The Buddhist Hour Radio Broadcast Archives
Buddhist
Hour
Radio Broadcast on Hillside 88.0 FM
Script 364 for Sunday
16 January 2005CE 2547 Buddhist Era
This script is
entitled : Dedication of merits to Tsunami victims of 26 December
2004
We dedicate the merit generated from this radio
broadcast to all beings who passed away and all beings who survived
the Tunami disaster of 26 December 2004. May this merit improve their
conditions. May they be well and happy.
We acknowledge today,
the 16th of January 2005 as a day of mourning and remembrance for all
beings who have suffered from the Tsunami of 26th December 2004.
We
would like to offer some information from a Buddhist perspective on
this disaster causing natural phenomena.
The DHAMMA TIMES on 2
January 2005 printed several articles written by knowledgeable and
respected Buddhist scholars. We will read from these articles to
present the Buddhist view.
The first article entitled
"Tsunami: A cold reality" author, Yickkenghang.
All
phenomena of this world are in reality flawed, connected to
suffering, and unreliable.
Without a clear understanding of
the nature of phenomena our search is doomed from the outset. Our
first task must be to confront the facts that the universe does not
exist for our amusement and that such pleasures as we customarily
derive from it are false, impermanent, and unworthy of our attachment
and interest.
Nature suffers no moratorium on decay; it
unrolls itself without pause, a continual perishing of both the dear
and the unlovely with absolute indifference.
While the Buddha
does not deny the existence of enjoyment in this world, he points out
that all worldly existence is bound up with suffering, inseparable
from suffering, and sure to give way to suffering.
Therefore
in embracing the pleasant we cannot help but embrace the unpleasant.
Our ignorance prevents us from realizing these facts by
continually projecting a false appearance on the world, convincing us
that the tempting phenomena around us can actually be possessed and
squeezed dry of some satisfying essence.
The Buddha teaches
that the solution to the terrible union of pleasure and pain is not
to struggle hopelessly to split them apart, but to view the whole
contaminated mass as possessing the three common characteristics of:
impermanence, unsatisfactoriness, and insubstantiality. It is futile
to single out some earth-shattering events for loathing and others
for liking.
A common notion is that Buddhism may be employed
to beautify life by making the individual more appreciative of the
"harmony" of the universe. This is false on two counts.
The Buddha did not aim to put a pleasing, comforting face on
things, but to enlighten the individual to the ultimate worthlessness
of suffering-dominated Samsara existence. Also what we loosely term
the "external" world is no more than a fleeting phenomenon,
all changing with incredible speed, arising and vanishing with no
beginning or end in sight.
As with all of the truths taught by
the Buddha, the three characteristics of existence, namely
impermanence, unsatisfactoriness, and insubstantiality, must be
realized through direct insight -- not just through the reflection of
the intellect.
Again and again the Buddha exhorts his
followers to be mindful with urgency that the world is burning with
greed, hatred, and delusion. Freedom can be won, but not by the
careless, infatuated person. The one who attains freedom will be the
one who has mindfulness, energy, and the courage to see the canker in
the rose.
We pace up and down the shores of doubt, stepping
into the river we find the water cold, and promptly conclude there's
a better crossing further down. The water is always cold. Somebody
sees a vision over the horizon, and the chilled troops waste no more
time at-this-spot.
In our solitary reflections we may notice
our inconstancy and regretfully wonder, "Has it always been
thus?" If we are Buddhists we are bound to answer, "Yes."
This endlessly mutable landscape of disappointment, this lurch and
halt of conviction is called Samsara.
We are accustomed to
regarding the "cycle of birth" and death as a remote,
cosmic scheme of creation and dissolution. In fact, Samsara whirls
with Tsunami force here in our very existence, here in the wavering
and furtive mind. The great wheel turns, has turned, and will turn
again.
In our accidental nights of fear we stare in bafflement
at the four walls and ask ourselves, "Haven't I tried?"
Silence replies with silence, and there's nothing left for us but to
blunder after a new ghost of happiness, and thereby give the wheel of
Samsara another spin.
Gullibility is not faith, nor is
skepticism wisdom. The noble follower of the Buddha proceeds balanced
and mindful, considering the world as he finds it, shunning the
harmful and welcoming the useful. He crosses the flood of Samsara on
the raft of Dhamma, knowing that nobody will make the effort for him.
What distinguishes such a person from his fellows is not
necessarily brilliance of mind, but plain and simple perseverance,
the resolve to follow the true course no matter how long it may take.
We can do likewise if we set ourselves firmly on the path.
Delay
is the luxury of ignorance. We commonly suppose Nirvana, the ultimate
purity and freedom, to be something infinitely far away and
terrifically difficult to reach. We think of the Buddha as long
departed.
But Nirvana is near for those who would have it
near, and the Buddha is as close as true Dhamma truly observed. What
is required of us is to let go of our crumbling, mortal toys.
In
that exhilarating solitude we may meet the Buddha, whose body is
wisdom, whose face is great compassion, and whose hand points out the
way directly to the deep and hidden purity in our hearts that are
free from all traces of kilesas [imperfections]. Tsunami will then be
a cold reality no more.
To help in any disaster - illness,
death etc, Buddhists perform meritorious acts and share the merit
made with persons requiring the assistance. In Thailand, the Dhamma
Times reported in their article "Thais mark New Year with
merits", that such activity was carried out as part of New Year
celebrations. Thais across the country attended New Year merit
makings for tsunami victims in Thailand's southern coastlines on 26
December.
The Dhamma Times article goes on to say, "In
Bangkok, the merit making was held at Sanam Luang ceremonial ground
and Buddha Monthon, in which thousands of government officials and
the general public attended.
The event at Sanam Luang was presided
over by Public Health Minister Sudarat Keyuraphan, who led other
government officials and the general public to give alms to 779
Buddhist monks.
Officials and people in other provinces across
the country, particularly those in the six tsunami-affected areas,
including Phuket, Phang-nga, Krabi, Trang, Ranong and Satun, also
held the similar merit making for the tsunami victims and for all the
best of their lives in the New Year."
In the same manner,
we dedicate the merit made with this radio broadcast of the Buddhist
Hour with all beings who have suffered from the Tsunami.
The
second article entitled "When nature misbehaves, humans have to
weep", author Bhikkhu Professor Dhammavihari Thera, Colombo, Sri
Lanka:
The recent devastating happenings in the southeastern
sector of Asia through giant tidal waves, encompassing a global
mixture of humans, have prompted us to express our opinion as
Buddhists on this subject. When Nature misbehaves, as we have
expressed above, it affects the lives of humans who inhabit this
earth, anywhere and everywhere, irrespective of caste and creed,
religion and ethnicity. Humans have to weep. Thanks to scientific
research of today, enough is know by us now as to how and why these
happen.
Equal thanks to the diverse forms of media at our
disposal in the world, this knowledge is made available to man in
every nook and corner. And that, to be sensibly used all the time for
the benefit of man, for his security and his well being. But this
disaster could not be averted. Nature moved faster than man. Where
shall he succeed and where shall he fail? Better we discover in
advance our own limits, every one of us, whether in the east or the
west, in the north or the south, and work within those
limitations.
Even in the pre-scientific age of the world,
these very natural things like earth quakes, volcanic eruptions,
tidal waves, typhoons and devastating floods [not forgetting Noah's
ark and the flood], did take place.
Man on earth here
explained them in his own simple way, elevating these phenomena at
times to the level of divine activities or heavenly forces. Thunder
and lightning were looked upon by ancient Indians of the Vedic age
[i.e. thousands of years antedating the time of the Buddha], as the
assigned functions of the Rain God Parjanya.
It was incumbent
on him to strike dead the evildoers of the land with strokes of
thunder and lightning. The ègveda is very specific on this
when it says Parjanya, with his thunder and lightning, strikes dead
the evil doers.
The God of Waters, Varuna, was equally
dreaded. He could be vicious not only in the external world, with
violent movements of water, but could also equally well punish the
sinner, filling his inside with water and rolling him into his grave
as a victim of the then much dreaded disease Ascitis [colloquially
referred to as dropsy]. Man who had not yet discovered his identity
and his own inner strength knelt down in prayer for his security.
Elsewhere, such elemental violence or misbehavior like
hailstorms, directly descending from the skies, were explained as
expressions of divine wrath or heaven's vengeance on man for his
sinful behavior on earth. They were looked upon as acts of punishment
sent down from above, to which man had to helplessly succumb.
Whatever be the explanation man on earth gives to these phenomena
which the ancients reckoned as heaven sent, they are known to
everyone today as recurrent events in the world we live, taking place
with fair regularity.
The nature of the universe being what
it is, Buddhists look upon them as natural events, coming under the
category of order of nature or utu-niyàma. They are as regular
as the germination of seeds under favorable conditions. Buddhists
call this latter, the order of seeds or bãja-niyàma.
When these calamitous events take place, they take toll of
life of man, bird and beast without any discrimination. Destruction
comes to every one and everything in their wake. There is hardly any
conceivable judgement of guilt or innocence falling upon on any one,
within the pale of disaster or out side. We fail to see any sense in
making moral issues out of these.
Nevertheless, in situations
like these, every one of us who has survived, and who in his or her
own area of life activity, has erred towards one's fellow beings
through neglect and/or by calculation, should now invariably feel
within oneself, a deep sense of moral guilt. Our solemn prayer indeed
is that this should happen so, no matter what one's religious creed
or ethnic identity be.
To every one, this recent incident
provides a real chance in this very life for confession and
self-redemption. For those of us who have suffered in this disaster,
not necessarily physically, if we really have suffered at all during
this crisis, a day of judgement has come. It is not to be missed.
This we deliver as a message to mankind. This new thinking and this
change of attitude, which we now sponsor, will undeniably be
contributory in a big way to the re-building of a ravaged community
anywhere in this disaster-stricken sector. Much more than bag's full
of gold, with or without strings. This alone will restore peace on
earth and goodwill among men.
Think of what has happened. We
need to be adequately alerted to our real position in the world we
live. We shall not look upon ourselves merely as privileged persons
down here on earth, with direct links with heavens above, no matter
in which particular region, to which we continue pledging submission
for all favors received to streamline our life here. On the contrary,
we humans have to be alive to our relationship to a cosmic totality
of far greater dimension. This is the idea of a Biophilia Hypothesis.
We have to be conscious of the entire eco-system to which we are
linked.
In a perilous world like this where death can be more
certain than life, Buddhists are required to live in such a way that
all life around us may live in comfort and security. For who knows
whether death would come to us on the morrow. Everyone must maximize
the benefits of living of/for the other. May all beings be happy and
comfortable. May their lives be safe and secure. This has to be more
than a mere prayer on somebody's lips. This is essentially a charter
for healthy and harmonious living in a civilized world.
Buddhists
shall not destroy the life of any living thing. They shall not cause
others to do so. Nor shall they endorse or approve any form of
killing done by others. Compassion has to be the ultimate ethic of
humans for their own survival. It is this line of thinking that
produced Victoria Moran's delightful book entitled COMPASSION THE
ULTIMATE ETHIC. [BNC]
May all beings that have suffered during
this disaster be well and happy. May all their needs be met
immediately. May they be free from harm. May they have a healthy and
happy life.
We will now read some Buddhist Blessings for
protection in Pali and English.
Sabbe satta
Avera
hontu
Abyapajjha hontu
Anigha hontu
Sukhi attanam
pariharantu
May all sentient beings
Be free from enmity
Be
free from ill will
Be free from suffering
Live a happy
life
May you be well and happy.
May all beings be well and happy.
The script was prepared and edited by Evelin Halls, Anita Hughes, David
Igracki, Leila Igracki, Julie O'Donnell, Andrew Pilskalns, Alec
Sloman and Amber Svenson.
References:
John D. Hughes
Collection Recorded Dhamma Teachings. Transcription Of Dhamma
Teachings
References:
The Dhamma Times 2 January
2005
Word Count : 2526
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