BUDDHISM PHILOSOPHY OF CHANGE AND TRANSFORMATION

What was the cause of the rapid spread of Buddhism? On this point what Prof. Hopkins says:  The Aryan Community of his time was steeped in the worst kind of debauchery: social, religious and spiritual.

The Aryan society which we call ancient Indian society is highly filled with immorality such as gambling, consuming alcohol, sexual misconduct, polyandry, earning livelihood in wrong means,  in sacrificing the man for the blessings of the deity, etc,.

Bestiality was also prevalent among the Aryans.  Cohabitation is between men with female deer or mare etc.  But the most hideous instance is that of the woman having sexual intercourse with the horse.

The Lord Buddha proclaimed (i.e. the four noble TRUTHS) the highest standard for a moral life for an individual to follow.  Of these the most important one was the precept not to kill.  The Lord Buddha took care to make it clear that the precept did not merely mean abstention from taking life.  He insisted that the precept must be understood to mean positive sympathy, goodwill, and love for everything that breathes....  The Lord Buddha’s teachings were not merely negative.  They are positive and constructive

He wanted to mould the character of the ordinary men and women in society.  These precepts are known as Pancha Sila or the five precepts.  They are: (1) Not to kill. (2) Not to steal, (3) Not to lie, (4) Not to be unchaste, and (5) Not to consume intoxicants.  

This month we are discussing about Emptiness (Shunyata).

The wisdom of emptiness should be a direct remedy for our ignorance of the true nature of reality.  If this wisdom is not completely opposite to the ordinary way we view things, then it is not true wisdom at all.   Because our ignorance conceives of object in a distorted manner, our wisdom must be directly opposed to it in order to be effective.

            Our mind has been so accustomed to viewing things in a distorted manner that it is difficult to gain clear picture of reality.   Because our wisdom is so limited, it is hard enough to recognize our mistaken beliefs,  if we ask ourselves, “what exactly is this “I” that I am always talking about?”   We shall have great difficulty in formulating an answer.  This is so despite the fact that we think in terms of ‘I’ at all times, even our dreams.  Our delusions are so think that we cannot even explain what we are accustomed to seeing.

The non-existence or lack of such a false ‘I’ is what is meant by emptiness.  Because ignorance believes that we exit somehow as a truly independent ‘I’ and the wisdom of emptiness  see clearly that such am ‘I’ has never had even the slightest existence, these two views are said to be complete opposites.

(Dalai Lama as a DHARMA SOLDIER with Ven.Sumedha Bodhi, author)

     

Bodhi Citta

The purpose of our living is nothing other than to benefit others, to eliminate their sufferings and to bring them happiness. The purpose of our living is nothing other than this. Anything other than this is meaningless; anything other than this is a complicated life, a confused life. Nothing other than this gives you fulfillment in your heart. No activity that you can think of other than this is really worthwhile; nothing other than this is worth doing. This also brings the best satisfaction.
       Now, every one of us has responsibility for the happiness of every single living being, which wants happiness and does not want problems, or sufferings. If you have a good heart, your compassion does not produce actions that harm others; you only stop giving harm to others and benefit them. How to do these two things—stop giving harm to others and bring benefit to them—encapsulate the entire philosophy of Buddhism. 

Note: This is a speech of Lama Yeshe

According to Mahayana teaching, the three principle paths to liberation are renunciation, bodhi citta and the wisdom of the Shunyata.  These three called the principal, essential paths to liberation.  These are very important, because it contains the essence of the entire teachings of the Lord Buddha. 

RENUNCIATION:  One has to understand that renouncing sensory pleasure doesn't mean throughing nice things away.  Therefore renunciation means less craving; it means being more reasonable instead of putting too much psychological pressure on yourself and acting crazy. 

The important point to know is that we should have less grasping at sense pleasures because most of the time our grassing at and craving desire for worldly pleasure does not give us satisfaction. That is the main point.  It leads to more dissatisfaction and to psychologically crazier reaction.  That is the main point.

The other two paths i.e. Bodhi citta and wisdom of Shunyata will be discussed in the next month issue.

Ref: The essence of Tibetan Buddhism, by Lama Yeshe.

AT SHANTI STUPA, BIHAR, INDIA

My Dhamma greetings to you all,

        In this issue I am presenting you my video i.e."prayer to the Lord Buddha".  This is my first lyric work.  I also helped in pronunciation .You can download it from Google search engine; the address is <naraharsetti buddham>.  You also can send it to your friends and relatives.  It is good to listen to this song in the morning and before going to bed. Please meditate on it.  This will protect you from the 'ills' and 'Evils'

With regards

Dhamma soldier Ven.Sumedha Bodhi

Human problems

Human problems: USA Vs India

            I saw this urge in the hearts of thousands and thousands of young people in the East and the West.  We need to understand this great philosophy and to put our children on the road of spiritual growth, and release this powerful energy of human integration.  We have this philosophy and its spiritual expertise with us as a national heritage.  What we need is only to utilise it.

            India has a wonderful social, pure, healthy and strong mind.  However, her body is weak: her body politic is unhealthy: it is smitten with the disease of poverty, social inequality and oppression.  We want to change that body politic: that is our problem.  Your problem is different. You have a fine body; you have a strong body politic.  However, you do not have a society.  You lost it in the debris of modern industrial civilization.  Now you are in search of a spiritual philosophy.

Figure 1 the Lord Buddha

           

            Now, I ask, which is easier, to find a body or to find a spiritual philosophy?

            Our enlightened  philosophy, i.e. the teachings of the Lord Buddha, which is rational, practical, and universal, and which has also been reauthenticated by the  spiritual and intellectual giants and proved by the scientists of the science and technology in the modern age.  Now we can solve our material problems, without raising deeper spiritual problems in the process.

BAHUJANA HITHAYA BAHUGANA SUKHAYA

THE ULTIMATE GOAL

‘For mammals all, homeostasis meant survival: but for man, emanicipation’

– Gray Walter

            When we consider the condition of an individual today, we find his outer life well organized and enriched, but his inner nature of man is very little in modern civilization.  That is the reason we had ailments in our inner life.

            When we work in the world, we are in the outer world of activity, but even then, the inner world functions.  However, we largely ignore it.  Action in the outer world has its effects on the inner world of man, and vice versa.  When that fact has taken into account, we are able to march side-by-side, steadily and peacefully, in the outer as well as in the inner dimension, it is good to know what the new thought developments in modern western science have to say.[i]

The character (sila) is the first step to get the enlightenment.  The aim of the life is to realize the truth. In addition, one must get perfection in practicing sila in order to lead peaceful and happy life.

Religious point of view in India different organizations are posing to make their philosophy as a separate sect or religion or a new ‘ism’ itself.  This brought great havoc in the lives of all walks of people in the world. These people are constructing temples to unworthy personalities.  The truth seekers are confused to apply religious principles and practices in their day-to-day life.  They are fearful to fallow the truth.  It is the reason they totally buried in the worries and miseries.

Many people in the world to day are leading technical life rather than moral life.  They think that this is the future of the modern age.  However, this is not right view of the life in the modern age. This I experienced in my life itself.

JYOTHI project:-

            My ambition is to bring change in human life style and to see the human society live a peaceful life and by attaining the ultimate perfection to get out from the suffering and to become an enlightened one.

            Spiritual growth depends on Pscho-social evolution.  It is the reason I designed this ‘JYOTHI’ project to develop morality and welfare in the world, partcularly for the aspirants. Through the Indian tradition and culture i.e Dharma “education for freedom through change” concept of jyothi project, will bring definitely moral and ethical perfection in the invidviduals and the society.              

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[i] Eternal values for changing Society, by Swami Ranghanadananda, Bharatiya Vidaya Bhavan, Bombay