The Buddhist Hour Radio Broadcast Archives
Buddhist
Hour
Radio Broadcast on Hillside 88.0 FM
Broadcast 297 for
Sunday 4 October 2003
This script is entitled: A Buddha
Dhamma talk given by a visiting Teacher
A Buddha Dhamma Teacher visited our Centre on 9 September
2003. This auspicious day was Founder's Day as well as our Teacher
John D. Hughes' 73rd Birth Anniverary. On this occasion, the visting Teacher
kindly gave a Buddha Dhamma talk in the evening for
Abhidhamma class. The following text is a transcription of this talk.
It has been many years since I have given a speech on
Buddhism at any Buddhist Centre for Buddhist practitioners. My
classes usually cater to older people, over 55 years of age non
Buddhists.
Today I would like to conduct our discussion
according to the Buddhist tradition. English is not my mother
language so if you cannot understand please let me know. I will be
very happy for correction on pronunciation.
According to our
tradition all teaching aims at Lord Buddha’s teaching, we never
teach according to our own ideas. In reality Buddhist Teachers are
messengers of the Buddha. So today’s teaching will be original
teaching. My duty is to interpret properly and to elaborate to make
the subject easy to understand, that is all. I don’t change the
fundamental truth of Buddhism.
First of all, we always honour
or pay homage to the Buddha. In reality the Buddha is in our heart,
not outside. So in any direction you can pay respect or pay homage to
the Buddha. Any direction, it doesn’t matter because the Buddha
is on your head, or in your heart.
Namo Tassa Bhagavato
Arahato Sammasambuddhassa
Namo Tassa Bhagavato Arahato
Sammasambuddhassa
Namo Tassa Bhagavato Arahato
Sammasambuddhassa
Buddham Saranam Gacchami
Dhammam Saranam
Gacchami
Sangham Saranam Gacchami
Dutiyampi Buddham Saranam
Gacchami
Dutiyampi Dhammam Saranam Gacchami
Dutiyampi Sangham
Saranam Gacchami
Tatiyampi Buddham Saranam Gacchami
Tatiyampi
Dhammam Saranam Gacchami
Tatiyampi Sangham Saranam
Gacchami
Always take refuge in the precepts when we teach
Buddhism. I will take eight precepts for this section on behalf of
all people. We use pali words to pay homage to the Buddha. I will use
the English language for you all, because together with me you all
will take eight precepts for this section. After you have left this
hall you can do whatever you like.
When persons learn or
teach Buddha it is sila kamma and it can be cultivated into
meditation, therefore we always start by taking eight precepts.
We
all will abstain from killing any living / sentient being.
We
will not take anybody’s property without their consent.
We
will not commit sexual misconduct.
We will not tell lies or
untrue words during our Buddhist section.
We will not use
divisive words or make any causes to divide the unity of the Buddha,
Dhamma Sangha.
We will not use malicious or harsh words to
hurt anybody.
We will not speak foolish or meaningless
words.
We will abstain from improper livelihood, that is any
livelihood that would hurt a living being. For example selling
narcotic drugs, selling animals or meat, or selling human beings for
slavery.
Buddhism is a practical guide to life, a guide to
practice everyday, to be happy and peaceful people. If you don’t
practice you will have nothing, The purpose of Buddhism is practice,
you can discuss it but without practice you will have nothing.
Buddhism is the Buddha’s teaching, he taught us to give
advice, that is our own choice. It will never force you to do
anything against your own will, it will advise you about the right
path, the wrong path and good behaviour. That is all.
You,
yourself must make the effort.
The Buddha compared his
teaching to the ocean. The ocean has eight qualifications, so too
does the Buddha’s teaching. In this teaching I will compare only
one thing: The ocean becomes deeper and deeper at a very gradual
level, as you move from the shallow shore it becomes deeper.
The
Buddha’s teaching is gradually deeper and deeper. If your
intelligence level is high, you can learn higher areas of the
teaching. If you are an ordinary person you can learn at a suitable
level for you.
The Buddha said that in the ocean some animals
are short and can only swim near the shore. Buddhism is accessible to
everybody. If you are tall like an elephant or a giraffe you can go
down, deeper, far away from the shore. In Buddhism there is something
for everybody.
The Buddha can be compared to a clever tailor,
you maybe very tall or very short – however the tailor can make
suitable clothes for you.
The Buddha could read the minds of
other people. Without words he could read what you are thinking. His
students could ask a question with their minds and he could answer
correctly.
The best gift in life is health. In your life if you
are rewarded with the best gift, it would be health.
You can
enjoy the luxuries of human life, enjoyment is at your disposal. You
can enjoy beauty, music, tasty food, you can enjoy any companionship
including sexual pleasure. But if you are sick, such things are
useless.
If you can’t eat any sweets and suffer from very
serious diabetes with no insulin available to you, how will you enjoy
food?
If you suffer from extreme heart disease and your Doctor
said you are not allowed to enjoy any emotion, how will you enjoy any
pleasure in your life?
If you suffer from very serious
headaches or migraines, you are not interested in listening to music,
those vibrations give you trouble.
So the Buddha said the best
gift is health. Buddhism is a practical way of life.
It is a
blessing to live a long and healthy life.
The Buddha’s
teaching is very simple. You can understand easily but it may be
difficult to practice.
Morality promotes good health, the
following five rules promote the blessings of good health:
The
first golden rule is not to do improper things, very simple. But you
must be knowledgeable, you must approach your physician and learn
what is is improper for you. Sometimes improper for one person is
good for another.
In general, you shouldn’t smoke.
Everyone agrees that smoking is harmful to your airways and lungs.
Drinking heavily and taking narcotic drugs including cocaine, perhaps
only once can damage your brain depending on your DNA.
The
Buddha said not to do improper things. Not to eat improper things,
not to drink improper things, not to use improper positioning, and
not to go to improper places.
If you visit Bali last year,
even though you are healthy you may not survive a bomb
explosion.
The Buddha’s teaching has a different meaning,
a very wise meaning. The Buddha said not to do improper things, so
you must learn what is improper.
The second, is is to do
proper things but know your limits, not to go to far.
If you
eat too much you will gain weight, obesity and diabetes are common
problems among persons today.
It is important to find balance
in all activities, walking, standing, lying down, sitting. The Buddha
said to know your limits even though you are doing proper things.
Excessive behaviour may not be proper.
You must use your brain
to do things at the right time.
The fourth rule is to observe
on occasion the eight precepts. That is,
1. Not to kill
2. Not to steal
3. To
abstain from sexual intercourse
4. Not to lie
5. Not to take
intoxicating substances
6. Not to eat after midday
7. Not to
enjoy entertainments – music
8. Not to enjoy luxurious
bedding
Observing these eight precepts you may notice it is
good for your health. Your digestive system will get time for a
rest.
The fifth rule for good health is to have trustworthy,
reliable, good friends. Your physician is your good friend. He will
advise you about proper things. If you have bad friends they will
encourage to drink or take heroin. If you are rich they will
encourage you to spend. Many actors and famous people have foolish
friends.
If you practice these rules you can have long life.
If you don’t practice you will get nothing.
The best
wealth is contentment.
As long as you don’t feel content
you are hungry for something.
To elaborate this point I want
to tell a Japanese story.
Once there was a King who loved
gold. Whenever he had the chance he would count how much gold he had.
He was never fulfilled or satisfied with the amount of gold.
One
day the King was rewarded with a philosophers stone that was able to
convert anything into gold. The King believed it to be the best gift
of his life.
He was very happy and turned everything into gold
including barbed wire into gold chain.
To protect everything
he made into gold he had to use his brain. Although the King had a
lot of gold, he also had a lot of worry. He had to figure out how to
protect his gold and his life from thieves. He began to suffer from
tension headaches and ill health.
Despite having great riches
the King could not enjoy life because of suffering from headaches. He
could not even sleep properly.
He went to see the person who
rewarded him the philosophers stone who said:
"Try to get a
jacket from someone who doesn’t need anything, who bravely
declares 'I don’t need anything, I don’t want anything'. If
you get this jacket I will give you some formula to cure your
headache."
He approached the Queen, she wants something…
the Prime Minister, he wants something. So he sent a messenger in
every direction to find somebody who could bravely declare “I
don’t need anything, I don’t want anything”.
Weeks
later one of the messengers found a person sitting near a bridge.
Sitting without a shirt, only a small cloth to cover himself. The
messenger brought the man to the King and they interviewed him and
offered him many things, gold and riches. The man did not want or
need anything. At last the King gave up and believed that this man
wanted nothing.
He then asked for a jacket from this man in
order to get the formula to cure his headaches.
The man was
very sorry, he had no jacket to give, he had nothing, nor any need
for anything. He was very sorry he could give the King nothing
because he has nothing.
The moral of this story is, if you are
content, you don’t need anything. As long as you need something
you are hungry for something. Your desire is strong. If you are
really content even you can sit without a jacket.
As long as
you don’t feel content, you are a poor man. You may look very
wealthy, you are not, you are hungry for something. Maybe for power,
maybe for money, maybe for love or romance.
In the end the
King gave up the philosophers stone and realised with wisdom that the
best wealth is contentment. He new the truth of life.
Don’t
misinterpret the Buddha’s teaching, it doesn’t necessarily
mean that you don’t need to improve.
To feel content
means you must be satisfied with what you have. For example, if you
are trying to be the most wealthy person in Australia like Kerry
Packer. But you don’t have much luck and you are only a middle
income earner – Be satisfied with that. Don’t feel upset.
You can try to achieve your own ambitions but if you don’t
reach them please don’t be upset.
The trusted friend is
the best relative. Even though you have many relatives or brothers or
sisters, if they are not trustworthy they are not good relatives.
True friends are the best relatives.
Some persons try to kill
their own Mother.
Responsibility between two friends is
important. If someone really pays respect to his responsibility
according to the Buddha’s teaching, you can regard that person
as your trusted friend and best relative. Not necessarily your
brother or your sister, who sometimes argue. The following five
points are characteristic of true friends.
1. True friends
always offer help. Sometimes in the form of advice, if he is helpful
and ready to share what he has he is a true and trusted friend. Even
if he only has one banana he will give you half.
2. True
friends treat you equally. He may be a very powerful person, maybe
Prime Minister, a billionaire. He will not treat you unequally or
inferior to him. True and trusted friends treat each other
equally.
3. True friends keep the other persons best interests
in their heart, they are always considerate of you and never forget
you.
4. True friends always bring sweet words to you, they
never use harsh words.
5. True friends always honour a promise
to you, they never cheat, never twist the truth.
You should be
like that and you will be a true friend.
The best bliss is
Nibbana. Nibbana is a pali word, it has no equivalent words in
English.
There is a beautiful story in the book ‘What the
Buddha Taught”
A turtle and a fish lived together in a
pond. One day the turtle went out of the water and walked on the
land. When he came home the fish asked ‘where have you been? I
have not seen you for many hours’. The turtle replied ‘I
went for a walk on the land’. The fish had never heard of the
word land before and could not conceive of the concept. The words
land and walking were not in the fish’s dictionary, he did not
understand.
It is like this when you try to understand the
meaning of Nibbana. The more you try to understand Nibbana the more
difficult. Some people totally misinterpret Nibbana. It is not music,
nor singing. I will try to explain Nibbana to you.
There are
two components of Nibbana. The first is:
All mental
defilements are totally eradicated but that person still has body and
mind. This is the Nibbana that results from all eradication of mental
defilements.
You need to understand the definition of
Buddhist defilements. One is clinging or attachment or desire for
something.It is called lobha in Abhidhamma. If understand Abhidhamma
you will understand lobha. Lobha can cover every meaning of
attachment and desire except for meritorious activity.
If you
have attachment to clothes, power, wealth, everything it is called
lobha. It is a mental defilement.
Another is dosa, translated
as ill-will. It can cover minor irritation to very serious anger or
hatred. Everything negative in the mind is called dosa.
If you
eradicate all the defilements and have no desire for anything you can
sleep very well. If you have no attachment to anybody and your
husband leaves you and runs away with another woman, you don’t
feel anything. If your wife kicks you out you don’t feel
anything because you have no attachment to her, you may even think
that she is a nuisance.
Persons who don’t have
attachment, ill-will, fear, irritation are very peaceful. It is
called the first stage of Nibbana.
The second stage is very
difficult. When the Buddha was alive his chief disciples, Arhats,
achieved first stage Nibbana and did not experience any mental pain.
If you abuse a Buddha he never feels pain in his mind or body.
There is a story of one Brahmin who was very hungry. Because
the Buddha was a very good speaker many Brahmins became Buddhist and
some ordained as Monks. The hungry Brahmin became very angry and
believed that the Buddha was destroying the unity of family. He went
to the Buddha and began to abuse him, calling him every bad name that
came to his brain. The Buddha said nothing.
The Brahmin was
incredulous, “I abuse you with many bad names but you don’t
react with anger to me. What is the meaning?”
The Buddha
explained that if you give a present to somebody and they don’t
accept that present then you remain the owner of that present. You
can abuse me but I don’t accept your anger, it belongs to you.
The Brahmin listened to the Buddha and became a Buddhist Monk and
later Arhat. Although the Buddha and his disciples are not subject to
mental suffering they are still subject to physical pain. The Buddha
and Arhat never escape from some suffering, they need to eat.
If
you eat food sometimes you experience stomach pain. They also need to
sleep and go to the toilet. They also suffer from some diseases
because they have a body. As long as you have a body you may catch
colds and other ailments.
As long as you body and mind are
still alive Nibbana is not complete.
When the Buddha and Arhat
pass away and are never reborn again this is called Second Stage
Nibbana. The bliss resulting from the disappearance of physical body
and mental body, as long as you have attachment to your body and mind
you never understand the meaning of Second Stage Nibbana.
Just
like the fish never understands the meaning of walking and land.
So
with wisdom always remember that the best gift is health –
practice to be healthy.
The best wealth is content, even
though you are unemployed practice to be content.
Trusted
friends are the best relatives. The Buddha called himself a good
friend, he never called himself a Master.
Nibbana is the best
bliss. If you listen and teach Buddha Dhamma you make kusala kamma.
If you make kusala kamma you are entitled to wish for something. So I
will wish depending on our meritorious deeds today.
“We
accumulated good kamma, kusala kamma by listening and teaching the
Buddha’s teaching. As a result of this meritorious deed of good
kamma we wish we are able to understand Buddha’s teaching,
realise the four Noble Truths and attain enlightenment, attain
Nibbana. We share our merits with everybody, including divine beings
at this Centre, human beings and every living being. That is my
present to you”.
Saddhu
Saddhu
Saddhu
This
talk was transcribed by Lainie Smallwood and edited by Evelin Halls
and David Ley.
For more information, contact
the Centre or better still, come and visit us.
© 2002. Copyright. The Buddhist Discussion Centre
(Upwey) Ltd.