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LIGHT

of the

DHAMMA

The

Inaugural Number:

THE WORLD FELLOWSHIP

OF BUDDHISTS

SECOND CONFERENCE ISSUE


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Vol. I 2495 B.E. November 1952 C.E. No. 1

CONTENTS

PAGEAt Your Service 5

The MettSutta 8

Message from the Mohnyin Sayadaw 10

Modern Problems and Ancient Wisdom (by Francis Story) 12

The Buddhas Basic Principles (by David Maurice) 18

The Word of the Buddha (by Bhikkhu Sangharakkhita) 20

Shrines of Burma (by David Maurice) 21

Udaya 23

Buddhism and Modern Creeds (by U Tin) 25

The Message of Visakhaa (by Francis Story) 28

The First Sermon 31

What is Theravda Buddhism? (by David Maurice) 33

Burma and Buddhism Today 37

Union Buddha Ssana Council Act 45

Cases Which Led to the Enactment of the Bill 48

The World Fellowship of Buddhists 52

A Sermon by U Lokanatha 57

Thoughts on the Dhamma (by Anagarika P. Sugatananda) 71

News of Buddhism 77

Pli Terms and Phrases 79


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AT YOUR SERVICE

In the course of lectures delivered formerly by the Editor in a country far fromBurma, questions were sometimes asked which could be answered precisely onlyby quotations from the actual Buddhist Scriptures, which were not there and thenavailable. This experience makes us see that it is quite possible that much in thismagazine may inspire such questions, and some of the matter itself may requireclarification, partly due to the exigencies of space and method and perhaps partlydue to the inability of the Editor to present his matter as accurately and lucidly ashe would wish.

Here in Burma, we have a large body of Bhikkhus and laymen who have bystudy and by practise become adept in particular branches and fully qualified toanswer all questions arising from your desire to know more of Buddhism generallyor to have more detailed information on specific points.

In the Dhammapada, we are exhorted: The gift of the Dhamma is greater thanall other gifts; the taste of the Dhamma is sweeter than all other tastes; love of theDhamma exceeds all other love; the destruction of craving overcomes all sufferings.and we regard it as the most meritorious of deeds if we can satisfy an earnestenquirer. Therefore we solicit your questions and feel that we are uniquelyconstituted, backed as we are by such a learned body of monks and laymen, tohelp you.

Questions will be answered either through the Magazine in the following issueor directly by post, and if we can be of any help at all, we are fully at your service.

Please address yourself to The Editor, The Light of the Dhamma Union BuddhaSasana Council, Rangoon, Burma.

It may be here mentioned that as this is a Buddhist Magazine, any matter hereinmay be reprinted without payment; but the courtesy of acknowledgment will beappreciated.


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Thado Thiri Thudhamma Sir U THWIN,President of the Union of Burma Buddha Sasana Council,

Trustee of the Shwedagon Pagoda,

President of the Buddha Sasana Nuggaha Organization,

President of the All Burma Buddhist Council, Burma,

President of the Botataung Pagoda Reconstruction Board,

Trustee of the World Peace Pagoda, Etc.


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The Honble U WIN,Minister of National Planning and Sasana Affairs

Government of The Union of Burma


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The Mett SuttaIntroduction To The Mett Sutta.

The Commentary records that on acertain occasion a group of Bhikkhus

came to where the Buddha was residingat Svatth begging instructions inMeditation and receiving these, set outin search of a place where they couldpractise in solitude yet be convenient toa village. They found what seemed at firstthe ideal spot and were welcomed by thenearby villagers who begged them tospend the months of the rainy seasonthere.

However some Devas were notfavourably disposed to the presence ofthe Bhikkhus in their silent haunts andtried to frighten them away using all themeans they could. At last the monks,harassed and unable to meditate, returnedto Svatth and made report to theBuddha, Who then preached this MettSutta which the Bhikkhus after learning

returned to their forest place andpractised.

The Devas became favourable andbrought gifts instead of worrying theBhikkhus, who were thus enabled topractise in Peace. The Sutta is thus both ameans of securing protection and asubject of Meditation.

In the beginning are set out the virtues

which should be cultivated in order toenable the efficient practice ofMeditation, and then the actual Methodof Diffusion of Love. Finally are shownthe Blessings gained for oneself by thepractice of this infinite benevolence.

A Translation from the Burmese.

He who wishes to realise the PerfectBliss and Peace of Nibbna through the

knowledge of the path should practise toestablish these fifteen qualities:

1. Without consideration for his body,

without consideration even for his life,he is able to put forth effort to obtain thePath and the Fruit thereof.

2. He is honest and sincere in bodilyaction and speech.

3. His mind is perfectly straight-forward.

4. He is conformable to discipline andteaching of parents and teachers.

5. He is of kind and gracious mood.6. He is entirely devoid of arrogance.7. He is contented with the little he

possesses.8. He is a grateful guest, easily

entertained.9. He has few duties and is busy only

in Meditation.10. He is not avaricious, and earns his

livelihood without unrighteous greed.

11. His senses are controlled, calm andserene.

12. He bears a ripened knowledge.13. He is gentle and free from

physical, mental and verbal bluster.14. He is not too greatly attached to

families who are his devotees.15. He does not conduct himself in

practices which are blameworthy by thewise.

One should have these fifteen qualitiesand then practise Mett or Diffusion ofLove.

The Manner Of Practice.

May all beings be free from suffering,from danger, from worry. May they befree from cares, anxiety and grief. Mayall beings be Happy! As the result ofKamma there exist many types of living


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beings; human and non-human, weak orstrong, high or low, stout or thin, braveor timid, long or short, great or small, seenor unseen, from the hugest to the tinycreatures too small to be seen with the

naked eye, from those dwelling with usto those in other world-systems. May allbe blessed with Peace!

He should never deceive another noroppress, abuse or despise the least of theseliving beings wherever they may be. Heshould not feel illwill and should, in short,not wish any being whatsoever to sufferharm. Then he should practise the

Increase of Love as follows:Just as with her own life a loving

mother protects her only child for its weal,such Love should pour forth toeverything that lives. Let thoughts ofboundless Love pervade the wholeworld, above to the highest heavens,below to the deepest hells, across in alldirections where vast solar systems,billions of light-years distant, yet fallwithin the influence of your thoughts ofLove. And let there be no limitation andno obstruction to these thoughts of Love.Let them be entirely unmarred by hate,anger or the least enmity, and withoutthoughts of illwill towards outward foelet one cultivate good will towards himfor his good. Send out thoughts ofBoundless Love.

How Cultivation Of Goodwill ShouldBe Practised Successfully.

This practice of diffusion of Loveshould not be practised at intervals onlybut even while standing, while you arewalking, in sitting, in lying on your bed

before you sleep, before even youbecome very drowsy in fact you shouldbear this in mind always, to be alwaysmindful of the practice of love, since allBuddhas have said that they practised

this Mett Bhvan (Diffusion of Love)incessantly. This, say the Buddhas, is theNoblest living here. This is the veryfoundation of Insight, one of theadvantages of such practice that all beingsmay be happy. One becomes free fromthe error and the illusion that there is aseparate self. If this practice be carriedon, Real Insight arises, freeing one fromillusion that those things which we nameby conventional terms have anysubstance in reality. Therefore send outBoundless Love to all beings withoutexception, that all may be happy! Anyperson who practises fully that all maybe Happy will gain pure and nobleMorality, will be endowed with Insight,will be free from the canker of attachmentto sense-desires, will come no more to

rebirth.Eleven Advantages Derived.

These eleven advantages also accrue:1. He sleeps happily.2. He wakes happily.3. He has no bad dreams.4. He is beloved by all men.5. And by all celestial beings.6. He is guarded by the celestial beings.

7. He has no danger from fire, poison orweapons.8. He gains tranquillity of mind.9. His countenance becomes bright andpleasing.10. He can die fearlessly.11.He can reach the highest heaven.


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Message from Mohnyin Sayadaw

Ven. Mah Theras Short Lecture OnLove and Peace.

The leader of the Church of England in

Burma, the well-known and popular Rt.Rev. Dr. West, Bishop of Rangoon,approached the Ven. Mohnayin Sayadawwith his respects and asked for his blessingand a message on his departure for Europe.

The Ven.Mohnyin Sayadawaccordingly gaveDr. West a shortBuddhist Sermon

on the Blessings ofMett.

The text of theVen. SayadawsSermon in theEnglish translationis as follows:

To you all,good people whowant peace for

your country andfor the wholeworld, this sermonin brief is given.

Love begetslove and hatredbegets hatred.There is no firemore intense andconsuming than thefire of hatred bornof unrestrainedpassion, and there isno thirst more difficult to satisfy than thegreed born of attachment. You, Oh wisepeople, have often seen that it is love alonethat brings enduring peace and not bruteforce.

True Peace

Conquest by force never brings truepeace to the conqueror because the

conquered, with smitten pride smarting fromthe wounds of defeat, will try to take revengesooner or later.

Peace can be achieved only whenselfishness is restrained. Selfishness is aterrible hindrance to the attainment of peaceand happiness for it breeds conceit, vanity,pride, lust, greed, thirst for power and

supremacy, anger,hatred and passion,bringing in its trainan endless chain ofevils culminatingin grief anddisaster.

You have allseen that wars werefought with theutmost cruelty andbarbarity incomplete disregardof humanity, loveand compassion forliving beings.

Destruction anddesolation spreadand untold miseriesfollowed in thewake of recentwars. Such terribleweapons as theatomic bombswere used andevery possible

advantage wastaken to commitw h o l e s a l e

slaughter and bloodshed. Peace howeverwas not to be obtained at the end of thesewars in which both the victors and thevanquished were losers in many respects.

Eternal Peace

Lord Buddha who points the way toeternal peace has said,


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Jaya vera pasavati,Dukkha seti parjito,Upasanto sukha seti,

Hitv Jayaparjaya.

These words mean,

Victory increases enmity,The defeated lies in pain!Having abandoned both victory and defeatThe Peaceful one rests in happiness.

You should, therefore, strive to win peaceby pouring out upon the trouble-ridden worldan all-pervading love; love which is intense,far reaching and beyond measure. All persons,male and female, residing either in hamlets orparishes, towns or cities or in small countries

or big countries should not entertain anyfeelings of hostility towards one another butshould have kind thoughts both day and nightfor all beings wherever they may be. Youshould have boundless love for all beings forthis can bring about the well-being of all.

Love Transmission

Whoever is disposed to undertake thismission of transmitting love-vibrations should

have such attributes as uprightness,conscientiousness, amenability to reason anddiscipline, gentleness and humility.

Having secured these attributes you shouldpractise the virtue of LOVE by deed, wordand thought, in the following ways:

(1) By deeds: promote anothers happinessby giving personal assistance and by relievingdistress and miseries, or by giving alms, etc.

(2) By words: Speak gently and sweetly.

Your words should be for the good and well-being of all creatures. By your words try torelieve the distress and misery of others.

(3) By thoughts: Focus your thoughts onindividuals or groups of persons or on all thoseliving in hamlets or parishes or small countriesor big countries; focus thoughts on anyone towhom you wish to extend your love andkindness, visualize them and then transmit kindthought-waves to them.

A certain period of the day should be setapart for this purpose and you should decideas to the number of times this love transmissionshould be done in a day. This can be done bytelling beads also.

Virtue of Love

If you are doing this for an individual, dothus: Visualize the person and then say, Mayhe (or she) be happy and peaceful. May he(or she) be free from trouble.

If you are doing it for a large body ofpersons, do thus: Visualize the persons of bothsexes and then repeat: May they all be happyand peaceful. May they all be free from

trouble. Repeat this many times.If you are doing it for persons living in

villages, towns, cities and countries do thus:Think of the place or the places to which youdesire to send your kind thoughts and thenvisualize the persons of both sexes living inthat place. Focus your thoughts on thesepersons and repeat: May they all be happyand peaceful. May they be free from alltroubles. May they all love one another and

always entertain kind thoughts towards oneanother. Repeat this many times.

Practise this virtue of love with a strongwill and concentrated attention.

The main requirement in this process ofeffectively transmitting love-vibrations is to tryto secure a mental picture of the objective as ifit were actually seen by your eyes and then totransmit the thoughts of benevolence whenthis necessary mental attitude is obtained.

Our scriptures have a parable to illustratehow love disarms the enemy or neutralisesthe weapons used against the love transmitter.A hunter after game, it is said, hurled a spearat a cow which was feeding her calf whomshe dearly loved. Such was the intensity ofher love while feeding her offspring at thatparticular moment that the edge of the weaponcurled up causing no injury to her who hadthis tremendous force called LOVE.


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Modern Problems And Ancient WisdomFRANCIS STORY

The history of mans conquest of hisenvironment has been from the earliest timesa story of adaptation to changes wroughtby his own increasing mastery of thetechnique of living. It has been, at best, buta partial conquest; differences in mode ofliving have not necessarily beenaccompanied by the changes in mode ofthought or outlook that might be expected.Man remains, below the surface, a primitiveanimal; his instincts work themselves outin the pattern of a more complex civilisationand their responses are to situations

apparently far removed from those thatconfronted his forbears, yet the instinctsthemselves are not different. They remainbasically unchanged since the time of theearliest records left to us.

Events and situations arise fromcharacter, and while the instincts that bringthem about remain unchanged, thesituations and problems themselves mustbe fundamentally the same, though they

appear in different garb. The facile post-Darwinian optimism which, through amisinterpretation of the theory of evolution,believed that mankind was steadilyimproving, has been discarded.Knowledge, however far it may advance,cannot liberate the spirit of man, though itmay free him from some intellectual bonds,only to replace them by others. Egoism,craving, the will-to-live are dominantfactors, to which mere knowledge, without

the saving grace of wisdom, must remainsubservient.

A cursory glance at the earliestTheravda Buddhist texts is sufficient toshow that the problems of to-day had theircounterparts in the India of 2500 years ago.The Life-impluse and will-to-live in allbeings springs from craving, and theBuddha, at the time of his Enlightenment,declared, Vainly have I wandered for

many births, seeking the builder of thishouse; painful was repeated birth. Now OBuilder of the house, you are found; youshall build no house again. The house isthe corporeal form; the builder is craving,the tenacious instinct to cling to life, toexperience conscious existence as a beingamong other beings. That is why theproblems that confront humanity now arefundamentally the same as those that havevexed it from the dawn of history; they aremerely transposed into a different key,given a global instead of a limited personal

or tribal implication.In the life of to-day, religion, once a

major factor in world history, plays arelatively unimportant part. The attitude ofthe modern man, his mind attuned to otherand apparently more immediate andpractical affairs, is conditioned by religiononly to the extent to which early training,impressed on a pliant consciousness,remains with him to colour his mental

landscape. Among large sections of theworlds peoples, formal religion has ceasedto have any active influence; actions areweighed and judged, not by religious ormoral standards, but by their success orfailure from the purely mundane point ofview. They have ceased to be right orwrong and have become simply practicalor impractical. An opportunist ethos hasbeen established in place of the formerMystique as a governing principle in human

behaviour, as the result of a decline in thebelief in an after-life with its concomitantof retributive justice. In one sense this maybe accepted as a step in the direction ofrationalism; but since the motivating factorbehind opportunist action remains still theold instinct of savage man, the part playedby reason is only a subsidiary one. Reasonis employed in the service of motives thatare essentially unreasonable.


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In a famous Discourse, the BrahmajlaSutta of the Dgha Nikya, the Buddhaenumerates sixty-two types of religio-philosophical systems current in His day,ranging from transcendental idealism togross materialism, rejecting all of them. TheIndian speculative mind was capable ofmetaphysical subtleties that have not beenknown in Europe since the days of theMediaeval Schoolmen, and many of theseancient Brahmanic theories havedisappeared from the world, leaving onlytheir names; but the more pronounced andantagonistic of the doctrines are to be foundwith us still, some of them masqueradingas the latest developments of human

thought. In another Discourse, theApaaka Sutta of the Majjhima Nikya,the Buddha deals with one such ism in thefollowing words: There are some asceticsand Brahmins who hold and maintain thatthere is nothing given, sacrificed or offered,there is no Wisdom ripening of the fruit ofgood or bad actions, there is neither thisworld nor another world, there is neithermother nor father, nor apparitional beings,there are in the world no ascetics norBrahmins who have gone and followed theright way, and who of themselves haverealized the world with higher knowledgeand proclaim it...

In this case, householders, it is to beexpected that those ascetics and Brahminswho hold and maintain that there is noripening of the fruit of good or bad actions,and that there is no other world....willabandon the three good things, good

behaviour in deed, word and thought, andwill embrace and practice the three badthings, evil behaviour in deed, word andthought. And why is that? because they donot see the danger and folly and depravityof bad things nor the blessing ofrenunciation and the purity of good things.Though there is indeed another world, theirview is that there is not, and that is a falseview. Though there is indeed another world,

they decide that there is not, and that is their

false resolve. Though there is indeedanother world, they assert that there is not,and that is false speech. Though there isindeed another world, they say that there isnot, and act directly contrary to those arahatswho have a knowledge of the other worlds.Though there is indeed another world, theyinstruct others that there is not, and this isinstruction of false doctrine. With thisinstruction of false doctrine they exaltthemselves and disparage others. Thus theirformer virtue is destroyed and immoralityis produced, and there results this falseview, false resolve, false speech, thisinstruction of false doctrine opposed to thenoble ones, this exaltation of themselves

and disparaging of others. Even so thesemany bad things arise on account of theirfalse view.

In this case, householders, an intelligentman reflects thus: If there is no other world,then this individual with the dissolution ofthe body will attain safety (by annihilation)but if there is another world, this individualwith the dissolution of the body after deathwill be reborn in an unhappy state of

punishment, in hell. If you like, supposethere is no other world or suppose the wordsof these ascetics and brahmins to be true.Yet this individual gets blamed by theintelligent even in this life for holding falseviews and for being a nihilist. But if therereally is another world, this individual hasthe unlucky cast in both cases, as he getsblamed even in this life by the intelligentfor holding false views, and with thedissolution of the body after death he will

be reborn in an unhappy state, in a place ofpunishment, in hell. Thus this particulardoctrine is badly taken and embraced; hepersists in being one-sided, and he givesup a sound position.

In this case it is to be expected that thoseascetics and brahmins who hold andmaintain that there is ripening of good andbad actions, that there is another world, willabandon the three bad things, evil

behaviour in deed, word and thought, and


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will embrace and practise the three goodthings, good behaviour in deed, word andthought. And why is this? Because they seethe danger and folly and depravity of badthings, and the blessing of renunciation andpurity of good things. Thus their former viceis destroyed and virtue is produced, andthere results this right view, right resolve,right speech, this instruction in the truedoctrine not opposed to the noble ones, theiravoidance of exalting themselves anddisparaging others. Even so these manygood things arise on account of their rightview.

Preaching on the doctrine of Kamma,the Scientific law of action and reaction, to

a Brahrnin student, Subha, the Buddhatouches on a problem greatly high lightedin present day thought, that of humaninequality:

The Brahmin student Suhha, son ofTodeyya, came to the Lord, and havingexchanged courteous and pleasantgreetings with him, sat down at one side.As he sat there he said to the Lord, Nowwhat, Venerable Gotama, is the cause, what

is the occasion why lowness and greatnessare seen among human beings, among thosewho have been born as human beings; forthey are found to be short-lived and long-lived, of bad and good health, bad and goodlooking, weak and strong, poor and wealthy,of low and high family, stupid andintelligent. Now what is the cause?

(The Buddha said) Beings, Student,have their own Kamma, they are heirs of

Kamma, their origin is Kamma, they haveKamma as their kinsman, as their resource.Kamma distributes beings, that is, accordingto lowness and greatness.

(Subha said) I do not understand themeaning of this utterance so conciselyexpressed and not analysed at length. Itwould be well if the Venerable Gotamawould teach me the Doctrine so that I mightunderstand the meaning of this utteranceso concisely expressed.

Then listen, Student; reflect well on it;I will speak.

Even so, Venerable Sir, Subha replied.

The Lord said, There is the case of aperson, a woman or a man, who takes life,

cruel, with bloodstained hands, given tostriking and killing and without mercytowards living things. When that Kammais worked out and completed, with thedissolution of the body after death, he isreborn in a state of misery, in an unhappydestiny, in a state of punishment, or in hell.Or, if he is not thus reborn, but attains thestate of man again, wherever he is rebornhe is short-lived. This path, Student, tendsto shortness of life; namely that of one whotakes life, who is cruel, with bloodstainedhands, given to striking and killing, andwithout mercy to living creatures.

There is the case of a person, a womanor a man, who has put aside and refrainsfrom taking life, who dwells full ofkindliness, and compassionate for thewelfare of all living things. When theKamma is worked out and completed, withthe dissolution of the body after death, he

is reborn in a state of happiness or the worldof heaven, or if he is not reborn in heavenbut attains the state of man again, whereverhe is reborn he is long-lived. This path,Student tends to length of life; namely thatof one who has put aside and refrains fromtaking life, who dwells full of kindness, andcompassionate for the welfare of all livingthings.

There is the case of a person who is

given to hurting with hand or clod or stickor knife.... He is reborn in hell or, if he attainsthe state of man again, wherever he is rebornhe has much ill health.

There is the case of a person who isnot given to so hurting with hand or clod orstick or knife.... He is reborn in heaven or,if he attains the state of man again, he enjoysgood health.

There is the case of a person who is

wrathful and very turbulent, who even if


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little is said becomes angry and furious,malevolent and hostile, and shows anger,hatred and resentment .... He is reborn inhell or, if he attains the state of man again,he is ugly and ill-favoured.

There is the case of a person who isnot wrathful or turbulent.... He is reborn inheaven or, if he attains the state of managain, he is beautiful.

There is the case of a person who isjealous-minded, full of jealousy, il ltempered, and harbours envy at the gain,honour, reverence, esteem, respect andworship shown to others.... He is reborn inhell or, if he attains the state of man again,he is lowly and of little power.

There is the case of a person who isnot jealous-minded.... He is reborn inheaven or, if he attains the state of managain, he is exalted and of great power.

There is the case of a person who doesnot give alms to an ascetic or brahmin, whogives no food, drink, clothes, carriage,garlands, scents, unguents, bed, lodging ormaterial for lamps.... He is reborn in hellor, if he attains the state of man again, he ispoor.

There is the case of a person who givesalms to an ascetic or brahmin.... He is rebornin heaven or, if he attains the state of managain, he is of great wealth.

There is the case of a person who isproud and haughty, does not salute one whoshould be saluted, does not rise for one whoshould be so treated, does not offer a seatto one worthy of it, does not make way forone who is worthy of it, does not honour,reverence, esteem, or worship those whoshould be so treated.... He is reborn in hellor, if he attains the state of man again, he isborn in a low family.

There is the ease of a person who isnot proud or haughty.... He is reborn inheaven or, if he attains the state of managain, he is born in a high family.

There is the case of a person who whenvisiting a holy man does not question himabout what is good, what is bad, what isblameless or not, what should be followedor not; what, if he does it, will lead tomisfortune, and sorrow for a long time Heis reborn in hell or, if he attains the state ofman again, he is dull and stupid.

There is the case of a person who, whenvisiting a holy man questions him aboutwhat is good and what, if he does it, willlead to good fortune and happiness for along time.... He is reborn in heaven or, if heattains the state of man again, he is veryintelligent.

Thus, Student, beings have their ownKamma, they are heirs of Kamma, theirorigin is Kamma, they have Kamma as theirkinsman, as their resource. Kammadistributes beings, that is, according tolowness and greatness.

(Abridged from the Ca-kamma-vibhaga Sutta of the Majjhima Nikya)

From this it is manifest that inequalitiesamong beings must always be a feature ofhuman life, and it is thus that Buddhismexplains the seeming injustices to whichpeople are subject from birth. The doctrineof Kamma presents life and the universe inthe light of logical and impartial law; a law,moreover, which is strictly in accordancewith scientific principles of cause and effect.

When the Buddha was askedconcerning the welfare of nations andcommunities, with special reference to theVajjians, a clan threatened by its

neighbours, He said, So long, Ananda, asthe Vajjians shall assemble repeatedly andin large numbers ( for unity), just so longmay the prosperity of the Vajjians beexpected, and not their downfall. So long,Ananda, as the Vajjians assemble inharmony and disperse in harmony so longas they do their business in harmony; solong as they do not introduce anyrevolutionary ordinance, or break up any

established ordinance, but abide by the old-


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time Vajjian Law, as ordained; so long asthey honour, reverence, esteem and worshipthe elders among the Vajjians and deem themworthy of listening to; so long as the womenand maidens of the families, dwell withoutbeing forced or abducted; so long as theyhonour, revere, esteem and worship theVajjian shrines, both the inner and the outer;so long as they allow not the customaryofferings, given and performed, to beneglected; so long as the customary watchand ward over the Arahats that are amongthem is well kept, so that they may havefree access to the realm and having enteredmay dwell pleasantly therein; just so longas they observe these principles, Ananda,

may the prosperity of the Vajjians beexpected, and not their decay.

Revolutionary as were the Teachings ofthe Buddha in the sense of substitutingethical rules and setting up principles ofconduct in place of the formalised ritualismof His Brahamic contemporaries a featurewhich emerges clearly and consistentlythroughout His discoursesit is evident thatin temporal matters He advocated the

preservation of all customs which time hadproved to be beneficial, and condemnedonly those which were sociallyretrogressive, as for instance caste; orspiritually obscurantist, as in the priestlyemphasis on ceremonial sacrifice andextreme asceticism, which in Buddhism isstigmatised as Slabbataparmsa orsuperstition. In the matter of caste, theBuddha, as we have already seen,acknowledged distinctions as being

inseparable from the working-out ofKamma; what He expressly denied was theBrahmanic teaching that caste was of divineorigin, and the animistic concept that thefour major castes of Indian society tooktheir origin from different parts of the bodyof Brahma. This is succinctly set forth inthose verses of the Dhammapada whichproclaim that a Brahmin (in the Buddhistsense, a holy man) is a Brahmin not by birth

but by purity of thought, word and deed.

Neither by matted hair nor by birth doesone become a Brahrnin. But in whom thereexists both truth and Dhamma, he is thepure one, and he is the Brahmin.(Dhammapada 393). It is worthy of notethat in dealing with the question from thepurely social angle, the Buddha placed theKhattiya Caste (nobility) highest in rank.Distinctions obtain on the worldly level, butfor those who have renounced the worldthere are no distinctions, the worth of theholy man is measured by his virtue alone.

This principle has its broader applicationin the sphere of present day racial andnationalistic problems. In Buddhism thereis no basis for racial superiority, cults or

antagonisms. Each man has his ownindividual worth, irrespective of his racialor cultural back-ground.

The question of human rights isinextricably bound up with that ofindividual responsibilities. In the presentpreoccupation with the rights ofcommunities and individuals there is atendency to overlook the fact that theconcept of rights implies also the ideas of

obligations and duties. At about the sametime that the Buddha was preaching in India,Confucius in China was proclaiming thistruth in his own doctrine of rationalistichumanism. While Confucius outlined hisconcept of the ideal ruler, benign, just andever-solicitous for the welfare of his people,the Buddha was turning the thoughts of Hisdisciples away from the old idea that theduties enjoined by religion were ritualisticperformances, to the higher ideal of alaymans duty, his responsibility to others.In the Siglovda Sutta He preaches to ayoung Brahmin who was following hisfathers behest to worship the six directions,north, south, east, west, the zenith and thenadir, with clothes and hair wet and claspedhands uplifted. But in the religion of anAriya, young householder, it is not thus thatthe six directions should be worshipped.Thus the Buddha began His instruction, and

went on to explain that the worshipping of


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the six quarters is to be understood in anethical sense. First comes a generaldescription under numerical heads, ofthings to be avoided by a householder, asleading to ruin and disrepute and virtues tobe cultivated as being conducive to

happiness and prosperity. The sermon thencontinues And how, young householder,does the Ariyan disciple honour and protectthe six directions? The following should belooked upon as the six directions: parentsas the East, teachers as the South, wife andchildren as the West, friends andcompanions as the North, servants andwork-people as the nadir, religious teachersand holy men as the zenith. This is followedby a detailed explanation of a mans duty

towards each of these classes of people asthey stand in relation to himself, the wholeforming a discourse on social ethics that isunrivalled for its breadth and nobility ofconception, as well as for its universalapplicability. Two examples will suffice toshow how the idea of reciprocity in dutiesis emphasised.

In five ways should a clansman ministerto his friends and associates as the Northern

direction; by generosity, courtesy andbenevolence, by treating them as he treatshimself, and by being true to his word. Inthese five ways thus ministered to as theNorthern direction, his friends andassociates love him; they shield him whenhe is off his guard, and on such occasionsprotect his property; they become a refugein danger, they do not forsake him in histroubles, and they show consideration forhis family. Thus is the Northern direction

by him protected and made safe and secure.In five ways does an Ariyan masterminister to his servants and employees asthe Nadir by assigning them workaccording to their strength; by supplyingthem food and wages; by tending them insickness; by sharing with them unusualdelicacies and by granting them properrecreation. In these ways ministered to bytheir master, servants and employees lovetheir master in five ways: they rise before

him; they lie down to rest after him; they

are content with what is given to them; theydo their work well, and they spread abroadhis praise and good fame. Thus is the Nadirby him protected and made safe andsecure.

The Buddhas treatment of the theme inthis Sutta is typical of the way in which Hewas accustomed to take some alreadyexisting religious belief and give it a higherspiritual or ethical meaning; He conveyedHis own higher truth through the mediumof a current tradition. It must beremembered that the Buddha did not teacha new law; He preached the SanantanaDhamma, the Ancient Truth of theBuddhas before Him. Although theirTeaching had passed out of mensmemories, or had survived only in the formof outward observances whose innersignificance had been lost, it still remained,and remains, the universal unchangingDhamma, the underlying principle of causeand effect that governs phenomenalexistence. Of the Buddha it can truly be saidthat He came, not to destroy the law but tofulfil it; to re-state it in its highest spiritualmeaning.

We stand now at a turning-point inhistory; the choice is ours whether we shalltake the road that leads to further progressor that which will carry us to destruction.Mankind has had enough experience atleast to show that scientific knowledge andmastery of the material universe is not thesame thing as progress in civilisation. Oureyes must be turned in a new direction ifwe are to find a way out of the impasse.But, just as we are bounded by the curved

space-time of physics, so we are encircledby the sphere of related concepts. Thatwhich is newest is most immeasurably old;the Eternal Dhamma, the ageless Truthbeyond our small world of materialconcerns. It is to that we must return, in allhumility and hope, for the old diseases wemust seek the old remedies. But in thesphere of truth there is nothing old andnothing new. The sun that sinks this eveningin the west will rise again tomorrow in the

East.


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The Buddhas Basic Principles of BuddhismDAVID MAURICE

In the modern world where even thenewspapers are beginning to tell most of their

stories in pictures, so that quite actually hewho runs may read, there have been severalattempts to put Buddhism into a few briefprinciples in order to shorten the way.

First of all it should be understood that thereis no short and easy cut to Nibbna, nor isthere really such to the Teaching of theBuddha. Those two old Latin tags: Facilisdescensus Avernus and Per ardua ad astra,still hold good to-day. But for those who wish

to know what is really the beginning and theessence of Buddhism, we have the words ofthe Buddha Himself. He first taught the FourNoble Truths in which are comprised theNoble Eightfold Path, so that if we need a fewshort principles, we can accept these FourNoble Truths.

Just before attaining to Mahparinibbnathe Buddha, out of His great Compassion,taught and instructed Subhadda, and as weare told in the Mahparinibbna Sutta, he wasthe last disciple whom the Exalted One Himselfconverted; and in this Sutta the Buddhapreached to Subhadda In whatsoever doctrineand discipline, Subhadda, the Ariyan EightfoldPath is not found, neither in it is there found aman of true saintliness. And in whatsoeverdoctrine and discipline, Subhadda, the AriyanEightfold Path is found, in it is found the manof true saintliness. Now in this doctrine anddiscipline, Subhadda, is found the Ariyan

Eightfold Path and in it too are found the menof true saintliness.

What are these basic essential principles;the Four Noble Truths of which the last is theNoble Eightfold Path, so simple yet, forcomplete grasp, so subtle? They are: The NobleTruth of Suffering. Due to Impermanence andInsubstantiality of all things we may contactwith our senses, life is seen by the thinkingman to be an illusion and a cause of suffering.

Life may seem very sweet and happy, for atime, but suffering outweighs pleasure in the

aggregate, and even for the individual whomay be quite happy and contented,Impermanence sooner or later robs him ofpleasure leaving pain in its stead.

In the Mahvagga the Four Noble Truthsare set out plainly:

This is the Noble Truth of Suffering. Birthis suffering. Growth and decay is suffering.Death is suffering. To be bound to what wedo not love is suffering. To be parted from

what we love is suffering. Not to obtain thatfor which we long is suffering. In brief all thefive elements of Being are suffering.

This is the noble truth of the arising ofsuffering. It is that Craving which leads frombirth to birth, conjoined with lusts and longingswhich, now here, now there, continually seeksatisfaction. It is desire for the gratification ofpassion; it is craving for eternal life; it is longingfor enjoyment here in this present life.

This is the Noble Truth of the ceasing ofsuffering. It is the utter and completeannihilation of this Craving; separation,freedom, deliverance from it.

This is the Noble Truth of the Way thatleads to the ceasing of suffering. It is the NobleEightfold Path which consists of RightUnderstanding, Right Mindedness, RightSpeech, Right Action, Right Livelihood, RightEndeavour, Right Recollectedness, Right

Concentration.Now what is this Noble Eightfold Path,

leading to the extinction of suffering?

It is mentioned as an Eightfold Path andnot an Eightstep Path because the folds areintertwined as in an eight-strand rope and arenot eight stages to be followed one afteranother. In the Dgha Nikya, ii. 312 we havean analysis of this Noble Eightfold Path whichshows it forth very clearly:


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And the Exalted One said:

Now what, brethren, is RightUnderstanding (Right View or RightThinking)? The knowledge about Ill,knowledge of The Cause of Ill, the ceasing of

Ill, and the Way leading to the Ceasing of Ill,that, brethren, is called Right View.

And what, brethren, is Right Aim (RightMindedness, Right Direction of Thought)?The being set on Renunciation, on Non-resentment, on Harmlessness, that, brethren,is called Right Aim.

And what, brethren, is Right Speech?Abstinence from lying speech, frombackbiting and abusive speech, and from idle

babble, that, brethren, is called Right Speech.And what, brethren, is Right Action?Abstinence from taking life, from taking whatis not given, from wrong-doing in sexualpassions, that, brethren, is called Right Action.

And what, brethren, is called Right Living(Right Livelihood)? Herein, brethren, theAriyan Disciple, by giving up wrong living(such as manufacture or dealing in weaponsor intoxicants which brings harm to other

beings) earns his living in a way that does notharm others, that, brethren, is called RightLiving.

And what, brethren, is called Right Effort(Right Endeavour) (Right Exertion)? Herein,brethren, a brother generates the will to inhibitthe arising of evil immoral conditions that havenot yet arisen: he makes an effort, he sets energyafoot, he applies his mind and struggles.Likewise he does the same to reject evilimmoral conditions that have already arisen.Likewise he does the same to cause the arisingof good conditions that have not yet arisen.Likewise he does the same to establish, toprevent the corruption, to cause the increase,the practice, the fulfilment of good conditionsthat have already arisen. This, brethren, iscalled Right Effort.

And what, brethren, is called RightMindfulness (Right Recollectedness) (Right

Attentiveness)? Herein, brethren, a brotherdwells regarding body as a compound, hedwells ardent, self-possessed, recollected, bycontrolling the covetousness and dejection thatare in the world. So also with regard to feelings,with regard to perception, with regard to theactivities or volitional energies with regard tothought. This, brethren, is called RightMindfulness.

And what, brethren, is called RightContemplation (Right Concentration) (RightRapture)? Herein, brethren, a brother, remotefrom sensual appetites, remote from evilconditions, enters upon and abides in the FirstJhana, which is accompanied by directedthought and sustained thought on an object. It

is born of solitude, full of zest and happiness.Then, by the sinking down of thought

directed and sustained, he enters on and abidesin the Second Jhana, which is an innerCalming, a raising up of the will. In it there isno directed thought, no sustained thought. Itis born of contemplation, full of zest andhappiness.

Then, again, brethren, by the fading awayof the zest, he becomes balanced (indifferent)

and remains mindful and self-possessed, andwhile still in the body he experiences thehappiness of which the Ariyans aver thebalanced, thoughtful man dwells happilyindeed. Thus he enters on the Third Jhanaand abides therein.

Then, again, brethren, rejecting pleasureand pain, by the coming to an end of the joyand the sorrow which he had before, he enterson and remains in the Fourth Jhana which is

free from pain and free from pleasure, but is astate of perfect purity of balance and ofequanimity. This is called RightContemplation. This, brethren, is called theAriyan Truth of the Way leading to the ceasingof woe.

Then, and only then, does true Insight arise.Then and only then, can there be any changeof heart.


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The Word of the BuddhaBy Bhikkhu Sangharakshita

Like threads of silver run the rills

From faintly blue horizon-hills;

Journeying downward, day by day

(From hidden springs how far away!),

They run by forest, field and farm,

Then roll, a river, broad and calm,Through flowery pastures white with

kine,

Through desert sands, to meet the brine

And mingle there, in joyous motion,

With the waveless heart of ocean.

So flows the River of Thy Word

( In century after century heard )

Down from that shining mountain height

Thou didst ascend on Wesak Night

To win the hearts, the minds release,

Willing Thy way from strife to peace.

Down from the steep green Arahant-hills

Into Times lap that River spills.

Through Bamboo Grove and Mango

Grove,

Where did the poet-Theras rove,

Its current wound and rippled longAnd made to bloom their flowers of song;

Then in its flowing doth it see

Verdant and desert century.

For hundred and for thousand years

It nourishes its saints and seers;

Through other lands, neath altered skies,

It flows, refreshing to the wise.

Through plague and famine, peace and

war,

Smoothly and purely as before,

Age after age that River winds

Through million million hearts and

minds.

Now in these after-days doth pour

That sweet Flood forth from days of yore.

Water of peace and purity,

Oh how I long to drink of thee!

River of Wisdom, bear me on

Whither the Arahants have gone:Stripped of the rags of thou and I

Into the Deathless did they die.

I made me not, as though of reeds,

A small frail raft of my good deeds

Nor sail of meditation spread,

Nor oar of wisdom furnished.

Yet do I long to quit this shore

Of darkness, doubly than before;To be commingled, then, with thy

Deep current till the death of I.

Flow till thou reach Nibbnas Sea,

O River, with, yet without me !


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Shrines of Burma

DAVID MAURICE

No. 1. The Famous ShwedagonPagoda.

The first Englishman ever to visit Burmawas Ralph Fitch, who in the late fifteenhundreds sailed from the Thames in thetalle shippe Tyger, the same vesselmentioned by Shakespeares witches in

Macbeth. For the Tyger was indeedwrecked on its voyage to Aleppo and hisgood Kamma saved Ralph Fitch andeventually brought him home, safe and

sound after many adventures including hisshort but happy sojourn in Burma.

Ralph Fitch found in Rangoon a culturedcivilisation in which commerce and the artsflourished, and the cleanness and sweetnessof all he saw inspired him to write mostenthusiasticallyso much so that his story,published in Hakluyts Voyagescapturedthe imagination of all Europe.

He wrote of the mighty ShwedagonPagoda; It is the fairest place, as I suppose,that doe bee in all the worlde. Certainlythe great Shwedagon is the oldest andmightiest of Buddhist fanes, and drawspilgrims from near and far to worship at itssacred base and to remember the GreatTeachings of the Buddha as they repeatAnicca, Dukkha, Anatt All isImpermanence, a source of discontent,without any unchanging soul or ego.

The ancient stories tell of the tradingmission to India of two brothers, Burmesemerchants, Tapussa and Bhallika by name,more than 2500 years ago, and of how theymet the Buddha just after He had attainedhis long-sought Enlightenment, andobtained from Him eight hairs of His headto be enshrined in their native town of

Okkala, the present day Rangoon.

On their return, after many difficultiesand dangers, the brothers met with a royalwelcome and, the Hairs of the Buddha wereenshrined in a Golden Pagoda.

Through the ages this pagoda, theShwedagon, has been added to until in 1774it was raised to its present height of 326 ft.by Shin Byu Shin, king of Ava. Since theShwedagon is on a hill overlookingRangoon, it has a commanding position anddominates the landscape. Rising from the

summit of the hill which has been levelledto form a platform about 900 ft. long and700 ft. wide the Pagoda is surrounded bytazaungs (shelters) which have some of thefinest woodcraft and mosaic work existingin the world today. These tazaungs mayhave as many as five, seven or nine storiedroofs some culminating in a spire and hti(umbrella). There are also almostinnumerable figures of the Buddha of brassor of alabaster.

The Wonder Of The World

If the world has but seven wonders, thenShwedagon is not the least of them and thereare many even among the non-Buddhistswho come from the ends of the earth to seethe beauty and romance of almost-faeryarchitecture, though there are those who,objecting to the Eastern injunction (givenalso to Moses) Take off thy shoes, for thouart upon Holy Ground, do not enter whenthey find that it is necessary to remove onesfootwear. This prejudice is now happilydying out.

Many distinguished Visitors in recenttimes have expressed their awe andreverence and have used that very phraseone of the wonders of the world. With all

the reverence and all the wonder inspired


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by this mighty symbol, one gets also theatmosphere of quiet happiness and tranquil

joy that is so peculiarly Buddhist. A few ofthe many entries in the Visitors Book showthis.

My visit to the Shwedagon Pagoda thismorning is the fulfilment of a long-cherished ambition. Ever since I first heardof the Pagoda many years ago, as one ofthe worlds supreme art treasures, I havelooked forward to the day when its beautyand interest would change from a dream toa reality. Thanks to the kindness and

courtesy of the Trustees of the Pagoda mydream has now come true. The Pagoda, inall its grace and dignity, has witnessed manydramatic events in Burmas long andillustrious history. I am happy to think thatit will so soon witness the achievement byBurma of complete national independence,and the beginning of a new and gloriouschapter in the career of a great people. MayBritain and Burma always walk together as

friends aud equals.

7th September 1947. ( L o r d )LISTOWEL

The members of the United KingdomDefence Mission to Burma were shownround the Pagoda on 24th August 1947.We have looked forward since our arrivalin Burma to paying this visit not onlybecause the Pagoda is, as a work of art, oneof the wonders of the world, but alsobecause of its particular significance as asymbol of Burmese unity.

The peoples of Great Britain and Burmawill find mutual understanding easier toachieve if they can share together theappreciation of the worlds treasures. Wehave felt this morning particularly,

understanding of the aspirations and idealsof a united and independent Burma.

24th August 1947. JOHN FREEMAN,Parliamentary Under Secretary of State, WarOffice.

I have been told of the ShwcdagonPagoda. I have read of the ShwedagonPagoda. Now I have seen the ShwedagonPagoda, and that is the best of all.

I am deeply grateful to the Trustees ofthe Pagoda for their kind welcome to meand my wife and members of my staff.

I regard it as a good omen that one ofmy first acts after my arrival in Rangoon asthe High Commissioner of the UnitedKingdom has been to visit this wonderfulshrine.

1st December 1947. JAMES BOWKER.

The dignity and splendour of what Ihave seen this evening I find difficult to

express in words. What is even morestriking is the atmosphere of peace andtranquillity. A visit to such surroundings isan inspiration and a source of spiritualstrength and sustenance. My visit willremain one of the most cherished memoriesof my life.

6th January 1948. ARTHURHENDERSON Secretary of State.

Fire, earthquakes, the ravages of timeand the inclemencies of the weather and,during the last war, British and Japanesebombs, have menaced the Shwedagon butstill it gleams majestically towards the skyand Ralph Fitchs words are still as true Itis, as I suppose, the fairest place that doebee in all the Worlde.


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U D A Y AAgain, again is seed in furrow sown,

Again, again the cloud-king sends down rain,Again, again the ploughmen plough the fields,

Again, again comes corn into the realm,Again, again do beggars go their round,Again, again do generous donors give,

Again, again when many gifts are given,Again, again the donors find their heaven.

Again, again the dairy-folk draw milk,Again, again the calf its mother seeks,

Again, again we tire and toil anew,Again, again the slow wits seek rebirth,Again, again comes birth and dying comes,

Again, again men bear us to the grave.

When once the man of broad insight, that Path,Which bring no new becoming doth attain,

Then is he no more born again, again.

From the book of the KINDRED SAYINGS

(SAMYUTTA-NIKYA) or GROUPED SUTTAS.

Mrs. RHYS DAVIDS TRANSLATION.

A monk whose mind is thus released cannot be followed and trackedout even by the gods so that they could say, There rests the consciousnessof a released person. And why? Even in this actual life, Bhikkhus, I say

that a released person is not to be thoroughly known. Though I thus sayand thus preach, some ascetics and brahmins accuse me wrongly, baselessly,falsely, and groundlessly, saying that the ascetic Gotama is a nihilist, andpreaches the annihilation, destruction, and non-existence of an existentbeing. That is what I am not and do not affirm. Both previously and now Ipreach pain and the cessation of pain.

Alagaddpama-sutta., Majjhima, i, 135.


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The mighty Shwedagon Pagoda: the fairest place that doe bee in all the Worlde.


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Buddhism and Modern CreedsA talk by Myanaung U Tin, former

Minister of Health and LocalGovernment, broadcast from the BurmaBroadcasting Service on Thursday, the29th May 1952 at 9.15 p.m.

From times immemorial there havealways been two main divergent views oflife among men: those who believe in anafterlife and those who believe that life endswith death. During the life-time of theBuddha there were, besides his disciples,two sets of people, one holding the Eternity-Belief or the belief in a soul existingindependently of body and continuing afterdeath eternally and another theAnnihilation-Belief or the belief in apersonality which is annihilated by death.Among those who held the Eternity-Beliefwere found persons who sincerely believedthat they could attain salvation through self-mortification or self-castigation. And amongthose who held the Annihilation-Belief werefound persons who yielded completely tothe urge of self-indulgence or who indulged

excessively in sensual pleasures. Theformer were known as the practisers of self-mortification and the latter as the practisersof worldly enjoyments. The Buddhateaches us that these two extremes must beavoided, and shows us the Middle Path. Wecame across, in ancient Greece, Stoics andEpicureans, whose beliefs represented thesame extreme views of life. Going throughthe history of mankind, we find in everyage thee same ignorant oscillation betweenextremes.

Nothing is new in this world. Historyonly repeats itself. Differences there mightbe on the surface but intrinsically theconcepts are the same. History can beinterpreted in several ways. Life can be seenfrom several angles. If anybody thinks thathis view alone is correct and others wrong,it would be well for him to remember theparable of the Elephant and the Blind Men.

The parable was recorded in the UdnaSutta, in which the Buddha related the storyto his disciples when some of themdescribed the behaviour of a number of

wandering philosophers, quarrelling noisilyabout their several views. The Buddha saidThus are those wanderers who, blind,unseeing, knowing not the truth, yet eachmaintains that it is thus and thus. In thepresent times we hear much about isms,ideologies and philosophies. Capitalism,Fascism Naziism, Marxism, Socialism,Communism, Imperialism, Nationalism,Materialism, Rationalism and all sorts of

isms. Turn wherever we will, we see clashesbetween these divergent views. No ism orideology can be wholly false or, in otherwords, each ism or ideology can be partlyright. And yet the proponents of each ismor ideology appear to believe that they aloneare perfectly right and others totally wrong.Whether sincerity or expediency is theirkeynote, the world is torn between theseisms or ideologies, and their clashes, in theforms of cold war and hot war, aggressionsfrom without and insurrections within, arecausing untold misery to mankind. Thepresent world situation reminds us of thesaying [The way to... ed.] Hell is pavedwith good intentions.

The biggest conflict is said to be betweenthose who believe in materialism and thosewho do not. In truth, whatever materialismmay mean in its ideological or Philosophicalsense, the struggle between them is formaterial gains and nothing else, as it appearsto an ordinary man or rather a man freefrom any bias or prejudice. In this largesphere of conflict there is a criss-cross ofideas or ideologies on both sides, circleswithin a circle intersecting one another.They relate to politics and economics,philosophy and religion. Such a ferment ofideas or concepts about life had prevailedin the earlier ages but it seems that the

present one, because of the tremendous


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progress of science, will either destroy theworld or usher in a Golden Age. In the lifeof a world or in a kappa, one century is buta small measurement of time. Nobodyknows how long this Age of Confusion willlast. The development of the revolutionaryideas of our age has been definitelyaccelerated by modern science. Modernideas clash with traditional beliefs not onlyin politics and economics but also inphilosophy and religion. The process is stillgoing on at a terrific pace, and whether itwill lead to destruction of the humancivilization that has come down to us or toa reconstruction on a truer foundationdepends on the modern mans capacity to

show his tolerance and goodwill to hisopponent or in other words, to his ability tolive and let live.

Judging by the dreadful conditions inthe whole world as also by the crescendoof fiery violence since the beginning of thiscentury, it will not be wrong to say that somemodern creeds, far from being tolerant, arefanatical. The difference is in degree andnot in kind. In some cases, fanaticism is

naked and in others velvet coated. A goodend can never be achieved by bad means.The end can never justify the means.Salvation through persecution as well associal progress through bloody conflicts areplain contradictions. Fanatical creeds arenow much more in fashion than in the lastcentury and are likely to exhibit moresavagery in the days to come. History hasshown unmistakably that fanaticism defeatsits own purpose, and that its temporarysuccesses, if any, are followed by disastrousresults and serious set-backs. Of all the ismsin human history, fanaticism is the mostdangerous and is, therefore, most to bedreaded. A fanatic is excited and subjective,

just the opposite of a scientist, who is cooland objective. A fanatic cannot allowhimself to be guided by reason or, betterstill, by the scientific principles ofobservation, analysis and induction. In the

well known Kalama Sutta, the Buddha

advises us Do not believe in what you haveheard; do not believe in traditions, becausethey have been handed down for manygenerations; do not believe in anything,because it is rumoured and spoken bymany; do not believe merely because awritten statement by some old sage isproduced; do not believe in conjectures; donot believe in that as truth to which youhave become attached by habit; do notbelieve merely the authority of your teachersor elders. After observation, analysis, whenit agrees with reason and is conducive tothe good and gain of one and all, then acceptit and live up to it.

Traditional beliefs, as also, moderncreeds must be able to stand such a test.Orthodoxies have been replaced ordrastically modified by new discoveries.Nevertheless the scientific principles do notchange, and ones attitude to life should bethat of a scientist. One who can adopt suchan attitude can never be a fanatic or a bigotbut, on the other hand, will be able to showhis tolerance and goodwill.

Professor Whitehead has ventured theprophecy that We are entering upon anage of reconstruction, in religion, in science,and in political thought. And he adds thatsuch ages, if they are to avoid mere ignorantoscillation between extremes, must seektruth in its ultimate depths. The Buddhateaches us that there are two kinds of truth;the apparent or conventional truth, the realor ultimate truth. The ultimate truth can berealized only through meditation or mental

concentration, and not by theorizing orspeculation. The Buddhas teaching isdivided into three parts learning, practice,and realization. Those who do not seek truthin its ultimate depths are not free from thedanger of the extremes; they are not capableof avoiding ignorant oscillation betweenextremes. For this very reason, we havecome across in all the ages of mankindfanatical creeds of persons who sufferterribly from morbid religiosity, and of


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persons who madly believe that satisfactionof material wants or sensual desires is thebe-all and end-all of life. The Buddha hasshown by example as well as by teachingthat the Middle Path leads not only to peacein this existence but to Nibbna, the EternalPeace. By treading this Middle Path, onecan develop his morality, MentalConcentration and Intuitive knowledge orInsight. The Buddha teaches us that thisMiddle Path leads us to the Right View orBelief, as against the two extreme views orbeliefs.

As the followers of the Buddha we mustshow our tolerance and goodwill to all thosewho hold views or beliefs different fromour ownto all those whose isms,ideologies or philosophies are different fromours. However, it behoves us to test thevalidity of any creed by the scientificmethod. Buddhism is empirical and freefrom dogmas. As the followers of theBuddha we must not be dogmatic. Ourapproach to any creed or ideology should

be without any bias or prejudice. We mustnot impose our will or views on anybody;on the other hand, we cannot allowanybody to impose his will or views on us.The Buddha says: Ehi Passiko , whichliterally means come and see. In modernparlance, See, if it works: if so, accept it.If it does not work we would say in thewords of Shakespeare,

There are more things in heaven andearth

Than are dreamt of in yourPhilosophy.

We would further say Why not try ourway of life for the attainment of peace foryourself, for your family, for your country,for the world - nay, for the attainment ofNibbna, the Eternal Peace? Buddhism isa way of Life not only for those who seektruth in its ultimate depths but for all thosewho wish to live and let live peacefully inthe short span of life on this earth which isbut a speck of dust in the illimitable spaceof the cosmos.

The Honble Prime Minister, a devout Buddhist, U Nu, plants a sapling of the Sacred

Bo-Tree at Loikaw in the Kayah State of the Union of Burma.


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The Message of VisakhaA talk broadcast from the Burma

Broadcasting Service by Francis Story,Director-In-Chief of the Burma BuddhistWorld-Mission.

On a full Moon Day of the monthcalled Visakha, twenty-five centuries ago,a son was born to the King of the Sakyasin the ancient city of Kapilavatthu. Thirty-five years later, also on the Full MoonDay of May, the young Khattiya, nolonger a Prince but a Yellow-Robedascetic, sat beneath a fig tree at Gaya andattained Supreme Enlightenment. He whohad been the Prince Siddattha, and

afterwards the Samaa Gotama, ceasedto be, and in His place arose a Buddha, aperfect Being, the Most Exalted Teacherof Gods and Men, the Fully-AwakenedOne, the Master of Infinite Compassion.For forty-five years the Exalted Buddhataught the Sublime Dhamma, and at lastpassed away into Parinibbna, on a thirdFull Moon Day of Visakha, in the eightiethyear of His age, honoured by all beingsthroughout the three worlds.

That, briefly, is the story of the sacredThree-fold Anniversary that we celebratein all Buddhist countries on the FullMoon Day of May. Here in Burma wefeel that many besides Buddhists aresharing the great Festival with us:Christians, Hindus and Muslims becauseBuddhism is universal and the BuddhaHimself, the Universal Teacher.Everybody sooner or later must become

a follower of the Buddha, if not in thislife, in some subsequent one. There isnothing exclusive about our creed; itembraces all, without reservation ordiscrimination. It rejects none, condemnsnone; it teaches us to extend unlimitedgoodwill and benevolence towards allbeings, and, when we wish to honour andmagnify the teaching of our Master thisis the best way of all for us to do it. All

that is fine and noble in the way of life

followed by others we are taught tocommend and respect and uphold, so thatall may live together in peace andbrotherhood.

The teaching of the Buddha is theuniversal remedy for a universal disease,and that disease is Craving. What werethe words of the Buddha immediatelyafter His Attainment? Through many around of birth and death have I soughtyou, O Builder of the house. Now youare found; your ridge-pole is cast down;never again shall you build the house.For me there is no rebirth; the Holy Life

is fulfilled. My task is accomplished. Forconditioned life there can be nohereafter. Such were the words of theConqueror: For me there is no morerebirth and no more death.

But although the Buddha passed awayinto the ultimate Nibbna, wherein thereis no residue of attachment tophenomenal being, we who stand in thelight of His Teaching feel that the Buddha

is with us yet. For did He not say, Hewho sees the Buddha sees the Dhamma,and who beholds the Dhamma beholdsthe Buddha? We pay homage to Hisglorious Image, the symbol of Hispresence, every day; but after all, this isonly the material form. If we really wishto behold the Buddha in all the majesticbeauty of His ideal presence we must seekHim in Dhamma. It is in the practice ofthe Dhamma that we can draw close to

Him and feel the wonderful radiance ofHis undying Wisdom and Compassion.His presence is then very real andimmediate to us: much more close andactual than any material form of Anicca,Dukkha and Anatt. The words of theBuddha are eternally new; we are notconscious of the two thousand fivehundred years that separate us in time,for His Teaching stands outside of time

and all its relationships. Here and now


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the voice of victory rings clearly in ourears, spurring us on to self-liberation.

For us to-day that Voice carries aspecial message, for we live in a worldmade dark and menacing by the grim

forces of Lust, Hatred and Ignorance. Wedo not know what the future may hold.All we can be certain of is the need topreserve our own integrity, the need tokeep our actions pure and unsullied, forthey are our sole real possessions and ouronly heritage. Be unto yourselves arefuge; seek no external refuge. Thesewere the Buddhas parting words as Helay between the twin Sal trees at Kusinara

just before His final passing away. For

what shall it profit a man, though he berich and fortunate, enjoying all therewards of past good deeds, if he be notvirtuous, charitable and benevolent in hispresent life? He is like a man living onhis capital, drawing from his bankaccount of good Kamma all the time,without replacing anything. When it is allexhausted and he passes on to his futureexistence he will be bankrupt: a pauper.

Then whom will he be able to blame forhis miserable state? His fellow men? Mostcertainly he will not be justified inblaming his fellow men. Then can heblame God or Fate? The answer is again No , given most emphatically by theBuddha in many a precious discourse onthe Causal Law. Such a man can blameonly himself; there is no such thing asluck, good or bad. But a man who is poorin this present life may pass on to his next

existence a rich man: rich in the merit ofgood deeds, the only sort of wealth thatwe can take with us beyond the grave.For though he may possess only eightannas, if he should give four annas inDna, and that with a kind and lovinghearthis reward will he incalculable.

It was thus that the Supreme Buddhataught the Law of Cause and Effect. Butno man can measure the depth and extent

of the Dhamma; it is a vast ocean,immeasurable and infinite, and like theocean it has but one flavour throughout,the flavour of liberation. We who todayyearn to express our gratitude to the GreatTeacher and offer Him some supreme actof homage and veneration, should alsoremember those other words of his,uttered shortly before His Parinibbna:He who fulfils all the greater and lesserduties, who is pure in thought, word anddeed, who strives diligently to cross theocean of Samsra: he it is who rendersthe greatest and most fitting honour tothe Tathgata.

It is easy and pleasant to go to the

great Shwe Dagon Pagoda and offerflowers and candles to the Shrine; we allenjoy doing it. We love the beauty andtranquillity of the Pagoda precincts andour hearts are soothed and made calm bythe loveliness of our surroundings.Similarly we like to listen to the YellowRobed Monks reciting the Suttas, and indoing so we are uplifted and freed fromeveryday cares. But it is not so easy to be

mindful, everyday and in allcircumstances, of the Precepts, or to walkhourly in the Path of Virtue set forth byour Teacher. That indeed calls forfortitude and high resolution; it is asacrifice, a renunciation of so many ofthe seeming pleasures of life that appearso attractive to the unawakened mind. Butprecisely because of that, because itrepresents a sacrifice, it is the supremeact of veneration we can offer to the

Exalted Buddha. Let us then, from today,determine to make our lives better, tosweeten and sanctify every passingmoment of consciousness, to destroy thesavas and to shed the pure light of ourlove over all the world, desiring nothingbut the happiness and welfare of everyliving being.

The Birth, Enlightenment andParinibbna of the Buddha stand out as


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the three most tremendous facts of ourhistorical epoch. Birth and death we allexperience, but Supreme Enlightenmentis the prerogative of a Buddha, a factbefore which we stand in silent awe. Wecannot imagine what was the nature ofthe great spiritual Illumination whichcame about on that Full Moon night oftwenty-five centuries ago, when awandering ascetic became freed from theshackles of birth and death and enteredthe unconditioned realm of absoluteknowledge. All we know is that thereafterHe propounded a Doctrine the like ofwhich had never been known in history,nor equalled since, a Doctrine unique and

perfect in all its parts, bearing upon it theunmistakable stamp of Truth.

There is no Soul, no principle ofindividual selfhood so the Exalted

Buddha proclaimed. All phenomena areimpermanent, fraught with suffering andillusory Anicca, Dukkha, Anatt. Destroythe delusion of Self, put an end toCraving, bring to an end the process ofconditioned becoming which is rooted inthe impure states of consciousness. Freeyourselves from Ignorance and you willreach the end of suffering. So may youknow Nibbna in this very life, andhereafter the perfect and unchangingPeace.

So, on this Visakha Full Moon Night,the Message of the Buddha goes out fromBurma to the world. By the Blessing ofthe Triple Gem of the Buddha, the

Dhamma and the Sangha, may all beingsthroughout the cosmos be secure,peaceful and happy. May they hear theVoice of Infinite Compassion, and hearingit, be at peace.

hat the Dhamma is interesting,

alive, enthralling is shown by the

manner of presentation by the

Buddhist World. Circulating

throughout English-reading Asia andto most countries in the world. Write

for particulars and sample copy.

T

A Buddhist NewspaperProves the Dhamma Lives

THE BUDDHIST WORLDP. 0. Box 1076 Colombo Ceylon


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The First SermonDHAMMACAKKAPPAVATTA-SUTTA

The Discourse of setting in motion the

Wheel of the Doctrine.

Thus have I heard: at one time the Lorddwelt at Benares at Isipatana in the DeerPark. There the Lord addressed the fivemonks:

These two extremes, Bhikkhus arenot to be practised by one who has goneforth from the world. What are the two?That conjoined with the passions andluxury, low, vulgar, common, ignoble,and useless, and that conjoined with self-torture, painful, ignoble, andunprofitable.

There is a Middle Way, O Bhikkhusavoiding these two extremes, discoveredby the Tathgataa path which opens theeyes and bestows understanding, whichleads to peace of mind, to the higherwisdom, to full enlightenment, to

Nibbna.And what, Bhikkhus, is that Middle

Path which giveth Vision, which givethKnowledge, which causeth Calm,Enlightenment and Nibbna?

Verily it is this Ariyan Eightfold Path,that is to say:

RIGHT VIEW, RIGHT AIM, RIGHTSPEECH, RIGHT ACTION, RIGHT

LIVING, RIGHT EFFORT, RIGHTMINDFULNESS, RIGHTCONTEMPLATION.

This, Bhikkhus is that Middle Pathwhich giveth Vision, which givethKnowledge which causeth Calm, Insight,Enlightenment and Nibbna.

Now this, Bhikkhus is the Ariyan Truthabout Suffering:

Birth is Suffering, Decay is Suffering,Sickness is Suffering, Death is Suffering,likewise Sorrow and Grief, Woe,Lamentation and Despair. To beconjoined with things which we dislike,to be separated from things which welikethat also is Suffering. Not to getwhat one wantsthat also is Suffering.In a word, this Body, this fivefold Mass

which is based on Grasping, that isSuffering.

Now this, Bhikkhus, is the AriyanTruth about The Origin of Suffering:

It is that Craving that leads downwardto birth, along with the Lure and the Lustthat lingers longingly now here, nowthere: namely, the Craving for Sensualpleasure, the Craving connected with

Sassata dihi i.e. the belief that life iseternal, the Craving connected withUccheda dihi i.e. the belief that there isno future existence. Such, Bhikkhus, isthe Ariyan Truth about The Origin ofSuffering.

And this, Bhikkhus, is the Ariyan Truthabout The Ceasing of Suffering:

Verily it is the utter passionlesscessation of, the giving up, the forsaking,the release from, the absence of longingfor, this Craving.

Now this, Bhikkhus, is the AriyanTruth about The Way leading to theCeasing of Suffering. Verily it is thisAriyan Eightfold Path, that is:

RIGHT VIEW, RIGHT AIM,RIGHT SPEECH, RIGHT ACTION,


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RIGHT LIVING, RIGHT EFFORT,RIGHT MINDFULNESS, RIGHTCONTEMPLATION.

At the thought, Bhikkhus, of thisAriyan Truth of Suffering, concerning

things unlearnt before, there arose in meVision, Insight, Understanding there arosein me Wisdom, there arose in me Light.

At the thought, Bhikkhus this AriyanTruth of Suffering is to be understood,concerning things unlearnt before, therearose in me Vision, Insight, Understandingthere arose in me Wisdom, there arose inme Light.

At the thought, Bhikkhus this AriyanTruth of Suffering has been understood,concerning things unlearnt before, therearose in me Vision, Insight, Understandingthere arose in me Wisdom, there arose inme Light.

Again, at the thought, Bhikkhus of thisAriyan Truth of the Origin of Suffering,concerning things unlearnt before, there

arose in me Vision, Insight, Understandingthere arose in me Wisdom, there arose inme Light.

At the thought, Bhikkhus, the Originof Suffering must be put away,concerning things unlearnt before, therearose in me Vision, Insight, Understandingthere arose in me Wisdom, there arose inme Light.

So also at the thought The Origin ofSuffering has been put away .... therearose in me Light.

Again, at the thought, Bhikkhus of thisAriyan Truth of the Ceasing of Suffering.... there arose in me Light.

At the thought, Bhikkhus the Ceasingof Suffering must be realized .... therearose in me Light.

At the thought, Bhikkhus. theCeasing of Suffering has been realized.... there arose in me Light.

Finally, Bhikkhus at the thought ofThis Ariyan Way leading to the Ceasing

of Suffering .... there arose in me Light.At the thought, Bhikkhus, the Way

leading to the Ceasing of Suffering is tobe developed .... there arose in me Light.

At the thought, Bhikkhus the Wayleading to the Ceasing of Suffering hasbeen developed concerning thingsunlearnt before, there arose in me Vision,Insight, Understanding there arose in me

Wisdom, there arose in me Light.Now so long, Bhikkhus, as my

knowledge and my insight of these thrice-revolved twelvefold Ariyan Truths, in theiressential nature, were not quite purified,so long was I not sure that in this world,together with the Devas, the Maras, theBrahmas, among the hosts of recluses andBrahmins of devas and mankind, there

was one enlightened with supremeenlightenment.

But so soon, Bhikkhus, as myknowledge and my insight of these thrice-revolved twelvefold Ariyan Truths, in theiressential nature, were quite purified,then, Bhikkhus was I assured what it is tobe enlightened with supremeenlightenment with regard to the worldand Devas, Maras, and Brahmas, and withregard to the hosts of recluses andbrahmins, of devas and mankind.

But now Knowledge and Insight havearisen in me, so that I know, Sure is myhearts release. This is my last birth. Thereis no more becoming for me.

Samyutta Nikaya


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What is Theravda Buddhism?DAVID MAURICE

BACKGROUND TO BUDDHISM

Two thousand five hundred and

seventy-six years ago there were in Indiaonly four castes and these were butloosely separated, though all wereseparated from the outcaste aborigines.The leading caste at the time was theKhattiya or Warrior caste and at such aperiod of development it was natural forthe warriors to form the ruling houses ofeach clan. Next was the Brahmin casteor caste of Priests, the educated or

preacher class which was strugghng forthe caste or social superiority it was eventhen claiming and was later to win. Thethird caste was the Vaisyas or traders andthe fourth the Sudras or menials andworkers.

At this time was born to the Khattiya-caste ruler of the Sakya clan, whosefamily name was Gotama, a son to whomwas given the name Siddattha, and whowas reared in quite a degree of luxuryand comfort; perhaps a greater degree ofcomfort than is possible in the modernworld. On attaining young manhood,Siddattha Gotama realised the fleetingnature of all earthly joys and renouncedhis sheltered life and all the luxury of hisworld to become a homeless wandererand ascetic, spurred on by a burningdesire to penetrate finally to Real Truth.

Studying successively under the twogreat masters of philosophy in India ofthat time, he yet did not find anysatisfactory answer to his questions andwith a band of five followers retired tothe comparative solitude of the countrywhere they gave themselves up topractices tending to mortify the flesh.The young Gotama, in the prime of life,

of powerful physique and of great

tenacity of purpose, excelled in these, tothe great admiration of his companions,

until finally he fell fainting by theroadside, at the point of death. He thenrealised how life could be lost by acontinuation of such practices and yetTruth might not be won, and heconsidered afresh the whole matter andremembered that he had had a momentof cosmic Consciousness when as a ladhe had sat in meditation under a Rose-apple tree, while his royal father was,

according to custom, ploughing the firstfield in his performing of the fertility riteto ensure rich crops. He wondered thenif this Peaceful Meditation were not thereal way to Wisdom, decided that it wasand determined to live accordingly. Thiswas later formulated in theDhammacakkappavattana Sutta Thereare two paths of error which he who isstriving for salvation should equally

avoid. The one, of sensual enjoyment andthe gratification of passion, is base,vulgar, degrading and ruinous; it is theway of the children of the world. Theother, of self-torture and mortification, issad, painful and useless. The Middle Wayalone, which the Perfect One has found,avoids these two paths of errors, opensthe eyes, endows with discernment, andleads to deliverance, to wisdom, to

perfection, to Nibbna.His somewhat hidebound fellows

whose clinging to customs andconventions held them still to their over-ascetic course, were very horrified anddetermined not to have anything to dowith one who had abandoned the strictascetic life of self-torture.

Leaving then his five companions,Gotama decided to make a determined


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effort to pierce the veil of illusion, usingall his strength of body and mind, andspent forty-nine days sitting in variousplaces under a huge spreading Banyantree, during which time he took his great

mind to the very peak of intellect, until atlast the Way became clear and he becamePerfected Man, the Buddha, Teacher ofGods and men.

He realised then how difficult it wasto make plain to mankind the simple yetsubtle Teaching of Truth but saw that therewere beings whose eyes are but lightlycovered with dust and who wouldrespond to and understand the Teaching,

and for the sake of these He began Hismission which was to last for forty-fiveyears of his lifetime and has lasted forthe 25 centuries since His attainment toMahparinibbna.

In the Cullavagga the Buddhapointed out As the great ocean, disciples,is penetrated throughout by the savourof salt, so is my Doctrine in all its partspermeated by the spirit of deliverance,

and while there are those who deriveemotional inspiration and intuition fromthe moral Teaching of the Verses of theLaw and those who by the sermons ofthe Suttas come to perceive Truth, therehave always been those who by the moredetailed and logical exposition of the greatlaws of Being, given in the Abhidhamma,more easily find a practical way out ofthe morass of existence.

In the Abhidhamma it is shown veryconclusively that neither Ego nor Soulexists, but that neither can it be said Theend then is annihilation. The Doctrineor Dhamma is very deep and subtle,necessarily so, and requires forelucidation and understanding both themental training and practice of Meditationfor Insight.

A study of the Abhidhamma, thatpractical analysis of mind, mentalconcomitants and matter which make upthe whole whirlpool of existence,conditions one in a conditioning brought

about by oneself, to perceive andunderstand the Doctrine in a wayacceptable to the logical mind.

The Buddha taught (more than 2500years ago) that the universe wascomposed of millions of world-systemssuch as we know as our solar System,each with its various planes of existence,and to this modern science nowsubscribes. The Buddhist concept of

Universe has been summed up asfollows by U Ba Khin, Accountant-General, Burma, in his booklet What

Buddhism Is: There is the Okasa Loka(The Universe of Space) whichaccommodates Nma and Rpa (Mindand Matter). In this mundane world it isNma Rpa (Mind Matter) whichpredominates under the influence of theLaw of cause and effect. The next is the

Sankhra Loka (The Universe of MentalForces), creative or created. This is themental plane arising out of the creativeenergies of mind through the medium ofbodily actions, words and thoughts. Thethird is the Satta Loka (The Universe ofSentient Beings) visible or invisible whichare the products of these mental forces.We may term this a Three-in-oneUniverse, since one is inseparable from

the other. They are, so to say, interwovenand interpenetrating.

THE RELIGION OF REASON

As compared with religions ofrevelation and dogma, the Teaching ofthe Buddha is the Supreme Teaching ofReason and of sheer, matter-of-factcommon sense, and it is one of the most


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reasonable points of the Religion ofReason that the Buddha exhorted us totest each step for ourselves, to takenothing on trust through mere blind faith.Since He had to teach relativity, a concept

of almost countless world-systems and anAtomic Theory, all of which the modernWestern world prides itself on havingdiscovered quite recently, He had to usethe words of the masses in common sensecombinations to elucidat

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