Home
NAMO TASSA
WISDOM SEES LOVING KINDNESS AND COMPASSION
Professor Dr Bikiran Prasad Barua
Official Delegate to the 22nd General Conference of the WFB & Organising
Secretary, Bangladesh Bouddha Kristi Prachar Sangha (A Regional Centre of
the WFB in Bangladesh.)
SELANGOR, MALAYSIA, 9-13 December, 2002 AD, 2546 BE
Honourable Delegates, Venerable Monks & Friends in the Dhamma,
The theme of this year's WFB and WFBY General Conference is Wisdom and Compassion - the Way Forward. This theme has attracted the intellectuals, thinkers of Buddhism with ideas that it is a necessity of the day. In this connection I would like to extend my heartiest congratulations to the world Buddhist leaders and to the world Buddhists attending this very important conference. It is true that the Buddhists of the present day in the world have a lot of responsibilities to perform because the world in now in danger in every respect. Actions of many have become so much detrimental to each and everybody that we do not think about the effects of our activities in day-to-day life. The lack of wisdom has turned everything into jeopardy. We notice with utter surprise that we are devoid of compassion as we do not practice loving kindness - a very vital sublime state of mind. In Buddhism wisdom is the key to nibbana (a state of bliss).
How will the people of the world understand the concept of wisdom? The next question is: what is wisdom? Wisdom is a virtue to see things as they are.
In the noble eight-fold path discovered by Buddha - the Great, wisdom is based on right view or understanding (samma ditthi) and right thoughts (samma-sankappa). Right understanding is to rightly understand the four noble truths, dependent origination and the three characteristics of
impermanence (anicca), suffering (dukkha) and anatta (non soulness). So right understanding is basic to the way forward to the ultimate goal. If one proceeds without right understanding he will not be able to achieve that goal. So at the very beginning, right understanding is a must, especially for right motivation of the other seven factors of the noble eight-fold path. In fact, to be led in the right direction, right understanding is focal in every way. Even at the end or culmination, right view is matured into perfect wisdom, or rather transcendental wisdom (vipassana panna), leading directly to the higher stages.
As right understanding leads to clear thinking, right thoughts eliminate the evil and develop pure thoughts. Right thoughts are of three types: nekkhamma, avyapada and avihimsa. Nekkhamma is the virtue of selflessness, thus renunciating the worldly pleasures. In other words, nekkhamma is
opposed to attachment, selfishness and possessiveness. Avyapada is the virtue of loving kindness, goodwill or benevolence, opposing hatred,
ill-will and aversions. Avihimsa is the virtue of compassion or harmlessness opposed to cruelty and callousness.
If these two factors of right understanding and right thought are elaborated, it is observed that loving kindness and compassion are included
in wisdom, so wisdom sees loving kindness and compassion through the concept of right thought.
In the noble eight-fold path, morality (sila) is grouped as right speech, right action and right livelihood. Concentration (samadhi) is grouped as
right effort, right mindfulness and right concentration. So based on sila (morality), if one practises samadhi, he will attain wisdom, morality and
concentration in sequence. But the intellectuals of Buddhism have oriented sila (morality), samadhi (concentration) and panna (wisdom) for obvious
reasons. In fact, sila (morality) is a base in one's life. Without the practice of morality his samadhi will not be perfect. If samadhi is not
perfect he will not have perfect wisdom.
As I have shown that compassion is inherent in wisdom, still compassion plays a very great role in the very present day context of the world. There
are four sublime states as enunciated by Buddha. These are loving kindness (metta), compassion (karuna), sympathetic joy (mudita) and equanimity
(upekkha). Compassion without loving kindness is meaningless. Until you have loving kindness you cannot possess compassion. So loving kindness and
compassion go together. The Buddha was a Great Compassion One as He possessed universal loving kindness towards all living and non-living
beings. As it is mentioned in the Karaniya Metta Sutta that "Mata Yata miyam puttam ayusa ekaputtamanu rakkhe, evampi sabbabhutesu manasam bhabhaye
aparimanam". As mother protects her only child with all her life, in the same way extend your limitless loving kindness towards all beings. Loving
kindness and compassion are possessed by hearts and wisdom in minds. Wisdom is rational and loving kindness and compassion are humanistic.
The Great Compassionate Buddha has taught us many things. We are very grateful to Him. He is The Great Buddha who is our Great Teacher. Our
relationship with the Buddha is a teacher-student relationship. We are all His students. The Buddha has given us 84 thousand dhamma factors (skandhas).
When these eighty-four thousand dhamma factors are reduced it turns into 37 types of Bodhi Pakkhiya dhamma. If these 37 types of Bodhi Pakkhiya Dhamma
are reduced it turns into the noble eight-fold path. If this noble eight-fold path is reduced it turns into sila, samadhi and panna. If these
sila, samadhi and panna are reduced it turns into wisdom. So it is seen that 84 thousand dhamma factors of the Tripitaka are turned into the single word
"Wisdom".
Generally every human being is subject to delusion (moha), hatred (dosa) and greed (lobha). Basically, moha, or delusion or ignorance is basic to the
state of suffering. One is to overcome moha by wisdom, hatred by loving kindness and lobha by sacrifice. Actually for all sorts of suffering in this
life cycle or world cycle, moha or ignorance is the beginning. In the pratittya samuppada (theory of dependent origination) principle, volition or
karma formations arise based on ignorance or delusion. Based on volition arise consciousness or vinnana. Based on consciousness arises
mentality-materiality. Based on mentality-materiality arise the six senses of eye, ear, nose, tongue, skin and mind. Based on contact arises feelings
or vedana. Based on feelings arises arises craving (tanha). Based on craving arises elements. Based on elements arises becoming or to be (bhava). Based
on bhava or becoming arises birth. Based on birth arises lamentation, suffering, departing of dear ones, receiving unwanted things, death, and so
on. To be born, as such, is suffering. Wisdom can only stop rebirth, nothing else.
Anatole France has said "It seemed that the kindly aesthetic, eternally young, seated cross-legged on the lotus of purity with his right hand raised
in admonition, answered in these two words: "If you wish to escape from suffering, from fear, practice wisdom and compassion". Professor Bapat in
O2500 Years of Buddhism1 told that "Not a single page of Buddhist history has even been lurid with the light of inquisitorial fires, or darkened with
the smoke of heretic or heathen cities ablaze, or red with blood of guiltless victims of religious hatred. Buddhism wields only one sword, the
sword of wisdom, and recognizes only one enemy - ignorance. This is the testimony of history, and is not to be gainsaid".
Ignorance is the enemy of suffering. Ignorance is to be overcome by wisdom, as I mentioned earlier. The practice of wisdom to remove ignorance is a
rather difficult task. In the noble eight-fold path the eight factors are interrelated. Only practice of one factor is not sufficient to remedy
suffering. The eight factors are to be practiced simultaneously.
Theodore Isaac Rubin has said that "Kindness is more important than wisdom and the recognition of this is the beginning of wisdom". As I said earlier,
loving kindness and compassion are included in wisdom. Of course, this is the wisdom of understanding the four noble truths, dependent origination and
three characteristics. As morality (sila) includes right speech, right action and right livelihood, there are three parts to the right action
(samma kamma): to avoid killing, to avoid stealing and to avoid sexual misconduct. And in the first sila of pancasila, to avoid killing means to
respect the lives of others. Until you have loving kindness you cannot exercise avoiding killing, So loving kindness is important, though not the
beginning. If sila is to be practiced and is to be the base, right speech is the beginning and in right speech, not to tell a lie is the beginning. So if
a person starts his life without telling a lie, perfection will automatically arise in others. Loving kindness and compassion are in right
through, whereas loving kindness is also in right action. On the other hand, Buddha said "cetanahi bhikkhabhe kammam badami". This indicates that right
thought and right action are highly interdependent. In fact, the two cannot be separated. As such, loving kindness and compassion are pre-requisites to
wisdom, whether worldly or transcendental.
Some people in this world are seen to confuse wisdom with knowledge. The keynote speaker of this year1s Conference, Venerable K. Sri Dhammananda has
very finely described the difference between wisdom and knowledge in his book 'Food for the Thinking Mind'. He elaborates as follows: "Knowledge is
something which has been defined as 'justified true belief' and which is studied in the branch of philosophy known as epistemology. Knowledge of how
things work is quite different from realization, which is wisdom, which is insight, which wants to see why it works, and how it works. Wisdom is so
much more than knowledge. Knowledge is the answer to the question: How? Wisdom is investigation of the answer to the question: Why? Knowledge can
answer a query about function, result, and purpose: wisdom does not provide an answer, but is the realization of why such a question has arisen. And in
that realization of the question, there is no search beyond because insight has solved the problem, dissolved the conflict and ended the search. Thus
where knowledge searches outside, wisdom ceases at the insight into the question". In the Buddhist teachings, there are three sources of acquiring
knowledge. These are inference, perception and experience. So it is seen that knowledge cannot solve the present problems of conflict, hatred and
violence until or unless one develops wisdom through insight.
Indeed pursuit of knowledge can bring calmness and peace in this stormy world but for the ultimate peace and happiness one must inculcate wisdom,
the wisdom of the noble truth. Selfish emotion, hatred and greed are factors of craving in the world cycle. These generate elements that lead to
becoming. Human beings possess these bad qualities enormously and it has been observed that they flourish if given the opportunity.
If we look at the present day socio-political situation in the world, what we observe is that one nation wants to dominate the others at any cost. This
is due to the grasping tendency towards acquiring the wealth of others as if it is the only nation in this world which would like to be richer and more
peaceful. But this idea does not solve the problems. Conflicts have arisen amongst nations because of exercising superiority over others. Undermining
others has been a tradition for some nations, which has caused some of the current situations of conflict. Until or unless wisdom of equality of
nations and human beings is practices, there is little hope for peace and happiness. We are all brothers and sisters in the dhamma. We are all equal
as human beings. As human beings, our identities are equal and the same. We may be different intellectually, but so far being human beings, we are all
equal. My Master Most Venerable Hsing Yun has said in his lecture on 'Equality and Peace', which I have translated, that "we are to develop such
wisdom that there is no difference between the one and the many. There may be thousands and thousands of people present in a gathering, but only one leader1s speech can stop the whole gathering". So one is many and many is
one. We are to practice Buddhist wisdom in such a way. We are to develop such wisdom which will teach us to respect each other. Confucius said that
"He who respects others will be respected by others, and he who loves others, he will be loved by others". This is true. If there is equality, a
beautiful earth will exist, otherwise it will not.
Whatever the case may be, wisdom is related to mental development, which is the subject of meditation or samadhi. There are two things we must try to
understand. In Buddhism it is said that "Nibbananam pramam sukhuam". So there is nibbana and there is happiness. If one can attain nibbana he will
be happy. This is the explanation. Wisdom brings happiness and nibbana both. Thus wisdom depends on mental development. To go for mental development one
is to purify his mind. And to purify the mind he is to practice morality or precepts. Peter D. Santina, on page 61 of his book 'Fundamentals of
Buddhism', says "In Buddhism, there is not only one goal. Besides the goal of happiness and good fortune, there is also the goal of freedom, a goal
that can only be achieved through wisdom". Santina1s idea of two goals is not synonymous with the idea of Buddhism. In fact, the whole activity of a
Buddhist is to attain Nibbana, which includes happiness. Nibbana is freedom from all suffering and automatically happiness will arise. To say that there
are two separate goals of Buddhism is rather contradictory to Buddhism. He also mentioned good fortune related to one1s present life. Buddhism tells
about good fortune, but not for ultimate liberation. A saint does not meditate for good fortune; he meditates for freedom from all bondage and
suffering. Since he is meditating to remedy suffering there is no question of good fortune for himself. The present life, which P.D. Santina has
mentioned on page 76 of his book, may be relevant in a perspective of Buddhist ideas. As Nibbana includes happiness, the goal of a Buddhist is
only one and one only. There is no question of two goals. Wisdom is the answer for the ultimate goal.
Wisdom is the basic concept of Buddhism. Wisdom is its real heart. To attain wisdom is to attain enlightenment. Wisdom goes beyond the surface of things.
As far as scientific process is concerned, we begin with objective observation with certain enquiry, examination and analysis. As I said
earlier, wisdom consists of right understanding and right thought. There are two types of right understanding: understanding by ourselves and
understanding through others. These relate more or less to insight and experience. Even if experiences are part of understanding, ultimately the
understanding is our own. This concept of understanding by oneself and from experiences merge when we meditate, because meditation gives us insight. The
practice of meditation is the key to mental development. In the four noble truths, two truths are to be abandoned and two truths are to be gained.
Wisdom basically acts as the bridge between the abandonment and the gaining. Once one sees the cause, he or she can get the solution that Buddha
achieved. Through meditation, this analysis takes the correct form.
Wisdom gives us hope to live in this world of turmoil. Wisdom is the knowledge to answer the question Owhy?1 as mentioned earlier. Knowledge is
based on education and teaching. These teachings are the noble truths. Buddha said "catu sacca binimitta dhamma namo natthi", which means "there is
no dhamma other than the four noble truths". In fact, wisdom guides us to know the truths. Loving kindness, compassion and two other sublime states are the supporting factors of wisdom.
In the above context, it is useful to mention the saying of Lord Tennyson that "Knowledge comes, but wisdom lingers". Wisdom lingers because wisdom is
the transformation of doctrinal items like the four noble truths, dependent origination, three characteristics etc. from mere objects of intellectual
knowledge into real, personal experience. Therefore the goal is to be achieved through the practice of moral conduct and then through mental
development. Intellectual acquaintance with the doctrinal elements will not realize the goal. Thus, in Buddhism wisdom is the key to realization of the
goal. In some other faiths, faith is paramount. But in Buddhism, faith is preliminary and meditation is instrumental to producing wisdom as the real
heart.
Next comes the question of developing loving kindness and compassion. This can be dome through recognizing the essential qualities of human beings.
These qualities are: human beings fear death, punishment, and all want to be happy and have good fortune. We must regard ourselves as others, regard all
with love and compassion. In fact, loving kindness and compassion are subjects to be practices taking the cognition of human beings as one1s own.
Of course, Buddha has said as the Great Compassionate One, "Sabbhe Satta Sukhita Hontu", or "Let all beings be happy". This very sentence throws
vivid light on equality, loving kindness, compassion, and so on. No faith could utter such a universal magnanimity except Buddha. As such, He is the
Great Compassionate One. Who can think that all beings be happy? It is He who has such a great heart, a mind like the oceans and the vast sky. He will
not suffer from mere meanness that I am the only one. So loving kindness and compassion are the virtues to be practiced in the context of humanity and
humanistic outlook. Wisdom based on loving kindness and compassion will help conflict resolution, removal of hatred, and stopping of violence. But as
wisdom is to be gained by one1s insight, application of wisdom in conflict resolution, eradication of hatred and violence is dependent on one1s ability to handle given situations. May it be that the wisdom of one will be helpful in establishing happiness in himself and peace as a whole in society. That
also depends on how capably one can apply his wisdom.
In conclusion, it is thus seen that wisdom may be the factor in the way forward for oneself, but wisdom based on loving kindness and compassion may
be helpful in bringing peace and happiness in society if suitably applied. In the present day situation, let us hope that everybody tries to gain
wisdom and practices loving kindness and compassion for the benefit of all sentient beings.
Let us apply our wisdom to make this conference a successful one in the history of Buddhism.
Dr. Bikiran Prasad Barua is a Professor of Physics at the University of Chittagong. He is the Organizing Secretary of Bangladesh Bouddha Kristi
Prachar Sangha, a Regional Centre of the World Fellowship of Buddhists in Bangladesh. Delegate to the 22nd General Conference of the WFB 2002. Founder
of many, many organizations. Awarded with Dharmaratna (Jewel of Dhamma) for contributions towards the Dhamma, Messenger of Peace (Shantiduta) for
contributions towards World Peace, Best Social Worker Award 1988, Kathan Shishu Award (Childrens Award 2000), Appreciation Plaque by the WFBY, etc.
Internationally renowned world Buddhist leader. Consecutive three times Vice President and Ex-Advisor of the WFBY; A Convener, Gyanajyoti Bhikkhu
Slaughter Judgement National Movement Committee in Bangladesh. Co-ordinator, Bangladesh Buddhist Temple Construction Committee, Bodhgaya , Bihar, India;
Secretary Nava Pandit Vihar, Development Committee, Chittagong, Bangladesh.
PUBLISHER'S NOTE
I am extremely delighted to publish a lecture on "Wisdom sees loving kindness and compassion" by Prof. Dr. Bikiran Prasad Barua, Official
delegate to the 22nd General Conference of the WFB held in Selangor, Malaysia from 9-13 December, 2002 A.D. 2546 B.E. on behalf of Bangladesh
Bouddha Kristi Prachar Sangha, A Regional Centre of the WFB in Bangladesh.
My beloved father Professor Barua has dedicated his life for the propagation of Buddha1s teaching and for establishing peace in the world and has made
remarkable contributions in all respects.
I hope this important lecture will enlighten the dhamma and peace-loving people of the world and the world will be free from conflict, hatred,
violence, greed and delusion.
May all beings be happy.
Sangeeta Barua
5.11.2002
Date of Publication:
5th November, 2002 AD, 2546 BE
Published by:
Ms Sangeeta Barua
Links Officer
The British Council
Dhaka-1000, Bangladesh.
Printed at Mainamati Art Press
51, Ghatforhadbeg, Anderkilla, Chittagong, Bangladesh.
Phone: 614796
Mobile: 018-388532
Reproduced by permission by Chan Academy Australia.
Publication Details
BUDDHA DHYANA
DANA REVIEW
ISSN 0818-8254
Incorporating the Buddhist
Discussion Centre (Upwey) Ltd. Newsletter and the Chan Academy#
Newsletter.
Printed and Published by:
Buddhist
Discussion Centre (Upwey) Ltd.*
ACN 005 701 806
ABN 42 611 496 488
33 Brooking Street
UPWEY VIC
3158
AUSTRALIA
Tel/Fax: (+613) 9754 3334
Email: wbu@bdcu.org.au
Websites:
www.bdcu.org.au
www.bdcublessings.net.au
www.bddronline.net.au
www.bsbonline.com.au
www.buyresolved.com.au
Editor: John D. Hughes DipAppChem TTTC GDAIE
Assistant Editor: Pennie White, BA, DipEd
#Registered Trading Name
*World Fellowship of Buddhists Regional Centre
Home | Top