Archive for the ‘Mahindarama Article’ Category

The following discourse is based on a collection of lectures on the Anatta doctrine given by Sayadaw U Silananda. Anatta is a Pali word consisting of a negative prefix, ‘an’ meaning not, plus atta, soul, and is most literally translated as no-soul. The word atta, however has a wide range of meanings, and some of those meanings cross over into the fields of psychology philosophy and everyday terminology as, for example, when atta can mean self, being, ego, and personality.

Therefore, in this preface, we will examine and elucidate the wide range of meanings which atta can signify in order to determine exactly what the Buddha denied when He proclaimed that He teaches anatta, that is, when He denied the existence of atta. We will examine both Buddhist and non-Buddhist definitions of the term soul, and we will also examine modern definitions of terms such as ego and self.

Most writers in the field of religion, when writing about soul or anatta specifically use the terms self, ego, being and soul interchangeably, while psychologists define those terms as totally different entities. If we define atta as including the terms self ego, personality, and being, we may make the mistake of claiming that Buddha denied the phenomena of individual differences, individual personalities, individual kamma and other features of individuality in people.

But if we say that Buddha denied only the theological entity of a soul, while leaving intact a psychological entity such as an ego or self, then we are also mistaken. The resolution of this dilemma lies in the fact that we must deal with two levels of reality simultaneously, the ultimate level and the conventional level.

In the absolute sense, the anatta doctrine denies any and all psychological entities or agents inside the person. In the absolute sense, all phenomena, including what is called a person, are composed of elements, forces, and a stream of successive states.

The Buddha organised these phenomena into conceptual groups, known as khandhas (aggregates), and they are: (1) material processes, also known as bodily form, corporeality or matter; (2) feeling; (3) perception; (4) mental formations; and (S) consciousness. Most important ý when all mental and physical phenomena are analysed into those elements, no residual entity, such as a soul, self, or ego, can be found. In short, there are actions executed by these groups, but no actor The workings of these groups of forces and elements appear to us as an ego or personality but in reality the ego or self or agent of the actions has only an illusory existence.

However on the conventional level, the workings of these forces, elements, and states are organised by causal laws, and, although they in no way constitute any extra-phenomenal self or soul, they do produce a human individual, a person – if we want to call a certain combination of material and mental processes a person.

This complex combination of material and mental processes is dependent entirely on previous processes, especially the continuity of kamma which is the process of ethical volitions and the results of those volitions. Thus individual differences are accounted for even though the self or ego or personality is, in the ultimate sense, denied.

An individual may be an angry, hot-tempered person, for example, because in the past he or she has performed actions which leave conditions for traits, which are kamma results, to arise in the present. But this happens because kamma leaves a potential for those traits of anger and ill will to arise, not because any kind of self of the person is continuing. Actually the human individual does not remain the same for two conseclusive moments; everything is a succession of forces and elements, and there is nothing substantial.

Therefore, on the conventional level, we may say that individual differences have an illusory existence. Common everyday conceptions, such as ego, self, and personality seem to be very real, obvious, and well-defined by psychologists and laymen alike, but they are, on the absolute level and in the eyes of those who have achieved enlightenment, illusory.

Another way to approach Buddhist psychology is to examine the very complex and technical psychological system known as Abhidhamma. The Abhidhamma is, in the words of Narada Maha Thera, “a psychology without a psyche. Abhidhamma teaches that ultimate reality consists of four elementary constituents.

One, Nibbana (in Sanskrit, Nirvana) is unconditioned, and the other three, citta, cetasika, and rupa – consciousness, mental factors, and matter respectively – are conditioned. These elementary constituents, called dhammas, alone possess ultimate reality. The familiar world of objects and persons, and the interior world of ego and self are only conceptual constructs created by the mind out of the elemental dhammas.

Abhidhamma thus restricts itself to terms that are valid from the standpoint of ultimate realities: it describes reality in terms of ultimate truth. Thus it describes dhammas, their characteristics, their functions, and their relations.  All conceptual entities such as self or being or person, are resolved into their ultimates, into bare mental and material phenomena, which are impermanent, conditioned, dependently arisen, and empty of any abiding self or substance.

Consciousness, for example, which seems like one continual flow, is described as a succession of discrete evanescent mental events, the cittas, and a complex set of mental factors, the cetasikas, which perform more specialised tasks in the act of consciousness. There is no self, soul, or any kind of agent inside a person involved in this process.

Now let us examine some of the terms related to atta that we find in various sources. The definition of Soul, Spirit given in the Abingdon Dictionary of Living Religions is as follows: “That which gives life to any animate thing; or the inner essential, or noncorporeal part or dimension of any animate thing; or a noncorporeal but animate substance or entity; or a noncorporeal but individuated personal being.”

Another definition of soul comes from Richard Kennedy in The lnternational Dictionary of Religion: “Many religions teach that man is composed of a physical body, which does not survive death, and an eternal, invisible core which is the true self or soul.

Donald Watson, in A Dictionary of Mind and Spirit, writes, in the entry Sou/: “It goes by many names: jiva (Jain), Atman (Hindu), Monad, Ego, Self, Higher Self, Overself, elusive self, psyche, or even Mind.” In these non-Buddhist definitions of soul, we see many terms inter-changed, such as core, ego, and essence. Sayadaw U Silananda will elaborate on these meanings in his lectures.

Two Buddhist definitions of atta are here given. The first is from Nyanatiloka’s Buddhist Dictionary. “… anything that in the ultimate sense could be regarded as a self existing, real ego-entity soul or any other abiding substance. “ In The Truth of Anatta, Dc G.P Malalasekera states that atta is “self, as a subtle metaphysical entity soul.”’ These definitions also cover a wide range of meanings of the term atta and of the usual translations of atra as soul and self.

The above definitions of atta, soul, sometimes cross over into the realm of psychology when the authors define soul as self, ego, psyche or mind. Did the Buddha deny that such conceptions as ego and self are real when He proclaimed the anatta doctrine? Once again, the answer depends on whether we are speaking of absolute or conventional reality. But first we will examine some definitions from psychology to see what was actually denied both implicitly and explicitly by the anatta doctrine.

According to the Dictionary of Psychology self is: “(1) the individual as a conscious being. (2) the ego or I. (3) the personality or organisation of traits.” The definition of ego is “the self, particularly the individual’s conception of himself.” Personality is defined as “the dynamic organisation within the individual of those psycho physical systems that determine his characteristic behaviour and thought.”

Another definition of personality is “that which permits a prediction of what a person will do in a given situation.”” These psychological terms correspond to some of the terms used in Buddhism to deal with the conventional life of sentient beings. They have a useful purpose as labels, but in the ultimate sense, these labels are, as we shall see, mere designations which have only an illusory reality,

In Pali, we have the terms satta, puggala, jiva and atta to describe the conventional psychology of beings. Satta, according to Nyanatiloka, means “living being.” Puggala means “individual, person, as well as the synonyms: personality individuality being (satta), self (atta). Tiva is “life, vital princi-ple, individual soul.”

Some uses of atta also fall within the realm of psychology Atta can mean, according to Dr. Malalasekera, “one’s self or one’s own, e.g. attahitaya patipanno no parahitaya (acting in one’s own interest, not in the interest of others) or attana va akatam sadhu (what is done by one’s own self is good).”

Atta can also mean “one’s own person, the personality including body and mind, e.g. in atrabhava (life), attapatilabha (birth in some form of life).”

Pali has some terms which correspond to the psychological notions of traits. For example, the concept of nature or character is called carita. Using this term, we can speak of different types of persons. For example. we may describe a person as raga-carita (greedy-natured), dosa-carica (hateful-natured), moha-carita (dull-natured), saddha-carita (faithful-natured), buddhi-carita (intelligent-natured), and vitakka-carita (ruminating-natured) – six types altogether Different people are at different stages of development, according to their kamma. Buddhism does not deny that such conceptions of individuality have validity but they have validity only in the conventional sense.

Dr Malalasekera writes: “Buddhism has no objection to the use of the words atta, or satta, or puggala to indicate the individual as a whole, or to distinguish one person from another where such distinction is necessary, especially as regards such things as memory and kamma which are private and personal and where it is necessary to recognise the existence of separate lines of continuity (santana).

But, even so, these terms should be treated only as labels, binding-conceptions and conventions in language, assisting economy in thought and word and nothing more. Even the Buddha uses them sometimes: ‘These are worldly usages worldly terms of communication, worldly descriptions, by which a Tathagata communicates without misapprehending them”.

Nyanatiloka adds to this idea when writing about the term satta: “This term, just like atta, puggala, jiva and all other terms denoting ‘ego-entity,’ is to be considered as a merely conventional term (vohara-vacana), not possessing any reality value.

All of the various conceptions of psychology and religion regarding a self or soul of any kind were indeed denied existence in the ultimate sense by the Buddha. But we may use terms such as self and ego to describe a particular arrangement of the five khandhas (aggregates) which give the illusory appearance of an individual. As Sister Vajira, an Arahant at the time of the Buddha, said:

When all constituent parts are there,
The designation ‘cart’ is used;
Just so, where the five groups exist,
Of ‘living being’ do we speak.

In conclusion, the Sayadaw U Silananda has given us lectures on the anatta doctrine in which he uses terms such as soul and self interchangeably. This is because the doctrine of anatta was taught by the Buddha from the point of view of the Fully Enlightened One, a view which saw that all things are anatta. It is with this wisdom that the lectures are given.

Jataka No. 69

THE STRONG MINDED SNAKE

{DETERMINATION}

Once upon a time there was a doctor who was an expert at treating snake bites. One day he was called for by the relatives of a man who had been bitten by a deadl poisonous snake.

The doctor told them, “There are two ways of treating this snake bite. One is by giving medicine. The other is by capturing the snake who bit him, and forcing him to suck out his own poison.” The family said, “We would like to find the snake and make him suck the poison out.”

After the snake was caught, the doctor asked him , Did you bite this man?” “Yes I did,” said the snake. “Well then,” said the doctor “You must suck your own poison , out of the wound.” But the strong-willed snake replied, “Take back my own poison? Never! I have never done such a thing and I never will!”

Then the doctor started a wood fire and said to the snake, “If you don’t suck that poison out, I’ll throw you in this fire and burn you up!” But the snake had made up his mind. He said, “I’d rather die!” And he began moving towards the fire.

In all his years, the snake bite expert doctor had ver seen anything like this! He took pity on the urageous snake, and kept him from entering the flames. He used his medicines and magic spells to remove the ison from the suffering man.

The doctor admired the snake’s single-minded termination. He knew that if he used his determination a wholesome way he could improve himself. So he taught him the Five Training Steps to avoid unwholesome actions. Then he set him free and said, “Go in peace and harm no one.”

The moral is: Determination wins respect.

“Life is uncertain – Death is certain”

said the Buddha. Knowing full well that death is certain and that is the natural ultimate that everyone has to face, we should not be afraid of death. Yet all of us are afraid of death because we choose not to remember that death is inevitable. We like to cling to dear life.

A child comes into this world bring joy and happiness unto all near and dear ones. Even the Mother who had to bear extreme maternity pains is pleased and delighted. She feels that all the trouble and pains borne by her were worth it. However, the child, on coming into this world, indicated that it is having its share of suffering by crying. This child grows into adolescence and becomes an adult, performing all sorts of good and bad deeds. The adult finally grow old and bid farewell to this world leaving the kith and kin in deep sorrow.

Such is the existence of a human being. People would try to escape from the clutches of death but no one is able to do so. With their mind hovering over the hoard of wealth they has acquired, unduly worrying about the dear children surrounding them, and last but not least, evincing concern over their own bodies, which despite the care and attention given to it, are worn out and exhausted.

It is a wrench at the heart to separate from the body. It is unbearable and yet unavoidable. This is the way that most people take leave of the world- with moans and groans. The pangs of death are considered dreadful. Such as attitude is all due to ignorance.

FEAR OF DEATH

Men are disturbed not by external things, but by notions, they form concerning things. Death for example, is not by itself, dreadful, the dread or terror exists only in our mind.  Insistence upon the truth of suffering may seem morbid to the mind which is unable to face realities but it helps to reduce or eliminate the feeling of  dread or fear in facing death.  Once life is launched, it is like a bullet rushing to its destination which is death.  With this realisation, we must be brave to come face to face with our own mortality.

If we want to be considered a free man in life, we must be free from the fear of death.  We should remember what science teaches us about the process of dying. It is physiological erosion of the human body.  We should not delude ourselves with imagined or anticipated horrors – imaginations which never come to pass. A famous physician, Sir William Oslet puts it as follows: “In my wide clinical experience, most human beings die really without pain or fear.”

A veteran nurse once said: “It has always seemed to me a major tragedy that so many people go through life haunted by the fear of death – only to find when it comes that it’s as natural as life itself.  For few are afraid to die when they get to the very end.  In all my experience only one seemed to feel any terror – a woman who had done her sister a wrong which it was too late to right”

“Something strange and beautiful happens to men and women when they come to the end of the road.  All fear, all horror disappears. I have often watched a look of happy wonder down in their eyes when they realised this was true.  It is all part of the goodness of Nature.”

Attachment to life on earth creates the unnatural, morbid fear of death.  It creates the hypochondriac, the man who will never take risk even for what is right. He lives in abject terror that some illness or accident might snuff out his precious little life which he cherished. Realising that death is inevitable, the one who loves life on earth would go into paroxysm of prayer expressing the hope that his soul would survive in heaven. No man can be happy in such a tempest of fear and hope. Yet it is hard to despise or ignore these manifestations of the instinct for self-preservation,

There is however a method of overcoming it.  This is to forget the self in service for other people, to turn one’s love of the inward egoistic self outwards, i.e., to provide humanitarian service and to shower love on others.  ‘Being engrossed in service to others, you will soon release yourself of the morbid selfish attachments and hopes, pride and self-righteousness,

ILLNESS AND DEATH

Both illness and death are natural causes of events in our life and must be accepted with equanimity. According to modern psychological theory” undue mental stress is caused by our refusal to face and accept life’s realities. This stress, unless overcome or subdued, actually causes grave physical illness.

Maintaining a sense of undue worry and despair over an illness will certainly make it worse.  As for death, it must never be feared by those who are pure in heart and action, We are all part of the living cosmos and as such there is actually no individual self to die. The karmic survival of evil reaction arising from past evil deeds may linger with us on our rebirth thus causing us to shoulder the karmic sufferings in a new life.  Such an eventuality can be obviated if we make every effort to acquire merit by leading a virtuous life and doing meritorious deeds wherever and whenever possible.

By so doing we can face the future with confidence and without fear, We must face it bravely and realistically as in accordance with the teachings of Buddhism there is no ‘saviour’ upon whom we can entrust our burdens in order to be relieved from the consequence of our wrong actions. We should constantly remind ourselves of the Buddha’s exhortation.  “Be ye refuges and islands unto yourselves: labour on with diligence.”

Buddhists should not go into paroxysm of grief and deep mourning over the death of relatives and friends. There can be no halting of the wheel of circumstance.  When a man dies and the karmic sequence of his conduct pass into a new being, those left behind should bear their  bereavement  with calmness, dignity and understanding.

Death is an inevitable process of this world. That is the one thing that is certain in this universe.  Forests may be turned into cities and cities into desert dunes.   Where mountain exists, a lake maybe formed. Uncertainties exist everywhere but death is certain.  All else is momentary we had our forefathers and they in their turn had their own but where are they all now! They have passed into the limbo of death.

Let not the sophisticated assume that a pessimistic view of life is being presented here.  This is the most realistic view of all the realism. Why should we be unrealistic and blind our eyes to an indubitable fact. For does not death consume everything?   It does.  Let this not be forgotten.  The role of death is to make every man aware of his destiny; that however high he may be placed, whatever aid in technology or medical science he may have, his end is all the same, either in a coffin or reduced to a handful of ashes. Shall we then be in sackcloth to mourn the life which has turned into ashes. No, this is not the purpose of life, nor of death. The process of birth and death is a continuing process until we become perfect.

MAN’S INFLUENCE PERSISTS

The Buddha said: “Man’s body turns to dust, but his influence persists.” The influence of a past life is some times more far-reaching, more potent than that held by the living body with certain limitations.  We occasionally act on thoughts inspired by personalities whose mortal remains have become dusts. In our accomplishments, such thoughts also play an important role.
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Every living person on this earth is deemed a composite of all his ancestors who have gone before him. In this sense, we may assume that the past heroes, celebrated philosophers, sages, poets and musicians of every race are still with us.  As we link ourselves to the past mytyrs and thinkers we are able to share their wise thoughts, their noble ideals and even their imperishable music of their age. Even though their bodies are dead, their influence lives on. The ‘body’ is nothing but an abstract combination of chemical constituents.

Man realises that his life is but a drop in an ever-flowing river and is happy to contribute his part to the great stream which is called life. Man, forgetting the nature of his life wallows here in this world. He weeps and walls and sometimes smiles just to weep again. But when he knows what his true nature is, he renounces all transient things and seeks the Eternal. Prior to achieving the Eternal he will have to face death again and again. Since death itself is unbearable, should not man try to overcome the continuous rounds of births and deaths?

According to Buddhism, this is not the first and last life we have in this world. If you do good, you can have a better future life. On the other hand, if you feel that you don’t want to be re-born again, you should work towards this end by making every effort to ~ eradicate all mental impurities from your mind.

BUDDHIST PHILOSOPHY

The Noble Aryans or saint who ‘have attained the stage of highest perfection do not weep at the passing away of those dear and near to them as they have completely eradicated their human emotion. Ven. Anuruddha, who was then an Arahant, did not weep at the passing away of the Buddha. However, Ven. Ananda, who was at that time only a Sotapanna’or a learner, could not but express his deep sorrow. The weeping bhikkhu had to be reminded of the Buddha’s view on situation of this nature, as follows:  “Has not the Buddha told us, Ananda, that what is born, what comes to being, and what is put together, is subject to dissolution? That is the nature of all conditioned formations to arise and pass away – Having once arisen they must pass away – And when such formations cease completely, then comes the Peace Supreme.” These words describe the foundation on which the structure of Buddhist philosophy is built.

CAUSE OF SORROW

The cause for our grief and sorrow is Attachment (Tanha) in all its forms. If we want to transcend sorrow, we have to give up attachment – attachment not only to persons but also to possessions. This is the truth; this is the lesson that death signifies us. Unless we learn this lesson death can strike us and fill us with terror. This fact is beautifully illustrated by the Buddha, who said: “Death will take away the man though he is attached to his children and his possessions, just as a great flood takes away a sleeping village,”

This saying implies that if the village had not been asleep but awake and alert, the havoc created by the flood would have been appreciable reduced.

DEATH IS UNIVERSAL

Let us now examine how Buddha solved this problem for two persons who, through attachment were both deeply grieved by death. One person was Kissagotami.

Her only child was dead after being attacked by a serpent. She went to the Buddha carrying the dead child in her arms to ask for help.  Buddha asked her to bring a few mustard seeds from a house where no one had died.  But she could not find such house. Every house was either in mourning or had mourned over a death at one time or other. Then she realised the bitter truth: death was universal.  Death strikes all and spares none.  Sorrow is the heritage of everyone.

The other person whom the Buddha advised was Patacara. Her case was sadder. Within a short period she lost her two children, husband, brother, parents and all her possession. Losing her senses, she ran naked and wild in the streets until she met the Buddha. The Buddha brought her back to sanity by explaining that death is to be expected as a natural phenomenon in all living beings.

“’You have suffered from similar situations, not once, Patacara, but many times during your previous existence. For a long time you have suffered due to the deaths of father and mother, children and relatives. While you were this suffering, you indeed shed more tears then there is water in the ocean.”

At the end of the talk, Patacara realised the uncertainty of life. Both Patacara and Kissagotami comprehended suffering which each learned through tragic experience. By deeply understanding the First Noble Truth “suffering”, the other three Noble Truths were also understood. “Who so monks, comprehends suffering,” says the Buddha, “also comprehends the arising of suffering, the cessation of suffering, and the path leading to the cessation of suffering.”

The Two Guardians of the World:

A Sense of Shame, A Fear of Blame

( hiri-ottappa )*

by Sayagyi U Chit Tin

Hirinisedho puriso      koci lokasmi vijjati
Yo niddam apabodheti    asso bhadro kasam iva.

Aso yatha bhadro kasanivittho
atapino samvegino bhavatha.

Saddhaya silena ca viriyena ca
samamina dhammavinicchayena ca
Sampannavijjacarana patissata
jatissatha dukkham idam anappakam.

Whoever is restrained in this world by a sense of shame, that person wakes
up from sleep like a thoroughbred horse (woken) by a whip.

Be zealous, with a sense of urgency, like a thoroughbred horse touched by a whip. Mindful (patissata), endowed with (right) knowledge and conduct, give up this mass of suffering (dukkha) through faith (saddha), virtue (sila), energy (viriya), concentration (samadhi), and discerning the Doctrine.

Dhammapada, vv. 143, 144

In the discourse entitled “The Lion’s Roar on the Turning of the Wheel,”[1] the Buddha told an assembly of bhikkhus about how the world declines due to immorality. He explained that seven Universal Monarchs, Dahanemi and his successors, lived according to the true doctrine of the Dhamma. But eventually there was a king who did not ask his predecessor to give him advice on how to govern. He ruled according to his own opinion, and the people were not as prosperous as before.

This king was advised not to use his own ideas but to govern according to the noble tradition of kings of the past. He accepted the advice he was given, but he was not generous. As a result, poverty became widespread. This led to theft. When the king had a thief’s head cut off, thieves began to use arms and kill their victims. As immorality grew, the people did not live as long as before and they were uglier.

A succession of generations gradually became more and more immoral and lived for shorter and shorter lengths of time. People began to use slander and to tell lies. Ugly people began to covet those who were still beautiful and adultery became common. Abusive speech and idle talk were widespread. Next, wrong beliefs increased. Then incest, greed, and deviant practices grew.

People no longer had respect for their parents, their civic leaders, or their religious leaders. At this point, the human life span had decreased from eighty thousand years to one hundred years. This was the life span during the Buddha’s time according to the Pali texts. Eventually, the Buddha told the bhikkhus, the human life span will decrease to ten years. Even the word “morality” will disappear.

At that time, people will live in promiscuity, like goats and sheep, fowls and swine, dogs and jackals. Members of the same family will look on each other just as a hunter who is ready to kill his prey. There will finally be a period of seven days when there will be wanton slaughter. Those who survive will eventually realize that it is wrong to act in this way, and they will make an effort to stop killing each other. Gradually, morality will be established again. People will live longer and longer, and they will begin to be handsome again.

We can see that this description refers to the decline in the Dhamma taught by Buddha Gotama, for he goes on to describe how the time will come in the future when the conditions will be right for the coming of the next Buddha, Ariya Metteyya.

If we look at the world today, we can say that there are many indications of just such a decline in morality. It is, of course, possible to point to bad conditions in the past, but there are signs that the very basis of moral civilization is threatened today. We have only to pick up a newspaper or magazine, or to see the latest movie or television show, to discover that the moral values we used to find taught are missing. It is considered old-fashioned to have a clear, moral message in a story. What were once seen as moral restraints are now put down as being censorship.

Freedom of expression has become more sacred than a sane society. As a result, we see images that are designed to arouse strong sensual desires. We have stories with immoral characters who go unpunished. The violence we see in films has become more and more realistic, more and more prevalent, but people who claim to be experts say that all this is not harmful to children. If we look at the latest news, we see reports of child abuse, drug abuse, and crimes in cities where people act more and more like wild animals.

Problems such as racism seem to get worse. Government figures are more concerned with winning votes than with governing. Support for abortion and euthanasia has grown. Some religious leaders seem ready to do almost anything to accommodate their followers while others resort to fanaticism.

Those of us who practise the Teachings of the Buddha do not need experts to tell us what effect all this has on humanity. We have only to observe in ourselves to see that what is presented to us as entertainment and as news is harmful. We know that if greed or lust or hatred are stirred up in our minds then we will be more likely to act according to these roots of bad actions. It is obvious to us that we must make a major effort to lead moral lives if there is to be any hope for us and for humanity.

The Buddha taught that there are two Guardians of the World: a sense of shame and the fear of blame (hiri-ottappa). It is important that we understand correctly what these two guardians are. They are mental qualities that make it possible to act in a moral, responsible way. They do not mean that we indulge in feelings of guilt and worry about what we have done in the past. It is important to recognize past mistakes for what they are and to make amends whenever possible for any harm we have done to others or pain we may have caused them. But we do not dwell on past mistakes, whether they be our own or other people’s. [2]

The Buddha said that a sense of shame and the fear of blame are two bright states that protect the world.[3] When they no longer exist, the very lowest stage of human existence is reached, the stage when people are as promiscuous as goats and sheep, fowls and swine, dogs and jackals.

It is important, then, that we understand these two guardians correctly. Having a sense of shame means that we refrain from doing evil because we do not want to harm ourselves. It is because we wish to preserve our self-respect that we develop a sense of shame. Fearing blame is more a question of avoiding doing evil deeds because of others. We wish to be respected by others, so we develop the fear of blame.

Ashin Buddhaghosa explains the guardians of the world in considerable detail,[4] and we will base our discussion on what he says. The proximate cause for both guardians is virtue: being pure in bodily actions, verbal actions, and mental actions. Only when all three are present does virtue arise and persist.

Having a sense of shame means that a person abhors evil and shrinks from doing wrong actions. It is subjective in origin and its characteristic is respectful obedience. Ashin Buddhaghosa gives the illustration of two sets of four causes for the arising of a sense of shame. The first four are considering our (1) birth, (2) age, (3) heroism, and (4) wide experience. We should say to ourselves whenever we are tempted to do an evil action:

(1) “This is not worthy of a person of (good) birth; it is the type of action done by inferior people.”
(2) “This is the way children act; it is not worthy of a mature person like me.”
(3) “An evil action of this sort is only for those who are weak; a person who is strong and courageous like me should not do this.”
(4) “An evil action like this is only done by blind fools, not by wise people like me. I have gained wisdom, I have wide experience, I should not do this.”

The second group of four includes: refraining from doing evil out of consideration of
(1) our high birth (as above),
(2) the dignity of our Teacher,
(3) the greatness of our inheritance, and
(4) the honour of our companions.

If we are following the Teachings of the Buddha, we should not do anything that could reflect badly on him, his Doctrine, or on those who are striving to progress on the right path and who are helping to keep the Buddha-Dhamma alive. In our day-to-day lives, many people among our families, friends, and fellow workers know that we practise Buddhist meditation. If we do not live up to the principles laid down by the Buddha, we may be responsible not only for our own downfall, but we may put obstacles in the way of others.

Ashin Buddhaghosa makes it clear that what is included here is also a sense of modesty. A sense of shame is similar to the sort of modesty involved in covering our private parts, or it is like the shame we would feel if a person worthy of our respect should come along as we are answering the call of nature.

The fear of blame has an external cause. Its characteristic is viewing a fault with timidity and fear. It is by nature a sense of dread, meaning that we dread the possibility of being reborn in the lowest planes of suffering. We are afraid of being blamed by any of the four assemblies: the Bhikkhu-Sangha, the Bhikkhuni-Sangha, an assembly of laymen, or an assembly of laywomen.

We also realize how big the world is and that there are bhikkhus and laypeople who have developed the supernormal powers. These people can read other people’s minds. There are also devas who can read people’s thoughts, and because we do not want these highly developed people or these Devas to see us indulging in evil, unprofitable thoughts, we strive to develop pure thoughts and actions. [5]

The fear of blame has four causes: (1) accusing oneself, (2) being accused by others, (3) (fear of) punishment, (4) (fear of) an evil destiny. In other words, we will be afraid of doing something that we know we will reproach ourselves for later, or something that others will criticize. We will avoid actions that we might be punished for in this life, or actions that will lead to future lives of suffering.

Ashin Buddhaghosa gives the illustration of two iron balls. One is cold and covered with excrement. The other is burning hot. A wise man will not catch the iron ball that is cold because he does not want to be covered in dung. He will not catch the one that is hot because he is afraid of being burnt. Avoiding the cold iron ball is like not doing wrong out of an internal sense of shame. Not grasping the hot iron ball is like not doing evil because we are afraid of suffering in the lowest planes.

Keeping these two guardians of the world present in our lives can be very difficult. When we are surrounded by a world that encourages us to act as we wish without worrying about the results, we may find our faith wavering. The guardians are two of the Seven Noble Treasures (ariya-dhanani):

1. faith,
2. virtue,
3. a sense of shame,
4. the fear of blame,
5. learning (suta),
6. renunciation (caga), and
7. wisdom;

and two of the seven powers (balani):

1. faith,
2. energy,
3. a sense of shame,
4. the fear of blame,
5. mindfulness,
6. concentration,
7. wisdom. [6]

So we will need to work on all these qualities if we are to stay on the right path. We will need to keep up our meditation practice and deepen our knowledge and understanding of the Buddha’s Teachings.

It will also be very difficult not to waver if we are surrounded by people who encourage us to do evil. That is why it is so important to spend as much time as possible with friends who, like ourselves, are working for the goal of Nibbana. It will not be easy. This is stated quite clearly in two verses of the Dhammapada (vv. 244, 245):

Life is easy for a person who is shameless, as bold as a crow, obtrusive, pushy, reckless, and whose life is impure. But life is difficult for a person who has a sense of shame, who constantly seeks purity, who does not cling, who is not reckless, who understands the life of purity.

We must guard against allowing the dark states of shamelessness (ahirika) or recklessness (anottappa) taking hold of our minds and determining our actions. To do this, we will need to work to overcome the four mental factors that are present in all immoral types of consciousness:

1. delusion (moha),
2. shamelessness,
3. recklessness, and
4. restlessness (uddhacca).[7]

And we will work to eliminate qualities that are the opposite of the Noble Treasures, the seven wrong practices (asaddhamma):

1. lack of faith,
2. lack of a sense of shame,
3. lack of fear of blame,
4. little learning,
5. being slack (kusito),
6. being unmindful (mutthassati), and
7. lack of wisdom.[8]

If we avoid the seven wrong practices and develop the seven Noble Treasures, we will go beyond having just a sense of shame and fear of blame. We will develop the Middle Path that eliminates the root of greed by avoiding the extreme of indulging in sense pleasures, that eliminates the root of aversion by avoiding the extreme of exhausting oneself, and that eliminates ignorance by leading to wisdom. If we stay on this Path, one day we will no longer have to struggle, for we will attain the goal and become perfectly liberated from all this suffering.

Sayagyi U Chit Tin
Buddhism As a Way of Life and other Essays, 6

“According to the seed that’s sown,
So is the fruit ye reap therefrom.
Doer of good will gather good,
Doer of evil, evil reaps,
Sown is the seed, and thou shalt taste
The fruit thereof”

Buddha – Samyutta Nikaya

Sukhi Hotu Sdn Bhd (#FREE001/1996)
Printed By Unique, Penang, 1998

WHAT KAMMA IS?

Kamma is the natural and impersonal law of cause and effect.
This booklet explains the workings of Kamma and teaches us self-responsibility.
We have to plant seeds of goodness now if we are to reap good fruits in this and future lives.

BY SAYADAW U THITTILA

Sayadaw U Thittila born in 1896 is a renowned scholar monk of Myanmar.
He was a missionary who travelled widely spreading Buddhism to
England, America, Europe, Asia and many other countries.
The Sayadaw is greatly revered by his native Myanmars and
all those who have benefited from his teaching.

WHAT KAMMA IS

Kamma is a Pali word meaning action. It is called Karma m Sanskrit. In its general sense Kamma means all good and bad actions. It covers all kinds of intentional actions whether mental, verbal or physical thoughts, words and deeds. In its ultimate sense Kamma means all moral and immoral volitions.

The Buddha says:

“Mental volition, O Bhikkhus, is what I call action (Kamma). Having volition, one acts by body, speech and thought.”

Anguttara Nikaya, Vol. III, Pg 415
Kamma is neither fatalism nor a doctrine of predetermination. The past influences the present but does not dominate it, for Kamma is past as well as present. The past and present influence the future. The past is a background against which life goes on from moment to moment. The future is yet to be. Only present moment exists and the responsibility of using the present moment for good or for ill lies with each individual.

Every action produces an effect and it is a cause first and effect afterwards. We therefore speak of Kamma as the law of cause and effect. Throwing a stone, for example, is an action. The stone strikes a glass window and breaks it. The breakage is the effect of the action of throwing, but it is not the end. The broken window is now the cause of further trouble. Some of one’s money will have to go to replace it, and one is thus unable to save the money or to buy with it what one wants for some other purpose, and the effect upon one is a feeling of disappointment.

This may make one irritable and if one is not careful, one may allow the irritability to become the cause of doing something else which is wrong and so on. There is no end to the result of action, no end to Kamma, so we should be very careful about our actions, so that their effect will be good. It is, therefore, necessary for us to do a good, helpful action which will return to us in good Kamma and make us strong enough to start a better Kamma.

Throw a stone into a pond and watch the effect. There is a splash and a number of little rings appear round the place where the stone strikes.  See how the rings grow wider and wider till they become too wide and too tiny for our eyes to follow. The little stone disturbs the water in the pond, but its work is not finished yet. When the tiny waves reach the edges of the pond, the water moves back till it pushes the stone that has disturbed it.

The effects of our actions come back to us just as the waves do to the stone, and as long as we do our action with evil intention the new waves of effect come back to beat upon us and disturb us. If we are kind and keep ourselves peaceful, the returning waves of trouble will grow weaker and weaker till they die down and our good Kamma will come back to us in blessings. If we sow a mango seed, for instance, a mango tree will come up and bear mangoes, and if we sow a chili seed, a chilli plant will grow and produce chillies.

The Buddha says:

“According to the seed that’s sown,
So is the fruit ye reap therefrom,
Doer of good evil gather good,
Doer of evil, evil reaps.
Sown is the seed, and thou shalt taste the fruit thereof.”

Samyutta Nikaya, Vol. I, Pg 227

Everything that comes to us is right. When anything pleasant comes to us and makes us happy, we may be sure that our Kamma has come to show us what we have done is right. When anything unpleasant comes to us, hurts us, or makes us unhappy, our Kamma has come to show us our mistake. We must never forget that Kamma is always just. It neither loves nor hates, neither rewards nor punishes. It is never angry, never pleased. It is simply the law of cause and effect.

Kamma knows nothing about us. Does fire know us when it burns us? No, it is the nature of fire to burn, to give out heat. If we use it properly it gives us light, cooks our food for us or burns anything we wish to get rid of, but if we use it wrongly it burns us and our property. Its work is to burn and our job is to use it in the right way.  We are foolish if we grow angry and blame it when it burns us because we have made a mistake.

There are inequalities and manifold destinies for people in the world. One is, for example, inferior and another superior. One perishes in infancy and another at the age of eighty or a hundred. One is sick and infirm, and another strong and healthy. One is brought up in luxury and another in misery. One is born a millionaire, another a pauper. One is a genius and another an idiot.

What is the cause of the inequalities that exist in the world? Buddhists cannot believe that this variation is the result of blind chance. Science itself is indeed all against the theory of Chance. In the world of the scientist all works in accordance with the laws of cause and effect. Neither can Buddhists believe that these inequalities of the world are due to a God-Creator.

One of the three divergent views that prevailed at the time of the Buddha was:

“Whatsoever happiness or pain or neutral feeling the person experiences all that is due to the creation of a Supreme Deity.”

Anguttara Nikaya, Vol. I, Pg 158

Commenting on this fatalistic view the Buddha said:

“So, then, owing to the creation of a Supreme Deity men, will become murderers, thieves, unchaste, liars, slanderers, abusive, babblers, covetous, malicious, and perverse in view. Thus for those who fall back on the creation of a God as the essential reason, there is neither the desire to do, nor necessity to do this deed or abstain from that deed.”

ibid
Referring to the naked ascetics who practised self-mortification, the Buddha said:

“If, O Bhikkhus, beings experience pain and happiness as the result of God’s creation, then certainly these naked ascetics must have been created by a wicked God, since they are at present experiencing such terrible pain.”

Devadaha Sutta, No 101
Majjhima Nikaya, Vol. II, Pg 222

According to Buddhism the inequalities that exist in the world is due, to some extent, to heredity and environment and to a greater extent, to a cause or causes (Kamma) which are not only present but proximate or remote past. Man himself is responsible for his own happiness and misery.  He creates his own heaven and hell. He is master of his own destiny, child of his past and parent of his future.

THE LAWS OF COMIC ORDER

Although Buddhism teaches that Kamma is the chief cause of the inequalities in the world yet it does not teach fatalism or the doctrine of predestination, for it does not hold the view that everything is due to past actions. The law of cause and effect (Kamma) is only one of the twenty-four causes described in Buddhist philosophy, (See Compendium of Philosophy, P.191), or one of the five orders (Niyamas) which are laws in themselves and operate in the universe. They are:

1. Utu Niyama, physical inorganic order, e.g., seasonal phenomena of winds and rains.  The inerring order of seasons, characteristic seasonal changes and events, causes of winds and rains, nature of heat, etc., belong to this group.

2. Bija Niyama, order or germs and seeds (physical organic order) e.g., rice produced from rice seed, sugary taste from sugar cane or honey, peculiar characteristics of certain fruits, etc. The scientific theory of cells and genes and physical similarity of twins may be ascribed to this order.

3. Kamma Niyama, order of act and result, e.g., desirable and undesirable acts produce corresponding good and bad results. As surely as water seeks its own level so does Kamma, given opportunity, produces its inevitable result, not in the form of a reward or punishment but as an innate sequence. This sequence of deed and effect is as natural and necessary as the way of the moon and stars.

4. Dhamma Niyama, order of the norm, e.g., the natural phenomena occurring at the advent of a Bodhisatta in his last birth.  Gravitation and other similar laws of nature, the reason for being good and so forth may be included in this group.

5. Citta Niyama, order of mind or psychic law, e.g., processes of consciousness, arising and perishing of consciousness, constituents of consciousness, power of mind, telepathy, telesthesia, retrocognition, premonition, clairvoyance, clairaudience, thought-reading, all psychic phenomena which are inexplicable to modern science are included in this lass.

Abhidhammavatara, Pg 54
These five orders embrace everything in the world and every mental or physical phenomenon could be explained by them. They being laws in themselves, require no lawgiver and Kamma as such is only one of them.

CLASSIFICATION OF KAMMA

Kamma is classified into four kinds according to the time at which results are produced.  There is Kamma that ripens in the same lifetime, Kamma that ripens in the next life, and Kamma that ripens in successive births. These three types of Kamma are bound to produce results as a seed is to sprout. But for a seed to sprout, certain auxiliary causes such as soil, rain etc. are required. In the same way, for a Kamma to produce an effect, several auxiliary causes such as circumstances, surroundings, etc., are required. It sometimes happens that for want of such auxiliary causes Kamma does not produce any result. Such Kamma is called Ahosi-Kamma or “Kamma that is ineffective”.

Kamma is also classified into another four kinds according to its particular function. There is Regenerative (Janaka) Kamma which conditions the future birth; Supportive (Upatthambhaka). Kamma which assists or maintains the result of already-existing Kamma, Counteractive (Upapilaka) Kamma which suppresses or modifies the result of the reproductive Kamma, and Destructive (Upaghataka) Kamma which destroys the force of existing Kamma and substitutes its own resultants.

There is another classification according to the priority of results. There is Serious or Weighty (Garuka) Kamma which produces its resultants in the present life or in the next. On the moral side of this Kamma the highly refined mental states called Jhanas or Absorptions are weighty because they produce resultants more speedily than the ordinary unrefined mental states. On the opposite side, the five kinds of immediately effective serious crimes are weighty. These crimes are: matricide, patricide, the murder of an Arahanta (Holy One or perfect saint), the wounding of a Buddha and the creation of a schism in the Sangha.

Death-proximate (Asanna) Kamma is the action which one does at the moment before death either physically or mentally – mentally by thinking of one’s own previous good or bad actions or having good or bad thoughts. It is this Kamma which, if there is no weighty Kamma, determines the conditions of the next birth.

Habitual (Acinna) Kamma is the action which one constantly does. This Kamma, in the absence of death-proximate Kamma, produces and determines the next birth. Reserved (Katatta) Kamma is the last in the priority of results. This is the unexpended Kamma of a particular being and it conditions the next binh if there is no habitual Kamma to operate.

A further classification of Kamma is according to the place, in which the results are produced, namely:-

1. Immoral Kamma which produces its effect in the plane of misery.

2. Moral Kamma which produces its effect in the plane of the world of desires.

3. Moral Kamma which produces its effect in the plane of form.

4. Moral Kamma which produces its effect in the plane of the formless.

1. Immoral Kamma is rooted in greed (Lobha) anger (Dosa) and delusion (Moha).

There are ten immoral actions (Kamma) – namely killing, stealing, unchastity (these three are caused by deed); lying, slandering, harsh speech, frivolous talk (these four are caused by speech); covetousness, ill-will and false view (these three are caused by mind).

Of these ten, killing means the destruction of any living being including animals of all kinds.  To complete this offence of killing, five conditions are necessary, viz: a being, knowing that it is a being, intention of killing, effort, and consequent death.

The evil effects of killing are: short life, illness, constant grief caused by separation from the loved, and constant fear.

To complete the offence of stealing, five conditions are necessary, viz: the object concerned is the property of another, knowing that it is so, intention of stealing, effort, and consequent removal. The effects of stealing are: poverty, wretchedness, unfulfilled desires, and dependent livelihood.

To complete the offence of unchastity (sexual misconduct), four conditions are necessary, viz: the mind to enjoy the forbidden object, the attempt to enjoy, devices to obtain, and possession. The effect of unchastity are: having many enemies, getting undesirable wives, birth as a woman or as an eunuch.

To complete the offence of lying, four conditions are necessary, viz: untruth, intention to deceive, effort, and communication of the matter to others. The effects of lying are: being tormented by abusive speech, being subject to vilification, losing one’s credibility, and stinking mouth.

To complete the offence of slandering, four conditions are necessary, viz: division of persons, intention to separate them, effort, and communication. The effect of slandering is the dissolution of friendship without any sufficient cause.

To complete the offence of harsh speech, three conditions are necessary, viz: someone to be abused, angry thought, and using abusive speech.  The effects of harsh speech are: being detested by others although blameless, and harsh voice.

To complete the offence of frivolous talk, two conditions are necessary, viz: the inclination towards frivolous talks, and its narration. The effects of frivolous talk are: disorderliness of the bodily organs and unacceptable speech.

To complete the offence of covetousness (Abhijjha), two conditions are necessary, viz: another’s property and strong desire for it, saying:

“Would this property be mine”. The effect of covetousness is unfulfilment of one’s wishes.To complete the offence of ill-will (Vyapada) two conditions are necessary, viz: another being and the intention of doing harm. The effects of ill-will are: ugliness, various diseases and detestable nature.

False view (Micchadittbi) means seeing things wrongly without understanding what they truly are. To complete this false view, two conditions are necessary, viz: perverted manner in which an object is viewed, and the misunderstanding of it according to that view. The effects of false views are: base attachment, lack of wisdom, dull wit, chronic diseases and blameworthy ideas.
Expositor, Pt.1, Pg 12B

2. Good Kamma which produces its effect in the plane of desires:-

There are ten moral actions – namely generosity (Dana), morality (Sila), meditation (Bhavana), reverence (Apacayana), service (Veyyavacca), transference of merit (Pattidana), rejoicing in others’ merit (Pattanumodana), hearing the doctrine (Dhammasavana), expounding the doctrine (Dhammadesana), and forming correct views (Ditthijukamma).

Generosity yields wealth. Morality causes one to be born in noble families in states of happiness.  Meditation gives birth in form and formless planes and helps to gain Higher Knowledge and Emancipation.

Reverence is the cause of noble parentage.  Service is the cause of large retinue. Transference of merit causes one to be able to give in abundance in future birth. Rejoicing in others’ merit is productive of joy wherever one is born. Both hearing and expounding the Doctrine are conducive to wisdom.

3. Good Kamma which produces its effect in the planes of form. It is of five types which are purely mental, and done in the process of meditation, viz:-

i. The first stage of Jhana or absorption which has five constituents: initial application, sustained application, rapture, happiness and one-pointedness of mind.

ii. The second stage of Jhana which occurs together with sustained application, rapture, happiness and one-pointedness of mind.

iii. The third stage of Jhana which occurs together with rapture, happiness and one-pointedness of mind.

iv. The fourth stage of Jhana which occurs together with happiness and one-pointedness of mind.

v. The fifth stage of Jhana which occurs together with equanimity and one-pointedness of mind.

4. Good Kamma which produces its effect in the formless planes. It is of four types which are also purely mental and done in the process of meditation, viz:

i. Moral consciousness dwelling in the infinity of space.

ii. Moral consciousness dwelling in the infinity of consciousness.

iii. Moral consciousness dwelling on nothingness.

iv. Moral consciousness wherein perception is so extremely subtle that it cannot be said whether it is or is not.

FREE WILL

Kamma, as has been stated above, is not fate, is not irrevocable destiny. Nor is one bound to reap all that one has sown in just proportion. The actions (Kamma) of men are generally not absolutely irrevocable; and only a few of them are so. If, for example, one fires off a bullet out of a rifle, one cannot call it back or turn it aside from its mark. But, if instead of a lead or iron ball through the air, it is an ivory ball on a smooth green board that one sets moving with a billiard cue, one can send after it and at it, another ball in the same way, and change its course.

Not only that, if one is quick enough, and one has not given it too great an impetus, one might even get round to the other side of the billiard table, and send against it a ball which would meet it straight in the line of its course and bring it to a stop on the spot. With one’s later action with the cue, one modifies, or even in favourable circumstances, entirely neutralises one’s earlier action.

It is much the same way that Kamma operates in the broad stream of general life. There too one’s action (KammaJ of a later day may modify the effects of one’s action (Kamma) of a former day. If this were not so, what possibility would there ever be of a man’s getting free from all Kamma for ever. It would be perpetually self-continuing energy that could never come to an end.

Man has, therefore, a certain amount of free will and there is almost every possibility to mould his life or to modify his actions. Even a most vicious person can by his own free will and effort become the most virtuous person. One may at any moment change for the better or for the worse.  But everything in the world including man himself is dependent on conditions and without conditions nothing whatsoever can arise or enter into existence.

Man therefore has only a certain amount of free will and not absolute free will. According to Buddhist philosophy, everything, mental or physical, arises in accordance with the laws and conditions. If it were not so, there would reign chaos and blind chance. Such a thing, however, is impossible, and if it would be otherwise, al1 laws of nature which modern science has discovered would be powerless.

The real, essential nature of action (Kamma) of man is mental. When a given thought has arisen in one’s mind a number of times, there is a definite tendency to recurrence of that thought. When a given act has been performed a number of times, there is a definite tendency to the repetition of the act. Thus, each act, mental or physical, tends to constantly produce its like, and be in turn produced. If a man thinks a good thought, speaks a good word, does a good deed, the effect upon him is to increase the tendencies to goodness present in him, is to make him a better man.

If, on the contrary, he does a bad deed in thought, in speech or in action, he has strengthened in himself his bad tendencies, he has made himself a worse man. Having become a worse man, he will gravitate to the company of worse men in the future, and incur all the unhappiness of varying kinds that attends life in such company. On the other hand, the man of a character that is continually growing better, will naturally tend to the companionship of the good, and enjoy all the pleasantness and comforts and freedom from the ruder shocks of human life which such society connotes.

In the case of a cultured man, even the effect of a greater evil may be minimised while the lesser evil of an uncultured man may produce its effect to the maximum according to the favourable and unfavourable conditions. The Buddha says:

“Here, O Bhikkhus, a certain person is not disciplined in body, is not disciplined in morality, is not disciplined in mind, is not disciplined in wisdom, is with little good and less virtue, and lives painfully in consequence of trifles. Even a trivial evil act committed by such a person will lead him to a state of misery.”

“Here, O Bhikkhus, a certain person is disciplined in body, is disciplined in morality, is disciplined in mind, is disciplined in wisdom, is which much good, is a great being, and lives without limitation.  A similar evil act committed by such a person expiates in this life itself and not even a small effect manifests itself (after death) to say nothing of a great one.”

“It is as if, O Bhikkhus, a man were to put a lump of salt into a small cup of water. What do you think, O Bhikkhus? Would now the small amount of water in this cup become saltish and undrinkable?” “Yes, Lord”; “And why?” “Because, Lord, there was very little water in the cup, and so it becomes saltish and undrinkable by this lump of salt.”

“Suppose, O Bhikkhus, a man were to put a lump of salt into the river Ganges. What think you, O Bhikkhus? Would now the river Ganges become saltish and undrinkable by the lump of salt?”

“Nay, indeed, Lord”, “And why not?” “Because, Lord, the mass of water in the river Ganges is great, and so it would not become saltish and undrinkable.”

“In exactly the same way, O Bhikkhus, we may have the case of a person who does some slight evil deed which brings him to a state of misery; or again, O Bhikkhus, we may have the case of another person who does the same trivial misdeed, and expiates it in the present life. Not even a small effect manifests itself (after death), to say nothing of a great one.

“We may have, O Bhikkhus, the case of a person who is cast into a prison for a half penny, for a penny, or for a hundred pence; or again, O Bhikkhus, we may have the case of a person who is not cast into prison for a half penny, for a penny or for a hundred pence.”

“Who, 0 Bhikkhus, is cast into prison for half penny, for a penny, or for a hundred pence? Whenever, O Bhikkhus, anyone is poor, needy and indigent, he, O Bhikkhus, is cast into prison for a half penny, for a penny, or for a hundred pence.”

“Who, O Bhikkhus, is not cast into prison for a half penny, for a penny or for a hundred pence? Whenever, O Bhikkhus, anyone is rich, wealthy and affluent, he, O Bhikkhus, is not cast into prison for a half penny, for a penny, or for a hundred pence.”

“In exactly the same way, O Bhikkhus, we may have the case of a person who does some slight evil deed which brings him into a state of misery; or again, O Bhikkhus, we may have the case of another person who does the same trivial deed, and expiates it in the present life. Not even a small effect manifests itself (after death) so to say nothing of a great one.”

Anguttara Nikaya, Vol. I, Pg 249.

LESSONS TAUGHT BY KAMMA

The more we understand the law of Kamma the more we see how careful we must be of our acts, words and thoughts, and how responsible we are to our fellow beings. Living in the light of this knowledge, we learn certain lessons from the doctrine of Kamma.

1. PATIENCE

Knowing that the Law is our great helper if we live by it, and that no harm can come to us if we work with it, knowing also it blesses us just at the right time, we learn the grand lesson of patience, not to get excited, and that impatience is a check to progress. In suffering, we know that we are paying a debt, and we learn, if we are wise, not to create more suffering for the future. In rejoicing, we are thankful for its sweetness, and learn, if we are wise, to be still better. Patience brings forth peace, success, happiness and security.

2. CONFIDENCE

The law being just, perfect, it is not possible for an understanding person to be uneasy about it. If we are uneasy and have no confidence, it shows clearly that we have not grasped the reality of the law. We are really quite safe beneath its wings, and there is nothing to fear in all the wide universe except out own misdeeds. The Law makes man stand on his own feet and rouses his self-confidence.

Confidence strengthens, or rather, deepens our peace and happiness and make us comfortable, courageous; wherever we go the Law is our protector.

3. SELF-RELIANCE

As we in the past have caused ourselves to be what we now are, so by what we do now will our future be determined. A knowledge of this fact and that the glory of the future is limitless, gives us great self-reliance, and takes away that tendency to appeal for external help, which is really no help at all. ‘Purity and impurity belong to oneself, no one can purify another” says the Buddha.

4. RESTRAINT

Naturally, if we realise that the evil we do will return to strike us, we shall be very careful lest we do or say or think something that is not good, pure and true. Knowledge of Kamma will restrain us from wrongdoing for others’ sakes as well as for our own.

5. POWER

The more we make the doctrine of Kamma a part of our lives, the more power we gain, not only to direct our future, but to help our fellow beings more effectively. The practice of good Kamma, when fully developed, will enable us to overcome evil and limitations, and destroy all fetters that keep us from our goal, Nibbana.

Jataka No. 70

THE SHOVEL WISE MAN

{Renunciation}

Once upon a time, the Enlightenment Being was born into a family of vegetable gardeners. After he grew up he cleared a patch of land with his shovel. He grew herbs, pumpkins, melons, cucumbers and other vegetables. These he sold to earn a humble living.

The shovel was his one and only possession in the whole world. He carried it with him everywhere. Some people thought he carried it in the same way a forest monk carries his walking staff. So he became known as the ‘Shovel Wise Man’.

One day he thought, “What good does it do me to live the ordinary everyday life of a gardener? I will give up this life and go meditate in the forest. Then I will be peaceful and happy.” So the Shovel Wise Man hid his one possession, his shovel, and became a forest meditator. ·

Before too long, he started thinking about his only possession, his shovel. He was so attached to this shovel that he couldn’t get it out of his mind, no matter how hard he tried! Trying to meditate seemed useless, so he gave it up. He returned to his shovel and his ordinary life as a vegetable gardener.

Lo and behold, in a little while the Shovel Wise Man again gave up the everyday life, hid his shovel and became a forest meditator. Again he could not get his shovel out of his mind, and returned to being a gardener. All in all , this happened six times!

The next time the Shovel Wise Man gave up his forest meditation, he finally realized it was because of his old worn out shovel that he had gone back and forth seven times! So he decided to throw it away, once and for all, in a deep river. Then he would return to the forest for good.

He took his shovel down to the riverbank. He thought, “Let me not see where this shovel enters the water. Otherwise it may tempt me again to give up my quest.” So he closed his eyes, swung the shovel in a circle over his head three times, and let it fly into the midst of the river. Realizing that he would never be able to find the shovel again, he shouted, just like a lion roars, “I have conquered! I have conquered! I have conquered!”

It just so happened that the King of Benares was riding by at that very moment. He was returning from putting down a revolt in a border village. He had bathed in the river, and had just seated himself on his magnificent royal elephant. He was riding back to Benares in a victory procession.

When he heard the triumphant shouts of the Enlightenment Being, he said to his ministers, “Listen.Who is shouting, just like a lion roars, ‘I have conquered’? Whom has he conquered? Bring that man to me!”

When they brought the Shovel Wise Man to him, the king said, “I am a conqueror because I have won a battle. You say that you have conquered. Whom did you conquer?”

The Enlightenment Being replied, “Your lordship even if you conquer a hundred thousand armies, they are meaningless victories if you still have unwholesome thoughts and desires in your own mind! By conquering the craving in my mind, I know I have won the battle against unwholesome thoughts.”

As he spoke he concentrated his mind on the water in the river, then on the idea of water itself, and reached a high mental state. In a sitting position he rose into the air. He preached these words of Truth to the king: “Defeating an enemy who returns to fight you again and again is no real victory. But if you defeat the unwholesomeness in your own mind, no one can take that true victory from you!”

While the king was listening to these words, all unwholesome thoughts left his mind. It occurred to him to give up the ordinary world and seek real peace and happiness. He asked, “Where are you going now, wise one?” He answered, “I am going to the Himalayas, oh king, to practice meditation.” The king said, “Please take me with you. I too wish to give up the common worldly life.” Lo and behold, as the king turned northward with the Shovel Wise Man, so did the entire army and all the royal ministers and attendants.

Soon the news reached the people of Benares that the king and all those with him were leaving the ordinary world and following the Shovel Wise Man to the Himalayas. Then all the people in the entire city of Benares followed them towards the northern mountains. Benares was empty!

This great migration of people came to the attention of the god Sakka, King of the Heaven of 33. Never had he seen so many giving up worldly power. He ordered the architect of the gods to build a dwelling place in the Himalayan forests for all these people.

When they arrived in the Himalayas, the Shovel Wise Man was the first to announce that he had given up the ordinary world for good. Then all those with him did the same. Never was so much worldly power given up, or renounced, at the same time.

The Shovel Wise Man developed what holy men call the ‘Four Heavenly States of Mind’. First is loving-kindness, tender affection for all. Second is feeling sympathy and pity for all those who suffer. Third is feeling happiness for all those who are joyful. And the fourth state is balance and calm, even in the face of difficulties or troubles.

He taught the others advanced meditation. With great effort they all gained high mental states, leading to rebirth in heaven worlds.

The moral is: Only one possession is enough to keep the mind from finding freedom.

REBIRTH

Now it should be clear that the Buddhist doctrine of Kamma is very complex. Kamma simply means actions producing consequences, and it constitutes both wholesome (kusala) and unwholesome (akusala) consequences, depending on the wholesome or unwholesome nature of the actions. So most of the happiness and unhappiness that an individual experiences is partly or to a great extent, dependent on the moral quality of one’s actions.

Now it should also be clear that an individual’s Kamma also plays a major role in deciding one’s rebirth. As long as this Kammic force exits there is rebirth for beings are merely the visible manifestation of this invisible Kammic force.

Death is nothing but the temporary and of this temporary phenomenon. It is not the complete annihilation of this so called being. The organic life has ceased but the Kammic force which hither to actuated it has not been destroyed. As the Kammic force remains entirely undisturbed by the disintegration of the fleeting body, the passing away of the present dying thought moment only conditions a fresh consciousness in another birth.

It is Kamma, rooted in ignorance and craving that conditions rebirth. Past Kamma conditions the present birth and present Kamma, in combination with past Kamma conditions the future. The present id the offspring of the past and becomes in turn the parent of the future.

If we postulate a past, present and future life, there we are at once faced with the alleged mysterious problem. What is the ultimate origin of life?

Either there must be a beginning or there cannot be a beginning for life.

From the scientific standpoint, we are the direct products of the sperm and ovum cells provided by our parents. As such life precedes life with regard to the origin of the first protoplasm of life, scientists plead ignorance.

According to Buddhism, rebirth is explained as the combining of two factors namely consciousness (vinnana) and psycho-physical personality or what is simply called name and form (nama-rupa). Herein, name (nama) means the three aggregates i.e. feeling, perception and mental formations. And form or rupa means the physical form (body), sex and seat of consciousness.

This psycho physical personality is the foetus or the embryo in the mother’s womb. This becomes complete only when it is infused with consciousness, surviving from the past. This surviving consciousness is sometimes referred to as fonddhabba. This is nothing other then the “death consciousness” of a person or the last consciousness in his death bed which has turned into rebirth consciousness at the moment of obtaining rebirth.

The foetus formed by the union of mother and father, gets complete when it becomes infused with the rebirth consciousness of an individual who had passed away. The arising of name and form and consciousness takes place simultaneously and from that moment life begins to function.

In this rebirth consciousness that survives from the past are latent all the past impressions, characteristics and tendencies of that particular individual who foresee in samsara, going from birth to birth. Therefore, this consciousness, to a great extent determines the nature and character of the new personality.

The connection between this surviving consciousness and the physical personality (name and form) is well emphasized in the Twelve-fold formula of Dependent Origination. It is explained that on mental formations or dispositions (sankhara) depend on consciousness and consciousness depends on psycho physical personality (nama-rupa).

This makes it clear that consciousness serves as a connecting link between two lives.

This life stream flows at infinitum, as long as it is fed by the muddy waters of ignorance and craving. This constant succession of birth and death in connection with each individual life flux constitutes what is technically known as samsara-recurrent wondering when the two are completely cut off, then only, if one so wishes, does the stream cease to flow, rebirth ends as in the case of the Buddhas and Arahants.

The Buddha is chiefly concerned with the problem of suffering and its destruction with this specific purpose in view, all irrelevant side issues are completely ignored.

How is one to believe that there is a past existence?

The most valuable evidence Buddhists cite in favour of rebirth is the Buddha, for He developed a knowledge which enables Him to read past and future lives.

Following His instructions, His disciples also developed this knowledge and were able to read their past lives to a great extent. Some great Indian Rishis were distinguished for such psychic powers as clairaudience, clairvoyance, thought-reading, remembering past births etc.

There are also some persons who due to their past Kamma, spontaneously develop the memories of their past births, and remember fragments of their previous lives.

In hypnotic states some relate experiences of their past lives, while a few others read past lives of others and even heal diseases.

Sometimes we get strong experiences which cannot be explained but by rebirth.

How often do we meet persons whom we have never met, and yet instinctively feel that they are quite familiar to us?

How often do we visit places, and yet feel impressed that we are perfectly acquainted with those surroundings? The Buddha tells us :-

“Through previous associations or present advantage, that old love springs up again like the lotus in the water.”

It should be stated that this doctrine of rebirth can neither be proved nor disproved experimentally, but it is accepted as an evidently verifiable fact.

The cause of this Kamma, continues the Buddha, is ignorance of the Four Noble Truths. Ignorance is therefore the cause of birth and death.

In His first paean of joy (udana), the Buddha says :-

“Though many a birth wandered I, seeking the builder of this house, Sorrowful indeed is birth again and again.”

In the Dhammacakka Sutta, His very first discourse, the Buddha commenting on the second Noble Truth, states Yagam tanha ponobhabiku – this very craving which leads to rebirth. And that Buddha concludes that discourse with the words “Ayam ontima jati natthi doni ponobbhavo.” This is my last birth. Now there is no more rebirth.

The Law of Kamma & Rebirth

Ananda (Instructions to Vangisa)

On one occasion Ven. Ananda was staying near Savatthi in Jeta’s Grove, Anathapindika’s monastery. Then early in the morning he put on his robes and, carrying his bowl & outer robe, went into Savatthi for alms with Ven. Vangisa as his attendant monk. Now at that time dissatisfaction (with the chaste life) had arisen in Ven. Vangisa. Lust invaded his mind. So he addressed Ven. Ananda with this verse:

With sensual lust     I burn.
My mind     is on fire.
Please, Gotama,     from compassion,
tell me how
to put it out.

[Ven. Ananda:]

From distorted perception
your mind is on fire.
Shun the theme         of the beautiful
accompanied by lust.
See mental fabrications     as other,
as stress,
& not-self.

Extinguish your great lust.
Don’t keep burning again & again.

Develop the mind
– well-centered & one –
in the foul,
through the foul.
Have your mindfulness
immersed in the body.
Be one who pursues
disenchantment.
Develop the theme-less.
Cast out conceit.
Then, from breaking through
conceit,
you will go on your way

at peace.

The Maha Bodhi Society is a South Asian Buddhist society founded by the Sri Lankan Buddhist leader Anagarika Dharmapala. The organization’s self-stated initial efforts were for the resuscitation of Buddhism in India, and restoring the ancient Buddhist shrines at Bodh Gaya, Sarnath and Kushinara.

Although some Indians had remained culturally Buddhist for centuries after the decline of Buddhist philosophy, they did not self-identify as “Buddhist” and were not interested in preserving the teachings of Buddhism. The Maha Bodhi Society renewed this interest, and spawned the Ladakh Buddhist Association, All Assam Buddhist Association, and Himalayan Buddhist Society, as well as laying the grounds for the Dalit Buddhist movement.

In 1891, while on pilgrimage to the recently restored Mahabodhi Temple at Bodh Gaya, the location where Siddhartha Gautama (the Buddha) attained enlightenment, Anagarika Dharmapala had experienced a shock to find the temple in the hands of a Saivite priest, the Buddha image transformed into a Hindu icon and Buddhists barred from worship as a result of which he began an agitation movement. The Buddhist renaissance inaugurated by Anagarika Dharmapala through his Mahabodhi Movement has also been described as “conservative” for it considered Muslim conquest in the Indian subcontinent responsible for the decay of Buddhism in India, in the then current mood of Hindu-Buddhist brotherhood.

The Mahabodhi society at Colombo was founded in 1891 but its offices were moved to Calcutta the following year. One of its primary aims was the restoration of the Mahabodhi Temple at Bodh Gaya, the chief of the four ancient Holy sites to Buddhist control. To accomplish this Dharmapala initiated a lawsuit against the Brahmin priests who had held control of the site for centuries.[5][6] After a protracted struggle this was successful with the partial restoration of the site to the management of the Maha Bodhi Society in 1949.

The Mahabodhi Temple

The temple as it appeared in the 1780s

The temple as it appeared in the 1780s

After the defeat of the Palas by the Hindu Sena dynasty, Buddhism’s position again began to erode and was soon followed by the conquest of Magadha by General Ikhtiar Uddin Muhammad Bin Bakhtiyar Khilji. During this period, the Mahabodhi Temple fell into disrepair and was largely abandoned. During the 16th century, a Hindu monastery was established near Bodh Gaya. Over the following centuries, the monastery’s abbot or mahant became the area’s primary landholder and claimed ownership of the Mahabodhi Temple grounds.

In the 1880s, the-then British government of India began to restore Mahabodhi Temple under the direction of Sir Alexander Cunningham. In 1891, Anagarika Dharmapala started a campaign to return control of the temple to Buddhists, over the objections of the mahant. The campaign was partially successful in 1949, when control passed from the Hindu mahant to the state government of Bihar, which established a temple management committee. The committee has nine members, a majority of whom, including the chairman, must by law be Hindus. Mahabodhi’s first head monk under the management committee was Anagarika Munindra, a Bengali man who had been an active member of the Maha Bodhi Society.

Sarnath

In 1931 the Mulaghandakuti Vihara was erected at Sarnath, an ancient Buddhist site.

Kushinara

The site of the Buddha’s parinibbana (physical death) at Kushinagar has once again become a major attraction for Burmese Buddhists, as it was for many centuries previously.

Maha Bodhi Society branches have been established in several countries, most significantly in India and Sri Lanka. A United States branch was founded by Dr. Paul Carus.

The Maha Bodhi Society has a robust tradition of publications, spanning from Pali translations into modern Indian vernacular languages (such as Hindi) to scholarly texts and new editions of Pali works typeset in Devanagari to appeal to a Hindi-educated Indian audience. They have also published books and pamphlets in local/regional languages and dialects, sometimes in partnership with other presses.

As of as of 2003, the Maha Bodhi Society of India’s general secretary is Dombagoda Rewatha Thero. On September 27, as of 2004, B. K. Modi was elected president; he was previously vice-president. Modi was, until recently, an office-holder in the Vishwa Hindu Parishad.

There is also a Maha Bodhi Society of Bangalore, founded by Acharya Buddharakkhita in 1956, which is not a part of or tied to the Maha Bodhi Society of India or Sri Lanka.

Leadership

At a meeting in September 2008, the Maha Bodhi Society passed a rule that only persons born into Buddhist families will be eligible to serve as president or as one of the Indian vice-presidents of the Society. The outgoing president, B. K. Modi, was a Hindu; he assumed the position of patron. At the same meeting, the 14th Dalai Lama was given the new title of chief patron.

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