The teaching of the Buddha

abbapapassa akaranam;
Kusalassa upasampada;
acittapariyodapanam;
tam Buddhana sasanam.

To refrain from all evil;
Todo what is good;
To purify the mind;
This is the teaching of the buddha

What is Buddhism?

What is buddhism,is it a philosophy or a religion or an ethical system? Stictly speaking it is not a philosophy, for it does not contain an elaborate system of theories and facts exclusively for cogitation, although it must be admitted that the Buddha has anticipated much modern speculation.

What is known as Buddhism consists of three aspects, the doctrinal (pariyatti), the practical (patipatti) and the realizable( pativedha), which are interdependent and interrelated. THe doctrine is preserved in the Tipitaka. This Tipitaka, which contains the word of the Buddha, is estimated to be about eleven times the size of the Christian bible. As the word itself implies, it consists of three baskets, namely- the Basket of Discipline (Vinaya Pitaka), the Basket of Discourses (Sutta Pitaka) and the Basket of Ultimate Things (Abhiddhamma Pitaka)/

The Vinaya Pitaka, which is sub-divided into five books, deals with the rules and regulations of the Order of monks and nuns, and gives a detailed account of the life and ministry of the Buddha. The Sutta Pitaka consists of discourses preached by the Buddha and also, in some instances, by his distiguished disciples such as the Ven. Sariputta, Moggallana, Ananda, etc. Divided into twenty-six books it is rather like a collection of prescriptions, for the sermons were propounded to suit the oocasion and the temperament of different individuals. The Abhiddhamma Pitaka, however, is the most important and the most interesting because it elaborates the four eltimate things i.e. consciousness (citta), mental properties (mental concomitants, cetasika), matter (material qualities, rupa) and Nibbana.

Thus we see that Buddhism is concerned with truth and facts, and has nothing to do with theories and philosophies which may be accepted as gospel truth today and may be thrown overboard tomorrow. The Buddha has presented us with no new astounding philosophical theories, nor did he venture to create any new material science, rather did he explain to us what is within and withous so far as it concerns our emancipation, and ultimately he laid out a path of deliverance which is unique.

It should be understaood that the Buddha did not preach all the he knew. On one occasion while he was passing through a forest the Buddha took a handful of leaves and said to some bhikkhus. "O Bhikkhus, what I have taught is comparable to the leaves in my hand, and what I have not taught is comparable to the amount of leaves in the forest", for he taught us only that which is necessary for our emancipation. Incidentally, though, he has made some statemtents which are accepted as scientific truths today.

Buddhism is not merely to be preserved in books, or is it a subject to be studied only from an historical or literary point of view. On the contrary, it is to be learned and put into practise in the course of one's daily life, for without actual practice one cannot aprpeciate truth. tudy and practice come first, but above all it is realization, self-relaization, whic his its ultimate goal. As such, Buddhism is comparable to a raft which is meant for the sole purpose of escaping from the ocean of samsara; Buddhism therefore, cannot strictly be called a philosophy.

Is it then a religion? Neither is it a religion in the sense in which that word is commonly understood, for it is not a system of faith or worship. Buddhim does not demand blind faith from its adherents, here, mere belief is dethroned and replaced by confidence, saddha, as it is known in Pali, based on knowledge of truth. The confidence placed by a follower in the BUddha is like that of a sick man towards the physician, or that of a student towards his teacher. A Buddhist seeks refuge in the Buddha because it is he who discovered the path of deliverance. A sick man should use the remedy which the physician prescribes in order to be cured, and the pupil should study what his teacher says in order to become learned. In just the same way, a Buddhist who possess saddha should follow the BUddha's instructions in order to gain deliverance.

The starting point of Buddhism is reasoning, or understanding or in other words sammaditthi. TO seekers after truth the BUddha says," DO not believe in anything on mere hearsay; do not believe in anything that is traditional just because it is old and handed down through generations; do not believe in rumours or antyhing because people talk about it; do not believe simply because the written testimony of some ancient sage is shown to thee; never believe in anything because the custom of many yesras leads thee to regard it as true; do not believe in anything on the mere authority of the teacher or priests. According to thine own experience, and after thorough investigation, whatever agrees with the reason and is conducive to thine own well being and to that of all other living beings, accept htat as truth and live accordingly.

Is Buddhism, then an ethical system> It no doubt contains an excellent code of morals which is adaptable to all climes and ages, but it is much more than ordinary morality. THe Singala Sutta, Mangala Sutta, Metta SUtta, VAsala Sutta, Dhammika Sutta etc.. should be read carefully to understand the high standard of morality, but morality or sila is only the A.B.C. of Buddhism.

Buddhism, therefore is neither a philosophy nor a religion, nor an ordinary ethical code, it is the doctrine of actuality, a means of deliverance, or as it is called in Pali, the Dhamma.

Reference: Essential themes of buddhist lectures given by Ashin Thittila Aggamahapandita, Abhidhaja Maharatthaguru, Abhidhaja Aggamaha Saddhammajotika P.18

"20.10.2009" one of my friend's birthday... may he be well, happy and peaceful, may the deva n deties always be with him...

The energy of Mindfulness

Understanding is the fruit of meditation
When we practice deep looking directed toward the heart of reality, we receive help, we receive understanding, we receive the wisdom that makes us free. If there is a deep pain within you, meditate.

Meditating is not trying to run away , trying to ignore the presence of the pain, but on the contrary, it is looking at it face to face. You have to practice deep looking directed toward the nature of this pain, because for Buddhists, we are joy, but we are also pain; we are understanding, but we are also ignorance. Meditating is not transforming oneself into a battlefield where one side is fighting another,where good fights against evil. This is not Buddhist meditation. Buddhist meditation is based on the principle of nonduality. This means that if we are mindfulness, if we are love, weare also ignorance, we are also suffering, and there is no reason to suppress anything at all.

When the seed of anger manifests on the level of our conscious mind, our immediate awareness, it is because the seed of anger is in the depths of our consciousness and then we begin to suffer. Our immediate awareness is something like our living room. The task of the meditator is not to chase away or to suppress the energy of anger that is there but rather to invite another energy that will be able to care for the anger.

You can use the method of mindful breathing to make the seed of this other energy grow inside you. It will then manifest in the form of energy, and this energy will embrace your energy of anger like a mother taking a baby in her arms. Then there is only tenderness, there is no fighting with, or discriminating against, the pain. The purpose of the practice of mindful breathing is to help to give birth to this precious energy called mindfulness and to keep it alive.

We have already spoken of this energy that illuminates us. Mindfulness is like a light, enabling concentration to really be there, and that also makes it possible for us to look deeply into the heart of things. From this looking deeply is born deep vision, understanding. Mindfulness brings concentration, understanding ,love and freedom.

If you are a Christian, you could say that this energy we are talking about is known as the Holy Spirit, the energy that is sent to us by GOD. Wherever this energy exists, ther eis attention, understanding, love, compassion. And this energy has the power to heal. Since Jesus embodies this energy, he has the ability to heal whoever he touches. When Jesus touches people, he touches them with the energy of the Holy Spirit. It is not touching his clothing that has the power to heal. We could say that when the energy of compassion and love touches us, healing establishes itself.

In Buddhism we say that mindfulness is the energy of Buddha. The seed of mindfulness is the baby Buddha that is in us. This precious seed can be buried very deeply under several layers of suffering and ignorance. We begin by looking for, by touching, this seed of mindfulness, and everybody knows that all of us have this precious seed in us.

When you drink water, if you are aware of the fact that you are drinking water, mindfulness is there. Mindfulness is the energy that makes it possible for us to be aware of what is happening in the present moment.

When you breathe in and you are aware tha tyou are breathing in, mindfulness is there. Mindfulness is always mindfulness of something. When you are angry and you know that you are angry, mindfulness is there. Anger is one energy, mindfulness is another, and this second kind of energy arises in order to care for the first like a mother caring for her baby.

This Article extract from "True Love: A Practice for Awakening the Heart" written by Zen master Thich Nhat hanh, 2004, pp.49-57

Date : 14.07.07
Title : Four Wheels for a Good Life
Talked By : Ven Aggacitta

Today’s talk will be based on Cakka Sutta (AN 4:31). “Cakka” is the Pali term for “wheel”. A wheel is a structure that aids movement. In any mechanism, when the wheels are properly aligned and functioning, the entire structure moves smoothly. In the same way, if the following four ‘wheels’ in our lives are smoothly rotating, we will soon be steered to prosperity.

1) Staying in a suitable place
It is obvious, from the worldly perspective, that staying in a suitable place is one of the major factors required for one to make a successful living. For example, the chances of a business becoming successful will be greatly increased if it is situated in a place where there is a good and constant flow of its targeted customers. A hawker should be situated in a place where there is a mass of hungry consumers.
A monk on the other hand, needs a quiet and secluded place to practise, where he has a chance to associate with the wise and be in contact with the Triple Gem. But this spiritual need is not only confined to a monk.
Several decades ago when political and economic circumstances were unfavourable, many Asians emigrated to greener pastures, particularly in the West. They settled and prospered in their adoptive countries but often felt a sense of emptiness and alienation. As Buddhists by birth, they missed being in contact with the Sangha and places of worship such as monasteries and stupas, which are as common back home as the air they breathe in. As such, they often gathered together and pooled their resources to find suitable places of worship and to invite monks over so that they could come into active contact with the Triple Gem again. Eventually many Buddhist centres sprouted in western countries, serving not only the needs of the immigrants but also that of the increasing number of Westerners who were interested in Buddhist teachings.
SBS devotees in Taiping are fortunate because they have the chance to come into contact with the Sangha all the time and listen to Dhamma talks almost every week. This is not so for other places even within Malaysia and Singapore. During my annual tour of these places, many devotees often request that I come back to see them more often as they lack qualified monks to guide and lead them in their spiritual quests.

2) Association with the wise
When people associate with the virtuous and the wise, they have a better opportunity to practise cultivation of the body, speech and mind. Why? Because they are influenced by their ‘good vibes’: by their exemplary presence, moral and spiritual values and profound teachings. So they develop wholesome tendencies to keep the precepts well and lead a life of good conduct.

3) Having done merits in the past
There is a Burmese saying, “Because we were good in the past, now we are good; because we are good now, we shall be good in the future.” In other words, our past good kamma resulted in our present good life, and our present good conduct will ensure a good future life.
Look around you. You can see many kinds of people—some are beautiful, clever and affluent while others are deformed, ugly, stupid and poor. We often hear stories of those who became prosperous later in life even though they started with humble beginnings. They may even be uneducated, whereas those who are supposed to succeed in life because they have all the advantages in their youth fail miserably. This is largely due to their past kamma.
Our present actions, too, will influence our future. Take a look at many middle-class and affluent families nowadays. Parents spoil their children because they have no time for them (common in dual income families) or because they led a deprived youth and want to spare their children a similar fate. So they pander to their children's whims and fancies, suffocating them with material luxuries, but neglecting to nurture them with moral and spiritual values. In terms of moral conduct and aptitude, these kids end up in a sorry state.
There is a story of Visakha who attained stream-entry (sotapatti, the first stage of enlightenment) at the age of seven. When she came of age she was married off (as was the Indian custom of that era) to a man from a rich Brahmin family. However, she continued with her usual practice of giving dana to monks. Her father-in-law, who did not believe in doing so, always remained in the kitchen eating his breakfast whenever the monks came. Desiring to lead him into the Dhamma, the wise Visakha said aloud that her respected father-in-law only knew how to eat leftovers but not fresh food. Of course, the old man heard it and demanded to know why Visakha said such a thing. She replied that even though he was wealthy now, he did not know how to ensure his continued prosperity in future lives as he was missing the excellent chance of doing merit by giving dana to those worthy of it. The old man was impressed by her cleverness and eventually became a pious Buddhist.
After death, we cannot bring our current wealth with us, but our good kamma is carried forth, like a good investment, into our future lives.

4) Set yourself in the right direction
An excellent guide in the right direction for us is the Noble Eightfold Path. All thoughts, speech and action arise from the mind. Where there is greed, hatred or delusion, all actions arising from this are unwholesome. Where there is generosity, metta or wisdom, all actions arising from this are wholesome.
Once a devotee from Pokok Assam brought an elderly lady to seek guidance from me. Apparently, she had led a good life because even though she was uneducated, she managed to bring up all her children well enough that they became professionals with fulfilling and prosperous lives of their own. However, she was prone to frequent compulsive worrying about nonsensical and illogical things. This is a situation where one creates unnecessary worry and unhappiness for oneself because one does not know how to restrain the mind.
We need to train our mind to stay still—just like the way a dog-handler trains his charge to sit and not to move unless a command is given. A well-cultivated mind is able to steer away from the unwholesome and follow what is wholesome. Meditation is the most excellent way to cultivate the mind. As such, all are welcome to join us up in SBS for our weekly Saturday night meditation sessions.
When all the 4 ‘wheels’ are properly aligned in life, we will be steered to lead a prosperous and happy life.