The Buddhist Hour Radio Broadcast Archives
The Buddhist Hour
Radio Broadcast Script 253
Sunday 1 December 2002
This
script is entitled:
Affirming a resolution into Practice
It is the custom of some persons in Australia to make
New Year resolutions on or near the 1st of January, when they decide
they will become ‘better persons’. But they may not know
how to do this for real.
Some persons may get the idea of
leaving a heritage for the next or after next generation perhaps in
the form of a large sum of wealth or estates.
Probably about
40% of Australian persons will leave university studies with a study
debt (HECS) for part of the cost (about 20%) of their study which in
total may reach $60, 000. Many live close to the poverty line as they
study, so their study years do not permit savings at that time.
When their earnings reach a certain amount they pay a
percentage of the debt (plus interest) back to the Federal
government.
During these study years, they may take things
that are not freely given – a cause for future loss of
wealth.
But, the obstacle for some Australian persons is that
they die too young - before they have worked long enough to amass
enough wealth for an estate; or, they live too long and their estate
is used for paying the fees for their residence in a Residential Aged
Care facility (Hostels, Nursing Homes, Special Accommodations) as per
the requirements of the Aged Care Act 1997.
The seeds of good
or bad character were formed during the study years by good or bad
actions.
“It is action and not speculation, practice and
not theory that counts in life. The will to do, followed by the
doing, is the actual virtue; the will of itself does not count much
unless it is fulfilled” (by Ashin Thittila,1997).
“As
long as we are devoting ourselves merely to the theoretical study of
the Dhamma, it can’t serve us well. Only when we have trained
our hearts to eliminate their ‘chameleons’ - i.e. their
corruption’s (upakkilesa) - will it benefit us in full measure -
and only then will the true Dhamma be kept pure, free from
distortions and deviations from its original principles” (the
Venerable Phra Ajaan Mun Bhuridatta Thera, 1999).
Keeping
precepts during your full or part-time study years, increases your
health and wealth choices.
If you are skilled and learned but
do not follow the precepts you are like a person told of a cache of
jewels but who does not get up and go to it.
The Pali word
patipatti means ‘putting into practice’. Patipatti is a
stage of learning. Only when you put precepts into your practice you
are able to learn and practice Buddha Dhamma sila (morality).
It
is fundamental for a Buddha Dhamma Practitioner to practise sila at
all times.
When you hold sila, you are better protected from
worldly troubles – you have health increasing and wealth
increasing.
In Buddha’s explanation to Manjushri
Bodhisattva it was made clear that the community who keeps precepts,
either five or ten for a layperson; or many of the 400 of the
Bodhisatta or the 1250 of the Monk, or the 500 of the Nun, will not
come to unfortunate rebirths.
The more precepts a person
holds, the stronger his or her practice becomes. Each additional
precept makes you 10 times more powerful ( viriya).
Practising
extra precepts is a way to accumulate virtuous kamma to bring good
things near to you.
One of our Members started a new full time
job about 6 months ago, after full time study at our Temple for 3
years, and obtained the credit ratings required to finance her second
car. She practiced additional precepts at our Temple for three
years.
It is easier to make better effort practise on moon
days – quarter-moon, half-moon, three quarter-moon and full-moon
days.
The ten precepts in the Theravadin tradition are as
follows:
(1)I undertake to observe the Precept of refraining
from killing any living being.
(2) I undertake to observe the
Precept of refraining from taking what is not given.
(3) I
undertake to observe the Precept of purification of mind and body.
(4) I undertake to observe the Precept of refraining from false
speech.
(5) I undertake to observe the Precept of refraining from
taking intoxicants causing heedlessness.
(6) I undertake to
observe the Precept of refraining from eating after midday.
(7) I
undertake to observe the Precept of refraining from make-up,
cosmetics, music and entertainment.
(8) I undertake to observe the
Precept of refraining from decorations and adornments.
(9) I
undertake to observe the Precept of refraining from sleeping on a
raised bed or sitting on high chairs.
(10) I undertake to observe
the Precept of refraining from handling money.
The ten
precepts in the Pali language are worth learning and chanting
regularly:
(1) Panatipata veramani sikkhapadam samadiyami
(2)
Adinnadana veramani sikkhapadam samadiyami
(3) Abramacariya
veramani sikkhapadam samadiyami
(4) Musavada veramani sikkhapadam
samadiyami
(5) Sura-meraya-majja-pamadatthana veramani sikkhapadam
samadiyami
(6) Vikala-bhojana veramani sikkhapadam samadiyami
(7)
Nacca-gita-vadita-visuka dassana veramani sikkhapadam samadiyami
(8)
Malagandavilepana darana mandana viphu sanatthana veramani
sikkhapadam samadiyami
(9) Uchasayana-mahasayana veramani
sikkhapadam samadiyami
(10) Jataruparajata patigghahana veramani
sikkhapadam samadiyami
The five precepts (panca sila) can be
briefly explained as follows:
The first precept is not to kill
a living being (panatipatta). To kill a living being means to inflict
upon him or her the greatest of all sufferings or evils, for inasmuch
as life itself is the greatest good, so the greatest suffering, or
greatest evil, that can befall one, is to be deprived of
life.
Non-violence (ahimsa) is said to be the highest rule of
religion (paraman dharmam). Violence and killing are, in fact,
closely connected, killing being the most extreme form of violence
and, in a sense, its logical consequence.
Killing is
tantamount to a complete rejection of the Golden Rule, and without
the Golden Rule there can be no human society, no culture, and no
spiritual life. In its Buddhist form the Golden Rule finds expression
in two well-known verses of the Dhammapada:
All (living
beings) are terrified of punishment (danda); all fear death. Making
comparison (of others) with oneself one should neither kill nor cause
to kill.
All (living beings) are terrified of punishment
(danda); to all, life is dear. Making comparison (of others) with
oneself, one should neither kill nor cause to kill.
The
positive form of the First Precept is love.
The Second
Precept, to abstain from taking what is not given (adinnadana), is
not simply a matter of not stealing. It means not taking or
appropriating that which another is not willing to give. Taking the
not-given is a form of violence.
Stealing does not only relate
to physical property, it also relates to the fact that you should not
steal time and energy from others, for example.
The third
precept is the principle of abstention from sexual misconduct (kamesu
micchacara). For the lay disciple, Buddha Dhamma does not consider
sex in itself as immoral. What causes it to be immoral is the
circumstances under which sex is carried out.
There are twenty
conditions that make for unwise sex.
To keep the third
precept, one must not have sex with a wife or woman under the
following conditions:
1. a wife who is being purchased
2. a
wife who is being cohabiting with her consent
3. a wife who is
being given money
4. a wife who is being given clothing
5. a
wife who is by immersing her hand together with that of the
bridegroom (truly wedded wife)
6. a wife who is setting aside a
head pad (obhatasumbata)
7. a wife who is being a slave as well
8.
a wife who is being a maid servant
9. a wife who is being a
prisoner of war (dajahata)
10. a wife who is being temporary
11.
a woman who is being looked after by the mother
12. a woman who is
being looked after by the father
13. a woman who is being looked
after by both parents
14. a woman who is being looked after by the
brother
15. a woman who is being looked after by the sister
16.
a woman who is being looked after by the relative
17. a woman who
is being looked after by the clan
18. a woman who is being looked
after by a (Dhamma) companion
19. a woman who is being looked
after by a guardian
20. a woman who is being under punishment
A
person who does not avoid practicing these twenty conditions, weakens
his or her relationships.
In general, the positive outcome of
the third precept is supreme contentment with the sexual activity
practiced. The sexual act copies the mind of practice.
The
fourth precept is to abstain from lying (musavada). When you practice
this precept, you practise truthfulness.
One of the simplest
yet most important forms of abstention from lying is that of factual
accuracy. This consists in telling what one has seen, for example, or
actually occurred, neither adding nor subtracting anything, nor
exaggerating or minimising anything, and without failing to recount
any relevant circumstances.
We shall have to develop
sufficient awareness and sensitivity to tell when another person
really is speaking the truth, since otherwise we may unintentionally
do them a great wrong.
The fifth precept is to refrain from
intoxicants that cause heedlessness
(sura-meraya-majja-pamadatthana).
Usually, when this precept
is broken, all the other precepts are also bound to be broken.
This
is because when a person breaks the fifth precept, when he or she
becomes intoxicated, there is no telling what he or she can do.
His
or her inhibitions have all been shed, he or she is no longer in
control of his or her senses, and, not being able to discern between
what is beneficial and what is harmful, he or she is liable to be
given to violence, even to kill; to steal, or to destroy others’
property; to become sexually aggressive and dangerous; and to lie,
slander and be given to abusive behaviour, thus tremendously
increasing the likelihood of breaking the rest of the other four
precepts.
It must be stressed again and again that sila
(morality) is necessary for even medium term success in the art of
successful living.
The practice of precepts is the antidote to
problems that exist in any culture or within any society.
Today,
we are exposed to a mass of simulated realities rather than real life
experience. Also, a culture where most things are simulated, as in
virtual games, are a form of not keeping the precept of no lying –
we mistake the real for the unreal.
At our Centre, in addition
to the first five precepts, persons observe two extra precepts of no
slander and no idle chatter. These seven precepts are part of our
Chan Academy study rules.
Chan is an ancient Chinese method of
study: It means for example, study by painting the truth and not to
produce anything that may trick the mind into avoiding the real.
For
example, the four seasons are only painted within the appropriate
seasons, with the flowers growing in the particular season, and so
on.
We do not paint winter clouds in a summer scene. Another
method taught that works like this is Sumi-e, an ancient Japanese way
of painting.
With seven or more precepts in practice there,
our Chan Academy is a haven for research disciplines due to the calm
and undisturbed atmosphere prevailing in this area and the pleasant
natural environment surrounding our Centre.
To help you refine
your minds, consider the advice given on the painting of jen-wu in
landscapes translated from the Chinese by Mai-mai Sze.
In
landscape paintings, in addition to scenery there should be figures
(jen) and other living things (wu). They should be drawn well and
with style, though not in too great detail. And they should, of
course, fit the particular scene.
For instance, a figure
should seem to be contemplating the mountain; the mountain, in turn,
should seem to be bending over and watching the figure.
A lute
player plucking his instrument should appear also to be listening to
the moon, while the moon, calm and still, appears to be listening to
the notes of the lute.
Figures should, in fact, be depicted in
such a way that people looking at a painting wish they could change
places with them. Otherwise the mountain is just a mountain, the
figures mere figures, placed by chance near each other and with no
apparent connection; and the whole painting lacks vitality.
Jen-wu
in a landscape should be pure as the crane, like hermits of the
mountains, and should never bring into a picture the air of the city
and market place to mar the spirit of the painting.
In the
pages which follow are examples of figures strolling, standing,
sitting, reclining, contemplating, and listening.
In some
cases, the accompanying text is quoted from T’ang and Sung
poems, showing how jen-wu in a landscape is similar to an inscription
or title in a painting. The subject of a scroll is often indicated by
the jen-wu in it. The ancients liked to write inscriptions on their
paintings.
The excerpts chosen here are not, however,
necessarily the only ones for the poses shown. Certain kinds of
inscriptions should go with certain pictures. Here, only a few
examples are offered.
Once a beginner understands the various
kinds of pictures done by the ancients and the substance of the
accompanying inscriptions, he or she will be able to find appropriate
ones for himself or herself.
“Wandering leisurely, one
easily strays. Reciting to oneself, the voice quite naturally is
raised high.”
“Hands slipped in sleeves are warm.
There is no feeling of cold.”
“With hands clasped
behind, walking on a mountain in autumn.”
“Standing
alone in the open, reciting a poem.”
“Having
gathered chrysanthemums by the bamboo fence to the east, joyfully
contemplating the Southern Mountain.”
“Returning
home by moonlight, hoe on shoulder.”
“Looking at the
mountain, remembering a poem, straightway writing it on the face of
the cliff.”
“Chance meeting with an old neighbor;
chatting and laughing, forgetting the hour to turn
homeward.”
“Lingering by a solitary pine, reluctant
to leave.”
“Leaning on a staff, listening to a
singing stream.”
“Carrying coins strung on a cord,
crossing a rustic bridge.”
“Pointing at a flight of
rooks like dots against the blue-green hills.”
“My
staff of bramble helps me on my way.”
“Walking
leisurely among bamboo, my thoughts naturally turn to the mountains,
and I yearn to go.”
“My heart is lifted as the cloud
on high.”
“Lying down, reading the Shan Hai
Ching.”
“Sitting on a rock flat as a mat, with head
bent, watching the long, flowing stream.”
“Lying
high up on the mountain among the clouds, his garments become damp
and cold.”
“Having walked to where the waters flow
no more, they sit and watch the clouds rise.”
“Leaning
on a rock, they wait for tea to be brewed.”
“Face to
face, the two drink and serve each other among the flowers on the
mountain.”
“From time to time I read my
book.”
“Today the weather is lovely. In the clear
air we play the lute.”
“Together we enjoy an
extraordinary essay.”
“The sounds of the chessboard
dispel all sense of time.”
“Sitting at a window in
the sun, leafing the pages of the Pai Yun.”
“The
mountain stream is clear and shallow. Meeting we sit and bathe our
feet.”
“Sitting, drinking under the mulberry tree.
It is the season to gather chrysanthemums.”
“Sitting
quietly alone, reciting a poem.”
“A copy of the Ping
Hsueh Wen I often carry with me leads my thoughts away from the
commonplace.”
“Master and attendant sitting
together; the master alone has leisure.”
Carrying two
bundles of brushwood on a shoulder pole.
Spring
ploughing.
Returning from fishing.
Holding pole.
Paddling
with oar.
Punting.
Sculling.
“Dipping feet
in a stream flowing ten thousand li.”
“In a vast
lake one lone old fisherman.”
“Reflections from the
lake play on the green of the grass raincape.”
“A
cold, wet fish may land in the large square net.”
“Meditating
on a poem while crossing a bridge on a donkey.”
“The
traveler’s horse eyes the spring grass. People on foot watch the
sunset clouds.”
“On the outskirts of a town in
spring one sees a camel.”
“Among the flowers there
is music of a flute. A shepherd boy is passing.”
Holding
books.
Lifting a kettle.
Passing cups of tea.
Carrying a
vase.
Sweeping the ground.
Holding an inkstone.
Bearing
a branch of blossoms.
Carrying a lute.
Brewing tea.
Washing
earthenware utensils.
Clasping knees.
Washing medicinal
plants.
Leading a horse by a rope.
Carrying bedding and
box.
Carrying bundles of books on a shoulder pole.
Carrying
books.
Two people watching clouds.
Sitting alone.
Four
people sitting and drinking together.
Sitting knee to
knee.
Two people sitting facing one another.
Sitting alone,
reading.
Sitting cross-legged.
Sitting with a slackened
fishing line.
Fishing.
Playing a hsiao flute.
Strumming
on a yuan guitar.
Playing a stringed instrument and the ti
flute.
Brewing herbs.
Sitting alone, contemplating
flowers.
Fisherman and family gathered for a drink
together.
Raising whip in starting forth.
Carrying bundles
on a shoulder pole.
Covered by open umbrella.
Pushing a
small carriage.
Carrying bundles on a shoulder pole.
Leading
a child.
Picking flowers.
Carrying a kettle.
Carrying in
balance two bundles of brushwood.
Three people standing,
facing one another.
Walking together.
Hands clasped
behind.
Grasping hands.
Trailing his staff.
Being led by
a child.
Facing one another, chatting.
Turning his
head.
Sitting alone.
Two people sitting, facing one
another.
Three people sitting, facing one another.
Two
people strolling.
One person strolling alone.
Leading
his grandchild.
Riding a donkey.
Carriers and sedan
chair.
Pushing a cart.
Riding a horse.
Back view.
Front
view.
Raking earth.
Astride a water buffalo.
When
you have developed a pleasant appearance, you can be a blessing to
other persons because you can do this correctly with the third
wholesome cetasika of hiri.
According to “The Path of
Purification”, by Bhadantacariya Buddhaghosa:
“Moral
shame, or conscience, is so because it has conscientious scruples
(hiriyati) about bodily misconduct, etc., thus it is conscience
(hiri). This is a term for modesty. It is ashamed (ottappati) of
those same things, thus it is shame (ottappa). This is a term for
anxiety about evil.
Herein, conscience has the characteristic
of disgust at evil, while shame, or moral dread, has the
characteristic of dread of it. Conscience has the function of not
doing evil and that in the mode of modesty, while shame (moral dread)
has the function of not doing it, and that in the mode of
dread.
They are manifested as shrinking from evil in the way
already stated. Their proximate causes are self-respect and respect
of others, respectively.
A man rejects evil through conscience
(hiri) out of respect for himself, as the daughter of a good family
does; he or she rejects evil through shame (ottappa) out of respect
for another, as a courtesan does. But these two states should be
regarded as the Guardians of the World.”
Sometimes, if we
practice well, we can begin to see cause and effect – how our
absence of hiri meant that there was no restraint available to us
when we commenced ignoring one or more of the precepts.
If
you have the merit to do so, may you put more precepts than five
precepts and up to ten precepts into your practice.
May you
hold as many precepts as you can at any given time not only with body
and speech, but also with your mind.
May you practice
genuinely with faith and vow.
The authors and editors of this
script are John D. Hughes Dip.App.Chem. T.T.T.C. GDAIE, Anita M.
Hughes, RN Div1, Evelin Halls Dip.For.Lang.Corres, Lainie
Smallwood.
References
Sangharakshita, 1984, The Ten
Pillars of Buddhism, Windhorse Publications, Birmingham.
Shilla
Monk Won-hyo, translated by Won-myong Su Nim and Mark Mueller,
Inspiring Yourself to Practice, Lotus Lantern International Buddhist
Centre, Korea.
Venerable Aggacitto Samanera, 1982, The
Importance of Keeping Precepts, The Selangor Buddhist Association,
Kuala Lumpur.
Venerable Ashin Thittila, 1997, A Buddhist’s
Companion, Malaysia, Sukhi Hotu.
Venerable Master Hsing Yun,
1997, Mindful Wisdom, Heartfelt Joy. International Buddhist
Association of Australia Incorporated.
Venerable Phra Ajaan
Mun Bhuridatta Thera, 1999, A Heart Released, W.A.V.E., printed in
Selangor, Malaysia.
Venerable U Chan Htoon, Pitaka Translation
Society, Visakha Tazaung Kaba-aye, Rangoon. Correspondence dated 12
October 1983 to Mr Mahoney, Buddhist Discussion Centre (Upwey)
Ltd.
Words: 3255
Sentences:
227
Paragraphs:221
Characters: 16076
Averages
Sentences
per paragraph: 1.2
Words per Sentence: 12.9
Characters per
word:4.7
Readability Statistics
Passive Sentences:
7%
Flesch Reading Ease score: 65.2
Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level
score: 7.1
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approximately 7.0 to 8.0.
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