The Buddhist Hour Radio Broadcast Script 255
Sunday 15 December 2002
 
 

Glossary
Dilapidate: Waste, squander, (a benefice or estate). Bring (a building etc.) into a state of decay, disrepair, or partial ruin.
Hiri (Pali language): sense of shame, bashfulness, shyness.
 
 

This script is entitled:
The importance of developing a sense of moral shame
 

Hiri (a sense of moral shame) is the third of the sobhana sadharana cetasika (beautiful mental concomitants). "To be ashamed of what one ought to be ashamed, to be ashamed of performing evil and unwholesome things: this is called moral shame." (Puggala-pannatti, para. 79).

For example, there are the 18 characteristics of a suitable place for a Temple specified by the Buddha. One of these characteristics is "It should not be one dilapidated".

A person who has developed hiri will not let the Temple become dilapidated, because this would be against the Buddha advice. If persons who look after a Temple have a sense of moral shame, the Temple surrounds will not be left to drift towards a dilapidated condition.

A person with hiri (a sense of moral shame) will also not let the house where he or she lives drift into a deteriorated state. One of the signs a person has hiri is measured by the cleanliness and maintenance of the premises. Such a house welcomes visitors and makes them feel at home.

The owner feels comfortable about inviting persons to enter.

Just as one maintains the facade of a house, one also should maintain every room. It is not wise to put all the clutter into one room.

Just as a person who frowns has an unpleasant face and makes other persons uneasy, a cluttered room irritates many persons. This lack of reducing of clutter causes all kinds of trouble, such as, difficulties in finding or keeping a job, difficulties of working in a team, or causes problems with friends who may share the premises.

The American President John F. Kennedy once said: "Failure has no friends".

If we are shy in company, we will not generate friends.

A person with hiri will not be shy or bashful and generates causes to be successful in their personality development.

A person practising hiri is not shy, has a pleasant face, a pleasant voice and appropriate body language, and generates a sense of occasion in the environment. So, if you become confident, for example, it means that you are practising Buddha Dhamma, because you generate happiness and peace that affects yourself and others.

If a person practises with a pleasant peaceful face consistently, it will remain a pleasant face in the future, because the wearer of such a face has made the causes to be secure. Such a person who is not shy will lead a happy life.

When we become shy, we ought to reflect and consider what is appropriate behaviour at given time and place.

Sales persons practise diligently not to be shy just to make more sales, so how much more important is it for you to develop a sense of urgency to develop hiri, the third of the wholesome cetasika, to enable you to stay practising the Buddha Dhamma path.

There are various techniques for developing hiri (a sense of moral shame).

One method is to visualise the appearance of your own face, moment by moment, as if you were looking into a mirror, and smile. Continue to visualise your face, moment by moment, in the mirror. If your present face is an unpleasant face, you lack hiri. Your task is to change your unpleasant face into a pleasant face so that you can continue with your Buddha Dhamma practice.

Whether you appear unpleasant or pleasant is dependent upon your choice of how you wish to project yourself. So to make a choice about the kind of face you will display is not a trivial task.

If you want to be a practitioner, you must practise hiri. Putting on an unpleasant appearance is not Buddha Dhamma practice - it makes persons uneasy.

To help you refine your minds, consider the advice given on the painting of jen-wu in landscapes translated from the Chinese by Mai-mai Sze.

In landscape paintings, in addition to scenery there should be figures (jen) and other living things (wu). They should be drawn well and with style, though not in too great detail. And they should, of course, fit the particular scene.

For instance, a figure should seem to be contemplating the mountain; the mountain, in turn, should seem to be bending over and watching the figure.

A lute player plucking his instrument should appear also to be listening to the moon, while the moon, calm and still, appears to be listening to the notes of the lute.

Figures should, in fact, be depicted in such a way that people looking at a painting wish they could change places with them. Otherwise the mountain is just a mountain, the figures mere figures, placed by chance near each other and with no apparent connection; and the whole painting lacks vitality.

Jen-wu in a landscape should be pure as the crane, like hermits of the mountains, and should never bring into a picture the air of the city and market place to mar the spirit of the painting.

In the pages which follow are examples of figures strolling, standing, sitting, reclining, contemplating, and listening.

In some cases, the accompanying text is quoted from T'ang and Sung poems, showing how jen-wu in a landscape is similar to an inscription or title in a painting. The subject of a scroll is often indicated by the jen-wu in it. The ancients liked to write inscriptions on their paintings.

The excerpts chosen here are not, however, necessarily the only ones for the poses shown. Certain kinds of inscriptions should go with certain pictures. Here, only a few examples are offered.

Once a beginner understands the various kinds of pictures done by the ancients and the substance of the accompanying inscriptions, he or she will be able to find appropriate ones for himself or herself.

"Wandering leisurely, one easily strays. Reciting to oneself, the voice quite naturally is raised high."
"Hands slipped in sleeves are warm. There is no feeling of cold."
"With hands clasped behind, walking on a mountain in autumn."
"Standing alone in the open, reciting a poem."
"Having gathered chrysanthemums by the bamboo fence to the east, joyfully contemplating the Southern Mountain."
"Returning home by moonlight, hoe on shoulder."
"Looking at the mountain, remembering a poem, straightway writing it on the face of the cliff."
"Chance meeting with an old neighbor; chatting and laughing, forgetting the hour to turn homeward."
"Lingering by a solitary pine, reluctant to leave."
"Leaning on a staff, listening to a singing stream."
"Carrying coins strung on a cord, crossing a rustic bridge."
"Pointing at a flight of rooks like dots against the blue-green hills."
"My staff of bramble helps me on my way."
"Walking leisurely among bamboo, my thoughts naturally turn to the mountains, and I yearn to go."
"My heart is lifted as the cloud on high."
"Lying down, reading the Shan Hai Ching."
"Sitting on a rock flat as a mat, with head bent, watching the long, flowing stream."
"Lying high up on the mountain among the clouds, his garments become damp and cold."
"Having walked to where the waters flow no more, they sit and watch the clouds rise."
"Leaning on a rock, they wait for tea to be brewed."
"Face to face, the two drink and serve each other among the flowers on the mountain."
"From time to time I read my book."
"Today the weather is lovely. In the clear air we play the lute."
"Together we enjoy an extraordinary essay."
"The sounds of the chessboard dispel all sense of time."
"Sitting at a window in the sun, leafing the pages of the Pai Yun."
"The mountain stream is clear and shallow. Meeting we sit and bathe our feet."
"Sitting, drinking under the mulberry tree. It is the season to gather chrysanthemums."
"Sitting quietly alone, reciting a poem."
"A copy of the Ping Hsueh Wen I often carry with me leads my thoughts away from the commonplace."
"Master and attendant sitting together; the master alone has leisure."
Carrying two bundles of brushwood on a shoulder pole.
Spring ploughing.
Returning from fishing.
Holding pole.
Paddling with oar.
Punting.
Sculling.
"Dipping feet in a stream flowing ten thousand li."
"In a vast lake one lone old fisherman."
"Reflections from the lake play on the green of the grass raincape."
"A cold, wet fish may land in the large square net."
"Meditating on a poem while crossing a bridge on a donkey."
"The traveler's horse eyes the spring grass. People on foot watch the sunset clouds."
"On the outskirts of a town in spring one sees a camel."
"Among the flowers there is music of a flute. A shepherd boy is passing."
Holding books.
Lifting a kettle.
Passing cups of tea.
Carrying a vase.
Sweeping the ground.
Holding an inkstone.
Bearing a branch of blossoms.
Carrying a lute.
Brewing tea.
Washing earthenware utensils.
Clasping knees.
Washing medicinal plants.
Leading a horse by a rope.
Carrying bedding and box.
Carrying bundles of books on a shoulder pole.
Carrying books.
Two people watching clouds.
Sitting alone.
Four people sitting and drinking together.
Sitting knee to knee.
Two people sitting facing one another.
Sitting alone, reading.
Sitting cross-legged.
Sitting with a slackened fishing line.
Fishing.
Playing a hsiao flute.
Strumming on a yuan guitar.
Playing a stringed instrument and the ti flute.
Brewing herbs.
Sitting alone, contemplating flowers.
Fisherman and family gathered for a drink together.
Raising whip in starting forth.
Carrying bundles on a shoulder pole.
Covered by open umbrella.
Pushing a small carriage.
Carrying bundles on a shoulder pole.
Leading a child.
Picking flowers.
Carrying a kettle.
Carrying in balance two bundles of brushwood.
Three people standing, facing one another.
Walking together.
Hands clasped behind.
Grasping hands.
Trailing his staff.
Being led by a child.
Facing one another, chatting.
Turning his head.
Sitting alone.
Two people sitting, facing one another.
Three people sitting, facing one another.
Two people strolling.
One person strolling alone.
Leading his grandchild.
Riding a donkey.
Carriers and sedan chair.
Pushing a cart.
Riding a horse.
Back view.
Front view.
Raking earth.
Astride a water buffalo.

When you have developed a pleasant appearance, you can be a blessing to other persons because you can do this correctly with the third wholesome cetasika of hiri.

According to "The Path of Purification", by Bhadantacariya Buddhaghosa:
"Moral shame, or conscience, is so because it has conscientious scruples (hiriyati) about bodily misconduct, etc., thus it is conscience (hiri). This is a term for modesty. It is ashamed (ottappati) of those same things, thus it is shame (ottappa). This is a term for anxiety about evil.

Herein, conscience has the characteristic of disgust at evil, while shame, or moral dread, has the characteristic of dread of it. Conscience has the function of not doing evil and that in the mode of modesty, while shame (moral dread) has the function of not doing it, and that in the mode of dread.

They are manifested as shrinking from evil in the way already stated. Their proximate causes are self-respect and respect of others, respectively.

A man rejects evil through conscience (hiri) out of respect for himself, as the daughter of a good family does; he or she rejects evil through shame (ottappa) out of respect for another, as a courtesan does. But these two states should be regarded as the Guardians of the World."

Sometimes, if we practice well, we can begin to see cause and effect – how our absence of hiri meant that there was no restraint available to us when we commenced ignoring one or more of the precepts.

For example, you may slander your parents because they attempt to restrain you from coarse behaviour and advise you to "stop behaving like an animal".

One Indian student told our Teacher that when she was a little girl in India, she would try to leave the house without wearing sandals. The chances of cutting her feat and developing tetanus or other viral diseases was extremely high in some places.

To encourage her to refrain from walking bare footed like an animal her mother would point this out to her and fortunately the mother impressed the little girl enough so that she never repeated that coarse behaviour.

Very poor persons have no shoes so why emulate them? The behaviour we display today has accumulated over millions of previous lives.

If you have a sense of moral shame you can let go of the coarse conditioning of your former lives.

Our merits are so trivial, we ought to pay concentrated attention to what we are told about hiri because we may never hear this teaching again unless we have a change of heart now and practise this third cetasika.

To achieve this you ought to place unlimited confidence (saddha) in the doctrine that you are learning today.

The text of this broadcast is at www.bdcublessings.net.au

Please view our website and study what we are saying. It is for your well being.

Although our Teacher diligently practices every day and writes many articles about Buddha Dhamma, these actions only help him – they cannot help you unless you apply them to your very life.

May you develop confidence and practise hiri for the rest of your lives.
May you practise hiri to generate happiness and peace for yourself and others.
May your hiri protect you and be cause for your well being.

 
The authors and editors of this script are John D. Hughes Dip.App.Chem. T.T.T.C. GDAIE, Anita M. Hughes, RN Div1, Evelin Halls, Dip.For.Lang.Corres., Leanne Eames, B.A., M.A, Lainie Smallwood.

 
References

Bhadantacariya Buddhaghosa, "The Path of Purification--Visuddhimagga", Singapore Buddhist Meditation Centre, Singapore [no date]

Green, Jonathon (Compiler), "A Dictionary of Contemporary Quotations", London, David & Charles, 1982.

Mai-mai Sze (translator and editor), "The Mustard Seed Garden Manual of Painting", Princeton University Press, 1977.

Dr. Mehm Tin Mon, "The Essence of Buddha Abhidhamma", Mehm Tay Zar Mon, Yangon, 1995.

Teachings by Vajra Master Chogtseg Dorje, pp 51 - 58 Wisdom Man 20 October 2002.

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