The Celebration Of The Buddhist Society
Written by PK Lom
The purpose of our meeting today is to celebrate the Buddhist Society, the cradle of Buddhism in Britain, also to pay a grateful tribute to its founder, Christmas Humphreys, his wife and friends. They made a great effort to establish the society and to realize its objectives, which are to publish and make known the principles of Buddhism and to encourage their study and practice. There is no doubt that the society has achieved its aim, for Buddhism has made a definite impact on the European heart and mind.
Our purpose, as Buddhists is to follow the Buddha’s teaching and to eventually gain enlightenment. In short it is to do good, not to do evil and to clear the mind. When asked once what he always taught, the Buddha replied by saying “Now as before, what I always teach is, such is suffering and such is The Middle Way leading to the ending of suffering, pure and simple.” One time the Buddha visited a village of the Kalama people. A skeptical villager asked him “Lord, how do we get at the truth and know the law or Dharma? Is it because the book says so? Or is it the good reasons that the Brahmans and priests confirm that such and such are the truth or Dharma?” The Buddha replied “Look, Kalamas, the truth is not what is printed in books and shown on a map. Nor is it what is asserted to be the truth by the Brahmans and priests. And neither is it the truth for the reason that it is confirmed by the wise men. Verily, I would say unto you that even if I, the Tathagata, tell you, it cannot merely be taken to be the law, the truth or the Dharma, for the truth must be grasped by each of you through your own experiences and realization” So what do we have to do?
Of course you and I have to learn. One of the good places to learn Buddhism is at the Buddhist society. But the best teacher is our own experience of the Buddha’s teaching, the Dharma. If we are to benefit from the truth of Dharma we have to experience it directly. Only then can we see and taste what it truly is. So the Dharma is our island and safe shelter. Just learning Buddhism may not help us. It could be the more you learn the less you know. Let me present you with a good story.
A highly educated young professor with many degrees but little experience of what he had learned once took a trip by sea around the world. Every evening on board he gave a short talk on many topics. Many were impressed with his talks. One evening he asked an old sailor if he had studied oceanography. The old sailor didn’t understand because he was illiterate. The professor said, “Ah that is bad. Here you are sailing on the sea but you don’t understand the science of the sea.” Then the professor asked him “what about meteorology and astronomy? The old sailor said “I don’t know anything about that”. “That is too bad” said the professor. You are a sailor on the sea but don’t know the science of the sea or the weather and you don’t even know the stars by which to navigate by. You have wasted three quarters of your life, this is dangerous! You must give up your job. The next night the old sailor came rushing in to wake up the professor saying “Sir do you know about swimmology?” What on earth is that asked the professor. “Can you swim?” asked the old sailor. “No, I cannot, but why do I have to swim?” “Because the ship has hit a rock. You will waste your life if you can’t swim” “Please teach me how to swim” said the professor. The old sailor said “No it is too late. Good-bye professor”.
As a monk I may become an expert in learning the teachings. But if I do not test the teaching by putting it into practice, the learning can form an intellectual wall, and then I am no better than an ignorant person. If lay people live the family life while following the Buddhist practice and observing the five precepts, they can be very happy indeed.
No one can change the world. Even Kofi Annan is powerless. However we can harmonize with the family and the world. If we practice meditation and loving kindness, we then test and experience the Buddha’s teaching. I practice every day but have not reached Nibbana or become an arahant. When I am asked to teach Buddhism in schools, there are many questions .Boys tend to be shy, but the girls ask questions such as “Are you enlightened and Are you a Buddha?” And I have to say ‘Not yet’. Then some come to my class and say that they want to follow the Buddha’s way. I tell them that they have to have their parent’s permission before they can begin. I say that I do not mean to convert them, but when they get permission I am happy to buy them a simple book and to teach them a simple practice. Then they come to celebration days such as Buddha day at the Buddhapadipa temple.
Bertrand Russell is reported to have said that the secret of happiness is to look at the globe and see exactly that it is horrible, horrible and horrible and to realize this as a fact, not as pessimism but as a true fact. This is the truth that could lead us to uproot the cause of human suffering. The question is, can we stand such a glimpse of reality and are we willing to practice for enlightenment? Indeed it was Christmas Humphreys himself who once said, “Why do we need enlightenment? Why not swim down the river of life with the multitude experiencing pleasure and pain passing? But human life has a purpose, which is enlightenment”.
Nowadays many people are dissatisfied with life. Even though we enjoy the advantages of technology, we do not feel happy. Each day people swallow millions of tranquillizers and stimulants and still cannot get a good night’s sleep. This indicates that many people are not content with life and are seeking happiness in the wrong way.
Dissatisfaction or suffering needs to be faced, understood and reasonably accepted; otherwise we cannot find the right solution. In his first discourse at Sarnath, the Buddha stated quite clearly that one who recognizes suffering, its cause, its remedy and its cessation will walk the right path. Suffering in life includes unhappiness, incompleteness, frustration and everything that we dislike. So first, we need to accept suffering as a fact, not a depressing fact but a true reality. But what causes our suffering? Do you know what and who really makes us suffer? My answer is that it is we who really make our life of suffering- nobody else. Please face it. The first words of the famous Dhammapada are: ‘All that we are, either happy or unhappy, is the consequence of what we have intentionaly done’. Our happy life or unhappy life is obviously made up of our actions, both mental and physical. ‘Not in the cleft of the mountains, nor in the depth of the sea and nor in the sky’, says another verse of the Dhammapada, ‘… can anyone escape from the results of ones own deeds? Only then, when you and I find this to be true, can we seek the action or skilful Kamma to lead us to happiness not only here and now but also in the next life until we reach enlightenment, namely Nibbana.
The simple but essential way to experience true happiness, I would suggest to you, is nothing but the threefold training: the attempt ‘to cultivate good, not to do any evil and to purify the mind and heart’. ‘The basic practice of this’, said Christmas Humphreys, ‘is to see for yourself. Check it again and again to find the right action and do it yourself, so you experience the taste of Dharma.
We Buddhists, no matter what school or group we belong to, must not fight with one another. We must cultivate much more tolerance and forbearance, which will help us to be at peace and harmony with other people, regardless of their faith, race and nationality. Indeed it was the Buddha himself who said: ‘He who has stable tolerance and forbearance brings peace and benefits to himself and others. He treads the path to heaven and enlightenment. Tolerance is the chief ground of virtues and meditation and wisdom. Tolerance and forbearance helps to eradicate all mental and physical evils. He who is equipped with tolerance uproots all causes of suffering, leading him to lead a good peaceful life now and thereafter’.
THIS TALK WAS GIVEN AT THE BUDDHIST SOCIETY IN APRIL 2002
