 There are no conditioned things that are eternal – All conditioned things are impermanent – All conditioned things are unsatisfactory – All conditioned things are non-self;
Hunger is the worst disease – Conditioned things are the worst suffering – There is no fire like lust – There is no grip like hatred – There is no net like delusion – There is no river like the 36-streams of craving; Health is the most precious gain – Contentment is the greatest wealth – Enduring patience is the highest austerity – A trustworthy person is the best kinsman – Purity and impurity depend on none other than oneself – One must strive by himself or herself, the Buddha only shows the Way – The best of all triumphs is conquering oneself; There are no better spells than loving kindness and compassion – Happily the peaceful live, discarding both victory and defeat – Calm in thought, calm in speech, calm in deeds, these three yield the perfect tranquility – Nirvana is the highest bliss. I am delighted to start this piece – with the above lines of Shakyamuni Buddha’s (The Tathagata) wisdom taken from different verses of The Dhammapada. Staying calm (more in Hold it There) is the perfect antidote against threats generated by one’s attachments to strong negative emotions like hatred, anger, fear and jealousy (within oneself and in social interactions) – to give the rationality of thought processes (it is further discussed later in Thought Processes – the Karma Initiator Chapter) a breathing space, a time for simplicity and detachment. Among others, the Buddha demonstrated the power of staying calm during his encounter with the misguided rogue killer Angulimala in Shravasti. The Angulimala Sutta says, in order to save both Angulimala and his mother, the compassionate Buddha appeared from nowhere between the two. Seeing the opportunity, Angulimala decided to kill Buddha instead of his mother. But, unable to catch up with the Buddha walking ahead of him – Angulimala pleaded for Buddha to stop. The serene Buddha replied that he was steady – but that, it was Angulimala who was unsteady, disturbed and agitated. By calm but steadfast swaying – the Buddha managed to settle him down. Note that the Buddha did not appear with a sword to fight Angulimala to defeat him – instead the Tathagata appeared in Equanimity with Love and Compassion. The deep confidence of the Buddha in the effectiveness of these three – made him fearless and victorious. Buddha’s power of compassion and deftness was able to save the life of Angulimala’s mother – while, at the same time opened the door for the rogue to lead a righteous pious life. Here is a relevant saying of Richard Gere (1949 –): From a Buddhist point of view, emotions are not real. As an actor, I manufacture emotions. They're a sense of play. But real life is the same. We're just not aware of it. As the Buddha said, all are wrought in mind – the making of mind; therefore the relevance of staying calm comes to the forefront to invalidate the adverse effects of negative emotions – created within oneself or provoked by others. It affords a perfect window of time – to reflect on things – whether and how to initiate thought processes, communication, bodily-actions and livelihood – in Appamada by being conscientious, heedful and diligent to create kushala-karma – to merit-making activities, virtues. Staying calm is one of the Dasa Paramita – a sublime wholesome quality (The All-embracing Power of Sublimities) in Buddha’s teaching. The power of sublimities was such that – Natural life system used to thrive in Buddha's presence. His encounter with wild creatures – ended up with these lives coming close to him fearless and friendly – venerating and protecting him. Scriptures are full of stories of such gestures and company – e.g. the stories of the monkey king, snake king and elephant herds. The Buddha chose the company of deer at Deer Park Sarnath to deliver his first Discourse to his former five disciples after Buddhahood. The Tibetan Buddha Dharma emblem has two deer holding the Dharma Chakra. The Ashoka Pillar shows the use of both elephant and lion - holding the Dharma Chakra; and snake was shown protecting the meditating Buddha by expanding its hood. The mythical Dragon also appears – and is popularly believed to be one of the protectors of the Dharma. The enduring patience of staying calm maybe difficult at times, but it is splendid and rewarding nonetheless. The Buddha saying of the four attributes of the conditioned things make them empty of essence or Sunya – when considered without the conditionings, caused by transience – by interdependence. This is the reality of Nature and social cohabitation – and must be understood before making any attempt to expound the Buddha’s teaching. It is, in a metaphorical sense similar like – Putting the First Button Right. Deep realization of Sunyata makes one feel part of the harmonious whole – in the spirit of Avirodh – making him or her humble and compassionate (more in Symmetry, Stability and Harmony; Enlightenment, Emptiness and Nirvana). The Dhammapada lines highlight two important premises of the Buddha’s teaching. The First is The Fundamental of Laws of Nature that governs everything in the universe – in its songs of the synchronicity of melodies and rhythms, of collective unison. It says how the dynamic interlink between the ubiquitous presence of Impermanence (time, the Incomplete Circle; conditioned by positive and negative residuals, time translates an incomplete circle into a spiral) and Dependent-origination (space, the ever-changing Eternal Knot configuration) – makes everything in the universe conditioned. This tells us that Buddha’s vision of the universe is 4-dimensional, perhaps even multi-dimensional (in terms of seeding and sprouting of Karma, explained further in The Thought Processes – the Karma Initiator and Rebirth Chapters). The Buddha saw it long long before the 20th century modern science proved it (see Einstein’s Unruly Hair). Buddha Dharma is very deep in its insights and rationality – and it is important to have a clear understanding of the above Truths to comprehend the Dharma. It is the responsibility of Buddhist teachers, monks, scholars and all – to convey such characteristics of the Dharma elements to devotees and people – in all-encompassing coherence and easily understandable simple terms and methods. The Second is Buddha’s observation of other truths that follow these two laws. They cover things such as – how the system of unsatisfactoriness – of the absence of desirable degree of happiness in humans work; and how one can steer himself or herself to the direction of happiness – to the Eternal Bliss. In other words, achieving STILL (Something Tranquil and Irreversible in Lucid Liberty) from the processes of SPIRIT (Something Perpetual Irreversible and Reversible in Interdependence and Transience). . . . This essay – the 81st piece in WIDECANVAS – is posted in honor of this year’s worldwide Vesak Celebration, on 22 May 2024 – with the hope that people in all walks of life – of all creeds and sects would benefit from them to improve their quality of life. It is presented first by delving into some basic understandings of the Buddha Dharma – as depicted in the pasted image. The image highlights and summarizes the basic premises of enlightenment – the Way of Simplicity, Balance and Wisdom. They are explained together with 5 other important elements of the Dharma that are integral to understanding it. These chapters are the Buddha’s teaching about Simplicity; Thought Processes – the Karma Initiator; Duality and non-Duality; Non-Self and the Buddhanature; and Rebirth. Different essays published in this Website represent the viewpoints from my understanding and perspective – the perspective of a scientist and engineer. And it is no exception here. It is the rationality and openness of the Dharma that attracts a curious mind. In several pieces, as shown in the Widecanvas Home Page and in the Website Links and Profile, I have tried to delve into the vast ocean of the Buddha wisdom – with the timelessness of his teaching – both in essence and in being sync with the findings of modern science. They are delved into – in articles that include: The Fundamental of Laws of Nature; Dharma Conversation; Hold It There; Enlightenment, Emptiness and Nirvana; Some Difficult Things; Revisiting The Jataka Morals -2; Revisiting The Jataka Morals -1; Meditation for True Happiness; Happiness – the Likeness of a Water Drop on Lotus Pad; The All-embracing Power of Sublimities; Symmetry, Stability and Harmony; Let there be Light – and there was Light; and The Power of Mind. And in other Scientific and Engineering articles published in this Website. While writing this piece, in addition to depending on these articles, I have also consulted other miscellaneous website articles and resources. A 1997 book by Dr. PD Santina - The Tree of Enlightenment is an excellent source for having a clear overview of all the schools of Buddha Dharma. . . . 1. The Way of Simplicity, Balance and Wisdom This Way is the direction to the Path that one should traverse in his or her lifetime – as a Companion Light in bad and good times – to attain the tranquility of STILL from the processes of SPIRIT. How to get into that Path? The Buddha’s answer to this question is briefly summarized in the image. This image begins with the two fundamental laws on which Buddha’s teaching is based. They are highlighted in the starting paragraph of the Buddha Dharma Trilogy: All conditioned things are impermanent – are unsatisfactory – are non-self . . . Of these, the Buddha chose unsatisfactoriness as the First Noble Truth - because it is something minimizable by an individual effort, to become happy following the Way of Simplicity, Balance and Wisdom. All conditioned things are impermanent – imply that things are fluid as opposed to being rigid, highlighted in Nature and Social Interactions. It does not connote instability either in one’s personal, family or social life. The essays on, The Fundamental Laws of Nature, Fluidity of Nature and Social Fluidity – were my attempts to capture this understanding. As outlined there, Fluidity is characterized by the Four: Continuity, Resilience, Adaptation, and Balance and Dynamic Equilibrium. Anyone attached to the notion of permanency or rigidity of things – is bound to face disappointments and suffering of different sorts – at one time or another. But, at the same time – one must be aware that the law of impermanency may be abused by some – in particular, by those on the seats of power with evil motives – to instigate instability and cause suffering on the well-being of lives and livelihoods. What make things conditioned? The answer to this question can best be explained by looking at things from two perspectives. The first, as we all know is the good and bad consequences of our social interactions – some of which are affected and governed by the seats of power – by their good or bad overriding actions – the RULES. Also important, especially in modern times – are AIPPS, facilitated by internet and social platforms (more in Artificial Intelligence – the Tool of No Limit). The present accelerated Warming Climate and associated consequences – have been conditioned to a greater extent by ignorant human actions in the past. These are some of the realities – and we have been experiencing their effects in our lifetime in many ways - becoming aware of them. Not equally and similarly though – but differently, conditioned by the differences in our cognitive processes (such as shallow/deep, ignorant/enlightened, unskilled/skilled, biased/neutral), and other personal and societal factors. The second is from the high and deep levels of perspectives. There comes the scriptural outlays of the godly religions, and the Natural Laws. Buddha Dharma is exceptionally different from other religions in its elaboration of the conditioning of things – and relies on Natural Laws and Social Interaction factors. Let us attempt to understand all these in a nutshell. In godly-religions, the answer is the God, gods or goddesses whose dictations make things conditioned – that are conveyed to humans through the priestly classes and scriptures. These godly beings, in essence, are assumed to be the puppeteers of the show. The conditioned shows, as such, have no rational causative factors justifying them – as the godly beings did not teach anything (apart from what are conveyed by the priests or priestly classes). All there is – is that the existence of these beings lies in a devotee's mind. Buddha’s answer to that question is one of a systematic approach – the likeness of a modern scientific mind. In scientific terms – the conditioning factors are known as the independent variables – which propagate onto the dependent variable – onto the conditioned (more in Uncertainty Propagation). The variables positioned on the left and right sides of an Equation - are related together through balancing interactions. Buddha has realized that by being dependent on spiritual entities – one gets masked and loses the freedom of thinking and figuring out the answers for themselves – that is, in correctly deciphering the Natural Laws. Therefore something different, innovative and unique appeared in the Buddha’s teaching – discussed in this piece, in The Fundamental Laws of Nature and in other Articles on this Website. In Buddha Dharma – the puppeteers of the show – are not any supernatural or imaginary being – but the Naturals Laws that govern the whole universe. It says that bad conditioning is caused by one’s ignorance of not knowing such laws and other truths. The ignorance of not seeing the conditioning causes – the Fundamental Laws of Nature – that are compounded by the implanting and sprouting of one’s karma seeds or knots (further in Thought Processes – The Karma Initiator Chapter). The ignorance of not seeing the causes and effects of societal factors – of not seeing the conditioned reality of birth-growth-decay-demise of life, of things. The ignorance of not seeing the significance of thought processes in generating the karmic processes and the consequences that result from such actions. Of course, there are always the possibilities that human-made conditioning – by those on the seats of power – will always be there. Depending on where one lives – especially in the case of bad Governance – such human-made conditioning may overwhelm the Natural Laws on short time-scales and contexts – causing instability and suffering. Things are conditioned by the dynamic interlink between the two Natural processes governed by the Fundamental Laws – that’s the reason why the conditioned things cannot be designated as something eternal and self-made – that nothing exists without a cause, without causing an effect. Another way of saying this is that the knot configuration of the net is not rigid – being impermanent, its fluidity continuously tries to balance itself in attempts to reach equilibrium. Responding to different forces and constraints – the configuration is always in adjustment-readjustment dynamic mode. It is amazing to realize – how such balancing dynamic mode can be visualized when one considers the engineering analysis of Ship Motion and Mooring Restraints. What are these forces and constraints in our life? They have both internal and external sources – internal by one’s own thought processes and actions-reactions – external by the actions-reactions of the surrounding (e.g. by human-made hazards; more in Upslope Events and Downslope Processes) – of the social framework and governance where one lives (therefore, the relevance of harmony or Avirodh becomes important in Buddha’s teaching, more in Symmetry, Stability and Harmony). It is similar like the spacetime fabric that constantly changes its configuration in response to the propagation of gravitational waves (more in Einstein’s Unruly Hair). Actions on and shifting of the positions of each knot or node also generate waves in the universe of one’s mind – in the universe of the Immaterial world. And, as I stated in The Power of Mind – similar to the gravitational waves – they likely propagate in the domain of an Electromagnetic Force Field Wave (The Quantum World). Now, if one looks at an individual element of the knot-fabric – one cannot say it really exists independent of others. Therefore, the concept of Sunyata or Emptiness comes in – to aptly characterize the Truth. This brings us to the reality that while the dynamic link of the laws makes everything in the universe conditioned – the conditioned things themselves make the knot-fabric non-eternal or impermanent. In Nagarjuna (150 – 250 CE) commentaries: There are no causes with conditions; there are no causes without conditions. There are no conditions without causes; there are no conditions with causes. In order to clarify further, let us say, a cause makes a certain condition to happen – that condition acts as a cause for another to happen. Thus creating an interdependent loop of causes → conditions → causes (cause and condition become one, Yogocara school of the Buddha Dharma, more in Xuanzang). One must understand this fundamental theme of Buddha Dharma. As we shall see later – between causes and conditions, there is something in the middle to break-off from the loop – something right, practical and peaceful. Once the above premises are understood and accepted – the next question comes in: why it is unsatisfactory? One obvious and simple answer to that – our scale of doing things is not same as the knot-fabric dynamism – therefore not heeding to this dynamics is bound to cause suffering, unsatisfactoriness, thus unhappiness. For example, the knot-fabric dynamic scale may appear something stationary in human scale of perceiving thing – but, in reality subtle conditioning of Natural Laws affect everything. If one tries to narrow it down further – one soon realizes that failure to remain healthy and content – not realizing the significance of wisdom in non-pursuance of unwholesome practices such as affliction, hatred, and avarice – are some other important causes. Clinging to such causes – makes our regular experience of happiness flitty and ephemeral – thus jeopardizing the balance of attachments – both in scale and quality. More causes and conditions are discussed in Happiness – the Likeness of a Water Drop on Lotus Pad; Meditation for True Happiness; Enlightenment, Emptiness and Nirvana; Dharma Conversation and others. If and when all the temptations of clinging to unwholesome practices are conquered, the causes → conditions → causes loop is balanced and the fabric breaks off – yielding to the achievement of something amazing – in joy and freedom – it is called STILL or NIRVANA. . . . 1.1 The Four Noble Truths Now, let me attempt to explain the rationality of the way of Simplicity (it is further elaborated in a separate Chapter), Balance and Wisdom by relying on the pasted image I have created. First, in quests to head towards the direction of STILL, one must be aware or awake to see the rationality of the Four Noble Truths (Ariya Sacca). The First Truth says that unsatisfactoriness or unhappiness is real, and is a predominant impression in human mind, irrespective of who we are – with all the rise and fall as everything else in Nature. The Four Noble Truths - the First, among his many discourses - was delivered by the Buddha in Sarnath to his five former disciples. It is famously known as the Turning of the Dharma Wheel Discourse - the Dharma-Cakra-Pravartana Sutra. By delivering this Sutra - a turning point in his life after Enlightenment - the Buddha launched his teaching. This impression has multiple roots - ranging from Natural causes and conditions – to the makings of one’s mind – to the causes and conditions of the surrounding societal factors. Among the Three Universal Characteristics that Define all Existence in SPIRIT: All conditioned things are impermanent – All conditioned things are unsatisfactory – All conditioned things are non-self – the second characteristic defines the 1st Noble Truth. The compassionate Buddha selected this one – to say that unsatisfactoriness is something minimizable by one’s wholesome efforts – to head towards the direction of happiness with the energy and power of Simplicity, Balance and Wisdom. And, while in that direction and when the processes of causes ↔ conditions become one – STILL or Nirvana can be finally achieved. One must accept this reality of the 1st Noble Truth to move forward towards the direction to happiness. This Truth led Buddha Dharma to develop as a quest for finding ways to be happy – by relying on one’s strength and endeavor. There is another aspect of suffering or unsatisfactoriness – that is also the making of mind – but, this stress is created by Cetana to achieve something (see The Power of Mind). Students and individuals aspiring to achieve something great are prime examples. These, including meditation pursuits are part of the efforts necessary in life. They have some elements of hidden joy and hope in them – and are fundamentally different than what the First Noble Truth says. Next, one has to identify the cause of unhappiness – and the Buddha identified it as ignorance – as elaborated before, the ignorance of not understanding the 36-streams of craving - the ignorance of not understanding the causes and conditions of unhappiness. The Dependent-origination discourse, delivered in the Paticca-Samupadha-Vibhanga Sutta – elucidates the processes of how ignorance leads to – and causes the conditioning of unhappiness through the 12 links of causes → conditions → causes. This Sutta shows how ‘Craving’ arises from ‘Ignorance’ – ignorance or wrong view being the root cause of unhappiness. This is the reason why ‘Ignorance’ is used in my description instead of ‘Craving’. In the end, both the terms lead to the same conditioning of unhappiness. The Sutta description of the 12 links of the step-by-step causes and conditions reads like this: Ignorance or Wrong View (1) → Unwholesome Karma Seeding (2) → Arising of Misguided Perception (3) → Delusive Name and Form (4) → Six Sense Doors to Cognition (5) → Mental Recursive Processes of Subjectification-Objectification (6) → Emotional State of Feeling (7) → Craving for the Deluded Name and Form (8) → Attachment or Clinging (9) → Sprouting of Karma Seeds or Birth (10) → Consequences of Unwholesome Sprouting (11) → Unhappiness, Sorrow, Suffering or Demise (12). When many ignorant karma seedings abound, the loop gets spread out into multiple dimensions – and a flexible entangled net of knots is formed from which escaping becomes difficult. Thus wisdom or awakening comes into the rationality of the 2nd Noble Truth. This diagnosis of the cause of unhappiness and the prescriptive measure in the virtues of the Enlightened Way - gave rise to the popular visualization of him as the Medicine Buddha. Similarly, wisdom, compassion and Dharmakaya gave birth to the popular embodiment of these virtues as the Buddha Manjushri, Avalokiteshvara and Amitabh, respectively. The rationality of the dependent-arising of unhappiness as in the 2nd Noble Truth – tells something very important. That at any step of the causes ↔ conditions, an individual can break the flexible net by stopping the processes – thus, by escaping from the complexity of the loop to simplicity. This freedom leads to the next – to the rationality of the 3rd Noble Truth. The beauty of the step-by-step interdependent causes ↔ conditions, taught by the Buddha is such that – it can also be formed in terms of Right View in order to initiate wholesome karma – to go to the direction of happiness. This has been reinforced by the Buddha's own experience and achievement – saying that all have the inherent Buddhanature or Bodhicitta (discussed further later in a separate Chapter) and the capability within themselves. This message of confidence and hope in the 3rd Noble Truth is conveyed by him to all humans – by using the beautiful Lotus flower as a simple metaphor. By his discourses of the 10-Perfections to Wisdom, and the 7-Factors of Enlightenment – the Buddha directs one to pursue the goal with energy, power, skill and investigative zeal (more in Enlightenment, Emptiness and Nirvana). The 3rd Truth says that – the Buddha is neither a conditioner nor a puppeteer – but a venerable friend and a Dharma teacher – the Samma Sambuddha – who shows the direction to a way of happiness – the Enlightened Way. He blesses and loves each and everyone of us – irrespective of who we are – to elevate all to the realization of the potential to enlightenment. In Buddha’s teaching – there is no cursing, no blaming, and no threats of punishment. Buddha’s Way is one of Simplicity, Balance and Wisdom steeped with love, compassion and joy in the calmness of mind. Let us attempt to draw a summary of The Four Noble Truths through a modern method of assigning an acronym to it. Let us do it in terms of what the truths tell us to aim at: The 1st Truth tells us to aim for – Peace and happiness in our life, and in lives of all sentient beings to unentangle the cobweb of suffering and unsatisfactoriness; The 2nd Truth tells us that – the light of Awakening or wisdom is imperative to understand the causes and conditions of suffering and unsatisfactoriness; The 3rd Truth tell us to – keep in mind the metaphor of Lotus – to develop hope and Confidence that – all of us have Bodhi within ourselves to attain peace and happiness in life; The 4th Truth leads us towards – the Enlightened Way – The Way of Simplicity, Balance and Wisdom – The Noble Eightfold Path. Thus, the acronym PEACE is an easy way to comprehend the rationale and purpose of the Four Noble Truths. . . . 1.2 The Enlightened Way The Enlightened Way – is the compassionate Buddha’s helping hand to teach and guide all – to overcome the cobweb of unhappiness to liberty, to the eternal bliss. The teaching elaborated in the 4th Noble Truth is famously known as the Noble Eightfold Path. This Way, enlightened to a sublime and grandeur scale – is derived from the Laws of Nature and the realities of the human mind processes. It is said that the rationality of the Four Noble Truths can best be understood by those who are Ariya or Noble – the calm, righteous, upright, ethical, wholesome and brave ones. Contrary to the conventional understanding of the term, ‘noble’ – this definition in Buddha’s teaching has nothing to do with one’s aristocratic, elitist or wealthy lineage of birth. Instead, they are the Ariya Truths – as a Way to go beyond Sammuti Sacca, the Conventional Truth – to the direction of realizing the Paramattha Sacca, the Ultimate Truth - to the deep realization of the Truths - some of which are outlined in the starting paragraph of this article. By this definition – the Buddha wanted people to think beyond coterie interests and pursuits – instead laid the foundation of democratic values and principles in 6th century BCE – the first time it happened in history. The Virtues of the Path consist of Eight interlinked spokes on a rim – each spoke or the constituent – is presented on a wheel on way to complete the circle. Note the extraordinary wisdom and vision of Shakyamuni Buddha – he said, the wheel-circle is a rolling system in spacetime that has neither the beginning nor the end – all are interdependent. This means that the benefit of each constituent – begins to bear commendable fruit when all the Eight are striven for in a complementary pursuit. The Way is customarily described in three groups of Virtues in order to achieve the purities of View, Morality and Mind. Buddhist scripture describes them in that order. Following this age-old tradition – I have described them similarly in this piece. But, at the same time, one has to realize the Buddha’s emphasis on human mind: mind precedes all states of actions and reactions – they are all wrought in the mind – and mind is their chief. One has to understand, as well, as outlined before, that all constituents of the Way are interlinked with – and are interdependent on one another. The elaboration of the Way, shown in the pasted image, is covered in earlier pieces: The Fundamental of Laws of Nature; Dharma Conversation; Enlightenment, Emptiness and Nirvana; Some Difficult Things; Meditation for True Happiness; Happiness – the Likeness of a Water Drop on Lotus Pad; The All-embracing Power of Sublimities; and Symmetry, Stability and Harmony. Three words must be understood that are essential qualifiers of the Enlightened Way. They are: the Middle Way, the Right Way, and the Balanced Way. These three phrases are just the three ways of expressing the same Path – what is in the middle is the right – what is right is in the middle – what is balanced is in the middle. Following the explanation and interpretation presented in the above pieces – Right indicates the processes of heading towards the right direction – being neither too tight nor too lax. And in analogues with the examples of Nature (more in Ocean Waves, Duality and Multiplicity in Nature and Einstein’s Unruly Hair) – one soon realizes that clinging either to the top crest or the bottom trough is no good – because these two positions of the waveform are unstable dual manifestations of the same phenomenon – the phenomenon of propagating energy. Instead, the Dharma says that one should seek a middle position that is well-balanced, stable and peaceful. Conventional designation of a social structure – like the middle class (high, middle, low, etc) – is a simple example of how the middle position displays a relatively better stable position in the structure. In traditional societies in all cultures, the middle class – especially the middle middle class – afforded a comfortable life of balance and stability. These families did not have much and were not rich in monetary measures – but was the source of neat harmonious family life raising children to good moral and ethical values – helping them to have good education and life. They were the important foundation in any society – and all earlier societies striven hard to condition this foundation thrive. If one compares them with the tumultuous life of very rich – and of course, of the poor or of lower strata of the middle class – one would find that these classes are the examples of something in constant stress – and in breaking phases of different sorts. The poor and the lower middle class – are mostly the victims of bad societal policies, rules and conditioning. One has many reasons to believe that – with the advent of the 18th century mechanical civilization – and its continuous transformation to the modern day systems – this valuable middle foundation is thinning out to a frighteningly low level. All these are further expanded in the Duality and non-Duality Chapter. . . . 2. Simplicity In the introductory paragraphs of Artificial Intelligence – the Tool of No Limit, I have quoted the wisdom of Jiddu Krishnamurti (1895 – 1986) and Steve Jobs (1955 – 2011) – who emphasized the necessity of being simple to understand things – to do things Right. A line of wisdom from Leo Tolstoy (1828 – 1910) ‘there is no greatness where there is no simplicity, goodness and truth’ reinforces such a necessity for doing things Right. Their emphases reverberate with the teaching of the Buddha (The Tathagata) – which says to empty and clean the mind processes before moving on – to be able see and grasp things as they are. When one is able to do that – once you get there, you can move mountains. Unquestioned seeing and grasping of things – through the lens of others – or through one’s poorly developed cognitive processes – ignorant, biased or otherwise – distract one away from the Right Path (more in Hold it There). Simplicity opens a door to the freedom of thinking and understanding – by avoiding the constraints imposed by cognitive blunders, such as those caused by arrogance and hubris. Simplicity is understood as the quality of being upright, uncomplicated, direct and easy to do or understand things. Its antonyms are complexity, convolution and pretense. Being simple means the freedom of heading towards the clear direction of achieving something. In the Noble Eightfold Path shown in the pasted image – by including Right Livelihood or Samma Ajiva as one of the constituents – the Buddha emphasized the importance of simplicity. In this piece, let us attempt to go deeper into understanding simplicity – by looking into the Karaniya Metta Sutta or the Verses on practicing Loving Kindness (this Sutta is compiled in the Samyutta Nikaya of the Pabitra Tripitaka). Some introductory lines of the Sutta says: . . . Let them be able and upright – Straightforward and gentle in speech – Humble and not conceited – Contented and easily satisfied – Unburdened with duties and frugal in their ways – Peaceful and calm and wise and skillful – Not proud and demanding in nature . . . The Buddha identified these 16 attributes (underlined ones) associated with being simple. The enlightening principle conveyed by the Sutta is that whatever one does and whoever one is dealing with – one must do that with love, sincerity and respect – that is one of the reasons why the Buddha included them in the Loving Kindness Sutta. All these attributes let one to rise above disorganization, wrongdoing, unfairness, impropriety, indecency, dishonesty, violence and corruption - to live a well-disciplined moral and ethical life. Therefore the words like able, gentle, humble and not conceited, peaceful, calm, wise, skillful, not proud and demanding – came into the matrix of simplicity definition. And words like, contented and easily satisfied say that to be simple – it is essential for one to remain balanced and upright by avoiding inclinations and attachment to things that lead one to complications. Unlike any other definitions of simplicity – the Buddha saw the importance of these attributes to be simple. One must heed to them in peaceful and calm frame of mental formation that must not be clouded with conceit, pride and demands. In Chan and Zen meditation practices silence is emphasized as a way to be mindful – to be simple – to be present at the moment. In such temples, in the processes of emptying – extravaganza are avoided to create a simple and calm environment for meditation. The life of the 7th century Buddhist monk scholar Xuanzang – is one of simplicity and renunciation in quests for the Truth he held dearest to his heart. Gandhi’s life and sacrifice (more in The Mahatma – a Tribute) is one of simplicity and renouncement. If we try to explain in terms of the two Fundamental Laws of Nature – simplicity is like an illuminating torch that helps one to Complete the Circle and untie the Eternal Knot. Simplicity ensures the freedom of mind in Sunyata – emptying or freeing it from other current and previous thoughts, influences, distractions and intricacies – to be independent of them by renunciation. This freedom of simplicity opens the door – to the brightness of clarity to see things as they are – to the direction of the Enlightened Way. . . . 3. Thought Processes – the Karma Initiator Karma literally means actions and reactions. It also connotes the residual or lingering effects of such actions – the actions that bear fruit when conditions are right (discussed further in the Rebirth Chapter) – if not, intervened or interfered in the meantime. Which means the effects may be immediate or may occur at a later instance. So, karma is multidimensional, getting seeded somehow and somewhere – with all the potentials to sprout when the conditions are right. Buddha Dharma has elaborate treatises on it. In the Sanskrit Tradition of the Dharma – the seeding and later sprouting of karma get extensive debate attention – and many popular metaphors and cultural themes resulted from such deliberations. It is said that karma gets seeded in different frequencies, phases and intensities – in positives and negatives. The right frequency resonates only when the conditions are right – to cause karma to bear fruit. In popular terms it is known as destiny or fate – and is assumed something preordained in godly religions – but, in Buddha Dharma it is seen – as the sprouting of karma-seeds with the right conditions taking effect. The 20th century science of Quantum Mechanics sheds further light on many such aspects of the Buddha Dharma. In an effort to reconcile the General Theory of Relativity (more in Einstein’s Unruly Hair) with Quantum Mechanics – theoretical physicists propose the possible existence of a multidimensional universe. In one such version of String Theory, the so-called M-theory – the existence of a 11-dimensional universe is envisioned. According to Buddha Dharma, all of one’s karmic actions and reactions begin within the mind matrix – in the processes of thoughts. Aspects of our thought processes leading to experiencing – the SUBJECT’s efforts of experiencing – the reality of anything and anyone – the OBJECT – occur through the systematic processes of Panch Khandhas or Five Aggregates. The processes explain the ever changing experiences of the fluxes of mind and matter – all having different life cycles and strengths. The five, from arising to fruition, are: Matter → Sensation → Name and Form Perception → Conditioning of Mental Formation → and finally to Consciousness or Chitta. Matter consists of the elements of solidity, fluidity, heat, wind, and the 5 body senses. The quality and multitude of the conscious experiences of the object thus developed – depend on the sphere of influences from where they originate: the unwholesomeness of matter – the wholesomeness of matter – and the Immatter sixth-sense. The role of cognition and some concomitant factors of the Chitta – comes in next to contribute to the development of awareness of the object. The nature of the awareness is governed by the Fundamental Laws of Nature: Impermanence and Interdependence; by the Subject ↔ Object and the Causes ↔ Conditions relationships. An apt parallel with quantum mechanics – as explained in The Quantum World is that – multiple consciousness of the object are like fuzzy quantum probabilistic waves – and becoming aware of the object through cognitive processes is like measurements – at which the waves succumb to a single state of particle. Perhaps it is helpful to clarify the significance of thought processes further. How do the thought processes cause the conditioning of Karma in Buddha Dharma? I will rely answering this question following what are summarized in the Enlightenment, Emptiness and Nirvana Article. The Buddha taught the significance while addressing the nature of deeds or karma – the nature of things we do everyday – and the residuals they generate. These deeds originate in Citta Samskara or Mental Formations – the Kushala Mula and the Akushala Mula defining the roots of wholesome and unwholesome deeds, respectively. These formations defining the Causes are the habitual occurrences in human mind – some are short in life, others are long – some are damaging (14 Akushala Mula), while others are beneficial (25 Kushala Mula). They are the causative factors – responsible for generating karma, Conditioning them. Thoughts, trained thoughts to be precise, are very powerful. Here are few lines from Einstein’s Unruly Hair. His approach was rather to start with thinking about the problem in mind in the physics domain of arguments and counter-arguments, attempting to finding answers – and then moving on to mathematical elaborations. His capability of visualization on the plane of thoughts – of things as complex as astrophysics – is an incredible rarity. Great works begin in our trained mind – and the Buddha rightly saw its importance 2.5 millennia ago. This is another unique feature of the Dharma – therefore thought of discussing it briefly. I like to begin with a few lines taken from The Power of Mind . . . mind has the ability to do some works – works in this case refer to the thought processes, speeches or talks, actions and reactions. People talk about peace of mind, greedy mind, angry mind, caring mind, loving mind, etc. In all these cases mind is understood to represent the person with his or her state of mind . . . As well, people often say, I lost my my mind, or loosing mind - referring to their irrational behaviors when acting or reacting in episodes of anger, hatred, fear, etc. Such spontaneous statements indicate the necessity of the presence of mind to do things Right - to behave rationally. In the Margaret Atwood (1939 - ) novel ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’ a character expresses the realization . . . You can’t help what you feel, but you can help how you behave . . . In the industrialization progress of standardization processes – communicative propaganda is emphasized as a necessity to manipulate peoples’ mind in favor of capitalism and other interests. The same tactic is also used in sociopolitical processes, advertisements and international relations. Before moving further, a distinction has to be made. In Heaven and Hell – a clarification is introduced: . . . The Buddhist definition of karma is distinct; and has nothing to do with the pleasure or displeasure of gods and goddesses like in Hinduism; but is solely the consequences of one’s wholesome or unwholesome volitional activities . . . The Noble Eightfold Virtues shown in the pasted image – describes that the sublime karma processes consist of four constituents. They are: Right Thought or Samma Sankappa; Right Speech or Samma Vaca; Right action/reaction or Samma Kammanta; and Right Livelihood or Samma Ajiva. The first belongs to the Purity of View group, the last three belong to the Purity of Morality group. They are explained earlier with an elucidation of what ‘Right’ means. In modern contexts, Vaca means all forms of communications – verbal, written and gestures. Thought processes enter into the karma-stream through the actions of the Five Aggregates and Cognitive Processes or Vithi (more in The Power of Mind). As a simple and right metaphor – communication processes can be thought of – as their similarity to the physics of a propagating wave. As soon as a wave is born – it is subjected to several transformative processes of actions and reactions – such as absorption, transmission and reflection. The result is that a born wave in the upstream source – is not same as the downstream receiving end. The downstream wave is likely to be characterized by spacetime asymmetry, attenuation, accentuation and decomposition into multiple frequencies, phases and intensities within the composite envelope wave. The same happens with an information wave – a certain receiving end could only resonate to the right frequency and phase of the incoming wave – because, the phenomenon of reception depends on synchronicity of the source ↔ receiver. Like the physics of a wave, the received information is further transformed during the transmission processes – bearing the characteristics of the transmitting individual. In my discussion contributions to a Forum of the American Society of Civil Engineers – I have attempted to throw some light on The Art of Effective Communication. Some of the following – are adapted from that contribution. Communication is to relate ourselves with others – in actions and reactions. It takes the forms of talks, speech, writings like in texts, mails and emails (and others as in documents, publications, etc), and body-languages. Talks, speech and body-languages or gestures are face-to-face communications. With internet – this type also occurs through video-link. Nature of communication begins with our thought processes – it is the instigator – a clean and healthy process lets us communicate lucidly. A bad one does the opposite. These processes have another dimension – it is the state of mind at a certain time and place. For all different reasons, this state can be agitated, calm – or something in-between. Communicative actions and reactions vary among people. The difference is due to the personality type as well as by those qualities or lack of them – that are imparted to us during our childhood by parents, neighbors, friends and teachers. They range in various degrees in terms of courtesy, politeness, respect, humility, appreciation and thankfulness. With internet – another influence is added to qualify communication (more in Artificial Intelligence – the Tool of No Limit). Social-networks and other forms of to-and-fro communications are prime examples. These are already consuming considerable part of our time. Wisdom says that one should stop communicating when mind is agitated. Because, when thought processes manifest themselves in communications and gestures – they cannot be taken back. Therefore, staying calm or becoming composed is so much necessary before launching any form of communication. By staying calm, one soon realizes – that the things he or she wanted to communicate with an agitated mind – do not make sense whatsoever. But, a communication is multi-dimensional. The immediate two are source ↔ receiver, which means, a certain communication may appear different to a receiver – depending on his or her state of mind. In a face-to-face communication the receiver may influence the source – through provocation and that sorts of behavior. In other words, it is the subject-object relationship. Such a relationship is not always strong, because a receiver can display calmness without showing any responsive behavior. This entails that the source communicator –owns his or her communicating behavior – and must take responsibility for it. Therefore, staying calm – as a remedy comes into relevance. Staying calm – is like freeing oneself from bad emotions – to let them go. Here Time comes with a hand to help. But, it is far from easy, because – enduring patience is the highest austerity – and people rarely like to go in the direction of austerity – unless they understand the importance of it for their own benefit or when they feel it absolutely necessary. Therefore the relevance of meditation or mind training comes into the forefront. All these – entail that one must take care of the immatter within oneself, the mind – to keep it clean and healthy. It is one of the contexts for specifying the importance of Purity of Mind in the Noble Eightfold Path. The purity leads one to create good karma – by avoiding or shunning away from creating the bad ones. Therefore, the Buddha emphasized so much on . . . calm in thought, calm in speech, calm in deeds . . . . . . 4. Duality and non-Duality This is often considered the most difficult theme of the Dharma – yet the Buddha teaching is very clear on that. One of the difficulties arose from the fact that – we are very accustomed to the Conventional Truth – the phenomenal, but subjective realities that we experience everyday – the Sammuti Sacca. Going beyond that – to realize the Ultimate Truth – the Paramattha Sacca, like Sunyata or Emptiness – indeed needs deep philosophical insight and intellectual cultivation. Western scholars have been fascinated of the duality and non-duality principle – in particular, attracted by the brilliant works of 2nd century Buddhist monk Nagarjuna (150 – 250 CE). His treatise, Mulamadhyamakakarika – the Philosophy of the Middle Way expounded the Buddha teaching to a new height. The 7th century Buddhist monk Chandrakirti (600 – 650 CE) in his treatise Madhyamakavatara elaborated the conventional truth as consisting of three: (1) truth conditioned by the screen of ignorance; (2) truth conditioned by mutuality (like those resulting from the subject-object cognition; and those believed by certain groups, entities or political parties); and (3) the behavioral truth conditioned by societal or worldly norms. As can be understood, some of these conventional truths - have their roots in cognitive blunders and biases. In the Dhammapada Verse #113, the Buddha said in Thousands Chapter: Better it is to live one day seeing the rise and fall of things than to live a hundred years without ever seeing the rise and fall of things. The phenomenon of the duality of rise and fall – is something we experience everyday in our emotions, activities, life and in social interactions (Duality is just another way of describing Relativity). It is also vivid in Natural processes – if one is mindful in observing them meticulously. The rise and fall of the wave processes are rarely circular or symmetric in Nature. This is another indication of action-reaction processes – an example of how the universal knot fabric is formed and distorted – thus not being able to complete the circle. In scientific observations, here is something written in Characterizing Wave Asymmetry: The asymmetric processes begin right after a wave is born – in the energy transformations of action-reaction-duo of different frequencies, phases and amplitudes – caused by those that impart energy to those that interact and dissipate it. In the end, a visible Natural wave is a showcase of imbalance or asymmetry built by multiple waves – sometimes portraying an incomplete circle or closure – at other times leaving an overflowing residual in the direction of dominant motion. The essays, Storm Surge; Tsunami and Tsunami Forces and Upslope Events and Downslope Processes – discuss the physics of wave transformation further. Indeed, all energy propagation in us, in social interactions, in international-relations and in Nature – occur in wave-forms of rise and fall, rarely showing any sign of circularity. Therefore, Buddha’s teaching tells us to see deep into the phenomena and implications of the Duality of Rise and Fall in things. Why non-duality then? Non-duality does not mean absence of duality – rather that sticking to the dual phases of unstable positions is not something sensible – instead, one must seek for something in the middle – something balanced and stable. Let us attempt to understand this interesting aspect of the Buddha’s teaching in simple terms. First, it is important to see, in simple terms what Nature tells us. The Buddha saying immediately reverberates to my own experience as an engineer and scientist – working in coastal and ocean environments. The phenomenon of duality is obvious in the most visible manifestation of the top wave crest and the bottom wave trough. If we go further to understand the physics of wave dynamics (more in Ocean Waves, Duality and Multiplicity in Nature) – it becomes clear how the crest and trough are related to each other within the framework of elastic resistance to deformation – the trough is forced by the flow of energy to work up to the phase of the crest, while the gravitational pull drags the crest to work down to the phase of the trough. This entangled process of push and pull is associated with a forward motion and a compensating reverse motion of the medium particles – as a way required to complete the loop. The balancing act between the excitation energy and gravity restoration indicates that the crest and trough work together to attain stability and equilibrium in time. It further says that – at the fundamental level, all motions are characterized by the wave-particle duality (more in The Quantum World). The discussed physics of Natural waves – shows us the wisdom to see that duality does not mean that there are just the two of something – but that the two are the inseparable and complementary components of the unity – union of the two opposites entangled together in the pursuits to reaching the symmetry of stability. Now, it is time to see how Madhyamika or the Middle Way is illustrated by the wave processes. When the phase of the wave changes – in its oscillatory motion – it always passes through a middle position. And as the wave energy subsides – the visible duality succumbs to that middle position of tranquility – to non-duality. In physics of coastal water waves – it is called the Mean or Still Water Level. And it happens whether the wave is monochromatic or spectromatic – whether it is linear or non-linear (that has a tail and leaves a residual). The same energy principle of wave motion in duality and non-duality manifestations – works in every motion – in all forms of the Fluid, Solid and Life System. Buddha’s Middle Way says that – one must seek that stable and balanced position for peace and happiness. It is at this level, where causes→conditions→causes of the system of oscillatory motions find the Right Position of Stability. In popular Buddha Dharma (more in the Enlightenment, Emptiness and Nirvana – the Middle Way, represented as the Dharmakaya, is symbolized as the Four Faces of Unity (Sculptural depiction of the Four Faces – is portrayed in the shape of Buddha face). These Four are: the Duality (1st & 2nd) of the Opposites – its qualifications, the Entanglement (3rd) of the Dualities, and the Complementarity (4th) of the Dualities. This simple but superb depiction is apparent in the findings of modern physics (see Einstein’s Unruly Hair and The Quantum World). . . . 5. Non-Self and the Buddhanature According to the Buddha Dharma Trilogy defining all existences in the Matter-Immatter Dyanmics: All conditioned things are impermanent – All conditioned things are unsatisfactory – All conditioned things are non-self - are intricately related and complementary. The third says that one’s soul or self is conditioned by the Processes of the Dependent-Origination (elaborated in The Four Noble Truths Section of The Way of Simplicity, Balance and Wisdom Chapter) – the processes of interdependence. Due to such processes giving rise to the development of one’s self – it acquires the characteristics of FLUIDITY as opposed to RIGIDITY. Therefore the concept of a rigid soul – as in other beliefs and religions – is not something tenable in the Dharma. Thus, the fluidity of one’s self tantamounts to the reality of non-self. In the Anatta-lakkhana Sutta, the Non-self Discourse, the Buddha said, by illustrating his teaching on the Five Aggregates (more in The Power of Mind) – how the deep understanding of the reality of non-self leads to liberation: . . . Name-Form is non-self . . . Sensation is non-self . . . Perception is non-self . . . Conditioning is non-self . . . Consciousness is non-self . . . Name-Form is impermanent . . . Sensation is impermanent . . . Perception is impermanent . . . Conditioning is impermanent . . . Consciousness is impermanent . . . any kind of Name-Form, Sensation, Perception, Conditioning, Consciousness . . . whatever, whether past, future or presently arisen, whether gross or subtle, whether in oneself or external, whether inferior or superior, whether far or near, must with right understanding . . . be regarded thus: 'This is not mine, this is not I, this is not myself’ . . . when a Noble follower who has heard (this Truth) and sees thus . . . finds estrangement in Name-Form . . . finds estrangement in Sensation . . . finds estrangement in Perception . . . finds estrangement in Conditioning . . . finds estrangement in Consciousness. . . when the person finds estrangement, passion fades out. With the fading of passion, the person is liberated. When liberated, there is knowledge and the person is liberated. These are indeed, another explanation and requirement of Simplicity. Now, let us begin with the theory of the rigid soul (Atma). Born with the person – it is considered to be a part of the divine dictation. Its root dates back to Hindu religious beliefs – saying that inferior castes have bad soul – resulting from wraths and curses of gods and goddesses. Therefore they must be punished – and must pay for it in lives after lives doing all kinds of menial dirty works as a service to the superior castes. It has been used in the past, and is still being used by different religious affiliations riding on the seats of power – to perpetuate the superiority of higher castes, and inferiority of the rest. This deplorable superiority-inferiority complex opened the door to initiate and perpetuate caste-based Varna discrimination – which is still alive in different disguises (albeit laws are enacted against such discrimination) – some of it transformed into race-based discrimination. In the race-based cases – instead of birth-origin, skin-color is used as a criterion. In fact, Varna discrimination has its roots in skin-color views. This is how it occurred when the fair-skinned Aryans invaded the Indian Subcontinental regions. These victor settlers elevated themselves to a higher hierarchy – and reduced the status of dark-skinned locals down into lows and the lowest (colonial subjugation displayed the same psyche, does it not?). The resulting religion known as the Hinduism today – adopted this view and justified it through scriptural writings in which Brahmins had monopoly. It was popularized and ingrained in peoples’ minds at a later time – through Ramayana and Mahabharata epics. These literary fictions – likely took shape and written during the post-Buddha period – were nothing but the stories of family feuds among the higher-caste Brahmins and Kshatriya – intervened by gods and goddesses. The lead mythical characters were elevated to the ranks of reincarnated gods and goddesses – to attract worshippers and invoke godly devotions and fear. Discriminatory practices as such – are a double-edged sword – they give birth to arrogance in the privileged, who have not earned any of what are given to them – and scars of rejection, depression and hopelessness in those who are in no position to escape from their fate to lead a meaningful life. The supremely compassionate Buddha cannot accept such an explanation and justification. The two Fundamental Laws of Nature – he discovered do not support the rigid Atma paradigm – and the Buddha denied the existence such a soul. One important thing about soul or self – is that, as the theory or concept suggests – it belongs to the Immaterial domain of the matter-immatter dynamics (that may come with different qualifiers for its description – like good and bad). By this very characterization – soul is something that must be the making of one’s mind, something of the conventional truths – a function of immatter within an individual. This means it is a conditioned phenomenon – and its existence is subjected to the processes of causes→ conditions → causes. Therefore, the Buddha’s teaching says that, like all conditioned things – the nature of self in an individual – must agree with the laws of Impermanence and Dependent-origination. Such an agreement invalidates the theory of rigid soul. Instead, it establishes the non-self nature of things. Now, one may ask – what is the Buddhanature or Bodhicitta in an individual then?Buddhanature has nothing to do with the rigid soul – it’s rather born out of non-self to awakening to the realization of the truths – the universal laws. Understanding Buddhanature - is tied to have a clear view of Bodhi and Buddhahood. Let us attempt to delve into these aspects in a similar manner as the dialogue between the Bactrian King Milinda and a highly skilled Buddhist monk Nagasena (more in Jataka Morals). Who, within one’s being says – I need to pursue the Seven: Energy, Investigation, Equanimity, Mindfulness, Meditative concentration, Joy and Tranquility to be enlightened. Who within one’s being says I rejoice chanting Om – MaNi – PadMe – Hum. Who within one’s being says I need to pursue Gate – Gate – Paragate – Parasamgate – Bodhi – Svaha to be a Bodhisattva. Who within one’s being says – all have the inherent capacity within themselves (the 3rd Noble Truth) to be enlightened. The answers to these questions – which are in fact one – is simply that it is certainly not the rigid soul – but, certainly born out of the non-self, or the non-ego. It must be led by something transformative – that does not contradict with The Fundamental Laws of Nature. This something is lucidly explained by Ven. Dogen Zenji (1200 – 1253), the founder of the Soto School of Zen Buddhism in Japan, the Zazen. He writes: Therefore, the very impermanency . . . is Buddhanature . . . of men and things, body and mind, is the Buddhanature . . . supreme and complete enlightenment, because it is impermanent, is the Buddhanature . . . Ven. Zenji saying asks for deep deliberation. What and who are impermanent? The answer is: as the Buddha said, all conditioned things – everything and everyone in the universe – both matter and immatter. It has both time and space connotations. Things are not same from one instant of time to the next – from one point in space to the next. Net configuration of the knots has the similar nature of fluidity in spacetime. This characteristic signature of impermanence – has a modern name – it is called uncertainty. Again, like many other aspects, Buddha’s teaching and vision precede many of modern scientific findings and proof. This characteristic signature of conditioned things lead to discovering Buddhanature in all of us. It entails, therefore that, who is not ‘I’ – as we like to call it. Because, the young ‘I’, the middle-aged ‘I’ and the old ‘I’ are all different. Although the biological person or the matter is the same – the immatter is different. Similarly, ‘I’ living in one place is not the same ‘I’ – who has moved to another place. In each case, these ‘I’s – are a Dependently-originated self – that developed and got transformed following one’s interactions with the surrounding in time and space. This is just the nature of things. Therefore the Buddhanature or Bodhicitta is something in the middle between causes and conditions – something Noble, the Truths. In other words, something potential waiting to get awakened or enlightened – like the potential of a Lotus rising and blooming on to air – on to the light out of muddy water. According to the Buddha Dharma: the jewel of Buddhanature is within all of us – some just look somewhere else without ever realizing that they have it – yet some others are unaware of it – only very few find it. It does not discriminate – whether one is male or female – rich or poor. It does not see individuals through the lens of one’s origin of birth or of skin-color. As outlined in the Thought Processes – the Karma Initiator Chapter – unlike other consciousnesses that develop through the processes of Five Aggregates (more in The Power of Mind) – the Bodhicitta originates in the Lokuttara sphere of the person – with all the potentials for the Citta to flower into Bodhi, if causes ↔ conditions are Right. This sphere represents a high supramundane level – in the sixth-sense sublime, spiritual and intellectual sphere. It is preceded and sustained by the developments of Rupa-Loka Citta, originating in the wholesome fine material sphere; and the Arupa-Loka Citta, originating in the wholesome immaterial sixth-sense sphere. What is the state of the Bodhicitta before awakening - awakening to the realization of the truths, the Ultimate Truth – the Paramattha Sacca in Buddha’s teaching. They are the Fundamental Laws of Nature, the Four Noble Truths, the matter-immatter dynamics, the phenomena of mind – the necessity of cleaning and training the mind. Only some have the potential to discover it by going beyond, utterly beyond – to awakening to the brightness of enlightenment. Bodhicitta is neither dormant nor awakened – it is rather in a state of transience and transformation. Perhaps another metaphor would be the transformative life of a larvae in a cocoon. This life, if strong and persistent – if not interfered and prevented by external forces – and if on the right track endowed with the forces of the Seven – would shatter the barrier to get out to freedom – to a new life when the causes ↔ conditions are perfectly aligned. In other words, with the right causes ↔ conditions, Bodhicitta (the likeness of a Lotus plant root in muddy soil) gives birth to Bodhi (the likeness of a Lotus bud) through a sort of cognitive (Vitthi) crystallization and growth of the Bodhicitta. At this stage the person goes beyond – utterly beyond in meditative cultivation and wholesome pursuits to attain Bodhi. It is distinguished by the six: tranquility, wisdom, malleability, wieldiness, proficiency and integrity. Once endowed with such distinctions, the person is known as the Arahat or Bodhisattva. While an Arahat aims to achieve the next step of full enlightenment, a Bodhisattva chooses to delay the enlightenment by taking Bodhisattva vows to emancipate all sentient beings – from suffering to happiness through the processes of wholesome pursuits and teaching. The full enlightenment is like a bloomed open Lotus – the perfect awakening to Buddhahood – a rarely achievable irreversible grandeur of eternal bliss, the Nirvana. . . . 6. Rebirth Let me begin by following the premises presented in The Fundamental Laws of Nature – that unless attained the eternal bliss of Nirvana – one’s life is an incomplete circle – packed with knots of the untied net. Life is not something of matter only – as the ordinary view suggests – but as a being consisting of both matter (Rupakaya) and immatter (Arupakaya) – that continuously evolves responding to the matter-immatter dynamics. Therefore in Buddha Dharma, life is not portrayed as a circle (unless completion occurs with the untied knots as in Nirvana, STILL. But, is also portrayed as an aspirational context in the metaphor of a full moon) – rather as a wheel that grinds along the expanse of spacetime – on way to attain STILL (if on the right track). The question that ensues is what happens with the unshattered net – with the imbalanced residuals loaded with the seeded karma – that are caused by one’s matter-immatter dynamics. The matter passes away – what about the immatter? The dynamics of the two is such that one is energized by the other – and vice versa. The residual or the imbalanced energy of the immatter likely looks for new sources of material – in a new body. In the Entropy piece, the spectacular metamorphoses of dragon flies, moths and butterflies from larvae to adulthood is cited as an irreversible process. What connects such a transformation? A biologist’s answer to this question – would be gene that connects the phases. To be precise – it is the matter-gene of Rupakaya that connects the biological transformation phases. In analogous to this – one may dare to suggest that rebirth is caused by the immatter-gene of Arupakaya – that likely connects the passed away with another body or matter – a new born. This immatter-gene powered by one’s accumulated karma seeds – determines the nature of rebirth. And like the biological transformation – the rebirth process is irreversible. If we accept this premise, a follow-up question appears: is it certain like in the biological transformation? The Buddha Dharma answers this question too. To answer this question, I like to rely on some materials written in Einstein’s Unruly Hair . . . Reincarnation is something we recognize – in transmigration or metamorphoses of knowledge, ideas and customs. Civilization as a human advancement is built upon such reincarnations – it only became more robust since the discovery of printing, documentation and digital processing. How about rebirth/reincarnation of sentient beings? Hinduism has a straightforward answer to that. It says in the Upanishads (collection of ancient Indian Vedic philosophical concepts) that soul or Atma (the understanding of this theory is elaborated in the Non-Self and Buddhanature Chapter) as a permanent indestructible soul – transmigrates to a new body after death. Buddha Dharma does not give such a straightforward answer – because the concept of soul must not contradict with the Laws of Impermanence and Dependent-origination. What does the Buddhist rebirth mean then? In the 1996 Scientific Acceptability of Rebirth Dr G Dharmawardena – a well-known nuclear scientist – elucidated Buddhist definition of rebirth as: “the re-embodiment of an immaterial part of a person after a short or a long interval after depth, in a body, whence it proceeds to lead a new life in the body more or less unconscious of its past existences, but containing within itself the “essence” of the results of its past lives, which experience goes to make up its new character or personality”. In Buddha Dharma, this essence is likely the remnants of some levels of transformative consciousness - often described as the 7th and 8th. They represent one's continuously evolving klesha (a source of unsettled inner discursiveness that consumes most of one’s mental activities) and Vijnana (that instigates activity in the mental sphere – having a chance to get transformed into wisdom through cognitive processes and meditation), respectively (more in The Power of Mind). Buddha Dharma says that rebirth of the described essence or karmic seed (in a deeper view it is just an individual’s evolving energy field; implying that an individual with residuals {both negative and positive} has more potential to be reborn than the one who is tranquil and has completed the circle and untied the universal knot – attaining STILL) sprouts into a new life only when conditions are right. The seed may sprout right after death if the conditions are right, may remain dormant waiting for the right time, or may not sprout at all if the seed loses its vitality over time or is destroyed in the meantime. This Buddhist explanation of rebirth has no contradiction with modern scientific principles. Shakyamuni Buddha’s Bodhisattva lives – were an example of the incremental accumulation of good karma – of positive energies. The immatter-gene of his pious past lives – sprouted into the auspicious birth of Buddha in 624 BCE, in Anuttara Samma Sambodhi – when causes ↔ conditions were congruent and perfectly aligned. It entails, therefore that the remnants of some levels of consciousness – the essential residuals or the immatter-gene (as I called it in this piece) may reborn into a new being – if and only if – the loop of causes ↔ conditions gets aligned. Thus, one may conclude that – in Buddha Dharma the rebirth potential is there, but it is not certain. If the rebirth is certain – it would contradict The Fundamental Laws of Nature – the Buddha taught. It is also uncertain – because the Buddha saw his past lives only during the processes of enlightenment. It is said that he first developed the ability to see his past lives (these lives covered different spectrum of Life Forms with the Buddha earning and accumulating merits) realizing the interconnectedness of all sentient beings – followed by the universal laws that govern everything and then the Way to Nirvana he discovered and taught. All these mean that one’s past lives, if reborn – are likely to remain obscure to that person unless the vision of enlightenment is attained. Uncertainties notwithstanding – the notion of rebirth has a profound beneficial effect on human mind. For example, when negative attitudes like anger or hatred arise in our mind – we can invoke the idea of rebirth to think that the object of negativity could have been our son/daughter, brother/sister or father/mother in another life, in another time. In a similar vein, if we see other life forms in danger or being abused – we could think that they could have been related to us in another life, in another time. The deep compassion and fellow-feeling of oneness generated by such a chain of rebirth-related thinking – is not attainable by any other means. It has the profound power to cross barriers – the barriers of race, ethnicity, color or creed. In the Buddha’s teaching, this system of thinking is aptly termed as the skill in means to achieve something great. The 19th century discovery of the evolution of life by Charles Darwin (1809 – 1882; The Origin of Species) tells us that we are all connected as the Buddha’s Skill in Means – enlightens us. An ugly abuse of the rebirth-related thinking was the unfortunate concoction – that we see in the caste-system – in which the curses of gods and goddesses are said to be the causes to conditioning the birth of some in the lowest social hierarchy – the untouchables. Note here that good and bad karma causes are not given any value to condition the birth – instead, according to the priestly classes, the imaginary gods and goddesses have the veto power to negate any good karma effects! This dictation is against any sort of the Laws of Nature. The system has been deliberately conceived and developed to justify and establish the superiority of some against others (in modern systems, similar principles are visible in color, race, ethnicity, gender and age discrimination and prejudices). It is so inhuman, heinous and cruel that – those who are born in the untouchable category and their progeny – must have to remain in that caste in life and after life – without ever having a chance to cross the caste-barrier. Although the system has been constitutionally abolished in India since 1950, the socioeconomic caste-barrier has yet see to the full light of the abolition law. What is certain – is the present moment – the fleeting present, that is real and is right in front of us. Buddha Dharma says one should try to remain awake to see this reality – to own the fleeting present to veer it to the direction of the Right Way, to wholesomeness – the Way of Simplicity, Balance and Wisdom. It says to be present in what one is doing – by being mindful and composed in the togetherness of Rupakaya (matter) and Arupakaya (immatter). The Dharma meditation or mind training technique opens the door to attain this. The Buddha’s message is clear – that while the rebirth possibility is there in the uncertainty sphere – it should not come in any way to say that one’s birth is low or high. Either way of thinking is detrimental – because it could bog one down or give the false feeling of complacency. . . . This is the 5th piece of the annual series – remembering and honoring Shakyamuni Buddha – his auspicious Birth, Enlightenment, and MahapariNirvana. This year’s Vesak, the Buddha Day celebration, occurs on the full-moon day on 22 May 2024. The previous posted pieces were on: 5 May 2023 Buddha Dharma Conversation; 16 May 2022 The Tathagata; 26 May 2021 the Enlightenment, Emptiness and Nirvana; and 7 May 2020 Revisiting The Jataka Morals. I have spent more time than others in preparing this article – this is because there are lots of grounds to be covered and understood (yet may not be complete) – to deeply delve into the rationality of the Buddha teaching. . . . Before finishing, I like to revisit the 49th verse of the The Flowers Chapter in the DHAMMAPADA. It says: As a bee gathers honey from the flower without injuring its colour or fragrance, even so the sage goes on his alms-round in the village. It is about an ancient Buddhist practice of alms-round – of Buddhist monks going around the neighborhood in a silent sublime mood with both-hands holding an alms-bowl. In the Dhammapada verse – as a way of monastic practices – the Buddha indicated three very important practices – a monk or nun must be mindful of: (1) that they must appreciate the kind gift in thankful mood, and respect the villagers by not infringing upon their lives and livelihood as the bee does; and (2) that in return and in appreciation – as the bee does by acting as an agent of pollination – they must reciprocate the gift by blessing, and if the villagers need and are ready – must also give a certain gift of kind and enlightened words as a food to enrich the villagers’ mind. (3) As a third, the Buddha introduced the practice of going on alms-round – only one-time during the daytime before noon – and they must only accept food needed for the day – without any discrimination by practicing non-attachment to any preferential taste they might have. By following the above, monks and nuns abstain from disturbing the villagers’ lives and livelihoods – their day-and-night-time family life contingencies. This means that, monastic communities are required to forego the lay-people practice of having the evening meal. Instead, they must devote this time in teaching, Dharma cultivation and meditation. Thus, by using the flower-bee metaphor – the Buddha clarified the necessity of being simple in purpose and practices to be a true renunciate. It turns out that skipping evening meal is healthy – as statistics show that most Buddhist monks and nuns have a longer life expectancy than the average people. As time passed by and as the Dharma took root in different cultures – the practice of going on alms-round – evolved into different dimensions. This is the strength and power of the Buddha Dharma – which is flexible and adaptable according to the needs of time and space – at the same time without making any compromises on the core values and principles. Nowadays, alms-round is practiced mostly in Pali-tradition countries as a ceremonial task on special occasions. It is the responsibility of the Buddha Sangha to address and deliberate on the changed circumstances in space and time to define any changes if needed. . . . Seeing YouTube videos of some beautiful Songkran Festivals and Parades in Southeast Asian Buddhist majority countries (the Festival originated in Thailand) – including the spectacular parades in Xishuangbanna, in the beautiful Peacock province of Yunnan in China – took me to recollect the experience of Chaitra-Songkranti Festival in the Buddhist communities of Bangladesh. Our Bengali new year Festival (it even coincides with the time of Southeast Asian Festival) used to start early in the morning with communal bathing in the river – decorating the house with wild fresh flowers and fresh buds of herbal leaves, spreading river water on house tops and yards – afternoon temple visit and Buddha praying – ending with evening-time singing around a bonfire of collected weed heaps. Specially prepared snacks and bitter-tasted curries of seasonal vegetables and herbs (assumed to ensure better health in the future) sharing them with each other were another enjoyable attraction of the Festival. In Mahatma Gandhi piece, a short recollection of the Bengali Buddhist New Year Festival is described. The Songkran Festival comes with praying for the Buddha blessing of longevity, nobility, happiness, strength and wisdom. It is amazing to realize how interconnected we were – how cultures were integrated together somehow during those ancestral years of difficult travels. . . . Happy Vesak the Buddha Day!!! On this Auspicious Full-Moon Day – let Metta touch everyone’s heart by the vast ocean of the Buddha’s wisdom to bring Peace and Harmony across the Globe. Have a joyous life – by being conscientious, heedful and diligent – whenever – wherever – whatever . . . . . - by Dr. Dilip K. Barua, 22 May 2024
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 Though the Buddha was born in the West, his Dharma has spread to the East. In the course of translation, mistakes may have crept into the texts, and idioms may have been misapplied. When words are wrong, the meaning is lost, and when a phrase is mistaken, the doctrine becomes distorted. So wrote Xuanzang (602 – 664 CE; aka Hiuen Tsang) in his book, Record of the Western Regions – about the reasons for his strenuous journey to the West – in search of something authentic and enlightening he held dearest to his heart. This is unique in the annals of human history – that perilous journeys after journeys were undertaken by devout Buddhist monks and travelers to get to the root of the Great Teachings of the Buddha (The Tathagata). I am delighted to pay tribute to one of the greatest minds that made a significant contribution to the development of Buddha Dharma in the East. His accurate and detailed records of the culture and the Dharma – he witnessed in countries and regions he crossed on his East-West forward travel, and West-East return journey – stand out in details and accuracy to inspire future generations. In the pleasant season of autumn in 2018, I along with my elder daughter Dipa visited the Dust of India that was happy to be trodden by the sacred feet of the Buddha. The pasted photos of the Xuanzang Memorial compound and hall in Rajgir-Nalanda – represent a spectacular image of stunning Chinese Architecture. Our travels were featured in Bodhgaya; Lumbini; Rajgir, Nalanda and Sarnath and Vaishali, Shravasti and Kushinagar. It was a pleasing experience to see that the statues of Xuanzang and Anagarika Dharmapala (1864 – 1933, another great Buddhist icon of modern times) – were honored in several temples and monasteries representing different cultures and countries. This piece is built upon several website articles including: Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy; Brook Larmer in National Geographic, June 2010; and T Sen 2006, The Travel Records of Chinese Pilgrims Faxian, Xuanzang, and Yijing, Education About Asia, 11(3). In addition, the essence of this piece can best be appreciated when read with other WIDECANVAS articles: The Fundamental Laws of Nature; Something Different; The Tathagata; Enlightenment, Emptiness and Nirvana with links to others in the Website Links and Profile. . . . Before moving on to Xuanzang – here is a short brief on the other two great Chinese travelers – Faxian and Yijing. Faxian’s (337 – 422 CE aka Fa-Hsien) travel to the West in 399 CE precedes Xuanzang’s. His forward travel to India was through the formidable land route – the Silk Road via Central Asia – where he visited Buddhist establishments in . . . Dunhuang > Loulan > Karashahr > Khotan > Tashkurghan > Jalalabad > Taxila > India. The return back travel via sea route started at Tamralipti on the Indian eastshore – taking him to see Buddhist establishments in Sri Lanka > Palembang, Indonesia > and back to China. In his book, A Record of Buddhist Kingdoms, he outlined that the main purpose of his travel – was to find the authentic source of the Buddhist monastic rules or Vinaya.
Yijing’s (635 – 713 CE) travel to India in the period between 671 and 695 CE – closely followed Xuanzang’s – but via a to-and-fro sea route. The eastshore point in India was Tamralipti < > Kedah in Malaysia < > Srivijaya in Indonesia < > with the starting and end shore point in China at Guangzhou. His two works of travel are:
The Illustrious Xuanzang This great monk took the perilous journey to West in 627 CE to personally witness the practices of the Buddha Dharma in the lands of its birth. In his pursuit, he visited sacred Buddhist sites – and brought back authentic Buddhist texts for the benefit of Chinese society. In the process, he observed and noted in detail – local customs, culture, and governance system of the countries he visited – and compared them with his own country. He was received in royal courts with honor – and his depth of the knowledge of Buddha Dharma had been received with great admiration and respect. He traveled extensively in India and lived there for nearly 15 years. He lamented the existence of caste-based fragmented social system in parts of India – the Hindu Varna superiority-inferiority complex in Indian societies – a country where the compassionate Buddha was born. He witnessed in great sadness, how the lowest castes were obliged to avoid roads, drinking-water-wells and other places of amenities – frequented by higher hierarchical castes – the Brahmins and Kshatriyas. This observation indicates that different regions of India were still living in the dark periods of very rigid Varna discriminatory practices. Nobel Laureate Rabindranath Tagore’s (1861 – 1941) dance drama Chandalika is one such portrayal of Varna cruelty - and of the serene compassion and assurance of a Buddhist monk, who said to the lowest-caste girl: you are as much a human like me and others. During the Sui Dynasty (589 – 618 CE) and Tang Dynasty (618 – 906 CE), when Xuanzang lived, Chinese Buddhist Schools were sophisticated, and monasteries were numerous, rich and powerful. Buddhism was also strong in India, Central Asia and what is now Pakistan and Afghanistan. His to-and-fro travel along the treacherous land route – the Silk Road, a well-known network of routes of travelers and merchants among Asian countries – was one of bravery and unwavering pursuit and motivation. His forward journey to the land of Buddha’s birth took him to places: Changan > Liangzhouh > Anxi > Hami > Turfan > Agni > Kucha > Aksu > Tashkent > Samarkand > Balkh > Bamiyan > Kapsi > Taxila > Sakala > Kanauj. His return journey to China was a somewhat different route: Balkh > Kashgar > Yarkand > Khotan > Nlya > Luolan > Dunhuang > Changan. His extensive visits and stay in India took him to Multan, Ujjain, Ajanta, Nasik, Kanchipuram, Dhanakataka, Tamralipti, Pataliputra, Vaishali, Lumbini, Sravasti, Mathura, Kausambi, Sarnath, Bodhgaya, Rajgir-Nalanda. He took residence and studied at the world’s second earliest university at Nalanda under the patronage of King Harshavardhana (606 – 647 CE) and the university chief abbot Ven Silabhadra. This scholar also taught at the university – and continued teaching there until the time of his return journey back to China. It is said that he became victorious in each episodes of Dharma debates he participated. Such practices are common among the members of Buddhist monastic community or Shanga. His book, Record of the Western Regions Visited During the Great Tang Dynasty has been a rich resource for historians and archeologists all over the world. It comes with meticulous details and accounts of the Buddhist World – he saw in his to-and-fro travel route between the two great civilizations. According to it: in Turfan king Chu Wen-tai – a pious Buddhist himself – wanted to retain Xuanzang so badly – he threatened to put him to prison, unless Xuanzang agrees to his request. Seeing no other way, Xuanzang had to resort to hunger strike to persuade the King to let him go. Brook Larmer wrote in an article in the National Geographic 2010 [cited in: Xuanzang the Great Chinese Explorer-Monk Facts and Details]: What kept Xuanzang going, he wrote in his famous account of the journey, was another precious item carried along the Silk Road: Buddhism itself. Other religions surged along this same route – Manichaeism, Christianity, Zoroastrianism, and later, Islam – but none influenced China so deeply as Buddhism, whose migration from India began sometime in the first three centuries A.D. The Buddhist texts Xuanzang carted back from India and spent the next two decades studying and translating would serve as the foundation of Chinese Buddhism and fuel the religion’s expansion. When he reached Kanauj in around 637 CE – the capital of King Harshavardhana’s empire in Northern India – that extended from Bengal in the East to Punjab in the West to Gujrat in the Southwest – he saw peace and prosperity in the empire. His audience with the king was full of accounts of admiration of Harsha’s rule. He narrated the practices of Tang Dynasty ruler Taizong, of whom Harsha was aware of, as: He has reduced taxes and mitigated punishments. The country has surplus revenue and nobody attempts to violate the laws. As to his moral influence and profound edification of the people, it is exhausting to narrate in detail. King Harsha responded, Excellent! The people of your land must have performed good deeds in order to have such a saintly lord. The exchanges showed the mutual admiration between the Indian and Chinese dynasties – and indeed, Xuanzang played the role of an able monk diplomat – that paved the way to establish a relationship of Buddhist and diplomatic exchanges between them. In reply to a question about the reasons for returning back to China – posed to him by a Nalanda University scholar, he replied: The King of the Dharma (i.e. The Buddha) has founded his teachings and it is proper for us to propagate them. How can we forget about those who are not yet enlightened while we have gained the benefit in our own minds? In this reply he essentially upheld the duties of a monk – the Bodhisattva Ideal: Gate-Gate-Paragate-Parasamgate-Bodhi-Svaha. He reasoned that China was a civilized land with laws, principled officials, and cultured people. . . . Xuanzang Legacy
The Koans of this piece: What and who deserve admiration and respect most – something that can do things better than yours – someone who can do things better than you. Consciously or unconsciously an agitated and unguarded mind has subjective taints in perceiving things – so much so that the true nature of such things gets masked by the projection of the observer’s state of mind – therefore, when awaken the observer begins to wonder where is Ekti Kunri Duti Pata Ratanpur Bagichai? . . . . . - by Dr. Dilip K. Barua, 12 October 2023   In this piece let us attempt to see something different – something through the lens of an observer-observed, subject-object perspective. I have covered and explored the entangled relationship between the two – in the light of Buddhist thoughts (Gautama Buddha – The Tathagata) and modern science – as revealed in Quantum Mechanics (see The Quantum World; The Power of Mind).
Let us do it in the format of a conversation between the observer (Humphreys) and the observed (Visakha). The naming of these two is to remember and honor – and to orient ourselves to some historic contexts related to Buddha Dharma development. The names are only intended to honor them – in the format of a story – and have nothing to do with the actual description of their characters. A brief of their life is outlined below. Visakha, born in an aristocratic family – was a female lay disciple of the Buddha. She devoted her whole life to promote the Dharma. To facilitate Buddha’s teaching and meditation in a beautiful garden, she founded the Migaramata Monastery in Shravasti. Christmas Humphreys (1901 – 1983) was a renowned British judge and a Buddhist scholar who devoted his life to promote Buddha Dharma in the West (see a short introduction of him in Meditation for True Happiness). According to the common notion of subject-object characterization – the subject observes the object, not the other way around. In this piece, let us see the roles differently. The roles in the personalities of the subject-object – are not in one-way observation or lecturing mode – rather they are in an exploratory mode of understanding each other – learning from each-other’s thought processes. The purpose is to explore some questions that often come into people’s mind. They range from different aspects of the Buddha Dharma – to its development and propagation beyond. It is built upon some articles – posted earlier on this Website (see links in Widecanvas Home Page) – as well as shown in Website Links and Profile. . . . Humphreys decided to take a day off to relax and enjoy time in a quiet valley of grassland and bushes beside a tranquil lake. It was a day of brilliant sunshine with light breeze touching everything – generating little fluttery sound in the bushes. Buds of springtime wild flowers were in full blossom, giving the place a lively look of colorful mosaic of flowers and green foliage. The lake was full of ripples with ducks, duckling, geese and goslings freely swimming and diving. A pathway passes by the place where he sat, as if it emerged from nowhere from a distant mountain of thick conifer forest. Sitting on a bench, Humphreys ate lunch and had a sip of water when he caught the sight of someone at a distance calmly walking towards the place. He got fascinated by some sort of a Halo emanating from the person. As the image appeared close, he noticed Visakha – a shaved head middle-aged woman wearing a flowing orange robe. A prayer loop hangs from her hand – with her fingers flipping each bead as she was walking. Humphreys stood from his bench and greeted her by bowing. Visakha smiled and responded with Namaskara Mudra at her heart and bowed. . . . 1. Staying Calm Humphreys: "Hello madam, I could not help but noticing you calmly walking by. Surprised to see a shining Halo emanating from you. Your calm and humble posture with a smile is so contagious that people feel safe and connected to you – as I did. I am very delighted to meet you – and curious to know who you are." Visakha: "That is so sweet of you. I am a simple follower of the Buddha, a nun. I don’t know about the Halo, but perhaps you are in a calm state of mind to observe such a thing. I was doing walking Metta meditation trying to connect myself with all that belong to the Life System – the beauty and wonders of Nature. Trying to realize how interconnected we all are – trying to listen to their songs of life, joy, sorrow, anger and hope – all that define us." Humphreys: "Ah I know now why such a Halo emanates from a person – and yes, one has to be in the right mood to see it. What is Metta, by the way?" Visakha: "Metta in Pali and Maitrey in Sanskrit – is one of the Four Sublimities the Buddha taught. Metta is universal love or loving kindness to all – irrespective of who we are – all plants and living beings. It blooms when a nonviolence frame of mind takes root in a person. It is also one of the Paramitas – the Ten Perfections to Bodhi, the Buddha mastered on his way to Buddhahood. With such a set of calm mind – all negative emotions melt away – by opening the door to true friendship. The other three of the Sublimities are: Karuna or Compassion, Mudita or Joy and Upekka or Equanimity." Humphreys: "Wow! This set of calm mind is very powerful – the power of a different kind. We hear about Buddhist meditation, it is so common nowadays. May I ask, whether you are happy being a simple Buddhist nun." Visakha looked at Humphreys and both laughed. "You meant if I have achieved Nirvana, the eternal bliss, no I have not." She smiled: "I am happy and peaceful the way I am – no complains, no regrets, no blaming, no cursing. Like yourself, many wonder about such questions – for them having many gadgets, power, privilege, possessions are the answers to everything. For us, staying calm and temptation free in a sublime state of mind in meditation discipline are the answers. Nirvana will come, when I am totally ready for it – it may or may not in this lifetime. One may say that - perhaps I am in the stream - Sotapanna, the word Buddha used to indicate individuals who are in the Right Path to enlightenment." Humphreys vowed respecting Visakha’s wisdom and peaceful conviction, then changed the conversation and said: "If I may, can I offer you something." So saying, he took an apple from his pocket and offered. Visakha: "Such a kind gesture of you to offer. But, I can only accept if you have enough for yourself." Humphreys took the other apple from his pocket to convince Vishaka. Vishaka looked beyond into the horizon doing Namaskara from forehead, through the nose to her heart. And she did accept the offer with folded hands. Visakha: "I do not have anything to offer you in return. But, we monks and nuns usually bless the donors by offering certain gifts of words to make them happy." Humphreys was delighted. That was exactly what he was hoping for, saying: "That sounds very good. That is what I need – the gift of some kind words – a healthy food for my mind." . . . 2. Neither Aggressive Nor Passive They walked to a bench and sat. Humphreys: "I have few questions in my mind. We see Buddhist monks and nuns very rarely. There are perhaps many Buddhists in the world than what we know, but it is hard to recognize them as such. Because, Buddhists do not have name, dress or food codes – not even have designated regular prayer congregation days like we do – except monks and nuns who have shaved head and dress in a certain ancient way. Perhaps, that is the reason why Buddhist population is so underestimated in the prevalent method of generating statistics." Visakha: "You have observed right. We are not loud like others. Our emphasis is on mind - the universe of mind, saying, for example, that an evil or unwholesome thought process cannot be changed by remaining faithful to the compliance of certain codes - unless the mind is trained to remain calm and pure. Because of the absence of loud practices, perhaps general establishment and media tend not to see us, even ignore us. Perhaps such seats of power do not consider us important for vote-counts – for their political power. We are non-dogmatic and tolerant – not rigid like others. You can say that the Dharma is wide-perspective Relativist; as opposed to the Absolutist singular perspective view of others. That is how the Buddha wanted it." Humphreys: "I agree with you about politics. But, ignore you! Buddhism is not weak. Is it?" Visakha: "On the contrary, Buddha Dharma is very powerful – but perhaps not in the conventional understanding of the term, which is primarily assessed in fire power or power of the sword. We are neither aggressive nor passive – we cultivate and depend on our own strength without seeking help from imaginary beings. That does not mean we are aloof from the society – the Dharma says that when one is wholesome – it translates to the family, to society, to the state. And, in doing so, we pursue the Middle Way – with the Buddha’s blessing in our mind. We value happiness, stability and harmony more than anything else. From childhood, we are taught to remain calm, and to be respectful to others. I reckon this way of Buddhist life may give an impression of weakness in some people’s mind. But, let us not forget that the Dharma gave birth to some earliest universities in the world, with the Buddha laying the foundation of systematic scientific way of thinking for the first time in history. Everything he taught was not merely a line or series of lines – but was justified in numerous scriptural texts." Humphreys: "That is so refreshing to hear. It is disappointing for us that we are ignorant of Buddha’s wisdom. I remember from my old days, only half a page was written on Buddhism in high school text books – even then they were described as part of Hinduism. While such a bias was there, other religions got wide coverage." Humphreys continued: "I noticed that you continue to use Buddha Dharma while talking. Let us use that term – the Dharma. Yes, the Dharma is neither ‘pessimistic’ nor ‘escapist’. In the West, we are often not respectful to terms akin to other cultures, are we not? Instead we tend to impose our own definitions on others – giving the impression of a dictatorial tone." Visakha: "I am glad that you have realized the sensitiveness. About the school text, I do not know about it, as I did not go to school here. But, heard similar stories from others. The Dharma was born as a quest for wisdom and happiness in the midst of Sanatana Dharma practices, which came to be known as Hinduism (a conglomerate of many different beliefs and worships) at a later time. The Dharma was a revolution – with the Buddha’s enlightened message – telling all to have confidence in their own abilities to find peace and happiness in life. The Buddha was very meticulous in selecting the places for his delivery of the Dharma Discourses, and he articulated the delivery to suit the understanding aptitude of the audience. For delivering his first discourse to his five former disciples after Buddhahood – he selected the tranquil Deer Park at Sarnath in an apparent move to avoid the hustle-bustle ritualistic bathing crowd of Varanasi. Deer and other wild living beings occupy an important position in the Dharma – with these lives coming fearless to the compassionate Buddha – protecting and venerating him. Stories of elephant herd, snake king and monkey king – protecting and venerating the Buddha – occupy an important position in the Buddhist Scripture. Thus, wild life welfare and protection is part of the Buddha Dharma – which was put into practice by none other than Emperor Ashoka, the Great in the 3rd century BCE. In many ways it transformed the post-Buddha Sanatana Dharma – which included and adopted many Buddhist terms and ideas – labeling them as part of Hinduism. So, there is no ground to assume that the Dharma is part of Hinduism." Humphreys: "Hmm! Yes, the selection of places, subject and audience is clear - like the Buddha selecting the wide horizon of Vulture Peak in Rajgir to deliver the Lotus Sutra. I can imagine during the time of the Buddha – many people must have been angered by the Buddha saying something totally different, that has never been heard before. Even now, people react very angrily and hatefully when someone tells something different than their faith. The Buddha was able to get over all such obstacles – by his charismatic way of saying to stay calm – essentially telling all to empty the mind of inclinations and prejudices before moving on – by his love and compassion for all living beings. His deep confidence and authority in the universality of Truths he discovered must have been his great strength and power. Each word and phrase he has chosen - each symbol, metaphor and hand gesture he has formulated - each Sutra he delivered - is thoughtful and meticulous sweetened by his love and compassion for all lives. In the Lotus Sutra, Buddha made his method of teaching very clear to all of his top disciples. Teach with delftness, odes, metaphors, stories and parables in a room of compassion, adapting to the learning ability of the attendance, he said. Imagine such a saying - how could it come from a person two and a half millennia ago? How could one contradict such a brilliant saying? Is not it the all-time truth?" Visakha: "Very well said! You see, the Dharma came under attack in multiple times in history. Yet, it prevailed with Buddhist Dynasties ruling over the Indian subcontinent for about 2 millennia in one way or another. Unlike others, Buddhist dynasties did not destroy and eradicate other faiths during their rule – but this tolerant stand of the Dharma was not honored by others. In China also there were some ups and downs, but the Dharma was dominant in shaping Chinese way-of-living and culture. Chinese people do not see contradictions – in visiting different faith temples in one go, from one to the other – for that matter in other countries of East Asia. It is not like the Western concept of religious rigidity. Chinese believe that the Second Emperor’s dream of a golden Buddha image – was an auspicious sign that the Buddha wanted to come to China to bless the Chinese society. And they did accept and honored him in a profound way – including transmitting the Dharma to Japan, Korea, Vietnam and other places. There are no instances in history, where monks and pilgrimage travelers were sent to the west to look for and bring back original Buddhist texts for the benefit of Chinese society. And it is because of these dedicated traveling monks – of their detailed travel records – that we know now the extent of the Dharma – and the existence of so many temples and monasteries all over Central Asia and the Indian Subcontinent." Humphreys: "Ah, no wonder, China’s long lasting civilization and prosperity are so awe inspiring around the world. Do you think the internal and external pressures in China can hurt the cause of the Dharma?" Visakha: "Nearly two millennia of the Dharma in China as the dominant religion – is more than long enough to make the Dharma the national identity of China – for that matter of Japan and Korea. So much so that people identify the Dharma as Chinese, Japanese or Korean Buddhism – as well as the Dharma in Tibet and beyond as Tibetan Buddhism. In fact, it was the Chinese, Japanese and Korean Diaspora who brought the Dharma to the West in the early periods of immigration. Denying one’s tradition, glorious past, culture and identity – is like denying oneself. I can only hope that calmness prevails – and that such denials under internal and external pressures – would not happen." Humphreys: "Thank you, that is an impressive answer. I concur with you, unlike others, that rode on the power of conquests, the Dharma propagation was mostly diffusive in nature – it was the people, monks and traders – who took the Dharma with them to distant lands and cultures. Adoption and adaptation by the seats of power – followed the popular appeal. Adaptation is important, as the Buddha said, 'Be a Light Unto Yourself'. On the pressure question, yes, if such denial happens – there would be nothing left in the nation’s identity, culture and glory. Would it not? I am curious to know why attacks on the Dharma were there in the past." Visakha: "I do not have definite answers. There could be multiple factors – weaknesses of Buddhist leaders vis-à-vis rising strengths of other powers is just one of them. The uniqueness and straightforwardness of the Dharma relying on the kaleidoscope of transience and interdependence that we all experience – was perhaps too much beyond the norm of conventional religions that depend on worshipping imaginary beings. Therefore, it is not unlikely that the Dharma caused ire in priestly class interests of other religions. Also, one needs to realize that sometimes the Truth of Sublimities is taken over by quick fixes of greed, ignorance, arrogance, anger and hatred. We, the Buddhist communities must also be honest with ourselves – in examining our institutional and organizational structures – in identification of weaknesses – to find ways to augment and reinforce our strengths." Humphreys: "I totally agree. Perhaps, faiths and religions are not as strong as they used to be – people just use them as a label. This labeling of oneself to certain faiths – without understanding and following the core values can be very unhealthy and dangerous." Visakha: "I Agree. I earnestly believe that true believers of any religion are very sweet and humble – and all such true believers of different faiths are close friends." Humphreys: "Can you briefly outline the implications of the two universal Dharma Laws the Buddha discovered." Visakha smiled: "There are many implications, if one deeply thinks about them. Let me try to touch upon two of them. The implications of both the laws become clearer in considerations of long-term sustainability perspectives. The first law (symbolized as an incomplete circle) saying that nothing is permanent in this world – implies the rationale for and the necessity of scaling and resilience as the wheel of time rolls on. Anything or anyone that contradicts this law – and do not respond to what it implies – could be in trouble in one way or another in the long run. The second law (symbolized as an eternal knot) saying that nothing exists on its own accord, all are interdependent – implies that for achieving societal peace and harmony – a collaborative effort is necessary – in order to bring everyone to the same plane of righteousness and progress. Otherwise, things will likely to veer towards the wrong direction – because those who are left out – will bring down things eventually. The law of interdependence with the rationale for collaborativeness further implies that - within each individual, there is an element of imperfection. This realization must make us humble and conceit-free." . . . 3. Prayer and Devotion Humphreys: "I noticed when I offered the apple; you looked into the horizon with your folded hand moving from forehead level to the heart. What does that mean?" Visakha: "We do that while praying to Buddha as well as looking beyond everything. The three areas of touch are – forehead cherishing wisdom, breathing area of nose cherishing life and positive energy, and the level of heart cherishing Metta and compassion. And while greeting and receiving we humbly do so with Namaskara mudra at the level our heart - this is one of 12 hand gestures in the Dharma." Humphreys: "When you say, you are praying, what does that mean? Because my understanding is that the Dharma does not have God, gods or goddesses like many of us do." Visakha: "When talking about different religions, we should do so with respect. All people look for happiness, comfort and hope – and strengthen these aspirations by believing in something spiritual, whatever that is. Devotion appeals differently to different people – some are taken over more by it than others. All religions have some form of devotional aspects in their scripture." Humphreys: "Yes, that whatever is called religion. I could not agree more, we all need to respect one another. But, unquestioning devotion has been and is being exploited by some for profit and corruption. Some devotional zealotry even goes to the extent of believing that past atrocities – like slavery, colonization, and prejudices – and somewhat different modern preferential social treatments, but executed in similar veins – are the acts and dictations of God, gods and goddesses. Therefore to these over-zealous trusting individuals – one must not question such atrocities, but oblige and live by them." Visakha: "I agree, unquestioning devotion opens the door to unscrupulous elements to creep in – who take advantage of, and cheat trusting individuals. One should also realize that - devotion gave birth to many festivals and fairs of joyous celebration in different cultures - with its beneficial elements of giving a boost to peoples' well-being and cultural cohesion. At the same time, the trend nowadays is that - some young people have begun to question their faith, customs and traditions – which in my opinion is a good sign to filtration of such practices. It is important for them to make the right choice – by not drifting into many unwholesome influences, distractions and lures – that are out there. Many customs and traditions were formulated by our ancestors for the good of harmonious living. They have served the purpose of time. Now things are changing rapidly." Humphreys: "I am so glad to hear that from a Buddhist nun." Vishaka: "Buddhist nuns and monks are, in many ways, different from other priestly classes. Because we do not work as an intermediary between humans and supernatural beings, nor do we put pressure on lay people to pray and obey in order to avoid punishment. True, we perform certain rituals to rise to the occasions on popular demand. But our role is to impart Buddha’s wisdom and compassion – which among others, include chanting of Mahamangala Sutta (well-being), Metta Sutta (loving kindness) and Sigalovada Sutta (righteous way of life). None of these Suttas have any element to worship supernatural beings – they all focus on how to remain wholesome in life’s pursuits." Visakha continued: "Coming back to your question, when I said praying, I was actually paying homage and taking refuge in the teachings of the Buddha. We do not have any supernatural beings in our vocabulary that can dictate and provide salvation to us when prayed. Although I am using the word 'supernatural' to describe the invisible beings following the age-old common practice, in Buddhism such beings are not 'supernatural' at all - because they are part of and are governed by the Fundamental Laws of Nature - like all of us. Common references describe them as gods, goddesses and demons in different planes of existence. In modern times, they are often interpreted as invisible energy fields – multiples, positive and negative. Subjected to such laws, they are also unhappy like every other creatures – oftentimes succumbing to unwholesome practices, convictions and influences. Myths and folklores in different cultures are a testimony to that. Fictionalized in many exaggerations and creative colors by priestly class to invoke devotion – the practices gave birth to many religions. The compassionate Buddha says that, these beings wherever they are – also need help to liberate themselves from the difficulties of life – miseries and suffering. And the Buddha invites all to listen to the Saccha Bachana – the Words of Truth he delivered – to open their own wisdom eye." . . . 4. The Dharma in Kaleidoscope Humphreys: "I wonder how the Dharma nearly disappeared from parts of Europe, Central and West Asia, all the way to major parts of India." Visakha: "Let us talk about it in the spirit of historical context. Things have changed; now there are hardly any countries in the world that do not honor multi-cultures. All of us, should have an open mind to appreciate it – because it is healthy and beneficial. Only things that are needed, more than anything else, are: mutual respect and understanding, tolerance and not trying to infringe on other religions in attempts to convert under any pretext." Humphreys smiled: "Wow! You are so careful. Yes, apart from one’s thoughtful volitional choice – conversions that results from high emotional attachments, coercion or force should not be encouraged. Hope all of us would pursue this kind of mental attitude toward one another. The world is a very big place for many to co-exist together in true tolerance, peace and harmony. Is it not?" Visakha: "It is. It would even be bigger if staying calm define us – if we let wisdom, love and compassion govern our thought processes and actions. Coming back to your question, I think what was a gain for Christianity during the Crusades was a loss to the Dharma. Because, after losing the Crusades, battle-hardened Muslim invaders turned their attention to the East. This becomes clear if one notes the timeline of the Crusade – that covered a long period of 2 centuries from near the end of the 11th century to the middle of the 13th century. Near the finishing years of this war, during the process of retreating from Europe – the first Eastward major campaign was launched by Turko-Afghan invader Bakhtiyar Khalji (1150 -1206). Buddhist dynasties were overwhelmed by the encounter, and conquests resulted in the destruction of Buddhist institutions including many earliest universities. Fear of life, torture and persecution spread like wildfire and led to mass conversions. High concentration of Muslim populations in previously held Buddhist majority regions is a testimony to that. One can imagine that – during the initial stages of forceful conversion campaign, the converted people practiced their earlier religion privately and secretly. Remnants of this can still be seen in areas of the Indian Subcontinent – where abandoned Bouddher Mokhan, Rauili Vita and temple ruins still exist in some places. Although many have been destroyed, and in the process of new encroachment – some survived the Wheel of Time. For tourism and educational developments – Gov Archaeological Departments under UNESCO patronage have been excavating and restoring some of the great temple and Mahavihara/University establishments. It is said that some Buddhist monks, who managed to flee to remote areas to avoid killing and disrobing – resorted to secular singing of love, compassion and unity in disguise. Perhaps, songs and lifestyles of Baul Fakirs and Sufis – conveyed such traces of lives of these monks." Humphreys: "Perhaps Muslims learned it from Christian rulers. Because, wherever Christianity went, in Europe and in most colonies around the world, they totally wiped out the existing traditional cultures and beliefs, converting people en-masse. Embolden by the Crusade outcome – Jesuit priests were traveling all over sailing on board the colonial ships with a mission to convert people. In the instance of the Himalayan ‘Lost Kingdom of Guge’ in the early 17th century they took advantage of a rift between two ruling brothers. They almost became successful – but it was the Ladakhi Buddhist kingdom that saved Guge and the greater Tibet from being converted to Christianity. Greek and Roman traditions extending all the way to Egypt - including the adoption of a variant of ancient Egyptian symbol of 'Ankh' as the trademark symbol of Christian Cross - are considered by the West as the foundation of their civilization – but they never condemn or regret what was done to those cultures and beliefs. Nor, they ever appreciate and recognize the enrichment of their culture by Eastern thoughts and infusions." Humphreys continued: "Why do you think, Buddhists were the targets of conversion, while Hindus perhaps escaped the wrath." Visakha: "Both were impacted. But, Muslims were more familiar with the Dharma. They developed more antagonism towards it, when they faced resistance to their invasion before coming to the door steps of India. It is also said that high caste Hindus cooperated to spare them of conversion – instead led the invaders toward Buddhists. Hindu Brahmins always had anger toward the Dharma, because the Buddha condemned the Hindu caste-based discriminatory system – and ordained low castes into the Sangha. Being born in a upper-echelon Kshatrya class and a royal family - the Brahmins expected that the Buddha would endorse and promote the caste-system, rituals, pujas, and animal sacrifices worshipping many multitudes of imagnary deva and devis (including the rogue ones like Shani and Kali). Such practices have deep roots in Sanatana Dhamma Hindu practices. When that did not happen and the Buddha was telling something different - the Brahmins and Shamans started to develop antagonism towards the Buddha's teaching. Further on Buddhist ordination, it also included women, which was, and still is unthinkable to the Brahminic priestly class. To be in line with one God belief, they even invented the concept of ‘Ishwara’ – as part of Hinduism." Humphreys: "Ah that explains why the Dharma adherents were targeted. It is also possible that during the invasion, there were no powerful Buddhist dynasties for protection. Therefore, Buddhist populace was very vulnerable – and just succumbed to the threat. But, this vulnerability is no excuse to wipe out the Dharma." Humphreys continued: "I think, not including women in priestly class is also the norm in Islam. It is only in Christianity where women were allowed – seems like borrowing this and other ideals including the teaching of Love and Compassion - and the idea of monastic communities from the Dharma." Visakha: "Role of woman is highly lauded in the Dharma. Apart from what we talked about – there was an instance where the Buddha assured a lamenting king that a princess might prove more worthy than a prince. The 15-year reign of Empress Wu Zetian (624 – 705 CE) during the illustrious Tang Dynasty (618 – 907 CE) – the only one Empress in the Chinese Dynastic history – was made possible by the active support of Buddhist monks – while Taoist and Confucius clergies vehemently opposed such a move. One cannot escape noting that – the roles of women are very significant in Buddha Dharma development. It took root during the Buddha’s time. The names of Buddha’s aunt Mahaprajapati who was the Buddha’s first ordained nun, Sujata, Vishaka, Amrapali and Nanda were penned down in the Dharma scripture. The Dharma proliferation in Tibet benefited from the pursuance of a King’s two wives – the Nepali and the Chinese Buddhist princesses. In modern times – the dedications of many nuns and women are instrumental in Dharma growth and propagation. The inspiration has its place in the Filial Piety Sutra – where the Buddha said, a mother’s love and care are some of the key factors in a person’s life and happiness. A child’s smile and happy face on the lap of a mother – is the most precious thing in the world – nothing compares to it." Humphreys: "I remember reading somewhere that British Magistrates working in Southeast Asia – noted in their official diaries – that they were surprised by the work habits and status of women in Buddhist majority countries. They were surprised because they did not see as such – in Muslim and Hindu majority countries, even not so much in Europe. They also commented about Chinese women who were subjected to low status in Confucius teaching. These observations indicate that Buddhist monastic communities remained engaged with lay people to contribute to improving their life." . . . 5. The Ways Humphreys continued: "Can you tell me how the beliefs of many gods and goddesses in many ancient cultures gave birth to one God in some religions. I am not talking about the term 'God' people use as kind of a phrase to mean all different things in everyday conversations." Visakha: "I am not an expert on this to clearly answer your question. Here are my thoughts. First, one has to realize that the existence of one or multiple supernatural beings lies in people’s mind – if one believes, it is there. If one does not believe, nothing is there. It is somewhat similar like the various media platforms, if one reads or sees things presented there – it is with him or her. If one does not do so, nothing is there. And, those who do so, are affected by the contents – those who do not, remain free from such effects." Humphreys: "Hmm, the delusion and the parallel you described have made things so clear." Visakha continued: "All major religions that survived the wheel of time – have originated in Asia. To that extent Asia was like a fountain of spirituality and philosophy. One can distinguish three regions – the West Asia, the Middle South Asia, and East Asia. Of these, the Middle South Asia and East Asia were the lands of abundance in relative terms. The West Asia, on the other hand was the lands of arid climate." Humphreys: "I am surprised, but glad that you used the term ‘West Asia’ to refer to the geographical region commonly known as the ‘Middle East’. It is amazing how the power of our media and other institutional establishments could easily distort geographical facts and names – by coining terms to their liking and advantage – and the rest of world just follows them without questioning. There have been talks that such a distorted thinking began when the ‘Light of Asia’ referring to the Buddha – was published by Edwin Arnold (1832 – 1904) in 1879. The popularity of this book angered the establishment – with them wanting to exclude the birthplace of their religion from any reference to Asia. They virtually coerced Arnold to write a book, published in 1891: ‘The Light of the World’ referring to Jesus. But, unlike the ‘Light of Asia’ this book failed to attract popular attention. This further prompted the thinkers to eliminate any reference to Asia from the religions originated in the western part of Asia. The thinking resulted in a new definition and naming of the region as ‘Middle East’ by American naval strategist AT Mahan (1840 – 1914) in 1902. Since then, the name was popularized and ingrained in people’s mind through all sorts of information campaign and definition of terms." Humphreys took a pause and continued, "With that, I think I know where you are heading. Please continue." Visakha: "Thanks for enlightening me. I knew nothing about this background, but was just using the logical names of different geographical regions. Here are my thoughts. In all cultures, the so-called Shamanic beliefs were the earliest of all religions. Fear, superstition, and magic – were the bases of these beliefs that relied upon folklores and myths. And for obedience, profit and compliance – the priestly class riding on the wagon of ruling seats of governance - institutionalized different imaginary beings on to the citadel of power. These beings were portrayed as gods and goddesses who could cause havoc when angry and upset – and can bestow favor when worshipped. These grass-root beliefs metamorphosed into Greek-Roman beliefs in southern Europe, Hinduism in India, Taoism in China and Shinto belief system in Japan – again highly dependent on the power of imaginary beings. These religions, in proper sense of the word, do not have a single founder – except perhaps Taoism. There appeared a necessity in history to see things differently – and birth of the Buddha in India – happened out of that necessity. This tells us that the Dharma was the first in history to chart a new and different way of spirituality and social living for the benefit of mankind." Humphreys: "Yes, a rational and enlightened way - yet very practical and relevant in everyday life. And the concept of one God?" Visakha: "The prevailing social structure in the arid regions were mostly of poverty and tribalism – again with the prevalence of widespread Shamanic beliefs. Catering to many gods and goddesses was too confusing to them, and tribal societies were vulnerable to fragmentation with prevalence of so many supernatural beings controlling their lives. So, to bind tribals to one nation, the leaders focused on one supernatural being that only works for them – thus the idea of one tribal-nation God was born. Judaism led the way – and later religions in that region – Christianity and Islam basically adopted that concept, defining their own God. Thus, the first standardization of spirituality, if you will, was born there – by prescribing rigid codes of compliance for their religious way of life. The later offshoot of Christianity – the Protestant movement in Britain further standardized the belief." Humphreys: "Wow! It is such a reasonable explanation. We never thought in that line. So, this idea of one God and the compliance codification of practices in West Asia resulted from a sense of insecurity, is it not? The resulting concept was described as the Covenant between those cultures and God. The priestly ruling class was institutionalized as Lord Shepherd – and the status of people was reduced to that of docile lambs or sheep. This is, perhaps one of the reasons why words like 'punish' and 'punishment' are so much used in texts, rhetorics and propaganda - saying as if someone or someones of the Shepherd Club are watching to inflict damages as a punishment for disobedience. It is interesting, while Christianity sees humans as Sinners, the Buddha said something different – that humans have all the powers to rise above – like the Lotus that grow out of mud onto the air and to sunshine." Humphreys continued: "Also, it is hard not to notice that some words like ‘blasphemy’, ‘infidel’, 'kafir' and ‘idolatry’ do not exist in the religions originated in the lands of abundance. These words – resulted from insecurity – are like a veil putting a lid on people's freedom of thinking. They are basically saying ‘you are either with us or against us’ – thus posing a challenge and threat to people who have reasons to disagree. I can imagine that such terms appeared in the scriptures of these religions – to prevent people from drifting toward the Shamanic practices. Countless innocent people were victimized and killed just because of those terms. Among the three religions originated in West Asia, Judaism and Islamic founders were rulers; it was only Jesus who was like the Buddha, not interested in material powers but seeking something of a different kind to enlighten all. It is also interesting to note that the Commandments like ‘Thou shalt have no other . . .’ or ‘Thou shalt not . . .’ come as Orders to the adherents of religions originated in West Asia. Wouldn’t you say that such Orders invoke inferiority complex and fears among the adherents – virtually instigating them to be violent to others – to resorting to defiance as an escape. In contrast, no such Orders exist in religions originated in the Lands of Abundance. In the Buddhist Five Precepts, the adherents – upon recognizing the harmful effects of unwholesome practices, choose to say, ‘I have learned and vow not to . . .’ Scriptures of West Asia religions are termed as ‘Holy’. This word is not used by our system for the beliefs – that are born in the lands of abundance. In your opinion, why was that?" Visakha: "Reference to ‘Holy’ says that every word in the scripture is sacred and must not be questioned, but be obeyed. If someone questions, he or she may be accused of ‘blasphemy’. In Buddha Dharma, we refer to our scripture ‘Tripitaka’ as ‘Pabitra’ or Pure. We revere it as sacred too, but there are also rooms to respectfully debate the teaching in order to understand it better – to clarify and interpret it in accordance with changes in space and time. You must have noticed that ideas and principles are understood differently by different people – it all depends on one’s intellect – and on open or closed mind set. Therefore questioning, debates and discussions are very important for clarification and enlightenment. The Dharma in East Asia and in Tibet, Himalayan countries and North Asia – has gone through cultural adaptation according to their needs. They differ in some aspects from the earlier teachings that prevail in South and Southeast Asia – although core teachings are not different. Perhaps the Dharma in the Western countries may also see cultural adaptation of some sort in the future." Vishaka continued: “About the Jesus connection to the Buddha Dharma, there have been some investigations, research and published papers on it. Even a book was published about it – claiming that Jesus got training and was an ordained Buddhist monk. In the East, they talk about it quite a lot. It is not unlikely – because Emperor Ashoka’s Buddhist emissary to different parts of the world predates the birth of Jesus by more than 2 centuries. Young Jesus must have developed an interest to learn more about the Dharma and traveled to the East. Many similarities we talked about – including the way of his teaching is a testimony to that. It is possible that his monastic way of lifestyle and any reference to Buddha were expunged by the Christian scripture writers – perhaps vowing to the pressure of the ruling seats of power. Instead, Judaism elements were woven into the scripture – to give the impression that Christianity is just another offshoot of this faith.” Humphreys: "Ah it makes sense. Does it not? As always occurred in people’s minds – thanks to Emperor Ashoka’s vision and effort – many ancient thoughts have been influenced in one way or another – by the teachings of the Great Teacher. It makes things happy when we come to know that long long ago East met the West. About the scripture, regrettably our establishment is not respectful enough and does not use ‘Pabitra’ to refer to Buddhist scripture. The Dharma is not rigid, but has the fundamental elements of Natural Laws of Impermanence and Dependent-origination that define everything." . . . 6. NIRVANA and The Truths Humphreys continued: "Where does Nirvana stand on this?" Visakha: "Before answering what Nirvana is, let me briefly elaborate the prayer loop I am using – because it has significance to understanding Nirvana. The door to achieving Nirvana opens up when all temptations arising through the processes of Five Aggregates are controlled to an elimination level at which they flower into a sublime abode of Metta – encompassing all living beings and the environment in loving sprinkle. One’s temptation arises from 6 senses: seeing, listening, smelling, touching, tasting and mental processes – with their many qualifications and attributes – the 3 arising: unpleasant, pleasant, and neutral, from 2 sources: external, and internal in the 3 states of processes: past, present, and future. When one multiplies these 4 sets of numbers, it gives rise to a total of 108 different temptations. The first three sets of numbers yield the 36-streams of craving. This description of the processes to achieving Nirvana – the eternal bliss – has given rise to 108 as the sacred number in popular Dharma. In one of the meditation practices – in the process of flipping the 108 prayer beads – the 9 Attributes of the Buddha are repeated 12 times (108 = 9 x 12). This practice of repeating represents the 12 links of Dependent-origination – the Eternal Knot. By doing this – the practitioner meditates on Buddha’s triumph over temptations in untying the knots – in attaining the Eternal Bliss. These are the reasons why meditation and prayer loops are usually adorned with 108 beads. And, as you know, a staggering number 84,000 is also associated with the Buddha's teaching. It is mentioned in the Buddhist scripture Theragata - where quoting most Ven Ananda (Buddha's cousin, assistant and constant companion) - it is said that he learned 82,000 different elements of teaching directly from the Buddha, and another 2,000 from the Buddha's top disciples." Humphreys: "Ah yes, defining mind as the sixth sense is unique in the Buddha’s teaching. Thanks for explaining the rational bases of the numbers. Many people are not knowledgeable about them. Apart from what you have mentioned – the sequence of 108 also represents, 1 (Completed Circularity, Stillness or Eternal Bliss), 0 (Emptiness) and 8 (Noble Eightfold Path). It is also said that the Buddha had 108 auspicious signs in his body. Number 8 is also indicative of Ashtamangala or Eight Auspicious Signs of Buddha Dharma (Parasol, Pair of Golden Fish, Conch, Treasure Vase, Lotus, Eternal Knot, Victory Banner or Dhvaja, and Dharmachakra). As well, number 108 has often been interpreted as the Nature’s Secret Code – a sacred number in many religions and traditions dating back to ancient times – including its significance in astronomy, philosophy and mathematics." Visakha continued: "It is great to know more about the significance of Number 108. Coming back, when one is able to empty the mind of all the temptations for good, one is totally liberated and reaches a state of eternal sublime bliss, called Nirvana. It’s a rarely achievable stage where reversibility of processes becomes irreversible – by conquering the Samsara Wheel. At Nirvana – there is no cause, no arising, no birth, no decaying, no demise and no rebirth – everything is in complete balance without residuals – in the eternal tranquility of universal unity. One can imagine Nirvana like a rarely existing expanse of still and tranquil clear water in perfect equilibrium – as opposed to the ubiquitous prevalence of agitated water of action-reaction – sometimes covered with moss and dirt – in continuous motion searching for ways to reach equilibrium. The intertwined duality of the opposites – the Yin-Yang – the Wabi-Sabi – is the Dharma characteristic depiction of the nature of things - imperfection, asymmetry and incompletion – the universal driver of all existence – in transience, unhappiness and emptiness." Humphreys: "Thank you, such a clear explanation - how the Duality in all existence melts into the tranquility of Unity in Nirvana! By this unprecedented attainment of the Eternal Bliss – the Buddha was victorious in Completing the Circle – in untying the Eternal Knot. What are the Five Aggregates?" Visakha: "The Dharma says that our thought processes, speech or talks, actions and reactions happen through a very systematic process – the processes of Five Aggregates. The five, from arising to fruition, are: Matter → Sensation → Name and Form Perception → Conditioning of Mental Formation → and finally to Consciousness or Chitta. Matter consists of the elements of solidity, fluidity, heat, wind, and the 5 body senses. The quality and multitude of the conscious experiences of the object thus developed – depend on the sphere of influences from where they originate: the unwholesomeness of matter – the wholesomeness of matter – and the Immatter sixth-sense. The role of cognition and some concomitant factors of the Chitta – comes in next to contribute to the development of awareness of the object. The nature of the awareness is governed by the Fundamental Laws of Nature: Impermanence and Interdependence; by the Subject ↔ Object and the Causes ↔ Conditions relationships. When consciousness turns into awareness - an individual's karmic cycle of actions-reactions begins. They are manifested in four ways: in thought processes, in communications like speech, talks and writing, in bodily-actions or gestures, and in livelihoods." Humphreys: "Very clear! I have those questions in my mind for long. Ah! the thought processes are part of karmic actions-reactions in the Dharma. This is unique and unlike any other beliefs." While talking, both walked to a bench closed to the lake. Humphreys initiated another conversation: "Unlike others, Buddha gave power to individuals for their own liberation." Visakha: "You are right. The Four Noble Truths are very clear on that. The First Truth says that, for all different reasons including Natural causes, the reality of unhappiness, sorrow or suffering is a prevailing impression in human mind. That life’s experiences are scarred with many episodes of difficult times – and this experience is ubiquitous – irrespective of who we are – rich, poor, young, old, etc. etc. Because of this ubiquitous experience as identified in the First Truth - the Dharma is developed as a quest for happiness. The second says, the cause of this reality can be traced to ignorance. This Second Truth is the reason why the Dharma stresses so much on the light of Wisdom to overcome the darkness of ignorance. The Third Truth says that humans must be confident that they have all the strengths and capabilities to liberate themselves from the cobweb of unhappiness. No references to or worshipping God, gods or goddesses for one’s salvation are made. This Truth is one more rationale for the Buddha to declare the non-existence of any pre-ordained rigid soul in an individual. In the presence of such a rigid soul – an individual loses freedom and confidence of his or her capability – for example, to transform oneself from evil pursuits to good ones. In ancient Sanatana Dharma Hinduism practices – the concept of a rigid divine soul was used to establish - the caste-based discrimination - the superiority of Brahmins and inferiority of Dalits. The Fourth Truth lays down the Way to liberation – the Right or the Middle Way." Humphreys: "Can you elaborate Buddha’s discovery of the Middle Way, please. I have heard about the Noble Eightfold Path – as the Wheel of Dharma or the Wheel to Happiness. And all post-Buddha religions have 8 as a sacred number – indicating the influence of the Dharma far beyond its borders – far beyond than most of us know, or are told. It was perhaps the legacy of global Buddhist emissary pursuits of Mauryan Emperor Ashoka, the Great." Visakha: "The Middle Way – the Eight Interconnected Virtues leading to happiness can be grouped into three. The first as a way to achieving the Purity in View consists of: (1) Right Thought and (2) Right Understanding. The second as a way to achieving the Purity in Morality consists of: (3) Right Speech, (4) Right Action/Reaction and (5) Right Livelihood. The third as a way to achieving the Purity of Mind consists of: (6) Right Diligence, (7) Right Mindfulness, and (8) Right Meditation. As you see, the Way is a lucid direction to achieve harmony of mind and body." Humphreys: "Ah the Way of life is fully dependent on one’s conduct – without references to worshipping any supernatural being. Our conventional system of thinking does not hesitate to label it as atheist - without ever pointing out how rational and practical this way of life is - for harmonious peaceful living. Buddha used Right for each of the Virtues, which perhaps gave birth to the word, Righteousness. What are the reasons for that?" Visakha: "Right or perfect is stressed each time for at least two reasons. Right is emphasized as a necessity to deeply view things as they are – by maintaining the exact balance with neither being too tight nor too lax. Thus Right is interpreted as the Middle Way – as a way of balance, symmetry, stability and harmony. The Middle Way leads the duality of all existence to melt into the tranquility of non-duality or Unity, with the subject-object beocoming one. Right also means to traverse the Path in the Right Direction to become peaceful, happy and joyous – and to let others enjoy the same." Humphreys: "Enlightenment leads to all these aspects. Does it not?" Vishaka: "Yes. Enlightenment has seven elements (delivered in the Bojjhanga Sutta). That’s why 7 is considered a sacred number in popular Dharma." Humphreys: "What are these seven?" Vishaka: They are: "energy, investigation, equanimity, mindfulness, meditative concentration, joy and tranquility. Achieving enlightenment or Bodhi requires one to be calm to go beyond – utterly beyond in investigative zeal with energy. Mindfulness and meditative concentration are part of this process that must be conducted in joyful pursuit – only then the tranquility of Enlightenment is blessed. Note that joy is very important – because in a calm joyous mood, mind opens up to grasp things as they really are." Humphreys: "How Pagoda developed and evolved into different shapes in time?" Vishaka: "Buddhist system of installing Chatya came after the Mahaparinirvana of Buddha - as a monument of veneration and worship. Named as the Stupa - a dome-shaped earthen mound - it symbolizes an inverted Lotus Flower. An inverted Lotus Flower says that the open Lotus Flower Jewel, the Buddha is no more - instead his teachings and relics are preserved in the Lotus core. This dome shape - and its variant the peaked triangular shape - inspired the architecture of many different Buddhist and non-Buddhist religious and non-religious establishments and structures including doors, window arches, arched foot-bridges, etc. In time, it took the shapes of a bell, and of multi-storied pagodas with eaves and overhanging multi-layered roofs and Tibetan style pagodas. Buddhists usually circumambulate Stupa, Chatya, Chedi, Pagoda and other places of veneration in a clockwise fashion. The same is the practice with turning the prayer wheels. Clockwise direction represents aspiration for stability and harmony. A conch shell abound in Nature, is often cited as a metaphor - the shell structure spirals clockwise down to the core or the center of stability. A devotee usually repeats circumambulation procedure a few times – all depending on his or her available time and devotional Citta. There are several significant numbers one can choose: 1 (Unity or non-Duality); 2 (Duality); 3 (The Three Dharma Jewels); 4 (The Four Noble Truths); 5 (The Five Precepts or The Five Aggregates); 6 (The Six Pursuits to Perfection or The Six Dharma Virtues); 7 (The Seven Factors of Enlightenment); 8 (The Noble Eightfold Path); 9 (The Nine Golden Virtues of the Buddha); 10 (The Ten Pursuits to Perfection); and 12 (The Twelve Links of Dependent-origination). The Three Dharma Jewels are interpreted as - Buddha, Dharma and Sangha - and also as the Buddha Dharma Trilogy of Impermanence, Unsatisfactoriness and Non-self." Humphreys: "I read somewhere that the architecture of the multi-layered overhanging roof system of pagodas originated in Nepal - with its cultural adaptation by many East Asian countries. We distinctly know the names of the places worship for religions originated in West Asia: like Christian Church, Muslim Mosque and Jewish Synagogue. For religions originated in other parts of Asia - we know them by a single name 'temple'. Such an ignorant characterization causes confusion in people's mind." Vishaka: "You are right. I don't know why a single name 'temple' is used as a description for others, although there are distinct names for each religion; like Shinto Jinja, the house of Kami; Taoist Gong, the house Taoist deities; Hindu Mandir, the house of gods and goddesses. The Buddhist places of worship are very elaborate. The traditional Buddhist complexes usually consist of a Chatya or Pagoda, and Vihara. The Vihara houses the Buddha Ashan with one or more Buddha statues and images, prayer and meditation hall and separate living quarters for monsatic communities. The arrangement also includes a distinctive welcoming gate, lots of Buddhist symbolism, gardens, bell tower, drum tower, Buddha's life and Jataka story frescoes and paintings; and sometimes images of other mythical characters. All of these vary according to cultures - in extents and designs. Vihara complexes are usually conceived as a place of learning – an institute or university. Depending on the vision of the monk, the availability of resources in both space and finance – the vihara site is usually located in a calm secluded place covering a large area, yet within the reach of laypeople – to let them have a quiet time of peace in learning, praying and meditation. It is sort of a community center where elderly laypeople usually congregate in the evening. The tradition follows Buddha’s steps. Buddha was born in the Lumbini Garden, enlightened under a Bodhi Tree overlooking a river, and chose Deer Park to deliver his first Discourse. Most of his Sutras were delivered in the gardens of Venubana and Jetabana Vihara – including the Lotus Sutra delivery on the Rajgir hills Vulture Peak. Buddha’s vision is very clear – that a calm place in the surrounding of the beauty of Nature’s Wonders – is the ideal place for opening up the mind door to deep learning. And, like it is done in modern universities – persons of significant achievements and contributions in different fields of activities – are dignified in the vihara complex to inspire monks, nuns and laypeople." . . . 7. Meditation Humphreys: "Buddha laid emphasis on mind – as the forerunner of everything one does. We are only learning now what the Buddha said more 2.5 millennia ago – the mind-and-matter mutual nourishment and interdependence – in everything that we do – everything that defines us. Therefore training the mind through the systematic pursuits of meditation has become the central focus of the Dharma." Visakha: "You have touched upon a very crucial theme of the Dharma – it’s unlike any other faith. Buddha said, apart from Natural causes, a significant part of unhappiness has its root in our thought processes or mind. Therefore mindfulness and meditation are stressed so much in the Noble Eightfold Path. The benefits that one accrues from meditation practice are immeasurable." Humphreys: "Can you elaborate on meditation, please. You were on Metta meditation while walking." Visakha: "The purpose of meditation is to train the mind to be happy and let others become happy. A simple way to understand it is like this: as we cleanse our body to remain healthy – so do we need to keep our mind clean by emptying it – of unhealthy elements of unwholesome mental formations, delusion, and bad distractions and influences. Such requirements ask for mind training meditation pursuits to achieve a clean pure state of mind. What are achieved, can be identified as consisting of three: Emptying, Relaxation, Nourishment and Deep Realization of the Truths that lead the mind-and-body towards a mutually nourishing peaceful state of life. The pusuits have 3 stages. It starts with ‘Parikamma’ or preparatory stage – like freeing oneself from daily contingencies to totally immerse into the process. The ‘Upacara’ stage follows after that when Samma Sati or mindfulness is exercised by emptying the mind of all distractions and hindrances. This practice benefits the meditation practitioner’s life in multiple ways – he or she becomes relaxed because the mind is calmed – and starts to see things as they are. In the third stage, the ‘Appana’ the practitioner becomes one with the object of meditation. At this stage, the practitioner has two options to choose – the purpose of these two is to be happy." Humphreys: "What are these two options?" Visakha: "One is Samatha – or the Let Go Meditation. This type lets one to totally relax by freeing himself or herself from all sorts of attachments – including the emotional baggages that pull one down like arrogance, anger, hatred, jealousy and greed. Meditation by immersing into the four heavenly states of Metta, Karuna, Mudita and Upekka – belong to this group. The other is Vipassana – or the Why Meditation – letting one to be happy by knowing the Truths. In this type, meditative concentration is focused on an object to know the truth for its existence. The object can be any of Buddha’s teachings – we talked about, for example, the Four Noble Truths, Laws of Impermanence and Interdependence, Nirvana, etc." Humphreys: "I can imagine that such concentration is very useful not only in meditation perspective – but also in any investigation and research – like Einstein termed it as the mind experiment. In these two general types of meditation – where does Chan or Zen practice fit?" Visakha: "Chan and Zen represent an integration of these two types we talked about. They are very popular – and are a cultural adaptation that comes with the creation of different calm and disciplinary environment to facilitate meditation. The beauty and tranquility of Green and Rock Zen gardens in Japan is some of the awe inspiring environments. It also comes with the artistic design of different regular-use artifacts and tea ceremony – making Zen as a way of day-to-day life. Everything: like eating, talking, listening, working is done with the Zen spirit of mindful attention. Emptiness is one of the popular themes in Zen meditation. The Chan meditation also gave birth to the Martial Arts techniques at the Fabled Shaolin Monastery. This technique develops as an intuition out of total meditative concentration – that enables the practitioner to make fast and agile responses to aggression – to deter predators and rogues without using any weapon." Humphreys: "The reality of Emptiness attracts people widely in all walks of life. What is the easy explanation of this reality?" Visakha: "Emptiness or Sunyata is a logical conclusion of the Law of Dependent-origination. In simple terms – it says that if all are interdependent in transience, each entity by itself is Empty of Essence. It establishes the Buddha’s teaching – about the absence of desirable degree of happiness, and the absence of any pre-ordained soul as part of divinity in all of us. In the Dharma, soul is seen as the Bodhi – something wholesome – cumulative, transient and transformative. Bodhi is characterized by the six: tranquility, wisdom, malleability, wieldiness, proficiency and integrity. If one interprets it further together with the Law of Impermanence, one soon realizes that – space and time, the definition and entanglement of the two – also cannot exist independent of each other." Humphreys: "I have read that the concept of Sunyata gave birth to number ‘zero’ under the auspices of and works at the Nalanda University. Also an indication of Impermanence or incompleteness, what are the implications of the reality Emptiness?" Visakha: "Understanding the reality of Emptiness – makes one calm and patient, humble, keeping balance in the attachment of things, and in realization of the fluidity of our opinions and judgments as demonstrated by the observer-observed relationship. Bamboo is symbolized as the reality of Emptiness in the Dharma – it is hollow, empty, yet strong and upright. Its strength and stability is ensured by the interlinks of knots. One of the favorite places of the Buddha’s rainy season meditation retreat was the Bamboo Groove Monastery in Rajgir, Magadha." . . . 8. Bodhisattva Ideal and The Lotus Connection Humphreys: "How Bodhisattva ideal took root in the Sanskrit-tradition Northern and Eastern school of the Dharma." Visakha: "There are two aspects that define these schools of the Dharma. First, aspects of Buddha’s teaching – such as wisdom and compassion are manifested in the persons of some legendary enlightened monks of the past (may not have been historical figures) – who had been the champions of those aspects of Dharma. The compassion manifestation also took the form of a female image in some sects of popular Dharma. Such visualizations are considered important to remind Buddhists of their importance. In Bodhisattva ideal, again many legendary monks of the past dating back to the Buddha’s time – who were very advanced enlightened practitioner of the Dharma are honored. They devoted their life to impart the Dharma to others to help them find liberation. This ideal has led to the custom of taking Bodhisattva vow by many monks and nuns. Apart from this, as you know, the Dhammakaya of Shakyamuni Buddha is believed to live in Sukhavati - the highest realm in Buddhist cosmology - as the Amitabha Buddha." Humphreys: "Yes, the belief in Amitabha Buddha has given birth to the Pure Land Sect of the Dharma. The Arahant and Bodhisattva ideal is similar like Sainthood in Christianity." Visakha: "The buzzword among the Buddhist communities now is: one Buddha, one Dharma – many traditions. This theme is being promoted in many annual Buddhist conferences and congregations across the globe - in efforts to harmonize Pali and Sanskrit traditions of the Dharma." They started walking as Humphreys continued: "I am so fortunate to meet you and learned a lot about the Dharma. You made many things so clear – the compatibility and complementarity of the Dharma teaching. The Dharma taught by the Buddha more than 2.5 millennia ago – is still very relevant today – and the Truths have a timeless appeal. The Dharma will never become old. I have a final question on Lotus flower and its metaphorical importance in the Dharma. This flower has so much historical significance in many cultures. Yet, in the West, we always refer to it as ‘water lily’ – disregarding the Lotus name (this name is common, while local names in different languages differ. For Example, Padma in Pali and Sanskrit; and Pema in Himalayan languages; Lianhua in Chinese; Rotasu in Japanese; and Loteoseu in Korean; at least three countries – Sri Lanka, Vietnam and India – have enshrined Lotus as their national flower; Bangladesh's national flower is Shapla - a close cousin of Lotus) – as it is known and has such religious significance in large populations on the planet." Visakha continued: "You are so kind again. I too, feel very fortunate and learned a lot from you. We rarely come across highly knowledgeable people like you. As the Buddha said, the Dharma can best be realized by experience – it’s Ehipassiko, come and see for yourself Dharma. Teaching and discussion can only help somewhat – experience is the best teacher." She smiled: "About Lotus, yes, its significance is huge in the Dharma. Lotus flower had been used by the Buddha as a metaphor for Enlightenment. Like the Lotus plant growing in the mud surfaces on to the air and sunshine in full bloom – so is the potential for any one to bloom to find his or her own Bodhi. The process to enlightenment is like reaching the Lotus core of Mani or Jewel. A very important sutra - the Lotus Sutra occupies a significant position in Dharma teaching. The Ashoka Pillar represents a tall lotus plant stem – with the flower on the top showcasing different symbolism of the Buddha life and teaching. The Lotus Lantern Festival, an annual Parade in Seoul, South Korea – the Yeondeunghoe – celebrating the Buddha’s Birthday in April-May – is participated by all Koreans and enlisted as the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage. This is one of many festivals around the globe celebrating the Buddha’s Birth, Enlightenment and MahapariNirvana – including the spectacular Saga Dawa Festival in countries of Tibetan Buddha Dharma traditions." Humphreys: "There are many varieties of Lotus plants. Are there not?" Visakha: "Yes, there are. Among some 200 varieties, the two most familiar ones are: in one, the flower juts out of water on a long stem surround by pad leaves, in the other the flower with the pad floats slightly above the waterline. There are also different color varieties." Humphreys: "Since its sanctity status declared by the Buddha – it has been used by all religions in the lands of abundance. One can say that Lotus connects all the peoples of Middle South Asia, Southeast Asia, Himalayan countries and East Asia – all the way to southern Russia and Mongolia. Among the many outstanding Buddhist architectural masterpieces around the world – standing, rediscovered from ruins and rehabilitated as the world heritage sites - the 2nd century BCE Ajanta Caves in India, the Bagan in Myanmar, the Angkor Wat in Cambodia, the Longmen Grottoes in Luoyang, the ancient capital of 13 Chinese Dynasties - is Borobudur in Java Indonesia – that stands out as one of the greatest – in grandeur and magnificence." Visakha: "You have said it right. Statues, temple architecture, frescoes and wall carving – all have the Lotus motif in them – including in Mogul monuments in India." She smiled: "Yes, we, the large population on the face of planet Earth are connected by one single flower – the beautiful Lotus. Like the Buddha did at the closing of each of his teaching arrangement, let us finish by saying: Sabbe Sattva Shukinu Bhavantu – let all sentient beings be happy." . . . So, after exploring each other’s thought processes, Visakha and Humphreys parted – taking with them pleasant memories of enlightened discussions that will enrich their abilities to see things from wide perspectives. Visakha invited Humphreys to visit her modest nunnery sometime, to experience the Dharma in action – where meditation retreats are offered to interested individuals. Humphreys gladly accepted the offer and promised to go to the retreat sometime. . . . This is the 4th piece of the annual series I have posted on the Buddha Days. The Days, like today on 5 May 2023, mark the celebration, remembering and honoring Shakyamuni Buddha – His auspicious Birth, the Enlightenment, and the MahapariNirvana. A beautiful image of the lotus flower field with blossoms and buds adorns this piece (image credit: anon). The previous posted pieces on the Buddha Days were in: 16 May 2022 The Tathagata; 26 May 2021 the Enlightenment and 7 May 2020 Revisiting the Jataka Morals. On the eve of Vesak – the Buddha Day celebration, the current UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres (1949 - ) wrote . . . let us seize this moment of spiritual renewal, and honour Buddha’s wisdom by coming together as one, in solidarity, and shaping a better, more peaceful world for all people . . . Finally, I like to finish it with a remarkable few lines of wisdom from Ven. Nichidatsu Fujii (1885 – 1985) – the famous founder of World Peace Pagodas around the world: Civilisation is neither to have electric lights, nor airplanes, not to produce nuclear bombs. Civilisation is not to kill human beings, not to destroy things, nor to make war; Civilisation is to hold mutual affection and to respect each other. As one of the latest annual series celebrating the Vesak - The Way of Simplicity, Balance and Wisdom - was added on 22 May 2024. . . . Happy Vesak the Buddha Day!!! On this Auspicious Full-Moon Day on 5 May 2023 – let Metta touch everyone’s heart to bring Peace and Harmony across the Globe. Have a joyous life in Appamada – in conscientiousness, heedfulness and diligence – whenever – wherever – whatever . . . . . - by Dr. Dilip K. Barua, 5 May 2023  1. Staying Calm
Hold it there - to prepare to stay calm – to readying the forerunning mind By steadying, and emptying it – of what could be inclinations and prejudices Of what could be the negative emotions of anger, hatred and jealousy Of what could be the facets of high emotional attachments, Before setting the motion to turn on the thought processes Before launching the processes of saying, writing or doing things Before perceiving, interacting and decision making To help you see things deeply in the clarity of true perspectives In the light of wisdom, unselfishness and the sweetness of sublimities. To help you understand the damaging effects of clinging to The habit of seeing things through someone else lens Because, in doing so you will be sacrificing your freedom of choice The freedom of charting your own direction and pursuits, Do realize that such dependence – if the lens is dirty and ill-motivated Distracts and drags one down. Do take care to avoid being trapped into the lingering effects of Unwholesome mental formations: Delusion, restlessness, greed, conceit, envy, miserliness Worriedness and sadness, laziness or sloth, lethargicness, and doubt. . . . Hold it there – to be in the relaxed pure state of mind To understand the dynamics of observer-observed – subject-object relationship To be calm – to not make hasty opinion and judgment of others, To learn from – by reflecting on the rise and fall – and the birth and demise of: Life’s processes traversing all different phases from the start to where you are Life’s phases in the expanse of the traversed canvas Life’s steps and the left footprints. To realize that what you are at present – is what you have been in the past Conditioned by TIME and the society where you live in So understand, and be mindful at every step to create pleasant tomorrow To chart future directions By being conscientious, heedful and diligent By being creative to generate new steps to take By taking note of consequences of footprints they likely to cause. . . . See the light of wisdom that you are in different time What was in the past – may mean different to different people Examine traditions and customs passed down through generations To filter and learn that some proudly withstood the tests of time Those that are the sources of inspiration and strength, Deeply understand the truths – that transcend time and space The Natural Laws that govern everything – the Systems of Fluid, Solid and Life The ever presence of transience in the rise and fall of propagating energy The interdependence of everything that happens – in the tangled ball of cause-effect. That we all strive to find equilibrium – the symmetry, stability and happiness That the efforts bear fruit when Mutual respect and dignity define things In the harmony of mind-and-matter fluxes – in us and around us In the cradle of patience, love, compassion and joy. Do not hesitate to question to clearly understand That – some, while served the purpose at one time Maybe out of date – unprogressive and a hindrance Could have been brutal – even heinously cruel to some Critically examine them to filter and identify the ones That are too rigid in the kaleidoscope of time and space Be open and brave to change To the right direction of forward looking endeavors, It may be unpalatable in the beginning – but wholesome in the long run. . . . 2. Achieving Equilibrium Aim high to not get engulfed into and bothered by trivia Take it easy and do not over-stretch yourself to frustration and despair If the pursuits to perfection – to achieving equilibrium Do not produce immediate results to your liking Because, despite all out efforts – more often than not We are influenced by the surrounding – that we do not have control over Be vigilant that there are many malicious and corrupt bad actors That could work to disrupt and distract your peaceful life and livelihoods That they could come under different guises and pretexts To lure to succumb to temptations – to unwholesome view of things, Realize the fact that The systems of Fluid, Solid and Life are a process rather than an end The intertwined Duality of all existence - the Yin-Yang, the Wabi-Sabi The universal driver of all existence - in Transience, Unhappiness and Emptiness So, everything and everyone in transience and interdependence Could only be near to perfect Could be far from producing the zero residual Unless one has achieved the tranquility and unity of NIRVANA. So, do seek to find happiness and joy in each step of the pursuits By overcoming the lures of incessant craving - by letting things go By finding the right balance This state of mind – in turn, does translate to harmonious living. . . . 3. Governing Responsibility Hold it there – to remain calm to deeply realize If you are lucky to sit on the bench of power and privilege Holding other people’s strings in your hand Note that you shoulder the responsibility to serve them Not as a master but as a friend Not as an arrogant fool but as a competent help. See the light of wisdom to appreciate that your position Is built upon the foundation of trust, You may have earned it But in many ways, it is the societal help that took you where you are Feel grateful and humble to reciprocate And act respectfully and responsibly to honor the trust Feel accountable if betrayal of trusts has occurred. Do understand that as you want to be successful – so do others As you want to be supported and protected – so do others That we are all different – and process things and respond differently So be fair to not deprive others of their aspiration. If you have the role to manage and lead It is important to inspire all in the spirit of warmth and hope By being aware of things that happen around By acting compassionately toward all you serve and lead In honest efforts of integrating people – rather than fragmenting them, Shallow and light-headed actions and reactions – must not define your behavior, Your integrity or lack of it Defines how successful or unsuccessful things will be. . . . 4. Harmony – Some Words of Wisdom Hold it there – to realize in calmness The necessity of harmony in personal joy and family deference The necessity of maintaining harmony in Nature and the Environment With all lives giving energy to the system and getting from it, Realize that greed and craving take one in the downward spiral of despair That money has both healing and destroying power That everything has to be balanced That an attachment without being attached is the way to go To ensure the freedom of mind and Spirit To ensure peace and happiness in the simplicity of things. . . . Recognize the rationality of remaining calm in thought, calm in speech, calm in deeds That, Health is the most precious gain and contentment the greatest wealth Loving kindness makes the poorest house the richest home There are no spells better than loving kindness and compassion Do not put off until tomorrow what you can do today. And that, all trembles at violence, life is dear to all As we love our life, so do all creatures – so be compassionate to all sentient beings Be respectful to others—it benefits all—more than one knows it, Because, one way or another – we are all related All have the true weapon of virtues inside them to confront and change others Often a small thing has the power to cause great change. And, be aware, trusts are easily broken by a dishonest and vain person Do not get swayed by bullying—be courageous to stand up and use the power of truth, Trust that, determination wins admiration and respect A rose by any other name smells as sweet, When one overcomes jealousy and greed The attained peace of mind is blissful irrespective of loss or gain. And that, the sincere efforts of virtuousness are rewarded in ways no one thinks possible The best of all triumphs is conquering oneself It lets one to live in the abode of four heavenly states of mind: Love, Compassion, Joy and Equanimity. . . . That, there is no crime like hatred Appease a hateful person with non-hatred And, unwholesome deeds bring shame – their damaging consequences are dreadful Unwholesome deeds like animal sacrifice follow one like a shadow to usher in misery Wholesomeness and righteousness are the most powerful of all Even animals understand the virtue of gratitude, while humans fail. It is wise not to be angry at things one does not understand and have no control over Good or bad luck does not depend on jewellery, but on what one does. And, be vigilant, deceptions could come from apparently trustworthy individuals Hospitality and gratitude do not work one way – they must be reciprocated Do not judge people by their outward appearance A rogue by any other name remains as harmful Poor indeed is a wealthy person who is unfair and shares nothing with others A betrayer is trusted by none, sometimes not even by his or her mother In the arena of interdependence, each entity by itself amounts to Emptiness of essence. . . . 5. Peace – Some Words of Wisdom Hold it there – to realize in calmness The necessity of harmony in social cooperation and world peace The necessity of good governance, and that Passionate desire drives people to act foolish Be aware of temptation—do not underestimate its enslaving capacity Do not be fooled by trickery of the greedy—that comes with all different colors and lures The greedy loses all senses of seeing things as they are, Even fails to heed to the sound advice of impending dangers. A foolish friend can often be more dangerous than a wise enemy Even the wise makes grave mistakes—when power and greed overtake them Do not depend on foretells and speculations—when you know what actions to take There are many things one can learn from people of all walks of life Giving up power is more difficult than gaining and holding on to power Attachment to power and wealth makes it difficult for one to be happy. That, all things have to be measured, overdoing brings one’s downfall Do not promise more than you can deliver Do not fool yourself by getting puffed up by flattery The powerful must rise above prejudice to ensure justice for all To a great leader, the safety of his or her followers is paramount When lost one can still win the heart of others by respecting and admiring the winner There is safety in unity—and danger in conflict One must be courageous to let peaceful means win conflicts Give a chance to friendship--it has the power to bring enemies together Explore alternative ways to win a war without violence and fighting. . . . There it is – something in the poetic frame of advocating for the common well-being – of all of us who share the same energy of the Sun and the same resources of mother Earth – irrespective of who we are in the widecanvas of multiple cultures and creeds. This something represents my attempt to synthesize some of the materials – portrayed in the formats of essays, poems, story-telling, master-disciple dialogues and Koans – presented in several pieces of WIDECANVAS (links in Widecanvas Home Page). The premises they represent are worth paying attention to – if common human aspiration for longterm sustainable peace and harmony are really meant – by politicians, media and various seats of power in their rhetorical outpourings. The Words of Wisdom written in italics - are taken from the Buddha sayings as outlined in The Jataka Morals - 1 and The Jataka Morals - 2. What have been laid out in this piece – may turn out to be soft and weak (not suitable for the real world, hey!) to some. Well, it’s all about perspectives, isn’t it? To an impatient individual glued on narrow perspectives – selfishness, conflict, fight and betrayal of trust are the answers to prevail. If one looks back, time and again one comes to realize how untrue this notion is. This notion is the root cause of personal, societal and world problems – as has been in the past – so in present times – as will be in the future. What have been laid out relying on the words of wisdom of many – may appear soft, or perhaps even weak from outside – but they are the sources of inner strength and power – like the power of water in motion. Before finishing, I like to highlight a remarkable quote from Dr. BR Ambedkar’s (1891 – 1956, the Architect of independent India constitution) final speech to the Indian Constituent Assembly on 25th November 1949 . . . On the 26th January 1950, we are going to enter into a life of contradictions. In politics we will have equality and in social and economic life we will have inequality. In politics we will be recognising the principle of one man one vote one value. In our social and economic life, we shall, by reason of our social and economic structure, continue to deny the principle of one man one value. How long shall we continue to live this life of contradictions? How long shall we continue to deny equality in our social and economic life? If we continue to deny it for long, we will do so only by putting our political democracy in peril . . . A remark like this, 2 years after India’s independence – shows how the vision seen by Gandhi to emancipate all Indian sub-continental peoples from the colonial rule, from socioeconomic hardships – was far from real. Dr. Ambedkar’s view of prevailing contradictions really defines all modern democracies around the world, or other governing systems – that sustain asymmetry, and promote skewed equilibrium in social and economic life of peoples. Does his question ever bother political processes – or any seats of power around the world? . . . The Koan of this piece: How does one define the evil governing seats of power? That – pursuing whatever unfair means, misguidance and tactics – terming them as the required processes of politics to win and hold on to power – they must always ride the wheel turned by others. That, they can indulge in power play at the cost of people’s suffering – and must not be questioned for any of their incompetence and wrongdoings. . . . . . - by Dr. Dilip K. Barua, 26 January 2023  At Gandhi’s call all India blossomed forth to new greatness, just as once before, in earlier times, when Buddha proclaimed the truth of fellow feeling and compassion among all living creatures. These are the lines of tribute and connection seen by the Nobel Laureate Rabindranath Tagore (1861 – 1941) – between the two Giants India produced – Gautama Buddha (624 – 544 BCE) – The Tathagata, and MK Gandhi (1869 – 1948) – the Mahatma. And Gandhi did arouse the fervor in greatness – by translating the principle of nonviolence to free the Indian subcontinental peoples from the humiliating colonial rule of the British. Nearly two centuries of this rule – totally impoverished the subcontinent by destroying the local economy – implanting the seeds of discord, mistrust and animosity among peoples of different identities – and eroded the self-respect, confidence and dignity of them. True, some developments did take place – but they were all planned and implemented to lengthen and promote the colonial rule – at the cost of turning the peoples into servants and coolies – in actuality and in inflicting such mental degradations upon them. The continuation of this poignant degradation still lingers in the psyche of the subcontinental peoples. On this International Nonviolence Day, the 2nd of October, the birthday of Gandhi – I am delighted to pay homage to this iconic man of extraordinary courage and sacrifice. Standing on the footsteps of the Buddha and Mauryan Emperor Ashoka the Great (304 – 232 BCE), and the nonviolence tradition of another Indian religion, Jainism – his renouncement of violence is accomplished by living a simple life. The nonviolence tradition historically defines the greater Indian civilization that once shown the light of wisdom to the world – the sublime direction charted out by the Buddha – and its first proud implementation by none other than Emperor Ashoka[HG Wells (1866 – 1946) wrote in his Outline of History: Amid tens of thousands of names of monarchs that crowed the columns of history . . . the name of Ashoka shines and shines almost alone, a star . . . ]. A remarkable tribute to the greatness of Emperor Ashoka is a Buddhist temple in Yinzhou Zheiiang, China. The temple – The Temple of King Ashoka – was first built in 282 CE during Western Jin Dynasty (265 – 317 CE). All subsequent dynasties contributed to expand, rebuild and renovate the temple. It is hailed as one of the five mountain Buddhist temples in China – and is a historic cultural heritage of modern China. Despite being called a half-naked-Fakir by the arrogant British (see a glimpse of it in Democracy and Larry the Cat) – one of many such affronts – to inflict humiliation and insults upon him – he had to do this to feel the pain and hardships of the millions of downtrodden population – to know their pulse better – to be one with them. Perhaps his life can best be described – in words what Alexander S Pushkin (1799 – 1837) wrote: . . . fearing no insult, asking for no crown; receive with indifference both flattery and slander, and do not argue with fool . . . In doing so, he transformed India and the world at large – with the renewed message and practice of nonviolence – a loving principle – so eternal that it has the power to transcend all artificial boundaries, discords and divisions crafted for utter selfish gains (see All-embracing Power of Sublimities). Imagine how great his following of the traditional nonviolence method was – he expressed no grudge against the British – instead built the mass movement to end the foreign occupation of colonial subjugation – to let the subcontinental peoples define their own destiny. By the time, he took the helm of independence movement – he was a transformed man – from his first-hand humiliating experience in South Africa and later in India – to the renouncement of violence. His aim was to exert forceful impetus to the establishment of just Social Order and Governance deserved by people – downtrodden in years of colonial oppression – which still persists in different parts of the world in different colors and pretexts (see How Long Does It Take). In his native land in the Indian Subcontinent – it was no easy task, because people reached their limit of tolerance of continued exploitation and humiliation. Armed freedom struggle already started in parts of the subcontinent – in the east in Bengal and in the west in Punjab. The primary struggle in the west was triggered by the most heinous Jallianwala Bagh Massacre at Amritsar in 1919 (it prompted worldwide condemnation with Tagore’s refusal to accept the Knighthood offered to him by the British Monarchy). During a showcase trial, in reply to a question by a prosecutor: what provision was made for the wounded, General Dyer arrogantly replied without showing any sign of remorse or apology: I was ready to help any who applied. Imagine, emergency response to save lives of unarmed men, women and children – severely wounded by bullets fired in his command – never crossed his cruel cowardly mind. Instead, the wounded were supposed to apply so that he could judge whether they qualify. In the east, angered by an unjust ruling, an 18-year old Bengali youth Khudiram Bose attempted to assault a British Judge – resulting in his hanging to death in 1908. This rebellion – later immortalized by a very sad melodious song of Lata Mangeshkar (1929 – 2022) – used to be sung by Bengali people of all ages. Perhaps this and the later episodes of colonial brutality, laid the foundation of the Bengal freedom struggle. It was led by Netaji SC Bose (1897 - 1945) with several episodes of uprising in Chattogram led by Masterda Surya Sen (1894 - 1934). The great impetus to the movement came during the 1943 Bengal Famine – when the then British PM Winston Churchill (1874 – 1965) infamously refused to release food stocks from the gov storage facilities. His decision let some 3 million people die of starvation. People tend to think that a democratically elected gov – with all the modern insinuations and misrepresentations in winning tantrums – is fair and righteous, but here is one example how an elected gov could take such a brutal decision. Perhaps, this represented one of a major high-profile example of the malicious Economic Warfare – as it is known today. His reply to the colonial hatred that unleashed many different facets of insults and brutalities – was not counter-hatred. Instead, the approach was formulated to follow the Buddha saying – the 5th verse of the DHAMMAPADA: Hatred is never appeased by hatred in this world. By non-hatred alone is hatred appeased. This is a Law Eternal. . . . Gandhi’s translation of the nonviolence method to freedom struggle took many dimensions. Here is a brief on some major ones. (1) One was – and is widely practiced today all over the world is peaceful protest/march without provocation of any sort. (2) The second was non-cooperation movement – with his argument that if masses of an occupied colony resort to such a method – collapse of the occupying power is bound to happen. This movement generated another offshoot – that was to avoid using merchandise produced in the home country of the occupying power, as well as those products and services produced in the colony by colonial companies. This method is a way of applying a control valve on downstream consumption to put a dent on the upstream economic gains of the colonist. (3) As a third – Gandhi termed his protests against colonial injustices – as Satyagrah Andolan or the movement to pressure the ruling clique to release the truth of what have been really happening. (4) Finally, when he was disappointed with his own people, and in cases of stubbornness or stalemate with the gov – he went on to Anashan Darmagot or hunger strike until demands were met. One can imagine how much dedication and determination was required to go through such a life-threatening hardship and self-deprivation. This practice of protest was used by Chinese Buddhist monk, scholar and traveller Xuanzang (602 - 664 CE) in the past - not as a means of mass-protest incitement, but to free himself from the request of Turfan King (a pious Buddhist himself) - who wanted to keep him in Turfan to teach Buddhism (more in A Tribute to Xuanzang). His protest was heeded to and honored - with the king supporting and letting him go to the Land of the Buddha's Birth. I have visited Delhi twice before, this time in 2018, my travel together with my elder daughter Dipa to The Happy Dust of India – was to explore Delhi once again with the Mahatma in mind. On top of the list were Gandhi Smriti Museum (the image is in the museum, in front of a painting – with Gandhi on the blessing footsteps of the Buddha) and the Mahatma Cremation Center at Raj Ghat on the bank of the Jamuna River (the second image). Also included in the trip, were some other Delhi landmarks – the India Gate overlooking the Rashtapati Bhavan and the Vidhan Sabha; the Red Fort; the Lodi Gardens; the Buddha Jayanti Park (inaugurated in 1964 commemorating the celebration of the 2500th anniversary of the Buddha’s enlightenment); the Lotus Temple; the World Peace Pagoda; the excavated Buddha relic in old Delhi {said to have been restored by Burma with J Nehru (1889 – 1964) visiting the discovered relic; the restoration seems an incomplete venture – being looked after by mahant, instead of Buddhist monks}; and the Mahabodhi Society Buddhist Temple. It is at this temple, while inaugurating in 1939, the Mahatma said: It is my deliberate opinion that the essential part of the teachings of the Buddha now forms an integral part of Hinduism. It is impossible for Hindu India today to retrace her steps and go behind the great reformation that Gautama effected in Hinduism. By his immense sacrifice, by his great renunciation, and by the immaculate purity of his life he left an indelible impression upon Hinduism, and Hinduism owes an eternal debt of gratitude to that great teacher. Apart from the travel experience, drawing up of this piece relied upon several website articles, including a 1996 University of Idaho paper: Gandhi and Mahayana Buddhism, Journal of Oriental Studies, 35 (2). This, and returning back to Tagore’s vision – here are something more on Buddhist tradition of nonviolence. Nonviolence is the first precept of Buddhist Panchsila (see Symmetry, Stability and Harmony). It is one of the 10 Paramitas or the Pursuits to Perfection – the Metta Parami (see The Tathagata; Some Difficult Things) – the Buddha mastered on his journey to enlightenment – to Buddhahood. It forms an integral part of Kushala Mula leading to wholesome thoughts and deeds – the Buddha meticulously identified and defined (see details in Enlightenment, Emptiness and Nirvana). It is defined as the one belonging to Sublime Abode that has the power of a different kind – the power of bringing all together (see The All-embracing Power of Sublimities) by melting down conflicts into the strength of unity. Buddha Dharma is The Way of Simplicity, Balance and Wisdom. . . . Political historians and media of modern India hardly have any ink to mention the name of Buddha in their narratives. It is only in Pundit J Nehru’s writing – in The Discovery of India and in the Glimpses of World History, and in Dr BR Ambedkar’s (1891—1956) outstanding works: a volume published by the Gov of Maharashtra, 1987: Writings and Speeches of Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar, Vol 3, The Buddha and His Dhamma 1956 and Revolution and Counter Revolution in Ancient India – one can see how the Buddhist tradition, and the nearly two millennia of Buddhist rule shaped the Indian subcontinent. Buddha Dharma has all but existed in subtlety during the independence movement – in numerous ruins scattered all over the subcontinent [destoyed by two-pronged attacks, both by Hindu revivalists and Islamic invaders; only now, the Archaeological Department of India is discovering, excavating, restoring and protecting them as the country’s proud historical heritage sites; and for that matter, similar campaigns are also being implemented in Bangladesh and Pakistan] – and in some marginalized peoples who were basically absorbed by Hinduism as outcasts. . . .
In addition, there were Buddhist majority states/provinces – those in Ladakh and in northeastern India. They did not fill the political landscape during the independence movement – as they were sparsely populated, and local people were mostly ethnically different from the majority Hindu and Muslim population. But, the former glory of Buddhist legacy is being rediscovered in numerous efforts – as Gandhi, Nehru, Sardar Patel (1875 – 1950) and AK Azad (1888 – 1958) once did. Here are some more glimpses of sayings on how Gandhi was inspired by the Buddha:
. . . Sons of Ind, be up and doing, Let your course by none be stayed; Lo! the Dawn is in the East; By themselves are nations made! . . . No wonder, Gandhi’s method inspired so many world leaders – and will continue to be the guiding light for liberation of many oppressed peoples around the world. Let me begin with a remark by another Giant, Albert Einstein (1879 – 1955): . . . a role model for the generations to come . . . I believe that Gandhi’s views were the most enlightened of all the political men in our time . . . Some more visible names out of many outstanding individuals inspired by Gandhi are: His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama (1935 – ); Martin Luther King Jr (1929 - 1968); Nelson Mandela (1918 - 2013); Will Durant (1885 - 1981); Ho Chi Minh (1890 - 1969); U Thant (1909 - 1974); KA Ghaffar Khan (1890 - 1988); and Aung San Suu Kyi (1945 – ). Most people do not know about another legacy of Gandhi. A Japanese Buddhist monk Ven. Nichidatsu Fujii (1885 – 1985; founder of Nippozan-Myohoji Buddhist Order) – addressed as Guruji by Gandhi – was inspired by him to build peace pagodas – to spread the Buddha’s message of Sublimities around the world. The monk took initiative to materialize Gandhi’s vision – as he went through the traumatic poignant experience after the horrific nuclear bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945. Today, some 80 peace pagodas dot different parts of the world – with 14 of them in South Asia: 7 in India, 4 in Sri Lanka, 2 in Nepal and 1 in Bangladesh. Gandhi’s true legacy lies in inviting the world – to learn from one of the most enlightening glorious traditions of the past. He was telling the world to realize the fact that pressing a trigger to kill people – as a way to resolve conflict is too easy – but at the colossal cost of adding more fuel to the fire rather than extinguishing it. He found the RIGHT ME – while traversing the Wheel of Life with his aim focused on: In a life’s journey, there is neither winning nor losing, there is only achievement. Unlike other subcontinental leaders who were basically following and comparing themselves (as if they were inferior) to that of colonial powers – Gandhi took the path of enlightening them and the world – pointing finger to have self-respect and dignity – to practice and utilize the power of simplicity, love and nonviolence. True, there were some controversies – but Gandhi’s sacrifice and courage surpass everything – he was the modern shining light that will continue to show directions to all peoples around the world. . . . Before finishing, it is important to highlight a different outpouring of violence. This menace appeared in our time in the age of cyberworld. With the rapid advance of this technology powered by Artificial Intelligence – it changed the way people communicate with one another – and the way businesses function. While it has contributed enormously to the human progress – it has also opened the door to a broad spectrum of hackers, criminals, terrorists, and state actors – with the user-platform vendors acting as the accomplice – to enter into people’s lives and livelihood with virtual impunity – remotely and surreptitiously. These malevolent actors – are not only impersonating law-abiding citizens, violating user-privacy, harassing and bullying them – but are also taking control of the victim’s computer – stealing personal information, trading them for profit and malicious motives. Denying and disrupting normally accessible services, often in the guise of adulterated advertisements – they inflict damages and harm the just causes of the victims. The targeted victims are mostly the marginalized sections of the population – but none are safe from this long-arm violence. Further, it has unleashed the darkness of Information Warfare – with unbelievable rapidity in proliferation of misinformation and disinformation – continuously stoking the evils of anger, animosity and hatred. One such manifestation is the evil politics of mass distraction – fooling and distracting people from the real problems affecting them and their livelihood. What was once considered as the irresponsible practice in the pages of Tabloid Newspaper – has now entered into the mainstream media – shaming the civilized behavior – hard-earned through many years of works by conscientious people around the world. These and many other aspects of this type of online violence are discussed in Artificial Intelligence – the Tool of No Limit. . . . Finally, I like to finish this piece with a saying of Gandhi: I am praying for the light that will dispel darkness. Let those who have living faith in non-violence, join me in the prayer. This saying proudly stands on a billboard in the Gandhi Smriti Museum. On his birth anniversary let us join this iconic leader in his call – by renouncing all kinds of violence for peace and harmony across the globe – by being conscientious, heedful and diligent – whenever – wherever – whatever. Let the light of wisdom transcend all malicious and sectarian thinking and boundaries. . . . . . - by Dr. Dilip K. Barua, 2 October 2022  1. A Blessed Birth More than two and a half millennia ago All Stars assembled on a Full-Moon day in May In the Sal-Bana Lumbini Garden on the foothills of the Himalayas To welcome the birth of someone rare and extraordinary To greet the Honored Light of the World. On that auspicious day Queen Mahamaya took bath in a Lotus pond As she did, all Lotus buds blossomed into flower The sky became clear blue brightening the day Marked by the perfect alignment and congruence of causes and conditions As Prince Siddhartha Gautama was born to the Queen. Bright, curious and sweet The new-born smiled as if He had something to say And there it was All the Stars smiled back bestowing Ashirvada To the baby with Lotus petal showers. . . . 2. Royal Life and the Great Renunciation The palace made everything smooth and enjoyable to raise the crown prince But, there was something different about this prince He was kind and sweet showing no sign of royal arrogance At young age He proved to the royal court That a wounded creature does not belong to the hunter But to the compassionate one who is kind to give it new life. He was strong and learned things quickly the palace had to offer Princess Yoshodara came into His life with Prince Rahula born to them But, Siddhartha felt like He was missing something He asked Channa, His Charioteer to take Him beyond the palace courtyard Seeing life outside changed His perspectives for ever His heart cried seeing the suffering of all different kinds His curiosity looked for answers what He saw But, disappointed He was – as the answers were nothing close to his satisfaction. He questioned, if happiness is cherished and held dearest by all Then why it is so flitting? What are the hindrances deluding people? He had to find the answer – the Truth He had to sacrifice the comfort, perk and privileges of the palace life He had to translate the love for His wife, son and family – to the love for many And there it was – an unwavering resolution was born. . . . 3. The Journey to Buddhahood He had to go beyond – utterly beyond what were commonly believed He had to mingle with common people to understand them better He had to listen to the songs of lives and Nature – to know them better In their emotional rise and fall – of joy, love, sadness, anger and despair In life’s phases – of birth, growth, youth, waning, demise and transformation. He had to prepare and perfect Himself to get the Jewel He was looking for And there it was – at age 29 Siddhartha began His journey to Buddhahood. Traveling corners of the subcontinental India and learning Things from fellow people in similar pursuits Helped Him acquire some skills – but not the answers He was looking for. For the first time He realized dependence on imaginary beings For one’s salvation and happiness is just a deluded illusion That one has to be realistic to see things as they are And feel confident that one has all the strengths to find ways to be happy To be in peace and harmony. . . . 4. The Perfections to Bodhi The six years of pursuits helped Him Mastering the practices of the Ten Perfections to Bodhi He needed The Dasa Paramita: The Dana Parami – Generosity, Altruism The Sila Parami – Morality, Integrity The Nekkhamma Parami – Let go, Non-attachment The Prajna Parami – Wisdom, Awakening The Virya Parami – Energy, Power The Khanti Parami – Patience, Tolerance The Dyana Parami – Meditation, Truthfulness The Adhittahana Parami – Determination, Skillful Means The Metta Parami – Loving Kindness, Non-violence The Upekkha Parami – Equanimity, Calmness And there it was – Siddhartha Gautama was ready His final awakening is about to change the world for ever. . . . 5. Austerity Hinders In Bodhgaya - on the bank of a river Sitting under the shade and tranquility of a Bodhi tree He faced East in gratitude to His parents for giving Him the light to life In deep mediation He sat To unravel the Truth cloaked under the mysteries of delusion, His courage and resolution shook the world. But, continuous meditation made Him weak Shujata, a village girl seeing the calm practitioner offered rice pudding Siddhartha accepted a portion of the offer with humility He took a portion to make sure that the girl had enough for herself, Buddhist monastic communities follow this principle in earnest In Dana ceremonies – they encourage Dana-Citta devotees to offer What they can afford to share with the monks and temples. Bathing in the river and eating the pudding made Siddhartha fresh and strong, He realized that neglecting one’s health for unwavering pursuit Is a hindrance rather than a means That when body and mind are strong and in sync Ways to wisdom open up to Bodhi. . . . 6. The Profound Discovery On a Full-Moon day in May at 35 years of age The perfect final awakening happened – the Anuttara Samma Sambodhi Siddhartha Gautama discovered a Way to Liberation – the Four Noble Truths That changed the world for ever. Laying out the Way began by saying to dispel the darkness of ignorance To see the brightness of the reality of things as they are: That mind is the forerunner and breeder of everything one does, Unique in the history of the world Mind is defined as the sixth sense that enjoys the freedom in spacetime To roam and give birth to consciousness together with the five body senses And by tappining on one's stored senses of moral compass and memory, That one must take ownership of it – to direct towards the Right direction To let all sentient beings become happy, That Transience describes all existence – defining the Fluidity of things That the rise and fall of Duality is a visible manifestation of Multiplicity within That melts into the sublimity of Unity - when tranquil Opening the direction to the Middle Way - the Way of simplicity, balance and stability, That nothing exists on its own accord – without depending on others That a healthy seed sown today – rebirths into a healthy tree tomorrow But, tomorrow’s health also depends on contemporaneous factors That a noble is defined by wholesome thoughts and deeds not by the lineage of birth. Understanding all these enlightens one to see The rationality of the Four Noble Truths Understanding all these enlightens one to see the reality of Emptiness In one’s impression of the cobweb of unhappiness in life In the non-existence of any permanency in the concept of soul. Enlightenment achieved – the Tathagata Buddha was born The Samsara Wheel was conquered The Reversibility of processes – transformed into the Tathagata Irreversibility Radiance of Nirvana – of eternal bliss glowed in Him Elevating the Shakyamuni to a rarely achievable stage The stage of completion without any residual The stage of ultimate symmetry of equilibrium and unity, peace and tranquility To a scale transcending human comprehension – transcending sectarian boundaries. Exalted and Grandeur – it was, The world affectionately began calling Him the Bagavan Buddha The Samma Sambuddha. As it happened, the Bodhi tree blossomed with fresh buds of leaves All Stars welcomed the discovery by singing in unison – Sadhu Sadhu Sadhu The Buddha touched the Earth in gratitude for witnessing the event And decided to teach what He discovered The non-dogmatic Way for the benefit of many – for the happiness of many. . . . 7. First Turning of the Wheel The Tathagata taught in Sarnath: The Path is the sublime Way to follow diligently – to do things Right: By being conscientious and heedful in everything one thinks and does To remain awake in calmness to view things as they really are By cleaning up the thought processes to purity To see the dynamics of the universe as they head to reach equilibrium. The Path is the sublime Way to follow diligently – to do things Right: To be awake in calmness to remain upright with moral values Watching out that talks and speeches are friendly and soothing to hear Watching out that opinions and judgments are not impaired Watching out that actions and reactions are harmonious Watching out to pursue a harmless livelihood Respecting and recognizing the rights of all lives to thrive without fear. The Path is the sublime Way to follow diligently – to do things Right: To remain awake in calmness to strengthen one’s views and morality By making all efforts to sharpen and purify the mind By being mindful in what one thinks and does By meditating to relax and be happy – with letting things go By meditating to train and still the mind – to the softness of sublimity By meditating to find joy – diving deep into things and knowing the Truth, To derive strength and power To let pragmatism manage life’s contingencies in happiness and harmony. Thus the Yana was put in motion – by first turning the Wheel of Dhamma And there it was – the Noble Eightfold Path – the Wheel to Happiness was born. . . . 8. The Way The Tathagata taught in Sarnath: This Way is for one to be happy and let others become happy By understanding that some Truths are so common That they define life and Nature – one must accept them to be happy. That, some others are simply the making of mind Giving birth to unwholesome thoughts and deeds In societal actions and reactions One must understand these mind processes – to purify them to be happy. It is the Middle Way – the Jewel lying within the Lotus core It is the Way of Eight radiating Dhamma spokes interlinked at the wheel rim The Wheel to Happiness – the wheel to prolong the happy experiences. It is the Way for simplicity, balance, symmetry and stability It is the Way for invoking friendly reciprocity from others It is the Way for harmonious living In personal joy, in relationship mutual-respect, in family deference In social cooperation, in peace for world harmony. This Way – is not speculative but based on universal laws This Way – is testable, and verifiable by experience This Way – is worthy to follow in one’s lifetime. It is the Way of the sublimities – Love, Compassion, Joy and Equanimity It is the Way to let the Bodhi sprout – to the brightness of the Truth It is the Way to be enlightened in supreme wisdom It is the Way – the Sabbe Sattva Hithaya, Sabbe Sattva Shukhaya Dhamma It is the Way to liberation – to the bliss of Nirvana, And there it was – the unfolding of the Buddha’s Way. . . . 9. The Sambuddha Bagavan Buddha – the supremely compassionate One: World remembers You each year on a Full-Moon Day in May-June To pay homage and refresh our understanding of Your teaching Your meticulous identification and definitions Of what are wholesome and what are not In one’s thought processes and deeds – in one’s well-being, Lucidly highlighted in the beauty of 423 short versus in the DHAMMAPADA. Bagavan, we remember You: The Araham – the One who was totally free from defilements The Samma-Sambuddho – the One who discovered the Four Noble Truths The Vijja-Carano-Sampano – the One who practiced what He taught The Sugoto – the One who has chosen the right words at the right time and occasion The Lokovido – the One who deeply saw the dynamics of the six worlds The Anuttaro-Puriso-Dhamma-Sarati – the One who was a skilled leader The Satta-Deva-Manussanam – the One who was the teacher of gods and humans The Buddho – the One who was fully awakened and attained Nirvana The Bagava – the One who has developed special powers. Beloved Master, You traveled far and wide for 45 years To give impetus to the momentum You set in motion To help people to be happy by finding the Bodhi in them – the Truth. . . . 10. World Celebrates the Buddha Day Bagavan Buddha: Your teaching reverberates in life’s experiences As did in the past – so does in present times – as will in the future That life was never smooth – never is – never will be Because most often we fail to see things as they really are, The systems of Fluid, Solid and Life – defining Nature and all sentient beings In the relativity of Dualities. Because most often we fail to act and react with harmony in mind Because everything that exists are transient and interdependent Because unbalanced clinging to them causes misery. Because seats of power most often fail to see things from a wider perspective, With their arrogance, myopic view and greed adding to prolong human suffering By enforcing governing actions, laws and strategies that are often not Conscientious, heedful and diligent - ennobling unsustainable practices and policies. Therefore You taught, one must understand all these To realize that collective happiness must be a human destiny For all entities to live harmoniously together – with mutual respect. You have shown us the dignified Way for the benefit of many You set an outstanding example – in the consistency of Your teaching and practices You brought to us the wisdom of Truth, warmth and hope. Your friendly teaching tells us to have self-respect and unite: All of us together – men and women of different social standing and upbringing All of us together – of different prerogatives and inclinations. The Teacher of all teachers: At Vulture Peak on the Rajgir Hills You said, go without fear among the multitudes who are grounded to reality Purified, clear, sharp and free from defilement Teach on a wide scale in a room of great compassion Let the mind of kindness and patience be the robe Let the Emptiness of all phenomena be the seat Teach with deftness, metaphors and odes Teach them to realize that all phenomena are Entangled Impermanent and Interdependent – high, medium and low, That one must be skillful to untie the Entanglement By treading the enlightened Way of Simplicity, Balance and Wisdom To complete the circles of the rolling wheel without creating residuals To achieve the joy and bliss of Nirvana in total liberation. Bagavan, Your Dhammakaya - the Mahabodhi lives on To show all humanity the Light of wisdom through to the eternity To see the beauty in wisdom and happiness To find equilibrium and the Jewel lying within, It is up to us to understand and take advantage of Your teaching. Humanity vows to You in gratitude for showing the Light And we will continue to keep You in our heart and prayer for ever. . . . There we have it. A 10-stanza narrative piece of poetry looking into what happened more than two and a half millennia ago. The time was an extraordinary epoch in ancient history – with the Buddha’s (Buddhist Calendar 624 - 544 BCE) discovery telling the world – to see things rationally and simply – for all things that happen in us and around us. For the first time – he gave the power to individuals for their liberation, peace, happiness and harmony – saying, be a light unto yourself. This is the 3rd piece I have posted on the Buddha Day marking the celebration, with the previous pieces in 2021 the Enlightenment and in 2020 Revisiting the Jataka Morals. This day on 16 May 2022 celebrating the Buddha Jayanti – also marks the opening and inauguration of the Gautam Buddha International Airport at the birthplace of the Tathagata in Lumbini, Nepal. The other essays of the annual series celebrating the Full-Moon Vesak – remembering and honoring Shakyamuni Gautama Buddha – his auspicious Birth, Enlightenment, and MahapariNirvana – are: The Way of Simplicity, Balance and Wisdom post on 22 May 2024 Vesak; and the 5 May 2023 Vesak post, Something Different. Finally, a few lines of poetry from Jiddu Krishnamurti's (1895 – 1986) tribute, The Immortal Friend 1928, Boni & Liveright: . . . As I looked - At the sacred feet that once trod the happy - Dust of India, - My heart poured forth its devotion, - Limitless and Unfathomable, - Without restraint and without effort. - I lost myself in that happiness. - My mind so easily and strangely - Understood the Truth - He longed for and attained. - I lost myself in that happiness. - My soul grasped the infinite simplicity - Of Truth . - I lost myself in that happiness . . . I like to dedicate this piece to all humanity. Despite all the progresses humans made in science and technology – the world remained cruel as before (if not worse) – with social leaders and media bragging about who are superior to whom – who are wealthier and more powerful to whom – giving rise to immense mistrust – constantly adding fuel to conflicts. . . . Happy Vesak the Buddha Day!!! On this Auspicious Full-Moon Day – let Metta touch everyone’s heart to bring Peace and Harmony across the Globe. Have a joyous life in Appamada – in conscientiousness, heedfulness and diligence – whenever – wherever – whatever . . . . . - by Dr. Dilip K. Barua, 16 May 2022  We were there In robes and prayer beads at Nalanda, Magadha At Mes Aynak and Bamiyan As Maya, Inca and Aztec in the Americas Building nations and civilizations, As First Nations People Living in harmony with Nature and the Environment Living with the sounds of water and wave in Oceania. On each way of living Our beliefs, customs and traditions were humiliated Forcing us to abandon the treasures of knowledge built by our ancestors. We were there as Dalits Carrying the heavy dirty loads centuries after centuries Only to be told gods and goddesses Are responsible for our misery and humiliation. We were there During the Crusades of Beliefs During the Wars decimating Europe and the world In concentration camps of the Holocaust In the miserability of Palestines In the turmoils of the West Asia and in corners of Africa In countless migrations from one burning fire to the next In the discriminatory Acts of Exclusions, head-tax and internment camps As pawns in experiments after experiments to devise ways to control and contain As serfs in agricultural fields never to enjoy what were grown As slaves in filthy crammed boat holes transported and traded like animals As muslin craftsmen with a finger cut to prevent weaving the finest fabric As indigo farmers trapped in never repayable loans. We were there In political earthquakes promising to change things In lofty words of democracy, equality and respect But in reality, lies after lies were repeated to make them popular and acceptable Using media, propaganda and advertisements as tools promoting mendacity By clever crafting and cooking up of things By crooked theories and twisted insinuation of Words and promises enough to fill the depths of world oceans. We were told it was just the way of doing business, But in reality, was nothing but a system designed to deprive The system of treachery, hatred, malpractice and corruption To build empires of wealth using our energy – taking every pie from our sweat. We were told to change and adapt We did But our changes meant nothing. We were there As plants and trees As multiplicity of creatures on land, water and air Living harmoniously together complementing one another Mercilessly we have been destroyed Letting the climate and our habitat to change beyond irreparable damage Our cries were laughed at We were told to give in, to yield to the way for development. On each occasion, utterly asymmetric Upslope events were created To let things implode and explode To take advantage of the chaos in amassing wealth and power To make us pay the price In countless instances – known and unknown, told and untold. On each time, the travesty of violence and brutality The hiding of wrongdoing in clouts of confidentiality Pretensions of ignorance that any wrongdoing ever occurred Defined our common fate. Our families were torn apart Our children were taken away to make them civilized Only to be violated and abused. Our tears continue to roll out Time after time From one place to another. We are here in present times Only to find that the strategy and tactic have changed But the goal remained the same. We have been targeted and used as scapegoats for failures of any sort Driven deliberately to the requirement to prove again and again To make us exhausted, lose confidence and self-respect. Stupid, idiot and what not are the reserved words to describe us All part of the clever ploys to prevent us from getting empowered. Harassment continues In managing things by plethora of spams and scams In victimizing innocents by armed and online terrorist acts All perpetrated by coward actors of different affiliations. We are told to change and adapt We did. Changes did occur but not to include us, Silently we endured, and are putting up with. Those who pretend to be our voice Are just another piece of the same show. Decimated and bruised, our dreams and aspirations are shattered Hopelessness drags us through the breaths of life Yet we continued to yearn for a shed of light For changes to come – that never come. Some of us reached the zenith of career and accomplishments The contributions made the world richer. We are told, our way of seeing things does not matter Our activities hacked, privacy infringed to inflict damages We generated lots of tax revenue But was left to nothing when we needed to enjoy the benefit of labor. We were told we are different Must need to change We did But nothing else changed to include us. Why do we have to change all the time Be the sacrificial goat Not an equal partner in fairness to all. We were told to be patient To expect change when time comes But that time never came – it never comes Our heart cries Humanity cries. How long, how long does it take to include us How long does it take not to play God How long does it take to be awake To be responsible – to feel accountable, To own the wrongdoing. How long does it take to realize the danger of luring the young to aggressiveness By incessantly promoting violence through movies and media outlets. How long does it take to realize the beauty in the balance of things In the harmony of multiplicity in Nature and everything else In the interdependence of Fluid, Solid and Life Systems on Earth. How long does it take to define respect and dignity for all Realizing that talent and intellect are no one’s monopoly. How long does it take to wipe out mistrust To have the rays of wisdom and empathy raise the spirit of conscience That lives within all of us. How long does it take to let the light shine brilliantly bright To dispel the darkness of ignorance To find ways to establish the tranquility of symmetry and stability To see the necessity of collectiveness in happiness. How long does it take to wipe out the tears of misery How long do we have to cry How long humanity has to cry. This poetry piece is dedicated to commemorate the International Days in 2021 – the days of Nonviolence and Human Rights. They remind us to respect, and define the dignified rights of all humans – in the nourishing cradle of Nature and the Environment – not in lofty insinuation of words, but in sincere real actions. Let violence – in whatever forms and pretexts it comes – be wiped out from the face of the Earth – in the spirit of mutual respect, collective trust and friendship. . . . . . - by Dr. Dilip K. Barua, 19 October 2021   1. Intro
Perhaps one word that captures the three most important elements of Buddhism – Enlightenment, Emptiness and Nirvana – is Tathagata. It has been used again and again to address and describe Shakyamuni Buddha (624 – 544 BCE) – as an embodiment of the nine attributes (see Some Difficult Things). The word – simply characterizes the one who has gone beyond and above the level of human comprehension – to attain Buddhahood by conquering what are essentially empty of substance – to something that is complete and meaningful – to the bliss of Nirvana. This began in his search for understanding the causes of unhappiness in life (see Happiness). From the beginning he realized the fundamental aspiration of human beings: happiness is something everyone cherishes and holds dearest of all. Therefore, to his curious mind the causes of the fleeting nature of something so precious must be explored. It led him to arrive at the conclusion that ignorance is the root cause initiating the cobweb of unhappiness – and that humans have all the strengths and capabilities to find liberation from that vicious cobweb (the 3rd and the 4th Noble Truths; see Happiness). The Buddha humbly (Ehipassiko – come and see for yourself) invited all to realize that Bodhicitta is within each of us – with the potential for it to bloom like a Lotus – by following the Dharma he discovered and taught – that identified the causes of unhappiness and the Way to win over it. His teaching (soothing in the beginning, soothing in the middle and soothing in the end) is like a friend that remains with one no matter what – teaching all to lead a moral balanced life, be happy and let others become happy. To train and to make sure that his disciples have understood the Dharma – he let them deliver some of the Sutras – and when satisfied blessed by saying Tathastu. . . . 2. The Journey to Buddhahood The Buddha’s journey to that process of perfection to Enlightenment – took him traveling through the corners of northern Indian Subcontinent living with and learning from people of all walks of life including those in similar pursuits – to his ultimate realization of the Truth. He was not satisfied with the prevailing definition of truth – taught to him within the palace doors – and by what was taught by gurus and ascetics with whom he learned things together. His fundamental age-old question was: if gods and goddesses exist and people worship and pray to them for help – then why suffering of all sorts. Where is harmony? Why animosity and fighting in every strata of the society? Where are these spiritual beings to help? Such queries led him to go beyond what were commonly believed. By going beyond, he abandoned the path of dependence on gods and goddesses for one’s and societal well-being and salvation. Instead, he focused on human mind – the breeder and forerunner of everything – saying that the solution must be approached by calming the mind to see things as they are. Thus by kindling the light of wisdom and compassion, darkness is dispelled and Enlightenment is attained on true nature of things. What is achieved, was described as Anuttara Samyak Sambodhi – the perfect awakening that has never been heard of – and excelled before. A 2024 article - The Way of Simplicity, Balance and Wisdom - celebrating the 2024 Vesak Day - sheds further light on various aspects of Buddhahood. The Buddha accomplished it by mastering the Ten Perfections of Wisdom (according to the Theravada Tradition: 1 – Dana-Parami [Generosity, Altruism]; 2 – Sila-Parami [Morality, Integrity]; 3 – Nekkhamma-Parami [Let-go, Non-attachment]; 4 – Prajna-Parami [Wisdom, Awakening]; 5 – Virya-Parami [Energy, Power]; 6 – Khanti-Parami [Patience, Tolerance]; 7 – Dyana-Parami [Meditation, Truthfulness]; 8 – Adhittahana-Parami [Determination, Skillful means]; 9 – Metta-Parami [Loving kindness, Non-violence]; and 10 – Upekkha-Parami [Equanimity, Calmness]. In Jataka Tales {see Revisiting the Jataka Morals – 2}, the perfections are outlined somewhat differently, but all such different elucidations convey the same meaning essentially). Thus he is often addressed as Samyak Sambuddha. In the Heart Sutra, the Tathagata attribute of the Buddha is used as a six-word inspirational mantra for monks vowing to be a Bodhisattva: Gate – Gate – Paragate – Parasamgate – Bodhi – Svaha. It translates to: Go – Go – Go Beyond (expectations) – Go Utterly Beyond – Perfection is Blessed. This vow is indeed something helpful for anyone endeavoring to be successful. The Buddha’s query – to the precision of a scientific mind – is what was penned down later by Buddhist scholars at Nalanda University (world’s 2nd earliest university; 5th – 12th century CE) as a system of three elements in perfecting knowledge. It starts with curiosity and concept (anumana) – to analytical and intellectual reasoning to understand it (pratyaksa) – and ends with valid proofs (pramana) or verifications of the concept. In his Buddhahood process, anumana started with first seeing the miseries of life outside the palace courtyard – to pratyaksa while living with all walks of life in many corners of rural India – to perfecting his thoughts of liberation through pramana. The Buddha touched Earth as the witness of perfection to Buddhahood. Note that he did not ask any god or goddess to be the witness – but chose mother Earth in humility of gratitude – for it sustains and nourishes all living beings and the environment – the interdependent Systems of Fluid, Solid and Life (see Warming Climate and Entropy). This piece is a tribute to the 2021 Vesak Full-moon Buddha Day on May 26th – and an attempt to consolidate some of my thoughts penned down earlier in different pieces of WIDECANVAS: The Power of Mind; Let there be Light - and there was Light; Heaven and Hell; Symmetry, Stability and Harmony; The All-embracing Power of Sublimities; Happiness – the Likeness of a Water Drop on Lotus Pad; Meditation for True Happiness; Revisiting the Jataka Morals – 1; Revisiting the Jataka Morals – 2; and Some Difficult Things. To commemorate the Vesak, I have selected a beautiful artistic portrayal (image credit: anon) of an open eight-petal lotus flower. The other articles of the annual series celebrating the Full-Moon Vesak – remembering and honoring Shakyamuni Gautama Buddha – his auspicious Birth, Enlightenment, and MahapariNirvana – are: The Way of Simplicity, Balance and Wisdom post on 22 May 2024 Vesak; the 5 May 2023 Vesak post, Something Different; the 16 May 2022 Vesak post, The Tathagata; and the 7 May 2020 Vesak post, Revisiting the Jataka Morals. Buddhism is simple and straightforward (more in The Way of Simplicity, Balance and Wisdom) – but at the same time it is steeped in deep philosophical and intellectual sophistication, insights and rationality. Simple does not mean Buddha's Way is easy - rather it teaches and asks followers to practice the guidelines of discipline and mind training wholeheartedly - to achieve the sublime Purities of Morals, Views and Mind. It kept its door open for interested individuals to question, elaborate and do research on the Dharma. This is one of the reasons why Buddhist scripture (Pabitra or Pure TRIPITAKA, the three Baskets: the SUTRA PITAKA; the BINOY PITAKA; and the ABHIDHARMA PITAKA – the Volume of Philosophical and Intellectual Texts. Also includes the DHARMAPADA and other Self-standing SUTRAS and Compilations) is so voluminous – where the Dharma is applied to explore and examine all aspects of life and livelihood in freedom without any dogmatic barriers. That is how the Buddha wanted it – he wanted people to think about the rationality of the Dharma to open their own wisdom eye. Monastic culture and some of the world’s earliest universities prevalent in different corners of the Indian Subcontinent are a testimony to that. The high literacy rate during the colonial times in countries like Sri Lanka, Myanmar and Thailand (higher than the colonial master, Great Britain) – have been made possible by monks engaging with the communities – with the monasteries acting as a place of learning. . . . 2.1 Buddhism is in Sync with Modern Science In my attempt to understand the Dharma beyond my early-age learning, I ventured into looking at it through the logical and scientific view of things – and as I went through it; Buddhism opened up with very interesting and thought-provoking principles and ideas – that are complementary to and in sync with modern science - The Fundamental Laws of Nature. The Laws of Transcience (Anitya or Impermanence; Tibetan monks’ meticulous artistic creation of Tibetan Sand Mandala in colored sands, and its destruction afterwards – represent a spectacular symbolism of Impermanence) and Dependent-origination (Paticca-Samupadha, Samsara, the cobweb of interdependence, or simply the cause-and-effect, or its logical conclusion Sunyata) – discovered by the Buddha are universal and common knowledge now. The deeper meanings of them unfold many aspects of Social Interactions that are pivotal to achieve personal and societal peace and harmony. Together, the two laws say that everything that happens in the universive is conditioned. The wave-form transmission and transformation dynamics of Energy define everything – from the visible mechanical waves to the visible/invisible electromagnetic (EM) waves (including the energy of the mind phenomena). Buddha’s emphasis on the mind phenomena is compatible with – and has to be understood from this energy dynamics. It is associated with Duality and Multiplicity – which in turn are an alternative definition of Relativity of things. One important aspect of it is the Observer-Observed relationship and the Entanglement of things. The Flower Garland Sutra captures all these aspects of energy dynamics. With these introductory paragraphs, here are some of my thoughts and understandings of the three most important elements of Buddhism. . . . 3. Enlightenment We use this term often in our conversations – we commonly say: please enlighten or let me enlighten. In such cases, we refer to things we do not understand or when we ask for help to clarify or explain them. The same meaning applies in Buddhism – but in a deeper sense. It is like kindling the light of wisdom to dispel darkness – to final awakening or attaining the Buddhahood. This awakening is final liberation from the cobweb of Samsara to the bliss of Nirvana. Therefore Enlightenment conveys only a portion of the Buddhahood meaning while Tathagata captures it all. One feels darkness or lost at a certain time – when queries cannot be answered by conventional knowledge or wisdom. European historians assign a medieval period (~ 5th to 15th centuries) of their history to dark ages when questioning things beyond scripture was like a taboo. Societal enlightenment began in Europe only after lifting of that veil of darkness during the Renaissance. The savagery of slavery deliberately forbade slaves to become literate – and they were told to obey without asking questions. Thus darkness was used as a tool to exploit – to take advantage of – to deprive enlightenment. . . . 3.1 The Seven Factors of Enlightenment Buddhism identifies Seven Factors of Buddhahood (this is one of the reasons why number 7 is considered sacred in Buddhism). They can be grouped into Four. Here are some brief elaborations: The 2 Factors of Endeavor: Energy and Investigation. Seeking answers to queries must have an investigative zeal and unfettered motivation with energy. Without such determined pursuits of an open mind – answers may evade, muddle or complicate queries. During the enlightenment process – the Buddha understood the necessity of avoiding extremes – the Austerity (it depletes one’s energy) as was common among ascetics during his time – and the distracting or damaging effects of Self-indulgence (it makes one lazy and attached to unwholesome things). Instead, he discovered the Middle Way to maintain the balance of things – as the best approach to seek answers with energy. The Middle Way is not just the Middle Ground – but a Way of Balance, Symmetry, Harmony and Stability defined by the Purities of Morality, View and Mind. The 1 Factor of Even-mindedness: Equanimity. The importance of this factor (as one of the Four Sublimities) can hardly be overemphasized. An agitated mind under the clout of emotions – is not helpful to achieve any goal – certainly not enlightenment. One has to approach a query with a calm mind with all its simplicity. The 2 Factors of Meditation: Mindfulness and Concentration. These two factors have been elaborated in the Meditation or Mind Training piece. Unless one is focused in meditative calmness – the light to enlightenment may flicker or may even be extinguished. The Buddha was able to achieve the Jewel or Mani of the Lotus – because his queries were directed toward the Right direction in his pursuits to seek answers in deep meditation. The 2 Factors of Enjoying the Bliss of Enlightenment: Joy and Tranquility. Once achieved and awakened, it is time to feel happy and joyous of one’s hard work. The Buddha was radiant and tranquil – because he got his answers – and his compassion toward all living beings began flowing like honey. By conquering the bondage of Samsara and going beyond all temptations – the Buddha was in the bliss of Nirvana. The bliss came naturally as enlightenment let him see the truths and laws governing all existence – the Transience and Interconnectedness of things – the significance of Mind in everything one does, the Five Aggregates – the meaning of Sunyata or Emptiness – and the Four Noble Truths and the Noble Eightfold Path to True Happiness. . . . 3.2 Citta Samskara or Mental Formations Before moving further – perhaps it is helpful to add a brief on the two terms – I have used again and again while attempting to elaborate some Buddhist thoughts posted on several pieces of WIDECANVAS. These are the Citta Samskara or Mental Formations that define the roots or origins of Wholesomeness (Kushala Mula) and Unwholesomeness (Akushala Mula) – in everything one does. These formations are habitual occurrence in human mind – some are short in life, others are long – some are damaging (Akushala), while others are beneficial (Kushala). Let me enumerate them following the Theravada Tradition of the Abhidharma Pitaka (other Buddhist traditions have slightly different enumeration and wording, but they are essentially same as the Theravada). The 25 Mental Formations that Lead to Wholesome Deeds are: (1) faith; (2) mindfulness or Sati; (3) being shameful for doing things wrong; (4) heedfulness or regard for consequences; (5) being free from greed; (6) being free from hatred; (7) balance or neutrality of mind; (8 – 19) a. tranquility, b. wisdom or brightness, c. malleability or softness, d. wieldiness, e. proficiency, and f. straightness or integrity of the mental body (arupa kaya) and consciousness; (20) right speech; (21) right action; (22) right livelihood; (23) compassion; (24) joy; and (25) wisdom. Pertinent to all these is Appamada - a significant Pali word in Buddhist scripture. It is used by monks and scholars to stress the importance of being wholesome - by being conscientious, heedful and diligent - in one's thought processes and deeds. The unwholesomeness can be the opposites of all the described wholesome mental formations. But in the Abhidharma Pitaka, they are described as 14. The 14 Mental Formations that Lead to Unwholesome Deeds are: (1) delusion or ignorance; (2) lack of shame for doing things wrong; (3) lack of heedfulness or disregard for consequences; (4) restlessness; (5) greed; (6) wrong view; (7) conceit; (8) hatred; (9) envy or himsa; (10) miserliness; (11) worriedness and sadness; (12) laziness or sloth; (13) torpor or lethargicness; and (14) doubt. The opposites of these 14 Formations can alternatively be described as wholesome. A short note here. While self-esteem has its importance and value in being worthy, an ego develops when a person gets highly attached to un-earned self-esteem, becomes intransigent and raises a barrier to protect it - from actions he or she considers a threat. Such an ego has its root in selfishness, craving and fear of loosing things. When an ego rises to an extreme form – it becomes conceit. Ego and Conceit in combination with Hubris are a hindrance to Enlightenment. Therefore to free oneself from such barriers – humility, simplicity and contentment are taught as some of the essential elements in Buddhism. These formations of the mind are the breeder and forerunner of everything one does. Therefore, the Buddha’s teaching – the Middle Way – says to strengthen the wholesome mental formations by weakening or eradicating the unwholesome ones. . . . 4. Emptiness or Sunyata The sound of Emptiness immediately brings a notion of hopelessness and despair in human mind. People say: they feel empty with the loss of loved ones or with unbearable break-ups. Or some may have a pessimist view of it: if things are empty, then why do this or do that? While these feelings and sayings are real, in Buddhism, the contrary is true – where Emptiness is described as a supermundane Truth – as something that requires deep understanding for hope and happiness in life. I will rely on Revisiting the Jataka Morals – 2 for this part of the piece. Emptiness has two perspectives – the first is related to the laws of Transience and Dependent-origination – the second is applied as a Method of Meditation. This second method is superbly worded in Zen Buddhism: empty the mind to see things as they are. This saying sees Emptiness as part of meditation practice – as emptying the mind of what are hindering it (see Meditation for True Happiness) from concentrating and becoming calm. Let me attempt to elaborate the first perspective – because it is very interesting. Time is Empty – Space is Empty – and all entities by themselves are Empty of Essence, or are Sunya. Emptiness is not defined here as something meaningless – rather as something asymmetric with a residual (see Characterizing Wave Asymmetry), or is incomplete (delivered in the Perfection of Wisdom Discourse or The Prajna Paramita Heart Sutra). It is a logical conclusion of the two Universal Laws the Buddha proclaimed – the Law of Transience, and the Law of Dependent-origination. Buddha’s teaching stands on these Natural Laws to direct human efforts in the Right direction to fill-in the void of Emptiness – to True Happiness. Let us attempt to see more of it briefly – why the Buddha emphasized on this Supermundane Truth? One very important reason is to remain non-attached to things that are of no essence – to make sure that one does not fall into the trap of unhappiness in life. In other words, the Buddha was saying that to be happy – one must maintain the balance of attachments without the damaging effects of attachment. . . . 4.1 Time is Empty In the TIME piece we have seen four perceptions of Time: the Arrow of Time (see its scientific basis in Entropy and Everything Else); in the realization of recurrence as in days and years; in the making of mind (. . . Short to the fast and restless – Long to the slow and steady . . .); and in the spacetime entanglement of realities (see Einstein’s Unruly Hair). By the time one attempts to hold on to time, it is gone – recurrence is not exactly the same – mind perception is not the same – spacetime is not the same – therefore any definition and perception of time at any moment is Empty of Essence. In time, everything is fluid in different scales – Nature is fluid (see The Fluidity of Nature), Society is in fluid motion (see Social Fluidity). The attachment to such an empty entity defining fluidity of things is bound to cause disappointments at some time – and ultimately to unhappiness. For example, if one constantly hangs on to his or her past failures or successes – things will not progress well. Or, if one has lofty dreams of the future – the reality of the present may get totally obscured misleading things. . . . 4.2 Space is Empty The definition of Space is meaningful only in the presence of Form – and further, because of its entanglement with Time – Space by itself is Empty of Essence. When we try to define Space, we need to refer the Form it belongs to – and in the high-speed domain of EM, one also needs to refer it to Time and Mass. Interestingly Emptiness is found to be the fundamental truth – both in the minutest existence of matter and in the vastness of universe. Electrons move as a wave-particle Duality (see The Quantum World) of uncertain motions in the space around the concentrated mass of nucleus in an atom. In the vastness of space in the universe – stars, planets, satellites and other objects orbit around massive objects such as the Black Holes – in the gravitational spacetime lattice (see Einstein’s Unruly Hair). In both of them – the space or spacetime is real only in the context of heavy or concentrated masses – therefore by itself each is empty of essence. Together, the system of mass and space defines the interdependent fluxes of energy in search for equilibrium. Both space and time – the spacetime has the dynamics and scales different than humans – therefore any attachment to them is tantamount of unhappiness. . . . 4.3 All Entities by Themselves are Empty of Essence All Natural and Social entities and their dynamics in space and time are defined by their interdependence. I have tried to explain it in the Revisting the Jataka Morals – 2 piece from my own work experience – from the physics of wave motion, or wave dynamics (see Ocean Waves; Linear Waves; Nonlinear Waves; Spectral Waves; and Transformation of Waves). We have seen there, that ocean waves are mostly visible in the dynamics of wave crest and trough, and all the irregularities associated with the processes of four inherent characteristics: (1) the wavy distortion of water mass is in response to transporting some gained energy; (2) the energy is imparted into the water mass through its interfaces with air, ground, or other masses of different densities; (3) as soon as the wave is born it is subjected to interactions giving birth to new frequencies, and becomes asymmetric and spectromatic; and (4) that a visible wave is in fact built by a multitude of waves of different frequencies, phases and amplitudes. Each of these 4 characteristics is a reality or the conventional truth – yet by itself none of them defines the wave form. This implies that a conventional truth is incomplete – and therefore, by itself is empty or empty of essence. This leads Buddhist masters to come up with a call to realize the deep truth that: Form is Emptiness – Emptiness is Form. If Form is not Empty of something or open to accepting others – nothing can be accommodated there – nothing can grow and thrive there. This is another way of saying to realize the importance of the Dharma Virtues of openness, friendliness, humility and harmony. Now, let us attempt to understand the episodes of emptiness feeling that engulf people at one time or another. How does Buddhism explain this sort of sad feeling? The answer lies in what are described in the previous paragraphs – that Spacetime is Empty and All Entities by Themselves are Empty of Essence. These two attributes describing The Fundamental Laws of Nature – say that all conditioned things are impermanent in spacetime – all conditioned things are interconnected and interactive (more in The Way of Simplicity, Balance and Wisdom). The laws imply that a net of knots - the Eternal Knot in the Fluidity dynamics of spacetime – define the whole universe affecting all – all that we experience everyday. Once the deep meaning of the laws are understood – the dynamics of causes ↔ conditions, the answer to the question becomes clear. The arising of an empty feeling – for example, from the loss of a loved one – means that a knot is lost – jeopardizing the balance in the net. That until a new reconfiguration of the net takes place – the sad feeling will continue to persist. The Buddha taught with the allegory of Kisa Gautami story – that one should try to understand the underlying natural laws to overcome the sad feeling – and try to reinforce that effort by meditation pursuits. . . . 4.4 What Emptiness Implies Further, the meaning of the absence of substance can be explained from two different viewpoints. The first one is rather obvious – that if everything is in flux of interdependence – the idea of the constancy of soul (Upanishadic Atma) cannot exist, and is thereby empty of essence. The second is the known fact of human experience – of the absence of desirable degrees of Happiness in human mind – such that it always eludes an individual’s aspiration – like a drop of water in the slippery lotus pad. The five most important and practical usefulness of the presence of Emptiness are: The first is Humility or Egolessness. An example: if all are interdependent, one’s effort for success is empty and may not be fruitful by itself without the help and cooperation of others. Therefore one must feel humble, egoless and grateful for being successful – and must develop a sense of reciprocity toward others – in togetherness for harmonious and peaceful cohabitation of all. Emptiness tells us to appreciate the value and necessity of the existence of others – to be respectful and compassionate to all. The second is Patience and Equanimity. Referring back to our wave example, the duality of the wave crest and trough are entangled to transport energy – without trough the crest is empty and vice versa. Similar dualities or relativities occur in emotions of our mind, and in our actions and reactions with others. This implies that one needs patience – and a calm mind to overcome the damaging effects of negative emotions. Like the crest comes after the trough – so does the positive – if not intervened or interrupted during the process. So aggressiveness to the extent of haste fights, conflicts and wars has no room in Buddhism (see more in Sublimities). One can always reflect back on the 6 verses of comparing things – with the 113th verse in the Dhammapada saying: Better it is to live one day seeing the rise and fall of things than to live as hundred years without ever seeing the rise and fall of things. The third is Non-attachment or Balance of Attachment. If Emptiness is an indication of continuous flux of things – it only becomes imperative that one’s unbalanced attachment to them would cause asymmetry, instability – and ultimately to unhappiness. People feel empty with loss of someone or something very close to them – because they are highly attached to them. High intensity of lingering grief and despair from such a feeling is unwholesome and can be very damaging. Often it becomes difficult to overcome the empty feeling – or it takes very long time to recover from it. Life is full of attachments, and without those, things are meaningless – yet a happy and prosperous life thrives on remaining upright by being attached without the disturbing effects of attachment (see more on True Happiness). The fourth is the Observer-Observed Relationship - between the Subject and the Object. Most of our judgments and opinions about others take shape by looking through someone else’s lens. Moreover, forming opinions by witnessing things in person – is also stained by the projection of the observer’s own mindset on the person or object he or she observes. It is an interesting aspect of social relations – that has been proved at a fundamental level in Quantum Mechanics (see The Quantum World). If multiple observers of different mindsets see an object differently – then the apparent truths conveyed by each of them are truly empty of essence. This leads us to realize the necessity for not hastening to making opinion of others – but calls for thoughtful exercise of patience and equanimity. In the format of an anecdotal dialogue between a master and his disciple in the Uncertainty and Risk, I have written: . . . Suppose you see a person at different times. Depending on your own state of mind, you may find and interpret the same behavior of the person differently – sometimes friendly, sometimes antagonistic, etc. This is bias . . . if you watch a person responding to a single stimulus at different times under different circumstances, you would find that his or her behaviors are not always the same . . . Earth’s processes are defined by the continuous interactions (in different time-scales) – of the Systems of Fluid, Solid and Life (see Warming Climate and Entropy). Each of the three systems is integral to the whole – and in this context, each is empty of essence without others. Further realizing the fact that a healthy Life is unsustainable without the soundness of its building blocks – the Fluidity and Solidity within it. Therefore it is imperative to take account of all three in totality – in sustaining, planning and managing the health of the Earth’s processes. . . . 5. Nirvana Nirvana, Nibbana or Nibbuti – literally means extinguishing the flame – of the engine of incessant craving – that rolls the wheel of Samsara. In death of the physical body or Rupakaya of a person who has attained Nirvana – the extinguishing is synonymous with Mahaparinirvana – when Mahabodhi or Dharmakaya (it is the highest Arupakaya realm of Wisdom and Compassion in Buddhist Cosmology) gets separated. The Shakyamuni Buddha was that person. The liberated Mahabodhi gets new light – radiating the message of symmetry, tranquility, wisdom and compassion in all Six Directions (or in Ten Directions: the first eight representing the Noble Eightfold Path – the next representing the Path toward Zenith or heavenly beings – and the other representing the Path toward Nadir or hellish beings - all transcending the spacetime of any conceivable domain. So, the Buddha’s Light is universal for emancipation of all – and active at present, as was in the past, so will be in the future – only one has to be aware of it – and work for to find it for himself or herself). In popular beliefs, the Dharmakaya lives in Sukhavati or Pure Land as the Buddha Amitabh. Enlightenment paves the way to go beyond all temptations – to a stage where perfect equilibrium is reached at an extraordinary level that does not yield any residual. There is no cause, no arising, no birth, no decaying, no demise, and no rebirth – everything is in complete balance without residuals – in the eternal tranquility of universal unity. In Buddhism this eternal sublime stage is Nirvana. As elaborated in acronyms in The Fundamental Laws of Nature, Nirvana is the final triumph in achieving STILL – Something Tranquil and Irreversible in Lucid Liberty from the tiring and exhaustive life processes of SPIRIT – Something Perpetual Irreversible and Reversible in Interdependence and Transience. Any disturbance to offset that equilibrium has no effect – because the grinding wheel of Samsara was stopped. What was Sunya, incomplete or Empty of essence in Samsara – has now come to fruition, completion in Nirvana – endowed with the essence of a different kind – of the eternal peace, happiness and harmony. This radiant strength of Nirvana after Enlightenment led the Buddha to declare: I am Awake. The door to achieving Nirvana opens up when all temptations arising through the processes of Five Aggregates (see The Power of Mind) are controlled to an elimination level at which they flower into a sublime abode of Maitrey or Metta – encompassing all living beings and the environment in loving sprinkle. The 6 senses with their many qualifications and attributes – the 3 arising (painful/unpleasant, pleasant, neutral) from 2 sources (external, internal) in the 3 states of processes (past, present, future) – give rise to a total of 108 (108 = 6 x 3 x 2 x 3) different temptations. The first three sets of numbers yield the 36-streams of craving. In one of the meditation practices – in the process of flipping the 108 prayer beads – the 9 Attributes of the Buddha (see Some Difficult Things) are repeated 12 times (108 = 9 x 12). This practice of repeating represents the 12 links of Dependent-origination – the Eternal Knot. By doing this – the practitioner meditates on Buddha’s triumph over temptations in untying the knots – in attaining the Eternal Bliss. These descriptions of the processes of achieving Nirvana – the eternal bliss have given rise to 108 as the sacred number in Buddhism. Therefore meditation and prayer loops are usually adorned with 108 beads. The karmic wheel without divine intervention – loaded with wholesome deeds in Pursuits to Perfection – diligently conducted in times (deeds that are accomplished in one’s lifetime, and others accomplished in reincarnated lives after lives) has come to a stop – yielding the joy of completion. What is achieved is irreversible – from the tiring equilibrium pursuits of reversibility. In Nirvana, the asymmetry of processes has yielded to the Symmetry, Stability and Harmony. The Duality of the Opposites is Entangled – not to create disturbance – but to complement each other to sublime Unity. All visible and invisible beings and the environment complement one another – to the Sublimities of Love, Compassion, Joy and Equanimity. Famous British poet and journalist Edwin Arnold (1832 – 1904) wrote – in lines of poetic beauty in The Light of Asia: . . . Thus “finishing the Path”, free from Earth’s cheats: Released from all the Skandhas of the flesh; Broken from ties – from Upadanas – saved From whirling on the wheel; aroused and sane . . . Lifeless – to nameless quiet, nameless joy, Blessed NIRVANA – sinless, stirless rest – That change which never changes! Lo, the Dawn Sprang with Buddha’s Victory! lo, in the East Flamed the first fires of beauteous day, poured forth Through the fleeting folds of Night's black drapery. . . . A sentence in summary. The Tathagata attributes - Enlightenment, Emptiness and Nirvana are all part of the Noble Eightfold Path – the Wheel to Happiness – to triumph over the Samara wheel (often shown briefly as the three poisons – ignorance, greedy attachment and hatred - driving the wheel). . . . 6. Some Notes on Buddhism Let me stop at this with some notes on some popular practices of Buddhism. 6.1 A Note on Chanting, Mantra and Prayers All religions have this practice – presented often in soothing sounds of musical melodies and rhythms. A mantra is a gist of Truths concisely put together in a single line or in few syllables. The saying or singing of the mantra again and again in melodies and rhythms – lets the energy of the Truth permeate into one’s being. Apart from calming the practitioner’s mind in the spirit of devotion through the energy of sound – chanting, mantra and prayers also have the social benefits of bringing all devotees together. The congregations act as a way of infusing cohesion within the community – creating the beneficial environment of friendship and fellow-feeling. In addition to different Sutra chanting – some Buddhist mantras are very popular. In Tibetan Buddhism (now practiced widely by all Buddhists), the essence of the Noble Eightfold Path is chanted as a 6-syllable mantra: Om – MaNi – PadMe – Hum. His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama (1935 - ) interpreted it as: the practice of the Path – as an invisible union of method and wisdom – helps one to purify the body, speech and mind into an exalted state – like a jewel (MaNi) in the lotus (PadMe). Om is a sacred sound in Buddhism representing the birth of the universe and Samsara; and Hum represents the resolve of the praying person to follow the Path. The Shakyamuni Mantra is chanted 108 times as a devotional remembrance of the Shakyamuni Buddha’s triumph over 108 temptations. In Sanskrit, this auspicious mantra is chanted for blessing as: Om - Muni – Muni – Mahamuni – Shakyamuni – Svaha. The Lotus Sutra chanting has a similar 6-syllable mantra (the Nichiren {1222 – 1282} sect of Buddhism, the Soka Gakkai International): Nam – MyoHo – RenGe – Kyo. Nam or Namo – homage to the Buddha, his teaching; MyoHo – the jewel or Mani, the Way to liberation; RenGe – the Lotus representing the Law of Dependent-origination or Sunyata; Kyo – resolve of the chanting to follow the timeless teaching of the Buddha. Despite such popularity, mantra and chanting – must not come in the way of causing disturbance to Sati or mindfulness. Because mindfulness requires Ekaggata or steadfast quiet attention and concentration of the mind on the object of meditation. . . . 6.2 Buddhists Pursue the Middle Way by Being the Light Unto Themselves Further, I like to delve into a question – a Buddhist is often asked (including myself) – mostly by people of religions originated in West Asia (see further in Something Different). The question that naturally comes to their mind is what the Buddhists do in times of despair, hopelessness, grief or in cases of high emotional distress. For them – these are the situations when they turn more to God and pray for solace, comfort and rescue – by looking up to the sky with two open hands asking for God’s blessing. What the Buddhists do? The Buddha did not pray to gods or goddesses (although there were many such Deva and Devi beliefs during the Buddha’s time in Sanatana Dharma – and still are in Hinduism) – neither does his teaching of the Middle Way have any reference to – or advice to pray to them. Instead, in each of his Sutra, the Buddha invites all visible and invisible beings (gods/goddesses, demons, etc) to assemble and listen to his Saccha Bachana – the Words of Truth. And he ends each Sutra by saying: Etena Saccha Bachana Aotute Joya Mangalam – let all be blessed with wholesomeness by listening to these Words of Truth. The Buddha even did not ask devotees to pray to him – although after Buddhahood all addressed him with respect and honor as the Bhagavan – like a grateful student does. After the Buddha’s Mahaparinirvana, different prayer services were developed at the First Buddhist Council to pay homage to the Buddha, the Dharma and the Sangha. The Buddha taught his followers to stay calm and reflect on the Transience and Dependent-origination of things – and to follow the light of the Way he taught – to win over episodes of high emotional distress – to True Happiness. Therefore being a Buddhist means cultivating the lotus of wisdom to seek for the jewels of personal and societal peace and happiness - by striving to find one's own inner strength. Joyously every little find in that pursuit is rewarding. As an answer to the question, Buddhist monks often cite the story of Kisa Gautami. The story goes like this – once a grieving mother – Gautami came to Buddha to revive her dead infant. The compassionate Buddha moved by her grief, told her to stay calm and assured that he would be able to revive her child if she could bring a fistful of rice from families where no one ever died. The grieving mother thought that was easy. She went from door to door, but could not find the required rice. The experience opened her eyes about the reality of things and she understood what the Buddha wanted to teach her. After overcoming the grief – she came back to Buddha asking for his blessing and to accept her as a disciple. In welcoming her, the Buddha touched upon the necessity of earning punya or merit by doing kushala karma or wholesome deeds – to overcome the effects of lapses or wrongdoings in one’s life – and to be compassionate to oneself and others for harmonious living. Note the method of the Buddha – unlike other priests and gurus during his time – he did not ask Gautami for animal sacrifice and austerity – nor did he conduct puja rituals asking for the grace of gods/goddesses. Buddha’s message is clear – that an individual – only the individual himself or herself – has the power to ride over difficult times – helped and supported by friends and teachers (like the Buddha Dharma). Popular Buddhism sees the Buddha to the likeness of God – although not as a creator and ultimate arbiter – but more as an honorable friend and teacher. He is addressed as the Bhagavan Buddha – a supremely compassionate Tathagata who brought-in the light of wisdom for the benefits of all. Statues of the Shakyamuni Buddha adorn all temples, also in devotees’ home shrine – sometimes along with some of his disciples. Devotees pay homage to the Buddha by chanting prayers – similar to the likeness of devotees in other religions. There are also other systems of visualizations. One such popular system is visualization of the Dharmakaya or Mahabodhi of historic Shakyamuni Buddha – believed to be living in Sukhavati or Pure Land (the highest realm in Buddhist Cosmology) as Buddha Amitabha or Buddha Vairocana. It is believed that Dharmakaya is there to show the brightness of light to all sentient beings. The Flower Garland Sutra described Dharmakaya as the Four Faces of the Unity (Sculptural depiction of the Four Faces - are portrayed in the shape of Buddha face). These Four are: the Duality (1 & 2) of the Opposites – its qualification: the Entanglement (3) of the Dualities, and the Complementarity (4) of the Dualities. This ancient Buddhist metaphysics is apparent in the findings of modern physics (see Einstein’s Unruly Hair and The Quantum World). The Buddha’s Godly characterization in a sense amounts to immortalization of the Buddha-Dharma – as a timeless teaching – as a guide for liberation after Buddha’s Mahaparinirvana. Buddhists pay tribute to Mahabodhi, especially during the Buddha Day celebration through festivals like Saga Dawa, sky-lantern, water-lantern joyful congregations and feeding the poor. Some other Buddha’s famous disciples (the likeness of Saints in Christianity) are also immortalized – differing in importance on grounds of cultural differences – among them, the two notables are: Avalokiteshvara and Manjushri who represent embodiments of Compassion and Wisdom, respectively. . . . 6.3 Buddhism Flowers in Multiple Cultures Across the Globe The Sutra-sayings (Etena Saccha Bachana Aotute Joya Mangalam and the Sabbe Sattva Hithaya, Sabbe Sattva Shukhaya Dhamma) - have been used by monks venturing out into foreign lands – to adopt local gods and goddesses (belonging mostly to ancient Shamanic beliefs) – as protectors and promoters of Buddha Dharma – thus giving them respectful status. Buddhism also inspired syncretization of aspects of rather poorly organized ancient beliefs like Taoism, Confucianism, Shintoism and Hinduism – to its ideals and customs. Even Christianity has elements developed in line with the Buddhist ideals (among many, the Bodhi tree; the Kalpa-taru or Kapruka – the tree of gifts and abundance erected during the Buddhist Dana Ceremony celebrations – transformed into Christmas tree in Christmas celebrations). This led Mongol Emperor, Mongke Khan (1209 – 1259) to say that: Buddhism is like the palm of the hand, the other religions being the fingers. In Arthur Schopenhauer's (1788 - 1860) words: . . . Buddhism is the best of all possible religions . . . To Friedrich Neitzsche (1844 - 1900): . . . Buddhism is the only genuinely positive religion to be encountered in history . . . In Anagarika Dharmapala’s (1864 – 1933) Lecture at the World Parliament of Religions in Chicago, 1893: The World’s Debt to the Buddha. In the 1939 words of Mahatma Gandhi (1869 - 1948): . . . an eternal debt of gratitude to that great teacher . . . English historian and writer HG Wells (1866 – 1946) wrote: Buddhism has done more for the advance of world civilization and true culture than any other influence in the chronicles of mankind. In Jiddu Krishnamurti (1895 – 1986) tribute, The Immortal Friend 1928, Boni & Liveright: . . . And how much He gave – How joyously He soared – Escaping from birth and death – From its tyranny and entangling wheel. Enlightenment attained – He gave to the world, as the flower gives – Its scent – The Truth. . . In Osho’s (1931 – 1990) words, in The Most Excellent Way: Gautama Buddha is like . . . the highest peak of the Himalayas . . . a rare phenomenon on this earth. The rarity is that Buddha is a scientist of the inner world . . . To be religious is simple, to be a scientist is simple – but to combine, to synthesize these two polarities is incredible. It is unbelievable, but it has happened . . . The approach of adaptation to and respect for other cultures – largely avoided clashes with local beliefs – and paved the diffusive way for Buddhism to make inroad into many cultures. Finally, in Dr BR Ambedkar (1891—1956) writings. . . If you study carefully, you will see that Buddhism is based on reason. There is an element of flexibility inherent in it, which is not found in any other religion . . . I firmly believe the Dhamma of the Buddha is the only true religion . . . I regard the Buddha’s Dhamma to be the best. No religion can be compared to it. If a modern man who knows science must have a religion, the only religion he can have is the Religion of the Buddha. This conviction has grown in me after thirty-five years of close study of all religions. And in Ven Anoma Mahinda’s words: . . . scientists, philosophers, and men of literature have proclaimed Him the ‘Greatest Man Ever Born’ The happy dust of the Indian Subcontinent that was once criss-crossed by the Buddha – marking some of the milestones of his life (e.g. Lumbini; Bodhgaya; Rajgir, Nalanda and Sarnath and Vaishali, Shravasti and Kushinagar) – are now very popular pilgrimage sites for devotees and all. While paying homage to these sacred sites, a reflection on Nobel Laureate Rabindranath Tagore’s (1861 - 1941) many writings – in articles, poems and dance-drama on Buddhism – opens one’s wisdom eye. In one poem, The Delirium of Hatred he saw the vision for the Buddha’s brilliant radiance – to shine one more time for the sake of saving humanity drifting into the delirium of hatred and conflict: * * * All creatures are crying for a new birth of thine Oh, thou of boundless life Save them, rouse thine eternal voice of hope Let Love’s lotus with its inexhaustible treasure of honey Open its petals in thy light O Serene, O Free In thine immeasurable mercy and goodness Wipe away all dark stains from the heart of this earth * * * Happy Vesak the Buddha Day!!! On this Auspicious Full-moon Day – let Metta touch Everyone’s Heart to bring Peace and Harmony across the Globe . . . . . - by Dr. Dilip K. Barua, 26 May 2021  The title refers to some situations – an individual often faces that are difficult to overcome. The difficulties may or may not arise from an individual’s persona, trait or individuality – rather from a combination of factors having roots both in the person’s individuality and the surrounding. We have seen some glimpses of individuality (e.g. Six of them: greedy-natured, hate-natured, dull-natured, faithful-natured, intelligent-natured and ruminating-natured) in the context of meditation practices. The situations – in one form or another, in one degree or another – appear as a constraint, giving birth to conflict between one’s endeavor to do the right thing – and his or her strength or weakness to overcome the hindrances posed by the constraints. When I first came across them – a total of twenty – I was totally fascinated by the list – realizing how true they were. They were delivered by the Buddha - The Tathagata (624 – 544 BCE) in his Difficulty Sutra – apparently to teach monks that some difficulties are common – therefore nothing to be concerned about – rather one should try to understand the causes – and be courageous to overcome them with discipline, calmness and practice of the Dharma.
As we shall see, the delivered difficulties are not only applicable to monks, but also to all. They were compiled in the Sutra of 42 Chapters (The Sutra of Forty-Two Chapters translated by Dr. DT Suziki; 1870 – 1966; https://buddhasutra.com) in the Buddhist scripture – with the 12th Chapter describing the difficulties. Osho (1931 – 1990) elaborated and interpreted them in the chapter, ‘The Twenty Difficult Things’ in his book, The Buddha Said . . . (Osho, Watkins Publishing 2007). Thought of sharing 14 of them in this piece – with explanations and interpretations – in ways I understand them (included the image of a beautiful orchid as a metaphor of overcoming the difficulties ׀image credit: anon). In my attempt to elaborate I will try to focus on: (1) what are the nature of constraints; (2) why it is necessary to overcome the difficulties they pose; and (3) last but not least, the rationale behind the Buddha’s teaching of them. . . . Difficulty means it is not easy or straightforward to either understand and/or accomplish something. Some of it are so universal that they define life – in the form of a limitation. For example, when we were young we could not do or understand certain things – as we grow older we overcome those difficulties – but when aged new difficulties come upon us. In the context of energy balance (see Entropy and Everything Else) we have seen that all processes are characterized by reversibility or irreversibility. The Buddha was not talking about irreversible situations. He saw most of the difficulties as a stumbling block – not an obstacle – something reversible that can be overcome with due diligence and efforts. And the reasons for him to include them in the Sutra – are to draw attention to, to be aware of – to equip oneself to triumph over them. A difficulty has two elements – one relates to the person trying to overcome, the other relates to the situation he or she is trying to overcome. In line with the sublime qualities (see Sublimities) the Buddha taught that one should not feel contempt, but be patient and compassionate to the person (could be himself or herself, or others) struggling to overcome the difficulties. Similarly, one should not forget to feel joy for being successful in overcoming them. Thanks to the Buddha’s deliverance, some of the difficulties are common knowledge now. We echo the universality of the Buddha’s teaching with Jiddu Krishnamurti’s (1895 – 1986) tribute – who saw the Buddha (in his poetry book, The Immortal Friend; Boni & Liveright 1928) belonging to all humanity, not only to Buddhists (. . . Enlightenment attained – He gave to the world, as the flower gives – Its scent – The Truth . . .). Let me begin by explaining the nature of difficulty in terms of Relativity – the ability of a person trying to overcome versus the resistance of constraint. To a strong able person a certain resistance may appear easy – but the same resistance may appear difficult to overcome by a weak person. Difficulties are something we all face in one form or another, at one time or another – some of them are due to our own constraints – while others are explicitly conditioned by the environment/society where one lives in. Therefore I have grouped the situations of difficulties into three broad categories. (1) Intrinsic Premise: it includes those that arise from one’s personal inability – for example, one cannot always totally understand oneself to be a master of controlling things the way he or she likes it. (2) Extrinsic Premise: they stem from one’s position in a social stratum, and his or her mental framework. As well important, are the circumstances in which an individual is in – because they condition his or her behaviors. (3) Emotional Premise: it refers to those situations that are acted upon or are triggered by something or someone. The presented order of difficulties placed in these premises is not necessarily the same as described in the scripture. . . . Before going further, first let me try to present a simple example – of the relation between the ability of a person trying to overcome and the resistance posed by a constraint. Imagine a person, let us name him Pi, is on his journey to have a glimpse of things on his foot. Among other difficulties he might face, let us focus how he has managed to cross over the water bodies of different sizes. The first was a small fast flowing stream of chest-deep water. Pi crossed the stream by folding his clothes and belonging over his head, and carefully walked, to not get swayed by the stream. Next he came across a river that was not crossable by walking, nor by swimming. It was too wide and deep. Pi pondered over; there were no help around and no boat to use. He cut tree branches and shrubs to make a raft – and crossed the river floating on the raft. Next, he came across a bay. It was too big with waves and currents of all sizes. A raft will not work, and cutting a tree and digging a canoe will take very long time. Pi decided to walk along the bank with the hope to find help. His strategy paid off. He came across a small port where vessels were carrying goods and people, and he availed the opportunity. An analysis of the example would show that none of these three difficulties was insurmountable. At least 3 things equipped Pi to overcome them: (1) confidence and perseverance, (2) energy and effort, and (3) intelligence associated with strategic or critical thinking. . . . 1. Intrinsic Premise 1a. It is difficult to be thorough in learning and exhaustive in investigation. This situation defines the nature of things – that it is vast, beyond the capacity of one to be fully cognizant of it. One cannot say I have learned everything there is to be learned – and investigated everything there is to be investigated. Many giants in the history of mankind were humble and brave to say that – for them, the more one knows the more appear the unknowns. Although PS Laplace (1749 – 1827) convinced of the powerful deterministic paradigm of Newtonian (Isaac Newton, 1642 – 1727) physics – declared that determinism is sound and solid, and is the only method needed to solve any of world’s problems including social relations. Despite such a declaration, frontiers of science did not stop questioning conventional wisdom. Thus learning and investigation continue – and each of us in various capacities adds a little drop to the vast ocean – perhaps not so thorough not so exhaustive, but enough to address a certain problem. These are the rationale for the Buddha to include this constraint in the Sutra – that at a certain time, one has to face the reality that he or she cannot wait for everything to be known. Instead, while the quests must continue, one has to come to terms – to define workable solutions that are acceptable to manage things. 1b. It is difficult to be one in knowledge and practice. This situation arises from the fact that knowledge and practice do not always go hand in hand. There is a certain amount of paradigm shift between knowledge and practice – therefore reconciling both is not always easy. The processes of acquiring knowledge and the constraints of applying it into practice with prudence are not the same. In the context of solving a problem – we have briefly touched some aspects of it in Artificial Intelligence – the Tool of No Limit. The other contexts of this difficulty can be examined from at least two simple standpoints. (1) Personal limitation: one may know lot of things – but some often fail to put them into practice of convincingly sharing them with others in speaking, writing, working, etc. (2) Limitation of time and energy: both acquiring knowledge and actually practicing them demand time and energy. Often, it is either some of both – or most of one and a little of the other. In academic fields, we see some have theoretical expertise; others develop expertise in finding empirical evidence by working in the field. The other simple example is the split of Natural philosophy from philosophy in the 19th century – with further splits occurring across disciplines as the horizon of knowledge continues to expand. The rationale for the Buddha to include this in the Sutra is that – one should be aware of this difficulty as a reality – and be equipped to manage things efficiently. 1c. It is difficult not to express an opinion about others. This situation is so common that people do this without the slightest of thinking – even though some may manage to remain non-judgmental. Some of such common practices have very harmful effects on social harmony – because they give birth to misinformation, disinformation, gossips and misunderstandings. They are superficial or unreal – simply because knowing someone’s true nature – as well as of entities – is not something easy to master. Therefore one cannot say for certain that he or she is absolutely qualified to pass an opinion. This is one of the rationales for the Buddha to include it as one of the difficulties. That one should be aware of the harmful consequences before passing an unqualified opinion. There are also opinions – that are outright flattering – massaging the ego of a person or an entity. Such opinions may appear harmless – but in reality distort or mask the true nature of things. When the truth or reality gets masked by unqualified opinions – there appears double edged damages. On the one hand the flattered individual fails to see the corroding weaknesses of himself or herself – on the other, false premises may be relied upon to manage things – which may bring-in disastrous outcomes in the long run. 1d. It is difficult to gain an insight into the nature of being and to practice the Way. This difficulty is somewhat like 1b, but here the Buddha has drawn attention to insights depicted in the governing Natural laws (e.g. the Laws of Transience and Dependent-origination) – and practicing the Middle Way or the Noble Eightfold Path. To be able to incorporate laws and principles into practice – one needs patience, perseverance and energy – to deeply understand the true nature of being and reconciling it with the practicality of implementation. Many do not have such natural capabilities. Therefore, sometimes the Way is followed as a routine or ritual without examining and understanding the rationale behind it. The Buddha has drawn attention to this difficulty to make aware that it is important to overcome – because blind following of anything has its harmful consequences. The Buddha’s teaching tells one to be in sync with practice and understanding of the insights (used to develop the practice). 1e. It is difficult to be always master of oneself. The reality of this difficulty draws our attention to the fact that no matter how one does not want it – one cannot always control things in his or her favor. It is sort of a frailty that we all succumb to at one time or other. It stems from the reason that it is not only difficult to see or know something or someone as they are – but also to control one’s own thought processes and actions – to modulate them in the right direction. If one does not know and understand himself or herself properly – it becomes difficult to control behaviors. The meditation practices (see Meditation) the Buddha taught – are geared toward the direction of calming the mind to overcome this difficulty. The Buddha included it in his Sutra – inviting all to see the necessity of overcoming it – so that lapses can be avoided from drifting to the wrong path – or getting trapped into distractions – or conducting unwholesome thoughts and deeds. . . . 2. Extrinsic Premise 2a. It is difficult for the poor to practice generosity. This difficulty can be discussed from at least three perspectives. The first is that, to give someone something – one must have that something. A poor – not having things – either in terms of material or non-material possession (e.g. the sublime qualities; see Sublimities) cannot give or share what he or she does not posses. The second, as discussed earlier (in 1a and 1b) is that one cannot be knowledgeable in everything – which means even a rich or a highly educated person can be poor in something. The third perspective should be realized from the fact that there has to be the willingness to share. Having something does not mean he or she will share or give that something to others. The term miser reflects the popular perception of this aspect. The rationale for the Buddha’s inclusion of this difficulty – is that one should not feel contempt for the poor – instead he or she should try to understand the facts behind this difficulty. 2b. It is difficult for the strong and rich to observe the Way. This difficulty indicates how hubris and arrogance associated with the authority of strength and power could change a person – making him or her totally disrespectful to the necessity of having a righteous conduct. What one sees as right is nothing close to seeing things as they are. Power comes from one’s wealth that gives him or her the authority to control and coerce things in favor. It also comes from one’s position in the hierarchical authority – again, to manage things in his or her favor. One can imagine that with such changes in attitude toward life – an individual succumbs to becoming selfish and snobbish. And observing the Way to do the right thing – appears irrelevant and unnecessary – even undesirable to him or her. The person succumbs to the vagaries of the changed attitude – feeling the illusion of power – seeing nothing more, nothing less. Here again, the Buddha’s teaching says that the strong and the rich should understand the causes of this difficulty – in order to find time to observe the Way. 2c. It is difficult to disregard life. Life is full of hope and aspiration. Despite all the harsh realities – the vision of hope keeps life’s flame alight. The will to life begins in one’s childhood – I have tried to explain that in the context of Happiness. It is the parent-progeny-parent-progeny wheel of life we all inherit. The Buddha was saying that one has to understand these realities of life processes – to remain calm and maintain the balance of attachments. Denial of life by succumbing to the difficulty has no place in the Buddha’s teaching. Life’s processes come in different phases and disguises of high emotions of anger, hate, love and joy. Unless one is equipped with the light of wisdom for the necessity of remaining calm – it is difficult for him or her to overcome the negative emotional ups and downs – and enjoy the bliss of positive ones. 2d. It is difficult to conquer passions, to suppress selfish desires. Here again, once the will to life overwhelms everything and gets the total grip on one’s life – people tend to succumb to the damaging passions and desires. Passions have different roots – such as desire, infatuation, obsession and craze. One has to understand that passions do not have a long life – they rather represent a certain state of mind in space and time. Therefore remaining calm is very important. If one fails to control his or her passions by being too attached to them – they translate to selfishness – to the acts of trampling other’s interests without hesitance. The Buddha taught all to be aware of these facts – to be balanced – to steer passions away from selfishness. Apart from such passions, there are also others that act as a powerful drive to accomplish and achieve things. But even in such cases, one needs to maintain the balance – otherwise uncontrolled ambitious passions could derail things downward. 2e. It is difficult not to abuse one’s authority. The lure of temptation to succumb to this difficulty is so spell-binding that very few – the strong, the courageous and the righteous – manage to overcome them. Authority comes with power – and while power gives an individual the ability to lead and accomplish many good things – it also tempts him or her to do bad things. Holding on to and having the power and position of authority is one of the most desirable things – that an individual wishes for in his or her life time. There is nothing wrong with that – but problems starts to accrue when the temptation to abuse – proliferates in myriad of colors. When it overtakes an individual or entity endowed with authority – seeing things as they are is considered unimportant – thus accountability and responsibility take backstage. Instead, seeing things through the lens of power and authority is considered the right of way of doing business. This seeing gives birth to the illusion that having the power of authority is like a blessing – that comes with the blanket license to abuse the cursed (so the abuser thinks). Things have not changed since the observation of 19th century German Philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche (1844 – 1900): All things are subject to interpretation, whichever interpretation prevails at a given time is a function of power and not truth. If anything, the power of authority is interpreting things more and more in its favor. One can think of at least 4 types of abuses: (1) The sincerity of maintaining and holding on to integrity – is seen something manipulatable by the practices of covering up; (2) Opinions and decisions coming from such sources of authority have the aura – that they must be followed and obeyed without question; (3) Corruption and nepotism are seen as the legitimate rights of the authority for doing business; (4) It is permissible to deny the abused the right to voice opinion and defend themselves. The Buddha included this important truth in his Sutra for all people to understand the rationale of such abuses – and finding the courage to overcome the difficulty. 2f. It is difficult to be even-minded and simple-hearted in all of one’s dealings with others. The nature of one’s dealings with others stems from at least two factors. The first is his or her ability or inability to remain neutral and even-minded in judging the person being dealt with. Remaining even-minded or mastering the virtue of Equanimity has been discussed as one of the sublime qualities in an earlier piece (see Sublimities). The second factor can be explained from two perspectives. One spectrum of the dealings is: simply seeing others as they are – the other seeing through the lens loaded with pre-conceived notions or cognitive biases. The former has been highlighted as one of the trio of the Noble Eightfold Path – the Purity of View (see Happiness). The latter gives rise to misunderstanding and mischaracterization. The Buddha’s teaching says that one should understand the nature of this difficulty – to try to remain calm and composed by considering others with a simple and pure mind. 2g. It is difficult not to feel contempt toward the ignorant. Let me begin explaining this difficulty by saying that ignorance is identified as the root cause of unhappiness in Buddhism (see Happiness). Therefore, when one sees a suffering person – he or she automatically assumes that the person might be ignorant and starts feeling contempt. Such a feeling leads to the development of superiority complex in people who consider themselves learned. When the complex gets hold of the learned – he or she feels elevated to a higher class or strata and becomes arrogant – with the effects of seeing the ignorant as someone that does not deserve respect. A prime example of this is the attitude of highest caste Brahmins in Hinduism. It is another indication of the fact that learning or having a high academic degree – or even spiritual awakening does not necessarily make a person ideal or good – although the potential for being so is in his or her favor. As also discussed earlier (see Happiness) one’s success in learning does not only depend on his or her own efforts – but also on many other societal contributing factors. Therefore, the learned must be grateful and humble for success – and refrain from being arrogant and feeling superior. The other fact, as discussed in 1a, 1b, 1d and 1e, is that the sphere of knowledge and learning is huge – therefore even the one who claims to be learned is ignorant in something. This reality should also make the learned humble, not arrogant. The reason for the Buddha to include this in the Sutra is to let people understand these realities to avoid succumbing to disrespectful and contemptuous attitude and behavior toward the ignorant. However, it is also expected that people who consider themselves deficient in learning some aspects of life or skill – should try to do away with the darkness of ignorance. . . . 3. Emotional Premise 3a. It is difficult not to get angry when insulted. Trading insults is one of the most negative social interactions – abhorrent, shameful and heinous – that taint the world of civility. Insults deeply hurt the core of the victim’s personality and dignity. The victim feels humiliated and it is very difficult not to react with anger. It is even difficult to forget about it – thus giving birth to societal animosity and mistrust. Most insulting outpours have their roots in hatred, jealousy, dislike, competition and conflict of interests. Continuous insults can destroy the victim by inflicting scars of depression. Insults can be inflicted by at least 4 different ways: (1) face-to-face verbal; (2) through mail/email; (3) spreading insulting misinformation/disinformation and rumors; and (4) now with the digital Internet age, insults come in different disguises of online harassments. Some ethical and moral aspects of online abuses are discussed in the piece Artificial Intelligence – the Tool of No Limit and in the section on Science of Social Interactions in Upslope Events and Downslope Processes. A face-to-face insult not only gives birth to anger – but may also lead to instantaneous fights – often ending up in injuries and/or loss of lives. The Buddha taught people to understand the nature of this difficulty – to not get provoked by the insult, but to face it with utmost restraint and calmness – and forgive the remorseful apologizing perpetrator. One story tells how the Buddha took an insult on his person. Without getting provoked and becoming angry – he taught the perpetrator a lesson, making him ashamed and remorseful for the abhorrent behavior (see the finishing paragraph in Harbor Sedimentation). 3b. It is difficult to subdue selfish pride. Having pride or being proud of something is inherent in human nature. One becomes proud of things he or she has earned – or something glorious his or her family or ancestors have achieved. There is nothing wrong about such prides – because they are a healthy way of becoming joyful of one’s achievement. But pride takes ugly turn when the person becomes too attached to it. When this happens, he or she becomes rigid, conservative and protective of the pride – making him or her totally oblivious of changes around. The person is in denial of Natural laws and principles (see The Fluidity of Nature; Social Fluidity; Laws of Nature). The ugliness of selfish desires overtakes the person’s thought processes and activities. Such activities totally disregard others’ interests – with no hesitance whatsoever in trampling over anyone coming on the way. This problem of selfishness is somewhat like the selfish desire discussed in 2d. The Buddha’s teaching says to not get too attached to pride – to avoid giving in to the viciousness of selfishness. . . . Before finishing, I am tempted to draw attention to the two prayers, Buddhists chant to pay homage to the historic Buddha and his teaching – the Dharma. They highlight the attributes of the Buddha (9 of them) and his teaching (6 of them) that made him victorious by overcoming many different difficulties and antagonism. Most people including many Buddhists do not know them completely; therefore I am listing them here. Attributes of the Supremely-compassionate (Maha-karonic) Tathagata Buddha:
Note that, in none of these attributes – the Buddha and Buddhism made any reference to worshipping or praying to gods and goddesses. Instead, one of the Buddha attributes says that he was the teacher of gods and humans. That is the reason why before delivering some of the Sutras, the Buddha invited all visible and invisible beings to listen to the Words of Truth (Saccha Bachana). Such non-reference to gods or goddesses must have angered the seats of power – the royal establishments and priests. Undeterred by such angers, the Buddha was able to use his wisdom, charisma and courage – to win over them. Whoever, came in adversity – was first advised to be calm and reflective. By such advising to remain calm, the Buddha essentially let emptying of anger and other hindrances from the audience’s mind – to be totally open to his teaching. . . . The Koan of this piece: It so happens that things do not pay off well if you are just part of the crowd – try to be someone noticeable – because politics of managing things do not see anyone below. . . . . . - by Dr. Dilip K. Barua, 5 March 2021  The sky, the trees, the neighborhood They all appeared different and dull I wondered why. I came out to my backyard sitting on a chair That I most often do during the summer mornings I saw the old cherry tree standing But could not understand why it is still there. Some little birds flown in picking up things, chirping I wondered why they do that. I walked around our vegetable garden Tomatoes, beans, eggplant, squash, zucchini – all there, growing I wondered what is the use. My body felt cold in the summer days I did not know why I felt exhausted for no reason I felt something very dear missing I felt empty. There came the news from my nephew ‘takuma is no longer with us’ My children’s, nephews’ and nieces’ takuma My octogenarian ma. I melted down sobbing and weeping I could not stop it Memories started pouring in Making my tears rolling down I wondered why this has to happen. I did not feel so much this way when my baba passed away Perhaps thinking that my ma was still with us Now the last link is gone forever Echoing ma saying once, ‘parents do not live forever’. I felt my ma’s warm hands, hugging I felt her warm kisses, inimitable loving care I felt her warm wishes no matter what happens. My palms came together at my heart in Namashakra Asking her blessing for all of us, for our wellbeing. I felt ma whispering to my ears, ‘Nanai, I had a long fulfilling life Take good care of yourself and all.’ I felt ma is with us Telling us to remain strong To nurture and cherish the family bond To counter hardships and celebrate accomplishments. I thought of Kisa Gautami story: Begging from door to door to revive her dead child And how the Buddha made her realize the harsh truth. Suddenly the rationale of Emptiness appeared with a new meaning to me Of the existence of missing links in the tangled ball of interconnectedness In the rolling Time of ever changing fluxes of things. Now another link is missing – a very precious one That gave birth to three branching trees To let new links to sprout To roll on to the future, to the unknown. This piece is dedicated to the gracious remembrance of my mother by offering merit (punya dana) with loving respects. She passed away one month ago at age 89. . . . . . -by Dr. Dilip K. Barua, 25 September 2020  |
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