This is the second of three lectures given by Sayagyi U Ba Khin
1951
to the Religion in Life Forum,
in the Methodist English Church of Signal Pagoda Road, Rangoon.
Last Sunday I gave you a brief outline -- a very brief one too
-- of the life of our Lord Buddha, up to the moment of his
attainment of Buddhahood. I am going to tell you today what his
teachings are. Buddhist teachings are preserved in what we call the
Tipitakas, consisting of the Suttas (Discourses),
the Vinaya (the rules of discipline for Sanghas,
or monks and nuns) and the Abhidhamma (the philosophical
Teachings). We have the Tipitakas in Pali in
several volumes which will require an intelligent Pali scholar some
months just to read through. I propose, therefore, to confine
myself today only to essentials, that is to say, the fundamental
Truths of Buddhism.
Before Lord Buddha took upon himself the task of spreading his
Dhamma (Teachings), he remained in silent meditation for a
continuous period of 49 days, that is, seven days under the Bodhi
tree and seven days each in six other spots nearby, enjoying at
times the peace of Supreme Nibbana and at others going
deeper in investigation into the most delicate problems of
Paramattha-Dhamma (Ultimate Realities). On his complete
mastery of the law of Patthana (the Law of Relations), in
which the infinite modes of relations between thought moments are
also dealt with, there emerged from his body brilliant rays of six
colours, which eventually settled down as a halo of six-coloured
rays around his head. He passed through this seven-times-seven-
days' meditation without food. It is beyond us all to be without
food for 49 days. The fact remains that he was throughout the
period on a mental plane as distinct from a physical plane, in
which mankind normally is. It is not material food that maintains
the fine-material existence and life-continuum of beings in the
Fine-material Worlds of the Brahmas, but the Jhanic Piti,
which in itself is a nutriment. So also was the case with the
Buddha, whose existence during this long period was on a mental
rather than physical plane. Our experiments in this line of
research have firmly convinced us that for a man of such high
intellectual and mental development as the Buddha, this is a
possibility.
It was the dawn of the 50th day of his Buddhahood when he arose
from this long spell of meditation. Not that he was tired or
exhausted, but, as he was no longer in the mental plane, he felt a
longing for food. At that time, two traders of a foreign land were
travelling in several carts loaded with merchandise through the
Uruvela forest. A Deva of the forest who had been their
relative in one of their previous existences advised them to take
the opportunity of paying homage to the All-Enlightened Buddha who
had just arisen from his meditation. They accordingly went to the
place where the Buddha was seated, illumined by the halo of
six-coloured rays. They could not resist their feelings. They lay
prostrate in worship and adoration before the Buddha and later
offered preserved rice cakes with honey for the first meal of the
Buddha. They were accepted as his lay disciples. On their request
that they might be given some tokens for their worship, the Buddha
presented them with eight strands of hair from his head. You will
be surprised to know that these two traders were Tapassu
and Bhallika from Ukkala[8], which today is known
as Rangoon, where you are at this moment. And the renowned
Shwedagon, which you all probably have visited, is the Pagoda in
which were enshrined all the eight hair-relics of the Buddha under
the personal direction of the then ruler of Ukkala, 2540
years ago. It has been preserved and renovated till now by
successive Buddhist kings and devout laymen. Unfortunately,
however, these two traders of Ukkala, who had the
privilege of becoming the first lay disciples of the Buddha, were
disciples only by faith, without a taste of the
Buddha-Dhamma in actual practice, which alone would give
them deliverance from suffering and death. Faith is, no doubt, a
preliminary requisite, but it is the practice of the Teachings
which really counts. The Buddha therefore said, "The Path must be
trod by each individual; Buddhas do but point the Way." [9]
Buddhism is not a religion according to the dictionary
meaning[10] of the word religion because it has no centre in god,
as is the case in all other religions. Strictly speaking, Buddhism
is a system of philosophy co- ordinated with a code of morality,
physical and mental. The goal in view is the extinction of
suffering and death.
The Four Noble Truths taught by the Buddha in his first sermon,
known as the Dhamma-cakka-pavattana Sutta (the Discourse
to set in motion the Wheel of Dhamma) form the basis on
which is founded this system of philosophy. In fact, the first
three of the Four Noble Truths expound the philosophy of the
Buddha, while the fourth (the Eightfold Noble Path which is a code
of morality-cum-philosophy) serves as a means to the end. This
first sermon was given to the five ascetics led by
Kondanna, who were his early companions in search of the
Truth. Kondanna was the first disciple of the Buddha in
practice to become an Arahat (a Noble One who has gone
beyond the limitations of all fetters).
Now we come to the Four Noble Truths. They are:
To come to a complete understanding of the fundamental concepts
in the philosophy of the Buddha, emphasis is laid on the need for
the realisation of the Truth of Suffering. To bring home this
point, Lord Buddha tackled the problem from two different
angles.
Firstly, by a process of reasoning. He made his
disciples feel that life is a struggle, life is suffering; birth is
suffering; old age is suffering; illness is suffering; death is
suffering. The influence of sensuality is, however, so strong in
mankind that people are normally apt to forget this themselves, to
forget the price they have to pay. Just think for a moment how life
exists in the pre-natal period; how from the moment of birth the
child has to struggle for existence; what preparations he has to
make to face life; how, as a man, he has to struggle till he
breathes his last. You can very well imagine what life is. Life is
indeed suffering. The more one is attached to self, the greater is
the suffering. In fact, the pains and sufferings a man has to
undergo are suppressed in favour of momentary sensual pleasures
which are but occasional spotlights in the darkness. Were it not
for the Moha (delusion) which keeps him away from the
Truth, he would surely have worked out his way to emancipation from
the rounds of life, suffering and death.
Secondly, the Buddha made it known to his
disciples that the human body is composed of Kalapas
(subatomic units), each dying out simultaneously as it comes into
being. Each Kalapa is a mass formed of the following
nature elements:
The first four are called Maha-Bhutas, i.e., essential
material qualities which are predominant in a Kalapa. The
other four are merely subsidiaries which are dependent upon and
born out of the former. A Kalapa is the minutest particle
noticeable in the physical plane. It is only when the eight nature
elements (which have merely the characteristic of behaviour) are
together that the entity of a Kalapa is formed. In other
words, the coexistence of these eight nature elements of behaviour
makes a mass which, in Buddhism, is known as a Kalapa.
These Kalapas, according to the Buddha, are in a state of
perpetual change or flux. They are nothing but a stream of
energies, just like the light of a candle or an electric bulb. The
body, as we call it, is not an entity as it seems to be, but a
continuum of matter with the coexisting life-force.
To a casual observer, a piece of iron is motionless. The
scientist knows that it is composed of electrons, etc., all in a
state of perpetual change or flux. If it is so with a piece of
iron, what will be the case for a living organism, say a human
being? The changes that are taking place inside the human body must
be more violent. Does man feel the rocking vibrations within
himself? Does the scientist who knows that all is in a state of
change or flux ever feel that his own body is but energy and
vibration? What will be the repercussion on the mental attitude of
the man who introspectively sees that his own body is mere energy
and vibration? To quench thirst one may just easily drink a glass
of water from a village well. Supposing his eyes are as powerful as
microscopes, he would surely hesitate to drink the very same water
in which he must see the magnified microbes. So also, when one
comes to a realization of the perpetual change within oneself
(i.e., Anicca or Impermanence), one must necessarily come
to the understanding as a sequel thereto of the Truth of Suffering
as the consequence of the sharp sense of feeling of the radiation,
vibration and friction of the subatomic units within. Indeed, life
is suffering, both within and without, to all appearances and in
ultimate reality.
When I say, Life is suffering, as the Buddha taught, please be
so good as not to run away with the idea that, if that is so, life
is miserable, life is not worth living, and that the Buddhist
concept of suffering is a terrible concept which will give you no
chance of a reasonably happy life. What is happiness? For all that
science has achieved in the field of materialism, are the peoples
of the world happy? They may find sensual pleasure off and on, but
in their heart of hearts they are not happy concerning what has
happened, what is happening and what may happen next. Why? This is
because, while man has mastery over matter, he is still lacking in
mastery over his mind.
Pleasure born of sensuality is nothing compared with the
Piti (or rapture) born of the inner peace of mind which
can be secured through a process of Buddhist meditation. Sense
pleasures are preceded and followed by troubles and pains, as in
the case of a rustic who finds pleasure in cautiously scratching
the itches over his body, whereas Piti is free from such
troubles and pains either before or after. It will be difficult for
you, looking from a sensuous field, to appreciate what that
Piti is like. But I know you can enjoy it and have a taste
of it for comparative evaluation. There is therefore nothing to the
supposition that Buddhism teaches something that will make you feel
miserable with the nightmare of suffering. But please take it from
me that it will give you an escape from the normal conditions of
life, a lotus as it were in a pond of crystal water immune from its
fiery surroundings. It will give you that Peace Within which will
satisfy you that you are getting not only beyond the day-to-day
troubles of life, but slowly and surely beyond the limitation of
life, suffering and death.
What then is the Origin of Suffering? The origin of it, the
Buddha said, is Tanha or Craving. Once the seed of desire is sown,
it grows into greed and multiplies into craving or lust, either for
power or for material gains. The man in whom this seed is sown
becomes a slave to these cravings and he is automatically driven to
strenuous labours of mind and body to keep pace with them till the
end comes. The final result must surely be the accumulation of the
evil mental forces generated by his own actions, words and thoughts
which are motivated by Lobha (desire) and Dosa
(anger) inherent in him. Philosophically again, it is the mental
forces of actions (Sankhara) which react in the course of
time on the person originating them, and which are responsible for
this stream of mind and matter, the origin of suffering within.
What then is the Path leading to the Extinction of Suffering?
The Path is none other than the Noble Eightfold Path taught by the
Buddha in his first sermon. This Eightfold Path is divided into
three main stages, namely, Sila, Samadhi and
Panna.
By Right Speech is meant: Speech which must be true, beneficial
and neither foul nor malicious.
By Right Action is meant: The fundamentals of morality, which are
opposed to killing, stealing, sexual misconduct and
drunkenness.
By Right Livelihood is meant: A way of living by trades other than
those which increase the suffering of all beings -- such as slave
trading, the manufacture of weapons and traffic in intoxicating
drugs.
These represent generally the Code of Morality as initially
pronounced by the Buddha in his very first sermon. Later, however,
he amplified it and introduced separate codes for the monks and lay
disciples.
I need not worry you with what has been prescribed for monks. I
will just let you know what the code of morality, or the precepts,
for a Buddhist lay disciple is. This is called Panca Sila,
or the Five Precepts, which are:
The Panca Sila therefore is intended to control actions
and words and to serve as a foundation for Samadhi
(equanimity of mind).
Right Exertion is, of course, a prerequisite for Right
Attentiveness. Unless one makes a determined effort to narrow down
the range of thoughts of one's wavering and unsteady mind, one
cannot expect to secure that attentiveness of mind which in turn
helps one to bring the mind by Right Concentration to a state of
One-pointedness and Tranquillity (or Samadhi). It is here
that the mind becomes freed from hindrances -- pure and tranquil,
illumined within and without. The mind in such a state becomes
powerful and bright. Outside, it is represented by light which is
just a mental reflex, with the light varying in degrees from that
of a star to that of the sun. To be plain, this light which is
reflected before the mind's eye in complete darkness is a
manifestation of the purity, tranquillity and serenity of the
mind.
The Hindus work for it. To go from light into the void and to
come back to light is truly Brahmanic. The New Testament,
in Matthew, speaks of "a body full of light." We hear also of Roman
Catholic priests meditating regularly for this very miraculous
light. The Koran, too, gives prominence to the "Manifestation of
Divine Light."
This mental reflex of light denotes the purity of mind within,
and the purity of mind forms the essence of a religious life,
whether one be Buddhist, Hindu, Christian or Muslim. Indeed, Purity
of Mind is the greatest common denominator of all religions. Love,
which alone is a means for the unity of mankind, must be supreme,
and it cannot be so unless the mind is transcendentally pure. A
balanced mind is necessary to balance the unbalanced minds of
others. "As a fletcher makes straight his arrow, a wise man makes
straight his trembling and unsteady thought, which is difficult to
guard, difficult to hold back."[11]
So said the Buddha. Exercise of the mind is just as necessary as
exercise of the physical body. Why not, then, give exercise to the
mind and make it pure and strong so that you may enjoy the
Jhanic Peace Within?
When Inner Peace begins to permeate the mind, you will surely
progress in the knowledge of Truth.
Believe it or not, it is our experience that under a proper
guide, this Inner Peace and Purity of Mind with light can be
secured by one and all irrespective of their religion or
creed, provided they have sincerity of purpose and are prepared to
submit to the guide for the period of trial.
When by continued practice one has complete mastery over one's
mind, one can enter into Jhanic states (absorption states)
and gradually develop oneself to acquire the attainments
(Samapattis) which will give one supernormal powers like
those exercised by Kaladevala, the hermit teacher of King
Suddhodana. This, of course, must be tried with very
strict morality and away from human habitations, but it is rather
dangerous for those who still have traces of passion in them.
Anyway, such a practice, which gives supernormal powers in this
mundane field, was not encouraged by the Buddha, whose sole object
of developing Samadhi was to have the purity and strength
of mind essential for the realization of Truth.
We have in Buddhism forty methods of concentration, of which the
most outstanding is Anapana, that is, concentration on the
incoming and outgoing breath, the method followed by all the
Buddhas.
Right Understanding of the Truth is the aim and object of
Buddhism, and Right Aspiration (or Right Thought) is the analytical
study of mind and matter, both within and without, in order to come
to a realization of Truth.
You have heard of Nama and Rupa (mind and
matter) so many times. I owe you a further explanation.
Nama is so called because of its tendency to incline
towards an object of sense. Rupa is so called because of
its impermanence due to perpetual change. The nearest terms in
English to Nama and Rupa therefore are mind and
matter. I say "nearest" because the meaning is not exact.
Nama, strictly speaking, is the term applied to the
following:
These, together with Rupa in the material state, make
what we call the Panca-kkhanda or Five Aggregates. It is
in these five aggregates that the Buddha has summed up all the
mental and physical phenomena of existence, which in reality is a
continuum of mind and matter coexisting, but which to a layman is
his personality or ego.
In Samma-sankappa (Right Aspiration), the disciple, who
by then has developed the powerful lens of Samadhi,
focuses his attention into his own self and by introspective
meditation makes an analytical study of the nature, first of
Rupa (Matter) and then of Nama (mind and the
mental properties). He feels -- and at times he also sees -- the
Kalapas in their true state. He begins to realize that
both Rupa and Nama are in constant change --
impermanent and fleeting. As his power of concentration increases,
the nature of the forces in him becomes more and more vivid. He can
no longer get out of the impression that the
Panca-kkhandha, or Five Aggregates, are suffering, within
the law of Cause and Effect. He is now convinced that, in reality,
all is suffering within and without and there is no such thing as
an ego. He longs for a state beyond suffering. So eventually going
beyond the bounds of suffering, he moves from the mundane to the
supramundane state and enters the stream of Sotapanna, the
first of the four stages of the Ariyas (Noble Ones). Then
he becomes free from (i) ego, (ii) doubts and (iii) attachment to
rules and rituals. The second stage is Sakadagami
(Once-Returner), on coming to which sensuous craving and ill- will
become attenuated. He ceases to have any passion or anger when he
attains the third stage of Anagami (Non-Returner).
Arahatship is the final goal. Each of the Ariyas
can feel what Nibbana is like, even as a man, as often as
he may choose by going into the fruition stage of
Sotapanna, etc., which gives him the Nibbanic
Peace Within.
This Peace Within, which is identified with Nibbana,
has no parallel because it is supramundane. Compared to this, the
JhanicPeace Within , which I mentioned earlier in dealing
with Samadhi, is negligible because while the Nibbanic
Peace Within takes one beyond the limits of the thirty-one
planes of existence, the Jhanic Peace Within will still
keep one within these planes -- that is to say, in the
fine-material world of the Brahmas.
Ladies and gentlemen, just a word more. What I have said
includes only some of the fundamental aspects of Buddhism. With the
time at my disposal, I hope I have given you my best:
To come to a state of Purity of Mind with a light before
you;
Why not, then, try for the first two at least, which are within
the confines of your own religion? I am prepared to give you any
help that you may require.
May I again express my gratitude to you all for your patient
listening. My thanks are also due to the clergy of the church for
their kind permission.
FOOTNOTES:
