27 October 2002: “Developing adosa (non-hate)”

The Buddhist Hour Radio Broadcast Archives

The Buddhist Hour Radio Broadcast Script 248
for Sunday 27 October 2002

This script is entitled:
“Developing adosa (non-hate)”

Glossary

adosa (Pali language): absence of ill-will, kindness, friendliness, sympathy.

dosa (Pali language): anger, ill-will, evil intention, wickedness, corruption, malice, hatred, aversion.

This week a student at Monash University in the State of Victoria, Australia, shot dead two students and injured 5 others on the University campus.

The Prime Minister of Australia is considering legislation to ban automatic hand held pistols, except for those who need to carry them for essential services, for example the Police force.

We commend the Prime Minister’s proposal to disarm a large percentage of the population.

After an earlier massacre at Port Arthur some years ago, the Prime Minister outlawed automatic rifles.

We commend both these actions in the interest of peace.

How does such a thing arise? How do we prevent it?

As we practice Buddha Dhamma, living according to the teachings of the Buddha, we first develop saddha.

Saddha is a Pali word translated into English as faith, confidence, or non-fogginess.

Saddha is the first of the 25 beautiful mental concomitants, or in the Pali language, sobhana cetasikas.

“When saddha associates with the citta, all the defilements such as lobha, dosa, moha [in English greed, hate and ignorance] disappear, with the result that the mind becomes cool and clear.” (Mon, 1995).

When we have saddha we can make good things by virtuous and moral action, we create the causes that lead to our liberation from suffering.

Without confidence there can be no good things.

“...one with saddha can acquire a lot of merit which is more precious than jewels. As a man [or woman] without hands cannot grab jewels, so a man [or woman] without saddha cannot acquire good merit saddha is the most precious treasure.” (Mon, 1995).

For our purposes, saddha means:

have faith (saddahanti),
or it itself is the having of faith or it is just the act of having faith (saddahana),
thus it is faith (saddha),
its characteristic is having faith,
or its characteristic is trusting,
its function is to clarify, like a water clearing gem,
or its function is to enter into, like the setting out across a flood,
it is manifested as non-fogginess,
or it is manifested as resolution,
its proximate cause is something to have faith in,
or its proximate cause is the things beginning with hearing the Good Dhamma (Saddhama) that constitute the factors of stream entry,
it should be regarded as a hand [because it takes hold of profitable things], as wealth, and as seed
(Bhadantacariya Buddhagosa, no date).

Last week, beginning with confidence, we spoke about developing the wisdom to use compassion.

Today, we will speak about the motivations for applying non-hate (in Pali, adosa) as an antidote to hate (in Pali, dosa).

It is timely, given the many recent media reports of acts of violence, both internationally in Bali and at home, to teach and put into practice what the Buddha taught us about adosa.

We do not shoot our fellow university students if we do not hate them.

We do not blow up night clubs and kill many persons if we do not hate them.

By acting according to the Buddha’s Teachings, we will contribute to our society so that it is peaceful and pleasant and free from terrorists and students will not shoot one another.

Dr Mehm Tin Mon (1995) says of dosa (hate) that:

“It is the most destructive element in the world. It is more frightful than the atomic weapon. Of course, when someone pulls the trigger on the atomic weapon, he does so under the influence of dosa Not only inflated dosa as the one present in the angry person but also depressed dosa as the one felt by a sad or depressed person are destructive. According to Abhidhamma the one who retaliates an insult is more foolish than the one who starts the insult.”

Dosa (in English hatred, anger, or aversion) is one of the three roots of negative kamma.

At the turn of the century it has been commonplace for soothsayers to say that the key trends in the coming period are globalism and tribalism.

Here we look to the work of Paul James (2001) in "Relating Global Tensions: Modern Tribalism and Postmodern Nationalism".

Paul James (2001) writes that social life is presented as if we are simultaneously both going forward into the technologically driven world of globlisation, e-commerce, Planet Hollywood and abstract 'peace', and at the same time back into the ambivalent, anachronistic gloom of neo-national violent tribalisms.

James (2001) explains that globalisation is not a new system....it is a process with long historical roots that has been developing at an unprecedented pace though the end of the twentieth century and into the new millennium. He writes that the idea of 'tribe' names real, self-reproducing and changing communities living in the world today.

Elderidge Cleaver, American Radical, 1968, writes "The price of hating other human beings is loving oneself less."

When the brahman Akkosaka ("Insulter") Bharadvaja “insulted & cursed him with rude, harsh words” the Buddha replied:

“that with which you have insulted me, who is not insulting; that with which you have taunted me, who is not taunting; that with which you have berated me, who is not berating: that I don't accept from you. It's all yours, brahman. It's all yours.

Whoever returns insult to one who is insulting, returns taunts to one who is taunting, returns a berating to one who is berating, is said to be eating together, sharing company, with that person. But I am neither eating together nor sharing your company, brahman. It's all yours. It's all yours."

As our teacher has taught us, we do not have to accept what is directed our way as ours. We can ‘return to sender, unopened.'

As the Buddha taught, it is right now, in this life, that suffering comes to those who are angry:

“These are the seven things -- pleasing to an enemy, bringing about an enemy's aim -- that come to a man or woman who is angry.
An angry person is ugly & sleeps poorly.
Gaining a profit, he turns it into a loss,
having done damage with word & deed.
A person overwhelmed with anger
destroys his wealth.
Maddened with anger,
he destroys his status.
Relatives, friends, & colleagues avoid him.
Anger brings loss.
Anger inflames the mind.
He doesn't realize
that his danger is born from within.
An angry person doesn't know his own benefit.
An angry person doesn't see the Dhamma.
A man conquered by anger is in a mass of darkness.
He takes pleasure in bad deeds as if they were good,
but later, when his anger is gone,
he suffers as if burned with fire.
He is spoiled, blotted out,
like fire enveloped in smoke.
When anger spreads,
when a man becomes angry,
he has no shame, no fear of evil,
is not respectful in speech.
For a person overcome with anger,
nothing gives light.
I'll list the deeds that bring remorse,
that are far from the teachings.
Listen!
An angry person kills his father,
kills his mother,
kills Brahmans
& people run-of-the-mill.
It's because of a mother's devotion
that one sees the world,
yet an angry run-of-the-mill person
can kill this giver of life.
Like oneself, all beings hold themselves most dear,
yet an angry person, deranged,
can kill himself in many ways:
with a sword, taking poison,
hanging himself by a rope in a mountain glen.
Doing these deeds
that kill beings and do violence to himself,
the angry person doesn't realize that he's ruined.
This snare of Mara, in the form of anger,
dwelling in the cave of the heart:
cut it out with self-control,
discernment, persistence, right view.
The wise man would cut out
each & every form of unskillfulness.
Train yourselves:
'May we not be blotted out.'
Free from anger & untroubled,
free from greed, without longing,
tamed, your anger abandoned,
free from fermentation,
you will be unbound.”

If we are subject to the actions of a person or persons that intend us harm, if anger and ill-will arise in us, we should note the words of the Buddha:
“Hostilities aren't stilled
through hostility,
regardless.
Hostilities are stilled
through non-hostility:
this, an unending truth.
Unlike those who don't realize
that we're here on the verge
of perishing,
those who do:
their quarrels are stilled.”

These are the facts of all life.

We should also note that what comes to us does so as the inevitable result of past kammas. Realising this, we should not be attached to feeling anger or revulsion if we are subject to unpleasantness:
“He insulted me,
hit me,
beat me,
robbed me'
-- for those who brood on this,
hostility isn't stilled.
'He insulted me,
hit me,
beat me,
robbed me' --
for those who don't brood on this,
hostility is stilled.”

Instead, we should cultivate Adosa (in English hatelessness). Adosa “is opposed to dosa and it can overcome dosa. It is not mere absence of hatred or aversion, but is a positive virtue When adosa turns its attention to living beings wishing them to be happy, it is known as metta, i.e., loving-kindness Adosa is also one of the three roots of good.” Dr Mehm Tin Mon (1995).

This week an article was published in the Ranges Trader Mail entitled "Buddhist centre's global appeal". The newspaper reported that orphans in Bangladesh will benefit from a new stall run by an Upwey group at the Camberwell Market. This is a example of what we do to practice adosa (in Pali language, non-hate). We have supported this orphanage for 15 years.

At the Camberwell Market Chan Academy fundraising stall last week five young Asian women walking past, chattering and enjoying each others company, stopped when one of the women noticed the Bangladesh Dhammajika Orphanage dana collection container.

She stopped her friends and showed them too, and then encouraged them to check for any change they may have had in their purse to offer for the children. All responded happily by donating their change and clearly by their smiles to our stall attendants this money was given generously and with volition.

All across Asia, making good causes are national culture.

You can help by donating goods for the Market Stall. Telephone Frank Carter at the Chan Academy Australia on 9754 3334 to organise collection.

Through activities such as the Market Stall our Members develop lack of hate for others.

You can view photographs of our Members at the Camberwell Market Stall in Issue 80 of the Brooking Street Bugle at www.bsbonline.com.au

May you be well and happy and free from persons who hate you and carry guns capable of doing serious harm to you.

May disarmament of automatic hand guns come into Australian legislation as soon as possible with safe guards.

The author's and editors of this script are: Julian Bamford B.A. App. Rec, Leanne Eames B.A.,M.A., Jason Glasson, John D. Hughes Dip. App. Chem. T.T.T.C. GDAIE, Anita Hughes RN Div 1, Pennie White B.A. Dip. Ed.

References

Davids, R. and Stede, W. (1979) Pali-English Dictionary, Pali Text Society, London.

Mon, Dr. M. T. (1995) The Essence of Buddha Abhidhamma, Mehm Tay Zar Mon, Yangon.

Green, Johnathon (1982) A Dictionary of Contemporary Quotations, David & Charles, London, p. 141.

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Document Statistics

Totals

Words:1,788
Sentences:102
Paragraphs: 74
Characters:2513

Averages

Sentences per paragraph: 1.4
Words per Sentence :17.5

Readability Statistics

Passive Sentences: 15
Flesch Grade Level: 8.8
Coleman-Liau Grade Level: 13.1
Bormuth Grade Level: 10.6
Flesch Reading Ease Score: 62.1
Flesch-Kincaid Score: 8.3

Readability Statistics

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Flesch Grade Level: Flesch Grade Level indicates the Flesch Reading Ease score as a grade level. See the Flesch Scoring Table.

Coleman-Liau Grade level: Indicates the grade level of the document based on the average number of letters per word and number of sentence per 100 words.

Bormuth Grade Level: Indicates the grade level of document based on the average number of letters per word and per sentence. These scores indicate grade levels ranging from 6.3 to 11.6.

Flesch Reading Ease Score: Indicates how easy the document is to read based on the number of syllables per word and number of words per sentence. These scores indicate a number between 0 and 100. The higher the score, the easier the document is to read. See the Flesch Scoring Table.

Flesch-Kincaid Score : Indicates the grade level of the document based on the number of syllables per word and number of words per sentence. This score predicts the difficulty of reading technical documents, and is based on Navy training manuals that score in difficulty from 5.5 to 16.3. It meets military readability specifications MIL-M-38784 and DOD-STD-1685.

Flesch Scoring Table

Flesch Reading Flesch Grade Level Reading Difficulty
Ease Score
90-100 5th Grade Very easy
80-89 6th Grade Easy
70-79 7th Grade Fairly easy
60-69 8th-9th Grade Standard
50-59 High School Fairly difficult
30-49 College Difficult
0-29 College Graduate Very difficult

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