Quarterly Newsletter of the Washington Buddhist Vihara Spring 2005

 

 

This issue of The Washington Buddhist is dedicated to the memory of the victims of the January 2005 Tsunami

 

“Ajjeva kiccam atappam –

ko janna maranam suve

na hi no sangaran tena

mahasenena maccuna”

 

What you have to accomplish, you must accomplish today -

Death may come and take you away tomorrow

Because there is no covenant with the evil one

(Bhaddekaratta Sutta-Majjhima nikaya)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Vol. 37. Issue 1.

Spring, 2005

 

 

 

 

 

Vihara Schedule

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Weekly

 

* Those who wish to join can call vihara and make arrangements to come for a training session.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Notes and News

	Vesak will be held on Sunday, May 29 at the Washington Buddhist Vihara, 5017 16th St., NW, Washington, DC 20011, U.S.A
	The Asian Food Bazaar held on Sunday March 13 raised over $2,000 for the Kindergarten Project of  theJanavijjaya Foundation in Sri Lanka to aid victims of the 2005 Tsunami

 

 

The best way to treat our mothers…

 

Ven. Tapovanaye Sutadhara

Senior Lecturer

Department of Linguistics

University of Kelaniya

Sri Lanka

 

 

Mahamaya’s dream

"All human beings came from a single African Mother".   This is not a subjective statement made by an African or anyone who had a fascination towards African Culture.  This was stated in different words in a Ph. D. Dissertation in Genetics by a graduate student who later became a prominent scientist.  We all know that every human being comes to this world biologically from a mother.  The duty of the mother is not over after giving birth to a child - it is the beginning of a life long commitment.   From there onwards the mother has a long plan relating to the health, food, security, upbringing, education, employment, and marriage of her child. The list of expectations goes even further and extends as far as to the grandchildren of the mother and the duties of her own children after her death.

 

The mother of a child is also one of his or her first teachers.  Though children sometimes think of their mother as a nuisance because of her sense of possessiveness of her children, the mother never thinks of her children as a nuisance.   How can we accuse her of over possession?   To a mother, her child is an important part of her own body. We know what a lot of pain is undergone by a mother to present a child to the world.  But if you would ask a mother, she would say that all her pain was gone as soon as she saw her baby.  A mother's love for her child is incomparable.  Even though the umbilical cord is severed physically at birth, there is another similar cord which invisibly ties the child with his/her mother.

 

The Buddha mentioned that 'one should spread loving-kindness (Metta) to all beings as a mother protects her only child - she considers her own life as secondary when she thinks of the security of her child.'  The Buddha who banned giving out the things that belongs to the order of Sangha made an exception to the rule by saying that the monks and nuns have permission to give what they have to their parents who are sick and convalescent in their old age.  Upanishadic teachers advised their pupils to consider their parents and teachers as the creator god.    According to this mothers are entitled to be respected twice since they come under both categories as mothers and teachers. Yes, mothers teach their children how to behave well in society.  So, for any misbehaviour of a child the mother is always blamed.  But there is a guarantee that your mother will defend you when you are defenceless. We are dead scared to go close to an animal, which breast-feeds her young ones.  Even the most timid among animals is ready for a fight to protect her young puppies.

 

 

 

 

When we are unhappy or in pain the soothing words that automatically come out of our mouths are "O, mother" (ammee). We call our mother to complain to her that we are not well for whatever reason. In any type of despair or mishap we turn to our mother for protection and love.  Each of us has a unique experience regarding our own mother.  Our mother treats us the best way she knows. One cannot put the blame on one's mother saying that she mistreated her children. She did the best she could because there are no schools to train people to be good mothers.  Though there is only one day reserved to show our love, respect, and gratitude to our mothers, there should be three hundred and sixty five days to show our respect and love to our mothers for everything that they have done for us.  But this is a good opportunity to think about all the mothers who contribute to make this world a better place by bringing up all of us.  We must think of the mothers who lost their beloved ones in war.  You may know a mother who is expecting her son to come back to her though her son lost his life more than thirty years before.  Whether we call Sri Lanka’s lost sons soldiers, freedom fighters, or terrorists, all of them are children of mothers.  We can see that there are increasing numbers of mothers in the world who wait for their beloved ones to come back from war and other disasters. Mothers who lost their children and mothers who lost the fathers of their children are suffering the most. 

 

 

We can go beyond our shores and think of the mothers who suffer because they lost everything they had. It does not matter where they are, who they are, how old they are, they are suffering because the world destroyed their most sacred contribution to the world- their children - which they gave from their flesh and blood.    We can think of widowed mothers who have nothing to feed their children and finally made up their minds to sell themselves because they could not keep their children in hunger.  There are mothers who have been cornered to live in homes for the elderly, hospices, or to live on the side of roads because they have nobody to help them for various reasons.  There are children who do not remember the love of their mothers because their mothers had to leave them in orphanages.  They are deprived of the most wonderful love of mothers, which is the main source of life support for a human being.  There are mothers who, though they have not given birth to children, they bring up their adopted children with same love and care.  The mother of each of us represents all the mothers in the world, including Mother Nature.

 

 

Three weeks back some of us went to our mothers and paid them our respects for the Sinhala and Hindu New Year.   We can do something more to please our mothers if we could give them back the loving kindness (Metta), compassion (karuna), joyousness of the happiness of others (mudita), and the equanimity (upekkha) that we received from our mothers. That will be the most wonderful gift that we present to our mothers.  And also we can respect our mothers by practising these virtues towards ourselves and the rest of the world. How can we practise these sublime virtues  in return? When we spread friendliness/loving kindness we should do that in the same way as a mother who protects her only child.  That means we befriend others with no reservation at all.  In an unfriendly environment nobody feels secure.

 

Metta is there to ensure security to all and to create an environment which promotes coexistence.  There, no one is going to be controlled by the other based on the presumption that the controller's position is far above the controlled. Your mother created a friendly environment at home and outside for you to grow up.  Even when you were out in school or somewhere else you knew that your best friend - your mother - was there to protect you from any trouble.

 

Karuna (compassion) means to help the other person when the need arises. Without welfare, no society can exist. Regardless of our ethnic or religious background we fall ill. Even the materially richest person among us may lose whatever he/she has. Emotional support is necessary when we are unhappy in a situation such as the death of a beloved one.  When we face these mishaps in life we need the help of others. Our mothers took care of us to their maximum capacity. When we needed them they were there to save us from trouble.

 

Mudita which is to be pleased by seeing others' happiness- it is the easiest and cheapest precept to practice because we need nothing materially to practise this virtue, though it may be difficult for some people to be joyous of others' happiness. By being a practitioner of mudita one appreciates the achievements of the other which is another key concept that provides us with an opportunity to have a positive opinion about the other person who lives with us.  Your mother was the happiest to see the smile on your face which came as a result of something that you achieved in life.

 

While we practise these three virtues how can we develop equanimity, or upekkha, which is to maintain a neutral position without extremes? How can we do that?  Why can't I control the person that I give my friendship or compassion to and not be jealous of the happiness of him/her?  Each of us is a different individual and our identities are different. We should learn to enjoy these differences. I may be a Buddhist/Sinhala and the other person may be a follower of another religion or a member of another ethnic group- one's racial/religious identity can be viewed as a coincidence of birth.  Still, we are noble human beings who respect the differences of each other.  Once children leave the family, mothers treat them as separate individuals because they develop equanimity.  It does not mean that we lose the love and compassion of our mother. They realize that we have a life of our own.  By bringing us up in this way mothers taught us- to give loving kindness, compassion, joyousness of the happiness of  others  and equanimity  to society- is the best way to make our mothers happy.

 

 

 

 

 

Kathina 2004 - Washington Buddhist Vihara:  Poem

 

Great Lord Buddha,

You died 2500 years ago

Yet you are still our beloved Teacher.

You still teach peace, compassion,

Insight through meditation,

How to live from within ourselves

Without constructing a God to believe in.

 

Your Way, your Dhamma, still works

As prophets, gurus, spiritual leaders

And even sons of God

Come and go.  Your ceremonies

Glow with the beauty of their Asian heritage,

Yet the deepest beauty is simple Truth:

Life is suffering.  We transform suffering into joy

By meditating and right living.

 

You don’t seek immortality,

Rather a way out of life’s miserable wheel.

Yet you are more immortal than anyone

While your teachings live in your Sangha,

Your community of monks, nuns and lay people.

Your people are beautiful,

All hues of gold, brown and pink.

We gave robes today to monks

From Sri Lanka, Myanmar, and America.

 

We set a forest of flowers before your statue,

That huge reminder of our greatest Teacher,

Meditator, Lover of all castes and races.

We heard your great preachers speak

In Sinhala and English, Dhamma talking

Through their very breath, not just their words.

We shared food and talk and small children’s beauty,

In your temple, home of beloved monks.

 

Thank you for showing us your Way,

Thank you for organizing the Sangha,

Thank you for your courage to leave old ways,

Power, wealth, even family,

So you could learn and teach and share

Peace, beauty and love with the world.

None is more beautiful than you.

 

Nancy A. Fitzgerald             

The Significance of Vesak

 

Venerable Mahinda

Source and Copyright: http://www.buddhanet.net/vesak.htm 

 

The significance of Vesak lies with the Buddha and his universal peace message to mankind.

As we recall the Buddha and his Enlightenment, we are immediately reminded of the unique and most profound knowledge and insight which arose in him on the night of his Enlightenment. This coincided with three important events which took place, corresponding to the three watches or periods of the night.

During the first watch of the night, when his mind was calm, clear and purified, light arose in him, knowledge and insight arose. He saw his previous lives, at first one, then two, three up to five, then multiples of them .. . ten, twenty, thirty to fifty. Then 100, 1000 and so on.... As he went on with his practice, during the second watch of the night, he saw how beings die and are reborn, depending on their Karma, how they disappear and reappear from one form to another, from one plane of existence to another. Then during the final watch of the night, he saw the arising and cessation of all phenomena, mental and physical. He saw how things arose dependent on causes and conditions. This led him to perceive the arising and cessation of suffering and all forms of unsatisfactoriness paving the way for the eradication of all taints of cravings. With the complete cessation of craving, his mind was completely liberated. He attained to Full Enlightenment. The realization dawned in him together with all psychic powers.

This wisdom and light that flashed and radiated under the historic Bodhi Tree at Buddha Gaya in the district of Bihar in Northern India, more than 2500 years ago, is of great significance to human destiny. It illuminated the way by which mankind could cross, from a world of superstition, or hatred and fear, to a new world of light, of true love and happiness.

The heart of the Teachings of the Buddha is contained in the teachings of the Four Noble Truths, namely,

The Noble Truth of Dukkha or suffering
The Origin or Cause of suffering
The End or Cessation of suffering
the Path which leads to the cessation of all sufferings

The First Noble Truth is the Truth of Dukkha which has been generally translated as 'suffering'. But the term Dukkha, which represents the Buddha's view of life and the world, has a deeper philosophical meaning. Birth, old age, sickness and death are universal. All beings are subject to this unsatisfactoriness. Separation from beloved ones and pleasant conditions, association with unpleasant persons and conditions, and not getting what one desires - these are also sources of suffering and unsatisfactoriness. The Buddha summarizes Dukkha in what is known as the Five Grasping Aggregates.

Herein, lies the deeper philosophical meaning of Dukkha for it encompasses the whole state of being or existence.

Our life or the whole process of living is seen as a flux of energy comprising of the Five aggregates, namely the Aggregate of Form or the Physical process, Feeling, Perception, Mental Formation, and Consciousness. These are usually classified as mental and physical processes, which are constantly in a state of flux or change.

When we train our minds to observe the functioning of mental and physical processes we will realize the true nature of our lives. We will see how it is subject to change and unsatisfactoriness. And as such, there is no real substance or entity or Self which we can cling to as 'I', 'my' or 'mine'.

When we become aware of the unsatisfactory nature of life, we would naturally want to get out from such a state. It is at this point that we begin to seriously question ourselves about the meaning and purpose of life. This will lead us to seek the Truth with regards to the true nature of existence and the knowledge to overcome unsatisfactoriness.

From the Buddhist point of view, therefore, the purpose of life is to put an end to suffering and all other forms of unsatisfactoriness - to realize peace and real happiness. Such is the significance of the understanding and the realization of the First Noble Truth.

The Second Noble Truth explains the Origin or Cause of suffering. Tanha or craving is the universal cause of suffering. It includes not only desire for sensual pleasures, wealth and power, but also attachment to ideas', views, opinions, concepts, and beliefs. It is the lust for flesh, the lust for continued existence (or eternalism) in the sensual realms of existence, as well as the realms of form and the formless realms. And there is also the lust and craving for non-existence (or nihilism). These are all different Forms of selfishness, desiring things for oneself, even at the expense of others.

Not realizing the true nature of one's Self, one clings to things which are impermanent, changeable and perishable. The failure to satisfy one's desires through these things; causes disappointment and suffering.

Craving is a powerful mental force present in all of us. It is the root cause of our sufferings. It is this craving which binds us in Samsara - the repeated cycle of birth and` death.

The Third Noble Truth points to the cessation of suffering. Where there is no craving, there is no becoming, no rebirth. Where there is no rebirth, there is no decay. no, old age, no death, hence no suffering. That is how suffering is ended, once and for all.

The Fourth Noble Truth explains the Path or the Way which leads to the cessation of suffering. It is called the Noble Eightfold Path.

The Noble Eightfold path avoids the extremes of self-indulgence on one hand and self-torture on the other. It consists of Right Understanding, Right Thought, Right Speech, Right Action, Right Livelihood, Right Effort, Right Mindfulness and Right Concentration.

These path factors may be summarized into 3 stages of training, involving morality, mental culture and wisdom.

Morality or good conduct is the avoidance of evil or unwholesome actions -- actions which are tainted by greed, hatred and delusion; and the performance of the good or wholesome actions, - actions which are free from greed, hatred and delusion, but motivated by liberality, loving-kindness and wisdom.

The function of good conduct or moral restraint is to free one's mind from remorse (or guilty conscience). The mind that is free from remorse (or guilt) is naturally calm and tranquil, and ready for concentration with awareness.

The concentrated and cultured mind is a contemplative and analytical mind. It is capable of seeing cause and effect, and the true nature of existence, thus paving the way for wisdom and insight.

Wisdom in the Buddhist context, is the realization of the fundamental truths of life, basically the Four Noble Truths. The understanding of the Four Noble Truths provide us with a proper sense of purpose and direction in life. They form the basis of problem-solving.

The message of the Buddha stands today as unaffected by time and the expansion of knowledge as when they were first enunciated.

No matter to what lengths increased scientific knowledge can extend man's mental horizon, there is room for the acceptance and assimilation for further discovery within -the framework of the teachings of the Buddha.

The teaching of the Buddha is open to all to see and judge for themselves. The universality of the teachings of the Buddha has led one of the world's greatest scientists, Albert Einstein to declare that 'if there is any religion that could cope with modern scientific needs, it would be Buddhism'

The teaching of the Buddha became a great civilizing force wherever it went. It appeals to reason and freedom of thought, recognizing the dignity and potentiality of the human mind. It calls for equality, fraternity and understanding, exhorting its followers to avoid evil, to do good and to purify their minds.

Realizing the transient nature of life and all worldly phenomena, the Buddha has advised us to work out our deliverance with heedfulness, as 'heedfulness is the path to the deathless'.

His clear and profound teachings on the cultivation of heedfulness otherwise known as Satipatthana or the Four Foundations of Mindfulness, is the path for the purification of beings - for the overcoming of sorrows and lamentation, for the destruction of all mental and physical sufferings, for the attainment of insight and knowledge and for the realization of Nibbana. This has been verified by his disciples. It is therefore a path, a technique which may be verified by all irrespective of caste, color or creed.

 

	Vandana or Special Vesak Gift
	Namo tassa bhagavatō arahatō sammā sambuddhassa Namo tassa bhagavatō arahatō sammā sambuddhassa Namo tassa bhagavatō arahatō sammā sambuddhassa
	Homage to him, the exalted One, the worthy One, the perfectly enlightened One. (3x)
	Buddham saranam gacchami Dhammam saranam gacchami Sangham saranam gacchami
	Dutiyampi Buddham saranam gacchami Dutiyampi Dhammam saranam gacchami Dutiyampi Sangham saranam gacchami
	Tatiyampi Buddham saranam gacchami Tatiyampi Dhammam saranam gacchami Tatiyampi Sangham saranam gacchami
	Pancha Sila (Five precepts)   Panatipata veramani sikkhapadam samadiyami. Adinnadana veramani sikkhapadam samadiyami. Kamesu micchacat´ra veramani sikkhapadam samadiyami. Musavada veramani sikkhapadam samadiyami. Sura-meraya-majja-pamasatthana veramani sikkhapadam samadiyami.

 

Salutation to the Buddha in Pali/English

 

 

 

 

 

Thus indeed the Exalted One is the worthy one, perfectly enlightened, endowed with

knowledge and conduct, sublime, knower of the world, unsurpassed leader of men to be tamed, teacher of gods and men, enlightened, exalted.

 

Salutation to the Dhamma in Pali/English

 

 

 

 

 

The Dhamma has been well expounded by the Exalted One, visible here and know, immediate, inviting to come and see, leading onwards, to be known by the wise for themselves.

 

Salutation to the Sangha in Pali/English