Most Venerable Bhante Walpola Piyananda's 80th Birthday Celebrating - Collected Essays
Collected Essays of Bhante Walpola Piyananda Celebrating His 80th Birthday. Ven. Walpola Piyananda Nayake Maha Thera has chosen to dedicate his life to sharing the teaching of the Buddha in the Western World, knowing that it has so much wisdom to offer; not an easy task for someone coming from a foreign background. However these articles reflect his ability to make a great impact on the American Community. He has helped many people and monks new to this country in many ways throughout the years, He has helped these monks to establish Dharma Centers in various parts in this country. Venerable Walpola Piyananda is an extraordinary monk and dharma teacher who exemplifies wisdom, compassion and selflessness. He has made a profound impact on numberous individuals and communities worldwide through his teachings and service. On his auspicious 80th birthday, I express my deepest gratitude to Venerable Walpola Piyananda for his remarkable contributions and limitless love. Ven. Walpola Piyananda Maha Thero has been a pioneer in establishing Theravada Buddhism in America and developing knowledge of the Buddha Dhamma through radio and promoting education to uplift the children of his native Sri Lanka. As a Theravada monk, he has manifested a sense of caring with wisdom and compassion by providing hospitable spiritual and physical shelter at his Los Angeles monastery. Bhante, as he is affectionately known, is a teacher with a great breadth of interests spanning from the origins of Buddhism to how Western people could apply the teachings, Dhamma, into their daily life. I have known Bhante since we were students at University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA)…. This edition of his collected works is an important contribution for Western readers.
Collected Essays of Bhante Walpola Piyananda Celebrating His 80th Birthday. Ven. Walpola Piyananda Nayake Maha Thera has chosen to dedicate his life to sharing the teaching of the Buddha in the Western World, knowing that it has so much wisdom to offer; not an easy task for someone coming from a foreign background. However these articles reflect his ability to make a great impact on the American Community. He has helped many people and monks new to this country in many ways throughout the years, He has helped these monks to establish Dharma Centers in various parts in this country. Venerable Walpola Piyananda is an extraordinary monk and dharma teacher who exemplifies wisdom, compassion and selflessness. He has made a profound impact on numberous individuals and communities worldwide through his teachings and service. On his auspicious 80th birthday, I express my deepest gratitude to Venerable Walpola Piyananda for his remarkable contributions and limitless love. Ven. Walpola Piyananda Maha Thero has been a pioneer in establishing Theravada Buddhism in America and developing knowledge of the Buddha Dhamma through radio and promoting education to uplift the children of his native Sri Lanka. As a Theravada monk, he has manifested a sense of caring with wisdom and compassion by providing hospitable spiritual and physical shelter at his Los Angeles monastery. Bhante, as he is affectionately known, is a teacher with a great breadth of interests spanning from the origins of Buddhism to how Western people could apply the teachings, Dhamma, into their daily life. I have known Bhante since we were students at University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA)…. This edition of his collected works is an important contribution for Western readers.
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when a small child is playing with something dangerous, you get the
child to stop by replacing the dangerous item with a safe toy.
The second is “Aversion Therapy”. This refers to examining
the danger in the unwanted unwholesome thought and seeing that
bad consequences will result from it. For example, when you have
a thought of gambling, you could think of the consequences that can
occur, such as being left without money to feed your family.
And the third one is “Sublimation”. Ignore the unwanted
unwholesome thought by not paying attention to that thought. Just
as when one with good eyesight doesn’t want to see something, they
close their eyes or look away. Or when one sees a commercial on
TV, they change the channel. In the movie “A Beautiful Mind” the
character John Nash’s solution to his mental problem illustrates this
type of behavior.
The fourth one is “Thought analysis.” Attention should be
given to stopping the unwanted unwholesome thought from forming.
Say you see a lit candle is close to curtains that are moved by the wind.
You analyze the situation and stop a fire from occurring by removing
the candle.
The fifth one is “Will power.” One should use one’s mental
strength to let go of the unwanted unwholesome thought and not give
in to it. If you open the refrigerator and see a piece of your favorite
cake, you shut the door to avoid eating it.
These are all immediate, short-term solutions, yet with
consistent use, they can transformation of one’s way of thinking to help
eradicate unwholesome thoughts.
Loving-kindness is not a common term in English but it
is hard to translate Metta otherwise. Basically, it is love without a
physical or emotional component, based on recognizing that we are no
different from others in terms of our needs. I guess you can think of
it as analogous to the Judeo-Christian “Love thy neighbor as thyself”.
Henceforth we will use the Pali term Metta.
We can develop Metta via a simple meditation practice of
projecting metta outwards. For detailed instructions, please see my
short book “Love in Buddhism”. What are the benefits of Metta? Here
is a useful comparison of Hate and Metta, slightly paraphrasing Ven.
Piyadassi’s “The Buddha’s Ancient Path”.
Hate restricts, metta releases
Hate estranges, metta enfranchises
Hate brings remorse, metta brings peace
Hate agitates, metta calms
Hate divides, metta unites
Hate hardens, metta softens
Hate hinders, metta helps.
In the Akkosaka Sutta, found in the Sutta Nipata 7.2, we see
the benefits of the development of Metta illustrated. The Buddha
is approached by a Brahmin, known for being quite abusive. He
approaches the Buddha and abuses him with harsh and rude speech.
In response, the Buddha asks the Brahmin if he has guests visit
him from time to time. When the Brahmin answers in the affirmative
the Buddha asks who the food belongs to if the guests do not accept
the food the Brahmin offers them. The Brahmin says it still belongs to
him. The Buddha then replies
“The abuse, the scolding, the reviling you hurl at us who do
not abuse or scold or insult, we do not accept from you. It all belongs
to you, Brahmin.... We are not joining you for dinner. It is all yours,
Brahmin, it still belongs to you.”
The Buddha concludes with these verses:
“Understanding a person’s angry mood, a person can help the
angry person clear it and find peace.
He is the healer of them both because both benefit thereby.
People who think a person like that is a fool, cannot understand
the Truth.”
So, back to our “irate telephone caller”: Why did this happen
to me? The fact of the matter is that I did was not accept the “dinner”
this lady offered me, so she held on to it; it still belongs to her. I
responded with Metta towards her and all beings. I wasn’t harmed.
So, I guess I should tell her, “Thanks for your help.” I leave
you with this poem.
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