The Buddhist Hour Radio Broadcast Archives
Chinese New Year
We welcome the Year of the Goat marked by the
celebration of the Chinese New Year beginning on 1 February
2003.
Although, Celebrations of the Chinese New Year vary, the
underlying message is one of peace and happiness for family members
and friends.
Chan Academy Australia wishes you and your family
a Happy Lunar New Year in the year of the goat, bringing you
happiness and prosperity.
Buddhist Hour Broadcast 262 Sunday 2 February 2003
Special Item:
Premier’s Award for Victorian Senior
Citizen of the Year
Supporting information for the
Nomination
for
John D. Hughes, Dip. App. Chem. T.T.T.C. GDAIE, Founder,
Buddhist Discussion Centre (Upwey) Ltd.
Council Adviser, World
Buddhist University
by
Julian Bamford (BA.App.Rec).,
President, Buddhist Discussion Centre (Upwey) Ltd.
Prepared 30
January 2003
The Victorian Senior Citizen of the Year Award seeks
to raise the status of older people and focus community attention on
the positive contribution older people make to our society.
I
nominate Mr. John D. Hughes to be considered for his involvement in
the Buddhist community both locally and internationally and his
continued personal endeavour to build a Buddha Dhamma learning Centre
in Australia, to propagate the teachings of the Lord Buddha.
John
David Hughes is 72 years old, born on 9 September 1930, in
Melbourne.
On 9 September 1978, John D. Hughes founded the
Buddhist Discussion Centre (Upwey) Ltd. at 33 Brooking street, Upwey,
Victoria 3158. He was 48 years old, and working as a high school
teacher.
In 1990, at age 60 years, he retired, devoting his
time to fund and develop the Centre as a global Buddhist organisation
and to develop a Buddhist library.
25 years since inception,
the Buddhist Discussion Centre (Upwey) Ltd is a Regional Centre of
the World Fellowship of Buddhists, an Associated Institution of the
World Buddhist University and a member of the Ethnic Communities
Council of Victoria; The John D. Hughes Collection library has 4000
catalogued Buddhist book titles including rare Buddhist texts.
John
D. Hughes has achieved two of his life time goals.
How did one
man do this?
John planned diligently. His life plans have the
word ‘I CAN’ ‘I WILL’ ‘I MUST’ written
on nearly every page.
When speaking to John you can see that
he has great determination. He said that he had these goals in mind
when he was 25 years old and geared his entire life to achieving
these goals. When he retired from teaching, he could then start
working for the Centre entirely.
1990 -John designed a strong
teaching role for himself to teach other persons about Buddha Dhamma.
He commenced producing and publishing the Buddha Dhyana Dana
Review 3 times a year and distributed it free of charge to 35
countries around the world. This publication is now on-line at
www.bddronline.net.au
He taught Buddha Dhamma 2 nights a week
– 7.30 pm onwards – usually to 2- 3am.
On weekends
he worked on the site – developing the Chan garden and extending
buildings and maintaining the property.
He hosted annual New
Years Visits by the Vietnamese and Chinese communities, on weekends,
to his Centre – up to 1000 persons a day during the months of
January and February up to 1999.
All things continue to be
done without creating debt. The funding is raised first, then the
materials purchased and the work done.
Many things are donated
as gifts and second hand materials used.
John continues to
correspond with Buddhist organisations overseas, attend international
Buddhist Conferences and became known to the world Buddhist
community.
John teaches Chan – a Chinese form of
painting, once a month. He went on self funded painting tours to
Tasmania and Philip Island and has produced over 2000 paintings since
his retirement.
Chan painting sales have funded many of the
building improvements and other projects.
1992 – John
attended the 18th General Conference of the World Fellowship of
Buddhists in Taiwan.
1993 – John and his Members opened
the Moomba festival on a river float with Buddha Dhamma chanting and
sounding of the Dragon Gong.
1994 - John attended the 19th
General Conference of the World Fellowship of Buddhists in Taiwan. He
delivered a congratulatory message from the Prime Minister of
Australia at the opening ceremony.
1996 – John visited
Bangladesh to attend the Funeral celebration of the Sangharaja of
Bangladesh – the head Monk. He was the guest speaker
there.
1997 – John had a heart-attack. He recovered and
returned to his teaching roles.
1998 – started the
Buddhist Hour radio broadcast which has since generated 261 weekly
programs.
1998 – He set up his first Buddhist Web site
www.bdcu.org.au His centre acted as rapporteurs at the World
Fellowship of Buddhists 20th General Conference held in NSW –
the first Buddhist Conference ever to be held in Australia. He was
elected as a Vice President of the World Fellowship of Buddhists to
represent Australia and Oceania. His Centre was elected as an
Associated Spiritual training Centre of the World Buddhist
University. His paper- Buddha Dhamma and Challenges in the 21st
Century was published in the World Fellowship of Buddhists Review Jan
– Jun 1999. He was elected as reporter for Australia and Oceania
to the WFB newsletter.
1999 – started producing the
internal newsletter The Brooking Street Bugle (New Series).
2000-
he attended the 21st World Fellowship of Buddhists General conference
in Thailand and delivered a congratulatory message from the Prime
Minister of Australia at the opening ceremony, attended by the Prime
Minister of Thailand.
He was elected as a council adviser to
the World Buddhist University.
He has set up multiple Web
sites to provide Buddha Dhamma to persons world wide. You may visit
these sites to read his papers, to view photographs of his overseas
visits, his paintings and his Centre. Visit www.bdcu.org.au;
www.bddronline.net.au; www.bdcublessings.net.au;. www.buyresolved.com
au; www.bsbonline.com.au;
2001 April – He suffered from
renal failure and underwent surgery for prostate cancer.
2001
September– He attended, by invitation, the International
Conference on Religious Tolerance and World Peace in Taipei, Taiwan.
There were 19 religions from 25 countries. His speech was published
in the WFB Review.
2002 – February – he attended
the 3rd Council Meeting of the World Buddhist University and the
World Conference on Buddhism and World Peace, Bangkok, Thailand. He
was one of the main speakers at the conference and the panel
discussion. His paper was published in the World Fellowship of
Buddhists Review.
2002 September– Married Anita, a Buddha
Dhamma practitioner.
2002 December- John sent a delegation of
6 senior members to represent him at the 22nd General Conference of
the World Fellowship of Buddhists (He was unable to attend due to
illness) in Malaysia. John received a message form the Prime Minister
of Australia that was read by Mr. Julian Bamford, President, Buddhist
Discussion Centre (Upwey) Ltd. at the opening ceremony. The Prime
Minister of Malaysia was in attendance.
The organisation has
been self funding and works on self help principles.
He is an
inspirational speaker who helps persons overcome dysfunctional
lifestyles of all descriptions.
In some countries he is
accorded recognition of being a living Buddha Dhamma saintly person
with the good qualities of being able to bless persons throughout the
world.
His council is sought by over 1000 Buddhist
organisations throughout the world. Because he has visited Bangladesh
three times he has many followers in that country.
John’s
writings are relevant today as he shows how the ancient doctrines of
Lord Buddha can be applied to the modern world and everyday life to
bring about peace, prosperity and contentment.
John has
generated over one million Australian dollars in goods and services
for philanthropic work, in many countries.
His philosophy of
self help is being implemented in many countries and is always
conducted in a manner that is in Australia’s national
interest.
The organisation he has built, the Buddhist
Discussion Centre (Upwey) Ltd. is stable and sustainable and the next
generation of its global leaders are in training at present.
His
Chan paintings are well received internationally and are in art
collections in many overseas countries.
The motto he teaches
his students is to belong to “the school that never comes to
error”.
The Buddhist Hour Radio Broadcast Script 262
Sunday
2 February 2003
Today’s Script is Entitled:
“The
Blessing of Enjoying your own Material Objects”
There are four blessings that a human being can enjoy.
They are: to be debtless, to enjoy material objects, to enjoy
the blessings of your own material objects, and to have caga or
emotional maturity.
These four blessings are attained only in
this order, as each one is a gateway to the next. The end result of
cultivating and attaining these four blessings is emotional maturity,
in Pali, caga.
For the past two programs we have discussed the
blessing of being debtless and the blessing of enjoying material
objects. Today we discuss the third of the four blessings: the
blessing of enjoying your own material objects.
In earlier
times, the meaning of wealth meant well-being (weal) but it is now
generally used in reference to a state of being rich.
Presently,
in our society, the main aim for a ‘good life’ is to
accumulate wealth, which is believed to be the solution to all our
problems; the easy way out. What drives this aim is greed, in Pali,
lobha.
Persons have forgotten that the accumulation of wealth
is not for leisure or indulgence, but is to sustain financial needs.
In 1860 Donald G. Mitchell in ‘Reveries of a Batchelor’
wrote “Wealth is a great means of refinement; and it is a
security for gentleness, since it removes disturbing anxieties; and
it is a pretty promoter of intelligence, since it multiplies the
avenues for its reception; and it is a good basis for a generous
habit of life; it even equips beauty, neither hardening its hand with
toil, nor tempting the wrinkles to come early.”
Around
the same time, H.D. Thoreau noted in a different vein in his book
‘Walden’ “Superfluous wealth can buy superfluities
only.”
In today’s consumer driven economy one only
needs to look at the product advertisements such for beauty products,
clothing, toys, car accessories to see this in action.
Since
persons use greed as their driver to accumulate wealthy possessions,
there is a loss of morality in their processes of doing so.
The
corporate governance fall out from the financial crashes of two
global giants during 2002, show the extent to which moral corruption
appears through actions such as scams, cheating, stealing, lying,
that are to obtain possessions.
In 1900, Andrew Carnegie
wrote in ‘The Gospel of Wealth’ “Surplus wealth is a
sacred trust which its possessor is bound to administer in his
lifetime for the good of the community.”
On the topic of
economics, Charles Dickens wrote in 1849 ‘David Copperfield’
“Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure nineteen
nineteen six, result happiness. Annual income twenty pounds, annual
expenditure twenty pound ought six, result misery.
The Buddha
encouraged his followers to work hard, that is to work righteously,
so not to violate any ethical or religious principles in the process
of doing so. They were told to work hard to maintain economic
stability, but at the same time, he warned them not to become a slave
to the desire of wealth.
Because Buddha’s followers
acquired material objects through hard work associated with morality,
they had enjoyment of their own material objects. This was so
because, they had worked for it in the righteous way, eradicating any
greed or attachment.
The Buddha said to the housefather
Anathapindika:
“In this case a clansman has wealth
acquired by energetic striving, amassed by strength of arm, won by
sweat, lawful and lawfully gotten. At the thought: Wealth is mine
acquired by energetic striving... lawfully gotten, bliss comes to
him, satisfaction comes to him. This householder, is called ‘the
bliss of ownership.’”
In accordance, more happiness
is attained when one has worked hard and righteously for his own well
being. Rather than getting deceived by the samsaric mind greed.
Greed does not bring about good or wholesomeness. It is
interesting to note that although greed does not bring about good it
is often accompanied by good feeling. Greed is one of the three roots
of unwholesome minds. The three unwholesome roots are delusion (in
Pali language moha), hate (in Pali language dosa) and greed (in Pali
language lobha).
Greed is a strong desire for sensuous objects
or jhana happiness. It will never give up this intrinsic nature of
desiring however much one may possess. Even the whole wealth on earth
cannot satisfy the desire of lobha. It is always on the lookout for
something new. Thus one cannot be truly happy if one cannot eliminate
greed.
The second nature of lobha is attachment of clinging to
sensuous objects or jhana and jhana happiness.
The Pali
language term for attachment is upadana.
Nearly all beings
have substantial attachment to jewels and precious metals. Hence
offerings such prized possessions with correct motivation and right
mindfulness proves to be a difficult practice.
By dropping and
cutting our attachment to arising sankharas: we produce minds free of
artificial limitations.
We have attachment because of craving
to enjoy worldly objects, sights, sounds, tastes, etc. This sense
originates through our sense experience or feeling.
We have
feeling or sense-experience because we have sense object contact
(phassa). Our attachment is the desire to prolong the sensation of
enjoyment.
Remember that you are being attached firmly by
lobha to sense-objects as well as to your possessions. You cannot
renounce the world and your worldly possessions including wives and
husbands, sons and daughters. So you are caught up by old age,
disease and death, life after life.
The antidote to greed
(lobha) is alobha, non-attachment to sense-objects and greedlessness.
Alobha is opposed to lobha and it can overcome lobha. It is one of
the three roots of good.
Dr. Mehm Tin Mon writes in his book
The Essence of Buddha Abhidhamma: “As water drops run off a
lotus leaf without adhering to it, alobha runs off sensuous objects
without adhering to them. When one is not attached to one’s
possession, one can give away money and things in charity. Here
alobha manifests itself in the form of generosity.
May you
practice generosity this life and in all the ways it can be
practiced.
May you come to enjoy the blessing of having
materiality this life.
May you be well and happy.
The
authors and editors of this script are Julian Bamford BA(AppRec),
Evelin Halls DipFLC, Amber Svensson and Pennie White BA,
DipEd.
References:
Pali Text Society, 1982, The
Book of Gradual Sayings (Anguttara-Nikaya) or more numbered Suttas,
Vol II (The book of the fours), Chapter VII, 61, 62, F. L. Woodward
(Translator), Pali Text Society, London, pp 73-79.
Dhammananda,
K. Sri, 1997, Human Life and Problems 1st Ed. p19-23, Published by
Buddhist Missionary Society Buddhist Maha Vihara, Kuala Lumpur
Malaysia.
Mencken, 1991, H.L. A New Dictionary of
Quotations, Published by Alfred A. Knopf, Inc. New York Ed. p1272, p
773, p781.
Mon, Dr. Mehm Tin, 1995, The Essence of Buddha
Abhidhamma, Published by Mehm Tay Zar Mon, Yadanar Min Literature,
Yangon.
Readability Statistics
Counts
Words:
1033
Characters: 5187
Paragraphs: 36
Sentences:
57
Averages
Sentences per paragraph: 1.7
Words per
Sentence: 17.7
Characters per word: 4.8
Readability
Statistics
Passive Sentences: 14%
Flesch Reading Ease score:
54.9
Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level score: 9.7
Readability
Statistics
When Word finishes checking spelling and grammar,
it can display information about the reading level of the document,
including the following readability scores. Each readability score
bases its rating on the average number of syllables per word and
words per sentence.
Flesch Reading Ease score
Rates
text on a 100-point scale; the higher the score, the easier it is to
understand the document. For most standard documents, aim for a score
of approximately 60 to 70.
Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level
score
Rates text on a U.S. grade-school level. For example, a
score of 8.0 means that an eighth grader can understand the document.
For most standard documents, aim for a score of approximately 7.0 to
8.0.
Disclaimer:
As we, the Chan Academy
Australia, Chan Academy being a registered business name of 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 another 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 Chan Academy
Australia (Buddhist Discussion Centre (Upwey) Ltd.)
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".
References
Web
sites:
www.bdcu.org.au
www.bddronline.net.au
www.bdcublessings.net.au
www.buyresolved.com.au
www.bsbonline.com.au
For
more information, contact the Centre or
better still, come and visit us.
© 2002. Copyright. The Buddhist Discussion Centre
(Upwey) Ltd.