Cakyarwalar Buddhist Academy

If - if - if - if - if - if - if - if - if - if - if

2010-02-27T12:11:00.000-08:00

If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you;

If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too;

If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or, being lied about, don't deal in lies,
Or, being hated, don't give way to hating,
And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise;

If you can dream - and not make dreams your master;

If you can think - and not make thoughts your aim;

If you can meet with triumph and disaster
And treat those two imposters just the same;

If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to broken,
And stoop and build 'em up with wornout tools;

If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breath a word about your loss;

If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: "Hold on";

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with kings - nor lose the common touch;

If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you;

If all men count with you, but none too much;

If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds' worth of distance run -
Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,
And - which is more - you'll be a Man my friend!

Anatta or soul-lessness!!!

2010-02-18T21:11:00.000-08:00

This Buddhist doctrine of rebirth should be distinguished from the theory of reincarnation which implies the transmigration of a soul and its invariable material rebirth. Buddhism denies the existence of an unchanging or eternal soul created by a God or emanating from a Divine Essence (Paramatma).

If the immortal soul, which is supposed to be the essence of man, is eternal, there cannot be either a rise or a fall. Besides one cannot understand why "different souls are so variously constituted at the outset."

To prove the existence of endless felicity in an eternal heaven and unending torments in an eternal hell, an immortal soul is absolutely necessary. Otherwise, what is it that is punished in hell or rewarded in heaven?

"It should be said," writes Bertrand Russell, "that the old distinction between soul and body has evaporated quite as much because 'matter' has lost its solidity as mind has lost its spirituality. Psychology is just beginning to be scientific. In the present state of psychology belief in immortality can at any rate claim no support from science."

Buddhists do agree with Russell when he says "there is obviously some reason in which I am the same person as I was yesterday, and, to take an even more obvious example if I simultaneously see a man and hear him speaking, there is some sense in which the 'I' that sees is the same as the 'I' that hears."

Till recently scientists believed in an indivisible and indestructible atom. "For sufficient reasons physicists have reduced this atom to a series of events. For equally good reasons psychologists find that mind has not the identity of a single continuing thing but is a series of occurrences bound together by certain intimate relations. The question of immortality, therefore, has become the question whether these intimate relations exist between occurrences connected with a living body and other occurrence which take place after that body is dead."

As C.E.M. Joad says in "The Meaning of Life," matter has since disintegrated under our very eyes. It is no longer solid; it is no longer enduring; it is no longer determined by compulsive causal laws; and more important than all, it is no longer known.

The so-called atoms, it seems, are both "divisible and destructible." The electrons and protons that compose atoms "can meet and annihilate one another while their persistence, such as it is, is rather that of a wave lacking fixed boundaries, and in process of continual change both as regards shape and position than that of a thing."[11]

Bishop Berkeley who showed that this so-called atom is a metaphysical fiction held that there exists a spiritual substance called the soul.

Hume, for instance, looked into consciousness and perceived that there was nothing except fleeting mental states and concluded that the supposed "permanent ego" is non-existent.

"There are some philosophers," he says, "who imagine we are every moment conscious of what we call 'ourself,' that we feel its existence and its continuance in existence and so we are certain, both of its perfect identity and simplicity. For my part, when I enter most intimately into what I call 'myself' I always stumble on some particular perception or other -- of heat or cold, light or shade, love or hatred, pain or pleasure. I never catch myself... and never can observe anything but the perception... nor do I conceive what is further requisite to make me a perfect non-entity."

Bergson says, "All consciousness is time existence; and a conscious state is not a state that endures without changing. It is a change without ceasing, when change ceases it ceases; it is itself nothing but change."

Dealing with this question of soul Prof. James says -- "The soul-theory is a complete superfluity, so far as accounting for the actually verified facts of conscious experience goes. So far no one can be compelled to subscribe to it for definite scientific reasons." In concluding his interesting chapter on the soul he says: "And in this book the provisional solution which we have reached must be the final word: the thoughts themselves are the thinkers."

Watson, a distinguished psychologist, states: "No one has ever touched a soul or has seen one in a test tube or has in any way come into relationship with it as he has with the other objects of his daily experience. Nevertheless to doubt its existence is to become a heretic and once might possibly even had led to the loss of one's head. Even today a man holding a public position dare not question it."

The Buddha anticipated these facts some 2500 years ago.

According to Buddhism mind is nothing but a complex compound of fleeting mental states. One unit of consciousness consists of three phases -- arising or genesis (uppada) static or development (thiti), and cessation or dissolution (bhanga). Immediately after the cessation stage of a thought moment there occurs the genesis stage of the subsequent thought-moment.
Each momentary consciousness of this ever-changing life-process, on passing away, transmits its whole energy, all the indelibly recorded impressions to its successor. Every fresh consciousness consists of the potentialities of its predecessors together with something more. There is therefore, a continuous flow of consciousness like a stream without any interruption. The subsequent thought moment is neither absolutely the same as its predecessor -- since that which goes to make it up is not identical -- nor entirely another -- being the same continuity of kamma energy. Here there is no identical being but there is an identity in process.

Every moment there is birth, every moment there is death. The arising of one thought-moment means the passing away of another thought-moment and vice versa. In the course of one life-time there is momentary rebirth without a soul.

It must not be understood that a consciousness is chopped up in bits and joined together like a train or a chain. But, on the contrary, "it persistently flows on like a river receiving from the tributary streams of sense constant accretions to its flood, and ever dispensing to the world without the thought-stuff it has gathered by the way."[12] It has birth for its source and death for its mouth. The rapidity of the flow is such that hardly is there any standard whereby it can be measured even approximately. However, it pleases the commentators to say that the time duration of one thought-moment is even less than one-billionth part of the time occupied by a flash of lightning.
Here we find a juxtaposition of such fleeting mental states of consciousness opposed to a superposition of such states as some appear to believe. No state once gone ever recurs nor is identical with what goes before. But we worldlings, veiled by the web of illusion, mistake this apparent continuity to be something eternal and go to the extent of introducing an unchanging soul, an atta, the supposed doer and receptacle of all actions to this ever-changing consciousness.

"The so-called being is like a flash of lightning that is resolved into a succession of sparks that follow upon one another with such rapidity that the human retina cannot perceive them separately, nor can the uninstructed conceive of such succession of separate sparks."[13] As the wheel of a cart rests on the ground at one point, so does the being live only for one thought-moment. It is always in the present, and is ever slipping into the irrevocable past. What we shall become is determined by this present thought-moment.

If there is no soul, what is it that is reborn, one might ask.
Well, there is nothing to be reborn.

When life ceases the kammic energy re-materializes itself in another form. As Bhikkhu Silacara says: "Unseen it passes whithersoever the conditions appropriate to its visible manifestation are present. Here showing itself as a tiny gnat or worm, there making its presence known in the dazzling magnificence of a Deva or an Archangel's existence. When one mode of its manifestation ceases it merely passes on, and where suitable circumstances offer, reveals itself afresh in another name or form."

Birth is the arising of the psycho-physical phenomena. Death is merely the temporary end of a temporary phenomenon.

Just as the arising of a physical state is conditioned by a preceding state as its cause, so the appearance of psycho-physical phenomena is conditioned by cause anterior to its birth. As the process of one life-span is possible without a permanent entity passing from one thought-moment to another, so a series of life-processes is possible without an immortal soul to transmigrate from one existence to another.

Buddhism does not totally deny the existence of a personality in an empirical sense. It only attempts to show that it does not exist in an ultimate sense. The Buddhist philosophical term for an individual is santana, i.e., a flux or a continuity. It includes the mental and physical elements as well. The kammic force of each individual binds the elements together. This uninterrupted flux or continuity of psycho-physical phenomenon, which is conditioned by kamma, and not limited only to the present life, but having its source in the beginningless past and its continuation in the future — is the Buddhist substitute for the permanent ego or the immortal soul of other religions.

The Buddhist Concept of Heaven and Hell

2010-02-15T21:19:00.000-08:00

The wise man makes his own heaven while the foolish man creates his own hell here and hereafter.

The Buddhist concept of heaven and hell is entirely different from that in other religions. Buddhists do not accept that these places are eternal. It is unreasonable to condemn a man to eternal hell for his human weakness but quite reasonable to give him every chance to develop himself. From the Buddhist point of view, those who go to hell can work themselves upward by making use of the merit that they had acquired previously. There are no locks on the gates of hell. Hell is a temporary place and there is no reason for those beings to suffer there forever.

The Buddha's Teaching shows us that there are heavens and hells not only beyond this world, but in this very world itself. Thus the Buddhist conception of heaven and hell is very reasonable. For instance, the Buddha once said, 'When the average ignorant person makes an assertion to the effect that there is a Hell (patala) under the ocean he is making a statement which is false and without basis. The word 'Hell' is a term for painful sensations. 'The idea of one particular ready-made place or a place created by god as heaven and hell is not acceptable to the Buddhist concept.

The fire of hell in this world is hotter than that of the hell in the world-beyond. There is no fire equal to anger, lust or greed and ignorance. According to the Buddha, we are burning from eleven kinds of physical pain and mental agony: lust, hatred, illusion sickness, decay, death, worry, lamentation, pain(physical and mental), melancholy and grief. People can burn the entire world with some of these fires of mental discord. From a Buddhist point of view, the easiest way to define hell and heaven is that where ever there is more suffering, either in this world or any other plane, that place is a hell to those who suffer.

And where there is more pleasure or happiness, either in this world or any other worldly existence, that place is a heaven to those who enjoy their worldly life in that particular place. However, as the human realm is a mixture of both pain and happiness, human beings experience both pain and happiness and will be able to realize the real nature of life. But in many other planes of existence inhabitants have less chance for this realization. In certain places there is more suffering than pleasure while in some other places there is more pleasure than suffering.

Buddhists believe that after death rebirth can take place in any one of a number of possible existences. This future existence is conditioned by the last thought-moment a person experiences at the point of death. This last thought which determines the next existence results from the past actions of a man either in this life or before that. Hence, if the predominant thought reflects meritorious action, then he will find his future existence in a happy state. But that state is temporary and when it is exhausted a new life must begin all over again, determined by another dominating 'kammic' energy. This repetitious process goes on endlessly unless one arrives at 'Right View' and makes a firm resolve to follow the Noble Path which produces the ultimate happiness of Nibbana.

Heaven is a temporary place where those who have done good deeds experience more sensual pleasures for a longer period. Hell is another temporary place where those evil doers experience more physical and mental suffering. It is not justifiable to believe that such places are permanent. There is no god behind the scene of heaven and hell. Each and every person experiences according to his good and bad kamma. Buddhist never try to introduce Buddhism by frightening people through hell-fire or enticing people by pointing to paradise. Their main idea is character building and mental training. Buddhists can practise their religion without aiming at heaven or without developing fear of hell.

The meaning of Dana (Giving) in Buddhism and why we need that?

2010-02-14T06:57:00.000-08:00

One of the key actions of Buddhism is dana. This is related to our word, "donation", but also includes sharing, even selfless giving without worrying about getting something in return.

We witness this when we see films about the monks in Asia begging for their one meal a day. The lay folk place food in the bowl. It is a selfless gift received selflessly.

This is an important event because in this moment representatives of a higher ideal have met someone caught up in the mundane world. The selfless exchange has brought about the meeting of the mundane and supramundane.

We see this action of selfless giving in many forms throughout a Buddhist community. For example, this happens when temple members give money to the temple. Yes, I did use the word ‘money’ and no, religion is not just about money. But money is not evil in Buddhism.

It represents opportunity to use something wisely. Everything we have in the temple is the result of laypeople sharing some of their income with the rest of us. That is why we have heating in the temple. Someone gave so we could pay the heating bill. The same is for the water and the lights. Even the minister’s salary is the result of laypeople practicing dana. Every single thing, even the tacks in the bulletin board, is there because of dana. Upon reflection, this could all be the cause of a great deal of humility and gratitude.

But dana does not just mean money. It can also be the donation of time. Just being there in otera is a donation of body and time, as is quietly listening.

There is sweat dana, the donation of work in projects to keep our temple going. During our preparations for our 100th Anniversary celebrations a few years ago, one member showed up for the third time to paint the basement. This member works weekends and out of town, but when the basement needs painting, he shows up. He has been a member for over 30 years. He pays his membership in sweat dana. Not all of us can give large sums of money, but we all have bodily action to donate.

Then there is the dana of devotion. That means attending otera when you can and trying to live what you learn there. We have reached the place in the history of Buddhism in Winnipeg where many people feel that the presence of a Buddhist temple in the city is good for the folk who live there. Right now Buddhism has a very good reputation worldwide, including our own city. We should at all costs avoid the dangers of reversing this good reputation we finally enjoy!! This dana of devotion should be continued, just as we have admirably done in the past.

Finally, the teachings of Shinran ask us to make the final ultimate dana. That is the giving up of self-powered religion and relying on the Other Power of the Bodhisattva Vow. This is the no-self power of Amida’s compassion and wisdom pouring into the world of suffering humanity. Experiencing this in a deeply personal way that strangely moves the heart is called shinjin. Here we see again the meeting of the sacred and the profane, the mundane and the supramundane. It is a moment of selfless exchange, the moment of true dana from which all other dana flows. It gives rise to gratitude, the recitation of the nembutsu and the arising of a future worth having. This is the future of awakening and Buddhahood. This is why dana is often called “grateful self unloading.”

Buddhist Concept of Friendship!!!

2010-02-13T07:10:00.000-08:00

Some critics have a tendency to label Buddhism as a religion with supra-mundane goals, devoid of the concept of love and friendship for living in this world. But the Tripitaka furnishes us with ample evidence to prove that the Buddha considered living in harmony and friendship without disputes (Samagga Sammodamana avivadamana) an important human relationship based on love.

Metta or Loving Kindness envelopes much more than mere love. Etymologically the word Metta means the nature of a friend - (mittassa sabhavo). In other words, a friendly spirit which is edified, not only on love, but on loving kindness. In modern parlance, the word "love" has rather a cheap connotation, but Metta when taken in its real perspective encapsulates all the noble human feelings a person could shower on another." Metta (loving kindness), Karuna (compassion), Muditha (altruistic joy) and Upeksha (equanimity), which are known as Satara Brahma Vihara or the Four Noble patterns of behaviour form the very sheet anchor of Buddhist friendly, ethical conduct. The spirit of love and friendship promulgated by these, cover a much wider spectrum than mere love, which is supposed to be lacking in Buddhism.

It is mentioned in Samyutta Nikaya that once Ven. Ananda approached the Buddha and remarked that "half of the dispensation is based on friendship, companionship and association with the good." to which the Buddha replied " Ven. Ananda, do not say so. Not half, but man's entire life is established on friendship, companionship and association with the good."

          The friendly disposition among the Bhikkus towards each other was so admirable and imitable that King Ajatasattu who was not so well disposed towards Buddhism had remarked according to Samananaphala Sutta of the Digha Nikaya that "the monks lived in unity talking to each other with mutual friendliness ..... mixing with each other like milk and water and seeing each other with pleasing eyes." (Nirodha Ki Dhuta annamannam Piya Cakkhuhi Sampassamana) and had even gone further and said, "How nice it would be if my son Udayabhadda too could possess these friendly qualities."

         Again, it occurs in Majjhima Nikaya that once the Buddha questioned Ven. Anuruddha how the Bhikkhus were getting along with each other, and the Venerable replied thus, "Lord, we have diverse bodies but assuredly only one mind." (Na na hi kho pan a bhante kayam ekam ca kho manne cittam).

Two types of friends
            As far as the laity is concerned, the Tipitaka abounds with examples to show that the guidance of good friends is very essential for life here and hereafter. The Buddha has described two types of friends, Kalyana Mitta (the good friend) and Papa Mitta (the evil friend). A famous stanza in the Dhammapada says, "Do not keep company with evil friends or those who are mean. Associate with the good and bold friends." (Na bhaje papake mitte-na bhaje purisadhame, bhajetha mitta kalyane-bhajetha purisuttame). All parents should instil into the minds of their children the noble advice conveyed by this stanza. The Buddha has advised us to lead a lonely life in case we cannot find a decent friend. But never keep the company of a fool. (eka cariyam dalham kariya-natthi balo sahayaka). Mahamangala Sutra which enumerates 38 blessings to guide one in life's journey starts with avoiding the company of fools as the first blessing.

          Friendship is a force that has no parallel; there is no other single power that can generate good qualities in a person as friendship with the good because, after a certain age children stop emulating their parents and start imitating their friends.

          The Buddha's advice regarding friends could be well comprehended by absorbing the contents of the Sigalovada Sutra. Sigala, who had very devout Buddhist parents was indifferent to religion. The Buddha explained inter alia who an evil friend and a good friend are:- A foe in the guise of a friend or a Papa Mitta will appropriate a friend's possessions, render mere lip service, flatter, will give little with the idea of taking much, will associate for his own advantage, tries to gain favor by empty words and when the opportunity arises for action, he will give an excuse and express his inability to render any service. An evil friend also praises and approves his friends bad deeds whlle the good deeds go unnoticed and upraised. He praises the friend in his presence and rebukes him in his absence.

             The Buddha has explained further how a foe in the guise of a friend (mitta patirupaka) brings about the ruin of a person in four ways. He is a companion in indulging in intoxicants which gives rise to infatuation and heedlessness. He is a ready companion to frequent the streets at ungodly hours. He is a companion to attend theatrical shows and he is a companion in gambling which causes one's downfall.

             Next, the Buddha tells Sigala the four types of friends who could be reckoned as warmhearted and dear. He who is a helpmate, does not change in happiness or sorrow, gives good counsel and sympathizes. Upakaro ca ya mitto-yo ca mitto sukhe dukkhe dtthakkhayi ca yo mitto-ya ca-mittanukampike." A wise person having understood these four kinds of friends, should cherish them and associate with them as a mother tends her only son. (etepi mitte cattaro-Iti vinnaya pandita, sakkaccani payiru paseyya Mata puttamva orasam).

           According to Nettippakarana there are seven qualities by which you can judge a friend. He should be pleasant and loveable, respectful, worthy of emulation, willing to engage in useful conversation, willing to tolerate words, engages in profound talk and never exhorts groundlessly. Today, the younger generation have a tendency to shun good advice and show resentment when their faults are pointed out by even parents. A stanza in the Dhammapada spells out a bit of excellent advice. "Someone who points out your mistakes, declare them as weaknesses and condemns them, think of such a person as one showing you a treasure. Associate with wise people of that nature. (midhinam va pavattaram-yam passe vajja dassinam; niggayhavadim medhavi tadisam pabditam bhaje). This shows that a friend need not be always sweet and soft spoken, but could resort to constructive criticism.

How to win Friendship
        The Buddha has explained how to win and keep friends. By being generous one can surely win friends (dadam mittani ganthati) and also by being courteous and benevolent. Rajoice in your friend's achievements, praise any commendable acts and strong points. But the Buddha says that if you always keep on talking of your friend's goodness, kindness, greatness and so on, then you are trying to deceive him. In dealing with friends, one's word should be as clean as the actions.

          According to the Jataka Pali, striking a friendship is one, maintaining it is another. Buddha has given invaluable advice not only to keep the friendship but also to make the bonds stronger. One should not visit the friends too often or overstay the welcome.
This changes the friend to a foe. If your friend loses something, then you may be under a cloud. Visiting a friend too often invariably leads to gossip, which will involve you in a vortex of trouble. Buddha says that, it is equally bad not to visit your friends at all. You should judge for yourself how often you should visit your friend, how long you should stay and so on. Buddha has pointed out that a friendship deteriorates by asking favours, especially at wrong times. If at all you ask a favour, it should not be unreasonable or of a demanding nature. Asking favours far too often makes you a pest more than a friend.

          Buddha has explained that if someone wants to bring about his own ruin or downfall, he could associate with Papa mitta or evil friends who are gamblers, libertines, tripplers, cheats, swindlers or violent thugs. Buddhist Commentarial Tradition defines a friend thus: - "A friend is one whose association leads to spiritual profitability, protects you from evil that may befall you and is inclined towards your welfare."

            In this manner, Buddhism points out the basic ingredients to foster a healthy friendship, minimize friction and displeasure, promote good will, and companionship and ultimately bring about one's welfare here, and spiritual progress leading to the realization of the Supreme Bliss of Nirvana.

   The foregoing facts show that Buddha's admonition regarding how to chose friends, win them and keep them expounded in the 6th Century before the common era surpasses all books of the twentieth century on this subject and the Buddhist Concept of Friendship remains a vibrant force forever.

Practicing Buddhism in Daily Life

2010-02-12T05:28:00.000-08:00

Spiritual Life and Daily Life

Many people have the misconception that spiritual life or religious life is somewhere up there in the sky -- an ethereal or mystical reality -- and that our everyday life is too mundane and not so nice. Often people think that to be a spiritual person, we must ignore or neglect our everyday life, and go into another, special realm.

       Actually, I think being a spiritual person means becoming a real human being. Thich Nhat Hanh, a well-known Vietnamese monk, said, "It is not so important whether you walk on water or walk in space. The true miracle is to walk on earth." It's true. In other words, becoming a kind human being is probably the greatest miracle we can perform.

         One time I gave a talk in a Hong Kong school to a group of children. One child asked, "Can you bend spoons with your mind?" Another asked, "Has God ever talked to you?" They were very disappointed when I said, "No." I went on to explain that for me a real true miracle is becoming a kind human being. If you have psychic powers but lack a kind heart, the powers are of no use. In fact, they could even be disadvantageous: people may get very upset if they find all their spoons have been bent!

Upon Waking Up

           How do we cultivate a kind heart? It is not enough to tell ourselves that we should be nice, because telling ourselves what we should or should not be, feel, or do doesn't make us become that way. Filling ourselves with "shoulds" often just makes us feel guilty because we never are what we think we should be. We need to know how to actually transform our mind.

           In other words, we must realize the disadvantages of being self-centered. We must truly want to develop a kind heart, not just keep thinking that we should develop a kind heart. In the morning, when we first wake up, before getting out of bed, before thinking about what we will eat for breakfast or which obnoxious jerk we will see at the office, we can start the day by thinking, "Today as much as possible, I won't harm anybody. Today as much as possible I am going to try be of service and benefit to others. Today I want to do all actions so that all living beings can attain the long-term happiness of enlightenment."

          Setting a positive motivation the first thing in the morning is very beneficial. When we first wake up, our mind is very subtle and delicate. If we set a strong positive motivation at this time, there is a greater chance of it staying with us and influencing us throughout the day. After generating our positive motivation, we get out of bed, wash, maybe have a cup of tea, and then meditate or recite prayers. By starting the day in this way, we get in touch with ourselves and become our own friend by treasuring and re-enforcing our good qualities.

Finding Time to Meditate Each Day

           Sometimes it is difficult to find time to meditate each day. But we always have time to watch TV. We always have time to go shopping. We always have time to get a snack from the refrigerator. Why is it that the 24 hours run out when it is time to meditate? When we understand the value and effect of spiritual practice, then it will become a high priority in our life, and when something is very important, we find time for it. In this way, try to set up a daily meditation practice of maybe 15 or 30 minutes in the morning. To do that, we might have to experience the "incredible sacrifice" of giving up 15 or 30 minutes of television the previous evening so we can go to bed a little earlier. In the same way that we always find time to eat because food nourishes our body, we will find time to meditate and recite some prayers because it nourishes us spiritually. When we respect ourselves spiritually, we respect ourselves as human beings. Nourishing ourselves in that way then becomes a very important priority.

Morning Meditation

           In the morning, it is good to begin your meditation session with a few prayers and cultivate the altruistic intention to benefit others by doing the meditation. Then do the breathing meditation for a while. Sit calmly, experience your breath going in and out, and be aware of the breath nourishing you. Just be in the present moment with the breath, and let all the discursive thoughts and worries subside. You may want to chant Kuan Yin's (Avalokiteshvara's) mantra or that of the Buddha. It is helpful to remember the Buddha's qualities at this time for it inspires us to emulate the Buddha's kindness, wisdom and skill in our daily activities. Or you may do an analytic meditation, thinking about the meaning of a particular teaching the Buddha gave and applying it to your own life. This also steers your energy in a very positive direction first thing in the morning.

         Some people say, "I have children. How can I meditate or say prayers in the morning when they need my attention?" One way is to get up earlier than your children. Another idea is to invite your children to meditate or chant with you. One time I was staying with my brother's family. My niece, who was about six or seven at that time, used to come into my room because we were the first two to wake up in the morning. As I was reciting prayers or meditating, I explained to her that this is a time when I am quiet and do not want to be disturbed. She would come in and sometimes she would draw. Other times, she would sit in my lap. Several times she asked me to sing to her, and I would chant prayers and mantras out loud. She really liked this and did not disturb me at all.

          It is very good for children to see their parents sit still and be calm. That gives them the idea that maybe they too can do the same. If Mom and Dad are always busy, running around, talking on the phone, stressed out, or collapsed in front of the TV, the kids will also be like this. Is this what you want for your children? If you want your children to learn certain attitudes or behaviors, you have to cultivate them yourselves. Otherwise, how will your children learn? If you care about your children, you have to care about yourselves as well and be mindful of living a healthy and balanced life for their benefit as well as for your own.

         You can also teach your children how to make offerings to the Buddha and how to recite simple prayers and mantras. Once, I stayed with a friend and her three-year-old daughter. Every morning when we got up, we would all bow three times to the Buddha. Then, the little girl would give the Buddha a present -- a cookie or some fruit -- and the Buddha would give her a present also, a sweet or a cracker. It was very nice for the child, because at age three she was establishing a good relationship with the Buddha and at the same time was learning to be generous and share things. When my friend cleaned the house, did chores or went places with her daughter, they would chant mantras together. The little girl loved the melodies of the mantras. This helped her because whenever she got upset or frightened, she knew she could chant mantras to calm herself down.

Practicing Dharma at the Workplace
         Let's return to your daily practice. After your morning meditation, have breakfast and set off for work. How are you going to practice Dharma at work? First, try to remember the kind heart and the motivation you cultivated in the morning. Throughout the day, continually remind yourself that you don't want to harm anybody, that you want to be of service to them, and that you seek to do all actions for the ultimate enlightenment of yourself and others. To remind yourself of this, you can use a frequent event as a trigger to call you back to your motivation. For example, every time you stop at a red light, instead of being irritated and thinking, "Why is this red light so long? I'm late for work!" think, "Today, I want to have a kind heart towards others." Thus the red light becomes an opportunity to remember the kind heart. When the telephone rings, instead of rushing to pick it up, first think, "May I be of service to whomever is on the line." Then answer the phone. Every time your pager goes off, calmly come back to the kind heart, then respond to the call. A friend told me that her trigger to come back to the kind heart was her children calling, "Mommy! Mommy!" Since this happened frequently throughout the day, she became familiar with the kind heart and also was much more patient with her children.

        Throughout the day, try to be aware of what you are thinking, feeling, saying, and doing, instead of living on "automatic." When we live on automatic, we go through life reacting to things but never really experiencing what life is about. This is why we feel out of touch with ourselves, like strangers to ourselves. For example, you get in the car and drive to work. When you got to work, if somebody asked you, "What did you think about during the half hour you were driving?" you probably wouldn't know. We are unaware of what is going on inside us. Yet a lot is going on and this influences how we feel about ourselves and how we relate to other people.

Cultivating Mindfulness

          The antidote to living on automatic is to cultivate mindfulness. Mindfulness means being aware of what we are thinking, feeling, saying, and doing each moment. It also means being mindful of our ethical values and of the kind heart, so that we can live according to them in our daily lives. By cultivating this awareness, we will no longer be spaced out, just reacting to things, and then wondering why we are so confused and exhausted at the end of the day. If we are mindful, we will notice that we have a kind heart and will enrich it and let our actions flow from it. Or, we might become aware that we are upset, irritated, angry, or are on the verge of scolding somebody. If we realize that, we can come back to our breath, come back to our kind heart, instead of throwing our negative energy out in the world.

Being Mindful of Living in an Interdependent World

        We also become more mindful of how we interact with our environment. We realize that we live in an interdependent world, and if we pollute our environment, we are affecting ourselves, our children, and other living beings. Because we are mindful of being kind, we will curtail the ways in which we pollute the environment. We will carpool when going to work or school, instead of using up gasoline in a car by ourselves. We will recycle the things we use: paper, cans, plastic containers, bottles, glass jars, and newspapers. We know that if we throw these away in the garbage, we are destroying our planet and are affecting other beings in a negative way. Thus, we will re-use our plastic bags and paper bags when we go to the supermarket. In addition, we will not leave our air-conditioners or heaters on when we are not home, and will not use products, such as styrofoam whose production releases many pollutants into the air.

I think that if the Buddha were alive today, he would establish vows that said we have to recycle and stop wasting resources. Many of our monastic vows arose because lay people complained to the Buddha about what monks or nuns did. Each time this happened, the Buddha would establish a precept in order to curb the detrimental behavior. If the Buddha were alive today, people would complain to him, "So many Buddhists throw out their tin cans, glass jars, and newspaper! They use disposable cups, chopsticks and plates, which not only make more garbage but also cause the destruction of many trees. They do not seem to care about the environment and the living beings in it!" I would feel pretty embarrassed if I was doing that and someone complained to the Buddha about my behavior, wouldn't you? That's why I think the Buddha would definitely set down vows saying that we have to recycle and to curtail consumption.

Being Mindful of Our Actions

          Mindfulness also enables us to be aware if we are about to act destructively as we go through the day. Mindfulness says, "Uh oh! I'm getting angry," or "I'm being greedy," or "I'm feeling jealous." Then we can apply the various antidotes the Buddha taught to help us calm our minds. For example, if we discover we are annoyed and anger is arising, we can stop and look at the situation from the other person's point of view. When we do this, we recognize they want to be happy, and because they aren't happy, they are doing that action we find objectionable. Then instead of harming them out of anger, we will be more compassionate and understanding, and will work with them to negotiate an agreement.

         But how do we do this when a quarrel is just about to start or we're already in the middle of one? We have to practice beforehand, in our meditation practice. In the heat of the situation, it is difficult to remember what the Buddha taught if we haven't practiced it already when we were calm and peaceful. In the same way that a football team practices on a regular basis, we need to meditate on patience and to recite prayers daily to get well-trained. Then when we encounter a situation in daily life, we will be able to use the teachings.

Offering Our Food

         Another practice to increase our mindfulness and help us remember our motivation is offering our food before we eat. We imagine the food to be blissful wisdom nectar -- something very delicious that increases our bliss and wisdom, not our attachment, when we eat. Then we imagine a small Buddha made of light at our heart. When we eat, we offer this nectar to the Buddha at our heart. The Buddha radiates light that fills us up. To do this, you don't need to sit in perfect meditation position in the middle of a restaurant! You can visualize and contemplate in this way while waiting for the food. While your companions or business associates continue to chat, you can do this visualization and offer your food to the Buddha without anyone knowing. Sometimes, for example, when you're at home with your family, you can pause and focus on offering your food. It's very nice for a family to recite together a prayer offering their food. I stayed with one family and their six-year-old son led us in reciting the prayer. It was very touching.

         When you eat, eat mindfully. Be aware of the effort other people put into growing, transporting, and preparing the food. Realize your interdependence with other living beings and how much benefit you have received from them, such as the food we eat. If we reflect in this way before we eat, we will feel very happy and grateful when we eat, and we will eat more mindfully too. And if we eat mindfully, we won't overeat, and then we won't have to spend so much money on special diets to lose weight!

        It is important to eat in a dignified manner. Sometimes we see people in a cafeteria line who haven't even paid for the food yet and are already shoveling it in. This is eating on automatic. It resembles a dog who runs to the bowl and slurps up the food. When we do this reflection and offer our food to the Buddha at our heart, we eat slower and are more relaxed. This is how human beings eat.

Reviewing the Day

        In this way, we maintain mindfulness and enrich our kind heart as we go through the day. When we come home in the evening, instead of collapsing in front of the TV or dropping on the bed and falling asleep, we can take a few minutes to sit quietly by ourselves. We reflect about and come to terms with what happened during the day. We look back over our day and think, "What went well today? Did I act with a kind heart?" We notice the instances when we acted kindly and rejoice. We dedicate that merit, that positive potential, for the enlightenment of ourselves and others.

          In reviewing the day, we may discover that we were angry, jealous, or greedy. We didn't realize it at the time when it was happening. But looking back over the day, we don't feel so good about what happened. It may have been our attitude, or what we said to somebody, or how we acted. To remedy this, we develop regret and do some purification practice so we can forgive ourselves and let that negative energy go. In this way, we "clean up" emotionally and resolve any uncomfortable feelings or misdirected actions that may have arisen during the day. Having done this, our sleep will be peaceful. When you lie down, imagine the Buddha sitting on your pillow and put your head in the Buddha's lap when you go to sleep. This is very comforting and helps you to remember the Buddha's good qualities and to have better dreams.

Our Life Becomes Meaningful

Practicing Dharma is not difficult or time consuming. We always have time; there are always 24 hours in a day. If we direct our mind in a positive direction, we can transform whatever action we do into the path to enlightenment. In this way, the Dharma becomes part of our life in an organic way. Getting up in the morning is Dharma, eating and going to work is Dharma, sleeping is Dharma. By transforming our attitude in the midst of daily activities, our life becomes very meaningful.

Why we need to idealize ethics?

2010-02-10T20:59:00.000-08:00

Naive moral relativism is the view that 'X is wrong' is true for you iff you disapprove of X (or something along those lines). I don't think very highly of this view, largely because it entails infallibilism: the mere fact of your holding any (arbitrary) moral attitude suffices to make it "right for you". This makes moral progress impossible, and hence reflection superfluous. I find that repugnant. It implies that I'm already as morally discerning as I can possibly be. (What a depressing thought! I could've sworn there's much more for me to learn yet.)

Naive relativists sometimes ask what objective moral facts are meant to do. Abstract objects can't prevent murders, for example. (Of course, being causally impotent, they can't do anything. That's our job.) But I've explained before that this misses the point. We need objective morality not to causally influence the world, but to provide an ideal standard to which we may aspire. (Much like historical truths provide an ideal for historians to pursue.) Moral objectivism offers us a goal, not the means to get there. Note also that the reason for

idealizing ethics is primarily to enable the (personal or collective) endeavour of rational self-improvement, not the political project of influencing others.
[Doctor Logic once objected: "The only basis you have for selecting an absolute morality is your subjective opinion." But, as my response explained, this is either trivial or false. It's trivial that our beliefs reflect what we ("subjectively") judge to be the case. But it's false -- or at least question-begging -- to claim that there are no reasons for concluding one thing rather than another. Morality is no different from any other form of inquiry in this respect. Unfortunately, the good Doctor continues to advance that argument, neglecting to note that he might just as well ask what historical truths are "really good for".]
Curiously, there is a more sophisticated form of moral relativism which can avoid these woes, as I learned from Andy Egan's pre-talk this afternoon. The key is to introduce idealization without removing the agent-relativity. The resulting view goes something like: 'X is wrong' is true for you iff your idealized self would disapprove of X. (The relevant idealization might concern what you would conclude under ideal rational reflection, if you had full factual knowledge and perfect reasoning skills, unlimited cognitive capabilities, etc.) It's similar to the kinds of constructivist non-cognitivism I favour, though Andy explicated it in a rather novel way:

Some (esp. indexical) statements are not about the world, but rather your location in it. By saying "I am in Canberra," you locate yourself as one of the in-Canberra people. The claim is not about which possible world is actual, but rather where (or who) you are within the actual world. Similarly, moral claims aspire to locate yourself according to attitudes that would be held under idealization. To say "Theft is wrong!" is to locate yourself as one of those people whose idealized selves would share that moral attitude.
The great advantage of this view (over naive relativism) is that it grants us moral fallibility. Being non-ideal ourselves, we might be mistaken about what conclusions our idealized selves would reach. (And surely we must, in theory, defer to their superior judgment? I'm puzzled by why anyone would hold naive relativism over this view.)
It also allows for genuine moral disagreement, on the assumption that the disputants' idealized judgments would converge. The question effectively becomes the shared one of what we (rather than just "I") would think under idealized conditions. Though on the contrary assumption, i.e. of idealized divergence, apparently conflicting claims could in fact be mutually compatible. (It might be that my idealized self would approve of theft but yours wouldn't. Then 'theft is wrong' would be true for you but not for me. You could affirm it while I deny it, and we could both be right.)

The base view seems pretty hard to deny, actually. After all, if we add the assumption that all rational agents would ultimately converge to the same moral attitudes, then we arrive at the sort of moral universalism Michael Smith advances, and to which I'm very sympathetic. Moreover, it seems right that universalism requires this convergence fact. If the convergence claim is false, and even fully informed and ideally rational agents could disagree morally, then there would seem to be no basis for universal moral truths. (The same plausibly holds for all a priori endeavours, e.g. metaphysics.) The most we could get, in cases of divergence, would be agent-relative truths. Is this better than no truth at all?

At least sophisticated relativism is still "objective" in the sense that it upholds the distinctions between belief and truth, appearance and reality, or -- most importantly -- between actual and ideal judgments. Recognizing the possibility of defects in our present perspective, idealized conceptions of ethics carve room in logical space for a sort of moral progress that is impossible under naive relativism or subjectivism.

And I think that's what is really important for a meta-ethics we can live with. The possibility that others might have different ideal ends seems rather less of a worry in comparison to the sort of nihilism which admits of no ideality whatsoever.

Anatta: what is anatta and how is it being in our daily life?

2010-02-09T07:22:00.000-08:00

One of the first stumbling blocks that Westerners often encounter when they learn about Buddhism is the teaching on Anatta, often translated as no-self. This teaching is a stumbling block for two reasons.

First, the idea of there being no self doesn't fit well with other Buddhist teachings, such as the doctrine of Karma and rebirth: If there's no self, what experiences the results of Karma and takes rebirth? Second, it doesn't fit well with the predominate Judeo-Christian background, which assumes the existence of an eternal soul or self as a basic presupposition: If there's no self, what's the purpose of a spiritual life? Many books try to answer these questions, but if you look at the Pali Canon -- the earliest extant record of the Buddha's teachings -- you won't find them addressed at all.

In fact, the one place where the Buddha was asked point-blank whether or not there was a self, he refused to answer. When later asked why, he said that to hold either that there is a self or that there is no self is to fall into extreme forms of wrong view that make the path of Buddhist practice impossible (Samyutta Nikaya XLIV.10). Thus the question should be put aside. To understand what his silence on this question says about the meaning of Anatta, we first have to look at his teachings on how questions should be asked and answered, and how to interpret his answers.

The Buddha divided all questions into four classes:

Those that deserve a categorical (straight yes or no) answer.
Those that deserve an analytical answer, defining and qualifying the terms of the question.
Those that deserve a counter-question, putting the ball back in the questioner's court.
Those that deserve to be put aside.

The last class of question consists of those that don't lead to the end of suffering and stress. The first duty of a teacher, when asked a question, is to figure out which class the question belongs to, and then to respond in the appropriate way. You don't, for example, say yes or no to a question that should be put aside. If you are the person asking the question and you get an answer, you should then determine how far the answer should be interpreted. The Buddha said that there are two types of people who misrepresent him:

Those who draw inferences from statements that shouldn't have inferences drawn from them.
Those who don't draw inferences from those that should.

These are the basic ground rules for interpreting the Buddha's teachings, but if we look at the way most writers treat the Anatta doctrine, we find these ground rules ignored. Some writers try to qualify the no-self interpretation by saying that the Buddha denied the existence of an eternal self or a separate self, but this is to give an analytical answer to a question that the Buddha showed should be put aside.

Others try to draw inferences from the few statements in the discourse that seem to imply that there is no self, but it seems safe to assume that if one forces those statements to give an answer to a question that should be put aside, one is drawing inferences where they shouldn't be drawn.

So, instead of answering "no" to the question of whether or not there is a self -- interconnected or separate, eternal or not -- the Buddha felt that the question was misguided to begin with. Why? No matter how you define the line between "self" and "other," the notion of self involves an element of self-identification and clinging, and thus suffering and stress.

This holds as much for an interconnected self, which recognizes no "other," as it does for a separate self. If one identifies with all of nature, one is pained by every felled tree. It also holds for an entirely "other" universe, in which the sense of alienation and futility would become so debilitating as to make the quest for happiness -- one's own or that of others -- impossible. For these reasons, the Buddha advised paying no attention to such questions as "Do I exist?" or "Don't I exist?" for however you answer them, they lead to suffering and stress.

To avoid the suffering implicit in questions of "self" and "other," he offered an alternative way of dividing up experience: the four Noble Truths of stress, its cause, its cessation, and the path to its cessation.

Rather than viewing these truths as pertaining to SELF or OTHER, he said, one should recognize them simply for what they are, in and of themselves, as they are directly experienced, and then perform the duty appropriate to each.

Stress should be comprehended, its cause abandoned, its cessation realized, and the path to its cessation developed. These duties form the context in which the Anatta doctrine is best understood. If you develop the path of virtue, concentration, and discernment to a state of calm well-being and use that calm state to look at experience in terms of the Noble Truths, the questions that occur to the mind are not "Is there a self? What is my self?" but rather "Am I suffering stress because I'm holding onto this particular phenomenon? Is it really me, myself, or mine? If it's stressful but not really me or mine, why hold on?"

These last questions merit straightforward answers, as they then help you to comprehend stress and to chip away at the attachment and clinging -- the residual sense of self-identification -- that cause it, until ultimately all traces of self-identification are gone and all that's left is limitless freedom.

In this sense, the Anatta teaching is not a doctrine of no-self, but a not-self strategy for shedding suffering by letting go of its cause, leading to the highest, undying happiness. At that point, questions of self, no-self, and not-self fall aside. Once there's the experience of such total freedom, where would there be any concern about what's experiencing it, or whether or not it's a self?

THE MEANING OF FEAR?

2010-02-07T08:01:00.000-08:00

Fear plays a very important part in our daily life, and in human society as a whole. Fear comes in many shapes and forms, but it could be described as: an unpleasant feeling of perceived risk or danger, real or not. It functions to make us alert and ready for action while expecting specific problems.

As is often said, fear lies at the basis of all religions. At the time humans were gatherers and hunters, little was understood of the world around them, so without understanding the causes for many everyday experiences there is logically existential fear. In search for understanding the world around them, shamans and mystics tried to explain the world with invisible and incomprehensible aspects aspects like spirits, gods, nature itself, the sun and moon etc. which also gave the possibility to do something about 'the unexpected' by pleasing the gods and spirits with prayers and rituals. Later on, more advanced ideas and philosophies developed, and of course, organized religions.

Also Buddhism is to an extent based on fear; the fear of suffering. The historical Buddha went out on his spiritual quest when he realized that everybody is subject to discomfort, problems and pain, and with the goal to find a way to end it alltogether he discovered a 'way out'.

In fact, this is not too different from the main motivation to develop human civilization: we fear discomfort so we store food for more difficult times, we prepare ourselves for dangers like wild animals, or to defend ourselves from other humans. This fear of discomfort and attachement to comfort has driven humans in their development from a type of smart monkey to a creature that has gained control over nearly all other living beings on this planet.

Our most basic fear is the fear of death, which functions to make us alert in dangerous situations, and can thus be a very healthy emotion. But much less dramatic reasons of fear are found everywhere in our daily lives: 'Did I lock the house?', 'Isn't this food unhealthy?', 'Is my health insurance high enough?', 'Shouldn't my daughter be home yet?'. These worries can be based or quite baseless. Problematic types of fear can be when we are afraid of things that do not pose any real threat, like fear of spiders or large spaces. Fear and paranoia, together with attachment, craving and hatred are usually responsible for wars.

In all cases, we could say that fear is a reaction to something that may happen in the future, be it realistic or not, it is always uncomfortable. And here we find one of the contradictions of fear itself: it should work to keep us from discomfort, yet it is uncomfortable itself.

PROJECTION

As fear is based on something that we think may happen in the future, it is clearly a mental process which tries to predict the future - in that sense, the reason of fear is a projection of our mind.

We can be afraid to fall, but once we are falling, we are afraid to hit the ground, once we hit the ground, we may fear we have a bad injury, once we know we have a bad injury, we may fear the pain and the consequences of not being able to work for some time or become disabled etc. So one could say that fear is always based on something that has not happened yet, and is therefore a fantasy of our mind rather than fact.

ADDICTION TO FEAR

Some people like fear, because in activities like riding a roller-coaster or during bunjee-jumping, we get an adrenaline-rush: a physical reaction to make us alert and ready for action - some people actually get addicted to this natural drug and get into extreme activities. This can easily lead to needing more dangerous situations more often, so they may tend to take ever increasing risks - until the parachute does not open, or the weather changes while climbing a steep, dangerous mountain slope......

SUFFERING

Fear is generally a very uncomfortable feeling - Buddhists would call it therefore a form of suffering. We do not like to be afraid, but still, our fear can keep us from harm for example as it makes us hold back when we see a snake or a fast car straight in our direction. So, yes, we need to realize danger and be alert, but once we are alert, we cannot do much more than whatever we think is best in the situation.

If we let our fear take over completely, we can even 'freeze' and become completely helpless. Similarly, many of us are afraid for quite irrational things, meaning things that do not really pose any threat to us. For example, fear of spiders, small enclosed spaces or large spaces. Life can become really difficult, simply because illogical projections and delusions are taking over our normal, rational mind and small things can begin to determine our whole life. In that case, we can start to talk about having a phobia.

PHOBIA

The process of normal fear turning into phobia is very similar in Buddhist psychology to when anger turns into blind hatred or a liking of chocolate turns into addiction. The difference is in the levels of the fear. Initially, anger or fear may have a useful function in life (to protect ourselves from suffering), but they are both based on mental projections. When these projections grow into something like phobia, it only means that the mind is strongly exaggerating the situation. For whatever reason, our mind gets out of control, and it turns a spider into a monster or the height of a chair into a ravine. So the remedy to phobia cannot really lie in taking medicines, but must be to habituate our mind back to 'normal' reactions.

WESTERN THERAPIES - GENERAL APPROACH

Therapies for irrational fears work on the same basic principle: discover by experience that the feeling of fear (paranoia) is an exaggeration of what we perceive in the world, and force our rational mind to keep in control of the emotion. So, if you are afraid of spiders, perhaps the cure starts with simply drawing them, then looking at a small one - far away locked in a safe place - then forcing yourself to go closer (the rational mind says that nothing can happen), in the end, usually the patients will regain so much control that can even hold a poisonous, hairy, huge tarantula in their hands - obviously the end of therapy! This is not because they are exceptionally brave people, but they have gradually learned to take control over their exaggerated emotions, by realizing these emotions were not based on a real danger.

In extreme cases, people can be much harder to treat. Specifically when the reason for the fear is vague and hardly known, like imagining that you are being followed (paranoia), it is not always straight-forward or simple to make people realize that these fears are unfounded and the rational mind should take control.

Many types of fear/phobia are identified, I found some in a web blog recently:

Common fears:
Acrophobia: Fear of heights
Arachnophobia: fear of spiders
Agoraphobia: fear of open spaces
Belonephobia: fear of needles
Brontophobia: fear of thunder and lightning
Claustrophobia: fear of confined spaces
Hamartophobia: fear of sinning
Suriphobia: fear of mice and/or rats
Necrophobia: fear of death
Pentheraphobia: fear of the mother-in-law
Thalassophobia: fear of the sea
Xenophobia: fear of strangers or foreigners
Also some fears may be more common than generally thought:
Athazagoraphobia - fear of being forgotten, ignored or forgetting
Atychiphobia, Kakorrhaphiophobia - fear of failure
Metathesiophobia - fear of changes

MY OWN FEAR OF HEIGHTS

Yes, I was quite scared of heights when I was young. I knew it was unrealistic: "the building will not suddenly collapse when I come near the edge of the balcony, but I just don't want to go there: every step closer to the edge scares me more". It proved absolutely awful in something like a church tower: already the feeling on these endless spiral staircases gave a feeling of, "if I would fall now, I couldn't stop falling". At a certain moment, all realism completely disappeared, when I even got scared of towers when I was standing in the street, just looking up at them!

To someone who does not have this fear of heights this probably sounds absurd: and that is correct - it is an absurd way of thinking! And that is exactly the problem. The fear became bigger and bigger, until there was fear even without the possibility of falling.

The end of my exaggerated fear of heights I owe to my big brother; during a holiday he told me in no uncertain terms that I was behaving like a silly little baby if I would not dare to go on small tower on top of a pier in the sea.

The pier was made of wood, and perhaps some 6 meters above the sea. He said, "now look, you dare to walk here, but already you are 6 meters above the sea - why don't you have problems here?" He was right - somehow I considered the pier as 'ground', so there was no fear of heights. Then he said, "look, the tower is only twice as high as the pier, if you manage to get on top there, you are a real man, and not a silly baby" - hard to argue against if you are about 10 years old.... So I walked up the stairs to the top with a heavy heart. Every few steps he said, "look down at the waves, see, you are hardly higher now".

At the top, he told me to look over the railing, saying, "even if you fall off, you'll only fall in the water, and you can swim, so there is no problem even then". For me it worked, and from then on, I forced myself to ignore the strange feelings in my stomach while standing in a high place. All I have left now, is a healthy feeling of apprehension if I stand near a dangerous precipice or so, which is good: I should be careful in such a situation if I don't want to get killed.

Much later, I realised that most therapies against phobia work in a similar way, if you are scared of spiders, you are shown some photos and are asked to draw images of spiders, next you can gradually approach a spider in a terrarium, watch videos about spiders, and, lo and behold, after some time, most people manage to survive a big, hairy spider in their hand.

How does this work? Simply by rational thinking, calm and habituation - all important aspects of a complete meditation practice.

An excerpt of a forum message from Susie, which I discovered on Children's Past Lives:

"Fear is False Evidence Appearing Real. And, the only way to get through fear is to face it head on.
I also used to have a tremendous fear of both water and needles. I was 30 when I took swimming lessons, and learning to have the control in the water helped me to get rid of my fear of drowing (thus, my real fear was not of water but of drowning). I got rid of my fear of needles by simply breathing deeply when a medical or dental situation arose where needles were needed. I started off telling medical personnel I was afraid of needles, then they would be very gentle. Now, a needle is a needle is a needle..."

And from Kelly in the same discussion:

"Most fears and phobias can all be bought back to the same thing – a fear of not having control of a situation or aspect of self…the phobia then becomes a product of that fear, as we concentrate and focus all our energy on that one thing (or on many things in some cases)."

HEALTHY FEAR

Can fear be healthy? Certainly, when it keeps you alert in a very dangerous situation for yourself or others!

In the Buddhist context, there is one type of fear we even need to cultivate: this is the fear that if we don't do anything about it, we will remain in the cycle of rebirth after rebirth in lives filled with problems and suffering. We may think we have miserable lives now, but just think about the situation of a pony in front of a cart in India, they get too little food to live, but too much to die and need to work their whole lives without a break or a chance of release - unless they die. Or simply think about the fact that a large part of the human species lives in miserable, poor conditions; the fact you can read this on the Internet generally proves that things are perhaps not that bad with you, if you would not have the money to eat, you would probably not have the money to sit behind a computer.

This long-term realistic fear of our future is one of the main drives behind wanting to achieve liberation and enlightenment, as this would be the one and only definitive end to our problems.

Fruit of Dharma Practice by the Tibetan yogi Milarepa
"The fear of death and infernal rebirths
due to my evil actions has led me to practice
in solitude in the snowcapped mountains.
On the uncertainty of life's duration
and the moment of death I have deeply meditated
Thus have I reached the deathless, unshakable citadel
of realization of the absolute essence.
My fear and doubts have vanished like mist
into the distance, never to disturb me again.
I will die content and free from regrets.
This is the fruit of Dharma practice."
"Usually we think that brave people have no fear. The truth is that they are intimate with fear. When I was first married, my husband said I was one of the bravest people he knew. When I asked him why, he said because I was a complete coward but went ahead and did things anyhow."
Pema Chodron from "When things fall apart".

THE BUDDHIST APPROACH

"The Buddha discovered how to conquer absolutely what man fears: he discovered a practical method, now called Buddhism, for eliminating suffering."
Ven. Buddhadasa Bhikkhu
The Buddhist therapy of treating exaggerated fears is probably not essentially different from the Western ways of treatment. Treatment is based on trying to see that fear is a form of suffering that we wish to get rid of, and using habituation and the control of our mind to dissolve irrational fears. It is only that Buddhism tries to take the solution of mental problems to their very end, to stop our very potential for suffering and problems by achieving liberation and enlightenment.
From: Dealing with Fear - Tonglen Practice by Ringu Tulku

What frightens us most is the thought of being afraid. That is the greatest fear. Nothing puts us in more danger than our own mind and when what we are frightened of actually happens, it is never as bad as we imagined. There is no protection against fear. Even when we think that we have found some safety, we still wonder if our defenses are reliable and this uncertainty destroys our security. We create fear and we can uncreate it. It is a habit that can be broken. A good remedy against fear is to actively provoke it. Instead of feeling helpless we confront our worst fear. If you are frightened of losing something, give it away. If heights scare you, climb to a high place. If you are terrified of speaking in public, stand before an audience. This is the simplest way of mastering fear.

The ultimate fear is the fear of death, the loss of our ego and everything we have. In that sense, fear is nothing but a form of attachment, in this case to our life, our concept of 'self', and all our possessions etc. If we think about ourselves in terms of rebirth, suddenly death becomes a much less 'final end', it is only the end of this stage of existence, and after that a new stage will begin. Of course, as we are unsure about what will happen in that next life, we can easily become anxious and scared, but just fear will not be of any help at all. It becomes much more important to ensure that our next life will become a pleasant one, without too much suffering.

Most other types of fear are related to possible physical or mental pain, or loss of possessions. With the possibility of physical or mental pain in the future, we probably need to start working at it to prevent it from happening, rather than be frozen in our own miserable predictions and depression. So we should act, rather than crawl away. In the bigger perspective however, as long as we remain in the cycle of rebirth, we cannot escape suffering at all. We need to work to liberate ourselves from suffering. The highest type of this motivation is that we also want all other living beings to become free from suffering (the Mahayana motivation of Bodhicitta).

The fear of losing possessions (including 'our' family and loved ones) is simply a form of attachment, another delusion we all have, and which is a major reason to our 'holding on' to life, and a reason why we are reborn instead of liberated.

From the Dhammapada 212-216 (a collection of sayings of the Buddha):

"From what is dear, grief is born,
from what is dear, fear is born.
For someone freed from what is dear
there is no grief
-- so why fear?
From what is loved, grief is born,
from what is loved, fear is born.
For someone freed from what is loved,
there is no grief
-- so why fear?
From delight, grief is born,
from delight, fear is born.
For someone freed from delight
there is no grief
-- so why fear?
From sensuality, grief is born,
from sensuality, fear is born.
For someone freed from sensuality
there is no grief
-- so why fear?
From craving, grief is born,
from craving, fear is born.
For someone freed from craving
there is no grief
-- so why fear?"

Remove wrong perceptions and you remove suffering!!!

2010-02-07T07:07:00.000-08:00

In Buddhism, we speak of nirvana which is the cessation of all suffering. Nirvana, first of all, it means the cessation, the extinction of all suffering. But our suffering come from our wrong perceptions. Avidia, misunderstanding. And that is why the practice of meditation, the practice of looking deeply has the purpose of removing wrong perceptions from us.

If you are able to remove wrong perceptions, you will be able to be free from the afflictions and the sufferings that always arise from wrong perceptions. You have wrong perception on yourself and on the other, and the other has wrong perception on themselves and on you and that is the cause of fear, of violence, of hatred. That is why trying to remove wrong perceptions is the only way to peace. And that is why nirvana is, first of all, the removal of wrong perceptions. And when you remove wrong perceptions, you remove the suffering.

Ultimate reality is free from birth, and dying

To meditate deeply, you find out that even ideas like being and non-being, birth and death, coming and going, are wrong ideas. If you can touch reality in that, you realize that ultimate reality is free from birth, from dying, from coming, from going, from being, from non-being.

That is why nirvana is, first of all, a removal of notions of ideas that serve the ways of misunderstanding and suffering. If you are afraid of death, of nothingness, of non-being, because you have wrong perceptions on death and on non-being. The French scientist, Lavoure, said there is no birth, there is no death. He observed reality around him and came to the conclusion that it isn’t so great, it isn’t so bad.

The notion of death cannot be applied to reality

When you look at a cloud, you think of the cloud as being. And later on when the cloud become the rain, you don’t see the cloud anymore and you say the cloud is not there. And you describe the cloud as non-being. But if you look deeply, you can see the cloud in the rain and that is why it’s impossible for a cloud to die. A cloud can become rain, snow or ice, but a cloud cannot become nothing.

And that is why the notion of death cannot be applied to reality. There is a transformation, there is a continuation, but you cannot say that there is death because in your mind to die means from something, you suddenly become nothing. From someone, you suddenly become no one, and so the notion of death cannot apply to reality, whether to a cloud or to a human being.

What is samadhi?

2010-02-07T04:57:00.000-08:00

The word ‘samadhi’ has been largely misunderstood. People think it means a death-like situation. The word literally means ‘sama’ and ‘dhi’. ‘Sama’ means equanimity and ‘dhi’ denotes intelligence. The kind of equanamous state of intellect that we are talking about reflects the concept of ‘samadhi’. What it really means is that this state of intellect occurs only when the intellect is functioning; in a situation when you are able to discriminate between one thing and the other.

The discrimination exists because the intellect functions perfectly. The moment you drop the intellect or transcend the intellect, this discrimination does not exist. Generally this happens at a time when you have control of all your senses, while keeping your eyes closed. When all senses merge into one, it becomes a whole, in yogic terms, a reality, that drives you through life.

There seems to be no time and space in a situation like this. This feeling of absolute completeness, a whole totality of things that makes space for intellect is known as samadhi. A feeling of deep orgasm is one of the feelings of samadhi. Many people have tried to define this feeling, and all that they have come up to explaining is there is no time and space. You may notice the person to be in samadhi for three days, but for him the feeling is so overpowering that it would always be a few moments – it tends to pass off just like that. Sometimes even lifetimes can pass off in this fashion.

So why are we talking about Samadhi
There have been legends where it is said that there have been yogis who lived up to 400-500 years and that some of them were still alive. It’s hard to believe but this is true. 400-500 years according to rational and logical thinking for the human mind may not be possible. But there has been proof that such a thing of staying in one place for long stretches of time is possible. The only question here is to find such a person who has lived through this experience. Another interesting piece of information is that for us these may be 400-500 years, but according to him, it might have been just a few minutes. Such is the effect of a Samadhi existence.

To understanding this concept, momentarily you’ll have to pull yourself out from this and observe. Notice that while staying in this world, whichever way you look at it, there are aspects that are beyond your understanding. Because you are bound by time and space, everything in the world is calculated on these fundamentals. For example if there is a task that requires your attention, you’ll probably calculate it by the time it might take or probably by the amount of space that it might require you to complete it. An absolute feeling and understanding of samadhi comes in when there is no time and space, or in other words there are no physical quantities.

Present day Understanding of Samadhi
This world, as you understand it today, as you see it today, as you experience it today, then becomes one that is by in itself comprising of complete falsehood. What we learn from this state is that when you put yourself in situations that require you to complete a task in absolute accuracy, you don’t have to be bound by the negativity that surrounds it. To get into a state of samadhi, you need absolute belief in yourself as well as confidence that you may be able to retain this state of great periods of time.

Most often, the feeling of samadhi does not only restrict itself to a peaceful co-existence, it also teaches one the art of being patient. Patience as a virtue is well understood through documented definition and never by its everlasting effect. It is understood with the help of people who are patient, and never by the fact that all these feelings are right within us. The existence in a samadhi is more like an acceptance that all things both good and evil are within and around you.

Your acceptance of these around you can make you live in a better comprehension of the world around you. That distractions are always hounding you in every day life; it is the acceptance and the negligence of the fact that these will affect you is what needs to be discarded. True, its easier said than done, but then Rome wasn’t built in a day. It is from the description of what is good do you realize the evils that persist in this world!

That this struggle of power and muscle is nothing; but a struggle within oneself to get to a position that you have claimed to be respectable! Otherwise this whole world is but an illusion, a magical one that gives us a hope to make a better tomorrow!

The Six Paramitas (Perfections)

2010-02-06T05:34:00.000-08:00

The Sanskrit word paramita means to cross over to the other shore. Paramita may also be translated as perfection, perfect realization, or reaching beyond limitation. Through the practice of these six paramitas, we cross over the sea of suffering (samsara) to the shore of happiness and awakening (Nirvana); we cross over from ignorance and delusion to enlightenment. Each of the six paramitas is an enlightened quality of the heart, a glorious virtue or attribute—the innate seed of perfect realization within us.

The paramitas are the very essence of our true nature. However, since these enlightened qualities of the heart have become obscured by delusion, selfishness, and other karmic tendencies, we must develop these potential qualities and bring them into expression. In this way, the six paramitas are an inner cultivation, a daily practice for wise, compassionate, loving, and enlightened living. The paramitas are the six kinds of virtuous practice required for skillfully serving the welfare of others and for the attainment of enlightenment. We must understand that bringing these virtuous qualities of our true nature into expression requires discipline, practice, and sincere cultivation. This is the path of the Bodhisattva—one who is dedicated to serving the highest welfare of all living beings with the awakened heart of unconditional love, skillful wisdom, and all-embracing compassion.

1) The Perfection of Generosity (Dana Paramita)

This paramita is the enlightened quality of generosity, charity, giving, and offering. The essence of this paramita is unconditional love, a boundless openness of heart and mind, a selfless generosity and giving which is completely free from attachment and expectation. From the very depths of our heart, we practice generously offering our love, compassion, time, energy, and resources to serve the highest welfare of all beings. Giving is one of the essential preliminary steps of our practice. Our giving should always be unconditional and selfless; completely free of any selfish desire for gratitude, recognition, advantage, reputation, or any worldly reward. The perfection of generosity is not accomplished simply by the action of giving, nor by the actual gift itself.

Rather, the true essence of this paramita is our pure motivation of genuine concern for others—the truly generous motivation of the awakened heart of compassion, wisdom, and love. In addition, our practice of giving should be free of discrimination regarding who is worthy and who is unworthy to receive. To cultivate the paramita of generosity, it is wise to contemplate the enormous benefits of this practice, the disadvantages of being miserly, as well as the obvious fact that our body and our wealth are impermanent. With this in mind, we will certainly be encouraged to use both our body and wealth to practice generosity while we still have them. Generosity is a cure for the afflictions of greed, miserliness, and possessiveness. In this practice of giving, we may offer our time, energy, money, food, clothing, or gifts so as to assist others. To the best of our ability, we may offer the priceless treasure of Dharma instruction, giving explanations on the Buddha's teachings. This offering serves to free others from misperceptions that cause confusion, pain, and suffering. We can offer fearless giving and protection by delivering living beings (insects, animals, and people) from harm, distress, fear, and terror. In this way, we offer care and comfort, helping others to feel safe and peaceful. We do this selflessly, without counting the cost to ourselves. We practice the perfection of generosity in an especially powerful way when we embrace all living beings continually in the radiant love of our heart.

2) The Perfection of Ethics (Sila Paramita)

This paramita is the enlightened quality of virtuous and ethical behavior, morality, self-discipline, impeccability, personal integrity, honor, and harmlessness. The essence of this paramita is that through our love and compassion we do not harm others; we are virtuous and harmless in our thoughts, speech, and actions. This practice of ethical conduct is the very foundation for progressing in any practice of meditation and for attaining all higher realizations on the path. Our practice of generosity must always be supported by our practice of ethics; this ensures the lasting results of our generosity. We should perfect our conduct by eliminating harmful behavior and following the Bodhisattva precepts.

We abstain from killing, stealing, sexual misconduct, lying, divisive speech, harsh speech, gossip, greed, malice, and wrong views. Following these precepts or guidelines is not meant to be a burden or a restriction of our freedom. We follow these precepts so we can enjoy greater freedom, happiness, and security in our lives, because through our virtuous behavior we are no longer creating suffering for ourselves and others. We must realize that unethical behavior is always the cause of suffering and unhappiness. If we give even the slightest consideration to the advantages of cultivating ethical behavior and the disadvantages of unethical behavior, we will certainly develop great enthusiasm for this practice of ethics. Practicing the perfection of ethics, we are free of negativity, we cause no harm to others by our actions, our speech is kind and compassionate, and our thoughts are free of anger, malice, and wrong views. When our commitment is strong in the practice of ethics we are at ease, naturally confident, without stress, and happy because we are not carrying any underlying sense of guilt or remorse for our actions; we have nothing to hide. Maintaining our personal honor and integrity, our moral impeccability, this is the cause of all goodness, happiness, and even the attainment of enlightenment.

3) The Perfection of Patience (Kshanti Paramita)

This paramita is the enlightened quality of patience, tolerance, forbearance, and acceptance. The essence of this paramita of patience is the strength of mind and heart that enables us to face the challenges and difficulties of life without losing our composure and inner tranquility. We embrace and forbear adversity, insult, distress, and the wrongs of others with patience and tolerance, free of resentment, irritation, emotional reactivity, or retaliation. We cultivate the ability to be loving and compassionate in the face of criticism, misunderstanding, or aggression. With this enlightened quality of patience, we are neither elated by praise, prosperity, or agreeable circumstances, nor are we angry, unhappy or depressed when faced with insult, challenge, hardship, or poverty. This enlightened attribute of patience, acceptance, and tolerance is not a forced suppression or denial of our thoughts and feelings. Rather, it is a quality of being which comes from having our heart open and our mind deeply concentrated upon the Dharma. In this way, we have a clear and correct understanding of impermanence, of cause and effect (karma), and with strong determination and patience we remain in harmony with this understanding for the benefit of all beings.

The ability to endure, to have forbearance, is integral to our Dharma practice. Without this kind of patience we cannot accomplish anything. A true Bodhisattva practices patience in such a way that even when we are hurt physically, emotionally, or mentally by others, we are not irritated or resentful. We always make an effort to see the goodness and beauty in others. In practicing this perfection of patience and forbearance, we never give up on or abandon others—we help them cross over the sea of suffering. We maintain our inner peace, calmness, and equanimity under all circumstances, having enduring patience and tolerance for ourselves and others. With the strength of patience, we maintain our effort and enthusiasm in our Dharma practice. Therefore, our practice of patience assists us in developing the next paramita of joyous effort and enthusiastic perseverance.

4) The Perfection of Joyous Effort / Enthusiastic Perseverance (Virya Paramita)

This paramita is the enlightened quality of energy, vigor, vitality, endurance, diligence, enthusiasm, continuous and persistent effort. In order to practice the first three paramitas of generosity, virtuous conduct, and patience in the face of difficulties, we need this paramita of joyous effort and perseverance. Joyous effort makes the previous paramitas increase and become even more powerful influences in our life. The essence of this paramita of joyous effort is the courage, energy, and endurance to continuously practice the Dharma and pursue the supreme goal of enlightenment for the highest good of all beings. From a feeling of deep compassion for the suffering of all sentient beings, we are urged to unfailing, persistent, and joyous effort. We use our body, speech, and mind to work ceaselessly and untiringly for the benefit of others, with no expectations for personal recognition or reward.

We are always ready to serve others to the best of our ability. With joyous effort, devoted energy, and the power of sustained application, we practice the Dharma without getting sidetracked by anything or falling under the influence of laziness. Without developing Virya Paramita, we can become easily disillusioned and drop our practice when we meet with adverse conditions. The word virya means persistence and perseverance in the face of disillusionment, energetically striving to attain the supreme goal of enlightenment. When we cultivate this type of diligence and perseverance we have a strong and healthy mind. We practice with persistent effort and enthusiasm because we realize the tremendous value and benefit of our Dharma practice. Firmly establishing ourselves in this paramita, we also develop self-reliance, and this becomes one of our most prominent characteristics. With joyous effort and enthusiastic perseverance, we regard failure as simply another step toward success, danger as an inspiration for courage, and affliction as another opportunity to practice wisdom and compassion. To develop strength of character, self-reliance, and the next paramita of concentration, is not an easy achievement, thus we need enthusiastic perseverance on the path.

5) The Perfection of Concentration (Dhyana Paramita)

This paramita is the enlightened quality of concentration, meditation, contemplation, samadhi, mindfulness, mental stability. Our minds have the tendency to be very distracted and restless, always moving from one thought or feeling to another. Because of this, our awareness stays fixated in the ego, in the surface layers of the mind and emotions, and we just keep engaging in the same habitual patterns of behavior. The perfection of concentration means training our mind so that it does what we want it to. We stabilize our mind and emotions by practicing meditation, by being mindful and aware in everything we do. When we train the mind in this way, physical, emotional, and mental vacillations and restlessness are eliminated. We achieve focus, composure, and tranquility. This ability to concentrate and focus the mind brings clarity, equanimity, illumination. Concentration allows the deep insight needed to transform the habitual misperceptions and attachments that cause confusion and suffering.

As we eliminate these misperceptions and attachments, we can directly experience the joy, compassion, and wisdom of our true nature. There is no attainment of wisdom and enlightenment without developing the mind through concentration and meditation. This development of concentration and one-pointedness requires perseverance. Thus the previous paramita of joyous effort and perseverance brings us to this paramita of concentration. In addition, when there is no practice of meditation and concentration, we cannot achieve the other paramitas, because their essence, which is the inner awareness that comes from meditation, is lacking. To attain wisdom, compassion, and enlightenment, it is essential that we develop the mind through concentration, meditation, and mindfulness.

6) The Perfection of Wisdom (Prajna Paramita)

This paramita is the enlightened quality of transcendental wisdom, insight, and the perfection of understanding. The essence of this paramita is the supreme wisdom, the highest understanding that living beings can attain—beyond words and completely free from the limitation of mere ideas, concepts, or intellectual knowledge. Beyond the limited confines of intellectual and conceptual states of mind, we experience the awakened heart-mind of wisdom and compassion—prajna paramita. Prajna paramita is the supreme wisdom (prajna) that knows emptiness and the interconnectedness of all things. This flawless wisdom eliminates all false and distorted views of the absolute. We see the essential nature of reality with utmost clarity; our perception goes beyond the illusive and deceptive veils of material existence. With the perfection of wisdom, we develop the ability to recognize the truth behind the temporary display of all appearances. Prajna paramita is a result of contemplation, meditation, and rightly understanding the nature of reality. Ultimately, the full realization of prajna paramita is that we are not simply a separate self trying to do good. Rather, virtuously serving the welfare of all beings is simply a natural expression of the awakened heart.

We realize that the one serving, the one being served, and the compassionate action of service, are all the same totality—there is no separate ego or self to be found in any of these. With this supreme wisdom, we go beyond acceptance and rejection, hope and fear, dualistic thoughts, and ego-clinging. We completely dissolve all these notions, realizing everything as a transparent display of the primordial truth. If our ego is attached even to the disciplines of these paramitas, this is incorrect perception and we are merely going from one extreme to another. In order to free ourselves from these extremes, we must release our ego attachment and dissolve all dualistic concepts with the insight of supreme wisdom. This wisdom transforms the other five paramitas into their transcendental state as well. Only the illumination of supreme wisdom makes this possible.

The five Precepts (Sila)

2010-02-05T06:09:00.000-08:00

Sila or moral conduct is the principle of human behaviour that promotes orderly and peaceful existence in a community. It yields, in particular, a very special benefit (to be discussed later). Rules of moral conduct are to be found in every religion.

They may resemble other codes of conduct to a greater or lesser degree depending on the Teacher or religious system from which they originated. Usually they comprise lists of actions from which to abstain, implying that any actions not covered by the prohibitions are permissible. A good example is afforded by The Five Silas of Buddhism, also known as The Five Precepts, namely to abstain from taking the life of sentient beings, to abstain from taking possession of anything that has not been given by its owner, to abstain from sexual misconduct, to abstain from lying or evil speech, and to abstain from intoxicating drinks which are a primary cause of negligence.

These five Silas are the basic principles of Buddhism best known to most people. It is customary for them to be delivered during almost every religious ceremony and those present at the ceremonies generally make a formal declaration of their intention to comply with them. Thais must have seen or heard monks enunciating the silas ever since the time when they were still small children and did not understand them. Consequently it is of interest to consider the extent to which most people realize the importance of the Silas and what they think of them, especially as most of the Silas prescribe a mode of conduct that is widely different from the general practice of human beings. Some people favor the silas while others do not, as can be gathered from the following instances.

THE FIRST SILA:

The prohibition against taking the life of living beings applies not only to humanity but also to creatures of every kind, both big and small. Each day a vast number of animals are slaughtered as food, for most people eat meat while vegetarians are not common. In the field of science, animals are used in many researches and experiments. In the administrative field, arms are used in crime suppression. Law enforcement agencies punish law breakers. Belligerents at war use arms to destroy one another.

The actions cited here as examples are not regarded as illegal or as running counter to normal worldly practice. Indeed, it may even be considered wrong to abstain from them, as is the case when constables or soldiers fail in their police or military duties. Moreover, nowadays many kinds of animal are known to be carriers of microbes and, thanks to the microscope, germs and many sorts of microbe have been detected. Almost everything contains them-even drinking water. Only the larger impurities are caught by the filter; microbes can pass through. So numberless microbes pass into our throats with each draught of water. It is the same with medicines. Whenever they are used, either externally or internally, they destroy myriads of microbes. Are these microbes to be considered as living beings in (the sense of) the first Sila or not? If so, perhaps no one can fully comply with it. Besides, some are of the opinion that people who refrain from taking the life of animals should also refrain from eating meat, because it amounts to encouraging slaughter and is no less sinful according to them.

THE SECOND SILA:

Taking possession of anything that has not been given by its owner or stealing, is also wrong, even legally speaking. However, there is, for instance, the exception of enemy property in the case of war.

THE THIRD SILA:

Adultery is wrong. One who commits it does not command respect nor inspire confidence. Sexual misconduct involving persons with whom conjugal relations should be avoided according to custom, or those who are prohibited by law, or Prohibited by the Dhamma (Patimokkha), is also wrong. So is coercing by physical or even financial means a married or even unmarried person into consenting to such conduct.

The purpose of this third Sila is to preserve the respectability of the family of each person concerned and to safeguard its sanctity and inviolability. By the same token, respect of person, place and property should be customary behaviour, as laid down in the book “Ethics of Good People”, which says, for example: “Do not intrude into people’s homes without invitation. Do not peep into their rooms from outside”. It is proper for us to adopt manners derived from the Silas or moral rules, all of which aim at promoting good behaviour and discouraging laxity.

THE FOURTH SILA:

Lying is generally regarded as wrong. Nevertheless, people very seldom speak quite truthfully to one another and so their word can hardly be relied upon. Sometimes they are unable to speak the truth; for instance, they may have to lie to save themselves from harm, and doctors lie bolster their patients’ morale. Lying under these circumstances may be contrary to the Sila, but it is not entirely contrary to its purpose.

This Sila aims at bringing about mutual benefits by adhering to truth and avoiding verbal offences. Similarly, utterances harmful to another’s well-being such as, for example, malicious, abusive or slanderous speech intended either to deride others or to vaunt oneself, may be truthful, yet they must be regarded as wrong, because they are contrary to the Sila. It is said that the Lord Buddha Himself, besides saying only what was truthful, useful and fitting and laying down the Sila against lying, also discouraged malicious, indecent and vain speech.

THE FIFTH SILA:

In spite of the rule prescribing abstention from intoxicating drinks, their consumption does not decrease and authorized distilleries are working at full blast. Liquor shops are well patronized day and night.

At receptions, fares, etc., there are alcoholic drinks, as otherwise they would be dull and drinkers would avoid them. Alcoholic drinks have thus become an income-earner which brings in a sizeable revenue each year

Dharmas in Buddhist phenomenology

2010-02-04T06:17:00.000-08:00

Other uses include dharma, normally spelled in transliteration with a small "d" (this differentiation is impossible in the South Asian scripts used to write Sanskrit), which refers to a phenomenon or constituent factor of human experience.

This was gradually expanded into a classification of constituents of the entire material and mental world. Rejecting the substantial existence of permanent entities which are qualified by possibly changing qualities, Buddhist Abhidharma philosophy, which enumerated seventy-five dharmas, came to propound that these "constituent factors" are the only type of entity that truly exists.

This notion is of particular importance for the analysis of human experience: Rather than assuming that mental states inhere in a cognizing subject, or a soul-substance, Buddhist philosophers largely propose that mental states alone exist as "momentary elements of consciousness", and that a subjective perceiver is assumed.

One of the central tenets of Buddhism, is the denial of a separate permanent "I", and is outlined in the three marks of existence. The three signs: 1. Duḥkha (Pali: Dukkha) - Suffering, 2. Anitya (Pali: Anicca) - Change/Impermanence, 3. Anātman (Pali: Anatta) - Non-self. At the heart of Buddhism, is the realization of no "self" or "I" (and hence the delusion) as a separate self-existing entity.

Later, Buddhist philosophers like Nāgārjuna would question whether the dharmas (momentary elements of consciousness) truly have a separate existence of their own. (ie Do they exist apart from anything else?) Rejecting any inherent reality to the dharmas, he asked (rhetorically):

śūnyeṣu sarvadharmeṣu kim anantaṃ kim antavat
kim anantam antavac ca nānantaṃ nāntavac ca kiṃ
kiṃ tad eva kim anyat kiṃ śāśvataṃ kim aśāśvataṃ aśāśvataṃ śāśvataṃ ca kiṃ vā nobhayam apyataḥ sarvopalambhopaśamaḥ prapañcopaśamaḥ śivaḥna kvacit kasyacit kaścid dharmo buddhena deśitaḥ

When all dharmas are empty, what is endless? What has an end?
What is endless and with an end? What is not endless and not with an end?
What is it? What is other? What is permanent? What is impermanent?
What is impermanent and permanent? What is neither?

Auspicious is the pacification of phenomenal metastasis, the pacification of all apprehending;
There is no dharma whatsoever taught by the Buddha to whomever, whenever, wherever.

Effort

2009-11-26T04:08:00.000-08:00

Question: How much effort should be bring to our meditation practice? Zen teachers sometimes speak of “effortless effort” and to “just sit” when meditating. How hard should we be trying when meditating?

A:When it comes to meditation, your effort should not be haphazard or blind. It’s a committed effort. Before you even start, you should consider: “Is this the right moment for me to practice?” Suppose it’s a busy time; the TV is blaring somewhere, people are running around. No matter how hard you try, you can’t seem to do the practice. So you have to understand the situation, you have to be mindful of when to sit.

But once you’ve chosen the place and time to practice, by all means, apply every ounce of effort to overcome laziness, drowsiness, restlessness, worry and so on. These are very common, ordinary obstacles. In Buddhism, we call them “hindrances,” since they hinder our progress. When hindrances arise, we shouldn’t be lazy. We shouldn’t think, “Well, this is just way too hard. I’m wasting my time.

This stuff always comes up and blocks me when I try to meditate. I give up.” You must encourage yourself and always renew your effort at sitting. You might tell yourself: “I can do this. This is possible. I can overcome my sleepiness, I can work with this restless mind. I see other people who have learned how to do this. I can do this myself.” So you must exert yourself, you must try to shake yourself awake and tell yourself: “Hey, you! Don’t chicken out of this!”

As for “effortless effort,” well, that’s a lazy man’s advice. There is no such thing as effortless effort. Things don’t come to us just like air. On the other hand, laziness, drowsiness, lust, greed—they come to us very naturally! Good things often don’t come to us naturally. We have them in us by our nature, but we must work hard to arouse them. The trouble is that our mind is like water. Water always finds its way down to the lowest place.

In a similar way, our mind tends to drag us down into the lower state of things—to base ideas, lazy practices, the easy way out. Yet if we head that way, we’ll end up going down the drain from all the rubbish in the mind! So we must turn up the volume on our effort. We repeat the same thing, again and again and again, until we achieve it. We bring commitment to our meditation practice, in spite of whatever happens in any one sitting.

There are really three stages of effort. In Pāli, the first stage is called arambhadhatu. That means the “element of beginning.” When you read an inspiring book about meditation or have an inspiring discussion with a friend or teacher on Buddhist practice, you may become enthusiastic and start meditating right away. Yet a few weeks or months later, your effort may wane. You slide right back into the same old, same old. How do you avoid that?

That’s where the second stage of effort comes in: nikkamadhatu. That essentially means “proceeding” with your effort. You stick to it, you work at your meditation practice with dedication and regularity. Even then, you can become lazy or may waver in your resolve. Then you have to play your last card. You have to give yourself a pep talk, but also be firm with yourself: “This is it! I won’t budge from this cushion even if my back is killing me! OK, so I’m restless—I’ve seen that before.

Alright, now my knees hurt—I’ve experienced that, too. I can sit through this. I can work with this. Reduce me to a skeleton and still I won’t budge!” That is the third kind of effort called parakkkamadhatu. “Parak” is valor. In the armed forces, you are encouraged to bring valor and bravery to your work. Meditators also need that kind of effort.

Sometimes people come here to the Bhāvanā Society with all good intentions to meditate. They book a place months in advance and come to stay for a week, or two weeks, or a month. Then a few days later, they tell me: “Um, Bhante, I have to go. I forgot I had to get back because I have this job to do and....” Or you may experience an inspiring meditation retreat, return home and start practicing.

Weeks or months later, your resolve may waver in establishing a daily practice. Remind yourself: You can do this. See the example of your teachers and fellow meditators. Seek out the support of sitting groups, attend retreats regularly. Really, it comes down to this: When you take the time to practice, when you make that commitment, stick to it with all the energy you can muster.

Morality, Concentration, Wisdom

2009-11-26T03:54:00.000-08:00

Question: Buddhism teaches that three things: sila, samādhi and pañña—or morality, concentration and wisdom—are fundamental to a successful meditation practice. And we must have good sila or morality as a first step toward a successful meditation practice. Could you please elaborate?

A In using the word morality for sila I would also suggest the words “discipline” or “restraint,” perhaps even in place of the word “morality,” which has a philosophical connotation. And, yes, it is correct to say that practicing sila—acting with discipline and restraint in daily life—lays an essential foundation for a good meditation practice.

Depending on how disciplined we are, our practice becomes successful. When we don’t have sufficient discipline, our practice will be difficult. Mindfulness may then be hard to attain or to sustain. We must have good discipline to be mindful. Most of the time we don’t remember to be mindful—we are not mindful of mindfulness! It’s harder yet when our minds are distracted or bothered by unwholesome actions we may have undertaken or be involved in.

The Pāli word sila recalls the word “sealant” in English. When you want to close a crack, you use a sealant and seal it off. You lay the foundation for a house and cover all the cracks, so no water will seep in, no insects will enter, and the foundation won’t collapse. As a result, the foundation for your house remains firm and is sturdy enough to build upon. Sila is like that when it comes to meditation. It’s the foundation. Through restraint, through wholesome actions and decisions made in our daily lives, we lay this foundation.

If we don’t lay a good foundation for meditation, we can directly see the results in our practice. You may be meditating regularly, sitting a half-hour or an hour. All of a sudden one day, you can’t even sit for 10 minutes. Your mind is agitated, you’re constantly distracted, you simply can’t focus. Something you have done in your life—becoming enraged with someone, sexual misconduct, addictive behavior of all sorts or some other unwholesome action of body, speech or mind—has deeply registered in your subconscious mind. It keeps coming back up, making you feel remorseful, guilty, restless, full of worries. You just can’t sit!

On the other hand, it’s unrealistic to expect people to become paragons of virtue before they ever begin to meditate. If we wait until we are saints, if we put off meditation until our sila is perfect, then we will never meditate! Whatever our moral situation, we must begin. We make the commitment to root out unwholesome behavior and to encourage wholesome habits in our lives. It helps to make the commitment and to come back to it, time and time again: “OK, from now on I’m going to undertake this meditation practice and I’m going to try not to break my principles.” If you do, then learn from those consequences. Feel the heaviness in your mind and in your life. Our goal is to make the mind light, to make our life light. After all, we are seeking to attain en-light-enment, aren’t we?

Sila, though, should not be confused with a set of commandments. It is something you undertake by yourself, on your own accord. If you don’t make the effort, if you commit some unwholesome behavior, you reap the consequences and it affects your meditation practice. If you do make the effort, you’ll also see the positive consequences—it’s very cause and effect. We practice sila for own self-confidence and to overcome our weaknesses. So, sila is a way of behaving, that we ourselves choose. We undertake it by ourselves for the sake of a steady state of mind, for the sake of progress in our practice. Good sila strengthens our courage and ability. It gives support to our meditation practice and provides psychological strength. It is this foundation that is absolutely necessary to gain concentration.

State of an Arahant after passing away

2009-11-10T09:32:00.000-08:00

What is the state of the Arahant after death? Is it a state of annihilation, of non existence, or a state of eternal existence in some other form. The Buddha rejects both these alternatives, declaring that this question is inapplicable.

The question, "What is the state of the Arahant after death?" arises because of the subtle clinging to the idea that an Arahant has a self. But since the Arahant has no self, he does not enter into any state of eternal existence in some heavenly world or as a universal self in some impersonalized form.

Also final Nibbana is not a state of annihilation, since there is no self to be annihilated or extinguished. What we call the Arahant is a dependently arisen process of becoming, and the attainment of final Nibbana is cessation of this process of becoming. To try to speak about what lies beyond the ending of this process is to venture outside the boundaries of conceptualization, outside the boundaries of language.

The Buddha says;

"In so far only is there a pathway for words, a pathway for language, a pathway for concepts, a sphere of understanding, that is, when there is consciousness together with mind and body. When there is no remainder of consciousness and the mind-body process, then there is no pathway for words, no pathway for language, no pathway for concepts."

So from this we see that concepts cannot conceive the 'inconceivable' and the mind cannot measure the 'immeasurable'.

The Buddha illustrates this with the example of a fire. Suppose there is a fire, burning in dependence on fuel, the sticks and logs. Now if the fire does not get any further fuel, when it uses up the old fuel, then it goes out. Suppose we ask, when the fire goes out; where did it go? Did it go to the North? To the South? To the East? To the West? The answer to this is that none of these questions apply. All of these are inapplicable. The fire has simply gone out.

Experience of an Arahant

2009-11-10T09:25:00.000-08:00

While living in the state of liberation an Arahant still continues to perform the necessary functions of life. He sleeps, wakes up in the morning, eats, talks, performs various duties etc. Though he has to go through his daily life he has completely uprooted defilements; greed, hatred and ignorance. In his psycho-physical organism there is no more craving, which sustains the process of becoming leading to future existences.

From the effective side of human experience, the state of Nibbana is a state of complete happiness, freedom from sorrow, worry and fear. The Arahant feels bodily pains, but it does not disturb his mind. It does not cause him annoyance or sorrow. Arahant is also in a state of complete fearlessness. All fear comes from the notion of self or ego. When we are frightened, what we are afraid of is a threat to the security of the self, to "my self" or those things I believe belong to me. But for an Arahant who had completely uprooted the notion of self, there comes liberation from all fear.

With the abandoning of all forms of attachments the Arahant is free of agitation, restlessness and worry. Again an Arahant is in a state of complete equanimity, with perfect balance of mind. He is not shaken by the eight worldly winds: gain and loss, fame and dishonour, praise and blame, pleasure and pain. Arahant's state of equanimity is not a state of indifference. The Arahant's mind is pervaded with immeasurable loving kindness and boundless compassion. This is the state of Nibbana in terms of feeling and emotion.

Further, having completely eliminated ignorance, an Arahant acquires no kamma . His willed actions do not have the potency of producing future rebirth. He still performs volitional actions but they are mere activities. They do not leave a trace on the mind, just as the flight of birds flying across the sky leaves no footprints. The Arahant still reaps the results of the kammas performed by him before enlightenment, but these do not disturb his mind.

He has complete knowledge and understanding. He is fully awakened. He sees things as they truly are. He is no longer misled by the distortions, projections, perversions born of ignorance.

Psychological Dimension of Nibbana

2009-11-10T09:15:00.000-08:00

The Noble Truth of the cessation of suffering has two dimensions, a psychological dimension and a philosophical dimension. We shall deal briefly with each of them.

First, the psychological dimension. We find that unhappiness, discontent or suffering results from the tension between desire and the lack of the thing desired. Now there are two possible approaches to overcoming this unhappiness. One is to obtain the object desired, to secure possession of it; the other is to eliminate the desire.

The Buddha's teaching reverses the common assumption that happiness can be found by satisfying our desires. If we carefully examine the happiness that comes from satisfying desire, we would find that such happiness is unreliable and insecure.

This happiness depends on external things. These objects of desire are inevitably impermanent, and when we are separated from them we become unhappy. Thus even in the midst of happiness we become vulnerable to suffering. Therefore the Buddha points out that true happiness is to be achieved by taking the opposite approach, the approach of eliminating our desires.

If we eliminate the desire our mind remains satisfied, content and happy no matter what our external situation may be. The Buddha says that this principle can be carried through all the way to the total uprooting of craving. This is the cessation of craving, the end of Dukkha visible here and now.

take note in reseach methodology

2009-11-10T09:03:00.000-08:00

The term, taking notes refer to remember something, to recorder material and to help other people. So we should take note information with our own active vocabulary.

According to research methodology normally exercises books and a sheet is used for keeping records. But that is no proper way as prescribed by the methodologists.

However we should use the “card-system”. Kinds of card system are as follows:

v Note card

v Source card

Out of them note- card is used to keep record. The standard size of the note-card which is length 15 and wide 10 should be used. And then each card must include only one idea. For example: when we going to research on “the concept of sunnata in Mahayana Buddhism”, we can see various aspects to exist there. One aspect is the etymology of Sunnata. So when we read the books, we find some information regarding the etymology of Sunnata. And we can take a card and write as follows:

ü Sub-heading ------ etymology

ü Main- note--------- etymology of Sunnata

ü Source-------------- the name of source, another aspect of Sunnata.

Sometime we may collect thousand of cards according to method. After collecting the information, we can arrange these cards in accordance with sub-heading. When we start to write, we can select cards.

Next source card is comparatively smaller than former one as its length is 12.5 centimeter and wide is 7.5 centimeters. Source-card is used for including the information and sources; primary sources and secondary sources. This is very helpful in preparing bibliography. The basic formats for storing and retrieving notes are:

v Paper based format

v Computer based format

In the paper based format, the most important feature is that each card must include only one idea or one factor one item and as above mentioned notes we must follow in this format. In the computer based format, they should be stored under a lot of hard-disk in the computer and also store on a C-D or print type. However the essential thing is that they are useful and contain the necessity information and can be raised when require it.

Especially, there are the items of essential information to record every note. They are:

The author or author of text, Sri- Name and first name.

The title of the book including a sub-title.

If it is web-site, the web-site address of the web-site.

The date of publication.

The place it was published

The name of publisher.

Page number or numbers where information you have made, note-form appeared.

Where we found the information, for example, the library and the book got number, we can easily write it down again.

We might also use material from lectures or conferences.

Due to take note, we will get like the significances of note taking. They are as follows:

ü We can keep our own record.

ü To plan to write our thesis, we can get necessary information.

ü We can extend our knowledge for the benefits of other.

ü We can share our knowledge to any other person.

Finally it will be clear by above mentioned facts of how much the taking note is important in research methodology. (it is for the Master of Arts of University of Kelaniya in srilanka)

the Vinaya Pitaka

2009-10-22T00:33:00.000-07:00

The Vinaya Piṭaka is a Buddhist scripture, one of the three parts that make up the Tripitaka. Its primary subject matter is the monastic rules for monks and nuns. The name Vinaya Piṭaka (vinayapiṭaka) is the same in Pāli, Sanskrit and other dialects used by early Buddhists in India, and means basket of discipline.

Surviving versions

Six versions survive complete, of which three are still in use.

The Pali version of the Theravada, included in the Pali Canon, translated by I. B. Horner as The Book of the Discipline, 1938-66, 6 volumes, Pali Text Society, Bristol
- Suttavibhanga (-vibhaṅga): commentary on the Patimokkha, with much of its text embedded
  - Mahavibhanga (mahā-) dealing with monks
  - Bhikkhunivibhanga (bhikkhunī-) dealing with nuns
- Khandhaka: 22 chapters on various topics
- Parivara: analyses the rules from various points of view
'Dul-ba, Tibetan translation of the Mulasarvastivada version; this is the version used in the Tibetan tradition
- Vinayavastu: 16 skandhakas (khandhakas) and the start of the 17th
- Pratimokshasutra of monks
- Vinayavibhanga of monks
- Pratimokshasutra of nuns
- Vinayavibhanga of nuns
- Vinayakshudrakavastu: rest of the 17th skandhaka and others
- Vinayottaragrantha: appendices, including Upaliparipriccha, which corresponds to a chapter of the Parivara
Ssŭ-fen lü 四分律 (Taisho catalogue number 1428), Chinese translation of the Dharmaguptaka version; this is the version used in the Chinese tradition and its derivatives in Korea, Vietnam and the Ritsu school in Japan (most Buddhist clergy in Japan do not follow the Vinaya, but rather follow the Mahayana [Bodhisattva] Precepts, a result of the successful Tendai school campaign).
- Bhikshuvibhanga dealing with monks
- Bhikshunivibhanga dealing with nuns; translated by Ann Heirman as Rules for Nuns According to the Dharmaguptakavinaya, Part II, Motilal Banarsidass, Delhi, 2002
- Skandhaka
- Samyuktavarga
- Vinayaikottara, corresponding to a chapter of the Parivara
Shih-sung lü (T1435), translation of Sarvastivada version
- Bhikshuvibhanga
- Skandhaka
- Bhikshunivibhanga
- Ekottaradharma, similar to Vinayaikottara
- Upaliparipriccha
- Ubhayatovinaya
- Samyukta
- Parajikadharma
- Sanghavasesha
- Kusaladhyaya
Wu-fen lü (T1421), translation of Mahisasaka version
- Bhikshuvibhanga
- Bhikshunivibhanga
- Skandhaka
Mo-ho-seng-ch'i lü 摩訶僧祇律 (T1425), translation of Mahasanghika version (the nuns' rules have been translated by the late Professor Hirakawa as Monastic Discipline for the Buddhist Nuns, Patna, 1982)
- Bhikshuvibhanga
- Bhikshunivibhanga
- Skandhaka

In addition, portions of various versions survive in various languages.

Origins

Each school traditionally claimed that its own version was compiled at the First Council shortly after the Buddha's death, and recited by Upali, with little later addition. As the versions are different, scholars do not take this literally. However, as the different versions are fairly similar, most scholars consider most of the Vinaya to be fairly early, that is, dating from before the separation of schools.

However, Dr Gregory Schopen, Professor of Sanskrit, Tibetan, and Buddhist Studies in the University of Texas at Austin, argues against this assumption on various grounds.^[2] He suggests that similarities may be due to later standardization. He also points out that many inscriptions from early times on show that monks owned property, contrary to the Vinaya. He argues that there is no evidence that this represents a decline from an early period of observance, and suggests that the Vinaya may be an attempt by a self-appointed elite to impose their standards on everyone else.

The Pali version of the Patimokkha, the code of conduct that applies to Buddhist monastics, contains 227 major rules for bhikkhus and 311 major rules for bhikkhunis. The Vibhanga section(s) of Vinaya Pitaka constitute(s) a commentary on these rules, giving detailed explanations of them along with the origin stories for each rule. The Khandhaka/Skandhaka sections give numerous supplementary rules grouped by subject, again with origin stories. The Buddha called his teaching the "Dhamma-Vinaya", emphasizing both the philosophical teachings of Buddhism as well as the training in virtue that embodies that philosophy.

In the collected Chinese editions of the Scriptures the Vinaya pitaka has a broader sense, including all four Chinese vinayas listed above, parts of others, non-canonical vinaya literature, lay vinaya and bodhisattva vinaya.

Place in the tradition

According to the scriptures, in the first years of the Buddha's teaching the sangha lived together in harmony with no vinaya, as there was no need, because all of the Buddha's early disciples were highly realized if not fully enlightened. As the sangha expanded situations arose which the Buddha and the lay community felt were inappropriate for samanas.

According to tradition, the first rule to be established was the prohibition against sexual acts. The origin story tells of an earnest monk whose family was distraught that there was no male heir and so persuaded the monk to impregnate his wife. According to tradition, all three, the monk, his wife and son who both later ordained, eventually became fully enlightened arahants.

The vinaya is very important to Buddhists -

"Whatever Dhamma and Vinaya I have pointed out and formulated for you, that will be your Teacher when I am gone." (Mahaaparinibbaana Sutta,

the Origins of Mahayana

2009-10-22T00:25:00.000-07:00

The origins of Mahayana are still not completely understood.^[16] Although the Mahayana movement traces its origin to Gautama Buddha, scholars believe that it originated in South India in the 1st century CE,^[4]^[5] or the 1st century BCE.^[6]^[7] Alternatively, some scholars say there is some evidence that Mahayana originated in North-west India in the 1st century CE.^[17] Some scholars say that Mahayana could have initially developed in the south-east of India as a non-monastic tradition, and that later it underwent a process of monasticization and emerged in the north-west of India as a monastic movement.^[18] Mahayana was first propagated into China by Lokaksema, the first translator of Mahayana sutras into Chinese during the second century CE.^[19]

Three sources appear to have made significant contributions to the rise of Mahayana Buddhism:^[16]

The Early Buddhist Schools. Some important Mahayana texts such as the Prajnaparamita often refer to doctrines associated with the Sarvastivada, which were mentioned or incorporated into Mahayana texts.^[20] In terms of content, however, the Mahasanghika doctrine is closer to Mahayana thought,^[20] particularly those of the sub-schools such as the Lokottaravadins.^[21]
Biographical literature of the Buddha composed by people said to have belonged to 'the vehicle that praised the Buddha'. This literature (comprising the Jatakas, Avadanas and other texts describing the life of Buddha) may have had its origins in the various Early Schools, but developed in ways that transcended the existing sectarian lines and contributed to the rise of Mahayana Buddhism. Buddhist poets wrote their work with purposes different from those of scholars who were concerned with doctrinal issues, and they used literary expressions which transcended doctrinal lines between the schools.^[22]
Stupa worship. Stupas — which were initially mere monuments to Gautama Buddha — increasingly became the place of devotion and of spreading Buddhism to the masses, the majority of whom were illiterate laymen. On the inside wall of the stupa, pictures were drawn or sculpted depicting the life of Buddha and his previous lives as a bodhisattva. This has given rise to devotion to the Buddha and the bodhisattvas,^[23] distinct from the purely monastic sangha of the Early Buddhist schools. However, this theory has been rejected by a number of scholars.^[24] Early Mahayanists may well have used the stupas that were not affiliated with the Early Buddhist Schools as the basis for proselytizing.^[25]

The commonly expressed misconception that Mahayana started as a lay-inspired movement^[26] is based on a selective reading of a very tiny sample of extant Mahayana Sutra literature.^[27] Currently scholars have moved away from this limited corpus of literature, and have started to open up early Mahayana literature which is very ascetic and expounds the ideal of the monks' life in the forest.^[28]

A scholarly consensus about the origin of the Mahayana has not yet been reached, but it has been suggested that by the time Mahayana in India became mainstream in the 5th century CE, it had become what it originally most strongly objected to: a fully landed, sedentary, lay-oriented monastic institution.^[29] Before that, the Mahayana movement may well have been either a marginalized ascetic group of monks living in the forest, or a group of conservatives embedded in mainstream, socially engaged early Buddhist monasteries.^[30] Most scholars conclude that Mahayana remained a marginal movement until the 5th century CE.

what is bhddhahood, how?

2009-10-21T21:44:00.000-07:00

In Buddhism, buddhahood (Sanskrit: buddhatva. Pali: buddhatta. Or (both) buddhabhāva) is the state of perfect enlightenment (Sanskrit: samyaksambodhi. Pali: sammāsambodhi) attained by a buddha (help·info) (Pali/Sanskrit for "awakened one").

In Buddhism, the term 'buddha' usually refers to one who has become enlightened (i.e., awakened to the truth, or Dharma). The level to which this manifestation requires abstraction from ordinary life (ascetic practices) varies from none at all to an absolute requirement, dependent on doctrine. In Theravada Buddhist traditions, it is held that the person attains this state on their own, without a teacher to point out the Dharma, in a time when the teachings on the Four Noble Truths or the Eightfold Path do not exist in the world, and teaches it to others.

In contrast, certain Mahayana Buddhist traditions (particularly those that consider the teachings of the Lotus Sutra to be paramount, which contains this concept) Buddhahood is considered to be a universal and innate property of absolute wisdom that is revealed in a person's current lifetime through Buddhist practice, without any specific relinquishment of pleasures or "earthly desires". Thus, there is an extremely broad spectrum of opinion on the universality and method of attainment of Buddhahood which is correlated to which of Shakyamuni Buddha's teachings that a school of Buddhism follows.

More broadly, it is occasionally used to refer to all who attain nirvana.^[1] In this broader sense it is equivalent to Arahant. According to Theravada Buddhism, all Arahants (or Buddhas in the broader sense) are the same in the most fundamental aspects of Liberation (Nirvana), but differ in their practice of perfections paramis. Mahayana Buddhism, however, considers there is a fundamental difference between Buddhas and ordinary arhants, on the way to becoming a Buddha, a buddhist proceeds bodhisattva stages.

Buddhists do not consider Siddhartha Gautama to have been the only Buddha. The Pali Canon refers to many previous ones (see List of the 28 Buddhas), while the Mahayana tradition additionally has many Buddhas of celestial, rather than historical, origin (see Amitabha or Vairocana as examples, lists of many thousands buddha names see Taisho Tripitaka no 439-448). A common Theravada and Mahayana Buddhist belief is that the next Buddha will be one named Maitreya (Pali: Metteyya).

The Six Dhamma Councils

2009-10-20T06:30:00.000-07:00

The authentic teachings of Gotama the Buddha have been preserved and handed down to us and are to be found in the Tipiṭaka. The Pāli word, Tipiṭaka', literally means `the three baskets' (ti=three + piṭaka=collections of scriptures). All of the Buddha's teachings were divided into three parts.

1.The first part is known as the Vinaya Piṭaka and it contains all the rules which Buddha laid down for monks and nuns.
2.The second part is called the Suttaṅta Piṭaka and it contains the Discourses.
3.The third part is known as the Abhidhamma Piṭaka and comprises the psycho-ethical teachings of the Buddha.

It is known, that whenever the Buddha gave a discourse to his ordained disciples or lay-followers or prescribed a monastic rule in the course of his forty-five year ministry, those of his devoted and learned monks, then present would immediately commit his teachings word for word to memory. Thus the Buddha's words were preserved accurately and were in due course passed down orally from teacher to pupil.

Some of the monks who had heard the Buddha preach in person were Arahants, and so by definition, `pure ones' free from passion, ill-will and delusion and therefore, was without doubt capable of retaining, perfectly the Buddha's words. Thus they ensured that the Buddha's teachings would be preserved faithfully for posterity.

Even those devoted monks who had not yet attained Arahantahood but had reached the first three stages of sainthood and had powerful, retentive memories could also call to mind word for word what the Buddha had preached and so could be worthy custodians of the Buddha's teachings. One such monk was Ānanda, the chosen attendant and constant companion of the Buddha during the last twenty-five years of the his life.

Ānanda was highly intelligent and gifted with the ability to remember whatever he had heard. Indeed, it was his express wish that the Buddha always relate all of his discourses to him and although he was not yet an Arahanta he deliberately committed to memory word for word all the Buddha's sermons with which he exhorted monks, nuns and his lay followers. The combined efforts of these gifted and devoted monks made it possible for the Dhamma and Vinaya, as taught by the Buddha to be preserved in its original state.

The Pāli Tipiṭaka and its allied literature exists as a result of the Buddha's discovery of the noble and liberating path of the pure Dhamma. This path enables all those who follow it to lead a peaceful and happy life. Indeed, in this day and age we are fortunate to have the authentic teachings of the Buddha preserved for future generations through the conscientious and concerted efforts of his ordained disciples down through the ages.

The Buddha had said to his disciples that when he was no longer amongst them, that it was essential that the Saṅgha should come together for the purpose of collectively reciting the Dhamma, precisely as he had taught it. In compliance with this instruction the first Elders duly called a council and systematically ordered all the Buddha's discourses and monastic rules and then faithfully recited them word for word in concert.

The teachings contained in the Tipiṭaka are also known as the Doctrine of the Elders [Theravāda]. These discourses number several hundred and have always been recited word for word ever since the First Council was convened. Subsequently, more Councils have been called for a number of reasons but at every one of them the entire body of the Buddha's teaching has always been recited by the Saṅgha participants, in concert and word for word.

The first council took place three months after the Buddha's attainment of Mahāparinibbāṇa and was followed by five more, two of which were convened in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. These collective recitations which were performed by the monks at all these Dhamma Councils are known as the `Dhamma Saṅgītis', the Dhamma Recitations.

They are so designated because of the precedent set at the First Dhamma Council, when all the Teachings were recited first by an Elder of the Saṅgha and then chanted once again in chorus by all of the monks attending the assembly. The recitation was judged to have been authentic, when and only when, it had been approved unanimously by the members of the Council. What follows is a brief history of the Six Councils.

metta sutta

2009-10-20T06:17:00.000-07:00

Let him be able, and upright, and straight.
Easy to speak to, gentle, and not proud,
Contented, too, supported easily.

With few tasks, and living very lightly,
His faculties serene, prudent, and modest,
Unswayed by the emotions of the clans;
And let him never do the slightest thing
That other wise men might hold blamable.

(And let him think:) "In safety and in bliss
May creatures all be of a blissful heart.

Whatever breathing beings there may be,
No matter whether they are frail or firm,
With none excepted, be they long or big
Or middle sized, or be they short or small
Or thick, as well as those seen or unseen,
Or whether they are dwelling far or near,
Existing or yet seeking to exist,
May creatures all be of a blissful heart.

Let no one work another one's undoing
Or even slight him at all anywhere;
And never let them wish each other ill
Through provocation or resentful thought."

And just as might a mother with her life
Protect the son that was her only child,
So let him then for every living thing
Maintain unbounded consciousness in being,
And let him too with love for all the world
Maintain unbounded consciousness in being
Above, below, and all round in between,
Untroubled, with no enemy or foe.

And while he stands or walks or while he sits
Or while he lies down, free from drowsiness,
Let him resolve upon this mindfulness
This is Divine Abiding here, they say.

But when he has no trafficking with views,
Is virtuous, and has perfected seeing,
And purges greed for sensual desires.
He surely comes no more to any womb.

Kalama Sutta

2009-10-20T06:15:00.000-07:00

Do not believe in anything (simply)
because you have heard it.

Do not believe in traditions because they
have been handed down for many generations.

Do not believe in anything because it is
spoken and rumoured by many.

Do not believe in anything (simply) because
it is found written in your religious books.

Do not believe in anything merely on the authority
of your teachers and elders.

But after observation and analysis
when you find that anything agrees with reason
and is conductive to the good and benefit of one and all
then accept it and live up to it.

Arahant in Theravada

2009-10-16T04:18:00.000-07:00

In Theravada, it means anyone who has reached the total Awakening and attained Nibbana, including the Buddha. Arahant is a person who has destroyed greed, hatred and delusion, the unwholesome roots which underlie all fetters. Who upon decease will not be reborn in any world, having wholly cut off all fetters that bind a person to the samsara. In the Pali Canon, the word is sometimes used as a synonym for tathagata.[4]

After attainment of Nibbana, the five aggregates (physical forms, feelings/sensations, perception, mental formations and consciousness) will continue to function, sustained by physical bodily vitality. This attainment is termed the nibbana element with a residue remaining. But once the Arahant pass-away and with the disintegration of the physical body, the five aggregates will cease to function, hence ending all traces of existence in the phenomenal world and thus total release from the misery of samsara. It would then be termed the nibbana element without residue remaining.[5] Parinibbana is the Nibbana that occurs at the death of an Arahant. An Arahant generates no new kamma, but is affected by the fruition of past kamma.

These three awakened beings are classified as Arahant:

1. Sammasambuddha, usually just called Buddha, who discovers the truth by himself and teaches the path to awakening to others.
2. Paccekabuddha, who discovers the truth by himself but lacks the skill to teach others.
3. Savakabuddha, who receive the truth directly or indirectly from a Sammasambuddha.

In well known verses in the Pali Canon, the Buddha describes himself as an arahant soon after his enlightenment: [6]

'All-vanquishing, all-knowing am I, with regard to all things, unadhering. All-abandoning, released in the ending of craving: having fully known on my own, to whom should I point as my teacher?

I have no teacher, and one like me can't be found. In the world with its devas, I have no counterpart.

For I am an arahant in the world; I, the unexcelled teacher. I, alone, am rightly self-awakened. Cooled am I, unbound.

To set rolling the wheel of Dhamma I go to the city of Kasi. In a world become blind, I beat the drum of the Deathless.'
— Ariyapariyesana Sutta

In the Pali Canon, Gotama Buddha is described as thus: [7]

A monk called Gotama…a son of the Sakyans who went forth from a Sakyan clan...Now a good report of Master Gotama has been spread to this effect: 'That Blessed One is such since he is arahant and Fully Enlightened, perfect in true knowledge and conduct, sublime, knower of worlds, incomparable teacher of men to be tamed, teacher of gods and humans, enlightened, blessed...He teaches a Dhamma that is good in the beginning, good in the middle and good in the end...' Now it is good to see such arahants.
—Saleyyaka Sutta

In the Pali Canon, Arahant qualities is describe as thus: [8]

When a monk is an arahant, his fermentations ended, who has reached fulfillment, done the task, laid down the burden, attained the true goal, totally destroyed the fetter of becoming, and is released through right gnosis, he is dedicated to six things: renunciation, seclusion, non-afflictiveness, the ending of craving, the ending of clinging/sustenance, & non-deludedness.
—Sona Sutta

In the Pali Canon, Arahant qualities are described as thus: [9]

…those monks who are arahants — whose mental effluents are ended, who have reached fulfillment, done the task, laid down the burden, attained the true goal, totally destroyed the fetter of becoming, and who are released through right gnosis — no (future) cycle for manifestation…
—Alagaddupama Sutta

In the Pali Canon, attainment of arahantship is described as thus: [10]

…dwelling alone, secluded, heedful, ardent, and resolute — he in no long time reached and remained in the supreme goal of the holy life, for which clansmen rightly go forth from home into homelessness, knowing and realizing it for himself in the here and now. He knew: ‘Birth is ended, the holy life fulfilled, the task done. There is nothing further for the sake of this world.’ And thus Ven. Ratthapala became another one of the arahants.
—Ratthapala Sutta

For those that have destroyed greed and hatred (in the sensory context) with some residue of delusion, are called anagami (non-returner). Anagamis will not be reborn into the human world after death, but into the heaven of the Pure Abodes, where only anagamis live. There, they will attain full enlightenment.

Gautama Buddha

2009-10-16T04:14:00.000-07:00

Siddhārtha Gautama (Sanskrit: सिद्धार्थ गौतम; Pali: Siddhattha Gotama) was a spiritual teacher in the north eastern region of the Indian subcontinent who taught universal law of nature or simply Dhamma and or Dharma.[1] He is regarded by Buddhists as the Supreme Buddha (Sammāsambuddha) of our age. The time of his birth and death are uncertain: most early 20th-century historians dated his lifetime as c. 563 BCE to 483 BCE; more recently, however, at a specialist symposium on this question,[2] the majority of those scholars who presented definite opinions gave dates within 20 years either side of 400 BCE for the Buddha's death, with others supporting earlier or later dates.[3]

Gautama, also known as Śākyamuni or Shakyamuni ("sage of the Shakyas"), is the key figure in Buddhism, and accounts of his life, discourses, and monastic rules are believed by Buddhists to have been summarized after his death and memorized by his followers. Various collections of teachings attributed to Gautama were passed down by oral tradition, and first committed to writing about 400 years later. Early Western scholarship tended to accept the biography of the Buddha presented in the Buddhist scriptures as largely historical, but currently "scholars are increasingly reluctant to make unqualified claims about the historical facts of the Buddha's life and teachings

EVOLUTION OF ABHIDHAMMA

2009-10-09T07:37:00.001-07:00

ME02- EVOLUTION OF ABHIDHAMMA

About Evolution of Abhidhamma to know clearly, we have to analysis the early Buddhist teaching because Abhidhammic teaching is base on it.

Firstly, after the Buddha’s passing away, classifying the Buddha’s teaching for the sake of future generation was done to a certain extent at the First Buddhist Council in India.

In this Council, the teachings were mainly classified into only two sections as Dhamma and Vinaya. Dhamma was further classified into four or five sections as Nikayas and Vinaya consisted of two main parts, Bhikhu-Vinaya and Bhikkhuni-vinaya.

It is existence as Dhamma and Vinaya till not only First Buddhist Council but also Second Council which was held after one hundred years of Buddha’s passing away in the city of Visali. Therefore, Abhidhamma was not developed as a separate section of Pali canonn at the time of the First and the Second Councils.

Secondly, there is a common agreement among the scholars that the four Nikayas mostly represent an earlier period of Buddha’s teachings. They are preserved as Suttapitaka in the Theravada tradition.

Suttapitaka includes frie Nikaya and the fifth Nikaya consists of fifteen texts some of which can be considered as representing an earlier period. So, the term Abhishamma occurs in the Suttapitaka but not in the sense of a separate Pitaka in that time.

Thirdly, according to Theravada Tradition, the Buddha while the Blessed One was still dwelling in the vicinity of the Bodhi Tree, sat in the jewel house (Ratanaghara) and contemplated the seven books of Abhidhamma.

Moreover, The Buddha preached Abhidhamma to His mother and the Deva at Tavatimsa heaven. So the term Abhishamma according to tradition, is preached as first Dhamma.

Fourthly, the different Buddhist sects interpreted the teachings of Buddha in various ways. These various interpretations and theories are recorded in the Kathavatthuppakarana, the last text of the Abhidhamma-Pitaka. By Shwe Zan Aung, The controversial points of the different Buddhist sects recorded in the Kathavatthu, have been classified into ten headings as follows:

(1) Of the Buddha

(2) Of other Ariyans

a. The Arhant

b. Those in the lower Path-Stages

c. Of the Ariyan Nature and Path

(3) Of the Average Man or World ling

(4) Of Devas

(5) Of the order

(6) Of the Religion or Church (Sasana)

(7) Of the Individual

(8) Of Cosmology

(9) Of the unconditioned

(10) Some ethical points

Thus the definitions were different from each other. As a result the compiled their own collections of such analyses and some of them even debated on such controversial matters. In order to establish Theravada point of view regarding such controversial point, the Kathavatthuppakarana was compiled by Ven.Moggaliputtatissa.

Further, there was no unanimity among the Buddhist sects regarding the number of doctrine aspects so far collected and classified in the course of time.

Four main processes have been carried out at the councils in order to preserve the Buddha’s teachings:

v Collection of the teachings

v Classification of the teachings

v Abstraction of the doctrinal parts from the teachings

v Definition and analysis of the doctrines.

And this also proves the fact that Abhidhamma came into being as a process of interpretation of the early Buddhist teachings by different Buddhist sects.

Finally, attempt taken by Abhidhammic traditions to fulfil the above purpose should be studied under the topic of doctrinal interpretations in the Abhidhamma. (words: 543) for the students of university of Kelaniya,in srilanka, 2009

www.setgyarwalar.co.cc

Question: Morality, Concentration, Wisdom

2009-09-29T23:25:00.000-07:00

A: In using the word morality for sila I would also suggest the words “discipline” or “restraint,” perhaps even in place of the word “morality,” which has a philosophical connotation.

And, yes, it is correct to say that practicing sila—acting with discipline and restraint in daily life—lays an essential foundation for a good meditation practice.

Most of the time we don’t remember to be mindful—we are not mindful of mindfulness! It’s harder yet when our minds are distracted or bothered by unwholesome actions we may have undertaken or be involved in.

Sila is like that when it comes to meditation. It’s the foundation. Through restraint, through wholesome actions and decisions made in our daily lives, we lay this foundation.

Your mind is agitated, you’re constantly distracted, you simply can’t focus. Something you have done in your life—becoming enraged with someone, sexual misconduct, addictive behavior of all sorts or some other unwholesome action of body, speech or mind—has deeply registered in your subconscious mind. It keeps coming back up, making you feel remorseful, guilty, restless, full of worries. You just can’t sit!

We make the commitment to root out unwholesome behavior and to encourage wholesome habits in our lives. It helps to make the commitment and to come back to it, time and time again: “OK, from now on I’m going to undertake this meditation practice and I’m going to try not to break my principles.”

If you do, then learn from those consequences. Feel the heaviness in your mind and in your life. Our goal is to make the mind light, to make our life light. After all, we are seeking to attain en-light-enment, aren’t we?

Sila, though, should not be confused with a set of commandments. It is something you undertake by yourself, on your own accord. If you don’t make the effort, if you commit some unwholesome behavior, you reap the consequences and it affects your meditation practice. If you do make the effort, you’ll also see the positive consequences—it’s very cause and effect.

We practice sila for own self-confidence and to overcome our weaknesses. So, sila is a way of behaving, that we ourselves choose. We undertake it by ourselves for the sake of a steady state of mind, for the sake of progress in our practice.

Good sila strengthens our courage and ability. It gives support to our meditation practice and provides psychological strength. It is this foundation that is absolutely necessary to gain concentration.

THE BUDDHA IMAGE: ideal physical proportions

2009-09-27T09:29:00.000-07:00

The image of Buddha expresses serene quiescence. The harmony of his physical proportions is the expression of great beauty. The required measurements are laid down in the canon (or standard pattern) of Buddhist art, which corresponds to ideal physical proportions. The span is the basic measure, i.e. the distance from the tip of the middle finger to the tip of the thumb of the outspread hand. This distance corresponds to the space between the dimple in the chin and the hair-line. Each span has twelve finger-breadths. The whole figure measures 108 finger-breadths or 9 spans corresponding to the macro-micro-cosmic harmony measurements.

The perfect proportions of a Buddha, the graciousness of his physical form, represent one of the ten qualities or powers of a Buddha. They are the characteristics of the physical harmony and beauty of a Great Being, and are described in Story of the Life of Buddha Shakyamuni. There are thirty-two major and eighty minor characteristics. The lines of the eight-spoked on the soles and palms of a Buddha are among them. The appearance and the measurements of a Buddha are perishable and a worldly conception: they describe the ideal picture of a Heavenly Body. They are not subject to change like growth, sickness and death, which can only affect the earthly incarnation of a Buddha.

Examining the canon of the body of a Buddha, one realises that every detail represents harmonious proportions. Everything, the spot between the eyebrows, marking the eye of wisdom, as well as the tip of the nose, has its own special place. The nose has its specific length, just as the ears have their own characteristically exaggerated length. The symbol of a Buddha's greatest enlightenment is the so-called enlightenment-elevation on the top of the head, described in old texts as that which emerges out of the head of an enlightened saint. It is the visible symbol of the spiritual generative power that strives towards heaven and passes into the immaterial sphere.

The ideal proportions of any image of the Buddha are described in books on iconography. The canonic prototype shows the seated Buddha with his legs crossed and the soles of his feet visible. This yoga-posture has a pre-Buddhist tradition in India, appearing for the first time on the seals of Mohenjodaro in the third millennium BC. This yoga-posture hides the lower part of the body. The broad shoulders are emphasised in early Buddhist sculptures of Mathura. These characteristics, and the slightly almond eye of Buddha Sakyamuni, hint at his descent from the Licchavi clan, related to the Proto-Tibetans by kinship and blood. Before the final domination of the Indo-Europeans, these Licchavis ruled in northern India and the Himalayan regions. Their principalities had democratic constitutions with equal rights and no discrimination of sex or race. Buddhism and its founder must be considered on the basis of this social structure which is confirmed in the oldest texts as well as in the modern Oxford History of India.

Physical Marks

Ushnisha, the Enlightenment Elevation above the fontanelle; is the flame-topped elevation on the head of the Buddha, defined as that which emerges from the head of a Fully Enlightened One.

Urna, the mark in the centre of the forehead, called the Eye of Wisdom, also depicted as a Bundle of Rays or fine hairs between the eyebrows.

The lower part of the body is covered by the Diamond-Seat (Vajrasana). This is the meditation pose (Dhayanasana) of utmost concentration with the legs crossed so that the soles are visible.

The Subtle Energy-Spheres of the Body

The Enlightenment-Centre, the Top of the Head or fontanelle above the upper cerebrum, called Sphere of the Thousand-petalled Lotus (SAHASHRARA-CAKRA).

The cerebral centre of thinking and conscious-power, called Command-Centre (AJNA-CAKRA), the forehead between the eyebrows; ascribed to lotus-centre.

The guttural centre or subtle Sphere of Speech (VISHUDDHA-CAKRA) at the base of the throat.

The cardiac plexus, the emotional Sphere of the Inner Voice (ANAHATA-CAKRA), called the Source of the Heart, situated in the central region of the thorax or chest.

The solar plexus with the gastric plexus, called `the brain of the belly', Fiery-lustrous or Navel-Centre (MANIPURA- CAKRA) in the region of the loins and connected with the lumbar plexus.

The sacral plexus, called Root-Centre (MULADHARA-CAKRA) or Secret Place, being the root of all streams of vital energy (NADIS) in the region of the rump-bone or sacrum.

The human body is the receptacle of the power of thinking described as a bundle of energy and pervaded by the so-called breath of life flowing in subtle streams throughout the body.

FUTURE BUDDHA !

2009-09-27T09:28:00.000-07:00

Chinese depiction: often referred to as the Laughing Buddha

(Japanese, Miroku; Chinese, Mi-lo Fwo; Tibetan, Byams-pa; Vietnamese, Di-lac; Korean, Mi-rug)

According to some Buddhist traditions, the period of the Buddhist Law is divided into three stages: a first period of 500 years, of the turning the Wheel of the Law; a second period of 1,000 years, of the deterioration of the Law, and a third period of 3,000 years (called Mappo in Japan) during which no one practises the Law. After this, Buddhism having disappeared, a new Buddha will appear who will again turn the Wheel of the Law. This future Buddha is still in the Tusita heaven, in the state of a Bodhisattva. Gautama Buddha himself will enthrone him as his successor. The name means 'benevolence' or 'friendship'. He is now living his last existence as a Bodhisattva. In anticipation of his imminent arrival, he is sometimes considered as a Buddha and given the title of Tathagata.

Maitreya is the only celestial Bodhisattva recognized by the sects of the Theravada school, who represented him from the outset. His images appear in Gandhara, perhaps even before those of the Buddha (with whom he was perhaps confused): he is represented standing or seated, as an ornamented Buddha, with long thin hair on the shoulders or tied in a chignon on his head, his hands in Dharmacakra mudra when seated, or in Vitarka and Varada mudras when standing.

In Tibet, when he is represented seated, his legs hang (in the European manner) and he is clothed as a Buddha. (The image on left is of the Maitreya Project Statue being built in Bodh Gaya, India). This is the form he assumes in Java in the eighth-century temple, the Chandi Mendut. His representations abound throughout Buddhist Asia. Yet he is usually shown as a Bodhisattva, standing and adorned with jewels, rather than seated. In certain images representing him in the sky Tusita, he appears seated with his legs in Padmasana. He is recognized by wearing a small stupa in his headdress. His attributes may vary, and he may hold a vase or a wheel (cakra) placed on lotus flowers. A scarf is always tied around his waist. Sometimes an antelope skin covers his left shoulder. He often forms a triad with Sakyamuni and Avalokitesvara; in fact, in Sri Lanka, sculptures thought to depict Avalokitesvara have been reinterpreted as showing Maitreya.

In Korea and Japan, where his cult enjoyed great favour from the sixth century, he is often confused (as in China) with Amitabha and Sakyamuni. In sculpture, he was sometimes confused with Nyoirin Kannon in Japan, a form of Avalokitesvara. He was also given the name of Jishi Bosatsu, 'He who is full of pity'. He was first likened to Kami Hachiman, a deification of the Japanese Emperor Ojin (third century), and was later considered an incarnation of Amitabha, serving as an intermediary between Gautama (the world of mortals) and Amitabha (the world of the beyond).

Acolytes of Maitreya: Asanga and Vasubandhu

Besides the triads, Maitreya is often represented with two acolytes: Asanga (Japanese Muchaku), founder of the Hosso sect, and Asanga's brother Vasubandhu (Japanese Seshin). Tradition relates that Maitreya descended from the Tusita heaven at the request of Asanga and his brother to teach them the content of the five sutras. These two Arahants then composed many other enlightening shastras for the followers of the doctrines of the Mahayana. In Japan, Asanga is some-times called Genjo and is then confused with the Chinese pilgrim Xuanzang. Asanga lived in India, in Pataliputra (present-day Patna in the state of Bihar), with his brother in the fourth century. They are represented in the form of monks, and are given the title of Bodhisattva. In Japan, the cult of Maitreya and of his acolytes is little maintained except by the Zen and Shingon sects.

ABOUT REALIGION

2009-09-27T09:22:00.000-07:00

Branch	Percentage	Number of Adherents
Mahayana	56%	185,000,000
Theravada	38%	124,000,000
Vajrayana (Tibetan)	6%	20,000,000

2009-09-27T09:21:00.000-07:00

Country	Percent
Thailand	95.00%
Cambodia	90
Myanmar	88
Bhutan	75
Sri Lanka	70
Tibet	65
Laos	60
Vietnam	55
Japan	50
Macau	45
Taiwan	43

Country	Number of Buddhists
China	102 000 000
Japan	8 965 000
Thailand	55 480 000
Vietnam	49 690 000
Myanmar	41 610 000
Sri Lanka	12 540 000
South Korea	10 920 000
Taiwan	9 150 000
Cambodia	9 130 000
India	7 000 000

2009-09-27T09:15:00.000-07:00

While estimates vary between 200-500 million adherents, the generally agreed number of Buddhists is estimated at around 350 million (6% of the world's population). This makes Buddhism the world's fourth largest (in terms of number of adherents) religion.

World Religions	Number of Adherents
Christianity	2 billion
Islam	1.3 billion
Hinduism	900 million
Secular/Nonreligious/Agnostic/Atheist	850 million
Buddhism	360 million
Chinese traditional religion	225 million
Primal-indigenous	190 million
Yoruba religion	20 million
Juche	19 million
Sikhism	18 million
Judaism	15 million
Spiritism	14 million
Babi and Bahai faiths	6 million
Jainism	4 million
Shinto	4 million
Cao Dai	3 million
Tenrikyo	2.4 million
Neo-Paganism	1 million
Unitarian-Universalism	800 thousand
Scientology	750 thousand
Rastafarianism	700 thousand
Zoroastrianism	150 thousand

Conventional Truth (Sammuti Sacca) and Ultimate Truth (Paramattha Sacca)

2009-09-14T02:21:00.000-07:00

Two kinds of Truth are recognised in the Abhidhamma according to which only four categories of things namely, mind (consciousness), mental concomitants, Materiality and Nibbæna are classed as the Ultimate Truth; all the rest are regarded as apparent truth.

When we use such expressions as ‘I’, ‘you’, ‘man’, ‘woman’, ‘person’, ‘individual’, we are speaking about things which do not exist in reality. By using such expressions about things which exist only in designation, we are not telling a lie; we are merely speaking an apparent truth, making use of conventional language, without which no communication will be possible.

But the Ultimate Truth is that there is no ‘person’, ‘individual’ or ‘I’ in reality. There exist only khandhas made up of corporeality, mind (consciousness) and mental concomitants. These are real in that they are not just designations, they actually exist in us or around us.

Buddhism in Srilanka

2009-09-14T02:10:00.000-07:00

Sri Lanka is the oldest continually Buddhist country, Theravada Buddhism being the major religion in the island since its official introduction in the 2nd century BC by Venerable Mahinda, the son of the Emperor Ashoka of India during the reign of King Devanampiya- Tissa. Later, the nun Sanghamitta, the daughter of Asoka, was said to have brought the southern branch of the original Bodhi tree, where it was planted at Anuradhapura. From that day up to the present, the Buddhists in Sri Lanka have paid and are paying the utmost reverence to this branch of the Bodhi Tree under the shade of which the Master achieved Enlightenment.

Monks from Sri Lanka have had an important role in spreading both Theravada and Mahayana throughout South-east Asia. It was in Sri Lanka, in the 1st century AD during the reign of King Vatta Gamini that the Buddhist monks assembled in Aloka-Vihara and wrote down the Tripitaka, the three basket of the Teachings, known as the Pali scriptures for the first time. It was Sri Lankan nuns who introduced the Sangha of nuns into China in 433AD. In the 16th century the Portuguese conquered Sri Lanka and savagely persecuted Buddhism as did the Dutch who followed them.

When the British won control at the beginning of the 19th century Buddhism was well into decline, a situation that encouraged the English missionaries that then began to flood the island. But against all expectations the monastic and lay community brought about a major revival from about 1860 onwards, a movement that went hand in hand with growing nationalism.

Since then Buddhism has flourished and Sri Lankan monks and expatriate lay people have been prominent in spreading Theravada Buddhism in Asia, the West and even in Africa.

Some of the most marvellous monuments in the Buddhist world belong to Sri Lanka, and her sculpture is closely associated with the early art of the Krishna valley and the later Pallava and Chola kings, owing to the close relationship that existed between south India and Sri Lanka. (above: Seven-metre-tall standing image of the Buddha in a rare cross-armed pose at Gal Vihara).

According to the Sri Lankan chronicles, the Mahavamsa, one of Ashoka's sons, the monk Mahinda, supervised construction of monastic buildings nearAnuradhapura. Simultaneously, he sent to India for relics. These, say the histories, included the Buddha's alms bowl andhis right collarbone. Later a hair relic, and in the 4th century AD, the Buddha's tooth would be taken to Sri Lanka. The tooth is still preserved in Kandy where daily rituals venerate the Buddha's tooth relic in Temple of the Tooth Relic, Kandy 16th Century.

To house the relics, stupas were built. Standing at 300 feet, Ruwanweliseya, or the "Great Stupa" is regarded as one of the most important stupas at Anuradhapura in north-central Sri Lanka: Much restored, the great dome, circled with old columns, is still to be seen in Anuradhapura, now a great park. During major festivals it is crowded with hundreds of thousands of devotees in family groups, who picnic happily among the ruins and offer puja at the Bodhi tree. There are other important monuments nearby at Mihintale, the site of Mahinda's first sermon to King Devanampiya-Tissa. The ruins of the later capital at Polonnaruwa (9th century AD onwards), showing Hindu and Mahayana cultic influence, are yet more elaborate.

The stupa in Sri Lanka is a circular drum on a square base with a long succession of compressed umbrellas forming a conical top over a box-shaped harmika, of which the Ruwanweliseya stupa, (above right) at Anuradhapura (3rd century BC) is a fine example.