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NAMO
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'THE
BUDDHIST HOUR'
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Hillside
Radio 1620 AM, 87.6 FM & 88.0 FM |
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The Buddhist Hour Radio Broadcast for Sunday 29 July 2001 Hillside Radio 87.6 & 88 FM & 1620 AM
The topic of today’s broadcast is Cultivating Proper Tools Towards Practicing Right View
One of our most senior executives has only been practising for five years.
She went to Christian schools in India and Australia.
Intuitively, she is one of our disciplined Members who cares for and observes the Triple Gem Refuges and five precepts and maintains these supports with body, speech and mind.
Although she was born in India and came to Australia with her family some years ago and worked as a nurse, she wished to find out why death has so much suffering. When she began to practice Buddha Dhamma, she understood for the first time this life the four Noble Truths, and that life is by nature a mass of dukkha (suffering).
From a Buddha Dhamma perspective, it is a great blessing to live in Australia, as Australia is a peaceful land with a well developed social, political and economical infrastructure. Many Australians are willing to apply themselves wisely and develop Right View to enjoy a fulfilling life here and now which means that they can view their life without regret as they get older.
The wholesome is the logical counter positive of the unwholesome. For one with Right View, whose view is straight, who has perfect confidence in the Dhamma and has arrived at this true Dhamma, life is pleasant and meaningful.
In Australia , it is easy to get the basics of life. To be born or immigrate to Australia is a result of good deeds in previous lives whereby that person practiced generosity (in pali, dana) and morality (in pali, sila) or other good things.
In addition, that person had contributed in past lives to the prosperity and well being of the country they were a native of or had immigrated to. As the Buddha taught, everything can be linked to cause and effect or kamma and vipaka. This is Right View.
We recently received the MLBD newsletter Volume XX111 No. 5, May 2001, of Indological Bibliography produced by Motilal Banarsidass of Delhi, India. Our Teacher has been delighted to read the MLBD newsletter of Indological Bibliography.
This journal is available on their website at www.mlbd.com. We printed a section of their latest issue Vol XX111 No. 7 July 2001 from their website this week.
This splendid organisation has been operating for 98 years and was founded in 1903.
They have preserved quality scholastic writing without compromise through these changing times.
Their newsletters fill the gaps in titles for our Buddhist Library. This grand book seller can provide the missing titles.
Interested listeners can experience the delight of reading critical reviews of great works by visiting the site at www.mlbd.com.
You can purchase Buddha Dhamma books from the MLBD website. To preserve our Buddhist library for 500 years, you may assist us by donating Buddha Dhamma books to our Library.
Our goal is to have five copies of each title in our library stack. Then we are safe to lend one copy.
The donor’s name is recorded in the book when it is indexed and is listed on our catalogue on our website www.bdcu.org.au. Donations are not tax deductible.
These newsletters are tools to assist us to get the right information into our library. Right view comes from applying the right information. How can we come to right view without the proper tools?
W.H. Auden (1979) stated “You must learn to choose the truth before aesthetic preferences”.
Just because something is well written or pleasant to hear does not necessarily mean it is correct information.
We must get beyond appearances.
Some books have colourful pictures that are pretty but they are meaningless for learning. Others bring the mind to rest in a single glance with a few photographs.
For example, the latest summer edition of Lotus Lantern has photographs of two pieces of calligraphy by Seon (Zen) Master Kusan of South Korea.
He argues persons ought to seek to emulate the spirit of a great hero. “This is necessary because only one who is the greatest hero among heroes is able to accomplish this difficult task. You need supreme courage in order to bring the practice to its completion. To transform this world into a Pure Land and to change ordinary sentient beings into accomplished sages is no easy matter. It is truly the work of a great hero.”
At times, great effort is made by others to help us get right view.
For example, Public Interest Law Clearing House (PILCH) has agreed to help our Centre by advising us about our Rights and duties in relation to the use of the Land at 33 Brooking Street, Upwey. We are fortunate to have obtained their service.
We are interested in the implications of the Land being zoned ‘Low Density Residential’ and the Centre having ‘existing use’ rights over the Land. Their advice will specifically address:
We will also investigate complaints from neighouring residents.
Our lawyer understands that the Centre’s neighbours have complained to the Shire about the Centre in relation to matters such as excessive noise, car parking, traffic and the Centre’s impact on local amenity.
Our lawyer will advise us about the Centre’s legal rights and obligations in relation to neighbouring residents. Part of this advice will be whether the Centre should take any action under the Racial and Religious Tolerance Act 2001 (Vic) against neighbouring residents who complain about the activities of the Centre.
PILCH assesses your application and matches your case with a legal practitioner. This service is free of charge.
PILCH co-ordinates and facilitates the referral of public interest pro bono cases to the private legal profession. They hope to ensure the process is speedy, efficient and effective for both our member law firms and for you, the community members they seek to assist.
In Buddha Dhamma, the beginning of the Eightfold Path is Right View (in Pali: samma-ditthi). Right View from a Buddha Dhamma perspective means having the wisdom in body, speech and mind so we know the right thing to do. A positive outcome occurs both in the present and the future when right view is cultivated. The Buddha arrived at right view by direct insight, which does withstand the simple tests of logic.
As defined in the Pali-Text Society - Pali-English Dictionary, samma-ditthi means “right views, right belief, the first stage of the noble eightfold path, consists in the knowledge of the four truths”.
View is defined as considering or regarding something in a particular manner; a mental attitude; an opinion, idea, or belief concerning a particular subject or thing.
We need to remove the old mental furniture of unfinished business we hold to get to right view.
A source of information on Right View would be the Sammaditthi Sutta and its Commentary. The Discourse on Right View was taught by the Buddha whilst living at Saravatthi in Jeta’s Grove, Anathapindika’s Park, India:
“Indeed, friend, we would come from far away to learn from the Venerable Sariputta the meaning of this statement. It would be good if the Venerable Sariputta would explain the meaning of this statement. Having heard it from him, the Bikkhus's will remember it.” “Then, friends, listen and attend closely to what I shall say.” “Yes, friend, the Bikkhu’s replied.
The Venerable Sariputta said this:
“When, friends, a noble disciple understands the unwholesome, the root of the unwholesome, the wholesome and the root of the wholesome, in that way he is one of right view, whose view is straight, who has perfect confidence in the Dhamma and has arrived at this true Dhamma”.
You must see both sides to the coin to know its value.
After seeing for themselves, Students of the Buddhist Discussion Centre (Upwey) Ltd. follow Right View.
The Vitakkasanthana Sutta addresses a particular matter of practical significance for the meditator. It recognises that one’s meditative efforts can be, and often are, hindered by the appearance in consciousness of unwanted intrusive cognition.
The discourse offers specific strategies for countering these unwanted intrusive cognitions. The strategies are explained and further elaborated in Buddhaghosa’s commentary. The Buddha is reported to have given this discourse at Jetavana.
It was intended for Monks intent on higher consciousness - i.e. those engaged in meditation with the purpose of attaining mental development. Such a Monk, the Buddha said, should reflect on ‘five things’ from time to time.
These are:
1. “Switch to an opposite or incompatible thought. The first is to reflect on an object which is associated with thoughts which are the opposite of the unwanted thought. If it is associated with hatred, one should think of something promoting loving kindness; and if it is something associated with delusion or confusion, one would think of something promoting clarity.”
2. “Ponder on the disadvantages: ‘scrutinise the peril’. If, however, the unwanted thought still keeps arising, one is advised to ponder on the perils and disadvantages of the thought. This would help one to immediately rid oneself of the thought in question, like in the case of a young man or woman, who is eager to look nice and clean, would be revolted and disgusted if he/she finds the carcass of a snake, dog or human being around his neck and would be immediately cast aside.”
3. “Ignore and distract. Various distracting activities may be used in order not to pay attention, or dwell on, the unwanted cognition. These include: recalling of a doctrinal passage one has learned, concentrating on actual concrete objects, or indeed some unrelated physical activity, like darning a worn out part of one’s robe.”
4. “Reflect on removal of the sources of the thought. Reflect on the removal or stopping of the sources of the target thought. This is explained with the analogy of a man walking briskly who asks himself ‘why am I walking briskly?’ and then slows down his pace as he sees no reason to walk briskly; then reflects on his walking and stops and stands; then reflects on his standing and sits down; and finally reflects on sitting, and then lies down.”
5. “Control with forceful effort. Forcefully restrain and dominate the mind, ‘with clenched teeth and tongue pressed hard against the palate’. One is to use the effort on one part of the mind to control another”.
Today, we will concentrate on the cultivation of the proper tools to switch to opposite or incompatible thought.
Winston Churchill wrote “man will occasionally stumble over the truth, but most of the time he will pick himself up and continue on”.
Have you had this experience of glimpsing something useful and then forgetting it? When did you have it? Many persons get insights when they are as young as five years old. How did you feel about being unable to maintain your thought at that time? What can you do about it if the good thought were to reappear?
This week, one of our Members brought her sister to our Centre. It was the sister’s 44th birthday. After much discussion, she came to the right view about the unsatisfactory relationship she has with her friends who pull her down. She will seek better friends.
There is no royal road to learning. The path of practice is experiential, and the students must put into action the instructions everyday. Regular review of what you have found by questions and answer is ideal.
Many years ago, a Chinese Monk decided that he would climb a mountain, upon which he would meditate and win Enlightenment. Climbing the mountain, he met an old man: rag torn, smelling, disgusting and rude.
The old man requested the Monk to carry his bag for him. The Monk argued.
The old man followed clumsily behind the Monk who strode with ease and confidence.
"Slow down, I am an old man”, he cried out to the Monk. All this annoyed the Monk immensely. The Monk noticed that the bag he was carrying was getting heavier and heavier the higher they climbed.
The next day the old man was looking younger and more fit than the Monk had ever seen him.
The bag was so heavy that the Monk could no longer carry it. "HURRY! HURRY!", came the old man's voice. Hearing this, the Monk exploded in a rage of anger and screamed so loudly at the old man that instantly he stopped and turned around.
Seeing this, the old man made his way back down the mountain. The Monk looked up, "HEY! You forgot your bag!"
“I don't need it", replied the old man in an disconcerned voice.
"But what's in it?", asked the Monk.
The old man tipped it upside down. Rocks of all shapes tumbled out of the bag. "You mean all that time all I was carrying was just a bag of rocks?!", the Monk said in dismay.
"Yes", replied the old man bluntly. “And now you don't care that you lost them all?” "No" In disbelief, the Monk fell silent. After a few seconds the Monk asked, "who are you?"
Just then the old man transformed into the heavenly manifestation of Manjusuri, Bodhisattva of Wisdom, and then, just as quickly, he disappeared.
The Monk realised the old man was a manifestation of Manjusuri, and this skillful means was to crush the Monk's fierce pride and conceit. The Monk vowed he would meditate in that spot, until he gained enlightenment. Through practice, this vow was realised.
We are unlikely to meet with the Bodhisattva of Wisdom until we have made causes.
All castes perceive deficiency of friendliness (adosa) towards one's own grouping as 'treacherous'. When a person has vision, he or she knows (without doubt) that kamma is the source of our birth into one caste or another and that even our notions are sourced from our kamma. The absence of clouded thinking on such matters will reveal the truth that the mind state of a Noble person appears to defy classification within any traditional concept of caste because a Noble person inclines to help all sentient beings, regardless of their mundane status.
Suppose you have the wrong view and have the problem of being too class conscious.
To overcome this, recall that Lord Buddha sanctioned members of every class to enter his Sangha and, in fact, former members of all classes obtained arya status.
We do not author our Custodian's guidelines in four protocols (one way for each caste); yet it is clear to all present Custodian Members that our internal strategy is towards convergence so that we support a "caste free" centrally managed sila infrastructure.
An assimilate environment for acceptance of redirection supports the multiple businesses of what we deliver for self and others.
Suppose a Member has the problem of being sexist.
To overcome this, members are invited to edit some of our legacy applications that are being rewritten to replace sexist language: for example, to replace "his" with "his or her".
Suppose a Member is anti social or angry towards a class of persons.
To overcome this, members could help us in our key challenge to contribute vision into our logistics support for the Centre so that our infrastructure is integrated around robust practical notions of service to others.
We teach those teachable no matter what their social class.
If our future Custodians fall into unclear impressions of our underpinning structures of our work, groups with vision must help them. No Custodian should disapprove of our Teacher merely on the grounds that we choose to cultivate persons of "other classes" or “other races”.
The concept of inter-dependence is at the heart of industrial restructuring of Australia and worldwide, and so we dispense dhamma training which allows our development to really operationise the concept of inter-dependent work teams up of many types of individual.
Some of our new Members are lucky enough and strong enough to conform to our written protocols and do not prevaricate about what is path and what is not path avoiding the years of practice that gives vision.
By looking at cause and effect, you can arrive at Right View in relation to the mind, body and rebirth. As Bhikkhu Bodhi says in his article, “Does Rebirth Make Sense?”:
“To understand how kamma can produce its effects across the succession of rebirths we must invert our normal, everyday conception of the relationship between consciousness and matter. Under the influence of materialistic biases we assume that material existence is determinative of consciousness. Because we witness bodies being born into this world and observe how the mind matures in tandem with the body, we tacitly take the body to be the foundation of our existence and mind or consciousness an evolutionary offshoot of blind material processes. Matter wins the honoured status of “objective reality”, and mind becomes an accidental intruder upon an inherently senseless universe.”
From a Buddhist perspective, however, consciousness and the world co-exist in a relationship of mutual creation which equally requires both terms.”
May many beings come to have samma ditthi. May you be well and happy.
This script was written and edited by John D. Hughes, Jocelyn Hughes, Evelin Halls, Vanessa Macleod, Rilla Oellien, Lisa Nelson and Marguerita Hamilton. 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.
References Brown, L. (1993) The New Shorter Oxford Dictionary, Oxford University Press Inc., New York
Davids R. and Stede W. (Ed.) The Pali Text Society’s Pali-English Dictionary., London.
Green J. (1982) A Dictionary of Contemporary Quotations, Redwood Burn Ltd for David & Charles ) (Publishers) Ltd, London
(1991) The Sammaditthi Sutta and its Commentary, Buddhist Publication Society, Kandy, Sri Lanka
Bodhi, Venerable Bhikku (1984), The Noble Eightfold Path, Buddhist Publication Society, Kandy, Sri Lanka
San Ven. Yang Ed. (2001), The Lotus Lantern Vol 3 No. 10 Summer 2545 B.E. (2001), Korean Buddhist Chogye Order, Korea.
Webb Russell Ed. (2001) Buddhist Studies Review Vol. 18, No. 1 (2001) UK, Association for Buddhist Studies, London.
Bhikkhu Bodhi (2001) Does Rebirth Make Sense? - II, BPS Newsletter, 1st Mailing 2001, No. 47.
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This Radio Script is for Free Distribution. It
contains Buddha Dhamma material and is provided for the purpose of
research and study. © Copyright. The Buddhist Discussion Centre (Upwey) Ltd. |