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'THE
BUDDHIST HOUR'
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Hillside
Radio 87.6 FM & 88.0 FM |
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This program is called: Planning 32 benefits for our Listeners Some of our Members attended the World Fellowship of Buddhists Conference in Bangkok and have been putting in place some of the resolutions that arose from the Conference. The Conference theme was on the globalisation of Buddha Dhamma. At a January 1994 symposium on the impact of 'globalisation' on Thailand, a professor of Buddhism at Chiang Mai University suggested that a 'global' or 'international' Buddhism was philosophically realistic, but that it would necessarily be culturally impoverished. He concluded his remarks with a question: "Is this really the kind of Buddhism that we would like to have?" The topic of the impact of globalization suggests that all religions, not only Buddha Dhamma, are in the midst of dramatic, unprecedented change. The measure of impact can be seen in the culture of taxi drivers in major cities. Because an adult taxi driver in Thailand can purchase tapes of pop stars, he (generally male) can sing, understand and discuss the bio-data of foreign pop stars while holding his general knowledge of the best path through the traffic to a given Buddhist Temple and where best to park so as to be nearest to the Main Shrine. These work skills seem unlikely to inspire the casual passenger with any idea of the general theoretical perspective that a Theravada Buddhist culture, (especially for the role of a real-life person) such as a busy taxi driver who is also an important "almsperson" and "lay person" in supporting a series of Temples may be changing in some quiet way determined primarily by the idioms of commerce. Yet our Australian Dhamma Teacher has pointed out he and the taxi driver share a common bond when he travels with him. They both understand and know and are convinced that the Buddha Dhamma altar in the taxi with its offerings of fresh orchid flowers defines that the betterment of the country is underway. When we look very carefully at how laypersons behave in a work context we know if they are in a Buddha field. If they are, they will have some amount of mutual responsibility in civic matters. If they are not living in a Buddha Field (with refuge), they may not have this civic nicety. The commercialization of culture is quite visible and well known to persons who have travelled to a dozen or more countries in the last two decades. They have watched how music produced and marketed internationally trickles down where key English words are sung with gusto by taxi-drivers at work. The problem is the words of much pop music are avoiding civil duties mandate of mutual responsibility. We dedicate this program to all those workers connected with the safe transport of ordinary persons and their possessions in many cities who make it possible for us to move in the international community with ease. Our listening audience understands that we try to present Buddha Dhamma not in exotic or esoteric terms but something tangible you can start to practice as you work at your job. Does it help? We thank the management of Hillside Radio station for working at their jobs and their help and efforts in enabling our Members to present the Buddhist Hour over the past years. The scripts are globalised via our websites. There are 32 benefits of listening to the Buddha Dhamma we keep in mind when writing our scripts. The Saddharama Smriti Upasthana Sutra mentions thirty-two benefits that can be gained from listening to the Dhamma. It says: "What are these thirty two? When a master preaches the Dharma, he is like a parent to his audience, and he is like a bridge across the river of birth and death. When one hears what one has never heard before, one attains new realizations. Once one has knowledge, one can begin to think about what one has learned. Once one has begun to think about what one has learned, one has truly begun to practice self-cultivation. Once one has begun to practice self-cultivation, one will abide in peace. Once one has begun to abide in peace, one can begin to benefit others; and then a mutually beneficial interaction can begin. If one is able to abide in peace, then even hardship will not seem disturbing. If one listens to the Dharma, then roots of goodness will begin to grow where formerly they did not grow. If one contemplates what one has learned, then one will become prepared for liberation. Listening to the Dharma can lead people with perverse views to change their views to right ones and listening to the Dharma can help people destroy unwholesome thoughts whenever they arise. Listening to the Dharma increases goodness of mind and rids one of evil mental causes and conditions. Listening to the Dharma keeps one from being scattered and disorganised in one's activities. Listening to the Dharma leads one toward the company of good people and leads one away from selfishness and falseness. Listening to the Dharma encourages one to care for one's parents and believe in karma; it also shows one how to live a long life. Listening to the Dharma leads one to be raised by others and protected by heavenly beings, and it causes one's deepest wishes to be fulfilled. Listening to the Dharma brings one all the joys of the Dharma and keeps one from sloth and laziness. Listening to the Dharma causes one to progress quickly, to understand gratitude and to think often on the meaning of death. If one has listened often to the Dharma, at the time of one's death, one will not cling to life or feel remorse for what one has done. Ultimately, listening to the Dharma will lead one to Nirvana." If a person has poor mental health, it is often because they are too full of concepts and ideas and there is no space among his or her preconceptions to listen and learn. There are five main stages that must be practiced to bring a result. First you must start with the intention to listen carefully. A quiet room would help, can you arrange this? Then you stir up the energy (viriya) after having aroused the intention. To show our listeners the practical ancient Path to come to peace, we must stress that getting things in the right order is critical. If you raise your energy first before you have generated the intention to listen, you will energise all your lowest ideas and create a life where you get more of the same boredom. If we thank our human listeners for generating the intention to listen carefully, does it help? Our teaching will cause you to be well and happy and free from harm over time only if you can listen and learn. Animals listen to the broadcast but it does them little good. Our Members chant good truths for you so you can continue your life on the right minds. The right minds are sober and quiet and debtless. We know some people make New Year's resolutions at the beginning of the New Year. Does it help? It is not certain how long such resolutions will last, however it is certain that New Year's resolutions cannot last too long if you make them with alcohol or drugs. At our Centre we are helped and encouraged to plan every week to bring the future organisational structure we want. We get what we plan for. Then planning turns to work. Our Teacher has taught the importance and method of whole life planning many times to Members over the last twenty years. In a Dhamma ending age, the relevance and importance of this practice of planning is self evident as it turns to work. A whole life plan includes more than a work plan and a financial plan. It must have a self development plan to move with the times. We do not wish to be too old fashioned. We do not plan using a 'real estate' mentality as the risks of planning in such a way are obvious, the likelihood of reaching goals are diminished. Instead of simplifying their lives and thus reducing debt now, persons having this 'real estate' mentality have the wrong view about how to approach self development. They delude themselves that at any cost, 'more' is needed 'now'. This results in debt. For example, it turns out that one of our Sydney Members owes money spent on a new $30,000 kitchen. If she is to improve something, it does not necessarily mean she can recoup the kitchen development cost in terms of time saved in living her life. Consider evidence of the number of businesses and organisations that have become obsolete due to refitting out their workplace or store without cost benefit. A sound financial plan is not only to govern your money. It must govern your time. Persons who do not have sufficient time to repay their debt will experience karmic consequences such as being financially worse off in the medium time term. The goal is to approach and then to be debt less. Some persons may be better off without credit cards. Our Centre's standpoint is to remain debtless, and we encourage individual Members to do the same. When you visit our Centre built without debt, you can feel the peace. One of the four great things a human being can have is to be debtless. One effect of this is that we are able to welcome new teachable beings unequivocally. This means our Centre does not become a playing field for hungry ghosts and therefore it remains a suitable location with the dazzling mental hygiene that arises from affordability. After five to ten years of such unconventional financial training, our Members become more financially stable in their own lives. We like it that way. The strong Information Technology version of our debtless approach appears dazzling to many persons. It is known that websites burn money. A definitive scheme is needed. Our recent experiences for the rapid development, without debt, of our 7 web sites makes us confident about three things to suggest why we take a definitive scheme rather than an architectural approach to our needs. The first dazzling thing we know is not to take a 'real estate approach' to development, as this inevitably necessitates borrowing. Our Centre is designed to be a suitable environment with the correct resources connected to its infrastructure. For example, (water supply, gas, power and waste disposal and recycling of resources). The contouring of the garden levels and layout is needed to drain the site. The way we position walking pathways enables unimpeded circumambulation of the grounds. All these things must be fitted safely, Occupational Health & Safety (OH&S) factors are of prime importance. Working conditions are above average. With five air conditioners, this summer our level of workable comfort is good enough. We have 3 phase power to meet the current loads. To save electric power, we have refurbished the premises over the years to put heat insulation in the walls. Our computers are reliable because they do not overheat. The second dazzling thing we know is to provide a Ch'an garden visible from each workstation. Our Ch'an garden, is designed to calm and delight all beings. By being able to see the four seasons from within our Centre, we maintain a healthy working environment. Seeing the garden, and the changes, which the seasons bring, ensures our members do not suffer from the fatigue and lifelessness, which can occur when 'boxed' in a traditional workspace. We do not borrow to develop our garden site. The third dazzling thing is that we have the patience to actualise the outcome elements arising from the first two dazzling things. A definitive project starting date helps us to achieve a minimum level within a deadline for persons who we can get to work with us. This is termed 'a mirror mind'. For the last decade, our existing spaces have been refurbished one unit at a time. We were able to achieve what is needed without borrowing funds and in so doing, we lay the conditions for this to continue to be achieved for the next 500 years. We remain debtless as an active policy because to be debtless is one of the four highest life conditions that a human being can experience. It is conducive to the common good. We have one Local Area Network running for use by our Members. We are about to build our second LAN, that runs 100 times faster, to deliver colour photos. We will build it ourselves. If you begin the new millennium in debt and live beyond your means we suggest that you may want to develop a series of tactical financial plans including a budget before spending more money. If we were to embark on a plan to develop the whole dazzling mandala of our Centre at the one time, we would have to borrow to achieve it. Instead, we develop one unit or step at a time. Our tactical focus remains defined and we create the causes for each future step to be achieved affordably by self funding. Through the careful planning of each development step we create the conditions whereby our Centre resources become available, either through donation or at low cost, for each project to be realised without debt. This does not stress our Managers or regular Members. The weak version of our tactical approach to remain debtless will now be explained. This serves many persons who are cautious about merit making changes to their lifestyle. For those who believe the term "dazzle" is a bit much, we provide a weak version of our debtless approach. Each project is treated like a new building, for example, each new website is developed like another Suite or nascent office module for our Centre. The advantage of web sites is that they are time and place independent, as other persons are able to choose on their own terms, when, where and how they read our material. We do not borrow money to broadcast our data worldwide. We raise the money to fund our plans before development commences. In the course of time, we will own our own broadcast facilities. Such broadcast globalisation gives our overseas contacts quality information without us building more and more office space. In fact, we believe it is improbable that the Internet system will last five hundred years. Technology breakdown would be expected to occur in future time. We have proved it possible to go from local to regional, from regional to national and from national to global in a rapid period of time without incurring IT debt. May others follow our weak version. To think globally, we must operate globally. Recently, eight of our members were being given peak training exercises in Bangkok. The 21st General Conference of the World Fellowship of Buddhist and the 12th General Conference of the World Fellowship of Buddhist Youth held from the 6th December 2000 in Bangkok was an integral part of the commemoration of the 50th Anniversary of the World Fellowship of Buddhists which was founded in 1950 in Sri Lanka by Dr. G.P. Malalasekera. This significant occasion also marked the inauguration of the World Buddhist University on the 9th of December at the conclusion of the two Conferences. A delegation from The Buddhist Discussion Centre (Upwey) Ltd. participated in this Conference comprising John D. Hughes - Vice President WFB, Julian Bamford and Vincenzo Cavuoto as delegates - Julie O'Donnell and Anita Svensson as observers, Jocelyn Hughes and Vanessa Macleod as Raporteurs. Participation at this Conference by our Centre has become a very significant training device for our Members in order to: - Get them to interact with persons for whom the practice of Buddha Dhamma is an essential part of their history and culture - Take them away from their habitual environment so they can better experience a Buddha Dhamma culture - Create a more homogenous and stable culture at our Centre based in Buddha Dhamma - Get them to practice at working long hours and learn to handle stress in a high-pressure environment - Enable them to gain a better perspective on the high profile our Centre has in the Buddhist world - Update, renew and increase our network of contacts with Buddhist Organisations around the world - Practice at a global level Our Centre is well positioned to play a leading role within the context of the World Fellowship of Buddhists globalisation. Because Theravada, Mahayana, Vajrayana and Ch'an are being taught and practiced at our Centre, we are culturally adaptable without disorientation. The process of globalisation is, to a greater or lesser extent, producing some kind of disorientation in traditional Buddhist societies, that is weakening the confidence of the relevance of Buddha Dhamma in the younger section of the population. We can help these young persons. This erosion of confidence (saddha) is a subtle process and not immediately obvious, but nevertheless is real. In the push to achieve wealth and an increased standard of living that Western societies seem to enjoy, there appears to be an uncritical acceptance of Western life styles and value systems. In the long run this may have the effect of undermining their traditional Buddhist culture and value system. We have a role in showing others how to develop a critical acceptance of good job skills needed in western business culture. We wish our listeners the best for the New Year and will continue to upgrade our websites at: www.bdcu.org.au
The advantage of websites is that they are time and place independent, as other persons are able to choose on their terms, when and where and how they read our material. 11% of Australians now follow Buddha Dhamma. May you follow them in the good things they do and learn more job skills of use for your future in the year of the snake. The snake represents good business skills and prosperity. If you are interested in exploring some new skills, please contact us on 9754-3334. Thank you very much for your attention and please support us by visiting our websites. May you be well and happy and prosperous this year of the snake. This script was written and edited by: John D. Hughes, Frank Carter, Leanne Eames, Julie O'Donnell, Anita Svensson and Pennie White. Disclaimer:
As we, the Buddhist Discussion Centre (Upwey) Ltd., do not control the actions of our service providers from time to time, make no warranty as to the continuous operation of our website(s). Also, we make no assertion as to the veracity of any of the information included in any of the links with our websites, or an other source accessed through our website(s).
Accordingly, we accept no liability to any user or subsequent third party, either expressed or implied, whether or not caused by error or omission on either our part, or a member, employee or other person associated with the Buddhist Discussion Centre (Upwey) Ltd.
Readability Statistics Flesch
Grade Level: 10.4 References: Hsing Yin, Master (1998) Being Good, Buddhists Ethics For Every Day Life, Translated by Tom Graham, New York, USA: Published by Weatherhill Inc., p. 57. Swearer, Donald K. (1995) The Buddhist World of Southeast Asia, Published by State University of New York Press, Albany. For more information, contact the Centre or better still, come and visit us. |
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© Copyright. The Buddhist Discussion Centre (Upwey) Ltd. |