The Buddhist Hour Radio Broadcast for Sunday 30 December 2001

Broadcast Script 204

Glossary

pervasive: pass or flow through, traverse, extend throughout; spread through or into every part; permeate, saturate; become diffused.

veraciously: habitually speaking or disposed to speak the truth; truthful, honest. Of a statement etc.: conforming to truth or honesty; true, accurate, that estimates or judges truly or correctly.

The topic of today’s broadcast is:

A compendium of previous broadcasts
Preserving Buddha Dhamma for future students

Part of a Teacher’s job is to learn to tell a story through data. This job of teaching and transmission of values has been a struggle of drawing persons into caring about a subject.

"What nobler employment, or more valuable to the state, than that of the man who instructs the rising generation? Cicero: De divinatione, II, circa 78 B.C.

The major difficulty of teaching is that many persons do not care about cold facts. They care about pictures or stories that are connected to themselves in some way. In other words, 'what's in it for them'. For most persons, that is what learning is all about.

We encourage our Members to read veraciously. This reading brings them to appreciate and ground themselves in writings and teaching of the Sages from past times.

"Behind an able man there are always other able men" (Chinese Proverb).

This allows our students to see themselves as a part of history in the making and leaving something as a heritage for the future students rather than merely consuming all the existing wealth for themselves without considering the needs of others.

Where a discipline is well grounded by scholars in the past but due to the rarity of the texts not well known, we say that what was written about belonged in the world as information scarcity.

When we can obtain rare information written by a Master in ancient times, we attempt to make it more widely known in the interests of the pursuit of wisdom for persons living in the present age.

We may think we might choose to study the writing of the great painters of ancient times as a guide to how to live and practice “the way of the brush” in the information age, but to put such a notion into action, we must be able to find the discipline of altered time management in our own life to find the quality time to be able to learn.

Some great painters study the tradition of the past, distill the essence and then produce something that has some grounding in the best of history.

The way of Ch’an using the brush if applied for several years in a system can bring great insight. But this method presupposes the ancients who taught and wrote about method and means were realised in a higher level of experience about reality than we have accessed to date.

Perhaps for you, to consider this statement as true may just start off as just wishful thinking when you start, but that is the experience for those Members at our Centre who followed the Middle Path for many years.

The Dhamma is akaliko, that is, not dependent on time.

Authentic written Dhamma is intact in the present world in various forms.

We intend to make it better known from the series of Websites we have been setting up.

The copyright of present written Dhamma will expire next century at which time it will enter the public domain. It can then be freely distributed without royalty payments.

Unfortunately, much written Dhamma is printed on acid paper.

Such paper does not have the longevity of rice paper. It is certain to break down at the oxygen bridge atom of the cellulose molecules, turning the paper to dust.

In most cases, reprinting is not economically viable.

When copyright has expired or if the copyright owner gives consent, it is legal to scan the information into electronic form.

New technology has recently reached a break-even point where it has become less expensive to reproduce information electronically than in paper based form.

It is clear that the future capability for electronic reproduction and transfer of data will become more and more affordable.

The task of electronic listing of names of key volumes of the unabridged written Dhamma has not yet been done systematically although many organisations have compiled many useful databases of the whereabouts of some of this material.

We need and propose a Buddhist world catalogue of the electronically stored Dhamma materials.

This project would be extensive and ongoing but could be affordable within the scope of 21st century technology.

It is suggested that persons under the protection of Bodhisattva Manjusri are the best attendants for this task. Under this condition, the drive to have a Buddhist world catalogue is likely to become all pervasive, as efforts are made to increase the literacy of persons by presenting them with access to written Buddha Dhamma.

It is by merit that our present written Dhamma becomes available. It did not happen by chance.

With modern technology, such as the Internet, we can deliver at a cost effective basis much quality advice of how persons can live well and we can help our Members increase their personal wealth so that they can get the leisure time and resources and education needed to help others.

Our major objective has always been that the Dhamma be taught to those who can benefit from such teaching. Dhamma teaching, we know from experience helps many persons reduce to a large extent their suffering this life. For a few persons, who have done good things in the past and who come to right view, we help them to attain nibbana at the various levels in accordance with the canonical texts of Lord Buddha.

The Buddha taught starting from the right view concerning jhana sammaditthi, as defined by Nyanatiloka in the Buddhist dictionary is: Jhana: "absorption meditation" sammaditthi "right view".

The owner of this type of view can come to vipassana sammaditthi as defined by Nyanatiloka in the Buddhist dictionary is vipassana "insight wisdom that is the decisive liberating factor in Buddhism" sammaditthi "right view".

It is through repeated practice of vipassana (insight meditation) the more insights arise concerning the nature of things.

Many schools have sought to explain the principle of Paticcasamuppada (Dependent Origination) in terms of the Abhidhamma’s or Theravada or Sarvastivada.

All schools of Buddha Dhamma have agreed on the central importance of Paticcasamuppada which has been identified with Dhamma and Buddha in ancient sayings as well as later texts. There is a duality in the meaning of the word dukkha. It can be said it has a psychological meaning and, at other times, it means phenomenal unrest. We stress both senses.

Both meanings are useful depending on the past lives conditioning of our listeners or, in the case of persons using our Internet-available scripts, our readers.

Above all, it must be understood that in Buddha’s realisation, faith played but little part. He preached in opposition to established faiths. He criticised believing on faith alone, and claimed to teach a doctrine which anybody could directly realise each for himself or herself.

On the other hand, however, ‘saddha’ in Pali (confidence) was considered essential. Saddha is a wholesome state of mind that means not simply believing in authority, but to have heartfelt enthusiasm for a cause.

Our Teacher explains in great detail over many talks how to practise this quality, after detailed instructions of how to set oneself strenuously against a distrait habit of mind, called tatra-tatrabhinandini, in which the mind behaves like a butterfly.

We are not trying to be all things to all persons. We accept as certain it is better for certain segments of the community to turn off. It is a well-accepted and well-noted fact by government and university medical researchers that the general level of physical and mental health of citizens in Australia is not robust.

There is a tendency to deny this observation as if somehow it were unpatriotic to deal with unpleasant facts of this genre.

If we come under stress like a circuit with overload, some become aware of that stress much faster than others and remove themselves by ‘cutting off’ from the source of the unpleasant mental stimuli.

We may coast along for years bombarded by low level unpleasant feeling without ‘cutting off’ from the situation simply because we do not have a rapid acting circuit breaker designed within our psyche. We often meet persons who seem to be under overload conditions but they do not appear to take any action to remove themselves from the sources of their troubles.

You probably know persons who have alcohol or drug problems that are causing overload on their systems but have an inability to take sound advice from those that are close to them that would act as a circuit breaker and who can see what the chemicals are doing to their loved one.

Dhamma Teachers will advise persons who request to be taught on approaching lifestyles that will cause overload in the short to medium term. Very seldom will Dhamma Teachers comment on the longer term overload factors that are seen lying ahead of a person.

We always cause our own overloads, whether we know it or don’t know it. We cause ourselves to overload by pursuing unwise action such as stinginess, greed, jealousy or hate. There are ways out of some types of causes and effects, but for a few great errors there is no ‘circuit breaker’ or way out of the consequences of a person’s actions.

A preliminary wisdom is to understand such matters as causes and effects influencing our short term future.

When persons practising merit making by generosity (Dana in Pali) follow the Buddha’s advice, the mind becomes clear and cognates the process of causes and effects made by an offering. If at any stage in the process the mind falters, doubt can arise and the mind goes to error.

The Chinese & Vietnamese New Year Visits to the Buddhist Discussion Centre between 19 February and 28 March 1999 showed how Members, holding a minimum of five precepts and practising the five styles of the Buddhist Discussion Centre (Upwey) Ltd. have developed, through past causes, the skills to work in self-directed teams (S5 Management) for the ‘seamless delivery’ of dana to over 900 visitors for the benefit of many beings.

This is Dana - merit making by generosity in practice.

Over time, accumulated merit leads to a knowledge of Buddhist ethics, the economics of wise use of a wealth of material resources, work skills, and a firmer commitment to the deployment of such legacies to bring teachable beings to the Dharma.

As the amount of merit accumulated is increased by the effectiveness of the action, and given the reality of a committed person’s time constraints, activities here and elsewhere should be shifted towards utilising the methodologies of an information culture.

The difference between involved and committed Members has been stressed. Having found a right habitat in Upwey, the task of committed Members is to drive the changes needed to maximise their merit making activities at the Centre.

The management of giving (in Pali Dana) or helping should not harm oneself or others.

'Dana' by definition means giving, gift and liberality. Hence the necessity of retaining the Pali word.

One night, while the Buddha was sitting in meditation under a Bodhi tree, the end of His religious quest was finally achieved. He started to see, like a mirror, His previous lives, what He had been, the families He had had; He started to go backward in time to see many previous lifetimes to arrive perhaps to the point when it all started. Then He saw the life of other beings similarly, like in a mirror and one thing became clear to him: the plane of existence (out of the five planes of existence) where these beings were reborn from one life to the next was determined by the accumulated effects of the actions in previous lives, in other words their own karma, a word which in Sanskrit means actions.

As He progressed through the night He acquired a more detailed understanding of the Law of Karma: He realised the Four Noble Truths and the twelve links of the Law of Dependent Origination which is a more detailed formulation of the working of the Law of Karma and the truth of Anatta, the truth that nowhere in the universe there is a self to be found.

Finally when the sun had rose he had become an Enlightened one, he was no longer an individual in the ordinary sense of the word. The point when all learning had stopped, the final destination of his religious quest has finally been achieved.

We can look at this experience as the manifestation of the law of causality in the ethical domain but not as a type of mechanistic causality as it could be inferred from a study of scientific disciplines. Expressed in its standard formulation this causality is:

"When this is present, that comes to be; from the arising of this, that arises. When this is absent, that does not come to be, on cessation of this, that ceases.

Expressed in another way we could say that certain conditions arise in the presence of concomitant factors, when these factors are not present, those conditions do not arise. It is another way of expressing the relationship of interdependency among phenomena in the universe, in our life. The Law of Dependent Origination is one of the most important teachings of the Buddha and even though the realisation of it depends on the degree of spiritual development, we can at least have an intellectual understanding of it.

According to the Buddha's insight, the existence of every effect depends on some causes or conditions. The cause and the effect are mutually dependent. A distinction needs to be made between a cause and a condition. A cause alone cannot produce the effect, it must be aided by some concomitant condition. For instance, a seed is a cause of a plant, while soil, water, light and manure are its conditions. Without the conditions a seed cannot grow into a plant, while soil, water, light and manure are its conditions. Without the conditions a seed cannot grow into a plant. Things in the world, both mental and material are conditioned in nature.

Samma Sambuddha is a fully awakened one or Lord Buddha who was self enlightened without any external guidance in the final life. One who wishes to become a Samma Sambuddha has to practice the ten Parami or perfections in thirty ways to purify the mind. In a suitable time after completion of the necessary perfections, he will become Samma Sambuddha in this world. Only one Samma Sambuddha will appear in a given world system at one time. In the future Samm Sambuddha will be the Lord Buddha Maithereya, (Maitreya).

Samma Sambuddha has the capacity to teach others to show them the Path of Wisdom to attain enlightenment. Samma Sambuddha has four kinds of disciples or Savakas. They are Monks, Nuns, lay men and women. When one of these Savakas becomes fully enlightened such a one is called Arahat Buddha. To become Arahat Buddha, one has to practice only ten parami to purify the minds.

Today’s radio script is a compendium of our weekly broadcasts from 6 August 2000 to 10 September 2000. You can find this radio script and previous scripts online at: www.bdcublessings.net.au.

May the current and future generations come to understand for himself or herself the blessings arising from the preservation of the Dharma.

May listening or reading these words be a cause for your future to contain the blessings and teachings of the Dharma.

May you be well and happy.

The authors and editors of this script were: John D. Hughes, Leanne Eames, Jocelyn Hughes, Lisa Nelson 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.

References

Buddhadatta Mahathera A.P. (1968) Concise Pali-English Dictionary, The Colombo Apothecaries Co. Ltd., Colombo.

Davids and Stede (1979) Pali Text Society Pali-English Dictionary, Pali Text Society, London.

Knoff, Alfred A. (1991) A New Dictionary of Quotations, Alfred A Knopf, Inc., New York

Nyanatiloka (1980) Buddhist Dictionary, Manual of Buddhist Terms and Doctrines, Buddhist Publication Society, Sri Lanka.

Document Statistics

Total:

Words: 2565
Sentences: 116
Paragraphs: 68
Syllables: 3941

Averages:

Words per sentence: 22.1
Sentences per paragraph: 1.7

Percentages:

Passive Sentences: 26

Readability Statistics:

Flesch Grade Level: 12.1
Coleman-Liau Grade Level: 11.5
Bormuth Grade Level: 10.3
Flesch Reading Ease Score: 53.0
Flesch-Kincaid Score: 10.9

Readability Statistics

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Coleman-Liau Grade Level: Indicates the grade level of the document based on the average number of letters per word and number of sentences per 100 words.

Bormuth Grade Level: Indicates the grade level of the document based on the average number of letters per word and per sentence. These scores indicate grade levels ranging from 6.3 to 11.6.

Flesch Reading Ease Score: Indicates how easy the document is to read based on the number of syllables per word and number of words per sentence. These scores indicate a number between 0 and 100. The higher the score, the easier the document is to read. See the Flesch Scoring Table.

Flesch-Kincaid Score: Indicates the grade level of the document based on the number of syllables per word and number of words per sentence. This score predicts the difficulty of reading technical documents, and is based on Navy training manuals that score in difficulty from 5.5 to 16.3. It meets military readability specifications MIL-M-38784 and DOD-STD-1685.

Flesch Scoring Table

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May You Be Well And Happy

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