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November 2011
11/24/2011
11/14/2011
Buddhist Inspirational Tale: The Folly of Pride
Shan the monk lived in a small village in China. He had acquired a great reputation for himself among villages far and wide. But Shan was extremely proud of his status and did not care for humbler souls.
A villager named Qui Yun knew what Shan was really like and decided that the monk needed a lesson in humility. He went to meet the monk. Upon his arrival, the monk neither welcomed him nor showed any sign that he had a visitor.
Qui Yun was a little taken aback at how to handle this indifference! Just then, the monk’s servant walked in and said, “Master, there is a visitor to see you. He says he is an army general’s son.”
“Ask him to enter,” said Shan.
When the young man came in his presence, the monk welcomed him respectfully and spoke a few words. After the visitor had left, Qui Yun burst out: “You were so courteous to that man. Yet you ignore me – why?”
Pat came Shan’s reply: “Do not misunderstand me. In my book, greeting someone is the same as not greeting. And not greeting a person equals greeting! ”
“Oho!” thought Qui Yun to himself, “this fellow thinks he can fool me with clever talk. I shall teach him a lesson!”
Qui Yun whacked the monk hard with his stick. Shan howled with pain – no one had dared do this to him, ever!
“I only went by your logic, master,” said Qui Yun. “Accordingly, beating you is the same as not beating. And not beating equals beating – that’s why I had to beat you!”
The monk realized his game was up. From then, he began behaving respectfully to everyone, regardless of their position.
Self Reflection:
Is our respect biased?
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11/10/2011
What does the concept of safe harbor or refuge mean in Buddhism?
The notion of taking refuge in a faith is unique to Buddhism. Quite simply, the Buddha, his teachings under Dharma and the Sangha or Buddhist community – termed the Three Jewels in Buddhist scriptures – offer any seeker shelter from the woes of life. The concept is often explained using the analogy of illness with the Buddha as physician, Dharma as medicine and the Sangha as nurse. Taking this further, the individual seeking refuge is the patient – to get well, he/she must take the prescribed medicine, which means practicing the Buddha’s teachings.
At a deeper level, the idea of seeking safe harbor implies that the individual has a degree of understanding about life’s difficulties and suffering. Also, taking refuge doesn’t mean trying to escape from problems in one’s current life. Rather, it is about avoiding suffering in future lives and possibly releasing oneself from the endless cycle of rebirth.
Seeking refuge in the Buddha is about letting go of the shackles that hold us back from enlightenment. His teachings, through the principles of Dharma, show us how to develop and strengthen the inherent ability to release ourselves. The Sangha is a spiritual community that shares the desire to let go of suffering. Support, encouragement and shared experiences from its members helps one find the way out of pain and suffering. Seeking shelter in the Three Jewels is a serious commitment that is undertaken with vows.
Chief among these is the vow to never harm another sentient being.
Depending on varying traditions, other vows may include not killing, not stealing (in the sense of not taking what is not offered as well as not paying taxes), not indulging in sexual misconduct (adultery), not lying and not imbibing intoxicants (alcohol or any substance detracting from mental clarity).
In Buddhist philosophy, making this commitment leads to a steady accumulation of virtue as the individual lives out his time by upholding his vows.
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11/06/2011
Buddhist Inspirational Tale: The Last Problem
Once, a man approached the Buddha, seeking the Enlightened One’s help. After narrating one of his problems to the Buddha, he asked the latter how he could get rid of it.
“I cannot help you with this problem,” said the Buddha, to the man’s surprise.
The man then related another problem. Surely, the Wise One would be able to help him with this matter at least?
But the Buddha merely smiled gently and said, “I can’t help you get rid of this one, either.” The man lost his patience. “How can you be the Enlightened One if you cannot help people resolve their problems?” he blurted.
The Buddha replied: “There will always be 83 problems troubling you. Occasionally, one problem will disappear, but it will be replaced by another one. I can’t change that.”
Even more confused now, the man queried the Buddha: “So is there any help you can give me?”
The Buddha answered: “I can help you be free of the 84th problem.”
“And what is that?” asked the man.
“The fact that you want to be rid of those 83 problems!” replied the Buddha.
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11/04/2011
The Fourth Noble Truth
Having realized the truth of suffering (Dukkha) in life, its cause and cessation, the Buddha proceeded to explain the final Truth, his prescription to freedom from suffering – the Noble Eightfold Path.
As Prince Siddhartha, the Buddha had seen a life of great luxury and knew that sensual pleasures alone could not save one from suffering. Later, he had lived the rigorous life of an ascetic and had realized that this too, did not necessarily lead to spiritual liberation. Thus, the Buddha taught that the path to freedom from suffering lies not in extremes, but in moderation, a philosophy that is known as the Middle Way.
The Noble Eightfold Path expands on this, setting out the path one must walk towards the cessation of dukkha. This is less a doctrine than a list of steps one must actively take, if its fruits are to be realized:
The first three steps of Right Thought, Right Speech and Right Action teach us what we should avoid – negative thinking and covetousness; lying, hurtful words and gossip; killing, robbing and sexual misconduct.
The fourth and fifth steps are Right Livelihood and Right Understanding – making a living with the right attributes mentioned above and acquiring true wisdom. The last three steps of Right Effort, Right Mindfulness and Right Concentration are with reference to meditation – persevering in the practice with joyfulness, keeping one’s mind in the present and maintaining a serene attentiveness.
Links to previous articles
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