I just want to be happy.
Buddhism leads to the highest bliss/happiness, not just
superficial happiness dependent on conditioned things that are
fleeting and unstable, which is being the nature of dukha
(suffering).
http://www.jenchen.org.sg/buddhism.htm
The culture of purifying the human mind is blissful
culture
In the
beginning of this earth, there were only the heavenly and human
realms of existence. The realms of hell, hungry ghost, animal and
asura did not exist. But, as humanity progressed through time, the
human mind began to change. They developed more and more affinity
for evil - greed, anger, ignorance, delusion and foolish thoughts
which gave rise to the acts of killing, stealing and sexual
misconduct. Happiness gradually diminished and the six realms of
cyclic existence evolved out of humanity’s evil
mind.
In
today’s society, the unhappiness of human beings largely results
from the countless evil deeds that he has committed. These evil
deeds stem mainly from three karma - our bodily action, speech and
thought. Thoughts are basically our thinking. If our thoughts are
filled with evil thinkings, these will be manifested in our
actions. For example, our unkind thoughts of someone may translate
into harsh words from our mouth or even into a painful action with
our hands. When we do these, we are creating evil
karma.
Our
thoughts generate greed, anger and delusions. Through our speech -
in the form of telling lies, frivolous talk, slandering and rude or
harsh speech; and through our bodily actions by way of killing,
stealing and sexual misconduct. This is just a simple explanation.
It would be endless to go into details. These three karma bring
upon ourselves a lot of sufferings and unhappiness. Therefore, if
humanity wants to achieve happiness in life, then he should try to
eradicate all these evil deeds which stem from greed, anger,
ignorance, killing, stealing and sexual
misconduct.
Many
religions teach us to do good and avoid doing bad. Buddhism, in
particular, besides teaching us to refrain from all evil deeds and
to do all good deeds, also teaches us to purify our minds. Once we
have a healthy mental culture, naturally our minds will not be
filled with greed, anger, ignorance, and other evil thoughts and
actions. We must be aware that the mind controls our speech and
actions, it all arises from our minds. Minds are also our thoughts.
It is because humanity lacks wisdom and awareness that we are
constantly deceived by our minds. We fail to understand the real
meaning of karma, or cause and effect. We do not know if our
actions will hurt ourselves or others; or if they are beneficial or
harmful. Hence, unhappiness and sufferings
follow.
Humanity
wants happiness and dislikes sufferings. But, due to the lack of
wisdom, we do not know how to free ourselves from our sufferings.
However, if we learn from Buddha’s teachings - practise to purify
the three karma of bodily actions, speech and thoughts, our wisdom
can be cultivated. Once we have wisdom, whatever we think, speak
and do, the actions will be beneficial to ourselves, to others and
to the world. These eventually lead to happiness and the world will
be filled with brightness and hope.
Henceforth,
we can say that the culture of Buddhism is also Blissful
Culture.
The Culture
of Buddhism is the Voice of Bliss
The
regulations about what can or cannot be done are precepts. In fact,
everyone needs to observe precepts and be good citizens. Good
citizens need to abide by the laws, and that is observing the
precepts. Therefore, Jen Chen Buddhism refer to precepts as ‘means
of safeguarding blessings’. ‘Safeguarding blessings’ means
safeguarding our own blessings, the blessings which resulted from
the virtuous deeds committed in the past. This is analogous to
putting the tea cup in the proper place. In fact, all the
*Dharma
Doors taught by
Buddhism is the Voice of Bliss. This Voice of Bliss is spoken by
Buddha for all of us. All the teachings of Buddha are meant for we,
human beings, to attain the highest order of bliss. If everyone
comes to learn Buddhism, cultivate and achieve the pure Nirvana,
then, of course, that is the highest, fullest and most complete,
and most ultimate bliss. Therefore, the culture of Buddhism is
Bliss Culture.
In many countries, particularly Europe and America, people
generally understand what is a Bliss Culture. But, they do not
necessarily know what is Buddhism Culture. Therefore, we refer to
‘Buddhism Culture’ as ‘Bliss Culture’. The sutras expounded by
Sakyamuni Buddha is the standard for Bliss Culture. And, when
promoted in this manner, in time to come the entire humanity of the
world will be able to pursue the principles that bring bliss as
expounded by the Buddha.
* Dharma doors
: The doctrines of
Buddha regarded as the door to enlightenment; methods of
cultivation.
The culture
of Buddhism is Bliss Culture
The
purpose of our learning Buddhism is to distance from suffering and
attain happiness. Many people think that to distance from suffering
and attain happiness means going to the Western Pure Land. In fact,
it is not only this. When we distance from suffering and attain
happiness, we have to instantaneously distance from suffering,
instantaneously attain happiness and liberation. Some people may be
suspicious; how can liberation be attained so easily? In fact, it
is very simple. If someone scolds you, and you apologize to him,
then that is a small liberation. If someone hits you, and you
retaliate; an eye for an eye, then isn’t that very miserable? What
happen if that results in loss of life? Even though you are rude to
me, I will still apologise very politely to you. Isn’t that being
liberated? This is Jen Chen Buddhism’s teaching of liberation. If
whilst alive, we cannot even attain small liberation’s like this,
then what more to say of liberation after death? In the course of
our daily lives, if we are liberated at every moment, then in time
to come we will be able to attain the great liberation. Please
think it over, isn’t this a very blissful? This is but to use a
small matter to illustrate the path of liberation. If we are able
to understand more of the Buddha-Dharma and apply them in our life,
family, society, country, and to the extent of the entire humanity
of the world, then isn’t this a great bliss culture? Therefore, we
say that the culture of Buddhism is Bliss
Culture.
In this complex
society, how should humanity cultivate in order to achieve
bliss?
Learning
and Practising Buddhism is the Beginning of
Bliss
To
cultivate is to get rid of our bad conduct and habits. Our conduct
is manifested in our physical actions, speech and thoughts. If we
often have wild thoughts, then we have to cultivate mental purity;
if our words often harm others, then we have to cultivate purity in
our speech; if we are always getting into fights, then we should
cultivate purity in our physical actions. Some people have the
notion that cultivation is a matter only for monks and nuns. In
fact, cultivation is for the entire humanity; all human beings need
to cultivate. So long as our conduct is poor, we need to cultivate.
Just like a vehicle that has broken down, it needs to be repaired
before it can be driven again. There are also others who think that
cultivation means meditating in high mountains, and praying to the
Buddha. This is not true. We need to cultivate amidst our
activities. What is most important is to get rid of our self
serving and evil habits. Just like "One who respects others shall
receive respect himself; one who abuses others shall be abused
himself; one who hurt others shall be hurt himself", if we will
treat others with respect, others will accord us with the same
respect. It is in this way that bliss begins.
One attribute of human beings is ignorance, the consequence of
which leads to our misfortunes. If all human beings are able to
learn and practise Buddhism, unfold our wisdom, use our wisdom to
deal with others, practise the Bodhisattva path, are truly selfless
and benefit the world at large in whatever we do, then surely we
will be able to achieve bliss and happiness.
Thus,
learning and practising Buddhism will enable every family, the
society and all the inhabitants of this world to achieve
bliss.
To attain
bliss one needs to observe the
precepts
The
monks of the Sangha have to observe two hundred and fifty precepts
while the nuns have more than three hundred. Lay Buddhists of the
society, however, do not really require so many precepts. They only
need to observe Five Precepts: refrain from killing, stealing,
lying, sexual misconduct and the consumption of intoxicants. If as
a human being you cannot observe these Five Precepts, then you
really have to examine yourself. On the other hand, if your conduct
does not violate these Five Precepts, then what hinderances are
these to you? In addition, one needs to take refuge in the Three
Treasures: the Buddha, the Dharma and the Sangha, and be a disciple
of the Three Treasures. As for observing the Five Precepts, it is a
separate matter. One can either observe them fully or even
partially.
If,
because of your business, you feel that you need to say things that
are not true, then for a start you need not observe the precept of
not lying. But, later when your friends find you untrustworthy and
begin to avoid you, then you will realize that it is good to
observe the precept of not lying. Then, you can begin to put it
into practice.
As
for refraining from consuming intoxicants such as alcholic drinks,
if you feel that as a businessman you need to entertain your
business associates and drink with them, then it is permissible.
However, you should not over indulge to the extent that you become
intoxicated and terminate your wisdom. Thus, precepts uphold our
bliss. According to Jen Chen Buddhism, precepts are "methods of
safeguarding blessings". When we know that observing the precepts
will uphold the bliss, blessing and well being of the family, I
believe each and everyone of us will observe
them.
As
for abstention from sexual misconduct, surely there should not be
any other sexual relationships besides that between husband and
wife. If one does not observe his role and flirts with other women,
there will be a lot of trouble in the family when the wife finds
out about it. Worse still, the consequences would be unthinkable
should one contracts sexually transmitted diseases through his
sexual misconduct. Thus, observing these precepts can indeed enable
one’s family to be eternally beautiful and fulfilling, blissful and
happy.
Cultivate
blesssings and wisdom
There are
many people who think they are Buddhists. Yet they are not. This
may sound contradictory, but it is because many of us do not
understand what Buddhism really is. Many people, are still lost
despite being Buddhists. On the surface they appear to be staunch
Buddhists, but they lack wisdom. Many people misunderstand praying
to ghosts and deities, and objects such trees and stones to be
Buddhism. How can they be blissful when they continue to be
superstitious?
Authentic
Buddhists who have taken refuge in the Three Treasures - the
Buddha, Dharma and Sangha, who follow what the Buddha taught,
understand the Truth, diligently learn and practise Buddhism,
eradicate their self serving and evil habits, eliminate
superstitions and unfold their wisdom, are assured of
bliss.
The most
important thing for authentic Buddhists who are learning and
practising Buddhism is to apply what the Buddha taught in our daily
lives, create a Buddhist cultured family and way of life, and be
with Buddha at every moment. In this way, the Buddhas and
Bodhisattvas will naturally shelter us. Our wisdom will unfold, and
with wisdom naturally bliss will follow.
It is
hoped that every Buddhist will be able to apply the principles of
Buddhism in their daily lives and practise diligently. Furthermore,
we should not only seek the assistance of the Ksitigarbha
(Ti-Zhang) Bodhisattva in reducing our negative karma, the
Avalokitesvara (Kuan-Yin) Bodhisattva in reducing our suffering and
difficulties, but also to pay reverence to Manjusri (Wen-Shu)
Bodhisattva to cultivate according to the Dharma and to seek to
unfold our wisdom. When we have wisdom, regardless of what we do or
whom we deal with, be it our school works, occupation or bringing
up our children, we will always be successful. At the same time we
need to widely perform virtuous deeds, and nurture our blessings
and morality. In this way, we will surely attain perfection and
bliss.
A life
pursuing bliss is most meaningful
To a
person of bad character, indulging in vices such as gambling and
alcoholic drinks is meaningful. A farmer may feel that his
occupation in providing food is most meaningful. A teacher may feel
that educating the young is most meaningful. Yet, some may feel
working hard for a living and to raise and support their family is
most meaningful. Thus, due to the differences in an individual’s
outlook, experience and environment, the meaning of life varies
from person to person.
Buddhists
may find it meaningful to learn and practise the Buddha’s
teachings. Christians may feel that spending time praying to God is
most meaningful. The meaning life is indeed very broad. There is no
hard and fast rule to it. We may say that life should be lived
meaningfully, yet, what is meaningful to us may not necessarily be
meaningful to others.
Which
ever the case, it is only when we are able to distance ourselves
from suffering and attain a life of happiness and bliss that life
is meaningful. To some, this may appear to be the standard
objective since we all differ in our thoughts and therefore our
pursuits in life are different. Furthermore, our experiences in
life are different and therefore it is difficult to define a
universal meaning of life.
Since we
are learning Buddhism, we seek liberation, unfold our wisdom,
emulate the practices of the Bodhisattvas and ultimately to attain
the supreme enlightenment of Buddhahood. These are recognised
pursuits of all Buddhists and thus it is the most meaningful
life.
A Blissful
Life Is Meaningful
Some
people have no desire to be good, they want to steal or rob. If you
ask him about his purpose of life, he will tell you life is
meaningful if he can strike a "big one", or continue with his
sinful ways. Then, there are those who are capable of earning
money, and they would say, "I want to be the richest person in the
world." These to them are very meaningful. Many people who are well
off have no desire to be engaged in useful employment. I have been
told of a very rich lady who travelled from country to country to
"beg" for money. In reality she was already a multi-millionaire.
Ask her what is her interest in life, and she would say she enjoys
begging.
So, what kind of life is meaningful? Human beings have one common
objective, and that is living. But to live meaningfully, we must
pursue bliss. I believe that is also our common objective. What
Buddhism teaches is a bliss culture, so let us promote this bliss
culture so that everyone can achieve bliss and happiness. Thus, I
feel that only a life that seeks bliss and happiness is truly
meaningful.
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