Mettavalokanaya_Magazine_October_2017

The life of ethics and spirituality….
Venerable Dr.Galle Uditha Thero
The Chief Sangha Nayaka of Singapore & Chief Incumbent of the Buddhist Maha Vihara,
in Singapore, The Lecture of Singapore Buddhist & Pali University, The Director of
Wijayananda Buddhist Training Institute, Dharshana Visharada
The Birth is
pain, old age is
pain, sickness
is pain and
death is pain….
According to the “Dhammapada Pali” - Yamaka Vagga
- The Twin Verses, “Subhanupassin viharantan - indriyesu
asanvutan - Bhojanamhi amattannum - kusitan
hinaviriyan - Tan ve pasahati maro - vato rukkhan va dubbalan”
Whoever gives in to sense objects, unrestrained, immoderate
in eating, lazy and idle, Mara will overthrow him as the wind
pulls down a weak tree.
Buddhism is a path for transforming the mind, for going
from ignorance to wisdom, from self-centeredness to altruism
and compassion. The mind is the source of all happiness and
it is also the source of the experience of suffering. Buddhism
offers methods to free the mind from delusion and harmful
mental states such as hatred, obsession, jealousy, and pride.
The Buddhist teachings are very vast and encompass both
philosophical views and spiritual practice aimed at dispelling
an erroneous view of reality and uprooting the very causes of
suffering.
Teachings of Buddha….
The religion of Buddha is famous as Buddhism. The
followers of that religion are known as Buddhists. In his
teachings, Buddha showed a new path. In his religious
mission, he did not give value to the so-called sacred rites
and rituals. Instead, he showed the way for a life of ethics
and spirituality. He preached in simple language and to the
common people. He preached against the extreme means of
worldly life which led to man’s self-indulgence, pleasures and
unending desires. At the same time, he did not prescribe for
the common man extreme hardship of ascetic life by physical
punishment and self-torture. His was the noble ‘Middle Path’
which was possible for every man to follow. Between the two
extremes of pleasures and penance, he showed the path of a
really virtuous life.
The following main doctrines constitute the substance
of his teachings:
The Four Noble Truths or the Arya Satya….
In his enlightenment, Buddha discovered the real causes
of the miseries of human existence. He also discovered the
way to escape from those miseries which followed endlessly
in the wheel of Karma, birth and rebirth. These discoveries
were called the Four Noble Truths.
The first truth was the Truth of Pain or Sorrow. “Birth
is pain, old age is pain, sickness is pain, death is pain.” felt
Buddha. Everything in the world was transient, sorrowful and
full of pain. The existence of this sorrow was in the nature of
life.
The second truth, according to Buddha, was the Truth
of the Cause of Pain or Sorrow. This cause was the Desire. The
desire or the Trishna was the lust and the thirst for all worldly
things. It was the root of all evils leading to pain.
The third truth was the Truth to end the Pain or Sorrow.
This end or cessation of pain was possible by ending desires.
Elimination of desires was to lead to the end of sorrows. Perfect
bliss was to follow the end of the sorrows. It was like the end
of life and death. It was the real freedom or emancipation.
The fourth truth was the Truth to End the Desires. This
was possible by a noble way to attain the real bliss without
desires. Extreme penance was not necessary for this, while
extreme pleasure was unnecessary by all means. Avoiding
both, it was the noble middle path which was the right way
to end the Desires. This path was to lead to the real state of
freedom or emancipation. Buddha described this path as the
Arya Astangika Marga or the Noble Eight-fold, path. This Path
was the real path to end the cycle of Karma and the rebirth.
The Noble Eight-fold Path….
Buddha gave eight principles to follow as his noble
eight-fold path. They were: the Right Vision, Right Aims, Right
Speech, Right Action, Right Livelihood, Right Efforts, Right
Mindfulness, and Right Meditation.
The Noble Eight-fold Path was thus a code of conduct for
every man. It became the basis of Buddhism as a religion. It
was a religion for social happiness of all. Buddhism has been
rightly described as ‘the most social of religions’.
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