the cases of suicide by the theras Godhika, Vakkali and Channa. Except in the case of those who have terminated their rebirth process and are therefore not going to be reborn again [and face the consequences of their evil deeds], suicide or self destruction remained a blamable offense. We have discussed this position in detail in our article on Euthanasia. [Paper 3]. Hence we feel that the Sri Lankan monk tradition [along with Burmese and Cambodian] which reduces suicide by a monk to a mere Dukkana offence, through an early misunderstanding of the earlier referred to Pali phrase attanaü patatabbaü as equivalent to 'destroy oneself' is totally unacceptable. [See the Sinhala translation of the Pali phrase at BJTS. I. Parajikapali. p.181. $26 which reads as Mahaoeni atma-ghatanaya no kanayutuy. Yamek atma-ghatanaya kere nam dukula avat ve]. See also Upasampada Salaya of the Ven. Rerukane Candavimala Mahasthavira, [second edition 1992, p.97. First edition 1970] who seems to follow the distorted tradition.

In search of further clarification on this issue, let us hopefully turn in the direction the Vinaya Commentary. We have it at PTS. Vin A. II. p.467.l.8 f. [romanized version] and SHB. XXVIII. Samantapasadika Part I. p.333 f. [in Sinhala script]. As referred to above, the disgruntled monk climbs a mountain and attempts to commit suicide [yava salabhedaü na papunami tava marissama ti. Vin.A.II. 467] by jumping off from there. But his attempted suicide failed, because he fell upon a man below and the man died instead in the process. The death of the man was not the outcome of intended murder. Hence the death of the man in the hands of the bhikkhu is ruled out as not being a Parajika offense [anapatti parajikassa]. The Commentary adds a beautiful note thereafter. It decries the frivolous act of jumping off from heights and denounces suicide in any form, even through starvation [Ettha ca na kevalaü na patetabbaü aena 'pi yena kena ci upakkamena antamaso aharåpacchedena' pi na maretabbo. loc.cit.], reminding perhaps of the regular Jain practice.

These searches and researches into our texts, specially the Commentary, make us legitimately suspect whether the Vinaya Commentary Samantapasadika is contemplating on the possibility of getting a bit of laxity in the interpretation of an act of suicide within the monastic community. In the stories of monks like Godhika, Vakkali and Channa in the Samyutta Nikaya, implications of suicide has already been thoroughly discussed and explained by the Buddha himself. What has been said in those contexts should, in our opinion, equally well apply even in the lives of lay persons. Suicide, apparently necessitated in undoubtedly challenging situations of monastic life, whose complexity was rapidly multiplying through time, must have called for ethically sound as well as judicially unquestionable precise handling on the part of those in authority in monastic circles. An overall disapproval of suicide, deriving from the conventions of the Sutta tradition, at any rate must have loomed large in the horizon.

Whatever literal translation the Commentator was willing to give to the phrase attanaü patetabbaü [cause oneself to fall off from or destroy one's own life], it is difficult for us to determine. But his comment Ettha ca na kevalaü na patetabbaü a¤¤ena 'pi yena kena ci upakkamena antamaso aharåpacchedena' pi na maretabbo clearly reveals an underlying rejection of suicide [... na maretabbo] as a remedial measure for a monk under any circumstance. The Commentator lists about six different cases where a monk, under very trying conditions, may be driven to suicide.

It is mostly in the case of an ailing monk who may be terminally ill. Monks who attend on such a sick one may realize that he is incurably ill [mahaabadho ciranubaddho. All Commentarial quotations which follow are from PTS. Vin.A. II. p. 467] and feel the drudgery of being engaged in a fruitless task and wish to be relieved of it [kada nu kho gilanato mu¤cissama ' ti anniyanti]. In such a case it is conceded that the ailing monk may cut off his food and medical supplies to expedite his death and to terminate his life, to relieve those who are under stress because of him. A justification appears to be sought here in this negative search for life termination, seeking it in nature's own way, as it were, rather than taking to positive action for life destruction.

In a couple of other instances, the spiritual earnestness of a disciple to reach special attainments of samadhi and vipassana, and for that reason the wish to cut off food supplies, devoting his time entirely for the furtherance of his meditative assignment [kammannhanaü eva anuyu¤jissama ti] without wasting his time in search of them, even at the risk of his own life [ahara-pariyesanaü nama papa¤co] appears a mitigating factor in favour of a suicidal wish [Yo ayaü rogo kharo ayusamkhara na tinnhanti aya¤ ca me visesadhigamo hatthppatto viya dissata ti upacchindati vannati yeva]. Such suicides seem to gain approval = vannati yeva. In any case, a sick monk's wish to terminate life by rejecting medical supplies and medical attention while they are adequately available, is deemed a bad judgement and an unwise deed [Yo pi hi gilano vijjamane bhesajje ca upannhakesu ca maritukamo aharaü upacchindati dukkanaü eva].

Several similar restrictive curbs on attempts at suicide are presented during this Commentarial briefing. While a possible spiritual attainment may be looked upon as a stimulation towards an accelerated suicide, no monk shall divulge to an average monk such an attainment. He shall do so only to a sabhaga lajja bhikkhu.

All this rather ramified arguments on both sides of the question of suicide for a Buddhist disciple [only for an ailing monk who is physically or mentally ill] are indicative of the unavoidable massive assaults, as the centuries rolled by, on the fortress of Buddhist monastic discipline. We maintain that in view of the absolute standards which appear to be maintained on this issue in the sutta versions which we have presented elsewhere under the study of EUTHANASIA, the Commentarial tradition of the Samantapasadika is totally undermining the position taken up by the sutta tradition. We feel the Commentary's explanation of attanaü na patetabbaü of the Parajika section of the Vinaya Pitaka does not in any way lead to an idea of suicide.

There are two things involved here: 1. What we consider to be the error in translation. The genesis of this, for whatever reason, seems to lie outside the Commentary 2. The laxity involved and the liberties taken in the attempt to smuggle in a few cases of 'so-called' allowable suicides. The Commentary must take full responsibility for this. Which of these preceded, the error in translation or the laxity in Commentarial interpretation, is the question. The two Sub-Commentaries on the Samantapasadika, Saratthadipani and Vimativinodani which came after seven centuries and much later, are equally well silent on this issue. Both are identical in their comments and pick up only a single grammatical laxity in the use of the accusative case instead of the nominative [na attanaü patetebbaü instead if atta patetabbo]. Apparently they both decided on a wise policy of 'Let sleeping dogs lie at rest.'

J24.06

The Intricacies of Ignorance

Upasika Kee Nanayon

What can we do to see the aggregates — this mass of suffering and stress - clearly in a way that we can cut attachment for them out of the mind? Why is it that people studying to be doctors can know everything in the body — intestines, liver, kidneys, and all — down to the details, and yet don’t develop any dispassion or disenchantment for it - why? Why is it that undertakers can spend their time with countless corpses and yet not gain any insight at all? This shows that this sort of insight is hard to attain. If there’s no mindfulness and discernment to see things clearly for what they are, knowledge is simply a passing fancy. It doesn’t sink in. The mind keeps latching onto its attachments.

But if the mind can gain true insight to the point where it can relinquish its attachments, it can gain the paths and fruitions leading to nibbana. This shows that there’s a difference in the knowing. It’s not that we have to know all the details like modern-day surgeons. All we have to know is that the body is composed of the four physical elements plus the elements of space and consciousness. If we really know just this much, we’ve reached the paths and their fruitions, while those who know all the details to the point where they can perform surgery don’t reach any transcendent attainments at all.

So let’s analyze the body into its elements so as to know them thoroughly. If we do, then when there are changes in the body and mind there won’t be too much clinging. If we don’t, our attachments will be fixed and strong and will lead to further states of being and birth in the future.

Attracted to the unattractive

Now that we have the opportunity, we should contemplate the body and take it apart for a good look so as to get down to the details. Take the five basic meditation objects — hair of the head, hair of the body, nails, teeth, skin — and look at them carefully, one at a time. You don’t have to take on all five, you know. Focus on the hair of the head to see that it belongs to the earth element, to see that its roots are soaked in blood and lymph under the skin. It’s unattractive in terms of its color, its smell, and where it dwells. If you analyze and contemplate these things, you won’t be deluded into regarding them as your hair, your nails, your teeth, your skin.

All of these parts are composed of the earth element mixed in with water, wind, and fire. If they were purely earth they wouldn’t last, because every part of the body has to be composed of all four elements for it to be a body. And then there’s a mental phenomenon, the mind, in charge. These are things that follow in line with nature in every way — the arising, changing, and disbanding of physical and mental phenomena — but we latch onto them, seeing the body as ours, the mental phenomena as us: It’s all us and ours. If we don’t contemplate to see these things for what they are, we’ll do nothing but cling to them.

This is what meditation is: seeing things clearly for what they are. It’s not a matter of switching from topic to topic, for that would simply ensure that you wouldn’t know a thing. But our inner character, under the sway of ignorance and delusion, doesn’t like examining itself repeatedly. It keeps finding other issues to get in the way, so that we think constantly about other things. This is why we stay so ignorant and foolish.

Then why is it that we can know other things? Because they fall in line with what craving wants. To see things clearly for what they are would be to abandon craving, so it finds ways of keeping things hidden. It keeps changing, bringing in new things all the time, keeping us fooled all the time, so that we study and think about nothing but matters that add to the mind’s suffering and stress. That’s all that craving wants. As for the kind of study that would end the stress and suffering in the mind, it’s always getting in the way.

Short of knowledge

This is why the mind is always wanting to shift to new things to know, new things to fall for. And this is why it’s always becoming attached. So when it doesn’t really know itself, you have to make a real effort to see the truth that the things within it aren’t you or yours. Don’t let the mind stop short of this knowledge: Make this a law within yourself. If the mind doesn’t know the truths of inconstancy, stress, and not-self within itself, it won’t gain release from suffering. Its knowledge will simply be worldly knowledge; it will follow a worldly path. It won’t reach the paths and fruition leading to nibbana.

So this is where the worldly and the transcendent part ways. If you comprehend inconstancy, stress, and not-self to the ultimate degree, that’s the transcendent. If you don’t get down to their details, you’re still on the worldly level.

The Buddha has many teachings, but this is what they all come down to. The important principles of the practice — the four foundations of mindfulness, the four Noble Truths — all come down to these characteristics of inconstancy, stress, and not-selfness. If you try to learn too many principles, you’ll end up not getting any clear knowledge of the truth as it is. If you focus on knowing just a little, you’ll end up with more true insight than if you try knowing a lot of things. It’s through wanting to know a lot of things that we end up deluded. We wander around in our deluded knowledge, thinking and labeling things, but knowledge that’s focused and specific, when it really knows, is absolute. It keeps hammering away at one point. There’s no need to know a lot of things, for when you really know one thing, everything converges right there.

Many-faceted foolishness

There are many layers to self-deception. The more you practice and investigate things, the less you feel like claiming to know. Instead, you’ll simply see the harm of your own many-faceted ignorance and foolishness. Your examination of the viruses in the mind gets more and more subtle. Before, you didn’t know, so you took your views to be knowledge — because you thought you knew. But actually these things aren’t real knowledge. They’re the type of understanding that comes from labels. Still we think they’re knowledge and we think we know. This in itself is a very intricate self-deception.

So you have to keep watch on these things, to keep contemplating them. Sometimes they fool us right before our eyes: That’s when it really gets bad, because we don’t know that we’ve got ourselves fooled, and instead think we’re people who know. We can deal thoroughly with this or that topic, but our knowledge is simply the memory of labels. We think that labels are discernment, or thought-formations are discernment, or the awareness of sensory consciousness is discernment, and so we get these things all mixed up. As a result, we become enamored with all the bits of knowledge that slip in and fashion the mind — which are simply the illusions within awareness. As for genuine awareness, there’s very little of it, while deceptive awareness has us surrounded on all sides.

We thus have to contemplate and investigate so as to see through these illusions in awareness. This is what will enable us to read the mind. If your awareness goes out, don’t follow it out. Stop and turn inward instead. Whatever slips in to fashion the mind, you have to be wise to it. You can’t forbid it, for it’s something natural, and you shouldn’t try to close off the mind too much. Simply keep watch on awareness to see how far it will go, how true or false it is, how it disbands and then arises again. You have to watch it over and over again. Simply watching in this way will enable you to read yourself, to know cause and effect within yourself, and to contemplate yourself. This is what will make your mindfulness and discernment more and more skillful. If you don’t practice in this way, the mind will be dark. It may get a little empty, a little still, and you’ll decide that’s plenty good enough.

But if you look at the Buddha’s teachings, you’ll find that no matter what sort of correct knowledge he gained, he was never willing to stop there. He always said, “There’s more.” To begin with, he developed mindfulness and clear comprehension in every activity, but then he said, “There’s more to do, further to go.” As for us, we’re always ready to brag. We work at developing this or that factor for a while and then say we already know all about it and don’t have to develop it any further. As a result, the principles in our awareness go soft because of our boastfulness and pride.

27 05 2021 - Daily News

J24.07

The proper comprehension of Dhamma

K.K.S. Perera

Mindfulness is one of the most significant teachings of Buddha that has filtered into an accepted tradition as well as modern psychoanalysis. The Buddha felt that it was essential to cultivate the right mindfulness for all facets of life to examine things as they are. He encouraged keen thought and wakefulness of all things through the four basics of mindfulness: Contemplation of the body, feeling, states of mind and phenomena.

“This, O monks truly is the peace, end of all formations, the forsaking of rebirth, fading away of craving, detachment, extinction is Nibbana.” The Buddha.

The ability to be alive and present is the most salient feature of the Buddha’s teaching: be aware, the here and now; awareness of the moment.

Buddhists of the world commemorate three events of significance to Buddhists on Vesak Day, which is common to all traditions and sects. Birth, Enlightenment and the Parinbbana -passing away of Buddha. The United Nations resolved in 1999, to internationally observe the day at its headquarters in the US.

The Sanskrit vaisakha or Pali term vesakha is the name given to the lunar month in the Hindu calendar which usually falls in May. In Mahayana traditions, the day is known by its Sanskrit name Vaisakha, while in Theravada it is Vesak.

Buddha at first maintained silence, being questioned about the nature of Nibbana, knowing that the answer will guide to more confusion. When asked where the world’s end Buddha said, “It is in this one fathomed body with awareness, that I assert is the existence of the world’, its termination, and the path leading to termination.” Thus Nibbana does not be present separately from ourselves. The deep root of Buddha’s teaching is the need to recognize the reality not purely at the scholarly level, but by straight occurrence.

Versed in Tripitaka

Senior Bhikkhu Pothila was a learned monk who lived during Buddha’s time. He was extremely learned in all features of Tripitaka. Being a ‘Guru’ to a large number of monks though, he never practised the teachings and did not take Buddha’s advice seriously. The Buddha commenced calling the monk, “tuchcha” Pothila, meaning Empty Pothila; the trick worked. It must be emphasized here that theoretical or academic knowledge of Tripitaka. However deep or insightful, there is no alternative for practice.

Nibbana can only be grasped by those who have achieved it, passing beyond borders. Just as the fire is not accumulated up in a place but rises when essential conditions are present. To consider different suggestions was as futile as to speculate about the course in which a fire had vanished once it is doused. Just as a sightless does not realize what daylight is, the mind fogged up by greediness, fury and illusion will not be able to differentiate the reality of Nibbana. It cannot be evaluated against anything, which comes within the reach of our intellect.

Nibbana can be achieved in this very life; it is a positive ‘state’, which has to be realized by the mind. It is not ‘emptiness’ or mere ending of craving or the effect of blowing out. It is not ‘nothingness’ or Zero-state.

Mere extermination

The authentic meaning or sense of Nibbana, cannot be understood until and unless one achieves it. It cannot be expressed in their usual speech or by using similes and images. It is not a place or a state of affairs analogous to a plane of existence such as heaven. It is not mere extermination of ignorance and yearning. It is only the path leading to it. A contender must intelligently examine, examine and analyze objects with bare attention, applying ‘Sathi’ mindfully, devoid of the function of conceptual behaviour. Understand your nature devoid of any alterations, without any discrimination, without any response to what you conclude you are, is the beginning of austerity. The examination, the alertness, of every deliberation, every feeling not to hold back it, not to be in command of it, but to observe it, like watching a bird in flight, without any of your prejudice and distortions.

Sermonizing and refining on ‘Nibbana’ has a parable in ‘Amphibian turtle’s futile attempt to enlighten the experiences on land to a fish’! The turtle returned to the water after a trip around the land, to be inquired by the fish, why he was missing for a while. Turtle responded that it had been on the dry territory. The fish who was oblivious about ‘dry land’, cried out; “What do you mean by dry land? There cannot be anything termed dry land”. Turtle replied, “I just arrived from there, but how can I make you realize?” The confused fish demanded to make out what precisely dry land means, “can I swim there? Does it flow? Is it cool and damp? Does it rise up and down in waves?” the turtle replied in the negative, to each query. A delighted fish declared, “There is no such position or state as dry land.” Turtle said, “There is, but, you never experienced it. You know only water so you reject it because the distinctiveness of water is not there, or it is not like water”.

We are the result of what we think. It is established in our thoughts. It is made up of our thoughts. If one acts or talks with a wholesome thought, happiness follows one, like a shadow that never deserts.

Happiness can be accomplished by using knowledge and observance in attaining mental composure. Equanimity, or peace of mind, is attained by shedding oneself from the series of craving that generates dukkha. Therefore, by achieving an intellectual state where you can disengage from all the obsessions, needs and desires of life, you free yourself and attain a state of inspirational contentment and well-being.

Mindfulness and bare attention

Mindfulness is one of the most significant teachings of Buddha that has filtered into an accepted tradition as well as modern psychoanalysis. The Buddha felt that it was essential to cultivate the right mindfulness for all facets of life to examine things as they are. He encouraged keen thought and wakefulness of all things through the four basics of mindfulness: Contemplation of the body, feeling, states of mind and phenomena.

In a word, mindfulness is about the perceptiveness of the moment with an approach of openness and originality to all and every experience. Through correct mindfulness, one can free oneself from fascinations. If you are paying attention now with all your being, with your mind, with your brain, with your nerves, with your total energy; listen without comparing, not opposing, not accepting, but actually with complete awareness: then no being or entity is observing, who is listening? If you are paying notice to the howling of dogs at night, listen with your mind, listen with your heart, with your whole body — don’t say I hate it or I like the sound, just listen conscientiously, then there is no observer.

See an image without the interference of thought. No observer! It is the observer who produces fear, observer is the hub of thought, it is the ‘I’, it is the ‘Me’, the ‘Self’, the Ego; the observer is the sensor. There is no observer when there is no thought. It is open for us, and when we have developed into as gentle, as wise, as compassionate, as pure, and as absolutely self-controlled as an Arhant, then shall we be acquainted with, then shall we comprehend ‘Nibbana’.

You will have to Comprehend Dhamma in achieving Nibbana.

May all beings be happy!

26 05 2021 - Daily News

J24.08

From mindfulness to right mindfulness

Justin Whitaker

Buddhism, as a broad and diverse 2500-year-old tradition, has developed a number of meanings and practices deriving from the Buddha’s teachings on sati. Even the Buddha’s teachings as presented in the Pali Canon offer subtleties and nuances that are often glossed over in modern presentations of mindfulness and meditation.

One of the most vivid metaphors given for sati is that of a cowherd watching over his cows. With fields of lush grass nearby, he cannot be openly mindful, and instead has to vigilantly multitask as he deals with cows potentially eating the grass. A certain feeling of anxiety might even be deciphered here. But when the grass has been cut (or the temptations removed from the meditator’s mind), one can rest with gentle open awareness.

This is mindfulness. Yet, as Hozan Alan Senauke wrote in 2011, there is an important difference between mindfulness and what Buddhists seek to cultivate. At a meeting of mindfulness teachers and practitioners, he notes that the Dalai Lama was asked if mindfulness itself was inherently ethical. His Holiness responded that “even a suicide bomber would likely have to cultivate some sort of mindfulness.”

Attentiveness of mindfulness

Senauke quotes contemporary teacher Andrew Olendzki: “True mindfulness is deeply and inextricably embedded in the notion of wholesomeness. Just as a tree removed from the forest is no longer a tree but a piece of lumber, so also the caring attentiveness of mindfulness, extracted from its matrix of wholesome co-arising factors, degenerates into mere attention.”

So mindfulness clearly is not the end of the journey. Buddhism differentiates between mindfulness and “right” mindfulness. So we should look at the role of “samma” in understanding “right mindfulness.” To begin, samma, is usually translated as “right,” but it also carries connotations of “balanced, proper, and thorough.”

As we’ve seen, there is a range of meanings and often technical nuances to the term sati, from memory to mindfulness and including a clearing away of desires that might distract attention. This kind of mindfulness needn’t be particularly religious in any way. But “right” mindfulness, or samma-sati, has its place specifically in the Buddha’s path (magga) toward awakening. Here, it can be explicitly contrasted to “wrong” or “false” (miccha) mindfulness.

In the Micchatta Sutta: On Wrongness, the Buddha gives a list that connects wrong parts of the eight-fold path (expanded out to 10-fold, adding wrong knowledge and wrong release [micchananissa and micchavimutti] at the end). It states that through them one is led ultimately to failure (viradhana).

“Right” aspects, on the other hand, proceed through the same 10-fold path, each one proceeding or originating (pahoti) from the previous. There at least, wrong mindfulness simply leads from wrong effort and on to wrong concentration, leading ultimately to “wrong release,” which we can only imagine is no release at all.

Great Forty

On the other hand, right factors proceed through the common eight and then right knowledge based on right concentration, culminating in right release. This is all elaborated upon in the Maha-cattarisaka Sutta: Discourse on the Great Forty.

When specifically defining samma sati, the Buddha use the terms “ardently” (atapi) and thorough understanding or “discrimination” (sampajanna):

And what, monks, is right mindfulness? Here, oh monks, a monk dwells ardently, with thorough understanding and mindfulness, observing the body in the body, having removed [restrained] greed and doubt towards the world; dwelling observing feelings in feelings ardently, with thorough understanding and mindfulness. (Mahasatipatthana Sutta, DN 22)

So right mindfulness suggests a more developed or integrated practice; taking sati, which is already in itself positive, and wedding it to further factors that strengthen its effect. To borrow our image from Bhikkhu Analayo of sati as a sort of wide-angle camera lens broadly surveying one’s mental horizon, samma-sati is that wide-angle lens, well polished with a larger, higher megapixel sensor behind it (or something like that).

Right mindfulness, as opposed to plain old mindfulness, is thus a powerful enhancement of one’s mind and ability to progress upon the path. But it requires one to cultivate other aspects of the path and thus takes on a much more decidedly religious sense.

Secular society

As Buddhism becomes modernized in its encounters with Western religions and thought, and as mindfulness is widely embraced by secular society (and by people of non-Buddhist religions), we will see how much the “right” in right mindfulness is maintained. Already, secular Buddhists question certain aspects of what has been traditionally understood as “right view.” And many mindfulness teachers either explicitly or implicitly incorporate Buddhist ethics and Buddhist philosophy into their teachings.

In one final instalment in this series, I will examine the place of ethics more specifically in relation to mindfulness and right mindfulness. This is because ethics is traditionally presented as the foundation of the Buddhist path, ahead of meditative cultivation itself. Thus, from a Buddhist point of view, the wide embrace of meditation might be seen as a good thing, but also a case of putting the cart before the horse.

If Buddhist ethics can be understood, practiced, and promoted in the world with the same vigor that mindfulness has seen in the last decade, one can only imagine what positive effects this could have for individuals, societies, and the planet.

www.buddhistdoor.net

26 05 2021 – Daily News

J24.09

How rebirth takes place

The passing away of the consciousness of the past birth is the occasion for the arising of the new consciousness in the subsequent birth. However, nothing unchangeable or permanent is transmitted from the past to the present.

Ven. Narada Maha thera

“The pile of bones of (all the bodies of) one man
Who has alone one aeon lived
Would make a mountain’s height —
So said the mighty seer.”
— ITIVUT’TAKA

To the dying man at this critical stage, according to Abhidhamma philosophy, is presented a Kamma, Kamma Nimitta, or Gati Nimitta. By Kamma is here meant some good or bad act done during his lifetime or immediately before his dying moment. It is a good or bad thought. If the dying person had committed one of the five heinous crimes (Garuka Kamma) such as parricide etc. or developed the Jhānas (Ecstasies), he would experience such a Kamma before his death. These are so powerful that they totally eclipse all other actions and appear very vividly before the mind’s eye. If he had done no such weighty action, he may take for his object of the dying thought-process a Kamma done immediately before death (Āsanna Kamma); which may be called a “Death Proximate Kamma.”

In the absence of a “Death-Proximate Kamma” a habitual good or bad act (Ācinna Kamma) is presented, such as the healing of the sick in the case of a good physician, or the teaching of the Dhamma in the case of a pious Bhikkhu, or stealing in the case of a thief. Failing all these, some casual trivial good or bad act (Katattā Kamma) becomes the object of the dying thought-process.

Kamma Nimitta or “symbol,” means a mental reproduction of any sight, sound, smell, taste, touch or idea which was predominant at the time of some important activity, good or bad, such as a vision of knives or dying animals in the case of a butcher, of patients in the case of a physician, and of the object of worship in the case of a devotee, etc.

By Gati Nimitta, or “symbol of destiny” is meant some symbol of the place of future birth. This frequently presents itself to dying persons and stamps its gladness or gloom upon their features. When these indications of the future birth occur, if they are bad, they can at times be remedied. This is done by influencing the thoughts of the dying man. Such premonitory visions of destiny may be fire, forests, mountainous regions, a mother’s womb, celestial mansions, and the like.

Taking for the object a Kamma, or a Kamma symbol, or a symbol of destiny, a thought-process runs its course even if the death be an instantaneous one.

For the sake of convenience let us imagine that the dying person is to be reborn in the human kingdom and that the object is some good Kamma.

His Bhavanga consciousness is interrupted, vibrates for a thought-moment and passes away; after which the mind-door consciousness (manodvāravajjana) arises and passes away. Then comes the psychologically important stage –Javana process - which here runs only for five thought moments by reason of its weakness, instead of the normal seven. It lacks all reproductive power, its main function being the mere regulation of the new existence (abhinavakarana).

The object here being desirable, the consciousness he experiences is a moral one. The Tadālambana-consciousness which has for its function a registering or identifying for two moments of the object so perceived, may or may not follow. After this occurs the death-consciousness (cuticitta), the last thought moment to be experienced in this present life.

There is a misconception amongst some that the subsequent birth is conditioned by this last death-consciousness (cuticitta) which in itself has no special function to perform. What actually conditions rebirth is that which is experienced during the Javana process.

With the cessation of the decease-consciousness death actually occurs. Then no material qualities born of mind and food (cittaja and āhāraja) are produced. Only a series of material qualities born of heat (utuja) goes on till the corpse is reduced to dust.

Simultaneous with the arising of the rebirth consciousness there spring up the ‘body-decad,’ ‘sex-decad,’ and ‘base-decad’ (Kāya-bhāva-vatthu-dasaka).

According to Buddhism, therefore, sex is determined at the moment of conception and is conditioned by Kamma not by any fortuitous combination of sperm and ovum-cells.

The passing away of the consciousness of the past birth is the occasion for the arising of the new consciousness in the subsequent birth. However, nothing unchangeable or permanent is transmitted from the past to the present.

Just as the wheel rests on the ground only at one point, so, strictly speaking, we live only for one thought-moment. We are always in the present, and that present is ever slipping into the irrevocable past. Each momentary consciousness of this ever-changing life-process, on passing away, transmits its whole energy, all the indelibly recorded impressions on it, to its successor. Every fresh consciousness, therefore, consists of the potentialities of its predecessors together with something more. At death, the consciousness perishes, as in truth it perishes every moment, only to give birth to another in a rebirth. This renewed consciousness inherits all past experiences. As all impressions are indelibly recorded in the ever-changing palimpsest-like mind, and all potentialities are transmitted from life to life, irrespective of temporary disintegration, thus there may be reminiscence of past births or past incidents. Whereas if memory depended solely on brain cells, such reminiscence would be impossible.

“This new being which is the present manifestation of the stream of Kamma-energy is not the same as, and has no identity with, the previous one in its line — the aggregates that make up its composition being different from, having no identity with, those that make up the being of its predecessor. And yet it is not an entirely different being since it has the same stream of Kamma-energy, though modified perchance just by having shown itself in that manifestation, which is now making its presence known in the sense-perceptible world as the new being.

Death, according to Buddhism, is the cessation of the psycho-physical life of any one individual existence. It is the passing away of vitality (āyu), i.e., psychic and physical life (jīvitindriya), heat (usma) and consciousness (vijnana).

Death is not the complete annihilation of a being, for though a particular life-span ends, the force which hitherto actuated it is not destroyed.

Just as an electric light is the outward visible manifestation of invisible electric energy, so we are the outward manifestations of invisible Kammic energy. The bulb may break, and the light may be extinguished, but the current remains and the light may be reproduced in another bulb. In the same way, the Kammic force remains undisturbed by the disintegration of the physical body, and the passing away of the present consciousness leads to the arising of a fresh one in another birth. But nothing unchangeable or permanent “passes” from the present to the future.

In the foregoing case, the thought experienced before death being a moral one, the resultant rebirth-consciousness takes for its material an appropriate sperm and ovum cell of human parents. The rebirth-consciousness (patisandhi vijnana) then lapses into the Bhavanga state.

The continuity of the flux, at death, is unbroken in point of time, and there is no breach in the stream of consciousness.

Rebirth takes place immediately, irrespective of the place of birth, just as an electromagnetic wave, projected into space, is immediately reproduced in a receiving radio set. Rebirth of the mental flux is also instantaneous and leaves no room whatever for any intermediate state (antarabhava). Pure Buddhism does not support the belief that a spirit of the deceased person takes lodgement in some temporary state until it finds a suitable place for its “reincarnation.”

This question of instantaneous rebirth is well expressed in the Milinda Panha.
The King Milinda questions:
“Venerable Nagasena, if somebody dies here and is reborn in the world of Brahma, and another dies here and is reborn in Kashmir, which of them would arrive first?"
“They would arrive at the same time, O King."
“In which town were you born, O King?"
“In a village called Kalasi, Venerable Sir."
“How far is Kalasi from here, O King?"
“About two hundred miles, Venerable Sir."
“And how far is Kashmir from here, O King?"
“About twelve miles, Venerable Sir."
“Now think of the village of Kalasi, O King."
“I have done so, Venerable Sir."
“And now think of Kashmir, O King."
“It is done, Venerable Sir."
“Which of these two, O King, did you think the more slowly and which the more quickly?"
“Both equally quickly, Venerable Sir."
“Just so, O King, he who dies here and is reborn in the world of Brahma, is not reborn later than he who dies here and is reborn in Kashmir.”
“Give me one more simile, Venerable Sir.”
“What do you think, O King? Suppose two birds were flying in the air and they should settle at the same time, one upon a high and the other upon a low tree, which bird’s shade would first fall upon the earth, and which bird’s later?”
“Both shadows would appear at the same time, not one of them earlier and the other later."

The question might arise: Are the sperm and ovum cells always ready, waiting to take up the rebirth-thought?

According to Buddhism, living beings are infinite in number, and so are world systems. Nor is the impregnated ovum the only route to rebirth. Earth, an almost insignificant speck in the universe, is not the only habitable plane, and humans are not the only living beings. As such it is not impossible to believe that there will always be an appropriate place to receive the last thought vibrations. A point is always ready to receive the falling stone.

26 02 2021 - The Island

J24.10

What is the origin of life?

“Inconceivable is the beginning, O disciples, of this faring on. The earliest point is not revealed of the running on, the faring on, of beings, cloaked in ignorance, tied by craving.”– Samyutta Niayka

Ven. Nārada Mahā thera

Rebirth, which Buddhists do not regard as a mere theory but as a fact verifiable by evidence, forms a fundamental tenet of Buddhism, though its goal Nibbana is attainable in this life itself. The Bodhisatta Ideal and the correlative doctrine of freedom to attain utter perfection are based on this doctrine of rebirth.

Documents record that this belief in rebirth, viewed as transmigration or reincarnation, was accepted by philo-sophers like Pythagoras and Plato, poets like Shelly, Tennyson and Wordsworth, and many ordinary people in the East as well as in the West.

The Buddhist doctrine of rebirth should be differentiated from the theory of transmigration and reincarnation of other systems, because Buddhism denies the existence of a transmigrating permanent soul, created by God, or emanating from a Paramatma (Divine Essence).

It is Kamma that conditions rebirth. Past Kamma conditions the present birth; and present Kamma, in combination with past Kamma, conditions the future. The present is the offspring of the past, and becomes, in turn. the parent of the future.

The actuality of the present needs no proof as it is self-evident. That of the past is based on memory and report, and that of the future on forethought and inference.

If we postulate a past, a present and a future life, then we are at once faced with the problem “What is the ultimate origin of life?”

One school, in attempting to solve the problem, postulates a first cause, whether as a cosmic force or as an Almighty Being. Another school denies a first cause for, in common experience, the cause ever becomes the effect and the effect becomes the cause. In a circle of cause and effect a first cause [1] is inconceivable. According to the former, life has had a beginning, according to the latter, it is beginningless. In the opinion of some the conception of a first cause is as ridiculous as a round triangle.

One might argue that life must have had a beginning in the infinite past and that beginning or the First Cause is the Creator.

In that case there is no reason why the same demand may not be made of this postulated Creator.

With respect to this alleged First Cause men have held widely different views. In interpreting this First Cause, Paramātma, Brahma, Isvara, Jehovah, God, the Almighty, Allah, Supreme Being, Father in Heaven, Creator, Order of Heaven, Prime Mover, Uncaused Cause, Divine Essence, Chance, Pakati, Padhana are some significant terms employed by certain religious teachers and philosophers.

Hinduism traces the origin of life to a mystical Paramatma from which emanate all Ātmas or souls that transmigrate from existence to existence until they are finally reabsorbed in Paramatma. One might question whether there is any possibility for these reabsorbed Ātmas for a further transmigration.

Christianity, admitting the possibility of an ultimate origin, attributes everything to the fiat of an Almighty God.

“Whoever,” as Sohopenhaeur says, “regards himself as having come out of nothing must also think that he will again become nothing, for that an eternity has passed before he was, and then a second eternity had begun, through which he will never cease to be, is a monstrous thought."

“Moreover, if birth is the absolute beginning, then death must be the absolute end; and the assumption that man is made out of nothing, leads necessarily to the assumption that death is his absolute end. [2]”

“According to the Theological principles,” argues Spencer Lewis, “man is created arbitrarily and without his desire, and at the moment of creation is either blessed or unfortunate, noble or depraved, from the first step in the process of his physical creation to the moment of his last breath, regardless of his individual desires, hopes, ambitions, struggles or devoted prayers. Such is theological fatalism."

“The doctrine that all men are sinners and have the essential sin of Adam is a challenge to justice, mercy, love and omnipotent fairness.”

Huxley says:
“If we are to assume that anybody has designedly set this wonderful universe going, it is perfectly clear to me that he is no more entirely benevolent and just, in any intelligible sense of the words, than that he is malevolent and unjust.”

According to Einstein:
“If this being (God) is omnipolent, then every occurrence, including every human action, every human thought, and every human feeling and aspiration is also his work; how is it possible to think of holding men responsible for their deeds and thoughts before such an Almighty Being?

“In giving out punishments and rewards, He would to a certain extent be passing judgment on himself. How can this be combined with the goodness and righteousness ascribed to him?”

According to Charles Bradlaugh:
“The existence of evil is a terrible stumbling block to the Theist. Pain, misery, crime, poverty confront the advocate of eternal goodness, and challenge with unanswerable potency his declaration of Deity as all-good, all-wise, and all-powerful.”

Commenting on human suffering and God, Prof. J.B.S. Haldane writes:
“Either suffering is needed to perfect human character, or God is not Almighty. The former theory is disproved by the fact that some people who have suffered very little but have been fortunate in their ancestry and education have very fine characters. The objection to the second is that it is only in connection with the universe as a whole that there is any intellectual gap to be filled by the postulation of a deity. And a creator could presumably create whatever he or it wanted. [3]”

In “Despair,” a poem of his old age, Lord Tennyson thus boldly attacks God, who, as recorded in Isaiah, says ”I make peace and create evil. [4]”

“What! I should call on that infinite Love that has served us so well?Infinite cruelty, rather, that made everlasting hell.Made us, foreknew us, foredoomed us, and does what he will with his own.Better our dead brute mother who never has heard us groan.”

Dogmatic writers of old authoritatively declared that God created man after his own image. Some modern thinkers state, on the contrary, that man created God after his own image. [5] With the growth of civilization man’s conception of God grows more and more refined. There is at present a tendency to substitute this personal God by an impersonal God.

Voltaire states that God is the noblest creation of man. It is however impossible to conceive of such an omnipotent, omnipresent being, an epitome of everything that is good — either in or outside the universe.

Modern science endeavours to tackle the problem with its limited systematized knowledge. According to the scientific standpoint, we are the direct products of the sperm and ovum cells provided by our parents. But science does not give a satisfactory explanation with regard to the development of the mind, which is infinitely more important than the machinery of man’s material body, Scientists, while asserting “Omne vivum ex vivo” “all life from life” maintain that mind and life evolved from the lifeless.

Now from the scientific standpoint we are absolutely parent-born. Thus our lives are necessarily preceded by those of our parents and so on. In this way life is preceded by life until one goes back to the first protoplasm or colloid. As regards the origin of this first protoplasm or colloid, however, scientists plead ignorance.

What is the attitude of Buddhism with regard to the origin of life?

At the outset it should be stated that the Buddha does not attempt to solve all the ethical and philosophical problems that perplex mankind. Nor does He deal with speculations and theories that tend neither to edification nor to enlightenment. Nor does He demand blind faith from His adherents anent a First Cause. He is chiefly concerned with one practical and specific problem — that of suffering and its destruction, all side issues are completely ignored.

On one occasion a Bhikkhu named Malunkyaputta, not content to lead the Holy Life, and achieve his Emancipation by degrees, approached the Buddha and impatiently demanded an immediate solution of some speculative problems with the threat of discarding the robes if no satisfactory answer was given.

“Lord,” he said, “these theories have not been elucidated, have been set aside and rejected by the Blessed One — whether the world is eternal or not eternal, whether the world is finite or infinite. If the Blessed One will elucidate these questions to me, then I will lead the Holy Life under Him. If he will not, then I will abandon the precepts and return to the lay life."

“If the Blessed One knows that the world is eternal, let the Blessed One elucidate to me that the world is eternal; if the Blessed One knows that the world is not eternal, let the Blessed One elucidate that the world is not eternal — in that case, certainly, for one who does not know and lacks the insight, the only upright thing is to say: I do not know, I have not the insight.”

Calmly the Buddha questioned the erring Bhikkhu whether his adoption of the Holy Life was in any way conditional upon the solution of such problems.

“Nay, Lord,” the Bhikkhu replied.

The Buddha then admonished him not to waste time and energy over idle speculations detrimental to his moral progress, and said:
“Whoever, Malunkyaputta, should say, ‘I will not lead the Holy Life under the Blessed One until the Blessed One elucidates these questions to me’ — that person would die before these questions had ever been elucidated by the Accomplished One."

“It is as if a person were pierced by an arrow thickly smeared with poison, and his friends and relatives were to procure a surgeon, and then he were to say. ‘I will not have this arrow taken out until I know the details of the person by whom I was wounded, nature of the arrow with which I was pierced, etc.’ That person would die before this would ever be known by him."

“In exactly the same way whoever should say, ‘I will not lead the Holy Life under the Blessed One until He elucidated to me whether the world is eternal or not eternal, whether the world is finite or infinite. . .’ That person would die before these questions had ever been elucidated by the Accomplished One.

“If it be the belief that the world is eternal, will there be the observance of the Holy Life? In such a case — No! If it be the belief that the world is not eternal, will there be the observance of the Holy Life? In that case also — No! But, whether the belief be that the world is eternal or that it is not eternal, there is birth, there is old age, there is death, the extinction of which in this life itself I make known."

“Malunkyaputta, I have not revealed whether the world is eternal or not eternal, whether the world is finite or infinite. Why have I not revealed these? Because these are not profitable, do not concern the bases of holiness, are not conducive to aversion, to passionlessness, to cessation, to tranquility, to intuitive wisdom, to enlightenment or to Nibbana. Therefore I have not revealed these. [6]"

According to Buddhism, we are born from the matrix of action (Kammayoni). Parents merely provide us with a material layer. Therefore being precedes being. At the moment of conception, it is Kamma that conditions the initial consciousness that vitalizes the foetus. It is this invisible Kammic energy, generated from the past birth, that produces mental phenomena and the phenomena of life in an already extant physical phenomena, to complete the trio that constitutes man.

Dealing with the conception of beings, the Buddha states:
“Where three are found in combination, there a germ of life is planted. If mother and father come together, but it is not the mother’s fertile period, and the ‘being-to-be-born’ (gandhabba) is not present, then no germ of life is planted. If mother and father come together, and it is the mother’s fertile period, but the ‘being-to-be-born’ is not present then again no germ of life is planted. If mother and father come together and it is the mother’s fertile period, and the ‘being-to-be-born’ is present, then by the conjunction of these three, a germ of life is there planted. [7]”

Here Gandhabba (= gantabba) does not mean “a class of devas said to preside over the process of conception” [8] but refers to a suitable being ready to be born in that particular womb. This term is used only in this particular connection, and must not be mistaken for a permanent soul.

For a being to be born here, somewhere a being must die. The birth of a being, which strictly means the arising of the Aggregates (khandhanam putubhvo), or psycho-physical phenomena in this present life, corresponds to the death of a being in a past life; just as, in conventional terms, the rising of the sun in one place means the setting of the sun in another place. This enigmatic statement may be better understood by imagining life as a wave and not as a straight line. Birth and death are only two phases of the same process. Birth precedes death, and death, on the other hand, precedes birth. This constant succession of birth and death connection with each individual life-flux constitutes what is technically known as Samsara — recurrent wandering.

What is the ultimate origin of life?

The Buddha positively declares:
“Without, cognizable beginning is this Samsara. The earliest point of beings who, obstructed by ignorance and fettered by craving, wander and fare on, is not to be perceived. [9]”

This life-stream flows ad infinitum, as long as it is fed with the muddy waters of ignorance and craving. When these two are completely cut off, then only does the life-stream cease to flow; rebirth ends, as in the case of Buddhas and Arahants. A first beginning of this life-stream cannot be determined, as a stage cannot be perceived when this life force was not fraught with ignorance and craving.

It should be understood that the Buddha has here referred merely to the beginning of the life stream of living beings. It is left to scientists to speculate on the origin and the evolution of the universe.

28 01 2021 - The Island

J24.11

Is Buddhism the Most Science-Friendly Religion?

David Barash

Here is some sad news, courtesy of the Pew Research Center’s “Religion & Public Life Project.” Not only is there a growing gap between Democrats and Republicans when it comes to acceptance of evolution, with Democrats at a mere 67 percent and Republicans a paltry and horrifyingly low 43 percent. Even more appalling is the finding that only 27 percent of white evangelical Protestants understand that “humans and other living things have evolved over time.”

What in Darwin’s name is going on? The regrettable reality is that the U.S., being among the world’s most religious countries, is also among the most scientifically ignorant, especially when it comes to the most important, unifying and indubitably “true” finding in biology: evolution by natural selection.

Portrait of Charles Darwin by Julia Margaret Cameron

As an evolutionary biologist, I have personally encountered this scientific illiteracy, notably when lecturing in the Bible Belt. At the same time, I’ve been struck by how scientifically knowledgeable the audiences are when I lecture in Asian countries, particularly those strongly influenced by Buddhism. Moreover, I’ve become increasingly convinced that this correlation isn’t coincidental. My decades as a biologist, along with comparable decades as a Buddhist sympathizer, have convinced me that of all the world’s religions – and especially by contrast to the Abrahamic Big Three (Judaism, Christianity, and Islam), Buddhism is unusually science-friendly.

To some extent, this might be because much of Buddhism – and certainly, the part that attracts me – isn’t a “religion” at all, but rather a way of looking at the world. Indeed, the Buddha himself is described as having emphasized that he isn’t a god and shouldn’t be treated as such. And, in fact, there are no creator deities in Buddhism, nor holy writ, and so forth.

According to Tenzin Gyatso, better known as the fourteenth Dalai Lama, “Suppose that something is definitely proven through scientific investigation, that a certain hypothesis is verified or a certain fact emerges as a result of scientific investigation. And suppose, furthermore, that that fact is incompatible with Buddhist theory. There is no doubt that we must accept the result of the scientific research.”

More than other religions – indeed, I would say, more than any other religion – Buddhism lends itself to a dialogue with science. Why? Because among the key aspects of Buddhism, we find insistence that knowledge must be gained through personal experience rather than reliance on the authority of sacred texts or the teachings of avowed masters; because its orientation is empirical rather then theoretical; and because it rejects any conception of absolutes.

The comfortable fit between Buddhism and empirical science has been facilitated by several canonical teachings, of which one of the most important is the “Kalama Sutra.” In it, the Buddha advises his audience on how to deal with the bewildering diversity of conflicting claims on the part of various Brahmins and itinerant monks:

“Do not go upon what has been acquired by repeated hearing; nor upon tradition; nor upon rumor; nor upon what is in a scripture; nor upon surmise; nor upon an axiom; nor upon specious reasoning; nor upon a bias towards a notion that has been pondered over; nor upon another’s seeming ability; nor upon the consideration, ‘The monk is our teacher.’ Rather, when you yourselves know that these things are good; these things are not blamable; undertaken and observed, these things lead to benefit and happiness, then and only then enter into and abide in them.”

This teaching is widely (and appropriately) seen as supporting free inquiry and an absence of rigid dogma, an attitude entirely open to empirical verification and thus, consistent with science. Moreover, the Kalama Sutra fits quite comfortably into the Western scientific tradition: The Royal Society of London, whose full name was the Royal Society of London for the Improvement of Natural Knowledge, and which was the world’s first and for a long time the foremost scientific society, has as its credo,Nullius in verba: “On the words of no one.”

Gandhara Buddha / Credit: World Imaging via Wikimedia Commons

Returning once again to Buddhism’s emphasis on validation-by-experience rather than via hierarchical or scriptural authority, consider this statement from the Pali Canon, which could as well have been uttered by a senior Nobel-winning scientist, advising junior researchers in his laboratory: “Just as one would examine gold through burning, cutting, and rubbing so should monks and scholars examine my words. Only thus should they be accepted, but not merely out of respect for me.”

On balance, it seems reasonable and appropriate that Buddhism be viewed in the West as comparatively free of irrationality, superstitious belief, and stultifying tradition – but this generalization must nonetheless be taken with a grain of salt, noting that in much of the world, Buddhism involves daily ritual devotions, belief in amulets and other special charms, and even the presupposition that the man, Siddhartha Gautama, was a divine being. There are, I regret to note, Buddhist traditions that insist on retaining an array of nonsensical hocus-pocus and abracadabra altogether at odds with any scientific tradition worthy of the name. Among these, the notion of “rebirth” is especially ridiculous, insofar as it implies that after their death, people will eventually reappear in some other form, with their personalities or at least certain “karmic attributes” intact.

I have no difficulty, however, describing Mr. Tenzin Gyatso (born Lhamo Dondrub), as the fourteenth Dalai Lama, so long as this means that he is the fourteenth person to hold that position, in the same sense that Barack Obama is the forty-fourth president of the United States, with no implication that he is in any way the reincarnation of George Washington!

On the other hand, if rebirth is taken to mean the literal recycling of atoms and molecules, as revealed in biogeochemical cycling, and if karma is interpreted (as I believe it warrants) as reflecting the reality of cause-and-effect, not to mention that other fundamental reality, natural selection, whereby the “actions” of our ancestors indeed give rise to ourselves and our “actions” influence our descendants – then Buddhism and biology are close allies indeed. Moreover, the fundamental Buddhist teaching of interconnectedness could as well have come from a “master” of physiological ecology.

In short, rather than NOMA (“Non-Overlapping Magesteria”), as the late Stephen Gould proposed for religion and science, I am impressed that Buddhism offers the bracing prospect of POMA (“Productively Overlapping Magesteria”) – albeit only after removing Buddhism’s religious mumbo-jumbo … that is, when not treating it as a religion. But even then, I won’t hold my breath until Bible Belt America agrees with me.

The views expressed are those of the author and are not necessarily those of Scientific American.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

David P. Barash received his Ph.D. in zoology (animal behavior and evolutionary biology) in 1970 from the University of Wisconsin, and authored his first technical article about Buddhism and biology in 1973. He was involved in the early development of sociobiology as a scientific discipline, and is a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and professor of psychology at the University of Washington. Barash writes regularly for The Chronicle of Higher Education, and has frequently been published in The New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, and Aeon Magazine, among others. He has written more than 250 peer-reviewed technical articles and has authored, co-authored or edited 36 books, most recently Buddhist Biology: ancient Eastern wisdom meets modern Western science, just published by Oxford University Press.

Scientific American

February 11, 2014

J24.12

The Buddha and Justice

The religion’s principles have influenced the legal system and the Constitution. Its values of non-violence, compassion and social equality are reflected in judgments and have stood the test of time.

Rahul Shyam Bhandari

Indian jurisprudence has had a long history and been influenced by many principles and religions, be it Hinduism, Buddhism, Islam or common law. And Buddhism with its virtues of self-control, impartiality, truthfulness and goodness has had an over-riding influence on the Indian legal system. Many of its messages connect with the principles of the Constitution and have been quoted in the Supreme Court.

The origin of law in India began with the Indus Valley Civilisation in western Punjab. This civilisation was highly organised and secular. The trading, pottery, drainage system and civic structure of that time had the least discrimination and are still praised worldwide. Then came the Aryans with their own set of rules and regulations. Arya dharma was not merely a religion, but comprised of laws, moral codes, righteousness and justice and was equally applicable to all Vedic and non-Vedic faiths.

Similarly, Vedic dharma signified philosophies and moral teachings from the Vedas. The Upanishads further enhanced the development of intellectuality and were philosophical and based on rational thoughts. Dharmashastra and Arthashastra were important treatises emanating from the Vedas, the Upanishads and other religious texts and enriched by practitioners from different Hindu philosophical schools.

In ancient India, there were instances of some kind of legal system being followed. Even the king was bound by a strict ethical and legal code, known as Raj Dharma. The Law of Manuscripts refers to the beginning of a partnership in business with its central philosophy being "tolerance and pluralism".

Coming to Buddhism, its influence on the Indian legal system has been all-pervasive. Buddhism began in the sixth century BC. as an alternative to various practices prevailing at that time. After the demise of the Buddha around the fifth century BC., Buddhism preached that "nothing is permanent and change is the only constant". The path to enlightenment is the practice of morality, mediation and wisdom. Buddhism appealed to logic and reasoning. Two thoughts of Buddhism—Theravada and Mahayana—are the most popular ones.

Buddhism adopted four noble truths—suffering, reason/cause, solution and the way to do it. Those who end this suffering achieve nirvana. Further, the Buddha followed an eight-fold path known as the Aryan eight-fold path—right beliefs, right aspirations, right speech, right conduct, right mode of livelihood, right effort, right-mindedness and right rapture. These paths and four noble truths are the principles which we broadly find in any evolved legal system.

Buddhism like other religions is based on the principle of universal love and compassion for all living beings. The Buddha gave his teachings "for the good of the many, for the happiness of the many, out of compassion for the World". The Preamble of India’s Constitution speaks of similar values—common good, equality and social harmony of everyone. So progressive was the Buddha’s teachings that they have stood the test of time.

One of the greatest followers of the Buddha in ancient India was King Ashoka. The inscriptions on Ashoka Pillars speak about "True Dhamma" based on the virtues of self-control, impartiality, truthfulness and goodness. He even had "Dhamma Officers". In one of his major rock edicts, No 12, there is a deep message which connects to the principles of the Constitution. Justice Rohinton Nariman of the Supreme Court even referred to it in one of his lectures as it speaks of brotherhood.

Rock Edict No 12 says: "The Beloved of the Gods, the king Piyadassi, honours all sects and both ascetics and laymen, with gifts and various forms of recognition. But the Beloved of the Gods do not consider gifts or honour to be as important as the advancement of the essential doctrine of all sects. This progress of the essential doctrine takes many forms, but its basis is the control of one’s speech, so as not to extol one’s own sect or disparage another’s on unsuitable occasions, or at least to do so only mildly on certain occasions. On each occasion, one should honour another man’s sect, for by doing so one increases the influence of one’s own sect and benefits that of the other man…. This is the desire of the Beloved of the Gods, that all sects should be well-informed, and should teach that which is good..."

In fact, Ashoka showed sincere concern for fairness in justice and tolerance pertaining to imposition of sentences and wilfully pardoning prisoners. Pillar edict No 4 stated: "But it is desirable that there should be uniformity in judicial procedure and punishment." The rights of prisoners were also protected just as in the Constitution. The Supreme Court has given various rulings on the rights of prisoners such as in Hussainara Khatoon v State of Bihar and D.K. Basu v State of West Bengal.

Interestingly, one of the chief architects of the Constitution, Dr. B.R. Ambedkar, followed Buddhism by not glorifying the caste system but relying on logic and reasoning. The Buddha strictly opposed the caste system and promoted an egalitarian society. The common method of living was very democratic in nature. Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru in The Discovery of India quoted what the Marquess of Zetland referred to as democracy in Buddhist Assemblies: "And it may come as a surprise to many to learn that in the Assemblies of the Buddhist in India 2000 or more years ago are to be found the rudiments of our own parliamentary practice of the present day. The dignity of the Assembly was preserved by the appointment of a special officer. A second officer was appointed whose duty it was to see that when necessary a quorum was secured. A member initiating business did so in the form of a motion which was then open to discussion. In some cases this was done once only, in others three times, thus anticipating the practice of parliament in requiring that a Bill be read a third time before it becomes law. If discussion disclosed a difference of opinion the matter was decided by the vote of the majority, the voting being by ballot."

Similarly, the Buddha propagated that no absolute authority vested in one person. Rules for Buddhist monks are regulated by Vinaya Texts, which prescribe the methods to judge and punish them. The Patimokkha Texts propagate a list of monastic rules, which are applicable even today. It is believed that no living creature should be deprived of the right to life. Killing of animals was prohibited and the importance of animal rights is recognised in the present legal system too. Killing of some animals is a serious punishable offence. The first part of Patimokkha deals with the four gravest sins—sexual intercourse, theft, murder and demonstration of one’s miraculous powers—and is punishable.

Further, Buddhism also follows rules for settling a conflict after admitting a crime and by majority decision. In case of an insane accused, it is settled through a declaration by the Sangha (a sort of court) that he be absolved of the offence. Moreover, if a monk commits an offence, he should willingly undergo the appropriate penalty in line with the seriousness of his offence. So the principle was punishment proportionate to the magnitude of the crime, which is a well-recognised principle in our Law of Crimes.

For grant of acquittal to an accused, there were five conditions to be satisfied. Firstly, the monk must be innocent, others must have censured him, he must plead innocence, the Sangha should grant it and the Sangha must be duly held and constituted. We find elements of fair trials, impartial juries and right to hearing, which are also principles of natural justice, relevant to the present-day legal system.

Alternative Dispute Resolution has emerged now as one of the important tools to settle disputes. Mediation was a practice influenced by the principle of madhyam marg in Buddhism. The Buddha also considered freedom of speech as a valuable right irrespective of any class or domination. There was freedom of speech without partiality to debate on disputed matters among the monks. And the Constitution too guarantees freedom of speech and expression. Abolition of capital punishment, a topic often discussed today, also stems from the Buddha. He considered all forms of life sacred and it is implicit he was never in favour of capital punishment. The principle of recognition of all forms of life and liberty which is there in Buddhism is in consonance with Article 21 of the Constitution. Opposition to the caste system is in consonance with Article 14.

Buddhism’s progressive thoughts, be it opposing the caste system, principles of non-violence, compassion, fraternity of all, respect for animal life, recognition of all forms of life, democracy and social equality are followed even today. Therefore, the rise of Buddism was regarded as an era of great social change.

Though in the present scenario, the core principles of Buddhism (reclusiveness) are tough to practise, its moral teachings can equate to legal principles. Internationally, there are various countries which were and continue to be influenced by Buddhism and have adapted some of its principles into their legal system. These include Thailand, Bhutan, Tibet, Vietnam and Sri Lanka.

The guiding principles of Buddhism can play a significant role in this era of chaos and distrust. Hatred can only be battled with compassion, lies with truth and discrimination with respect and equality for all. Buddha said: "Three things cannot be long hidden: the sun, the moon and the truth."

(The writer is Advocate-on-Record in the India Supreme Court.)

04 07 2020 - The Island

J24.13

The Road Sign and the Path

Daya Dissanayake

Ven. Balangoda Ananda Maitreya thero published “Amuthu Kathawak” (A Strange Story), The Inner and Outer sides of Buddhism, 90 years ago, in the Wesak Supplement of the Swadeshamitraya, Buddhist Era 2474 (May 11, 1930). It was described as a work of fiction about a person who found a place free of suffering. An English translation was published in the Daily News a few years ago.

The story is about a huge forest, where people are suffering from poisonous food and deadly animals. One courageous person sets out to find a way to escape this suffering. After a long and tedious journey he reaches the place where there is no suffering, no poison and no pain. He returns to the forest, with the good news and to show the path for the others to follow, so they could all escape the suffering. He showed the directions and erected a sign post. But the people stopped at the post and began to worship the post, by offering flowers, incense, food and drink. When the hero died, they began to worship his memorial, his relics and his statues.

To come back to the present, on Poson Day, we celebrate the arrival of Arhat Mahinda thero, who brought the message of the Buddha. The true honour and respect we can offer to the Buddha and Mahinda thero is by trying to learn what the Buddha taught, so we could find the path and move along to seek our own salvation, an end to our suffering. To achieve this we have to be ehi-passika.

Other than Ven. Ananda Maitreya thero’s “Strange Story” Ven. Dr. Walpola Rahula, with his incomparable knowledge of all ancient Buddhist texts, wrote “What the Buddha Taught” over 60 years ago. It is one of the best books written in English, to explain the teachings of the Buddha to a lay person, even someone who has no previous knowledge of Buddhism.

He wrote, “I have aimed at giving briefly, and as directly and simply as possible, a faithful and accurate account of the actual words used by the Buddha as they are to be found in the original Pali texts of the Tripitaka, universally accepted by scholars as the earliest extant records of the teachings of the Buddha.”

However, the Pali texts were written a few centuries after the Buddha parinirvana. Till then the Doctrine of the Buddha had been transmitted orally. We would never know the exact words of the Buddha and even the language he had used. The accuracy of the words, passed down from generation to generation, is not known. When the first written words were translated, they could have occurred, because no one could ever do a completely accurate translation. This is true for all religious literature in the world, even the revealed religions. That is why Ven. Rahula reminds us, “It is always a question of knowing and seeing, and not that of believing. The teaching of the Buddha is qualified as ehi-passika, inviting you to ‘come and see’, but not to come and believe.” Buddha’s word does not have to be accepted as “the Gospel Truth” or in blind faith.

Many of us have read Dr. Rahula’s book, in English, Sinhala or Tamil. It would also have been read by many non-Buddhists all over the world, as it is available in almost every major language. However, not many people seem to have grasped the teaching of the Buddha, even by reading a book written in such simple language. If the book had been read with interest, our present day society would have moved away from the kind of practices and traditions as described by Ven. Balangoda Ananda Maitrey, 90 years ago.

The pandemic of COVID 19 has once again drawn attention to Amisa puja and Pati-patti puja. Amisa puja or the offerings of flowers, incense, even food and drink would be called material homage. This is what the people in Ven. Ananda Maitreya’s story have been doing. These offerings do not show us the path and do not help us to take a single step along the path.

We also talk about Pati-patti puja or homage through practice. This is what we need as followers of Buddha Dhamma. Let us try to understand what Buddha taught. We need not read the entire Tripitaka or memorize it. It was before the words of the Buddha were written down, that all the Sutra had to be memorized and preserved. Listening to all the Sutra in a language we do not understand, or reading the entire Tripitaka in a translation, would not be paying homage to the Buddha. Each Sutra in the Tripitaka would not have been preached at the same time to all his disciples or devotees. Each Sutra would have been addressed to a limited audience, at a particular occasion, for a particular reason.

Arhat Mahinda in his first discourse, most appropriately taught the essence of the Dhamma. In this celebrated discourse of “Cula-hatthi-padopama Sutta: The Shorter Elephant Footprint Simile” he too pointed out that the Dhamma must not be merely accepted, but verified each one by himself.

Let us perform Pati-patti puja, paying homage to the Buddha, Dhamma, Arhat Mahinda and all Sangha, by reading the Cula-hatthipadopama Sutta. Not just by reciting the Sutta, or listening to a recitation, probably in Pali. Let us read the Sutta, by ourselves, at our own pace, in whatever language that would help in better understanding of the Dhamma. Let us find the way to take at least a few steps along the Path.

daya@saadhu.com

05 06 2020 - Daily News

J24.14

The path to peace

“When there is happiness, watch the happiness. When there is suffering, watch the suffering”

Ven. Ajahn Chah

Silâ, samådhi and pannå are the names given to the different aspects of the practice. When you practise silâ, samådhi and pannå, it means you practise with yourselves. Right silâ exists here, right samådhi exists here. Why? Because your body is right here! You have hands, you have legs right here. This is where you practise silâ. It’s easy to reel off the list of wrong kinds of behaviour as found in the books, but the important thing to understand is that the potential for them all lies within us. Your body and speech are with you right here and now. You practise moral restraint, which means taking care to avoid the unskilful actions of killing, stealing and sexual misconduct. For instance, in the past you may have killed animals or insects by smashing them with an axe or a fist, or perhaps you didn’t take much care with your speech: false speech means lying or exaggerating the truth; coarse speech means you are constantly being abusive or rude to others -’you scum,’ ‘you idiot,’ and so on; frivolous speech means aimless chatter, foolishly rambling on without purpose or substance. We’ve indulged in it all. No restraint! In short, keeping silâ means watching over yourself, watching over your actions and speech.

So who will do the watching over? Who will take responsibility for your actions? Who is the one who knows before you lie, swear or say something frivolous? Contemplate this: whoever it is who knows is the one who has to take responsibility for your silâ. Bring that awareness to watch over your actions and speech. That knowing, that awareness is what you use to watch over your practice. To keep silâ, you use that part of the mind which directs your actions and which leads you to do good and bad. You catch the villain and transform him into a sheriff or a mayor. Take hold of the wayward mind and bring it to serve and take responsibility for all your actions and speech. Look at this and contemplate it. The Buddha taught us to take care with our actions. Who is it who does the taking care?

Establishing sati

The practice involves establishing sati, mindfulness, within this ‘one who knows.’ The ‘one who knows’ is that intention of mind which previously motivated us to kill living beings, steal other people’s property, indulge in illicit sex, lie, slander, say foolish and frivolous things and engage in all the kinds of unrestrained behaviour. The ‘one who knows’ led us to speak. It exists within the mind. Focus your mindfulness (sati) - that constant recollectedness - on this ‘one who knows.’ Let the knowing look after your practice. Use sati or awareness to keep the mind recollecting in the present moment and maintain mental composure in this way. Make the mind look after itself. Do it well.

If the mind is really able to look after itself, it is not so difficult to guard speech and actions, since they are all supervised by the mind. Keeping silâ - in other words taking care of your actions and speech - is not such a difficult thing. You sustain awareness at every moment and in every posture, whether standing, walking, sitting or lying down. Before you perform any action, speak or engage in conversation, establish awareness first. You must have sati, be recollecting, before you do anything. It doesn’t matter what you are going to say, you must first be recollecting in the mind. Practise like this until you are fluent. Practise so that you can keep abreast of what’s going on in the mind; to the point where mindfulness becomes effortless and you are mindful before you act, mindful before you speak. This is the way you establish mindfulness in the heart. It is with the ‘one who knows’ that you look after yourself, because all your actions spring from here. By guarding your speech and actions they become graceful and pleasing to the eye and ear, while you yourself remain comfortable and at ease within the restraint. If you practise mindfulness and restraint until it becomes comfortable and natural to you, the mind will become firm and resolute in the practise of silâ and restraint. It will be consistently paying attention to the practice and thus become concentrated. The characteristic of being unwavering in the practice of mindfulness and restraint is called ‘samådhi.’ The mind is firmly concentrated in this practice of silâ and restraint. Being firmly concentrated in the practice of silâ means that there is an evenness and consistency to the practice of mindfulness and restraint. These are the characteristics of samådhi as an external factor in the practice. However, it also has an inner, deeper side to it.

Different mind objects

Once the mind has an intentness in the practice and silâ and samådhi are firmly established, you will be able to investigate and reflect on that which is wholesome and unwholesome - asking yourself “Is this right?...” “Is that wrong?” as you experience different mind-objects. When the mind makes contact with different sights, sounds, smells, tastes, tactile sensations or ideas, the ‘one who knows’ will arise and establish awareness of liking and disliking, happiness and suffering and the different kinds of mind-objects that you experience. You will come to see clearly, and see many different things. If you are mindful, you will see the different objects which pass into the mind and the reaction which takes place upon experiencing them. The ‘one who knows’ will automatically take them up as objects for contemplation. Once the mind is vigilant and mindfulness is firmly established, you will note all the reactions displayed through either body, speech or mind, as mind-objects are experienced. That aspect of the mind which identifies and selects the good from the bad, the right from the wrong, from amongst all the mind-objects within your field of awareness, is pannå. This is pannå in its initial stages and it matures as a result of the practice. All these different aspects of the practice arise from within the mind. The Buddha referred to these characteristics as silâ, samådhi and pannå. As you continue the practice, fresh attachments and new kinds of delusion begin to arise in the mind.

This means you start clinging to that which is good or wholesome. You become fearful of any blemishes or faults in the mind - anxious that your samådhi will be harmed by them. At the same time you begin to be diligent and hard working, and to love and nurture the practice. You continue to practise like this as much as possible, until you might even reach the point where you are constantly judging and picking fault with everyone you meet, wherever you go. You are constantly reacting with attraction and aversion to the world around you, becoming full of all kinds of uncertainty and continually attaching to views of the right and wrong way to practise. It’s as if you have become obsessed with the practice. But you don’t have to worry about this yet - at that point it’s better to practise too much than too little. Practise a lot and dedicate yourself to looking after body, speech and mind. You can never really do too much of this. The practice of mindfulness and restraint with body, speech and mind and the consistent distinguishing between right and wrong is what you hold as the object of mind. You become concentrated in this way and by firmly and unshakably attaching to this way of practice, it means the mind actually becomes silâ, samådhi and pannå - the characteristics of the practice as described in the conventional teachings.

As you continue to develop and maintain the practice, these different characteristics and qualities are perfected together in the mind. However, practising silâ, samådhi and pannå at this level is still not enough to produce the factors of jhåna (meditative absorption) - the practice is still too coarse. Still, the mind is already quite refined - on the refined side of coarse! For an ordinary unenlightened person who has not been looking after the mind or practised much meditation and mindfulness, just this much is already something quite refined. At this level, you can feel a sense of satisfaction with being able to practise to the full extent of your ability. This is something you will see for yourself; it’s something that has to be experienced within the mind of the practitioner.

If this is so, it means that you are already on the path, i.e. practising silâ, samådhi and pannå. These must be practised together, for if any are lacking, the practice will not develop correctly. The more your silâ improves, the firmer the mind becomes. The firmer the mind is, the bolder pannå becomes and so on ... each part of the practice supporting and enhancing all the others. As you deepen and refine the practice, silâ, samådhi and pannå will mature together from the same place - they are refined down from the same raw material. In other words the Path has coarse beginnings, but, as a result of training and refining the mind through meditation and reflection, it becomes increasingly subtle. As the mind becomes more refined, the practice of mindfulness becomes more focussed, being concentrated on a more and more narrow area. The practice actually becomes easier as the mind turns more and more inwards to focus on itself. You no longer make big mistakes or go wildly wrong. Now, whenever the mind is affected by a particular matter, doubts will arise - such as whether acting or speaking in a certain way is right or wrong - you simply keep halting the mental proliferation and, through intensifying effort in the practice, continue turning your attention deeper and deeper inside. The practice of samådhi will become progressively firmer and more concentrated. The practice of pannå is enhanced so that you can see things more clearly and with increasing ease.

Wisdom faculty

The end result is that you are clearly able to see the mind and its objects, without having to make any distinction between the mind, body or speech. As you continue to turn attention inwards and reflect on the Dhamma, the wisdom faculty gradually matures, and eventually you are left contemplating the mind and mind-objects - which means that you start to experience the body as immaterial. Through your insight, you are no longer groping at or uncertain in your understanding of the body and the way it is. The mind experiences the body’s physical characteristics as formless objects which come into contact with the mind. Ultimately, you are contemplating just the mind and mind-objects - those objects which come into your consciousness. Now, examining the true nature of the mind, you can observe that in its natural state, it has no preoccupations or issues prevailing upon it. It’s like a piece of cloth or a flag that has been tied to the end of a pole. As long as it’s on its own and undisturbed, nothing will happen to it.

In its natural state, the mind is the same - in it, there exists no loving or hating, nor does it seek to blame other people. It is independent, existing in a state of purity that is truly clear, radiant and untarnished. In its pure state, the mind is peaceful, without happiness or suffering - indeed, not experiencing any vedanå (feeling) at all. This is the true state of the mind. The purpose of the practice, then, is to seek inwardly, searching and investigating until you reach the original mind. The original mind is also known as the pure mind. The pure mind is the mind without attachment. It doesn’t get affected by mind-objects. In other words, it doesn’t chase after the different kinds of pleasant and unpleasant mind-objects. Rather, the mind is in a state of continuous knowing and wakefulness - thoroughly mindful of all it is experiencing. When the mind is like this, no pleasant or unpleasant mind-objects it experiences will be able to disturb it. The mind doesn’t ‘become’ anything. In other words, nothing can shake it. The mind knows itself as pure. It has evolved its own, true independence; it has reached its original state. How is it able to bring this original state into existence? Through the faculty of mindfulness wisely reflecting and seeing that all things are merely conditions arising out of the influence of elements, without any individual being controlling them. This is how it is with the happiness and suffering we experience. When these mental states arise, they are just ‘happiness’ and ‘suffering’. There is no owner of the happiness. The mind is not the owner of the suffering - mental states do not belong to the mind. Look at it for yourself. In reality these are not affairs of the mind, they are separate and distinct. Happiness is just the state of happiness; suffering is just the state of suffering. You are merely the knower of these. In the past, because the roots of greed, hatred and delusion already existed in the mind, whenever you caught sight of the slightest pleasant or unpleasant mind-object, the mind would react immediately - you would take hold of it and have to experience either happiness or suffering. You would be continuously indulging in states of happiness and suffering. That’s the way it is as long as the mind doesn’t know itself - as long as it’s not bright and illuminated The mind is not free. It is influenced by whatever mind-objects it experiences. In other words, it is without a refuge, unable to truly depend on itself. You receive a pleasant mental impression and get into a good mood. The mind forgets itself.

In contrast, the original mind is beyond good and bad. This is the original nature of the mind. If you feel happy over experiencing a pleasant mind-object, that is delusion. If you feel unhappy over experiencing an unpleasant mind-object, that is delusion. Unpleasant mind objects make you suffer and pleasant ones make you happy - this is the world. Mind-objects come with the world. They are the world. They give rise to happiness and suffering, good and evil, and everything that is subject to impermanence and uncertainty. When you separate from the original mind, everything becomes uncertain - there is just unending birth and death, uncertainty and apprehensiveness, suffering and hardship, without any way of halting it or bringing it to cessation. This is the endless round of rebirth.

Firmly concentrated mind

Samådhi means the mind that is firmly concentrated, and the more you practise the firmer the mind becomes. The more firmly the mind is concentrated, the more resolute in the practice it becomes. The more you contemplate, the more confident you become. The mind becomes truly stable - to the point where it can’t be swayed by anything at all. You are absolutely confident that no single mind-object has the power to shake it. Mind-objects are mind-objects; the mind is the mind. The mind experiences good and bad mental states, happiness and suffering, because it is deluded by mind-objects. If it isn’t deluded by mind-objects, there’s no suffering. The undeluded mind can’t be shaken. Simply speaking, this state that has arisen is the mind itself. If you contemplate according to the truth of the way things are, you can see that there exists just one path and it is your duty to follow it. If you attach to happiness, you are off the path - because attaching to happiness will cause suffering to arise. If you attach to sadness, it can be a cause for suffering to arise. You understand this - you are already mindful with right view - but at the same time, are not yet able to fully let go of your attachments.

So what is the correct way to practice? You must walk the middle path, which means keeping track of the various mental states of happiness and suffering, while at the same time keeping them at a distance, off to either side of you.

This is the correct way to practise - you maintain mindfulness and awareness even though you are still unable to let go. It’s the correct way, because whenever the mind attaches to states of happiness and suffering, awareness of the attachment is always there. This means that whenever the mind attaches to states of happiness, you don’t praise it or give value to it, and whenever it attaches to states of suffering, you don’t criticise it. This way you can actually observe the mind as it is. Happiness is not right, suffering is not right. There is the understanding that neither of these is the right path. You are unable to drop them, but you can be mindful of them. With mindfulness established, you don’t give undue value to happiness or suffering. You don’t give importance to either of those two directions which the mind can take, and you hold no doubts about this; you know that following either of those ways is not the right path of practice, so at all times you take this middle way of equanimity as the object of mind. When you practise to the point where the mind goes beyond happiness and suffering, equanimity will necessarily arise as the path to follow, and you have to gradually move down it, little by little - the heart knowing the way to go to be beyond defilements, but, not yet being ready to finally transcend them, it withdraws and continues practising.

Whenever happiness arises and the mind attaches, you have to take that happiness up for contemplation, and whenever it attaches to suffering, you have to take that up for contemplation. Eventually, the mind reaches a stage when it is fully mindful of both happiness and suffering. That’s when it will be able to lay aside the happiness and the suffering, the pleasure and the sadness, and lay aside all that is the world and so become the ‘knower of the worlds.’ Once the mind - ‘the one who knows’ - can let go, it will settle down at that point.

Practice becomes interesting

It is here that the practice becomes really interesting. Wherever there is attachment in the mind, you keep hitting at that point, without letting up. If there is attachment to happiness, you keep pounding at it, not letting the mind get carried away with the mood. If the mind attaches to suffering, you grab hold of that, really getting to grips with it and contemplating it straight away. Even if the mind is caught in an unwholesome mental state, you know it as unwholesome and the mind is not heedless. It’s like stepping on thorns: of course, you don’t seek to step on thorns, you try to avoid them, but nevertheless sometimes you step on one. Even though you know this, you are unable to stop stepping on those ‘thorns.’ The mind still follows various states of happiness and sadness, but doesn’t completely indulge in them. You sustain a continuous effort to destroy any attachment in the mind - to destroy and clear all that which is the world from the mind.

Some people want to make the mind peaceful, but don’t know what true peace really is. They don’t know the peaceful mind! There are two kinds of peacefulness - one is the peace that comes through samådhi, the other is the peace that comes through pannå. The mind that is peaceful through samådhi is still deluded. The peace that comes through the practice of samådhi alone is dependent on the mind being separated from mind-objects. When it’s not experiencing any mind-objects, then there is calm, and consequently one attaches to the happiness that comes with that calm. However, whenever there is impingement through the senses, the mind gives in straight away. It’s afraid of mind-objects. It’s afraid of happiness and suffering; afraid of praise and criticism; afraid of forms, sounds, smells and tastes.

One who is peaceful through samådhi alone is afraid of everything and doesn’t want to get involved with anybody or anything on the outside. People practising samådhi in this way just want to stay isolated in a cave somewhere, where they can experience the bliss of samådhi without having to come out. Wherever there is a peaceful place, they sneak off and hide themselves away. This kind of samådhi involves a lot of suffering - they find it difficult to come out of it and be with other people. They don’t want to see forms or hear sounds. They don’t want to experience anything at all! They have to live in some specially preserved quiet place, where no-one will come and disturb them with conversation. They have to have really peaceful surroundings.

This kind of peacefulness can’t do the job. If you have reached the necessary level of calm, then withdraw. The Buddha didn’t teach to practise samådhi with delusion. If you are practising like that, then stop. If the mind has achieved calm, then use it as a basis for contemplation. Contemplate the peace of concentration itself and use it to connect the mind with and reflect upon the different mind-objects which it experiences. Contemplate the three characteristics of aniccam (impermanence), dukkham (suffering) and anattå (not-self). Reflect upon this entire world. When you have contemplated sufficiently, it is all right to re-establish the calm of samådhi. You can re-enter it through sitting meditation and afterwards, with calm re-established, continue with the contemplation. As you gain knowledge, use it to fight the defilements, to train the mind.

The peace which arises through pannå is distinctive, because when the mind withdraws from the state of calm, the presence of pannå makes it unafraid of forms, sounds, smells, tastes, tactile sensations and ideas. It means that as soon as there is sense contact the mind is immediately aware of the mind-object. As soon as there is sense contact you lay it aside - mindfulness is sharp enough to let go right away. This is the peace that comes through pannå.

Mind becoming refined

When you are practising with the mind in this way, the mind becomes considerably more refined than when you are developing samådhi alone. The mind becomes very powerful, and no longer tries to run away. With such energy you become fearless. In the past you were scared to experience anything, but now you know mind-objects as they are and are no longer afraid. You know your own strength of mind and are unafraid. When you see a form, you contemplate it. When you hear a sound, you contemplate it. You become proficient in the contemplation of mind-objects. Whatever it is, you can let go of it all. You clearly see happiness and let it go. You clearly see suffering and let it go. Wherever you see them, you let them go right there. All mind-objects lose their value and are no longer able to sway you. When these characteristics arise within the mind of the practitioner, it is appropriate to change the name of the practice to vipassanå: clear knowing in accordance with the truth. That’s what it’s all about - knowledge in accordance with the truth of the way things are. This is peace at the highest level, the peace of vipassanå.

Developing samådhi so that you can just sit there and attach to blissful mental states isn’t the true purpose of the practice. You must withdraw from it. The Buddha said that you must fight this war, not just hide out in a trench trying to avoid the enemy’s bullets. When it’s time to fight, you really have to come out with guns blazing. Eventually you have to come out of that trench. You can’t stay sleeping there when it’s time to fight. This is the way the practice is. You can’t allow your mind to just hide, cringing in the shadows.

I have described a rough outline of the practice. You as the practitioners must avoid getting caught in doubts. Don’t doubt about the way of practice. When there is happiness, watch the happiness. When there is suffering, watch the suffering. Having established awareness, make the effort to destroy both of them. Let them go. Cast them aside. Know the object of mind and keep letting it go. Whether you want to do sitting or walking meditation it doesn’t matter. If you keep thinking, never mind. The important thing is to sustain moment to moment awareness of the mind. If you are really caught in mental proliferation, then gather it all together, and contemplate it in terms of being one whole, cutting it off right from the start, saying, “All these thoughts, ideas and imaginings of mine are simply thought proliferation and nothing more. It’s all aniccam, dukkham and anattå. None of it is certain at all.” Discard it right there.

25 06 2021 - Daily news

J24.15

The Significance of Poya

Even before the birth of Buddhism, Asian ascetics in the ancient times when there were no calendars, made it a practice on full moon days to cease worldly pursuits and engage themselves in religious activities.

The Buddha adopted this practice and from this developed the preaching of the Buddhist texts and commentaries (bana) in monasteries and temples on full moon Poya days. And when the Ven. Arahat Mahinda Thero introduced Buddhism to this country in 247 BC. he also introduced the Poya tradition. Following is a brief description of the 12 Poyas in the Buddhist calendar and their significance.

1 Vesak (full moon Poya in May)
The Buddhist calendar begins with the month of Vesak. On Vesak Day, Buddhists world over commemorate the triple anniversary of Sakyamuni Siddhartha Gautama The Buddha. Triple anniversary because The Buddha was born, attained Supreme Enlightenment at the age of thirty five, and after a successful ministry of forty five years attained Parinirvana or passed away on a Vesak (May) full moon Poya Day. It was also on a Vesak full moon Poya Day, in the eighth year of his enlightenment, that The Buddha made his third and final visit to Sri Lanka. On this full moon Poya begins the 2541 year of the Buddha.

2 Poson (full moon Poya in June)
It commemorates the introduction of Buddhism to Sri Lanka by Arahat Maha Mahinda (son of King Asoka of India) at Mihintale in the third century BC. Ven. Mahinda established the Dispensation of The Buddha (Buddhasasana) in Sri Lanka.

3 Esala (full moon Poya in July)
Commemorates the deliverance of the first sermon to the five ascetics and setting in motion the Wheel of the Dhamma (Dhammacakka) at Sarnath Benares, India. The essence of this sermon is the explanation of the Four Noble Truths: The Noble Truth of Suffering or dissatisfaction or conflicts (Dukkha), the cause of suffering, the cessation of suffering and the path leading to the cessation of suffering. And The Noble Eight-fold Path:
1. Right understanding (Samma Ditthi)
2. Right thoughts (Samma Samkappa)
3. Right speech (Samma Vaca)
4. Right action (Samma Kammanta)
5. Right livelihood (Samma Ajiva)
6. Right effort (Samma Vayama)
7. Right mindfulness (Samma Sati)
8. Right concentration (Samma Samadhi)
From July Poya also commences the three month retreat (vassana) of the Buddhist monks.

4 Nikini (full moon Poya in August)
During the month of August the conducting of the first Dhamma Sangayana (Convocation) is commemorated. This was held three months after the passing away of The Buddha. Five hundred Arahat Theros participated in the convocation which was held over seven months in the cave at the foot of the Rajagahanuvara Vebhara Rock.

5 Binara (full moon Poya in September)
Commemorates The Buddha's visit to heaven to preach to his mother and celestial multitude. Also the commencing of the Bhikkhuni (nun's) Order. Pajapati Gotami approached The Buddha and implored him to establish the Bhikkhuni Order.

6 Vap (full moon Poya in October)
The significant events commemorated during this month are: the conclusion of The BuddhaOs preaching of the Abhidhamma for three months to his mother in the Heavenly realm (devaloka), King Devanampiyatissa of Sri Lanka sending envoys to King Asoka requesting him to send his daughter Arahat Sanghamitta Theri to Sri Lanka to establish the Bhikkhuni Sasana (Order of Nuns).

7 Il (full moon Poya in November)
Celebrates the obtaining of Vivarana (the assurance of becoming a Buddha) by the Bodhisatta Maitriya and the commissioning of 60 disciples by The Buddha to disperse his teachings. Also the conclusion of the three month retreat (vassana).

8 Unduvap (full moon Poya in December)
Arrival of the Bo-tree sapling. This was brought to Sri Lanka from India by Buddhist Theri Sanghamitta, and it is this very tree that is venerated by Buddhists in Anura-dhapura. It is also the oldest documented tree in the world. Sanghamitta Theri established the Bhikkhuni Sasana (the Order of Nuns).

9 Duruthu (full moon Poya in January)
In honour of Lord Buddha's first visit to Sri Lanka. This visit too took place in the first year of The Buddha's Supreme Enlightenment.

10 Navam (full moon Poya in February)
Celebrates the following events in Buddhist history: Entrance into the order of two leading disciples of The Buddha (Sariputta and Maha Moggalana), The Buddha proclaims for the first time a code of fundamental ethical precepts for the monks. The Buddha announces that within three months His Parinibbana (death) will take place.

11 Medin (full moon Poya in March)
Commemorates the visit of The Buddha to his home to preach to his father King Suddhodana and other relatives and show them the path to enlightenment and final deliverance.

12 Bak (full moon Poya in April)
It commemorates the second visit of The Buddha to Sri Lanka which took place in the fifth year of his Supreme Enlightenment.

J24.16

Meditation On The Spot

Ven. Dickwelle Mahinda Thera

According to the Dhammapada and its commentary, in the final existence human beings who attain to the final stage of sainthood (Arahattamagga and Phala) by the helped of a simple subject of meditation nature of the things as they really are. They can comprehend the three characteristics of all existing things, impermanence, suffering, and non-self. (Anicca, Dukkha, and Anatta), eradicating the cause of suffering, which is craving. There were many Bhikkhus, nuns, and laymen who faced the various subjects of meditation on the spot. Some of them are as follows.

A certain monk obtained a subject of meditation from the supreme Buddha and went to the forest for the purpose of practicing meditation. But he could not produce the slightest sign of progression in the Jhaana exercise. He decided to return to his preceptor. On his way to the supreme Buddha, he saw a mirage. He thought to himself. "Even as this mirage. seen in the hot season appears substantial to these that are far off but vanishes on nearer approach, so also in this existence in substantial by reason of birth and decay." Thus he exercised himself in meditation the mirage. After bathing in the river, he seated himself in the shade of a tree on the bank near a water-fall. He- saw the great bubbles of foam rising and bursting. He thought to himself, "Just so is this existence also produce and just sees it burst." And this he took for his subject of meditation. Later, the supreme Buddha pronounced the following stanza:
Phenupama.m kaayamima.m viditvaa
Mariicidhamma.m abhisambudhaano
Chetvaana maarassa papupphakaani
Adassana.m maccuraajassa gacche

The meaning of the stanza is as follows:
He who knows that this body is like foam, he who clearly comprehends that it is of the nature of a mirage, he should destroy the flower-shafts of sensual passions and pass beyond the sight of the king of death.
At the conclusion of the stanza the monk attained Arahatship. (Dhammapada Puspha Vagga).

A goldsmith's son became a monk under Ven. Saariputta Maha Thera. The preceptor gave him a subject of meditation to meditate on the impurity of the body. He meditated on impurity of the body for a long time., but could not develop even a slight trace (Jhaana), Later, Ven. Sariputta accompanied him to the supreme Buddha. The supreme Buddha surveyed his previous states of existence and perceived that in five hundred successive states of existence this monk had been reborn in the family of that same goldsmith. The supreme Buddha understood that meditation on the impurity of body was entirely unsuitable for him and created a lotus of gold and gave him to meditate on it. Repeating the words "Blood-Red, Blood-Red ("Lohitakan" Lohitakan"). When he was meditating on the gold lotus flower, the supreme Buddha caused it to wither. The young monk thought, "If things which have no attachment for the world thus decay and die, how will much more living beings who are attached to the world, decay and die." Thus he came to realize the characteristics of all things, namely, impermanence, suffering and non-self (Anicca, Dukkha and Anatta). and attained to Arahathship. (~ Vagga 9)

Arahat Maha Panthaka Thera expelled his brother monk from the temple because he could not recite a stanza by heart. The supreme Buddha appeared before him and gave him clean cloth to meditate upon, repeating the words "removal of impurity" (Rajoharanam). When he was rubbing the cloth facing the East it became soiled from the sweat of his brow.

The supreme Buddha appeared before him in a vision and said "Impurity is Just, hatred, delusion, remove this." Cullaphanthaka attained Arahatship immediately. (Appamada Vagga 3)

The story goes that five hundred monks obtained a subject of meditation from the supreme Buddha, retired to the forest, and applied themselves to meditation. while these monks were engaged in meditation, they saw the jasmine flowers dropping from their stems. They took it as subject of meditation and thought to themselves,: "So also will we obtain release from greed, hatred, and delusion." At last, they attained Arahatship. (Bhikkhu Vagga 8)

Kisa Gotami became a nun. Ono day she observed the flickering of a lamp and reflected on the impermanence of life. The supreme Buddha cause his image to appear before her and uttered a stanza that led to attainment. (Sahassa Vagga 13)

A certain woman died from being afflicted by disease. Her kinsfolk and friends brought her body and handed it over to the keeper of the charnel-ground to bum. He thought the corpse was suitable for a subject of meditation and wished to show it to Venerable Mahaa Kaala. The Maha Thera came and surveyed the body. When it was burning, the colour of the body was like that of a mottled cow. The feet stuck out and hung down. The hands were curled back. The forehead was without skin. The Maha Thera contemplated on decay and death and attained Arahatship together with the supernatural faculties. (Yamaka Vagga 6)

A certain monk went to the forest to meditate but he failed in the practice of meditation. He decided to meet the supreme Buddha to obtain a suitable subject of meditation.

He set out to return to the supreme Buddha. On the way he saw a forest-fire. He climbed a bare mountain and watched the fire, concentrating his mind on the following thought: "Even as this fire advances, consuming all obstacles both great and small, so also ought 1 to advance, consuming all obstacles both great and small by the fire of Knowledge of the Noble Path." He immediately attained Arahatship. (Appamada Vagga 8)

Patacara was the daughter of a wealthy merchant of Savatthi. She, eloped with her own page. They lodged in a certain village. After facing five great deaths of her two sons, her husband, and parents, she became mad. After bearing the Stanza delivered by the supreme Buddha she obtained the fruit of Sotapanna. Later on, she became a nun.

One day she was bathing her feet with water. As she poured out the water, she spilled some on the ground. The water ran a little way and disappeared. The second time it went a little further. The third time a little further still. So she took this very incident for a subject of meditation, and fixing accurately in her mind the three occurrences, she meditated thus:

"Even as the water I spilled the first time ran a little way and disappeared, so also living beings here in the world are dying in youth. Even as the water I spilled the second time ran a little further, so also living beings here in the world are dying - in the prime of life. Even as the water spilled the third time ran a little further yet, so also living beings here in the world are dying in old age."

The supreme Buddha sent forth an apparition of himself and standing as it were face to face with her, spoke thus, "It is better to live a single moment, of a single day, see the rising and bursting of the life, than to live a hundred years and not see."

At the conclusion of the discourse Patacara attained Arahatship together with the supernatural faculties. (Sahassa Vagga 12)

J24.17

Antarabhava and Rebirth

Dr. Upul Wijayawardhana

“As far as I am concerned, there is more than enough wisdom in Buddhism, even if I put the rebirth hypothesis on hold.” This was one of the personal comments received following my article “Is there an Antarabhava: Missing link in rebirth?” (The Island, 26 May) and was from a theoretical physicist with a special interest in quantum theory. Naturally, he is seeking a mechanistic explanation for the process of rebirth and before coming to this conclusion, he argued the case as follows:

“Assume that there is some mental structure which contains memory and life information in its structural features. We don’t know what it is made of. It is obviously not hard matter. Let us say it is some form of energy – e.g., electromagnetic energy – but it could be some unknown form of energy- some type of ‘dark energy’. That is, the mental structure which is assumed to persist after death of an individual is not a random structure (maximum entropy), but has features corresponding to information (information means decrease of entropy) about the person who ‘died’. Now, all things that physics has observed in the universe, be it black holes, matter, dark matter, stars, radiation, electromagnetic waves, gravitational energy, etc., all obey the second law of thermodynamics. Accordingly, order spontaneously changes into disorder: Hot bodies spontaneously cool, bringing everything to a common low temperature: Pure phases become mixed and ‘dirty’: Smooth flowing rivers develop eddies and turbulence: Even a rock inscription undergoes weathering and erosion: Information becomes disinformation, etc.”

“You can keep things ordered, or retain information safely by constantly renewing them, etc., but all this costs energy. A living being strives to maintain a persisting cellular and neural structure during its lifetime and the organism does this by using the energy supplied by the food to rebuild the cells and neurons that normal decay. But even this has a limit. Death occurs when the decay processes exceed the rapidity of the rebuilding processes (the balance between anabolic and catabolic processes is lost). After that, let us say this “persisting mental structure” escapes the body and becomes the “antarabhava” object but the information encoded in the “antarabhava” structure will begin to rapidly become disordered due to the 2nd law of thermodynamics. The longer it has to stay (e.g., years), the more decayed and disorganized it becomes. This also happens to a computer memory if the memory chips (magnetic records) are left alone, and not re-energized each time you start up your computer. As I see no source of energy to maintain this “antarabhava” structure, I expect it to decay as fast, or even faster than the more solid neural structures of the brain that would have decayed once the oxygen and ATP stop arriving into the brain.”

With my limited knowledge of physics, last acquired over six decades ago, I cannot argue with a retired professor of theoretical physics who now functions as a principal research scientist in the National Science Research Council of Canada. In any case, he is in very good company as even some learned members of the Sangha too cast doubts on the concept of rebirth. One of them is Ajahn Sumedho, former US Navy Medic who served in the Korean War, one of the senior Western representatives of the Thai forest tradition of Theravada Buddhism and was the Abbot of Amaravati Buddhist Monastery, UK, from its consecration in 1984 until his retirement in 2010. In Ajahn Sumedho’s book ‘The Sound of Silence’ there is a chapter named, “Questions About Awareness and Rebirth” wherein he states:

“Rebirth,” like “reincarnation,” is a term that’s used generally referring to having gone through a series of different lives, and then there are various views about whether once you get reincarnated into human form where you can go, become a frog again or something like that. But the truth of the matter is, nobody really knows. The historical Buddha refers to previous lives in the scriptures and things like this, but for me these things are speculative.

Unfortunately, I am not in touch with Ajahn Sumedho to get personal verification but, very fortunately, am in regular touch with Bhante Dhammika of Australia, who makes excellent contributions to this publication. Responding to my humble request for his comments on my article, he sent links to two posts on his blog which are well worth reading. However, most interesting was this reply of his, to a comment on the post on rebirth: “You will notice that very little on my blog is given to rebirth, pretty much because, like you, it is not a subject that particularly interests me.” This too confirms what I stated in my article that rebirth is of less importance to Buddhists by conviction than to Buddhists by birth, who tend to frown upon anyone even questioning the concept of rebirth.

These are some of the interesting comments on rebirth in Bhante Dhammika’s post:

“The first Buddhists regarded life (jiva) as a process of consciousness moving through a succession of bodies, death being only a momentary event to this process. This phenomenon is sometimes called `moving from womb to womb’ (Sn.278) or more precisely, rebirth (punabbhava, D.II,15). Later Buddhist thinkers explained rebirth in complex and minute detail – death-proximate kamma (marana samma kamma), last though moment (cuti citta), relinking (patisandhi), the underlying stream of existence (bhavanga sota), etc. Interestingly, none of this is mentioned in the Sutta Pitaka, much of it is not even to be found in the Abhidhamma Pitaka. It is the product of speculation dating from the early centuries CE onward. This is not to say that such concepts are valueless, but it is important to distinguish between early, late and very late Dhamma concepts. Buddha mentions rebirth often enough but what does he say about the actual process of rebirth? The answer is `Not very much’.”

“Some Buddhist schools teach that after death, consciousness hovers in an in-between state (antarabhava) for a certain period before being reborn. Others, such as the Theravadins, assert that rebirth takes place within moments of consciousness disengaging from the body. The Buddha suggests that there is an interval between death and rebirth and spoke of the situation `when one has laid down the body (i.e., died) but has not yet been reborn’ (S.IV,400). On several other occasions He said that for one who has attained Nirvana there is `no here, no there, no in-between'(S.IV,73), presumably referring to this life, the next life, and the in-between state. When the consciousness is in transition between one life and the next it is referred to as gandhabba, and the Buddha said that this gandhabba has to be present for conception to take place (M.I,265).”

“In traditional Buddhist countries but particularly in Sri Lanka, young children occasionally come to public attention after claiming that they can remember their former life. Some of these claims have been carefully studied by Prof. Ian Stevenson of the University of Virginia. His researches have been published by the university as Cases of the Reincarnation Type, Vol.I,1975; Vol.II,1978; Vol.III,1980 and Vol.IV,1983. While not being easy to read, Stevenson’s research has a high degree of scientific credibility and objectivity. According to the Buddha, just before the attainment of enlightenment some individuals have an experience called the knowledge of former lives (pubbe nivasanussati, D.I,81). During this experience, vivid and detailed memories of one’s former lives flash through the mind.”

Bhante Dhammika’s comments on the last thought and rebirth are very interesting :

“While the Buddha understood the mind to be a ‘flow’ or ‘stream’ of mental events (vinnanasota), later Abhidhamma thinkers speculated that it was actually a string of individual thought moments (cittavithi) arising and passing away at great rapidity. Later still, the theory developed that the last thought moment (cuticitta) a person has before they die will determine their next life. This idea, a part of Theravada orthodoxy, seems to be an unjustified development of the Buddha’s teachings and at odds with his idea of kamma and the efficacy of morality. The Tipitaka records many occasions where the Buddha counselled people who were either dying or critically ill. If the last thought is really crucial to one’s destiny one would expect such occasions to be the most appropriate time for Him to mention it, and yet there is no record of Him ever having done so. Nor did He mention it anywhere else. Mahanama once confided to the Buddha his anxiety about dying at a time when his mind was distressed and confused, thinking it might result in him having a bad rebirth. The Buddha reassured him that because he had for a longtime developed faith, virtue, learning, renunciation and wisdom, he had nothing to fear if such a thing should happen (S.V,369).”

Perhaps, some of these responses justify this question I raised in concluding that article: “By denying the concept of Antarabhava, has Theravada Buddhism unnecessarily disregarded a vital link that may explain rebirth?”

My good friend Dr. Upali Abeysiri, who nearly missed donning the sacred robes in his youth, continued the study of Dhamma in addition to becoming a very successful Plastic Surgeon, practicing in Sri Lanka and the UK. The publication of his book on Abhidhamma, simplifying the complex concepts, is delayed due to the pandemic. He has already translated Asvaghoa’s Buddhacharita, the epic poem detailing the life of Gautama Buddha composed in the early second century CE., which was published by the Buddhist Cultural Centre. He is an unwavering believer in rebirth and posed this question in support:

“Some of us also have natural abilities not inherited. I can write Sinhala poetry as soon as I want. No one in my family has written poetry. Words come to me very easily to rhyme. I translated Asvaghosa’s Buddhacharita into Sinhala poetry of over thousand stanzas. How did I get the ability? I only studied Sinhala to GCE O levels. Can you explain?”

He also referred to the recent case, shown in YouTube, of a six-year boy in a village named Naiwala who could talk fluently in English and Hindi, in addition to Sinhala, and remembered his past as a pilot in the Indian air force who crashed in a desert area. His parents are not well educated, father being a motor mechanic and the mother a housewife. Upali told me to apply Ockham’s razor and that I would come with rebirth. I checked on Ockham’s razor and found it to be a principle from philosophy enunciated by William of Ockham, a 14th century Franciscan Friar, which goes as follows: Suppose an event has two possible explanations, the explanation that requires the fewest assumptions is usually correct. Another way of saying it is that the more assumptions you have to make, the more unlikely the explanation is. It is said that Occam’s razor applies especially in the philosophy of science but is also true in everyday life.

He is quite correct that there are many things in life which defy explanation and rebirth may be one possible explanation. Talent: is it God given? Inherited? Result of experience in past lives? A lot to think about!

Upali Abeysiri too supports my contention that Theravada has lost out by disregarding the intermediate state, antarabhava, after death. He feels this was done to prevent misinterpreting antarbhavaya as Athma, soul. Some of his arguments are:

Virginia University team has, by analysis of incidents of genuine near-death experiences, has shown the mind can survive for a short period out of the body and non-functioning sensory organs, hearing, seeing etc. Theravada cannot explain this phenomenon but intermediate state of Yogavacara Abhdhamma (common to all sects of Mahayana) can explain this. The intermediate state may exist for at least seven days, maintained by clinging to existence and also nutrients obtained from smell and may even come back anytime to the original body, if the life faculty is maintained.

During the third Sangayana, the Theravadins tried to edit antarabhavaya out by maintaining there is no gap between last consciousness of present life and the first of next life. Kathavatthu book of Tripitaka was written for it and other topics. However, they did not edit the Tripitaka to erase traces of antarabhavaya but added commentaries to justify. These are some that remain:

1. Mahathanhakkhaya sutta in Majjima nikaya: Buddha says, ”Bhikkhus, three conditions are essential for a pregnancy. Union of mother (ovum) and father(sperm) and the presence of a gandhabba.” The commentary gives the meaning gandabba as the death consciousness of a being who is to be reborn.

2. In the Karaniya matta sutta, 'bhuthava' (borne) 'sambhavesiva' (to be borne) are described as last two variety of beings to project metta. The commentary says those who have come into the egg or womb and those who are waiting to come out of the egg or womb are described thus.

3. Udana: Bahiya is told by Buddha ”Bahiya if you follow my instructions, you will not be existing in this life, next life or in between the two” (ubhaya mantharena). The commentary cannot explain it and says it is a figure of speech.

4. Abhidhamma of Tehravada explains five types of anagamins who die without attaining enlightenment are born in the fine material worlds called Suddhavasa. Here the first type is called those who attain enlightenment while in the intermediate state. Again, the commentary gives lame excuses by saying as soon as they are born attaining enlightenment.

Upali Abeysiri opines that dependent-origination (Patichcha Samuppadaya) too could be better explained with the incorporation of antarabhava and has a very plausible explanation regarding the type of cases investigated by Ian Stevenson and others:

“As to the rebirth stories, more than 80% occur following sudden deaths such as drowning or accidents. At such deaths, the last thought process does not end in 7 javana moments as in normal consciousness. The last two occur in rebirth. This is why they may still remember past life details. After six or seven years, these memories fade away as ours’ of infancy do. As their kamma was obstructed by sudden death due to another kamma, they are born as humans again, whatever the last thought was."

Whilst thanking all who made me extend my thought processes further, my search for the truth about rebirth continues!

12 06 2021 - The Island

J24.18

Beauty of the Forest Tradition

The Forest tradition began in the time of the Buddha and has waxed and waned throughout Buddhist history. Actually, the Forest tradition in one sense even predates the Buddha, as it was a common practice of spiritual seekers in ancient India to leave the life of town and village and wander in the wilderness and mountains. The Buddha himself joined this tradition at age twenty-nine, giving up his life as a prince in order to seek the way beyond birth, aging, sickness, and death.

The Buddha was born in the forest, enlightened in the forest, taught in the forest, and passed away in the forest. Many of his greatest disciples, such as Ven. Anna Kondanna and Ven. Maha Kassapa, were strict forest dwellers who maintained an austere renunciant lifestyle. The Buddha allowed determined forest-dwelling monks, such as these two, to cultivate thirteen special practices, called dhutanga practices, which limited their robes, food, and dwelling places. These special renunciation practices, along with the practice of dwelling in nature provided the fundamental backdrop for Forest monasticism throughout Theravada Buddhist history.

Spiritual training

Many of the Buddha’s disciples chose to live in forest wilderness areas because their ruggedness and danger provided excellent arenas for spiritual training. In addition to the tigers, snakes and other challenges of wilderness dwelling, there was also the simplicity and natural beauty which afforded a suitable setting for pleasant abiding and joyful meditative concentration. Furthermore, by living in the forest, the monks were able to set a positive example for future generations.

The practices of these early forest dwellers exemplified the path to liberation. Since the time of the Buddha and his early disciples, the discipline of the monastic order and the integrity of the Buddha’s teachings have experienced numerous cycles of growth and decline. Throughout these cycles, the original ethos of the Buddha’s teachings has been preserved both through the example of these early forest-dwelling disciples and also through the efforts of later monastics who also focused on meditation practice, simplicity, and renunciation.

The way of practice, the teachings, and the codes of monastic conduct which the Buddha expounded 2500 years ago, run deeply against the grain of worldly concerns such as material success, wealth, power, fame, pleasure, and status. The presence of a monastic order can be a great boon to a society by providing a source of wisdom, peace, and clarity that transcends these worldly concerns. Alternatively, however, worldly concerns can enter into and distort monastic life. Historically, one way this has happened is when monks and nuns focused on meditation become accomplished in their practice, and then become well-known teachers, drawing to their monasteries many visitors bearing gifts and offerings. The very success and reputation of these teachers draws wealth, power, and fame into the monastery. Without constant heedfulness, the ways of the world might then enter into the monastic order, generating corrupt and obese monastic institutions. In such times, the practice of Forest monasticism by wise teachers concerned with spiritual living, discipline, and meditation, rather than institutional rank and official responsibility, plays a crucial role in revitalizing the original ethos of the Buddha’s teachings.

Monastic discipline

By the middle of the nineteenth century, Buddhism in Thailand had generally become corrupted with lax monastic discipline, teachings straying from the original texts, little emphasis on meditation, and a widespread belief that spiritual accomplishments were no longer possible. In the midst of this waning tradition, determined Buddhist practitioners returned again to the basics of forest living, moral discipline, and meditation in search of the Buddha’s path to enlightenment. The spiritual determination and accomplishments of these forest practitioners led to the emergence of the contemporary Forest tradition in North-east Thailand. The North-east is one of the most remote and poor areas in Thailand, notable both for its harsh land and its remarkably good humored people; and more recently for its wise meditation masters.

The emergence of the contemporary Forest tradition is associated largely with Ajahn Mun and his teacher, Ajahn Sao. Both were the sons of peasant farmers in the North-East of Thailand. Ajahn Mun was born in the 1870s in Ubon province near the borders of Laos and Cambodia. He trained under the forest monk Ajahn Sao, vigorously practising meditation, and then turned to a life of ascetic wandering and meditation practice in the wilderness. Ajahn Mun became a great teacher and exemplar of high standards of conduct. Almost all of the accomplished and revered meditation masters of twentieth century Thailand were either his direct disciples or influenced by him. One of these great meditation masters following in his example was Ajahn Chah.

www.santacittarama.org

24 06 2021 - Daily News

J24.19

An intellectual discourse that led to a new social foundation

By a special correspondent

Of many Suttas diversely found in the Buddhist text, Arahat Mahinda chose Chulla Haththi Padopama Sutta as the first discourse seed to feed Buddhist philosophy into King Devanampiyatissa. We need to investigate the grounds that prevailed upon to encourage the Arahat monk to prioritise the particular discourse followed by four other works.

During his short stay in the island, Arahat Mahinda made use of five works of Tripitaka: Chulla Haththi Padopama Sutta (Majjhima Nikaya I, 3. 7 Cala Hatthi Padopama Sutta, 27), Peta Vatthu and Vimana Vatthu, two books of Khuddaka Nikaya (short volume) on celestial and ghostly mansions, Devaduta Sutta (on Heavenly Messengers - Majjhima Nikâya III 3. 10. Devadatasutta, 130) and Balapandita Sutta (on Wise and Fool - Majjhima Nikaya III, 3. 9. Balapaooitasuta, 129). The whole of King Devanampiyatissa’s royal family is said to have become Buddhists following the delivery of these sermons.

One key reason for the unyielding establishment of Buddhism in Sri Lanka is Arahat Mahinda’s intelligent choice of works from the Pali Canon. His mission in visiting Sri Lanka was more than just converting another royal lineage into Buddhism. This fact is clearly corroborated, as the Arahat monk did not get into the conversion business right away; his first exercise was probing into the intellectual capacity of the chief of state with the history’s first recorded famous Intelligence Quotient on trees and relatives.

In this backdrop, it is interesting to study Chulla Haththi Padopama Sutta, a minor discourse on the simile of elephant footprints. Haththi, Pada and Opama stand for elephant, foot and simile respectively in Pali.

The source is based on a conversation between two Brahmins (non-Buddhists): Pilotika and Janussoni. Pilotika, though not a perfect Buddhist convert, describes his satisfying opinions about the Buddhist philosophy and its followers to Janussoni, making the latter interested in a follow-up. An inquiring Janussoni raises the issue of the Buddha’s claim to be an Enlightened Being. Simply put, the learned Brahmin questions the Buddha’s accomplishment of wisdom. It is to this that Pilotika brings out the elephant-simile.

“Suppose an elephant hunter enters a forest and sees an elephant footprint large in length and breadth. He would conclude that there will be a big elephant. Similarly, I saw Buddha’s four footprints and I concluded he is right when he says he is self-awakened, and his teaching is well-done, and his followers practise the teaching properly.”

The Buddha’s footprints, Pilotika goes on to observe, encourage the non-Buddhist scholars to a line of questions armed with rebuttals for obvious answers. Pilotika joyously explains how he sees the same scholars becoming the Buddha’s disciples. Pilotika’s argument is that he has the capacity to measure the Buddha’s accomplishment of wisdom by seeing his disciples.

Janussoni was, apparently, satisfied by Pilotika’s explanations, yet it reflects the modern-day misunderstanding of Buddhism. Buddhism is generally understood as the fact that the true Buddhist stays away from basic sins such as slaughter, stealth, non-celibacy, false speech and alcohol consumption. The core of the philosophy, however, is far deeper. Arahat Mahinda’s choice shows the clear difference he wanted to point out between a normal saint and a Buddhist saint. However, the best way to see the Truth is going from darkness into light.

Janussoni saw the light when he heard the Buddha’s expanded version of the elephant footprint simile. According to the Buddha, just because the footprint was large in length and breadth, it does not help to work out the real owner as the big elephant. There can be dwarf female elephants with feet large in length and breadth. Likewise, there can be other non-Buddhist saints who stay away from the sins; a long list of sins is brought out in the Sutta. A big elephant could be worked out only by seeing it. And the real Buddhist saint is understood, or the real accomplishment of wisdom is understood, by the realisation and the practice of Four Noble Truths, the original teaching in Buddhism.

It is impossible to understand the Sutta’s core meaning at once. However, if the Sutta is studied carefully, it helps us develop the ideal that the modern-day concept of comparing Buddhism with other religions is not theoretically acceptable.

Every religion has its unique features, and so has Buddhism: Four Noble Truths. The real elephant is worked out by actually seeing them, and the Buddha’s accomplishment of wisdom or the real Buddhist philosophy is observed only through realisation and the practice of the Four Noble Truths.

Although the message seems simple and clear, it is hard to impart it to a normal human being. It is this background that led Arahat Mahinda to inquire about the intellectual capacity of King Devanampiyatissa to grasp the deep mode of communication.

Many scholars, especially Westerners, entertain (or used to, rather) the theory that Buddhism encourages only saintly living. Arahat Mahinda proves it not so with his subsequent sermons of Peta Vatthu, Vimana Vatthu, Devaduta Sutta and Balapandita Sutta, which mostly discuss the way a Buddhist should behave in the lay life.

For instance, Peta Vatthu speaks about the fate the evil-doers have to face and Vimana Vatthu focuses on what awaits good-doers. Devaduta Sutta talks of five Heavenly Messengers we see in our life, but we tend to neglect unknowingly. The five Heavenly Messengers are:

1. A toddler standing and lying with difficulty.
2. An old woman or man decayed and bent like the framework of a roof.
3. A sick woman or man, immersed in their own urine and excreta, raised by others and conducted by others.
4. An offender taken hold by the king and given various kinds of torture caned and whipped.
5. A dead woman or man after one day, two days or three days, bloated and turned blue.

These five beings are considered heavenly messengers since they remind that these states are right behind you and we should be engaged in good deeds abhorring evil deeds.

Balapandita Sutta teaches how human beings suffer through their follies, thus encouraging good deeds.

24 06 2021 - Daily News

J24.20

The uniqueness of the Buddha’s teachings

Sachitra Mahendra

The Buddha was born at a period when truth-seeking was a core concern. The truth-seekers were in legion. So were the teachers. In contrast with the struggle for an ideological stronghold in the Occidental hemisphere, the Orient was characterized by the early development of philosophy, albeit most of them simply lackadaisical.

Knowledge was accumulated on par with wealth in temples. However, the capacity of that knowledge in epistemological and ontological terms was a question. The emergence of the Buddha, as the youngest to an already-packed horde of philosophers and teachers, did not seem much of a welcome trait. The teacher as well as the teachings were looked down on. The Buddha’s prime challenge seemed to stand alone in the already-packed corpus of teachings, philosophies and ideologies. The challenge was no challenge at all. The emergence of the Buddha as well as his teachings was unique.

This very phenomenon caused an eyesore among the non-Buddhists who rallied as the Buddha’s rivals. They took in the Buddha’s emergence as a challenge. On the surface, his teachings were mostly at odds terms with ancient Oriental philosophy. The Brahmins, the main group of rivals, attempted several times to infiltrate the Buddha’s monk order and disfigure the teachings. But that turned out to be a futile exercise. The Brahmins had fairgrounds to carry out whatever they thought effective. The Buddha’s teachings shattered the status of Brahmins basking in their unsurpassed glory. The Buddha was well familiar with this situation, hence had an extenuating attitude. He never encouraged a swift conversion of another religious stalwart. Buddhism and other oriental teachings are poles apart mostly in philosophical terms, though both disciplines must maintain respect towards each other the way siblings operate.

The Brahmin attempt seems to have found a breeding site among many Sinhala customs and rituals. The Buddhists celebrate the Sinhala Hindu New Year, which ironically accommodates ancient oriental customs. Thilak Senasinghe touches on this subject in his book Mana Ranjana Mithya Katha. His implication that this festival should be wiped out of the Sinhala Buddhist calendar has apparently sparked many arguments in www.pothmithuro.com. Too sensitive it seems, for this is a festival that has been in existence for quite a long period. However, Senasinghe takes up many reasons to give the lie to the fact that New Year is Sinhala Buddhist. That takes the cake!

He questions the origin of the Sinhala New Year. The New Year is mostly Hindu rather than Sinhala. If you observe the rituals closely, you may feel a twinge of sympathy for being a Buddhist to celebrate a festival of this nature.

The festival gives prominence to neketh, ‘auspicious time’, which is out of place in Buddhism. The auspicious time is decided on having consulted the planet movement. Any moment with a virtuous thought frame is the auspicious time - this is what is exactly said both direct and indirect in many instances of Buddhism.

Nakkathan pathimeneththan atthobalan upachchaga Aththo Aththassa nakaththan, kin karissathi tharaka

The fool puts off everything waiting for an auspicious time and would not achieve the objective. If you could achieve your objective, that itself is auspicious. What could the stars in the sky do?

Speaking of neketh you should have naturally heard this Jataka tale of ‘The groom who lost his bride to the stars’, retold by Todd Anderson in ‘Prince Goodspeaker’. Here goes a condensed version of this engrossing tale:

“A rich family lived in Benares, northern India. Their son was to be married to a virtuous girl from the neighbouring village. The groom’s family decided on a date for the wedding. The bride’s family agreed to meet them on the wedding day.

The rich family’s special astrologer found out about the wedding day. This made him angry because he was not consulted. He wanted to get even.

The astrologer was in his finest attire on the wedding day, and called the family together. He looked at his star charts very seriously and said that the stars were too close to the horizon, and that planet was in the middle of an unlucky constellation, and the moon was in a very dangerous phase for having a wedding. In other words, he said they had picked the worst day without consulting him.

The frightened family forgot all about the wonderful qualities of the intended bride and remained home in Benares.

Meanwhile, the bride’s family had arranged everything for the village wedding ceremony. They kept on waiting for the future husband and his family. They took this as an insult: ‘those city people picked the date and time, and now they didn’t show up. Why should we wait any longer? Let our daughter marry an honourable and hardworking village man.’ So they quickly arranged a new marriage and celebrated the wedding.

The next day, the astrological priest suddenly said that the planets and moon were in perfect positions for a wedding! So the Benares family went to the village. But the village people said, ‘You picked the date and time. Then you disgraced us by not showing up!’

The city people brought up what their astrologer advised. The village family said, ‘You have no honour. You have chosen the day more important than the choice of the bride. It’s too late now. Our daughter has married another.’ Then onwards the two families were on the warpath.

A wise man happened to come along and attempted to settle them. The city people again brought up what their astrologer said. The wise man said, ‘The good fortune was in the bride, not in the stars. You fools have followed the stars and lost the bride. Without your foolishness, those far-off stars can do nothing!’”

This story does not seem to have gone out of fashion. You cannot just count the times this story has unfolded in the so-called modern Buddhist family scene.

Sinhala Hindu New year is initiated as a result of the solar movement. If you can have a poya every day based on lunar movement, what is wrong with New Year decided on solar movement?

The difference is that every full moon day is made poya for convenience, but the Buddhist does not worship the moon. When the New Year comes in, the Buddhist has to undergo all sorts of God-worshipping activities, including oiling the head and so on.

Buddhists should respect other religious rituals and should not look down on them. Nevertheless, this attitude is not a visa to allow other rituals into Buddhism. The New Year has a period called nonagathaya before the auspicious time. You should refrain from all kinds of activities such as taking meals.

Senasinghe brings up a funny experience. Once the neketh was set after midday, hence all activities had to be given up by early morning. A monk should have his meal before midday, and for that matter, many Buddhists had given either money or dry items the day before.

This is the perfect way of studying how Buddhist alms can be ill-mannered. Hilariously or sadly they had given prominence to a Hindu ritual over the requirements of Buddhist priests.

Senasinghe has an interesting attempt to provide historical evidence for the significance of Vesak as a New Year Festival.

Many kings, including Dutugemunu, had celebrated Vesak with such glamour. With this Senasinghe raises the apparent question: why can’t we have Vesak as our Sinhala New Year?

Vesak bears the highest spiritual emblem in Buddhist history, out of the question. However, Poson played a vital role in the establishment of Buddhism in Sri Lanka.

No country in the world practises charity the way Buddhists do. They have dansela or alms halls to celebrate on both Vesak, Poson, and sometimes Esala. Although we have our arguments about the way the danselas are being held, still the concept beckons other nations to a fresh spiritual path.

However glamorous people may celebrate these poyas, Vesak and Poson do not inspire the use of liquor and animal flesh as in the New Year Festival.

More importantly, Poson signifies a period when we had fresh and rich diplomatic relations with our immediate neighbour. Buddhism was not instilled in Sri Lanka by force. It is, in fact, a result of friendly negotiations between two noble politicians.

Shouldn’t this itself be a fact that should make Poson our New Year Festival?

25 06 2021 - Daily News

23 ~ End of Aloka Journal Page 24 ~ 25

Bhikkhus, all is burning. And what is the all that is burning? The eye is burning, visible forms are burning, eye-consciousness is burning, eye-contact is burning; also whatever is felt as pleasant or painful or neither-painful-nor-pleasant that arises with eye-contact as its condition, that too is burning. Burning with what? Burning with the fire of greed, with the fire of hate, with the fire of delusion, with birth, aging, and death, with sorrow, with lamentation, with pain, grief, and despair it is burning. Buddha

Mail To Aloka

JOURNAL

NEWS

LETTERS

BOOKS

PERSONS

HISTORY

SLIDES