The Buddhist Hour Radio Broadcast for Sunday 13 January 2002

Broadcast Script 207

Glossary

e-communication: electronic communication

Prajnaparamita (Sanskrit): translates as the Perfection of Wisdom

savour, (used figuratively): enjoy or appreciate (an experience, sensation, etc.)

Today’s broadcast is titled: ‘You shall know by experience’

Our Members are gaining experience in many areas and thereby increasing their knowledge. They are learning to document their experience so that others can benefit from their knowledge.

Our off site activities are increasing as we make use of e-communication. These activities give reduced traffic flow by 7% over the last month.

This is of benefit to all because it is desirable to have a quiet location.

Ideally to reduce traffic noise Members would walk to our Centre.

As more and more Members choose to live locally or purchase properties closer to our Centre, this ideal is coming to be our future trend.

Members do not have to attend the Centre as much to perform their tasks.

All our planning is geared for this ideal state.

We improve the workplace environment for the long life and health of our Members and visitors.

There is a time and place for upgrading existing facilities.

This week, we completed our Fire Protection Wall in the South, before the Year of the Horse commences. The Grand Duke Jupiter location is in the South in the Year of the Horse. Auspicious Feng Shui must always be given a chance to move slowly and gently through the house, and the best way of ensuring this is to design the flow of traffic through the house to curve.

Timing is everything.

Last week’s programs were well spaced.

On Tuesday, 8 January 2002 Prajnaparamita was taught from 7pm to 8.30pm. Prajnaparamita translates as the Perfection of Wisdom.

Our Teacher John D. Hughes taught students about the marks of cognition as regards the knowledge of the path.

On Thursday, 10 January 2002, during the afternoon, some Members rehearsed two fire drills and improved our fire prevention processes. Members recorded these improvements in our Fire Prevention Manual 2002.

Other Members were working at five off site locations at their own homes loading our newly drafted disclaimer to our websites. The five Members communicated with each other via email to communicate with each other about what is being uploaded or updated on our eight websites. To do this they did not have to visit the physical location of our Centre.

On Friday, 11 January 2002, Members at the Buddhist Discussion Centre (Upwey) Ltd. gathered together at 11am for a special banquet in celebration of three special achievements.

Members enjoyed one another’s good company and a delicious banquet luncheon.

This banquet was held to mark the occasion of

• the cataloguing of 4000 library books and the launch of ‘Attainment 5000’ the cataloguing of 1000 books in 2002, in the Year of the Horse;

• the first year anniversary of the Brooking Street On Line. This is the same text as our printed publication but it is illustrated with many colour photographs; and

• the launch of our new publication Longhair Australian News, Volume 1, No. 1.

On the 9 January 2002, Longhair Australian News became a registered trading name of the Buddhist Discussion Centre (Upwey) Ltd. A.C.N. 005 701 806 A.B.N. 42 611 496 488 at 33 Brooking Street, Upwey, Victoria Australia 3158. Telephone and Fax +61 3 9754 3334. The registration number for our trading name Longhair Australian News is B1610696L.

We dedicate this new publication to our women Members who handle the loading of data to our websites. At present, we have seven female webmasters: Leanne Eames, Evelin Halls, Vanessa Macleod, Lisa Nelson, Rilla Oellien, Anita Svensson and Pennie White; and one male webmaster: Julian Bamford.

‘You shall know by experience’, is our lemma of our Longhair Australian News publication. The was written down in the Latin form ‘Experiundo scies’ by Terence in circa 160 B.C.

We dedicate the Longhair Australian News publication to persons who will come and help us in the future with information technology.

Longhair is a welcome publication because in their operations, our webmasters gather much information each for himself or herself and need to communicate this information between themselves. At the same time, we guess that the information we gather could be valuable to other persons who are confronted with the day-by-day running of websites.

As a not-for-profit organisation, our dominant culture has not only been self-government but also internal development by volunteers as modes of preparation of task implementation.

The first office of any administration must be order and our Members are taught the art of orderly and continuous industry. For those who measure duty by dollars spent we point out that our systems have paid back a thousand fold all the effort we put into the propagation of Buddha Dhamma from our websites.

We base our calculations of the savings on our printing and postage costs.

The global spread we offer Members and clients is simple and straight forward.

We believe in the frank acceptance of existing facts about rising publication and postage costs and dealing with them as they are and not on a theory of what they might or ought to be. Our paper printing and postage costs rose to $15,000 per year when we were printing an 80-page version of our flagship publication, Buddha Dhyana Dana Review. We have to meet the new costing demands of our living present supply chains.

The foundation of our publications is to retain copyright for our organisation so we can have the ability to donate information free of charge to those who wish to use it rightfully and legally.

Shohei Ichimura states in his book Buddhist Critical Spirituality (2001, pp. 148-150). In the Buddhist world, the Theravadin and Mahayana traditions have continued to uphold somewhat different ways to link the spiritual and secular domain, but with a growing awareness of the forces of change, leaders in both traditions, whether professional monks or lay devotees, have found it necessary to review old forms of expression and seek new approaches so as to accommodate on-going change with a new set of appropriate meanings and directives. We are able to renew a long overdue critical examination of the existing forms of linkage between the spiritual and the secular, whereby to advance a step toward the reform that is necessary to the future growth of Buddhism and a step toward the unification of the two traditions through the creation of a viable avenue of communication and mutual cooperation.

Moreover, the task has grown today because of the physical presence of the Buddhist tradition expanding globally, moving beyond the geographical confines of the past, and reaching to all parts of the world. In the recent decades, Buddhist tradition has acquired increasing respect as an equal among the other religious traditions of the West. If the Buddhist tradition as a whole, Theravadin and Mahayana, can hope to offer a service to humanity on global terms, it will do so through examination and assessment of this issue of the linkage between spiritual transcendence and secular engagement by introducing new directions and new forms of expression for the period to come.

Our publications stimulate the energy, enterprise and intellect of persons, and quicken human genius. Comparison of IT ideas is educational and this present LAN publication is designed for the common glory of Members’ training since we plan to put this information on one of our websites for ease of access. It may even become an international asset to others who need to learn.

The broad objectives of the Longhair Australian News are:

1. To inform persons of product information;

2. To inform persons of what text or photos or multimedia is added onto our websites week by week (What’s new on our websites);

3. To publish our documentation of technical help notes and instructions developed;

4. To keep an accurate record of backups for what has been uploaded onto our sites and when, as well as a list of CDs we have burnt;

5. To inform person of equipment we have installed;

6. To inform persons of equipment we aim to acquire;

7. To publish documentation on our Recording and Library Practices;

8. To map and picture ways of finding out what happens on our sites (Site Maps);

9. To publish our statistics;

10. To make our publications accessible (Longhair Publications including monographs);

11. To present coming information (Next Issue Preview)

We like the adventure of seeing thousands of visitors come to our sites.

The publication will be uploaded onto our website www.companyontheweb.com/buddhamap.

May you be well and happy.

Last Sunday we presented some of the historical 1st Buddhist Hour radio broadcast.

Today, we would like to present a part of an audio record of the second Buddhist Hour radio broadcast from the 29 February 1998 entitled “Chips off the Old Block”...

(The following is a transcript of the broadcast)

Welcome to the Buddhist Hour. This program is brought to you by the Buddhist Discussion Centre (Upwey) Ltd. A.C.N. 005 701 806.

My name is John Hughes.

Please savour the Pali language of Vandana for Buddha chanted by our Members...

Namo Tassa Bhagavato Arahato Sammasambuddhassa
Namo Tassa Bhagavato Arahato Sammasambuddhassa
Namo Tassa Bhagavato Arahato Sammasambuddhassa

Thank you.

The words of this chanting were written about two and a half thousand years ago.

The chanting is not accompanied by any musical instruments. Sometimes a wood block accompanies the chanting. Today, you will hear examples of the sound of a wood block and how it is used to aid the mind when the chanting is commencing. So a wood block sounds something like this...

For this reason I have called today’s program, “Chips off the old block”.

On the Namo Tassa Bhagavato Arahato Sammasambuddhassa that was just chanted the meaning of the words, those few words, has many, many layers of meaning. So many meanings that several hundred years ago a wise Buddhist Monk in Sri Lanka wrote a lengthy commentary to explain the meaning of this form of respect for the Teacher Buddha who had awakened correctly, that is the Sammasambuddhassa. As far as I know the lengthy commentary is equivalent to about 17 book volumes and has not been translated into the English language. So when you hear a lot of new words, when you hear ideas you haven’t met with recently, just accept the fact that a lot of things I say you cannot understand and requires more study.

So the Buddha Dhamma, is traditionally, said to be in 84 thousand parts. So in other words there are 84 thousand understandings you need and then your mind will be fully awakened.

So it said that there are still other aspects of the Truth that the Buddha having known and understood, yet he didn’t disclose or teach them to persons. So all he taught to human beings was truth that were conducive to the supreme awakening of the human minds, which are the goal of the Teachings. So although these 84 thousand parts are multifaceted, they can be summed up as not to do unwholesome actions, to practice morality, such as no stealing and no killing, and so on, to do good, for example, by being generous, to practice lending a helping hand to others, such as offering food, to purify the mind.

Some parts of morality and some parts of generosity are well taught by other religions. So you can practice those parts with all other religions. But there are parts of Buddha Dhamma that is very special and there is 40 parts to the mind training.

Buddha Dhamma is non sexist, it’s not ageist, non racist. The mind training is for men and women, young and old, persons of all nationalities and it is the same Teaching. So how you start and where you start depends on your degree of maturity as an individual.

So in Buddha Dhamma some persons will tell you that there appear to be two main schools or Nikaya the Theravada or Southern School, and the Achariyavada or Northern School. It is called the Northern School because it tended to be popular in the countries of Northern Asia and some Teachers called the Achariyavada school the Mahayana. The Mahayana has more than ten branches. Despite their difference they all have the same goal which is deliverance from suffering and the realisation of Nibbana. Nibbana is a mental state.

The various schools come together at the World Fellowship of Buddhists. Our Centre is a regional Centre of the World Fellowship of Buddhists.

The World Fellowship of Buddhists will be holding its international conference at a Chinese Temple in Wollongong, New South Wales, this year (1998). World Fellowship of Buddhists from 60 countries are likely to attend.

When the monks and nuns and Buddhist leaders gather they sing the World Fellowship of Buddhists Anthem which sounds like this...

So that was the theme of the World Fellowship of Buddhists, which is sung and brings all the different schools of Buddha Dhamma together at the one place.

Representatives of the various schools meet together at the World Fellowship of Buddhists to discuss how Buddha Dhamma can arrange for persons to hear the doctrine properly, to learn it properly, to keep it in memory properly, to consider it properly and to put it into practice properly understanding it and its meanings.

The World Fellowship of Buddhists has its international headquarters in Bangkok. The World Fellowship of Buddhists acts globally as non-government advisors to United Nations.

You are listening to the Buddhist Hour, brought to you by the Buddhist Discussion Centre (Upwey) Ltd. Our Centre is a World Fellowship of Buddhists’ Centre. My name is John Hughes.

For today’s program, we call it 'Chips off the Old Block' and it deals with generating wood block sounds that can help wake up your minds. As I said, the Theravada School chant’s unaccompanied by any musical device. They chant the Triple Gem, taking refuge in Buddha the Dhamma and the Sangha, in the Pali language. The Sangha refuge is traditionally for the group of Buddhist Monks and Nuns, past, present and future, who want to practice teaching the Dhamma.

The Theravada Triple Gem refuge, Buddham Saranam Gacchami and so on, sounds like this...

Buddham Saranam Gacchami
Dhammam Saranam Gacchami
Sangham Saranam Gacchami

Dutiyampi Buddham Saranam Gacchami
Dutiyampi Dhammam Saranam Gacchami
Dutiyampi Sangham Saranam Gacchami

Tatiyampi Buddham Saranam Gacchami
Tatiyampi Dhammam Saranam Gacchami
Tatiyampi Sangham Saranam Gacchami

The Acharyavada School, tends to take refuge in the Triple Gem, the Buddha, the Dhamma and the Sangha and add a fourth refuge, the Acharya or guru. The words Acharya or guru translate as teacher. The teacher is the shower of the way.

Generally, you will find the Acharya school is sometimes called Mahayana and the language they chant in is an ancient Sanskrit language, rather than a Pali language. Sanskrit and Pali are fairly similar in sound. They both use the word Namo for example, or respect words but there are some differences. In addition, the Acharyavada school uses gongs, bells, chings, wood blocks in the shape of a human skull and various other devices to make sounds to accompany the chanting so the sounds you hear from the wood block sounds like this...

Traditionally the wood block is painted red and is carved to look something like an abstracted human skull. When sounding the wood block, when learning to chant, it can help you become alert because it puts your mind inside your body instead of having the mind running out day dreaming.

If you are interested in mind cultivation, classes at our Centre are available on Monday and Friday evenings from 7.30pm onwards. Please telephone the Buddhist Discussion Centre (Upwey) Ltd. on 9754 3334 for details. I’ll repeat that 9754 3334.

So that was the second Buddhist Hour program called Chips off the old block, broadcast on 29 February 1998.

We thank Master John D. Hughes for establishing the Buddhist Hour radio broadcast and for being the Executive Producer from the very first show.

May our Teacher Master John D. Hughes be well and happy and continue to teach Buddha Dhamma.

You can order this CD-ROM for $22.00 including GST by calling our Centre on 9754 3334

This CD is sold subject to the condition that it shall not be reproduced in any form whatsoever without permission in writing from the publishers.

Your purchase of this CD will mean you can listen to Buddhist Teachings and you will be helping us by contributing to the costs of running our weekly Buddhist Hour broadcasts.

May we continue to preserve and distribute Buddha Dhamma Teachings to many.
May we continue to bless each other by sharing our knowledge gained from our experience.
May our Members develop the skills needed to run celebratory occasions and prepare suitable documentation.

Thank you for joining us today on our Buddhist Hour.

May you be well and happy.
May all beings be well and happy.

The authors and editors of this script were: John D. Hughes, Sharon Carlton, Evelin Halls 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

Conze, Edward (trans.) (1975) 'The Large Sutra on Perfect Wisdom', University of California Press, Berkley, Los Angeles, London.

Ichimura, Shohei (2001) Buddhist Critical Spirituality, Delhi, Motilal Banarsidass Publishers Private Ltd., pp. 148-150.

Terence (circa 160 B.C.) quotation ‘Experiundo scies’ cited in Mencken H. L. (1991) ‘A New Dictionary of Quotations’, Alfred A. Knopf, New York.

Too, Lillian, (1999) The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Feng Shui’, Element, Melbourne, Victoria.

Document Statistics

Total:

Words: 2777
Sentences: 135
Paragraphs: 94
Syllables: 3888

Averages:

Words per sentence: 20.6
Sentences per paragraph: 1.4

Percentages:
Passive Sentences: 25

Readability Statistics:

Flesch Grade Level: 11.2
Coleman-Liau Grade Level: 14.7
Bormuth Grade Level: 11.2
Flesch Reading Ease Score: 56.0
Flesch-Kincaid Score: 9.9

Readability Statistics

Displays statistics about the document's readability, such as the Flesch Grade Level and Flesch Reading Ease Score. These statistics help you determine if you are writing at a level your audience can understand.

Flesch Grade Level: Flesch Grade Level indicates the Flesch Reading Ease score as a grade level. See the Flesch Scoring Table.

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

(Reference: Lotus Word Pro Help Files)

For more information, contact the Centre or better still, come and visit us.

May You Be Well And Happy

This Radio Script is for Free Distribution. It contains Buddha Dhamma material and is provided for the purpose of research and study.

Permission is given to make printouts of this publication for FREE DISTRIBUTION ONLY.

Please keep it in a clean place.

"The gift of Dhamma excels all other gifts".

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