UPPOSE, brethren, a man in need of sound timber, in
quest of sound timber, going about searching for sound
timber, should come upon a mightly tree, upstanding, all
sound timber, and pass it by; but should cut away the
outer wood and bark and take that along with him,
thinking it to be sound timber.
"Then a discerning man might say thus: 'This fellow
surely cannot tell the difference between sound timber
and outer wood and bark, branch-wood and twigs.......he
passes it by and goes off with the outer wood and bark,
thinking it to be sound timber. Now such a way of
dealing with sound timber will never serve his need.
"Thus, brethren, the essentials of the pure life do not
consist in the profits of gain, honour and good name;
nor yet in the profits of knowledge and insight; but the
sure heart's release, brethren that, brethren, is the
meaning, that is the essence, that is the goal of living
the pure life,"
The goal of a Buddhist�s life,shouldbe a the Noble
Eightfold Path, which is Nibbana - a word better known
in its Sanskrit form of Nirvana. The Buddha said: "Nibbana
is the highest happiness." Hence the highest aim of the
Buddhist is the attainment of it. Attempts have been
made by writing many books to define this exalted state.
It has to be appreciated that Nibbana is something that
has to be realised within oneself, rather than
described, explained or talked about as it is 'not
within the scope of logic', being a supramundane state.
What happen to a person who realised Nibbana on his
death? It cannot be stressed strongly enough that he is
not annihilated, which opponents put forward as the only
logical answer.
The argument devolves round the Buddhist view of the
self; no part of the individual can possibly be
identified with a self or soul; hence, one cannot speak
of the annihilation of the latter. In the West, however,
many follow the theories of Plato and maintain that the
soul is synonymous with consciousness, and that is this
that is immutable and immortal. This view, which is
denied by Buddhism, is very much akin to the Hindu atman
theory.
Nibbana, the goal in Buddhism, corresponds to salvation,
except that the former is not attained through the
agency of another or outside being but solely through
one's own efforts. If it is attained during one's
lifetime, it is termed 'Nibbana with aggregate'
(Sopadhisesanibbana); if a death, then Nibbana without
aggregate (Anupadhisesanibbana). One must realise on his
own accord. In a very practical sermon, in fact, it was
his first sermon given by the Buddha at Sarnath near
Benares, he declared that those who wish to lead a pure
life should avoid the two extremes of self-indulgence
(kamasuhkallikanuyoga) and self-torture
(attakilamathanuyoga). Self-indulgence is low, coarse,
vulgar, ignoble and self-mortification is painful
ignoble - both are profitless. There is the Middle Way
which leads to Insight and Wisdom.
Its fruit is Serenity, Knowledge, Enlightenment,
Nibbana. It is summed up in four great truths: the fact
of suffering, the further fact that this suffering has
its cause in the craving for personal satisfaction, the
third fact that this suffering will cease when such
craving is stilled, and fourthly that result can be
achieved by treading the Middle Way, otherwise defined
as the Noble Eightfold Path, consisting of
1. Right View: Seeing life as it is, in accord with
three characteristics of anicca, dukkha and anatta; and
appreciating the Four Noble Truths.
2. Right Thought: being motivated by friendly thoughts,
without prejudice, towards one's fellow human beings and
towards all other forms of sentient life.
3. Right Speech: speaking kindly and truthfully, and
narrating incidents accurately.
4. Right Action: acting skilfully and sympathetically,
while avoiding vain or violent efforts.
5. Right Livelihood: practising a means of living that
does not cause oneself nor others to infringe lawful
morality.
6. Right Endeavour: self-perfection by avoiding and
rejecting ignoble qualities while acquiring and
fostering noble qualities.
7. Right Mindfulness: the cultivation and practice of
self-awareness and compassion resulting in self-reliance
and equanimity.
8. Right Concentration: contemplation culminating in
intellectual intuition, wisdom.
This is the Middle Way, the Buddhists' philosophy of
life by which one lives and progresses in accord with
the principles of moderation and detachments. Once
deliverance is thus obtained from suffering, and the
freedom appreciated, it cannot be lost by those who have
once won it.
The first principle of all Reality is that whatever has
a beginning must have an end. The Buddha said: 'Whatever
is subjected to arise must also be subjected to cease'.
(Yam kinci samudayadhammam sabbam tam nirodhadhammam).
Therefore the suffering is no exception.
The first sermon contains all the essentials of the
Buddhist ideal.
The Buddha does not proclaim himself a Saviour willing
and able to take upon himself the sins of mankind. On
the contrary, he declares that each man and woman must
bear the burden of their own actions. The Buddha says:
'By oneself, indeed, is evil done; by oneself is one
defiled; by oneself is evil left undone; oneself,
indeed, is one purified. Purity and impurity depend on
oneself. No one purifies another." - Dhammapada.
It may seem that many features that have become
associated with what is called 'religion' are not
present in the Buddhist concept.
Buddhism has none of the activities of a religion, but
as an ethical philosophy it may be described as a
progressive scheme of self-discipline and
self-purification. This philosophy, based on the
teaching of the Buddha, is to be understood and
practised, not accepted and believe. "Buddha point the
way, you must make the effort", says the Buddha. In the
Mahaparinibbana Sutta the Buddha categorically states
thus: "Therefore, Ananda, dwell making yourselves your
island (light), making yourselves, not anyone else, your
refuge; making the Dhamma your island (light), the
Dhamma your refuge, nothing else your refuge."
Therefore the first requisite of his teaching is a frank
recognition of the facts of life - a just estimate of
their values. The first essential is a realisation that
all conscious existence is enveloped in suffering which
is called dukkha. It means not merely suffering, pain or
misery, but includes all other factors of an
unsatisfactory nature, namely: decay, death, hunger,
thirst, impermanence, insubstantiality and alike. This
truth is easily realised by any person who can think
soberly and dispassionately. It can be easily
understood, too, due to its grossness and to the fact
that it can be seen everywhere around us.
It cannot be denied that where there is sensibility,
there also is dukkha. Infatuation with transient
pleasures prevent us from seeing things as they truly
are but pain is an experience which results in a feeling
of dissatisfaction. All activities, whether good or bad,
stem from this feeling. Buddhism is the adaptation of
one's life to harmonise with natural laws. The
importance of happiness cannot be overstressed. It can
only come about when we live in harmony with the natural
laws, which bring us health, success and contentment,
tranquillity and peace of mind. One can understand the
same fact in the sayings of the Buddha: "Here he
rejoices, hereafter he rejoices; in both states the
well-doer rejoices; he rejoices, exceedingly rejoices,
seeing the purity of his own deeds." - Dhammapada. "Here
he is happy, hereafter he is happy; in both states the
well-doer is happy. Thinking that 'I have done good',
thus he is happy. Furthermore is he happy, having gone
to a state of bliss."
When we live in discord with these laws we experience
sickness, failure, discontent, worry and unbalance. In
its practical application to our daily life harmony is
the fruit of understanding the law, while discord is the
fruit of ignorance of it. Discord arises through greed,
ill-will and delusion. Greed is the parent of
selfishness and avarice; selfishness is the parent of
envy and jealousy; avarice is the parent of covetousness
and the competitive spirit; ill-will is the parent of
resentment and anger; resentment is the parent of pride
and revenge: anger is the parent of malice and strife;
delusion is the parent of attachment and fear;
attachment is the parent of craving and lust; fear is
the parent of superstition and intolerance.
All crimes result from greed for wealth, power,
position, etc., in short, in the desire to be a step
ahead of everyone else. However, as in times of war, it
is inevitably the innocent or those wishing not to
become involved, that are the victims in such a ruthless
struggle to remain on top. The positive aspect of
harmony arises through charity (dana) loving kindness
(metta) and wisdom (pannas). Charity is the parent of
unselfishness and generosity; unselfishness is the
parent of sympathy and altruism; generosity is the
parent of magnanimity and co-operation; loving-kindness
is the parent of equanimity and goodwill; goodwill is
the parent of compassion and self-control; wisdom is the
patent of renunciation and serenity; renunciation is the
parent of contentment and mental tranquillity; serenity
is the parent of sound judgement and tolerance.
The right to be happy is accepted by nearly every
nation, but the interpretation of how this happiness is
acquired is conflicting.
There is the popular belief that when an individual
piles up all the possessions he can, he will have
arrived at a state of perfect happiness. In practice, he
finds that the more he has the more he wants; like the
sorcerer's apprentice, they conjure up a demon which
cannot be controlled.
(This article was published in World Buddhism
September 1967).
අමාවක
පුර අටවක
පසෙලාස්වක
අව
අටවක