Most Venerable Bhante Walpola Piyananda's 80th Birthday Celebrating - Collected Essays

us is to pay attention, and moment-by-moment to discipline ourselves
in all aspects of our lives; only this will lead us to the end of samsara.
The Buddha equates self-discipline with restraint, and to the
monks in the Dhammapada (verse 361) he says:
“Good is restraint in bodily action; good is restraint in speech;
good is restraint in mind; good is restraint in everything. The Bhikkhu,
restrained at all points, is freed from sorrow.” The Buddha spoke of
bodily actions, speech, and mind as the “three doors,” and restraining
what comes in and goes out through these doors is the primary focus
of the Five Precepts taken by lay persons, Ten Precepts for samaneras,
and the 227 Precepts taken by bhikkhus.
The Buddha also said to the monks, “Vinayo nama sasanassa
ayu,” which means “Buddhism exists because of self-discipline.”
Self-discipline and restraint are the tools that all civilized
societies use to build productive, peaceful, and successful organizations
– and countries as well. Without self-discipline and restraint, the
conditions of anarchy, chaos, and worse – war come into being. In
fact, without self-discipline and restraint, there can be no society or
civilization at all.
Restraint and self-mastery shape and nurture one’s character;
helping it to evolve in the world and mold its outward expression into a
peaceful and serene demeanor. One can easily spot someone who has
worked to perfect his or herself through the purification of the contents
that pass through their three doors. Communication takes place on a
number of levels – not just through words. Body language, posture,
facial expressions, and tone of voice often speak louder than words. In
fact, the majority of all communication is non-verbal.
Take for example Emperor Asoka who surveyed the battlefield
after the infamous battle of Kalinga where 100,000 persons were
slaughtered. The scene saddened and depressed him. He regretted
what he had done, and was confused about how to proceed with his
life – even though he had succeeded in his goal of defeating the enemy.
As he looked about, he spotted a small young monk who was walking
calmly and serenely among the bodies of the dead soldiers; he exuded
a peaceful energy, and this stirred the heart of the great king. Emperor
Asoka thought to himself, “This young fellow looks happy,” and he
asked that he be brought before him.
The young fellow was seven year old Samanera Nigrodha.
When he came before the Emperor, he was asked, “Whose dhamma do
you follow? Who is your teacher?” The young samanera replied, “I
follow the Buddha.” The emperor responded, “What does he teach?”
Nigrodha answered, “I am not qualified to teach you much of the
Buddha’s dhamma, but what I understand is that it is about not harming
yourself or others, and about purifying your mind.” He then quoted a
verse from the Dhammapada (verse 21), “Heedfulness is the path to
Nibbana; heedlessness is the path to death.” The ones who have learned
how to discipline themselves do not die; those who cannot discipline
themselves are like the dead.” Asoka was so impressed by the young
man’s demeanor and energy that he converted to Buddhism and later
sent Buddhist missionaries to eighteen other countries – including Sri
Lanka. Because of this self-disciplined young samanera, the Buddha’s
teachings were spread across Asia.
Monks who lack self-discipline, unfortunately, can create
perceptions about Buddhism that are less than favorable. Since
perception is everything, one cannot blame the international media for
jumping to report negative things about Sangha members, sometimes
referring to them in Sri Lanka and Myanmar as “militant Buddhist
monks,” which is somewhat of an oxymoron. In these instances, the
media is not listening to the message, which is usually well-intentioned
and may, perhaps, be good; they are looking to the methodology
of message delivery, which can often be full of flaws and lead to
misperceptions about Buddhism, the Sangha, and one’s own country.
I urge all Sangha members to be aware of how their actions and words
might be perceived, and to discipline themselves by delivering their
messages appropriately.
There is a Jataka story (Puspahara) that comes to mind when
talking about this subject. One day the Bodhisattva went to bathe
in a lovely, pristine lake. Unbeknownst to him, a deity was always
watching him, looking for ways to fault and criticize him. Wading
out into the water, the Bodhisattva leaned over a lotus blossom and he
smelled the flower enjoying its scent. The deity spying on him shouted
out, “Bad monk! You have polluted that flower!” The Bodhisattva
responded calmly by saying, “I only smelled the flower; those people
over there are pulling the lotus plants up by the roots and making the
water cloudy. Why are you picking on me?” The deity answered, “You
are a monk; not a lay person. You are a role model for those people;
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