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Buddhist Hour
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Script 364 for Sunday 16 January 2005CE 2547 Buddhist Era


This script is entitled : Dedication of merits to Tsunami victims of 26 December 2004


We dedicate the merit generated from this radio broadcast to all beings who passed away and all beings who survived the Tunami disaster of 26 December 2004. May this merit improve their conditions. May they be well and happy.

We acknowledge today, the 16th of January 2005 as a day of mourning and remembrance for all beings who have suffered from the Tsunami of 26th December 2004.

We would like to offer some information from a Buddhist perspective on this disaster causing natural phenomena.

The DHAMMA TIMES on 2 January 2005 printed several articles written by knowledgeable and respected Buddhist scholars. We will read from these articles to present the Buddhist view.


The first article entitled "Tsunami: A cold reality" author, Yickkenghang.

All phenomena of this world are in reality flawed, connected to suffering, and unreliable.

Without a clear understanding of the nature of phenomena our search is doomed from the outset. Our first task must be to confront the facts that the universe does not exist for our amusement and that such pleasures as we customarily derive from it are false, impermanent, and unworthy of our attachment and interest.

Nature suffers no moratorium on decay; it unrolls itself without pause, a continual perishing of both the dear and the unlovely with absolute indifference.

While the Buddha does not deny the existence of enjoyment in this world, he points out that all worldly existence is bound up with suffering, inseparable from suffering, and sure to give way to suffering.

Therefore in embracing the pleasant we cannot help but embrace the unpleasant.

Our ignorance prevents us from realizing these facts by continually projecting a false appearance on the world, convincing us that the tempting phenomena around us can actually be possessed and squeezed dry of some satisfying essence.

The Buddha teaches that the solution to the terrible union of pleasure and pain is not to struggle hopelessly to split them apart, but to view the whole contaminated mass as possessing the three common characteristics of: impermanence, unsatisfactoriness, and insubstantiality. It is futile to single out some earth-shattering events for loathing and others for liking.

A common notion is that Buddhism may be employed to beautify life by making the individual more appreciative of the "harmony" of the universe. This is false on two counts.

The Buddha did not aim to put a pleasing, comforting face on things, but to enlighten the individual to the ultimate worthlessness of suffering-dominated Samsara existence. Also what we loosely term the "external" world is no more than a fleeting phenomenon, all changing with incredible speed, arising and vanishing with no beginning or end in sight.

As with all of the truths taught by the Buddha, the three characteristics of existence, namely impermanence, unsatisfactoriness, and insubstantiality, must be realized through direct insight -- not just through the reflection of the intellect.

Again and again the Buddha exhorts his followers to be mindful with urgency that the world is burning with greed, hatred, and delusion. Freedom can be won, but not by the careless, infatuated person. The one who attains freedom will be the one who has mindfulness, energy, and the courage to see the canker in the rose.

We pace up and down the shores of doubt, stepping into the river we find the water cold, and promptly conclude there's a better crossing further down. The water is always cold. Somebody sees a vision over the horizon, and the chilled troops waste no more time at-this-spot.

In our solitary reflections we may notice our inconstancy and regretfully wonder, "Has it always been thus?" If we are Buddhists we are bound to answer, "Yes." This endlessly mutable landscape of disappointment, this lurch and halt of conviction is called Samsara.

We are accustomed to regarding the "cycle of birth" and death as a remote, cosmic scheme of creation and dissolution. In fact, Samsara whirls with Tsunami force here in our very existence, here in the wavering and furtive mind. The great wheel turns, has turned, and will turn again.

In our accidental nights of fear we stare in bafflement at the four walls and ask ourselves, "Haven't I tried?" Silence replies with silence, and there's nothing left for us but to blunder after a new ghost of happiness, and thereby give the wheel of Samsara another spin.

Gullibility is not faith, nor is skepticism wisdom. The noble follower of the Buddha proceeds balanced and mindful, considering the world as he finds it, shunning the harmful and welcoming the useful. He crosses the flood of Samsara on the raft of Dhamma, knowing that nobody will make the effort for him.

What distinguishes such a person from his fellows is not necessarily brilliance of mind, but plain and simple perseverance, the resolve to follow the true course no matter how long it may take. We can do likewise if we set ourselves firmly on the path.

Delay is the luxury of ignorance. We commonly suppose Nirvana, the ultimate purity and freedom, to be something infinitely far away and terrifically difficult to reach. We think of the Buddha as long departed.

But Nirvana is near for those who would have it near, and the Buddha is as close as true Dhamma truly observed. What is required of us is to let go of our crumbling, mortal toys.

In that exhilarating solitude we may meet the Buddha, whose body is wisdom, whose face is great compassion, and whose hand points out the way directly to the deep and hidden purity in our hearts that are free from all traces of kilesas [imperfections]. Tsunami will then be a cold reality no more.

To help in any disaster - illness, death etc, Buddhists perform meritorious acts and share the merit made with persons requiring the assistance. In Thailand, the Dhamma Times reported in their article "Thais mark New Year with merits", that such activity was carried out as part of New Year celebrations. Thais across the country attended New Year merit makings for tsunami victims in Thailand's southern coastlines on 26 December.

The Dhamma Times article goes on to say, "In Bangkok, the merit making was held at Sanam Luang ceremonial ground and Buddha Monthon, in which thousands of government officials and the general public attended.
The event at Sanam Luang was presided over by Public Health Minister Sudarat Keyuraphan, who led other government officials and the general public to give alms to 779 Buddhist monks.

Officials and people in other provinces across the country, particularly those in the six tsunami-affected areas, including Phuket, Phang-nga, Krabi, Trang, Ranong and Satun, also held the similar merit making for the tsunami victims and for all the best of their lives in the New Year."

In the same manner, we dedicate the merit made with this radio broadcast of the Buddhist Hour with all beings who have suffered from the Tsunami.

The second article entitled "When nature misbehaves, humans have to weep", author Bhikkhu Professor Dhammavihari Thera, Colombo, Sri Lanka:

The recent devastating happenings in the southeastern sector of Asia through giant tidal waves, encompassing a global mixture of humans, have prompted us to express our opinion as Buddhists on this subject. When Nature misbehaves, as we have expressed above, it affects the lives of humans who inhabit this earth, anywhere and everywhere, irrespective of caste and creed, religion and ethnicity. Humans have to weep. Thanks to scientific research of today, enough is know by us now as to how and why these happen.

Equal thanks to the diverse forms of media at our disposal in the world, this knowledge is made available to man in every nook and corner. And that, to be sensibly used all the time for the benefit of man, for his security and his well being. But this disaster could not be averted. Nature moved faster than man. Where shall he succeed and where shall he fail? Better we discover in advance our own limits, every one of us, whether in the east or the west, in the north or the south, and work within those limitations.

Even in the pre-scientific age of the world, these very natural things like earth quakes, volcanic eruptions, tidal waves, typhoons and devastating floods [not forgetting Noah's ark and the flood], did take place.

Man on earth here explained them in his own simple way, elevating these phenomena at times to the level of divine activities or heavenly forces. Thunder and lightning were looked upon by ancient Indians of the Vedic age [i.e. thousands of years antedating the time of the Buddha], as the assigned functions of the Rain God Parjanya.

It was incumbent on him to strike dead the evildoers of the land with strokes of thunder and lightning. The ègveda is very specific on this when it says Parjanya, with his thunder and lightning, strikes dead the evil doers.

The God of Waters, Varuna, was equally dreaded. He could be vicious not only in the external world, with violent movements of water, but could also equally well punish the sinner, filling his inside with water and rolling him into his grave as a victim of the then much dreaded disease Ascitis [colloquially referred to as dropsy]. Man who had not yet discovered his identity and his own inner strength knelt down in prayer for his security.

Elsewhere, such elemental violence or misbehavior like hailstorms, directly descending from the skies, were explained as expressions of divine wrath or heaven's vengeance on man for his sinful behavior on earth. They were looked upon as acts of punishment sent down from above, to which man had to helplessly succumb. Whatever be the explanation man on earth gives to these phenomena which the ancients reckoned as heaven sent, they are known to everyone today as recurrent events in the world we live, taking place with fair regularity.

The nature of the universe being what it is, Buddhists look upon them as natural events, coming under the category of order of nature or utu-niyàma. They are as regular as the germination of seeds under favorable conditions. Buddhists call this latter, the order of seeds or bãja-niyàma.

When these calamitous events take place, they take toll of life of man, bird and beast without any discrimination. Destruction comes to every one and everything in their wake. There is hardly any conceivable judgement of guilt or innocence falling upon on any one, within the pale of disaster or out side. We fail to see any sense in making moral issues out of these.

Nevertheless, in situations like these, every one of us who has survived, and who in his or her own area of life activity, has erred towards one's fellow beings through neglect and/or by calculation, should now invariably feel within oneself, a deep sense of moral guilt. Our solemn prayer indeed is that this should happen so, no matter what one's religious creed or ethnic identity be.

To every one, this recent incident provides a real chance in this very life for confession and self-redemption. For those of us who have suffered in this disaster, not necessarily physically, if we really have suffered at all during this crisis, a day of judgement has come. It is not to be missed. This we deliver as a message to mankind. This new thinking and this change of attitude, which we now sponsor, will undeniably be contributory in a big way to the re-building of a ravaged community anywhere in this disaster-stricken sector. Much more than bag's full of gold, with or without strings. This alone will restore peace on earth and goodwill among men.

Think of what has happened. We need to be adequately alerted to our real position in the world we live. We shall not look upon ourselves merely as privileged persons down here on earth, with direct links with heavens above, no matter in which particular region, to which we continue pledging submission for all favors received to streamline our life here. On the contrary, we humans have to be alive to our relationship to a cosmic totality of far greater dimension. This is the idea of a Biophilia Hypothesis. We have to be conscious of the entire eco-system to which we are linked.

In a perilous world like this where death can be more certain than life, Buddhists are required to live in such a way that all life around us may live in comfort and security. For who knows whether death would come to us on the morrow. Everyone must maximize the benefits of living of/for the other. May all beings be happy and comfortable. May their lives be safe and secure. This has to be more than a mere prayer on somebody's lips. This is essentially a charter for healthy and harmonious living in a civilized world.

Buddhists shall not destroy the life of any living thing. They shall not cause others to do so. Nor shall they endorse or approve any form of killing done by others. Compassion has to be the ultimate ethic of humans for their own survival. It is this line of thinking that produced Victoria Moran's delightful book entitled COMPASSION THE ULTIMATE ETHIC. [BNC]

May all beings that have suffered during this disaster be well and happy. May all their needs be met immediately. May they be free from harm. May they have a healthy and happy life.

We will now read some Buddhist Blessings for protection in Pali and English.

Sabbe satta
Avera hontu
Abyapajjha hontu
Anigha hontu
Sukhi attanam pariharantu

May all sentient beings
Be free from enmity
Be free from ill will
Be free from suffering
Live a happy life

May you be well and happy.

May all beings be well and happy.


The script was prepared and edited by Evelin Halls, Anita Hughes, David Igracki, Leila Igracki, Julie O'Donnell, Andrew Pilskalns, Alec Sloman and Amber Svenson.

References:
John D. Hughes Collection Recorded Dhamma Teachings. Transcription Of Dhamma Teachings


References:

The Dhamma Times 2 January 2005

Word Count : 2526

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