Dhamma Talks - Noble Life :: Buddhapadipa Thai Temple

‘Noble life’ consists of two words; Noble and Life. To help understand the meaning, let’s have a look at the meaning of each word. Noble means ‘moral in an honest, brave and unselfish way’ and life means ‘the period between birth and death; the experience or state of being alive’. That is the meaning of each word, now join them together. The meaning doesn’t change, and in general, it means ‘live a moral, honest and brave life’. Can a man live like that? The answer is yes, absolutely, and “how?” is the next question.

To answer the ‘how’ question, we must observe life closely to see what really prevents us from being moral, honest and brave. Then we might find the obstructions, such as fear, worry, desire, attachment, expectation, condition, distraction, temptation, ending up with ignorance. Because of these big obstructions, some may lose heart, saying straight away, “I cannot become a noble one”. It is not so hard to live like that, if we tackle it with right understanding or wisdom. All the obstructions mentioned above are mind-obstructions created by ourselves and our opinions. We are influenced by these because we allow them to grow inside ourselves, bit by bit. When their power grows, it conquers our mind and makes it arid and dry.

The solution has been searched for, for a number of years, by many sages and religious teachers, some could go part way, but not complete the course. Until one day a man named Gotama, now known as the Buddha, discovered the right solution to the problem. This is purification of the mind, by means of both calmness and insight meditation which can eradicate the defilements from the mind, bit by bit. When the mind is fully purified, mankind can live a fully noble life. The process may be complicated, but it is not beyond human ability. To do meditation does need determination and effort, together with right understanding. Noble life is not too far away to reach, but we need to work it out by ourselves.

To complete the aims, action needs to be undertaken, just talk and discussion are not successful. The action must be right action, through the educational process; learning and practice are the two main commitments needed to reach the goal. Noble life is possible, isn’t it?