The Buddha, our unique Teacher

 
Daya SIRISENA

UNIQUE TEACHER: "Mind is the forerunner of all phenomena. Mind is chief, they are all mind created". Mano - Pubbangama Dhamma Manosettha Manomaya.

"Guard therefor the mind, purity the mind, for out of the intention all things come to be neither do you look to any external aid for self is the Master of Self; What other Master could there be?"

The long night was ended and new light flooded the world when All Enlightened One began his ministry of teaching, which he was to continue for forty five years.

Great were his supernormal powers gained that night under the Bodhi Tree at Buddha Gaya when he attained Omniscience; but first and greatest of all he placed the power of teaching. He rarely performed miracles, but when He did they were of such kind as to stagger the mind and confound His opponents.

Most of all He desired to convince people by the power of truth alone.

So that of their own free will they would accept what He had to tell them and act upon it.

His Dhamma is "Ehipassiko" that which bids us "Come and see for yourself". When people are in distress they tend to look for special favours from religion. Most of men trusted religion on faith.

The Buddha saw this weakness of the human mind to understand the true nature of things, because of craving and ignorance.

If a person looks at phenomena in unimaginative eyes without proper understanding only on faith mind can travel beyond and out of our own boundaries, the Buddha is the only human being who understood the true nature of the mind.

He went on to say, "Mind is the forerunner of all Phenomena" understanding true Nature of Mind. The Buddha never demanded, never commanded, never a authority, He gave the freedom to the mind to grasp the true nature of things.

Understanding the true Nature of the Mind, the Buddha as a peerless teacher of Gods and men went on to say there are "Four kinds of people in this world" He said, there are people who go from light to darkness, there are people who go from darkness to light, there are people who go from darkness to darkness, and there are people who go from light to light".

The Buddha never converted people. He only convinced them explaining the profound truth what He has so strenuously discovered.

The Buddha did not give any specific teaching regarding the origin of the universe or of life. The question was said to be unanswerable from the level of ordinary intelligence. "The origin of beings revolving in Samsara being cloaked by Avijja (ignorance) is undiscoverable.

At the same time it is laid down as a natural consequence of the law of dependent origination (patticca-samuppada) that in the ceaseless cycle of cause and effect those cannot be any link in the sequence that can be designated a first cause.

Each effect in its turn becomes a cause and the beginning is nowhere apparent, it is called circle of related conditions, each factor being dependent on the preceding ones.

When it is said the world cycles or world periods known in Buddhism as kappas are of immeasurable duration, it must be remembered that all these concepts are relative.

We measure them from our own stand point. In an immeasurably vast space context, the time context is correspondingly enlarged. So that events covering millions of years by our calculations can be measurable in terms of seconds.

The brain may reel at the concept of an infinity of space time constructions fitting into impregnating one another, endlessly in all directions, but it is not entirely outside the scope of human imagination.

It figures quite largely in Buddhist thought. There are infinite world systems and thirty one planes of existence, having vast differences in time measurement. What is unthinkable is a state of non causality where neither space, time nor events have any existence.

This has to be understood by direct perception, which means bursting the bonds of relativity and its concept and process.

"There is no God or Brahma who is the creator of this world Empty phenomena roll on. All subject to causality."

When we understand the truth that these could never have been a beginning - an origin out of nothingness of the universe or the life process.

It is true that the universe as we know it evolved out of the dispersed matter of previous universe, and when it passes away it remains in the form of active forces, will in time give rise to another universe in exactly the same way. The process is cyclic and continuous.

In the same way that one universe gives rise to another through residual energy, which is continually renewing itself that is through the principle of changing process of matter - so the life as being gives rise to another being which is not the same in identity, and without involving an unchanging permanent self that which links them called in Buddhism "Kamma" or volitional is called "Samsara" or the cycles of rebirth, the actuality of rebirth and existence without any unchanging principle of identity or self is called "Anatta".

Though the 2550 years have gone by and the utterances from the sermon to the five ascetics at Baranesa Migadaya to the last exoration before the Parinirwana. It is one theme, the theme of liberation for mankind.

"My teaching is like the vast ocean. It is unfathomable and deep like the vast ocean but it has one flavour like the ocean the flavour of liberation."

May the ignorance of human beings fade away following the teachings of Gauthama Sammasambuddha.

(The writer is President, Board of Trustees, Sirisena Dharma Mandiraya Meditation Centre, Moratuwa.)

Down memory lane to 2500th Buddha Jayanthi:

From Gal Oya valley to Alu Vihara Temple, Matale

Gamini G. PUNCHIHEWA

GAL OYA: D.S. Senanayake created the Gal Oya Multi-purpose Project in 1950 which was administered by the then Gal Oya Development Board.

This was passed by an Act of Parliament No. 51 on 24.11.1949. Though this colossal Gal Oya Project was D.S's brainchild, he was not alive to see his dream come true, as he died on 22.03.1952.

"Gal Oya has become a household word. It is symbolic of the new Lanka. May it obtain fulfilment speedily and herald the progress of our march towards self-sufficiency."

With these words, D.S. Senanayake unveiled the commemorative pillar which was inscribed in English, Sinhalese and Tamil erected at Inginiyagala.

"This commemorated the inauguration of the Gal Oya Irrigation and Power Project, opened by the Hon. D.S. Senanayake, Prime Minister of Lanka on August 24, 1949" (culled from Dr. R.L. Brohier's 'The Gal Oya Project, Ceylon, 1951).

Even after 50 years of the emergence of this pioneer Project, Gal Oya is still a household word through the length and breadth of Sri Lank.

They say history repeats itself, so this mighty Gal Oya Multi-Purpose Project has re-created history in bringing back the ancient Digamadulla region of the 3rd century B.C., to its pristine glory and abundance in rice production, as one of the bountiful rice bowls in our island fair.

Besides this giant Senanayake Samudraya the biggest in our country there was also a network of major irrigation tanks built by harnessing the rivers, Oyas that flowed through the valley of Gal Oya.

Among them was the Pallan Oya tank built after damming the Pallan Oya nestling in the right bank of the Senanayake Samudraya. It was a frotuous man-made lake, as its construction coincided with the 2500th Buddha Jayanthi of 1956/57, it was aptly named as Jayanthi Weva.

This tranquil but serene Jayanthi Weva over-looks the magnificent mountain frontier of Govinda Hela or 'Westminster' named so romantically by the British rulers of the time, as this very sentinel-like rock has the very replica of the Westminster Abbey of London.

Historically Govinda Hela was the abode of refuge of Prince Bhuvaneka Bahu I, of the 13th century A.D.

One significant feature of the of the Jayanthi Weva is that it was solely constructed with the expertise knowledge of our local irrigation engineers, other technical personnel and the work force attached to the Gal Oya Development Board.

Jayanthi Weva lies about 5-6 miles away from Inginiyagala off the Siyambalanduwa-Inginiyagla highway. Among those irrigation engineers involved in the construction of the Jayanthi Weva are T.O.P. Fernando (fondly called as 'TOP' Fernando, as he was fittingly on the top form, where his irrigation works were concerned) M.S.M. de Silva, Wijesundera, M.M. Ismail (hailing from Sammanthurai - a pioneer irrigation engineer of the Irrigation Department and the G.O.D.B.). Mr. Ismail was such a skilled irrigation engineer that when tracing irrigation channels, he did not use the Theodolite to trace channels.

Instead, he went ahead of the machine which followed with its operator, and with his two hands stretched out, he would guide by mere sight on ground level as to how the channel trace should go.

The capacity of the Jayanthi Weva is 70,000 acre feet of water (being 1/10th of that of the Senanayake Samudraya).

Alu Vihara Temple, Matale

The next most sanctimonious event that took place in commemoration of the 2500th Buddha Jayanthi of 1956/57 was the laying of the foundation stone at the Alu Vihara Temple, Matale for the construction of the International Library and Museum by His Royal Highness Crown Prince Chanouk of Cambodia on 17.2.1957.

The whole edifice when completed was inaugurated by the late Premier, Sirimao Dias Bandaranaike on 1.9.1974. When I visited on my usual ramblings around Matale in early January, 2002, I paid a visit to the Alu Vihara Temple, where the epic Tripitakas (Buddhist scriptures) written down in Pali by a conclave of Buddhist monks from memory at the time at this ancient monastery of Alu Vihara in the reign of king Valagamba of the 1st century A.D.

Pancha Seela misunderstood by Buddhists as Dhamma Seela

Piyasiri Mahinda L. HETTIGE

PANCHA SEELA: During this 2550th Buddha Jayanthi year, it is of immense importance to remove the ultimate barrier obstructing path attainment by a Bauddhaya and resolve the misunderstanding that has confused their mental process, impeding their progress to proceed on the Noble Eightfold Path outlined by the Buddha.

It should be highlighted here that there is a world of difference between the meaning of the terminology Seela in the Anathama (No Soul) concept outlined in the Noble Eightfold Paths and that of Seela reflected in the Arthma (Soul) concept within the context of the pre Buddha codes of moral conduct outlined below as:-

Dana (Donation) - Seela (Five Precepts) - Bhavana (Meditation), (which promotes births in Deva, Brahma or Human worlds without ending the Sansaric Manifestations)

This process leading one to temporary emancipation and attainment of Dyanas or mystical powers existed in almost all civilized societies even before the advent of the Buddha to preach the Dhamma.

Thus the confusion of terminology between Dhamma Seela and the above mentioned Five Precept Seela may have been created with sinister motives by those who used the same word Seela in both Paths which facilitated the questionable and incorrect categorization of the Dhamma Eightfold Pathways in the three, as:-

Seela - Samadhi - Panna

Here two gross mistakes have been made, probably intentionally, first by placing Panna (Dhamma Wisdom) last and putting the term Seela (Right Action, Speech and Livelihood) first in the above sequence without properly qualifying the Seela potion and secondly deviating from the Buddha's own categorization of the Path in the order of respective precedence and importance which have been outlined and listed below as actually appearing in the Dhammacakkapawattana Sutta, the Buddha's first sermon preached to the five Ascetics.

Dhamma Path Category

1. Right understanding of Dhamma Panna

2. Right thoughts based on Dhamma Panna

3. Right speech based on Dhamma Dhamma seela

4. Right action based on Dhamma Dhamma seela

5. Right livelihood based on Dhamma Dhamma seela

6. Right effort based on Dhamma Samadhi

7. Right mindfulness based on Dhamma Samadhi

8. Right concentration/Dhamma Insight Samadhi

Hence the correct order of classification or categorization of the Noble Path according to the Dhammacakkapawattana Sutta should be as follows:-

Panna - Seela - Samadhi (Dhamma Wisdom) (Dhamma Morality) (Progressive Mental Development)

(Following these pathways promotes birth in any chosen elite Sansara and leads one to path attainment and finally, on following two extra paths of Samma Gnana and Samma Vimutti, to Nibbana of one's choice).

Whereas in the pre-Buddha Path illustrated below containing the Pancha Seela or Five Precepts with its belief in a permanent Trans-Migratory Soul, still being practised by those ignorant of the Dhamma to attain solace for their souls as well as mystical powers or a safe heaven of their choice, not knowing that it is only a temporary respite, have been classified as:-

Dhana - Seela - Bhavana (Donation) (Observance of Five Precepts) (Meditation)

The observance of five precepts of the above process were the bare requisites or norms acceptable to God or Creator fearing humans in any civilized society even before the advent of the Buddha and are listed as:- Abstinence form (1) Killing, (2) Stealing, (3) Illegal sexual conduct, (4) Lying, (5) Use of Intoxicants.

These were considered as the prerequisites for person to lead a trouble free meritorious life and ensure a better life for that person alter death by taking the person's soul to heaven or the arms of a God or Creator, whilst for those who do not abstain from the above Five Precepts (Pancha Seela) there was no such salvation for their souls and were condemned to hell and damnation for ever.

The Buddha in his choice of followers did not show any partiality to those who had not previously strictly adhered to the above five precepts (Pancha Seela).

Since among his Sangha Order there were previous, Criminals, Prostitutes, Serial Killers, Robbers, Persons from the Lowest Castes, Poorest of the poor as well as Nobles and Royalty, who had equal access to the Sangha Order on giving up their past bad activities.

Thus resulting from the above clarifications it is clearly evident that the present day lay Bauddhaya have been cleverly outwitted and led astray by this presently accepted, unjust and unnecessary, categorization of the Noble Eightfold paths outlined in the Dhamma erroneously into three as Seela - Samadhi - Panna.

Whereas it is a Trans-Sansaric Dhamma Magga formulated by the Buddha starting with Dhamma Wisdom of Panna - Seela - Samadhi - ... leading one to Path Attainment en route to Nibbana during this or a subsequent birth.

The Dhamma Vivarana Movement (Movement for mindful understanding of Dhamma using one's own Wisdom) is hopeful that there will be many Path Attainers among the lay persons after these mental impediments are removed and this important issue is resolved by the Member of the Maha Sangha, who are most graciously, requested to unravel the mystery surrounding the correct order of precedence of the Dhamma Pathways as outlined by Gotama Buddha.

Buddha Dhamma for global readership

Vesak Lipi Digest, May 2006

Review: Chamali Kariyawasam

ANNUAL: The brainchild of Upali Salgado, Vesak Lipi makes its 22nd appearance this year coinciding with the 2550th year of Buddha Jayanthi.

A bilingual Buddhist Digest published annually in memory of the Most Venerable Heenatiyane Dhammaloka Tissa Mahanayaka Thera who passed away in 1982, it contains a pot-pourri of articles by both Bhikkhus and scholars.

Vesak Lipi is artfully edited to maintain the fine balance of discerning yet uncomplicated reading on Buddhism.

Both the Sinhalese and English sections are diligent in their aim of providing clarity into the deep philosophy and belief system of Buddhism and are equally thought provoking.

The Sinhalese section contains interesting reading on a relatively narrower scope than the English section, nonetheless dealing with diverse topics such as oblation in the Buddhist context, meditation as a curative and Buddhist perspectives on environmentalism.

The English section of the digest warrants special mention as to the erudite quality of articles. Writings of the late Professors W.S. Karunaratne, G.P. Malalasekera and K.N. Jayatillaka made superb contemporary reading.

These articles stood out in their simplicity and provided strong insights into perspectives of the Buddha Dhamma on impermanence and concept of self, Karuna and wisdom and attitude towards other religions.

I enjoyed reading the article by Upali Salgado titled "A web of stories around some Buddha images". The collection of short excerpts on a number of images found in India, modern Pakistan, Myanmar, Java and Sri Lanka are descriptive, observant and evocative.

The article also contains amongst others, striking photographs of a Gandhari Buddha-head and an elegant image of the Mulagandhikuta, Saranath. Rajitha Werakoon's "Controversy over Sigiri rekindled" is a must read given its unorthodox assessment.

Vesak Lipi is a bona fide publication funded solely by donations from the faithful to cover printing costs. The editor directs surplus funds to the Kidney Transplant Unit of the General Hospital in Kandy promoting the dual Buddhist vision of Dhamma and Saukhya Dane.

The magazine which currently boasts a 5,000 strong readership in eight countries is warmly received undoubtedly due to its persuasive yet temperate brilliance.

Upali Salgado's quest in providing the magazine's global readership with inspiring reading on the Buddha Dhamma is indeed commendable.

Donors may obtain copies of Vesak Lipi digest (No. 22) from the compiler/editor at 29 Deal Place (A), Colombo 03 after 1 p.m.

The last walk of the Samma Sambuddha

"Ananda! Thathagatha is on his final walk.

Much to be talked of the Dhamma, few hours to talk

To envisage the man the whole of the Rajagaha and Kusinara I have tread

This walk is the last, you will remember as I have said.

I am tired, Ananda I need some water to sip

Can you find a stream for my begging bowl to dip"

Ananda, the Buddha's disciple, saw water in a muddy stream

He fetched the water, reflecting the sunset beam

"Bagavath Samma Sambuddha, you need a while to rest"

Ananda found a place for the Buddha recline at his best

The Buddha's disciple Ananda was very much disturbed

To find the Buddha uneasy, a gripe he had suffered

The Buddha was weary he needed to rest

Mara was delighted, as he could get his choice, the best

Resting beneath two Sal trees, with fragrance around

Ananda thero was vigilant, in deep thought, not a sound

Ananda thero, felt the end could not be averted

Thathagatha spoke for the last time, "Ananda karma cannot be diverted"

"All beings, has to face the disaster of pain and sorrow

Waste not the time, count not of a tomorrow"

The devas smelt the parinirvana, and gathered around

The Buddha is no more, soon they found

Ananda was a normal bikku, he beat his chest, and wailing Buddha is no more

He could not control his emotions, that was all the while in store

The Sakra and Devas of all abodes, in sorrow they sank

Together with the earthly distinguished Royals in rank

The Buddha's parinirvana, touched the hearts of everyone crying aloud

Sacra who was also in grief, chanted "Anichchawatte Sankara as he bowled"

Everything mortal - ends up in Decay

The true philosophy of life as it is today

- Vinitha Karunaratne

The pilgrimage

I flew by plane to Lumbini,

Where prince Siddhartha was born

Chanted 'pirith' with all devotees,

Until it was dawn.

Then we travelled in a bus to Buddhagaya,

Where the Lord attained His 'Buddhahood'.

Offered milk rice and flowers to the seated Buddha

And we all slept the night there.

Next we reached the Isipathanaramaya,

Where HE preached the 'Dhammachakka Suthra'

We all worshipped the Buddha with jasmine flowers,

And left the place to the pilgrims rest.

Finally we proceeded to Kusi Nagar,

Where the Enlightened One passed away,

Worshipped with lotuses, lit oil lamps and jossticks,

Meditating for half an hour.

I fell at His feet and sobbed,

With high emotion and tears in eyes,

When I woke up with great sorrow;

Surely, a dream it was to realize.

- K. Tylin de Silva

Wipe away the dark stains from the heart of this earth

Rabindranath TAGORE

The world today is wild with the delirium of hatred.

The conflicts are cruel and unceasing,

Crooked are its paths, tangled its meshes of greed.

All creatures are crying in anguish for a manifestation of thine.

Oh thou of boundless life, save them, raise thine eternal voice of hope.

Let love's lotus with its inexhaustible treasure of honey

Open its petals in thy light,

O Serene, O Free, in thine immeasurable mercy and goodness

Wipe away all dark stains from the heart of this earth.

Thou giver of immortal gifts, give us the power of dedication,

Claim from us our greed

And pride of self.

In the splendor of a new sun-rise of wisdom

Let the blind gain their sight, let life come to the souls that are dead.

O Serene, O Free, in thine immeasurable mercy and goodness

Wipe away all dark stains from the heart of this Earth.

(The above poem, was translated by the author from his Bengali song specially for the Ceylon Daily News when he was in the island in 1934 Ed.)

(From Ceylon Daily News Vesak Number, May 1935)